Student side-hustles

Luke Hartzler

Sophomore Allied Health major Luke Hartzler began offering car detailing services in early September.
“Before I came back to campus, I had the inside of my truck detailed and it cost me $250 and they did a
terrible job,” Hartzler said. “And I figured I could have bought all the stuff and done it better myself for
cheaper.”

That thought developed into providing a detailing service to college students who may not have the
means or the time to clean their cars. Hartzler has three levels of service that range from $25 to $100,
which is significantly lower than the price that professional car detailing costs.

“I haven’t had any professional level experience, but I’ve been cleaning the insides of cars since I was
in fourth grade,” Hartzler said. “I just like everything looking nice and organized and clean.”
Hartzler purchased a vacuum, steam cleaner, various soaps, cleaners, brushes and microfiber cloths to
complete all of the various cleaning tasks involved. Within the first weekend of posting his service on
Classifieds, Hartzler made up for the entire cost of the equipment he had purchased. He plans to continue to offer car cleaning services to the student body as long as he has time and a consistent demand.

“It was definitely a bit of a gamble at first,” Hartzler said. “I wasn’t sure if people would be interested.
But I think for people who drive their cars often it’s a good service to have, and to get it done you either
have to kick out a good bit of money or do it yourself. I’m offering to do it for you for way cheaper.”

Carah Hoffman

Junior Business major Carah Hoffman runs a sticker business with her friend Grace Gregory, who is a
senior graphic design major. The idea for their Etsy shop, Grace and Carah (or G&C) Illustrations,
sparked when Grace designed a sticker for Cedarville’s pottery sale.

“She was asking all of her friends to do the lettering for her and I was able to do it,” Hoffman said. “We
also did a couple other stickers just for fun, and she really liked the lettering, so I was like, ‘Grace, we
should start a business together!'”

After she received an iPad for Christmas, Hoffman and Gregory started the business. Like many small
businesses, it started slowly, but G&C Illustrations received more attention recently.

Hoffman and Gregory are now providing customers with larger orders, and have discussed ideas to
expand their business to selling phone cases, tote bags, and sticker sheets. They also designed the
stickers for the IBC business Proclaim the Name: Everlasting.

“Our goal is to create stickers that have Scripture on them to create opportunities to start conversations
with people and just help people meditate on the truth,” Hoffman said.

“I feel like the Lord has really been blessing us, which is so encouraging.”

Julia Garrison

Julia Garrison, a freshman psychology major, did not always enjoy doing nails. She did not like regular
nail polish because of how easily it smears. Her opinions changed when she began buying Color Street
sets from one of her managers at her high school job at Chick-fil-A, who also happened to be a Color
Street stylist.

Unlike regular polish, Color Street designs are real nail polish in vacuum-sealed dry strips. Garrison’s
interest in doing nails with Color Street products quickly launched into the small business she runs today:
Connect Nails.

“I just thought this would be a really good college business because I don’t have to put in any amount of
time besides the time to put up Facebook posts every week and then application time for people,”
Garrison said. “It’s really flexible.”

Currently, Connect Nails offers several designs, including solids, glitters, glitter designs, glitter tips, and
different overlays.

According to Garrison, she runs nearly two separate businesses – one doing the actual nail art for
customers and the other selling Color Street products through her website. Through her website, Garrison is able to get commissions as well as rewards for the money she makes. This allows her to buy
discounted nail products and keep the overall costs of Connect Nails low.

Color Street has expanded recently by offering other beauty products, including blush, mascara and
highlighter. Garrison sells some of these on her site but personally prefers nails, and wants to expand her
business by advertising more broadly.

“I’ve done nails for a lot of people back home, but not too many for people here so far because I wanted
to get settled into school,” Garrison said. “I’d like to expand my services here and be able to do nails for
more people.”

Danielle Edwards

Dani’s Sweet Lab is a unique blend of science and confectionary creation.

Danielle Edwards, a senior Forensic Science major and the founder of the business, first had the idea
for a baking company in eighth grade. Edwards enrolled in the Young Entrepreneur Academy and came
up with the idea of selling baked goods out of her kitchen.

Over the years Edwards experimented with recipes and evolved her business mission to fit her budding
passion for science, a subject she had grown to love in high school and later college. She revived the
idea this year, changing the name to be more science-themed, and began marketing harder to the
student body.

“I’m trying to give a piece of encouragement to students and a cheaper option that is closer to campus,”
Edwards said.

Currently, Edwards is selling cupcakes and cookies. Half a dozen cookies sell for $15 and cupcakes are
$20 by the dozen, both in various flavors with toppings. She bakes off campus in her house and will
deliver the orders to campus when needed.

“Eventually I would love to open a shop,” Edwards said. “Since my major is Forensic Science, I named
my business Dani’s Sweet Lab so it would be like a science lab theme.”

For Edwards, sweets are an exceptional encounter with food. As stated on her website:

Every cookie and cupcake is a work of edible art. From classic chocolate chip cookies that melt in your
mouth to cupcakes adorned with intricate designs, we believe in delivering not just a delicious treat, but a memorable experience.