Whether for gas, after school snacks, cool shoes, or any other hobby, high school students have always needed money. But with all the activities our Mount Vernon students are involved in, it is difficult to fit in time for a job.
Number 24, Jack Carnes, is the kicker for the varsity football team here at Mount Vernon. During his first year in high school, Carnes realized he needed to start making money. As an older sibling, he needed to find a way to fund not only his escapades but his eighth grade sister’s too.
With the added struggle of balancing his second summer of conditioning on the Mount Vernon football team, he needed to find a job with fluid hours. Carnes was lucky enough to find the sweet spot using his entrepreneur mindset. Instead of the typical job, like working at the pool over summer, he turned to ads and online marketing.
Carnes first tried jobs like dropshipping but didn’t yet find that spark. Though he does something similar, he found the most interesting part was the marketing side.
Blackwater Marketing is the name of his business he’s been running since June 2025. It helps over thirty five global brands “scale to $50,000 a month.”
Carnes markets for companies in a few different ways. He starts with cold DMs and emails, then proceeds with calls. He used his calm, professional demeanor to talk to clients in order to secure the partnership. His biggest motivation is growing his business and teaching others how to do the same on his Instagram. “More brands means more outreach and better results,“ Carnes said. His passion for media marketing is surpassed by his passion to grow his business.
Carnes advertises for local small businesses, like another student at Mount Vernon High School, senior Caleb Keegan’s house cleaning services. He also has clients in Germany and other European countries. A common difficulty is communication between those clients because of the seven- hour time difference. “There are clients in Europe who are only available from 10 until about noon,” Carnes said.
Though most people struggle with marketing’s complex rules, it came naturally to Carnes, and he’s found great success. Of course he needed some guidance, so he put himself in the position to succeed. He has taken business classes like Kirkwood Intro to Business and also took Digging Into Finance with Mr. Namanny and Mr. Roberts. He plans to go on to a business marketing job.
