Starting a business is never easy, especially if you’re a student-athlete adding onto your day-to-day schedule. 

17-year old Hugo Acero started his baked potato business at 14 with the motive of making his own money. “I noticed people my age starting their own food businesses and it inspired me to start selling potatoes because I found that they were easy to make with cheap inventory and little supplies needed.” 

With the help of his mom, who encouraged his small business, he began selling potatoes from school, with additional deliveries made once orders were placed in the evening. 

He started by posting his potatoes from his own personal Instagram account, growing his business by friends and associates spreading the word via social media and associates. “It started out as selling to my friends and people from my classes, but after continuously selling for a month straight, most people knew that I sold potatoes,” he said. “In 5 months, my following on Instagram grew by a few hundred and people I didn’t even know were ordering potatoes.”

Once he started to build his clientele and have regular customers, he made his business account @hmc_eattts. While he has a separate account, he still takes orders on his personal account, @hugozz705, which prefers to sell on. “I feel like I make better sales when I post on my main, but I plan to start posting more on my business account soon,” he said. 

 “It’s difficult to set specific days to sell,” he said. “It really depends on the days I have work and if I have time.”

When making his deliveries, he begins making the potatoes after practice (6-7 P.M.) “I start off by washing the potatoes thoroughly and putting them in a large pot to boil,” he said. “Then after an hour or two when they’re soft, I cut them and start preparing the add-ons: salt, pepper, sour cream, cheese, bacon bits and jalapenos.” While customizations can be made, for example, no cheese or bacon, the standard potato has everything on them. 

Once the potatoes are finished, he prepares the boxes by adding foil to keep them warm and a fork to go with it. He starts the washing process at night and boils the potatoes a few hours before delivery to ensure freshness and to be easily prepared.

Although most of Acero’s clientele are students from school, he has been able to make connections with his free deliveries and has built up a steady clientele that will continue to support him after he graduates and has plans to expand his business in the future. “I think I could make a franchise out of this business, if I really commit to it,” he said. Acero not only wants to continue his baked potato business, but in the future, wants to also make his own products, such as butter, and grow his own potatoes.

Throughout the years of Acero building his business, he has learned many things and grown from this experience. “I’d advise people who want to start a business to be consistent,” Acero said. “It’s important to have connections and build relationships with people.”