Joining the business world was a “baptism by fire” for a few Vanier Collegiate students this semester, especially since some of their equipment malfunctioned and their product didn’t co-operate with them.
Seed You Later! was one of three businesses students created in their Entrepreneurship 30 class. The company focused on producing Christmas and holiday cards made of recycled paper, with those same cards containing wildflower seeds that sprouted after they were planted.
The other businesses included Spice Kings and Cristal-Li.
All three groups concluded their businesses during a final board of directors’ meeting in the library on Jan. 20.
From their profits, Seed You Later! donated $145.20 to Yara Community Gardens, Spice Kings donated $157.22 to STARS Air Ambulance, and Cristal-Li gave $675.10 to Moose Jaw Transition House.
Smoking blenders, sprouting seeds
“We definitely experienced a baptism by fire into the business world. Our business was created before we even knew if our product would work,” president Avery Seman said. “We quickly learned how critical it was to support (each other) and to communicate at all times.”
Creating these cards had never been done like this before, and even though there were online tutorials to make seed paper, much experimentation was required, she continued. Making the cards was also time-consuming, while the six-person team also had trouble finding materials.
“So, we were focusing on a million-and-three things it felt like … ,” Seman remarked. “It was just — very much — jumping head-first and trying to experience everything at once.”
The business encountered two significant problems: food blenders that produced a burning rubber smell after four hours of continuous use and the seed paper unexpectedly sprouting.
“These aren’t commercial blenders. They were just not meant to handle the capacity we needed to use them for,” Seman said, adding the group overcame these challenges and went from making a few cards a week to over 50 a day.
The business’ net income was $967.87, based on sales of 533 cards and 127 bookmarks.
“It was just great to bond with everyone,” she added. “… We made some amazing friends and some lifelong experiences and memories.”
A tasty proposal
The Spice Kings planned to sell 120 jars of their three flavours and eventually sold 227 containers, which netted them a nice profit of $1,048.10, finance vice-president Ashton Glova said.
Putting their product in public was a risk since there are many spices already out there while speaking to customers was also difficult since they are young guys in high school, he continued. However, they pushed hard to sell their wares before Christmas and succeeded.
One challenge the business faced was ensuring everyone was organized and had enough work, said president Kendall Ebbett. There were eight members, which made it difficult to divide the work evenly. They also faced issues with managing and tracking their finances and sales but overcame those problems.
“It’s truly an honour to be part of this group,” added Glova, “and seeing those numbers (of sales and jars sold), it really shows that hard work pays off.”
A crystal-clear product
Members of Cristal-Li wanted to make handmade jewelry that used ethically sourced crystals, but didn’t expect the massive demand that followed, said Cadanse Herle, vice-president of corporate social responsibility.
“We were a little overwhelmed, but everything worked out in the end,” she stated, adding they were surprised by the attention since they were a small business.
The business wanted to sell 100 necklaces, 50 rings and 20 bundles. It eventually sold 230 necklaces, 85 rings and 40 bundles, netting $3,262.12.
Cristal-Li sold some of its wares at the Cornwall Centre in Regina but only had three hours and was in a corner that attracted little notice, which prevented them from having higher sales, said president Ann-Marie Rouault-Chedid. The students would love to sell there again if given a chance.
“It was a really good experience for us and it just brought a bunch of positivity to the group,” added Herle. “And having that like, overwhelming (attention), we just came together to get orders out and make our products.”
