Jupiter is home to two successful entrepreneurs who aren’t even out of high school yet. Senior Luke Shaw has his own painting business. Junior Austyn Roth has his own landscaping businesses. Both students are hugely successful in the area and have plans to grow their ventures in the future.

In Oct. 2019, Shaw created his company, Tequesta Painting LLC, and is well-known in Jupiter and Tequesta for his interior and exterior house painting, and for his incredible mural art.

“After seeing my parents and friends create their own businesses, it gave me the inspiration to start my own,” Shaw said. “My dad first gave me small painting jobs from people we knew to help spread my name. My good friend Devon Rasmus’s mom hired me to paint one of my first murals. I like how she encouraged me to think outside of the box and gave me the freedom to paint something unique for their home.”

Shaw started painting with family friends, and shortly after, his talent made him a household name around town. Balancing his schoolwork, his job at 1000 North and his own business, Luke has learned how to be a young, successful entrepreneur. 

“I learned my business techniques by asking people who own their own businesses. I really want to learn all that I can to help grow my business,” Shaw said. “My part-time job at 1000 North helps me with communication skills because a high level of customer service is required when interacting with members and guests.”

Like Shaw, Roth started his own landscaping company called Lucky Landscaping LLC. He services homes and businesses from Miami to Orlando. 

Roth started this business when he was just eight years old, and the company has grown into a profitable business with sales last year over $400,000. 

“I was influenced by multiple entrepreneurs. I researched online and learned as much information as I could,” Roth said. “Most of my business skills came from teaching myself, and trial and error. Another great way to learn is networking with competitors and industry influencers.”

Roth’s original motivation to start his company to make money quickly and easily, by cutting people’s grass. He came upon a few YouTube videos of young entrepreneurs between the ages of 12 and 16 years who were making money by mowing lawns. He learned from their success and started adding more services to his business, like manicuring lawns and hedges, and his company developed into what it is today. However, it hasn’t always been an easy task.

“In late 2018, we were grossing over $30,000 a month in revenue for routine law maintenance. Money was rolling in, and I started chasing large installation jobs … our maintenance quality lacked, [we had] skipped visits and poor infrastructure in place. This resulted in us losing nearly 50% of our customers within a 60-day period,” Roth said.

One characteristic of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to come back after a fall. Roth showed he had this skill when his company bounced back after 2018 into a six-figure company in 2020.