The spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well at St. Francis French Immersion Catholic Elementary School.
Over 20 St. Francis Grade 8 students - from seven separate small businesses - displayed products they made over the winter at the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board’s most recent meeting held March 19.
Tone of You - created by students Lily Walls, Ariya Mathieu and Paisley MacDonald - is a personalized scent company offering customizable fragrances for men and women.
“We started a few months ago when we got back from our Christmas break. We wanted to make perfume for girls and cologne for boys,” Walls told SooToday.
Prior to the last H-SCDSB meeting, the Tone of You group and students from six other small student-run businesses exhibited their wares at Entrepreneurship Day at St. Francis on Feb. 25.
The three Tone of You students tried two prototype solutions for their perfume and cologne before finding a mixture they liked.
“One of the really cool things is that it's actually made from our own solution. We went to a local perfume and cologne store and we bought items from there like witch hazel, glycerin, and distilled water,” Walls said.
Walls, Mathieu and MacDonald sold their perfume and cologne within the St. Francis French Immersion Catholic Elementary School community.
“We sold to a lot of people from our school, all grades. A lot of people really like it and people definitely enjoyed the idea of being included in the experience,” Walls said.
The experience inspired the three students.
“I'd love to be an entrepreneur when I grow older. For high school next year, I'm already signed into an entrepreneur class and a business class,” Walls said.
“I definitely feel that it's important to be independent,” Mathieu said.
The three young entrepreneurs sold $185 in perfume and cologne.
Money made by Tone of You and the six other St. Francis Grade 8 businesses goes toward a class trip to Toronto in June.
“I’m proud of these students,” said Anna Gillespie, their teacher.
Since December, students worked in teams to conceptualize, plan, and bring their businesses to life. Thanks to grant funding, each student received $100 in startup capital to purchase materials and turn their ideas into reality.
The students launched seven unique businesses:
- Golden Glow Candles – Handmade candles in a variety of sizes and scents.
- Handcrafted Boards – Custom-designed charcuterie boards made from scratch.
- Tone of You – A personalized scent company offering customizable fragrances for men and women.
- Peak Hydration – A hydration beverage brand infused with electrolytes.
- Heavenly Dough Bakery Bites – A bakery specializing in sweet treats for every occasion.
- Crunch Crave – A food venture putting a unique spin on Korean street food.
- ARGO Blocks – A toy company featuring fun, creative building blocks.
To read the original St. Francis Entrepreneurship Day story on SooToday, click here.