Big Dreams, Small Business: AZVA Senior Turns Creativity into Commerce

Linda is a senior at Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) balancing a full schedule. Not only is she running a successful small business, but she’s also excelling in her classes, preparing for graduation and planning for college. She attributes AZVA’s flexible learning environment as the key to making it all possible.

Since she was young, Linda knew she wanted to own her own business. Creative, driven, and eager for financial independence, she didn’t want to wait to start building her future.

Her entrepreneurial journey began in middle school, selling homemade slime. But it wasn’t until age 15 that she discovered a skill she could turn into something bigger: crocheting. Teaching herself through YouTube videos, Linda started creating small plush animals like octopuses and whales, which quickly became the first products in her Etsy shop.

That hobby soon grew into The Little Guppy Shop, an online store featuring crocheted creatures, scarves, and hats. The name itself is a personal touch, one Linda credits to her older sibling who gave her the childhood nickname, “Little Guppy.”

She typically spends the mornings focused on school, attending classes, completing assignments and connecting with her Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) team. In the afternoons, she shifts her focus to her business, creating new products, fulfilling orders and building her brand online.

She promotes her shop across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, and while it took a few months to land her first sale, she stuck with it. Her persistence paid off.

Linda has learned consistency is everything, sharing, “the competition is strong, but I had a goal. I wanted to make that dream a reality, and I did.”

AZVA’s curriculum has also helped her grow as a small business owner. Through Mike Sanders’ entrepreneurship and small business class in the Business CTE Pathway, Linda gained valuable knowledge about branding, logo creation and pricing psychology. These are skills she actively uses in her business today.

Mr. Sanders has also helped Linda connect with local pop-up markets, and she has been a vendor at the AZVA and Insight Academy of Arizona’s (ISAZ) Fall and Spring Family Fun Days. Both have been great opportunities to increase her brand awareness and to connect face-to-face with her customers.

Although she plans to continue her Etsy shop as long as she can, Linda eventually hopes to launch a new business creating hygiene products for women. She is passionate about improving product safety and challenging inequities in the women’s health market.

After graduation Linda plans to become a certified phlebotomist, where she will be able to help people in their health journeys while also earning money to put toward her hygiene-product business.

Linda’s story is a great example of how AZVA empowers students to pursue their passions while staying on track academically. With the flexibility to explore interests and the support of dedicated teachers, students like Linda are turning big dreams into real-world success.

Linda added, “Joining a K12 school is one of the best decisions I have made. I built many close friendships and meaningful connections, and I learned so much thanks to how accessible the AZVA learning experience is. The range of extracurricular programs and scholarships offered to students is also amazing – I have never encountered a school that cares so deeply about its students and their success.”

Visit the AZVA Enrollment Page and learn how your student can take advantage of these opportunities too.