While many Dartmouth students hope to make large sums of money in the future, some students have developed creative ways to expand their bank accounts while still enrolled at the College.
VOX Sportswear Incorporated, currently run by seven juniors, has been selling personalized apparel to Greek houses and other organizations around campus for the last 10 years.
Michael Reiss '06, a co-owner of the company, said he puts 20 to 25 hours a week into the business, spending most of that time meeting with customers and helping them through their orders.
Under the leadership of members of the Class of 2006, the company has tripled its profits despite continued competition from a similar company, Big Green Tees, according to Reiss. Although none of the current VOX owners have any formal business training, many students involved with the company said they plan to pursue business careers in the future.
"We treat the company as a learning experience," Reiss said. "We teach ourselves."
Reiss said that the group relies on word of mouth to get orders.
"Ever since we took over we've done a good job of getting the word out," Reiss said. "Most of our business comes to us now."
VOX Sportswear has always been local, but recently it has tried to expand its boundaries, according to Riess, who mentioned an order the company filled for a youth tennis organization in California.
Every two years, when the owners of the company become seniors, they sell their shares to sophomores who then take over the company, Reiss said.
Other students, while not involved in formal business ventures, have turned their hobbies into profits.
Krista Oopik '05, a studio art major, has been selling homemade necklaces for several years.
Oopik said she began making necklaces six years ago as a hobby, and started putting them on the market after someone at Dartmouth saw one of her pieces and commissioned her to make 10 more. Oopik also sells necklaces at a boutique in her hometown.
In a recent Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority art show, Oopik sold 45 necklaces, priced between $25 and $65, with most in the $35 range, she said.
Oopik recruited the help of a friend, an economics major, to determine how to price the jewelry and came home with three times as much in revenue as she spent purchasing materials.
"I sold out all but one," Oopik said. "It was a lot more successful than I had ever imagined."
Nevertheless, Oopik said her necklace business is likely to remain just a hobby.
"My main interest is textile design," Oopik said. "This is my form of procrastination."
Jocelyn Singer-Sargent '04 followed a similar route. While Singer-Sargent used to sell her jewelry pieces in the Collis Center, she now relies on word of mouth to get orders after being reprimanded by the Collis staff.
"People would keep asking me about pieces I was wearing," Singer-Sargent said. "So I decided to turn it into something profitable."
