Ever since I started my business, ManCans, I have had trouble balancing it and school. In March, I had 1,400 orders in 48 hours because my candles were on news channels across the country, and this was on a WEDNESDAY! It was right in the toughest part of the school year and I was having around 3 tests a week. I started missing school to try to fill orders and to work at soup kitchens so I could have cans to make candles. I was up until 12:30 at night on a daily basis, when my bed time was normally 9. I was missing so much school, that my friends started expecting me not to be there. I started missing assignments and quizzes because of interviews. I was a nervous wreck. My teachers were supportive, but you could tell they were a little annoyed. I relied on Swim Team and Running to relieve my stress.
By mid-April, I had found someone to make the candles and was back at school. My grades had suffered though and I lost my middle school 4.0 GPA because of an English assignment I'd missed on a day I had an interview. I made it through middle school ok, and everyone else at school thought my candles were really cool. I had lost my middle school GPA, but I had gained an experience that I would never forget.
Anyone that gets caught in the same situation I did, don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it be asking parents or friends, and don't turn down anyone that is volunteering to help you. I have good friends that spent Saturdays with me making and labeling candles, and in return got candles of their own. Also don't forget to relax and be a kid every once in a while, your business can wait but being a kid can't. If you are having trouble at school with keeping up. ask a guidance counselor or a teacher for help or what they think you should do. Most of all though, enjoy the experience and satisfaction of owning a successful business.
It's great to see someone so young and so dedicated to their educational career, as well as their business! It's wonderful that you had that surge in sales, and I'm glad that you had the opportunity to feel that stress. As an entrepreneur, you need to find your rhythm. having an opportunity to be involved in an activity that lets you vent is a key to success. I am a business student in College right now, and I am regretting not taking my education in middle and high school more seriously. I am thankful for people like you, who inspire the younger generation to strive to be better than mediocre. To strive to be better than they thought they could be. A few points in your GPA won't make much difference when you gained such an important life lesson. I know that you will tire of hearing it, but in the "real" world, employers don't look too hard at your GPA, not when you have had such wonderful success in your first venture. My Father-in-law has a few of your candles, given as gifts, after your news debut. You have found yourself a niche. Don't give it up, whatever you do!
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