Having started a clothing line in Nov. 2007, 16-year-old junior Justin Bettman'ss high school job is anything but typical. Unlike most teenage workers, he is more focused on spreading the word about it rather than trying to avoid it.



Late last year, Bettman introduced his music-inspired line, Venaca Clothing. Having been an avid listener of music since middle school, Bettman was highly influenced by it

and wanted to see what his contribution could be to this industry.



"Clothing called to me because it was cheaper and easier to execute. I would say I like designing art for shirts and I definitely have a certain clothing style that I'm aiming for,"said Bettman. "We are aiming to fit primarily the music scene. In addition, we are reaching out to the skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing scene."



The theme of the Venaca Clothing line is Limited Edition, meaning that all shirts are only printed once, regardless of whether they sell out. Two-hundred of Bettman's five designs have already sold out and only 30 are left of the design, "The Logo at Large."? Prices range anywhere from $11.95-$19.95 depending on how much the individual T-shirt costs to make and can be purchased at www.venacaclothing.com.



Bettman also mentioned that the money earned from Venaca Clothing sales are reinvested, but the company is definitely not in the red. "When creating a line, you need something that sets you apart from the other, and doing it limited edition just fell into place,"? said Bettman regarding his decision.



Although Venaca Clothing currently only includes T-shirts, Bettman sees plans to expand in the near future, possibly turning his line into a mainstream clothing line. "My goal would be to start having it in most stores in the next year and expanding to shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters and hats."

With the publicity that Venaca Clothing is receiving, Bettman's goal seems nothing less than attainable. Bettman has found many supporters along the way including family, friends and even sponsors.



"My parents were initially worried that it would take up my school time," said Bettman. "The marketing aspect does take up most of my time but my grades have actually gone up."



Bettman receives more than moral support from his family. His mother, Eileen Bettman, is a financial analyst and frequently helps him with financial tracking regarding Venaca Clothing profits.



Aside from close knit support from family, Bettman finds much encouragement coming from his friends.

"They [my friends] are definitely helping me getting the word out and they're buying clothes to support me," said Bettman.



Sophomore Danny Todd manages the Venaca Clothing Street Team on Myspace.com to get the word out about the clothing as well as to inform people about getting the clothes before they sell out. In addition, he designed the original artwork for the Venaca Clothing website. Todd, a close friend of Bettman's, has a feel of who Bettman is as a friend versus being a boss of his own company.



"He's confident, organized and he's very on top of things," said Todd about Bettman's work ethic.

"He's a really nice guy and he's going to go far. It's amazing to start from nothing and get to something big,"? said Todd. "Most of the people at our school have heard of Venaca Clothing."



Students are not the only ones who are sporting Venaca Clothing. As of now, Bettman sponsors up-and-coming musician Nathan Lazzara, who is the brother of lead vocalist Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, Ashes to Ashes and We Shot the Moon.



"We sponsor them by giving them free shirts to wear,� said Bettman. "In return, they wear them on stage and spread the word."



Sponsoring bands is definitely a perk in this industry, mentioned Bettman, who has a chance to hang out with the bands before and after shows. "Hanging backstage is fun. All the bands we sponsor are very down to earth and friendly, and it's fun to listen in on their funny stories and experiences,"? said Bettman.



Aside from sponsoring bands, Bettman sponsors a filming company called 151 Films, which promotes Venaca Clothing by having bands wear it in their music videos or having people wear it in the movies they shoot. For a press interview regarding 151 Films, Frank Door, the C.E.O., wore a Venaca T-shirt.



With so much having happened since last November, the Venaca Clothing line is off to a promising start, but Bettman knows that nothing is guaranteed.



"Realistically, I don't know how far it will go. If something happens to it, it's not the end of the world, but I would like to keep it going for as long as it can," said Bettman.



Bettman does not plan to pursue Venaca Clothing as a full-time career but will continue it through college. Instead, Bettman hopes to pursue a career involving people skills and possibly business. Bettman said that through the experience of having had an opportunity to start up his own clothing line, he has learned an immense part of being an entrepreneur that he could apply to another start up if he chose to, as well as other skills such as maintaining a strict financial record, writing a business plan and learning how to network.



Bettman said, "This experience has taught me that no matter what people say, if I really do put my mind to something, it can be accomplished. It's very cliche, but true."