A new business is in the basement of Boothbay Region High School (BRHS). Led by Nick Scott and Chip Schwehm, students are gaining firsthand experience of what it's like being an entrepreneur in BRHS’s Making & Marketing class.  

“I've always liked the idea of having a business and figuring out the ways to handle that business, so I wanted to see how it would be in a school space,” said sophomore Alex Ross. 

Each year, students brainstorm and create a product they then market and sell to community members. It’s a self-sustaining system, with the profits rolling into the next budget. Last year, students earned $500 selling homemade wind chimes and donated their surplus to class graduation funds. The budget this year is $600. 

Sophomore Ethan Clark explained, the eight-person class brainstormed and whittled down to five contenders: birdhouses, cutting boards, spice racks, pickleball rackets and dodgeball holders. Cutting board won nearly unanimously, and “Portside Planks” was born.  

After prototyping and surveying teachers and staff, students settled on selling traditional boards in three sizes. Small $24.99 (9" x 12"), medium $44.99 (15" x 11") and large $59.99 (19" x 13") are available for purchase online (sites.google.com/aos98schools.org/portsideplanks/).  

“The design and making process hasn't been too hard, but (it) hasn't been super easy with (the) limited amount of labor,” Clark said.  

The sentiment was shared by his classmates, but the group has made it work with different students zeroing in on either product creation or marketing. Each sector has difficulties. Aron Geddes shared the hassle of gluing and clamping the boards fast enough, so they don’t shift.  

It’s also been a learning curve to create a website for the first time. Alex Ross and Ross Gaffney have been the main forces behind the marketing campaign, creating webpages and social media accounts. Some features on their website include a handy guide to figure out what size cutting board fits best with your needs. Want a surface for slicing fruits and mincing garlic? They recommend the small.  

While browsing, curious shoppers can view a video section that shows students sawing, gluing and clamping until the board is finished.  

But despite challenges, Scott praised the ease with which students interact with one another, and their work ethic in keeping the project moving forward. 

“They look for things to do, as opposed to like, ‘I did this one thing, and now I'm going to retreat and dissolve into the background’ ... They've been really good at finding their role and then being attentive to it,” he said.  

Portside Planks is on Instagram and Facebook.