As part of our ‘Futures’ programme, Year 7 recently took part in an Enterprise Day, working together in small teams to practice running an emerging business. Run by Enterprise Skills, each group was tasked with managing an up-and-coming phone store, leading it to growth and profitability over the four quarters of a simulated year. From conducting market research and selecting which products to stock, developing a marketing plan, managing the budget and overseeing staff, it was a very comprehensive day!
Poppy and Zoe write about their experiences:
Poppy: “All of the groups were made up of four to five individuals that each had a vital role of managing certain parts of the company. We were told that ‘the final performance is based on a blend of customers, company and colleague performance’.
My favourite part of the experience was being able to collaborate with my peers to compete in a fast pace working environment against others and the clock. During the day, I learnt about how to manage stock, how to make the best marketing decisions and how to improve our strategies as the four quarters passed.
The whole day sparked my imagination about the possibilities of becoming an entrepreneur with my most immediate thought being – “How do beginning entrepreneurs get their initial investment to realise their dream?”
Zoe: “We were given the thrilling opportunity to create a business in a professional and realistic simulation.
With the aid of two successful entrepreneurs, we started the first quarter.
Over the next three quarters we learnt from our past results and split the workload of selecting products, managing marketing, running staff, and choosing the amount of stock. We started reading the market research, graphs and tables showing what customers like, and then fit them into three categories: business, social and surfer. We then split the workload of selecting products, managing marketing, running staff, and choosing the amount of stock. We decided to later rotate these positions for all of us to experience the separate roles of the business.
Finally, the last quarter of the simulation had begun. The air had been left with a buzz of competition. All of us had hopes to score our best on our scorecards. You were marked in three categories: profit, customer service and contentment of employees.
Our group did not win overall, but it was a great experience. I would personally like to congratulate the group that came last in the first two quarters who then climbed their way to third place in the last quarter. It is about learning from others, not coming first in a leaderboard. In a real-life experience, a business does not just stop after a year. It keeps growing and learning.
It was an experience that I will remember for an exceedingly long time and will prove helpful at some point. If I were to repeat it, I would not be afraid to increase prices of products and use money to train staff, give tokens, and use for marketing. I have also discovered that out of all the roles I enjoy managing and training the staff the most. I would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone who can do it, it is worth it.”