Te Awamutu College’s successful Barbie market day

Te Awamutu College Year 10 business students conducted a Market Day during lunch on Thursday, September 14 in the Te Awamutu College Hall.

Every market day has a theme. The theme this year was Barbie. Stalls, products, and all marketing had to be themed to celebrate Barbie.

“The Barbie theme was chosen as it is traditional to have a theme for the Market Day and so students brainstormed ideas; we had about nine or 10 ideas, including Barbie‚” says Te Awamutu College’s head of business, Patrick Hounsell.

“Then students voted for the best one; they could choose three and rank them. Barbie came out on top by 27 points over an international theme that got 19 points, and the third was a beach theme with 15.

“I guess Barbie was topical and went with the idea of the day, being lighthearted and fun with a lot of sweet treats.”

As an organised small business, students are to produce and sell a product to the remainder of the school with the aim of earning a profit, which is to be kept by the students, apart from a small donation to charity.

Initially, students were tasked with researching the theme and providing basic details regarding possible colours, products, and decorations for stalls and packaging.

Then they were asked to create an action plan for all future tasks, including responsibilities, dates, resources required, and possible problems that needed to be addressed.

They then followed up by identifying where initial funding would come from and how much they may have required.

Following that, they conducted a Swot (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis for their business.

Students then conducted market research and were tasked with creating a brand name and image for their stand, followed by placing advertising around the school for both market day and their stand, as well as identifying the pricing strategy for their product.

Students were tasked with producing an income and expense statement that included all income and expenses prior to and including Market Day. This includes gifts of money or investments by parents or friends for initial set-up costs and if the money has to be paid back.

Tax is to be paid at 5 per cent of all profits. All expenses and taxes to be paid will be donated to the class’s chosen charity.

“I think it is important for students to have the experience of running their own business, as until they try that, they only have theoretical knowledge of business. They need to find out that they can cope with running a small business, as we also get them to write a brief business plan, including an organisational chart, and a Swot analysis, conduct market research, and then promote their product. This makes those learnings come alive when they put their planning into practice at Market Day,” says Hounsell.

Hounsell adds that the day was a success. “Students realise that they are capable of putting together a business idea, taking it to market, and letting the market decide how successful they are against the competition of their classmates.

“In doing so, none of them are going to lose a lot of money even if their business fails, but this year, as last year, all the businesses made at least a little profit, and some of the groups did very well. The boys selling sherbet made $45 each, and the group selling lolly bags made $100 each, which is pretty good going in 45 minutes.”