Most teenagers begin looking for jobs while they are in high school. The problem of job searching, however, does not affect everyone.

“My family owns two Honeybaked Ham stores, one in Highland and one in Merrillville. They have had the stores for 15 years,” Justine Misch (12) said.

Having a family business is a huge commitment that takes over one’s life.

“I would always go to the stores with my dad growing up and learned to love the business. The stores definitely felt like a second home,” Misch said.

Those who own businesses have opportunities to use their position to benefit others through donations and sponsorships.

“We donated hams to a homeless shelter around Christmas. I was so happy that we could help other people and make sure that they had a good meal for the holidays. The shelter was very thankful and I loved the fact that we were helping people in need. We also sponsored the Lake Central girl’s basketball team golf outing for two years in a row. We’re even a sponsor for the Color Run,” Misch said.

Learning how a business is run is not easy work. This knowledge, though, is extremely beneficial for future career plans.

“Through this experience, I realized that I would like to pursue business in college. Being around the business and seeing how everything worked showed me that business is something that I enjoy and want to pursue in the future. I’m happy that my family has a business and I have learned a lot from them,” Misch said.