The ‘quirky’ items from which the students must pick from to base their market stall around include: A wine rack, a large suitcase, a wooden easel, a birdcage and a wicker crib.
Our Business and Retail students are set to launch their own business models as part of a mission to start training as young entrepreneurs.
Working closely with Valerie Watson-Brown, Director of The Lively Crew marketing agency; the twenty students have been tasked with coming up with a full end to end business model where they will be setting up their own businesses from scratch.
The students have also been presented with different ‘quirky’ items which they must use to stage their own market stall at a pre-arranged event in The Arc, Bury St Edmunds in March next year. The students will pick an item from the selection and will be given a £50 loan for them to get their business started. They then must explore each aspect of running a business to include finances, sourcing products, events, sales and marketing before launching their businesses.
As part of the exciting project, Valerie plans to liaise with her network in order to be able to introduce the students to different industry professionals along the way; where they can hear first-hand from different business areas on what it takes to launch a successful business
Andrew Wheeler, Project Manager for PLACE 21 which has helped fund the project said: “This is such an exciting project for our students where we are also working towards our mission to bring local employers closer to the world of education and training. We are hopeful that this project will really educate our students on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the industry today.”
Nina Hart, Lecturer in Business and Tourism said: “This is going to be such an exciting project for our students which will allow them to put their business skills into practice, facing the real challenges retailers deal with on a daily basis. The practical skills the students are able to pick up during this live project will give them a solid grounding for their future pathways.
Nina continued: “We must thank the PLACE 21 team and the European Social Fund as without the support and funding this project would not have been possible. Thanks also to Valerie Watson-Brown for the invaluable support.”
The ‘quirky’ items from which the students must pick from to base their market stall around include: A wine rack, a large suitcase, a wooden easel, a birdcage and a wicker crib.
The launch of the project ties in with this weeks world-renowned Global Entrepreneurship Week where through different events and projects; people look to inspire and encourage young entrepreneurs in over 170 different countries.
