Hands-on experience is one of the most beneficial things students can get during high school, but it can be difficult to get it with the structured curriculum. However, business teacher Clay Carlton incorporated a project into his Intro to Business course that helped students get an experience similar to owning a small business.
“One of the projects we did was to have students create their own business and put it into action,” Carlton said. “I thought this was a good way to put what we learn about in the classroom to use.”
In total, three groups of students came up with business ideas that were used.
“The ‘Brookie Bros,’ a business which specialized in the making of delicious and delightful brookies, ‘Box Car Coffee,’ a business which specialized in a multitude of seasonal coffee flavors and ‘MB Cookies,’ a company which specialized in the production of delicious cookies baked anywhere from medium to well done,” Carlton said.
Because students knew they would be selling to their peers, some strategy went into the kind of business they wanted to create.
“We mainly wanted to sell something food-wise, just because it’s easy to make and most people want food during school,” said sophomore Carson Hollst, who was part of the Brookie Bros group.
The process included a lot of planning and testing on the students’ part to make sure the process and the products would be perfect.
“First, we had to make a list of all the materials that we would need for our business to come to life, and then we had to make a business plan,” said sophomore Kylie Woster, who was part of the Box Car Coffee group. “We tested out coffees and mixed up the recipes, and then we started selling at school.”
Because much of the business planning has to do with financials, groups had to carefully plan out products to ensure there would be a profit.
“We did surveys to see what all people would want to buy, so then we knew what we should sell more of to see what we would profit off of,” said sophomore Amalea Vaughn-Lantzer, who was part of the Box Car Coffee group.
The skills learned in these projects will be helpful for any student wanting to start or run their own business.
“Students learned about customer service, how to work under pressure and cooperation with a team. Along with that, students learned how to write a business plan, plan for and order inventory and track their income and expenses,” Carlton said.
Though the process of starting a business may seem daunting, avoiding overcomplication is what senior Brody Glover took away from the project.
“I learned that business plans aren’t…supposed to be hard,” said Glover, who was part of the MB Cookies group. “With any business that you try to do, you should be able to have a business plan ready for it or just have a plan in mind.”
Even if the students don’t plan on becoming an entrepreneur or business owner, there are still benefits from this project.
“These things are important because it helps students with their organization, problem solving and creative thinking,” Carlton said. “Whether or not students ever start or run their own business, they can use the skills to be successful in their future careers.”
