Ms. Serrano – I see the girls being so much more interested in business. We had the opportunity to speak with some donors and board members a couple weeks ago and a few of the girls stood up and gave a speech. One of the things that I am so proud of is the students, particularly the CEO of the HathCaff, she’s a very quiet young lady. So when we approached her and asked if she would be the CEO, she said, ‘I can’t do it, I would never.’ She flourished and became one of the most amazing CEOs. When she gave her speech, she said, ‘If you would have asked me a year ago if I would have been a CEO of any organization I would have said no. Today, you ask me if I would be the CEO of a company I would say by all means. That’s what HathCaff uncovers for me. I’m able to actually carry an organization forward.’ This is a tiny little thing, this café. The fact that she can transition from never imagining that she could, to being certain that she can do it, it makes a difference. I look for that growth in all of our programs and I think the more support that we have to empower these girls to know that the future is theirs too in this environment of business, the better it will be for all of us.

Sophia – For me personally, there was an immediate connection because I have my own small business Sweets by Sophia. So it was interesting to tie the creative aspects of the HathCaff with the creative aspects of my own business. I got to learn more about marketing, labeling, business cards, marketing different products, and adjusting different products to the customer base or different food trends. I think it really showed how business can change at the drop of a hat with different things that are popular or trending. I think it also helps with staying open minded in terms of entrepreneurial experiences or life experiences in general.

Brooke – It’s very beneficial because you can build off of it when you’re going into your adult years to understand the basics of entrepreneurship and keep growing. I’ve learned how to communicate better because before that I wasn’t such a good communicator. I’m a really quiet person and it’s tough for me to express myself to other people.

Cyan – I’ve learned how to think more quickly because when we have problems arise, we want to keep our business up and running. That means if we encounter problems, we need to think of quick solutions so that way we can keep the HathCaff operating.

Amelia – It requires a lot of commitment and shows that running a business is hard and requires a lot of sacrifice but it also shows how great it can be.

Cyan – I think it’s really beneficial to know the business world and to have experiences like this in high school so that way when we go to college and get into the real world it’s not our first time doing it. Here it is a little more sheltered because we’re in high school. If we make mistakes we have teachers and leaders to tell us what we did wrong. While in the real world your boss may not be as forgiving as your teacher would be. Business is a key component to the world and I think everyone should know how it works.

Sophia – I always thought it was really interesting that we have our student-run café in the school and it’s completely managed by students. I remember that was one thing that really stuck out to me when I came to Hathaway Brown as a freshman. As soon as we got the email for the barista position I was like, ‘I have to join, I have to be a part of this.’ I just love it. I think it’s a really cool operation. I love coffee, I really love the HathCaff’s message.

Amelia – When I visited freshman year I had a similar experience. I thought it was so cool that we had an actual café in the library. I would say specifically I joined because I really loved the Business Finance Fellowship Program and this was one of the ways you could get that designation for senior year. I applied for the Executive Team and then became Marketing Director from there.

Cyan – During the 2023-2024 school year, I was Director of HathCaff Express, which is about a once a month pop up shop for the parents and the Infant and Toddler Center and we would have two fourth-grade volunteers come in and learn how to work the HathCaff but on a smaller scale. We would have a table with a couple of pastries, coffee, and a money box so they could learn how to interact with customers and learn what it’s like to run HathCaff.

Cyan – I think I would tell them just to go for it. The first step is always the hardest but I think this year especially, we found a routine that works best for HathCaff and we really learned how to come together as a team and how to help each other out. Yes, we each have our own individual roles but being an entrepreneur allows you to build communication skills, social skills, and business skills. I think if a teacher is debating starting a school-run business I would say yes because of the numerous opportunities it would give students.

Amelia – I think for freshman and sophomores specifically, I think joining is really huge because it teaches you hard work and responsibility. You learn things that you can use in real life, like taking inventory, and marketing tips.

Amelia – There are a variety of different things we talk about each class, from stocks to mock interviews to resume tips. The business finance class is a really broad class that teaches you so much that you use in real life.

Ms. Serrano – We have a business and finance fellowship. The classes from the fellowship support the HathCaff. There are three different classes, one is really general about what is business, what positions are in a corporation, what is an entrepreneur. They learn a little bit about what it’s like to be an accountant, how do you make your resume, how do you pitch yourself to a job or to an internship and things like that. Business Finance 2 is all about entrepreneurship, they really learn a lot about HathCaff because we give them a lot of examples out of HathCaff. In that class they work with the Veale Foundation because the whole first semester they do the thinkBIG! Challenge. Everybody submits a proposal, whether that’s as a team or an individual. The second part of the class they consult with mentor entrepreneurs. I do try to bring more senior business people from the community to help the girls develop those ideas for their business. We have a new class that’s starting this year, it’s called Capstone. They have to do a capstone to finish our program and get the designation of Business Finance.

Ms. Serrano – Do it. It is worth every up and down. Particularly in HathCaff and all of the other little businesses that we have is that there’s always something happening but there’s nothing more exciting or more incredible than to see these kids come together when the dishwasher is going crazy and it’s flooding everywhere. There are five kids leaving class just to come and clean and make sure everything is okay so that we can continue selling in the next shift. That is just the teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking that happens. That critical thinking of ‘Should we invest in this?’ It is so important and it is something they would never do unless they’re given the opportunity.

Ms. Serrano – Everywhere there is someone with an interest in doing something, I think if you can embrace them and ask, ‘How can we do this and empower the students?’ If the students are open to it, it will get done.

Ms. Serrano – Me putting my interests first doesn’t always work. I have tried giving them my ideas and what businesses I think would work well but if there is no interest it won’t work. But when they really want to do it, it is incredible how they gather their forces, gather their friends, gather everything, and they just move forward. It is a form of growth.

Ms. Serrano – One of the things we’re trying to start next year is a performing arts internship for students. We’re trying to bring people who will teach the girls about being a performing artist – a dancer, singer, musician. These girls have big dreams and they certainly should because they are extremely talented but unfortunately the arts are a little different of a beast in terms of business. We’re trying to break into the amazing theatre community in Cleveland. We want to go to some of these artists and ask if they would teach our students how to do this? What are the trends? How do they learn about ticket sales? How do you budget for these things?

Ms. Serrano – I would like to thank the Veale Foundation because they have been for a long time, our main supporter financially. About 40-percent of the funds go toward grants for our small businesses. The fact that I can tell the kids, ‘Give me an idea, come up with this, let’s come up with a plan and we will give you the money to start it and see what happens,’ the fact that they can have the trial and error is unbelievable. We had a student two years ago who had about four iterations of her business and in her fourth one she made $15,000. She failed all the other three but it just took that one time and all that experience of knowing what she should or shouldn’t have done to be able to just somehow turn it around. And she graduated with $15,000 that she didn’t originally have. That for me is an amazing win for her. Witnessing that was amazing. If I can give kids the opportunity to do that – I think they’re so creative and they have so much to give. The fact that I can give them that opportunity when they really, really want it and sometimes it flourishes beyond what I can imagine.