As the Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Ensemble’s Malanka event drew to a close on Jan. 13, Matthew Mandziuk said goodbye to his company.
Mandziuk, the president of Once a Bottle Time, provided 40 bottles with decorative lights to the event. It was the final order for the business, which recently liqudated its assets.
“It was a lot fun, but stressful,” Mandziuk said. “[I’m] excited to get it over with.”
Mandziuk started Once a Bottle Time as part of his Entrepreneurship 30 class at Yorkton Regional High School. He worked with 8 other classmates to get the company off the ground. They’ve taken their products to numerous conferences and luncheons.
As part of the class, Once a Bottle Time liqudated its assets.
“It was a great class and a great experience,” he said.
Mandziuk discussed his company’s history and successes at a Yorkton Chamber of Commerce (YCC) breakfast at St. Gerard’s Hall on Jan. 11.
“It was exciting [to present] because the people here are on the board for a reason,” he said. “They’re interested in this stuff.
“It’s nice to get our name out there even more.”
Tamara Kerluke Holowatuik also discussed her company at the YCC breakfast. She was the president of Hang Loose, which was created in the Entrepreneurship 30 class. Her company collected branches and draped yarn over them. The company is in the process of being liqudated.
“It’ll be nice because the stress will be gone,” she said. “But...it was such a great experience for the real world.”
The two presidents plan to take the lessons they learned from their businesses far past high school.
“I really learned that you should not be afraid to speak up...and make your business the best it can be,” Holowatuik said.
“I can bring a lot of stuff I learned in Entrepreneurship 30 to the University of Saskatchewan next year,” Mandziuk said.
Holowatuik and Mandziuk advised students who take Entrepreneurship 30 to prepare themselves.
“Make sure you have enough time to do the class, because it’s...an investment,” Holowatuik said. “Emotionally, physically, everything.”
“It’s definitely a lot more work than you think [it’ll be],” Mandziuk said. “In the end, it’s very rewarding.”
