High school selling permits have been controversial over the last couple years, causing mixed reactions among students raising funds for their future and short-term expenses.

An entrepreneur isn’t someone with multiple six-figure businesses, rather, someone who takes financial risks to set up a business and expects profit in the future. Accordingly, everyone who sells inside the HS community is an entrepreneur with a certain goal in mind, either for the long or short run.

“My future has influenced me to sell mangoes because in the future I want to have a financial balance and help my family with finances,” Lucas Henao, senior, said.

However, having financial stability isn’t the only motivation among students. With the world’s interconnection and rising opportunities, many TCS members aim to study abroad. When compared to higher education costs in Colombia, other countries have higher education prices, which means students require well-structured financing to accomplish their goals.

“I needed money for my application for the university, and some extra expenses that adjust for me,” Lucas Henao, senior, said.

But as expected, everything in a business process will have it’s ups and downs. For many, the hardest part of selling or having a business is motion, meaning executing an idea and not procrastinating it. Likewise, other challenges for entrepreneurship in school can be competition with other students, who offer similar products.

“I wouldn’t change anything about my business because it works perfectly. But I would say that the market is very saturated, and people should come up with new ideas,” Juana Upegui, senior, said.

Then follows the problem of the problem; high school selling permits. The only way to legally sell in HS is with a permit, which can only be obtained at the start or middle of the academic year. This means students only have two attempts in the school year to present a product that can perform formidablely in the market.

“I think it encourages some creativity, but it could encourage even more. Why? By selling products at any variation or any time of the year, the creativity can be more wide. The selling permit could be way more flexible if they make some modifications,” Henao said.

Lastly, having an entrepreneurial lifestyle will not only (probably) produce some profit for students’ future life plans, but will also help them learn valuable life skills, as every decision in life is a negotiation, either with yourself or with others.

“I think it gives you the mentality of like, discipline, like trying to make yourself a living,” Medina, said.