Crabs State College: What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Running a business is no easy task. Doing it alone is even harder. But entrepreneurship isn’t for everybody. It requires determination to accomplish goals and reach aspirations. Penn State junior Emma Snelling is the perfect example of what it takes to build a business.
In one of her courses, Snelling was assigned a task to raise $600 dollars in just three weeks. That’s when she took to the drawing board. After a bit of brainstorming, she landed on an idea, inspired by her recent home in Maryland. That's when she customized the famous Maryland crab into her own.
In October 2020, she opened to the public her business Crabs State College and has been working to provide crabs and crab sandwiches ever since.
“In Maryland, it’s just a thing to go crack crabs with your friends,” Snelling says. “So I had this idea, ‘Why don't we sell crabs? I’ll sell cold crabs to frats and things like that.’ The sandwiches came later because the crabs were not doing so well.”
Snelling says despite the class project ending a week ago, she is having fun building her brand and plans to continue. She says in order to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must have drive and be passionate about what you're doing.
“When you're starting a business, you have to be dedicated to it,” Snelling said. “It’s not really something that you can just put off to the side, especially when you start because you have to get your name out. Nothing is going to happen if you sit there and wait for people to come to you.”
She understands that her idea might not be loved by everyone, but that won't stop her.
“There are people who are going to say to your face, ‘oh, this is stupid’ or ‘this is weird,’” Snelling said. “ You have to know that your product is worth all the time you are putting into it.”
More information can be found on her Crabs State College Instagram page. She says 20% of all profit will be donated to THON.
Kyle Cannillo is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email kcannillo1@gmail.com.