|
 In 2020 the students enrolled in the CEO did a lot
of their education via zoom meetings and they missed out on some of
the personal experiences and training that previous year students
had gotten.
According to LLCEO Chairperson Kristi Powell and facilitator Britta
Langley, students are supposed to attend LLCEO one year only.
However, there is an exception made for extenuating circumstances.
The CEO Board of Directors felt that the pandemic was definitely an
extenuating circumstance.
Eli Hewitt
In 2020 Eli Hewitt’s business was ‘Nothing Fancy.’ He built his
business plan around offering made to order cheesecakes and bread
products.
Hewitt maintained the same business in 2021 and was happy to share
samples of his freshly made cheesecakes to guests as he talked about
his business and products.
Hewitt explained that he chose this business model because it is an
extension of his passion for baking. He said that he has been baking
since he was 14 and at age 15 he began selling his cheesecakes and
turning his passion into a profession.
A senior at Lincoln Community High School Hewitt says that he is
headed to UIC Chicago where he will major in political science. He
says that right now he’s not sure if he will make Nothing Fancy a
permanent part of his future, but he does think that he can take the
business to college with him for some extra spending money.
Ruthie Ruhl
In 2020 Ruthie was a junior. She is a homeschool student connected
to Mount Pulaski High School. Her first year of LLCEO her business
was RR Equestrian Jumps & Training. Ruthie utilized her love of
horses and riding to develop a business focusing on training young
riders.
In 2021, Ruthie switched gears only slightly. Still building her
business around her love of horse and riding, she started Foadail
Equestrian. In her business, Ruhl is purchasing worn out riding
boots and making them new again. She then sells them for a fraction
of the full retail price while making a great mark-up and profit for
herself.
[to top of second column] |
 Ruhl says that the business has been very
successful. In fact, her profits in the first few months have netted
her enough that she was able to purchase her first vehicle on her
own.
Ruhl explained that she got the idea because her own boots broke and
she was flabbergasted by the price she would have to pay for a new
pair. She did some research and found a person in Springfield who
would do repair to her boots. That started the wheels turning. She
said that she felt that there were a lot of people who wanted tall
boots and English riding boots but didn’t want to pay the hundreds
and even thousands of dollars for a new pair. She pointed out one
pair she has in stock and said the boots are European designer boots
with a full retail of around $2,000. She has her pair of refurbished
boots for sale online for $400 and is confident that they won’t last
long.
Ruhl said she does the work of restoring the leather on the boots
and demonstrated how she does so. She outsources physical repairs to
the person in Springfield, saying that the machines he has to work
on boots are very costly, yet his rates are very low. She can’t
afford to invest in all the machines she would need when she can
outsource the work for less.
Ruhl says that the boot business is going to be a part of her future
for sure. At the same time, she was excited to share that she had
learned earlier in the day that she had won a full-ride scholarship
to the college of her choice. She will definitely be taking
advantage of that opportunity.
One last fun fact, Ruhl’s business name is Foadail Equestrian and
her mantra is “Where boots are truly lucky finds.” Ruhl explained
that Foadail is Galic for “lucky find.”
[Nila Smith] |
