Two brothers from Cal State Long Beach are among a growing number of Gen Z college students turning to TikTok and online entrepreneurship to combat rising costs from inflation and tariffs while building real-world business skills.
Francisco Arguello, 25, owner and founder of the small online business D’ORO Brand, balances his heavy civil construction major and construction engineering minor with running his growing merchandise company.
“It’s not just about making money, it’s about building a brand and learning real-world skills that college doesn’t always teach directly,” Francisco said. “People often think it’s just a side hustle or something small. They don’t realize the level of planning, creativity and responsibility it takes.”
Francisco, a Cerritos College alumn, began his journey as a small business owner in the beginning of 2023 as a way to not only find more time and financial freedom as a college student, but also explore many of his personal interests.
Currently, he sells caps, sombreros, clothing items, footwear and other accessories, but is always adding new merchandise to his store. “I wanted to build something of my own that combined my interests in fashion, culture and entrepreneurship.
Starting D’ORO while in college allowed me to take what I was learning in my construction and business courses like management, budgeting and marketing and apply it to something real.”
Having just left his previous part-time shipping job at apparel company VF Corporation, Francisco was determined to succeed in his new endeavor.
Although his academic performance wasn’t impacted on paper, he said he definitely had to put in a bit more effort to keep up with schoolwork and consistently work on customer orders and social media for his business.
“Sometimes you have to sacrifice free time or sleep to make sure both sides succeed. Social life gets limited sometimes, but it’s worth it because I’m building something long-term,” Francisco continued.
Despite some of his struggles and risks when it comes to starting a small business, Francisco said he definitely recommends other college students look into starting their own and sees it as an opportunity for not only flexibility, but also learning new skills.
Following in his footsteps is Francisco’s younger brother Daniel Arguello, 19, who is the owner and founder of the small online business Hat Department & Apparel Co. and sells a variety of apparel and accessories as well.
He began his own business during his senior year of high school in 2024, and continues to run it while attending Cal State Long Beach full-time as a mechanical engineering major. Thanks to his early start, he was able to buy his first car, a 2023 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, on his own within the first six months.
Both Daniel and Francisco say that on average, they usually put in around 15 to 20 hours a week solely for their business, but can easily go up to 30-plus hours, especially when they have a spike in sales.
At times, he said that he even finds running his business difficult because he has to manage his time according to the operating hours of his local United States Postal Service to be able to ship out customer packages on time.
“A lot of people think my job is easy. Some think it’s easy because they think I put little to no time into the business, which is false. I can guarantee that some people would give up when it comes to the promoting and marketing portions of the business because some people might get discouraged when they receive little to no orders,” Daniel said.
When it comes to his academic performance and social life, Daniel says that he definitely saw some changes, but believes that all students who work and study simultaneously will have a similar experience.
“In high school, I used to be able to go out almost every day where now, I only go out two days out of the week, and sometimes not at all. Last year my finals week had me staying at home or at the campus library studying until 3 a.m. for weeks!”
Regardless of all the struggles and sacrifices that come with running a small business, Daniel too says that he would encourage other college and high school students to think about starting their own entrepreneurial journey for its learning opportunities and ability to become more financially independent.
