Why Market Days are so Great!

I recently had the opportunity to partake in Harmon High School's Market Day.  No small event!  With ten different teams of students there was plenty of food to go around, competition across the board (quality, quantity, price, promotion, and placement) and enough energy in the room to light up the whole school.

Harmon students have been working on setting up this event since the beginning of September and now the big day was finally here.  Had they made the right decision on what products to buy and sell?  Were they wise in their selection of team mates?  Had they purchased enough items to resell and meet the demands of their customers?  The answer to all of these questions and many more would soon be answered with in the next 2 ½ hours.

I must admit I was skeptical of a couple of the teams.  Teams Chilindrinas To Go and The 3 Nacho Bravos were planning to sell chilindrinas; a Mexican dish made from rice/corn shell filled with different vegetables topped with sauces and nachos with a side cup of strawberries in cream.  I’m an adult who loves vegetables and fruit!  But would high school students feel the same way I did?  Would they be willing to spend their money on vegetables and fruit?  Chilindrinas To Go and The 3 Nacho Bravos must have done their market research because they made $93.76 and $87.67 in profits respectably earning the second and third highest profit in take for the day.  

Team Los Muertos De Hambre made the highest profits earning $106.63 selling a two taco rice and beans combo meal.  Proving homemade vs. store bought might be the way to go.  Either way, students were enthusiastic at the end of the day requesting to have a second Market Day so they could improve upon the mistakes and lessons they learned throughout the process.  Some teams like the Rotella’s would do better market research so they could better gage how much product to purchase.  They ran out of food to sell during the middle of third lunch, losing the opportunity to make money during forth lunch period. 

This is why I love Market Days.  Where else can students request a micro loan, create a start up, run a business, make mistakes, apply economic principles and business lessons they have learned and walk away with profits?  NOWHERE!  This is experiential learning at it best!

 -Tiffany S. 

Market Day with the Titans

This week our Youth Entrepreneurs students had the opportunity to attend Wholesale Field Trips at local businesses and to sell products for a profit at their Market Days.  I had the pleasure of attending both the Field Trip and Market Day with the students from Wichita South High School.  

We started off our week with a field trip to The Mojack.  Students learned of an opportunity that two young entrepreneurs saw a market for, and have now grown their business into a well known product line that can be found at Tractor Supply, Home Depot, and Lowe’s among others.  The students were very excited to hear how a simple idea could be turned into a profitable and fast growing business.  Students were able to see the products up close and were shown how the product is used.  Students then went to have a great lunch at Planet Sub and hear one of the owners speak about his experience owning, operating, and franchising a business.  I’m sure the students enjoyed not only the food but also the knowledge that Eric passed along!  And our final stop of the day was to Sam’s where the students were able to buy their products for Market Day!  There were many questions about, should I buy this or should I buy that, and I was looking forward to seeing how it all turned out as I went to their 1^st of two Market Days today.

I left the office hungry and looking for something super yummy on my way to South and as I entered the courtyard I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed!  There were groups with Tacos, hot dogs, BBQ, puppy chow, fried chicken, spaghetti and many many other selections.  As I went around to the groups I was surprised (as they were also) that they sold out of their products within just a few short minutes.  They were faced with the decision of what could they do tomorrow to not only sell more product but how should they adjust their prices.  Would they make more sales, which would equal more profit, or would they keep their prices the same?  I also came across a few groups who weren’t doing as well as they thought they would, and each of the groups were figuring out new ways of how to make their product stand out better tomorrow.  I’m anxiously waiting to hear how the South High Titans end their Market Day tomorrow. I have no doubt that I’ll be hearing about a lot of success stories!   

Chelsey Karlin

YE Program Coordinator

The Market Day Challenge

 

Every fall semester a new round of profit seeking students form partnerships and sole proprietorships with a plan to sell goods and services to students and staff during school lunch.  It’s a project called Market Day. This micro loan program is the first chance Youth Entrepreneurs students have to experiment with entrepreneurship and it’s an opportunity to put real profit into their pockets.

Tantalizing, isn’t it? When you were in high school, wouldn’t you have jumped at the chance to make money leveraged by start-up capital from one of your teachers? Of COURSE you would have!

Over the years, we have seen this project become more and more successful for the students and their teachers with record breaking profits and educational experiences that spur students on to the next phase of the YE program. Nothing compares to the feeling of being validated by the market place. When you have satisfied customers AND put some cash in your pocket, you start to understand the reason why entrepreneurship is so vital to our quality of life and the prosperity we enjoy every day.

Last year, the staff at YE noticed a need that could be filled entrepreneurially. Perhaps, with all of this amazing success, it was time to create a new opportunity.  Maybe it was time to allow those enterprising students the chance to broaden their reach, put a bit more cash on the line, and compete among the other 28 high schools participating in Market Day in Kansas & Missouri. It was time to create a “next level” for the project:  The Market Day Challenge.

It works like this:

Teams across the entire program can elect to submit a video about their Market Day business by Thursday Oct 13, 4pm CST (THAT’S THIS THURSDAY!!!). From those submissions YE will select the top 12 based on their plan of action for Market Day, their creativity and level of team work during the planning process. Those 12 teams selected will be announced via the Youth Entrepreneurs’ Facebook the following day. From there, the team who makes the most profit and has the video with the most “likes” at the end wins $200!

Last year was a great success with the winning video getting 306 “likes” for the Wichita East High team of Stick Yo’Chicken. They received an additional $200 above and beyond their Market Day profits.  You can see how the entire process went by visiting our last years’ Market Day Challenge page on Facebook.

20 years of success and healthy competition and, as always, the process of innovation continues.  We are all looking forward to see what this year’s Market Day Challenge will create. So students:  get those cameras rolling! The rest of us want to see the process and be inspired by your ability to be creative and entrepreneurial. 

“If you change the way you look at things, the things around you will change”

I really never planned on being a cosmetologist.  I was young, in a band and exploring the options for my future.  I was introduced to the salon environment by a friend and was attracted to the fun, upbeat energy so I decided to go to Cosmetology school.  Little did I know where this decision would lead me, and I would one day become a successful entrepreneur.

My wife and I opened our first salon in 1988. As I always say, it took me 15 years to become an overnight success.  Over the last 20 years, our business has evolved and grown into a thriving customer centered establishment.  We now own three Eric Fisher Salons and a little over four years ago, we opened Eric Fisher Academy.  

Being an entrepreneur has allowed me to transform into the person I am today – a cosmetologist, a salon owner, a school owner, a platform artist and an educator.  My career in the cosmetology industry has provided me with the opportunity to travel the world and I’ve had the honor of winning numerous personal awards and awards for the salon and academy.  Some of these awards include:

Eric Fisher

§  NINE time North American Hairstyling Award Finalist

§  TWO time North American Hairstyling Award Winner

§  WINNER Global Business Award UCLA – London, England

§  WINNER Global Business Award UCLA “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award – Barcelona, Spain

§  WINNER Stylist Choice Award – Favorite Education in the Business for Best Selling CD “90 Days to a Lifetime of Big Earnings”

§  Named one of the “Best Educators of the Last 100 years” – Modern Salon Magazine

Eric Fisher Salon

§  “Retail of the Year” – American Salon Magazine

§  “Best Salon Coast to Coast” – Self Magazine

§  Voted “Most Newsworthy Salon in America” – Consumer Press NYC

§  “Top Training Salon in the Nation” – Allure Magazine

§  Repeatedly named in the “Top 200 Salons in America” – Salon Today Magazine

§  Voted Fastest Growing Salon in America – Salon Today Magazine

§  One of the most written about Salons in America – quoted in all major magazines including Vogue, Elle, Seventeen, Teen, Allure, InStyle

§  Winner Best in Business – Wichita Business Journal

§  Finalist Small Business Award – Wichita Chamber of Commerce

Eric Fisher Academy

§  EIGHT time North American Hairstyling Award Finalist in the Student Stylist category

§  WINNER North American Hairstyling Award

§  Named School of the Year by Nuts and Bolts Business Training Program

§  Winner School Excellence in Education Award “Best School Facilities” – Modern Salon Magazine

§  Finalist School Excellence in Education Award “School Culture” – Modern Salon Magazine

§  Finalist School Excellence in Education Award “Marketing Innovation” – Modern Salon Magazine

§  Winner Best in Business – Wichita Business Journal

§  Finalist Small Business Award – Wichita Chamber of Commerce

My father used to tell me, “If you change the way you look at things, the things around your will change”.  I offer this same advice to you regardless of your situation; you too can become a successful entrepreneur.  Look at me - I was a young guy who enjoyed creating some beats on the drums.  One decision lead to inconceivable opportunities which I believe anyone can accomplish with hard work and dedication. 

I look forward to speaking at the YEK Breakfast Series on October 13^th.  See you there.

Eric Fisher

My Overall Experience

Check out this Fox 4 News clip of Danielle Stegall and read below from Danielle herself about her experience that starts TODAY!


Well, tomorrow is the big day! As I prepare to leave for New York tomorrow I’m taking time for last reflections of my experience up to this point. I have learned a great number of things during this whole experience. It has changed my entire outlook on and attitude towards life. I never knew how hard I could really work until I had to prepare for this competition. At times there were late days, late nights, and weekends but I have a sense it was all worth it and will all pay off in the future! I feel I have accomplished a huge goal in my life. Working with YE to prepare for the competition has been a positive experience though at times I had may ups and downs with Mr. Birmingham (two different personalities trying to work together…interesting) but I really appreciated him working with me and putting up with all of my baggage and pushing me to that next level. The process in working and learning how to prepare for the competition has been very hard but I am very proud of how much it has grown. I didn’t understand at first how much I really had to do until it got closer to the competition then everything started to seem so real. I am afraid of making mistakes while I present but with all the different rehearsals and presentations I feel I am prepared. I went home some days mentally exhausted and it still seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere but I feel I am prepared to do my best. The competition is here!  It’s time to put on a show and show the judges what I have to offer! Regardless of the outcome, I know I worked extremely hard and will do my best come Thursday. Wish me luck!

Danielle Stegall