Yet University of Montana students Moneesha Johnson, 24, and Matt King, 25, have found a way to both sightsee and make money.
For the past seven years, the enterprising couple has traveled to Southeast Asia to visit exotic landscapes - and to bring home clothing and jewelry to sell upon their return.
Just back from a four-week buying trip and vacation in Thailand, Johnson and King are settling into a routine where they attend classes at UM by day and, by night, unpack the $10,000 worth of merchandise they shipped home.
“It's harder than it looks and it's harder work than it might seem,” King said. “But it works for us.”
The couple began dating eight years ago, when they were in high school - Johnson at Hellgate and King at Sentinel. A year later, they were still together, but neither had a notion to own and operate an import business.
“It was kind of a whim, that's how this whole thing started,” Johnson said. “I was in Bali and Indonesia on a family trip with my parents in the summer of 2001, and I was really excited about the shopping and by the things I saw. I thought about buying a few things, and then I thought about buying 30 things to bring them home to sell. I e-mailed Matt and he said, ‘Sure, I'll help.' ”
The then-teenagers sank $100 into their initial inventory of sarongs and jewelry, and made a tidy profit.
“We only planned to do it one time and be done with it, but we realized this kind of business would allow us to travel,” King said.
These days, the couple takes one major buying trip a year, usually to Thailand, bringing home women's and children's clothing, purses and jewelry. Most of the merchandise is sold at the People's Market in Missoula during the summer. When there is a break in their class schedules, the couple will sometimes set up a booth in the University Center during fall and spring semesters.
King said they've gotten savvy at mixing business with pleasure. When they travel, be it to a concert in the Northwest or a quick trip to Hawaii, they'll take their Thai-made goods along to sell and turn the trip into a tax write-off.
As the couple has gotten more comfortable conducting business and getting to know suppliers, the business has grown.
“Working for ourselves and how we have done it is a successful business model,” Johnson said. “The challenges we have now are do we want to get any bigger, and finding the ideal item to sell. We have some questions about clothing - it takes a lot of time to buy and a lot of space to store.”
Finding and agreeing upon an official business name is also on their to-do list.
Laughing, Johnson said, “We sort of have an identity crisis right now because we are in transition.”
They likely won't tinker too much with the business over the next few years, not while Johnson finishes her master's degree in business administration and King finishes his undergraduate degree.
Aside from the traveling opportunities their business has provided, the couple said their real-world education has added an incredible perspective to their classroom education.
“Our school assignments are our business lessons, and I can really relate those lessons to my business,” he said.
“I think having the business experiences we have make our classes that much more valuable,” Johnson said. “It's been a great way to learn.”
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.
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