Central IL CEO students launch their 5 businesses

CENTRAL IL (WAND) - Not a lot of high school students have their own official business, but these five central Illinois students do!

On Tuesday, they launch their products and services at the Hickory Point Golf Course Banquet Facility from 9:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.

"Since January, they have been writing business plans, they went out to bankers and asked for (a) loan or grants to help fund their business. We had a shark tank event [and] they have been working on all of the details of launching their own business," said Melanie Brown, facilitator of the Central Illinois CEO program.

One student, Emmah Cook, is launching an online resale shop called Rosie's Resale. Just like the others, she found her niche and used her passion for sustainability and fashion to come up with a business idea.

"I just want to help recycle clothes because of all the clothing that's ending up in landfills, and help give young women a different avenue to purchase through instead of fast fashion sites," said Cook, a senior at Warrensburg Latham High School.

Another, Jordan Gearlds, creates custom hand drawn stickers. She said she's learned a lot in 2021 through the program.

"The journey has been a little crazy from start to finish, but definitely worth it. It's taught me to anticipate mistakes and correct the mistakes before they happen," said Gearlds, a senior from Farmer City.

The other students include Marina Rohman, a junior at Maroa Forsyth, Rheys Sams-Moore, a junior at Maroa Forsyth, and Emma Culbertson, a junior at Clinton High School.

Just like any other business, they had to get start up money and promote their brand new companies.