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Teen, 16, Goes Into Tree-Tapping Business, Gets Own Brand of Maple Syrup in 100 Stores
BY Louise Bevan

An entrepreneurial teen with a soft spot for maple syrup is inspiring others by running a thriving company at the age of 16.

High school junior Will Wanish started out tapping maple trees in his own backyard in Colfax, Wisconsin. In 2019, he used money earned working at a neighbor’s dairy farm to build his first steel sugar shed.

Securing a microloan from a regional business fund, he furnished the shed with $30,000 worth of specialized equipment, allowing him to collect sap from around 3,000 taps on 1,000 trees on land owned by his grandparents and neighbors.

This is how his company, Wanish Sugar Bush, was born. “This is all I think about,” Will told Kare 11.
Epoch Times Photo
(Courtesy of Wanish Sugar Bush)

It was Will’s uncle who first ignited his nephew’s passion for maple syrup in 2017, tending 800 trees. Will’s father, Todd, was initially skeptical, claiming, “You can go to Walmart and buy a gallon of Mrs. Butterworth’s for seven bucks,” but he came around when his son branched off on his own solo venture, which soon turned into a fruitful business model.

Will’s taps siphon maple sap into 300-gallon tanks, where the 100 percent pure syrup is heated, collected, and bottled after school hours. Todd and Heather, Will’s parents, joke that they are the “unpaid interns.” The teen’s grandfather also lends a hand; friends and neighbors pitch in when production gets busy.

“No, he’s not your normal 16-year-old,” local dairy farmer Dane Suvada said.

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https://www.theepochtimes.com/teen-16-goes-into-tree-tapping-business-gets-own-brand-of-maple-syrup-in-100-stores_3748677.html

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