CCE students: Have business, will sell product

(Photo by Kris Todd) Clay Central/Everly students enrolled in this semester's Introduction to Business class are creating companies and selling products. From left: Angie Geerdes models a hemp necklace being sold by Fancypants representatives; Austin Klett shows samples of the personalized dog tags J.A.K.A.N. Corp. members are selling; Caleb Langner displays the Clay Central/Everly Mavericks water bottles Active Fitness team members are offering; and Sam Rayner holds one of the sign-up sheets interested parties may sign for a Garbage T's T-shirt promoting the CCE music department. [Order this photo]

"It's a hands-on experience," Kardell explained of the project. "They have to do things that you would do with running a business. They have to figure out who has what responsibility and they have to be accountable for each other. They have to deal with money, honesty and they have to learn how to work together."

The 20 sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in the class are being charged with selling their companies respective products, which range from personalized dog tags and Clay Central/Everly Mavericks sport water bottles to hemp jewelry and T-shirts promoting the school's music department.

The students have been broken into four groups. As they've created their company and named it, they've also designed a mission statement.

Each team has also assigned its players roles within the company.

The group's manager leads and makes sure everyone is on track and completing their required tasks. Its accountant and financial manager assists in setting the company's pricing points, as well as keeping track of all incoming and outgoing cash.

The customer service and sales manager decides how and where sales should take place and ensures customer needs are being met.

Besides deciding the methods of advertising to utilize, the company's promotion and advertising manager is responsible for communicating information about the company's product to customers.

And, similar to the company's manager, the task manager is responsible for tasks being completed. This business designee will pick up the slack from other group members.

To date, each team has identified its target market, its method of advertising, how its sales will take place and where its members can sell the company product. Once their prospective products were ratified by their teacher and CCE Principal Al Laboranti, the four teams were each handed $200 from the district's general fund to start the buying process.

"Some of the companies, I know, weren't able to buy all that they wanted to," Kardell said. "But, once they make money from sales, they can reorder."

The CCE teenagers, who were given the go-ahead to begin selling after school dismissed on Wednesday, will have through Friday, May 1 to sell their products. At that time, all the sales will be tallied and Kardell will calculate which team has made the most money.

"I don't grade on how much they sell," she said. "I had a group last year that ended up with sales in the red. And, it wasn't because of their selling or their ads. It was just because they had a product that didn't sell. They didn't get a poor grade because it was a learning experience and their write-ups were very good on things that they would change and how they would do it differently."

Business: Fancypants

Nick Madson, Carly Scott, Caleb Batschelet, Angie Geerdes and Nitasha Howe make up this group. They've chosen to sell hemp necklaces and bracelets because they're a "low-cost product that everyone can wear."

"We have bracelets for girls and we have bracelets for boys. There's something for everyone," Scott, the Fancypants finance manager, said of their product. "And, they're creative."

"But, there's only so many of certain bracelets," she warned. "So, once the bracelets we have are gone, we probably won't get anymore of them."

The Fancypants representatives searched the Internet to find the Canadian gentleman who is designing each of their pieces by hand to serve as their company's vendor . They chose to purchase their wares in bulk from him rather than buying individual bracelets and necklaces because it was less expensive.

By Thursday afternoon, this team had sold 26 jewelry pieces. They reported people had been waiting for the hemp bracelets and necklaces, which sell for $3 a piece, to arrive.

Business: J.A.K.A.N. Corp.

This corporation's name was derived from the first initials of its team members -- Jesse Kirk, Austin Klett, Nick Roghair, Keira Van Westen and Aaron Berberich -- in the order of authority they have.

J.A.K.A.N. Corp. representatives have elected to sell silver dog tags that come with 24-inch chains for $7 a piece. As of Thursday afternoon, they'd sold 20 to customers who'd placed orders for the personalized items.

"We have different sports ones," Berberich said of their product. "So, all the people on the basketball team want to buy one for basketball. We had a good football season, so everybody on the football team wants to buy one with a football."

"We got the idea from a couple of our friends who were wearing them around school," Klett added.

This group of CCE students also found its vendor, TrophyDepot.com, on the Internet.

When asked if they'd encountered any selling roadblocks yet, Klett replied, "They are kind of expensive, so people kind of complain about that. ... But, it is kind of cool hearing your friends ask you about them and then tell you they're cool."

Without hesitation, the J.A.K.A.N. Corp. accountant and financial manager shifted into a persuasive mode and said, "Buy one. They make great gifts."

Business: Active Fitness

Having attended classes together for years, Caleb Langner, Kodi Hansen, Chelsea Heikens, Carly Fletcher and Mitch Fahnlander already knew each other's strengths. Their respective team roles reflect this insight.

While the Active Fitness representatives acknowledged it was a bit of a stretch to agree on their product -- a dishwasher-safe, polycarbonate water bottle sporting "Clay Central/Everly Mavericks" verbiage, a freezer stick and a red clip on the top -- they appreciate the extra "marketing and real-world" skills this project requires of them. The CCE teenagers also like the fact that any money raised from this process will go back into the school's coffers.

"We took a while to define what our price would be and what kids in the high school would want to buy," Hansen said.

This team has chosen to promote its product through word of mouth, via posters, during upcoming high school and middle school basketball games, and at the school's March 6 Fish Fry. Three of the four advertising options they're utilizing carry a cost they'll need to pay to "Kardell Advertising Company."

By Thursday's class time, Active Fitness officials had sold four of the $7 sport water bottles to their high school peers and a CCE teacher.

As the group reflected on what it has experienced to date with this class project, it deemed the process they're currently involved in a "good" one because it "teaches one the risks and the decisions that a business has to take and teaches one to gain better business skills."

Business: Garbage T's

This team's sense of humor and marketing skill came into play with its business name. Ethan Batschelet, Adam Knutson, Jacque Ginger, Sam Rayner and Jenna Biedenfeld are selling T-shirts highlighting the school's music department. The business' managers are also seated by the classroom garbage can.

The black shirts they're selling have white lettering that states: Don't rush me. I'm a fermata.

"People have been wanting to buy them and nobody would design them. So, the target market was there," Rayner said of the $15 T-shirts they've chosen to sell.

Garbage T's goal is to sell between 50 and 100 T-shirts. The business members are doing this via sign-up sheets posted in the music room and on the bulletin board by the school office. Garbage T's product will also be advertised during mid-morning announcements at the high school.

The group smiled as they acknowledged this is a competitive process for them. The CCE Introduction to Business company that collects the most money will be awarded a prize.

"Yeah. We're gonna win," Rayner said, bantering their competition.