Mineola High School senior Kingston Straznicky is already getting a head start in the business world.
The 17-year-old owns and operates two businesses, Frontier Vending and Frontier Trailers, while balancing school and extracurricular activities.
Straznicky said his interest in entrepreneurship came naturally, but he credits his father, Steve, with providing inspiration and support. His first venture began after his parents encouraged him to find a job.
“So I started Frontier Trailers, which is something that I saw on YouTube. And a year later, I started Frontier Vending because I wanted to reinvest the money I was making from flipping trailers into something that could make me passive income,” Straznicky said.
Frontier Vending now operates six vending machines across East Texas, while Frontier Trailers has refurbished and sold more than 30 trailers over the past two years.
Building the businesses has not been without challenges.
“For Frontier Vending, the challenge was selling myself to different companies that don’t know who I am or anything about me. For every one ‘maybe,’ you get 100 ‘no’s,’” Straznicky said.
The two businesses also present different challenges. With Frontier Trailers, Straznicky must find trailers at prices that leave room for him to refurbish and resell them. Being in school during the day can limit the time he has to search the market for potential deals.
At school, Straznicky is involved with “The Nest Gameday Broadcast,” a livestreamed sports broadcast produced through Mineola High School’s career and technical education program.
“My interest was sparked by Coach Goodson. I really respect him as a godly man and as a coach and teacher. When he asked if I would help out, because it was him and also because I still wanted to be involved with the community and sports since I don’t play, I felt like it was a good opportunity to get involved,” Straznicky said.