A 14-year-old girl from Indiana, United States, who started a small business to pay for a school trip has gained more than 30,000 social media followers and over eight million online views in less than a month.
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who → start → month
Lexi Long, an eighth-grade student at Schmucker Middle School, began selling slime and squishy toys on October 1, to raise money for a class visit to Washington, DC, WNDU reported.
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WNDU → begin → Washington
She collected the required amount within nine days but continued selling her creations as more people began showing interest in her products.
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people → collect → products
For Lexi, the idea came from something she had enjoyed since childhood.
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she → come → childhood
She liked making things with her hands, particularly slime and other craft items.
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She → make → hands
When she needed money for the school trip, she decided to use that interest to earn it herself.
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she → need → it
The trip was something she had heard about for years.
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she → hear → years
Students at her school knew that eighth graders had an opportunity to visit Washington, DC, and Lexi wanted to be part of it and pay for it herself.
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Lexi → know → it
Speaking to local television station WNDU, Lexi explained why the trip mattered to her.
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trip → speak → her
"People talk about this in elementary school, like 'Eighth grade you get to go and all that stuff,'" she said.
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she → talk → grade
"So, I really wanted to get to go," she added.
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she → want → ?
Lexi started selling handmade items at age four
Although her latest business has attracted considerable attention, Lexi was already familiar with making and selling things.
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Lexi → start → things
When she was four, she wanted to travel to Chicago and buy an American Girl doll.
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she → want → doll
To raise money, she began creating accessories for the dolls and selling them.
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she → raise → them
Both times, she had a trip in mind and decided to earn money by making something herself.
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she → have → something
"I guess I kind of start businesses when I have a trip to go on," she told WNDU.
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she → guess → WNDU
Her mother, Jennifer Long, said Lexi had always shown an interest in working towards the things she wanted.
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she → say → things
"A lot of kids, in the teen years, just kind of want things given to them.
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lot → want → them
And Lexi's never been that kind of kid," Jennifer said.
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Jennifer → say → kid
"She's always been a go-getter," she added.
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she → add → ?
This time, Lexi chose slime and squishy toys because they were already among her favourite activities.
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they → choose → activities
She had played with slime from a young age and enjoyed experimenting with craft projects.
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She → play → projects
"I just think it's a fun way to express yourself.
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it → think → yourself
I think that doing crafts and making stuff is really fun," she said.
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she → think → stuff
School trip target achieved in just nine days
Lexi officially began her business on October 1.
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Lexi → achieve → October
Her first priority was to earn enough money for the Washington trip, and she started taking her products to sales events.
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she → earn → events
She did not have to wait long to reach her target.
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She → have → target
At her second event, just nine days after starting the business, she had raised the amount needed for the visit.
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she → start → visit
However, she decided to continue selling rather than stop after meeting her original goal.
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she → decide → goal
Her products began appearing at community events and local businesses, bringing her into contact with more customers.
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products → begin → customers
One of the places where she sells her creations is Urban Swirl & Scoop, a self-service frozen yoghurt shop.
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she → sell → creations
The shop's owner, Chrissy Harper, saw a connection between the way customers served themselves frozen yoghurt and the activity offered through Lexi's products.
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customers → see → products
"We are a self-serve frozen yogurt place, so I thought a self-serve squishy place would be a win-win," Harper told WNDU.
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Harper → think → WNDU
The products have attracted customers of different ages.
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products → attract → ages
Harper recalled that even football players from the University of Notre Dame had taken part in making squishies at the shop.
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players → recall → shop
"We even had the Notre Dame football players in here- big old guys, over at this bar making squishies.
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We → make → squishies
So, it's for any age," she said.
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she → say → age
Videos of products get eight million views
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Videos → get → views
While Lexi was meeting customers at local events, her business was also gaining attention on social media.
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business → meet → media
She created a Facebook page for Slime & Squish on October 1.
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She → create → October
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
