Blast From the Past: “Senior Cooks Up Her Own Business” by Kathleen Taylor
NEIRAD enilno edition
Strings instructor Jane Minnis has built a stellar reputation leading the DHS orchestra to musical greatness. But this is actually the second chapter in her DHS fame: Ms Minnis was quite the entrepreneur in her high school days here at DHS.
Neirad reporter Kathleen Taylor wrote Ms Minnis' story, which was first published in December of 1989. We wouldn’t be surprised if students who read this archival article start asking Ms Minnis to resume baking her “delicious delights!”
Look out Donald Trump! Jane Minnis is on the move to conquering the financial and business worlds. What began as a friendly gesture of baking cookies for four father’s coworkers has turned into a threat to Mrs. Field’s.
When Jane’s father left his company, the employees desire for her fresh baked cookies did not. Jane concluded that could begin charging her customers for her work, especially since the cookie lovers were no longer involved with her father’s career.
Over the past summer, the small business progressed to the point that Jane has made flyers and price lists advertising her delicious delights, which are handed out upon request. The business remains small, but Jane is not looking to go international at this point anyway.
Today, she still finds it hard to take her new found success seriously and commented, “I like baking a lot, eating the batter, especially for chocolate chip cookies, so I don’t think of it as an actual business. But people have really taken it seriously.”
This ambition did not just come fro anywhere. It began in 1984 when Jane’s mother invested her daughter’s birthday money in RCA stock, and from there the stock flourished.
Because Jane has been an avid musician since birth, she bought a harp with her riches and in later years bought a newer one from the fortunate profit of her Avon stock.
Saving, investing, spending, and profiting all come easy for Jane because, as she commented, “I’ve always liked saving money.” She went on to say, “When people would give me even a quarter I would save it in my piggy bank and then put it all in the bank where I knew it would all gain interest.”
Will it be hard to balance the business world and the music world in the future? Jane has it all figured out. She is hoping to attend Manhastanville College next fall majoring in music management. She has a head start considering that she is President of Tri-M this year.
Jane has a bright future ahead of her, knowing that if her music management fails, she can continue in some other field. “If not,” she said, “I can always try as has the next Mrs. Fields.”
