Teen mixes sage and coffee in business venture

Devyn Valandra, 18, a Stevens High School student, plans to become a business owner. He is in the development stages, but already has a product available – coffee infused with sage extract. (Photo by Richie Richards)

RAPID CITY – A high school student in Rapid City has taken the initial steps of creating his own business, through coffee infused with sage.
Devyn Valandra (Oglala Lakota), 18, is a senior at Stevens High School in Rapid City and has designed a product which he has available to a limited market. Valandra is an A/B student and getting ready to graduate and has been accepted into Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Before transferring to the next level, he hopes to get his dreams of becoming an entrepreneur off the ground.
The senior student has been working closely with Black Hills Community Loan Fund in Rapid City to develop a working business plan which he can use to find funding, develop his product, find his market, and build relationships with potential clients and customers. Business Development Specialist, Shannon Ahhaitty of BHCLF has been working closely with Valandra in guiding him through the process of taking his coffee idea and putting it into a mainstream market.
Amongst his favorite classes in Stevens has been his Intro to Business Class. “I have a passion for business, so it gave me a jump start with my coffee business,” said Valandra. “Sometime around 7th grade I became passionate about business. I like shoes and I’ve always wanted to own a shoe store. From then, I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur.”
Valandra grew up in Rapid City and spent some time in Porcupine, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His passion for becoming a business owner came from outside of his home. It was during his business class at Stevens that he received his inspiration. “My Intro to Business teacher, Ms. Jacobs, really helped push me with this. She encouraged me a lot and go forward with this idea,” he said.
The soon-to-be-college student says the surprising thing he learned during this business class has been being patient. Also, he feels the relationships he forms with employees is important. “Without employees, it all falls on you,” he said. “I can’t let the business fail.”
“My business plan is currently still in development. We are still meeting, and me and Shannon are about to go over it. We are going over the ideas, and how to work with my product. Right now, I’m trying to find my target market,” said Valandra. “I hope to get it off the ground soon and start selling.”
Valandra’s product is coffee with a sage extract. Although secretive with his process and ratios, he simply states that his coffee grounds are a mixed with sage leaves. He calls his blend, “Exhilarating Coffee Columbian Sage Blend”. He is working with a distributor for his coffee beans and picks his own sage, in a location he chooses not to share publicly. “As I grow as a business, I can add different coffees and more flavors,” he said.
“From my Native American ancestry, we used it for many, many years. I’ve always known about sage tea, but I never heard about it in coffee,” he said. “A lot of people drink coffee, even my age.” Valandra understands the medicinal properties of sage and thinks this is an importance component to his product. He has his blend down to a science and adds that without the right ratio, the blend would be bitter in taste. Valandra states, the sage in his blend helps to increase blood flow, has anti-oxidants, and helps in reducing Alzheimer’s disease.
Valandra has been a student in a unique class offered at Stevens High School. The course is called Job Shadow and Youth Internship. Students begin the semester in a classroom setting. They complete interest and personality assessments, do exercises in work ethics, research careers, build resumes and practice doing job interviews. “During the middle weeks of the semester, they explore careers of interest through industry tours, career interviews, college and career camps, orientation processes, job shadows and internships. I help them set up these experiences with our community partners,” said Lori Storm, Internship Coordinator at Stevens High School.
During this semester, Valandra has attended two industry tours, at Monument Health Orthopedic and Specialty Hospital and Coca Cola High Country, These tours offer behind the scenes looks at local businesses and feedback from professionals.
“Last semester, Devyn created a business plan for his sage-infused coffee idea during a business course at Stevens. He has entered his plan in the Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition to be held in April,” said Storm. “For his internship, Devyn is working with Shannon Ahheitty at Black Hills Community Loan Fund. Shannon is helping Devyn navigate the procedures required to make his business plan a reality. Later in the semester, Devyn will also complete a job shadow with a local small business.”
Devyn Valandra plans to pursue business management and entrepreneurship in his post-high school education. He plans to further develop his coffee blend. For now, the coffee can be found at Stevens High School, where he has sold a few cups to students. His business plan includes finding funding to support his business. He hopes to use environmentally-sensitive products for his business and is currently seeking support from those in the business world.

(Contact Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com)

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