Tip Top Thrift Shop: Student Entrepreneurs
By Elise Siebert
Here at Jenks High School, Juniors Maddie Hanger and Megan Tibbett have turned their passion for thrift shopping into a business. Tip Top Thrift Shop is an Instagram account that started in January of this year. The two girls started the shop as a small account where they sold different thrifted items and it has now grown into a business with over 140 thousand followers.
“We evolved and started the mystery bundle which is three, four or five t-shirts in a package that they can buy and that’s kind of how we got bigger,” says Tibbett. “From there we stopped with the bidding and started making our own clothing as well.”
While the account gained followers quickly due to the help of other small businesses and influencers. The large growth for Tip Top Thrift Shop is due to the popular item the Thrifted Mystery Bundle. The girls have also started to design their own shirts, including vintage sweatshirts, crop tops and t-shirts.
“Every Wednesday we go thrifting and we will go and buy 100 to 200 shirts and then we wash them, fold them, then put them on shelves. Then pretty much until the next Wednesday, we just package and get everything ready,” says Tibbett.
Not only are Tibbett and Hanger running a business, they also like to be involved at school. To balance the business and school, the two girls have a structure on how they run Tip Top Thrift Shop. While Hanger focuses more on the Instagram account, financial, and customer service side of the business, Tibbett works with the orders and packaging.
“Another challenge that we face is school,” says Hanger when discussing how they balance work and school, “Sometimes it's hard when we don't have enough time with the amount of orders we are getting, but we can’t stop people from getting the orders. So it’s a challenge keeping up with it.”
Even with their busy schedules, these business owners still find time to manage everyday life as a teenager and also run their store. They work hard to appeal to a large audience with their passion for recycling clothing and a love for thrifting. Tip Top Thrift Shop is only continuing to grow and is also setting an example for younger business owners to come.
Be sure to check out Tip Top Thrift Shop on instagram at @tip.top.thrift.shop and the online store at www.tiptopthriftshop.co to shop their products.
