By Lena Foster
Oprah Winfrey said it best: “Do what you love, and the money will follow;” Black students are
learning that this message holds more weight to their personal development and creativity than
they think, especially in a world that may not always clap for their successes.
Students in this modern day are taking entrepreneurship to new heights by monetizing their passions and interests, making it even more possible to operate a business while in school. On
top of daily academic obligations, Black student entrepreneurs are expected to manage their
businesses while navigating through the societal adversities and disparities they encounter that
may try to halt their progress. Entrepreneurship not only gives Black students the opportunity to
build fundamental skills that they can use throughout life, but also sparks that desire within their
young minds to creatively prosper despite the curveballs that have been thrown their way.
For one Black student, her challenges helped her become equipped and confident enough to
take on a difficult task for most students: running a business. Ty’Viana Woodard of Lincoln High
School found purpose in her passion, and she transformed it into the perseverance she needs to thrive as a Black student entrepreneur.
“You can really change the world with designing clothes,” Woodard said. “I want to see if I can change the world with my business.”
Woodard, a Lincoln High junior, is the founder of Ty Wood’s Final Touch, a fashion business.
where she designs and sells clothes, masks and accessories. With a mission to encourage others to be their most authentic and unapologetic selves through style, Ty Wood’s Final Touch
has seen growth through the range of clientele that Woodard has worked with and the more.
complex clothing pieces she has had to produce.
The fashion entrepreneur learned how to sew during the pandemic by watching YouTube videos, and from there, she noticed a need in the world at the time: masks. She started designing various types of masks and accessories, and once demand for those items decreased, she took it a step further and started learning how to make clothes.
After getting more vital knowledge to move forward in the fashion scene, Woodard designed her
own homecoming gown, and when prom season came, she started making prom dresses for students. She even incorporated her business into her extracurricular activities at school by making uniforms for the Purple Flash dance team, which she is also a member of.
With her mom as her motivation, Woodard had encountered difficulties when it came to
operating her own brand as a student. She was up day and night working on one challenging client’s prom dress while trying to juggle school assignments. Woodard said after completing the dress and giving it to the client, she could do nothing but cry with her mom, feeling proud and accomplished. She was given the self-validation she needed to get back up and continue to put her talents and her story in the spotlight for others to be inspired by.
“I knew that I needed to keep going,” Woodard said.
Those fulfilling moments you experience as a student entrepreneur is what fuels that resilience and strengthens the innovative thinking that comes with spreading your business’ purpose. Throughout history, Black people have had to establish their own whenever we were forced out of or not welcomed to a space, and through entrepreneurship, Black students can evoke messages of hope, change, unity and inclusion through their growing interests in business.
Educating others on why we’re passionate about something can open people’s eyes and minds to a new perspective on that specific industry and its impact on culture. Through her business, Woodard wants to encourage people to think deeper about fashion and see it as more of an influence in the way we live our lives and the way we connect with others and ourselves.
Woodard also mentioned she discovered, through her experience as a designer, how fashion can be used to spread awareness and promote social reform and unity.
“Don’t view it as just clothes. I want it to be seen as more,” Woodard said. Entrepreneurship gives Black students the chance to take the initiative with creating a brand of their own that aligns with who they are and what they stand for. With determination and resilience, these student entrepreneurs could go above and beyond with their business while continuing to push a bigger purpose.
Woodard intends to go to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City after she graduates, then later open her own store.
