Jamie Murphey hugs her coffee cup like a dear friend after pouring in eight half-and-halfs and taking a sip. She is a coffee lover, and she frequents the Starkville Caf whenever she has a break between her studies and running her own housecleaning service, the Southern City Cleaning Service.
Murphey, a senior majoring in fine arts, started the housecleaning business because, like many students, she couldn’t find a job in Starkville.
“I lost my job and I had to find a new one at the last minute,” Murphey said. “I put an ad in the newspaper and got some clients, and it’s grown from there.”
Murphey has been running her housecleaning service since August 2003. Her company staff has grown from one person to five people, and she has 10 steady clients.
What’s unique about Murphey’s service is that her company specializes in using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies such as vinegar and baking soda, as well as specially engineered cleaning products manufactured by a company called Ecovair.
On top of her company, Murphey is working to obtain her bachelor’s degree in fine arts, which she said she found stressful at times.
“Last semester I took 18 hours and I had to balance both the company and school,” she said. “I developed a tic.”
Many students may ask how another student can possibly be a full-time student and run their own business at the same time. Even Murphey asks herself that question sometimes, she said.
Murphey said that she believes her company has succeeded because of luck.
“I could have made it, but it’s one of those fortuitous things that just worked out really well,” Murphey said. “I always thought I’d have a business at some point, but I didn’t think it’d be while I was in school.”
Murphey said that though she is graduating soon, she plans to keep the company running for at least three years, potentially expanding it and then selling it.
Lauren Reeves, a junior graphic design major, is another student attempting to balance college life and entrepreneurship. Unlike Murphey, who has her business up and running, Reeves is trying to get her company off the ground. She recently started her own specialty soap company, called Southern Suds. Like Murphey, she specializes in using natural products for consumer use. Reeves said her soaps surpass store-bought soaps in quality.
Reeves got the idea to make the soaps because as a graphic design student, she constantly had to wash her hands to remove paint and ink, which dried out her skin.
“When soaps are made, they contain the glycerin-key in retaining moisture in the skin,” she said. “Most soap companies take out the glycerin to make it harder and easier to ship. And that’s why store bought soaps dry out your hands.”
After she realized that, she got the idea to sell her soaps.
“It sounded like a good idea,” Reeves said. “I said to myself, ‘Hey, I can sell this; it would be fun.'”
She has been putting up fliers since November, but so far she hasn’t had any luck.
“I haven’t sold a thing,” Reeves said, “but I’m going to try to sell them to local [stores] soon.”
Murphey and Reeves aren’t the only students on campus who own their own businesses. According to Sonny Fisher, director of MSU’s small business development center, there are many student entrepreneurs at Mississippi State.
“We see a lot of students, whether they are undergraduates or graduates, interested in starting their own business,” he said, “and we live in a country where it can happen.”
Fisher believes that the boom in student entrepreneurs is caused by the growth of technology.
“Years ago, there was no thought of a student owning their own business,” he said. “Things have changed so much, especially computer technology.”
Fisher said the most common student-owned businesses are lawn services and cleaning services, and many students are involved in Web site development and e-commerce.
“Students are more informed and smarter than they’ve ever been, and there are a lot more opportunities these days,” he said.
Fisher said that student-owned companies are a real plus in Starkville’s economy, and he thinks that the trend will keep growing.
“There are more people and opportunities than there have ever been,” he said. “Students should find something they’re good at enhance on it,” Fisher said.
Becoming an entrepreneur, he said, may be the outcome of taking the opportunities.
Jaime Murphey’s Southern City Cleaning Service can be reached by e-mail or phone at [email protected] and (662)312-2675.
Lauren Reeves’ Southern Suds can be found at www.gourmetsoaps.netfirms.com, or you can e-mail her at [email protected].
Students interested in starting their own business are encouraged to contact the Small Business Development Center at 662-325-8684 or by visiting the Web site at http://www.cbi.msstate.edu/sbdc.