Hungry Huskies on the move

In today’s class we went through the SHIPIT packet and talked about the problems we might come across with our business. We started to make a flyer to get the word out about Hungry Huskies and started to make a survey that will help us research to form a list for inventory. Our plan is to survey students to find when they are hungry and what snacks they would want. Through this research we can find what periods we should work and what snacks we should offer. The picture attached is a screenshot of our survey that we intend to send around to our peers.

Greenway & Co.

      Today we have decided to pursue our idea of making a venture capitalist company. Our company will give small businesses money in exchange for a royalty percentage of each product sold. Despite the reluctancy of our teacher to let us start this company, we have begun to convince her by creating a detailed plan for our work. We have started to address potential problems in our company and have begun to analyze each company. The analysis consists of potential profit, initial start-up costs, and figuring out a fair percentage for royalties. Despite our hardships, we are determined to clear out a path for success.    

Skyfall Clothing

As of now, our business name is going to be called Skyfall Clothing. Since our last posts, we have been brainstorming all of the possibilities for our company, and have come to the decision that we will sell personalized t-shirts, but the idea is much more complex than just that. The customer will have the option to have a logo created by our design team or by themselves, and then with that design they have the option to have it released for public sale, or to keep it to themselves. It is almost like creating a personal brand within our company. We believe this will gain the attention of the public by people wearing our products because people will be able to make profit off of the t-shirts they design, and they will be able to wear fine clothing that they want. So far we have been making good progress, but we need to work on our pitch now in order to get the money to create our business including the website, products, and copyright information. Our other idea is that we will have people submit different designs for shirts every week, and the winning design will be used for the shirt that week. We will only sell a limited number of that shirt, and each week the "shirt of the week" design will change. We also need to get started on prototype designs for the main shirts that our company will sell, which we plan to create within the next week.

-Duncan and Peter

Catering to the Sweet Tooth and Sweethearts of the FHS Community

Hello lovely citizens of the internet who may or may not be anonymous trolls, 

We here at Candy Yes have embarked upon a journey of self discovery and candy delivery. After completing the mandatory "Ship It" pamphlet, we've realized that though our failure may inevitable, we are required to continue with this project. 

Our idea is to create a candy-gram service that operates year-round and can be used for anything from a thank you to a friend to a homecoming proposal for that special someone. Ordering will be a simple online process through google forms and delivery will be within the week the order is placed. We hope to keep our production expenses low so that our prices can remain affordable and appealing to the Flint Hill student body and staff. With luck, we will make a product that the public loves and a profit that our investors will love even more! 

- J&H 

Team Planning Underway

Last Friday students broke into 5 business teams by interest and began sorting through their initial ideas.  We have a mix of school-based and online businesses and a blend of good and services.  It took us two weeks longer than last semester to arrive at theses teams, so I am optimistic that these businesses are founded on more student investment.  In two weeks the teams will pitch their ideas to the school administration to receive permission and funding.  You will hear more from each team soon!

Venture Capitalists

Hungry Huskies

Candy, Yes!

FHStress

Custom Printing

FHStress-Not like the Rest

Since we got the group together, we have discussed how we could expand our inventory and not just provide stress balls.  We are looking to get 2-3 different items that would relieve stress.  Some possibilities we have thought of were handheld massagers and even hacky sacks.  We have found a website that we could buy stress balls in bulk at a pretty low price of around 30 dollars at most for 48 units.  We feel that these simple items may seem like nothing special, but people don’t realize that these small purchases of such items can really aid them with their stress.  Also people like emojis, so hopefully they are enticed by our design of the stress balls. 

We are looking to finalize which other products we will provide.  Also we should continue work on our business plan. 

Overall I feel that the team is at a good spot.  We came in with a positive attitude and we have worked well together so far.  I have high hopes for this group and I believe we will succeed, but only if we all give our 100% effort. 

Ms. Stares' Reflection

Hi, my name is Peter, a student of Flint Hill and the Small Business Start-up class in Flint Hill. I have been associated with business for quite a while now, taking many online courses about the stock market. Through these courses I have been taught a substantial amount about the financial aspect of the business world. I have made a few bucks in the stock market over the past weeks, which is a success in something similar to business. When I think about starting a business, the number one thing in my mind, which has been self-assured through this class, is that a bona fide idea is the root of any business. An idea can be expanded on, but originality is a key to a business. One thing that I learned from this class in the first week of class is that in order to start-up a new business, you have to be in a sycophant in a way. You have suck up to the guys with the big bucks and laugh at your competition if they make a mistake. In regards to starting a new business, I am quite frankly bamboozled on what I should make my business on. The online business market is a treasure mine with so many aspects of it still to be discovered, but it is complicated for someone like me to tap into that mine with very little experience in anything relevant to making an online business. The mobile app business I believe would be the most profitable section of the mine, with people being glued to their phones 24/7. I am also thinking about starting a business somewhere around the school, but I still don't have any ideas concerning this, but I hope to think of a bona fide idea to make me profit and have a prosperous business.

Ms. Starnes' reflection

Last week was our first full week of this class, and it has turned out to be one the most interesting classes I had in my life so far. I came into the class thinking it would be where I learn all about entrepreneurship and what it’s like to start a business of my own, and it has turned out to be a lot more than that. I chose to take this class because I hope to start some sort of business within this semester that can benefit the school in some sort of way, but I have not yet completely made up my mind of what kind of business I would like to start. Previously I figured since the class only ran through one semester of the school year that I only wanted to create a business that would last until then, but now I have been thinking recently that if I could create something that I could keep for a very long time and potentially make money off of it has triggered my interest immensely. We have been thinking of some very creative ideas over the past week, and I think with our class’s intuitive and interesting thinking, we will create some very fascinating businesses very shortly. Coming up with plausible business ideas unexpectedly quite challenging, but I feel like we will be able to find something that will work. My overall goal is to create a business that is successful, yet is simple for someone like myself to manage. I am very excited for this challenge and I hope this class will be very informational to me.

-Duncan

Ms. Starnes’ reflection

This past Friday in Small Business Startup, we as a class spent a good deal of time brainstorming ideas for possible startup opportunities. While many ideas came across as creative, marketable, and intriguing, a lot of them also proved to be seemingly unrealistic and complicated to incept. The brainstorming process within startups gave me a love/hate first impression due to its potential usefulness and uselessness dependent on the way things are working within a team of entrepreneurs. Overall, I am excited to delve further into the startup business process and to begin working hands on with my group.

Robert R.

Ms. Starnes' Reflection

Brainstorming Sessions

Last Friday, our class shared possible (and quite a few less possible) business ventures for our Small Business Start-Up class. The process made me realize just how difficult the brainstorming portion of entrepreneurship is. Finding an idea out of thin air proved rather difficult for me (however less so with others, even though some were less serious than other ideas). Understanding this made me come to the realization that not everyone can be an entrepreneur, and those that are are either extremely lucky, or extremely talented. -Chris

New Year, New Iteration

Small Business Startup, version 2, begins on Thursday with a new crop of entrepreneurs.  We'll focus a lot more on idea development, choosing a business that attempts to solve an actual problem, and considering business options that my do some good in the world.  They will again chronicle their journeys, both individual and as a team, here on this blog.  I hope you'll follow us this semester to see how the course evolves and how the students grow.