Issue 4 | December 17, 2013 9
HOOFBEAT FEATURES
Tongue
Tied and
Typing
Mehgan Cain
Focus Editor
Life on the
Defense
Turning a profit:
Social media gives students a way to sell homemade accessories
jenna pfingsten
features editor
Social media is everywhere today. Students use it
to connect with friends, post
pictures, or keep updated on
what’s going on in the world.
However, social media is useful for another aspect: advertising. Three MN students utilize
social media to get the word
out about accessories that they
make and sell.
Junior Yumi Liu has been
making hair bows since her
cousin taught her one summer.
Six months ago she started selling them to friends and on her
Facebook page.
“It started out as a hobby. I don’t know if it’s really
spawned into an official business yet, but it definitely takes
a lot of my time and a lot of effort,” Liu said.
Liu first started making
them for fun, but decided to
start selling the bows in order
to cover the cost of the materials. This led to the creation of
a Facebook page for her business, which she calls Yumi’s
Hair bows.
“When I buy new materials and stuff I post them on my
social media sites. I’ll also take
requests on colors and designs
they want on the bows,” Liu
said.
In order to attract new
customers, Liu posts pictures
of her bows on Facebook or
Twitter and will occasionally
have a bow giveaway or promotion.
“My giveaways and promotions are definitely a positive aspect because when people wear my bows others may
ask where they got it from,
increasing the population of
people who know about my
business,” Liu said.
Senior Megan Pfannenstiel is also reliant on social media for her small business. She
sells scarves and ear warmers
that she crochets herself.
She’ll occasionally post
pictures of her projects on Instagram, which is where she
sells many of her items. Last
year Pfannenstiel put up an
Instagram photo of a scarf she
made, which spawned comments from her followers asking to buy one.
“Social media is how my
business got started. It got the
word out fast and made it easier to communicate with my
customers,” Pfannenstiel said.
Pfannenstiel started making scarves and ear warmers
two years ago after she was
inspired by her great grandma
who made blankets for the
family. Today, it’s something
that she enjoys doing.
Another student that has
a hobby selling homemade
items is sophomore Courtney
Tullock. She sells wristlets
to attach keys to, called
key fobs. She also uses
sites such as Twitter
to post pictures of her
items.
“Social media allowed more people to know
about [the key fobs] and
definitely made me sell
more,” Tullock said.
In
the
two
months since she’s
started, Tullock has
made around $300
from selling them for $10
apiece. However, it can be difficult to gauge what her
customers want.
“[The
hardest
part] is picking out
which fabric I think
people will like. Sometimes I make them and
people don’t like them, or
sometimes I hate them and
everyone buys them,”
Tullock said.
Social media has
become an important
tool in the business
of these three students.
It’s given them an outlet to
join passion with profit.
“It’s something that I
enjoy to do. It’s mixing
something that I enjoy with something
that I can make money off of, and that’s fun
for me,” Pfannenstiel
said.
Three MN students
make and sell accessories such as scarves,
bows, and key fobs.
These girls utilize social media to sell their
items to friends and
other students.
Senior Megan Pfannenstiel taught herself
to crochet after she
was inspired by her
great grandma.
Junior Yumi Liu made
princess themed bows
for patients at the
Children’s Hospital.
Sophomore Courtney
Tullock made her first
key fob when she
couldn’t find any she
liked in the stores.
7 Things you didn’t know about Ms. Kolander
1
I love travelling to Europe. I’ve probably
seen more of Europe than the US.
2
I have a theory that in 2000 years Bob
Dylan, Prince, and Eminem will be featured poets in Literature classes.
4 My favorite class in college was a grammar
class. I thought it was the best class ever.
5 I used to be the cheer leading sponsor
at MN in the 90s.
6 I started the Latin program in Millard in
1986.
3 I love reading. I can read literally anything. 7 I can do a really good Yoda impression in
Latin and English
Living on 62nd and Dodge, I have a tad bit of
trek when it comes to commuting to school every
morning. However, thanks to the engineering
power of Toyota and the lack of police presence
on Dodge at 7 a.m., my commute is only about
15 minutes. Unfortunately, the swiftness of
my foreign coach and my habitual speeding
caused me to receive a speeding ticket in early
November, and by the end of the month I had
sat through (and passed) a four-hour defensive
driving course.
Speeding is bad, folks; that is a truth, and
it is a problem. However, this course taught me
that more than disobeying laws, and we have a
problem with being too defensive. No, I’m not
asserting that we should all be aggressive and
offensive in driving or in other areas of life.
Rather, everyone in my STOP class had an excuse
as to why they were given a ticket; everyone
defended their illegal actions, including myself.
We, as people, want to be the victims rather
than the antagonist, and because of this natural
inclination to throw pity parties pitilessly, we
tend to build egos and break principles. In
defending our action and intentions, we build up
excuses to the point where they have an impact
on the way we interact with others and even our
personal health.
As STOP class progressed, my teacher
continued to pry, asking what, in our opinions,
were the largest problems associated with
roadways. A man chimed in “The other guy is
the problem.” To this the room filled up with a
soft hum of unanimous agreement, as if everyone
had forgotten that “the other guy” was not the
one driving over the speed limit, “the other guy”
did not blow through the stop sign, “the other
guy” did not get the ticket. Everyone refused to
admit their fault, and instead bonded over their
love of being faultless in their own faults. Playing
the victim stagnates progression; you won’t be
able to fix anything if you deny it ever being your
burden.
To ensure safer roadways, we all need to
stop seeking out the wrongs of “the other guy”.
We need to realize that as humans, we all are
flawed, we all are at fault on occasion, and we all
are not constantly victims. Of course instances
in which we’re innocent come up, but for aspects
of our lives which we can control, its time to stop
being so defensive.