Two West Orange High-schoolers start their own business

Instead of working at a fast-food restaurant like most of their friends in high school, Luis Varona and Juan Pedraza decided to start their own business.

They’ve called their company LJ Services, and the pari caters to whatever their clients need. So far, they’ve been in business for about a month and have mostly done yard work and car washes. But for the two high-schoolers, it beats any other job out there.

And it all started out of sheer boredom.

“We…wanted to do something with our time,” said Varona, who is a sophomore at West Orange High School. “It’s fun to stay home and relax sometimes, but after a while, you don’t feel productive.”

Having seen their friends toil at McDonald’s jobs, they both knew that kind of work wasn’t for them.

“We didn’t want an everyday job,” said Pedraza, who is a junior at West Orange High.

So the two boys put their heads together and decided to do their own thing. They posted a notice on the Summerport’s neighborhood website and clients started trickling in.

“We wanted to start locally  then hopefully start expanding,” Pedraza said.

For each job, the teenagers visit the clients and determine a price. They have no set prices and determine the value of each job individually. Some of their jobs have been more intensive, taking several days to complete. Other jobs, such as a car wash, only take a few hours.

But for Varona and Pedraza, the best part is being in control of their schedules.

“We’re the bosses,” said Varona.

“We don’t take orders,” Pedraza chimed in.

And the added bonus is getting to work outside.

“We love the outdoors and we get to be outdoors all the time,” Pedraza said.

For now, both teenagers said they’re saving money for whatever the future holds - college, a chance to help their families or maybe a fun purchase or two. And with summer around the corner, they’re hoping to fill their savings accounts as much as possible.

“We want to get as many clients we can get as much as we can,” Varona said.

And they may have a friend or two whom they hope to employ in their business venture in the coming weeks and months.

“With more clients we can add more workers and expand the business,” Pedraza said.

So far, the two have learned a lot about owning their own business and both said they are interested in studying business in college.

“I’ve gained so much knowledge about business and entrepreneurship,” Pedraza said. “It’s really fun telling people that you have your own business.”

For now, the two are mostly working on the weekends since they have to focus on their homework during the week.

Contact Brittany Gaines at [email protected].