At the age of 10, senior Nick Sostak’s parents decided he would need to get a job in order to spend money or don’t spend at all. With no way of earning money, Sostak began creating his own businesses; Sostak has held the title of Entrepreneur for eight years.

“I run my own eBay business where I buy things about 65% lower than their value and then I’ll sell them and make 35-40% profits on them. I also run my own phone business, where I’ll buy phones and ship them off the middle east where they are worth a lot more there and fix them here as well,” Sostak said. “I also run the marketing for Monical Landscaping, which is one of my friends landscaping companies.”

Along with his own entrepreneurial activity, Sostak is on the work schedule at DGS, leaving at 11:45 am to work at Lou Malnati’s pizza.

“Nick is a self-motivator when he finds something he is interested in, he gives it his complete focus,” Career and Technical Education teacher Patrick Fardy said.

As Sostak’s entrepreneurship teacher, Fardy has gotten to know him as a student and as a businessman.

“Nick is very task-oriented who likes to take charge in group projects. He always has new ideas to bring forward in class,” Fardy said.

Friend and senior Ernie Monaco has noticed similar traits in Sostak as Fardy has.

“[He is] hard-working, very inspired and motivated to find new things and better things,” Fardy said. “He has very big things ahead of him.”

Sostak aims to expand his businesses and eventually buy the White Sox. Although, the first step in his plan is to be successful enough during college to drop out.

“Right now, I don’t think a degree is worth $50,000. I think people will start realizing that your degree is not worth as much as people tell you it is because once everybody has that piece of paper, it’s not going to be worth as much as people think,” Sostak said.

Although he has set his sights high, Fardy and Monaco believe he has the potential to be a successful entrepreneur.

“Nick has a very bright future in whatever he decides to do. Knowledge and experience are the keys to success as an entrepreneur. Nick has very good potential as an entrepreneur, he has drive and focus,” Fardy said.

Next year, Sostak plans to attend Illinois State University where he will further his education in the business field.