Students in Vanier Collegiate’s Entrepreneurship 30 class plan to sell jewelry and keychains this semester, with some revenue going to charities that support youth sports and women in need.
The business-minded students kicked off their Junior Achievement program with an official launch on Nov. 9. The two student-run companies had tables erected in the lunchroom to hawk their wares and make it easier to purchase early Christmas gifts.
Beadlink Creations — “Hang on to what matters” — is committed to selling keychains that are of good quality, fun, fashionable and unique.
Fifteen per cent of the business’ profits will go to Kidsport Moose Jaw.
Unity Jewels — “Something for everyone” — aims to provide quality jewelry for a good price. Such items include gold chain necklaces with or without pendants and bracelets.
Twenty per cent of the company’s profits will support Moose Jaw Transition House, which supports women fleeing domestic abuse.
Keychains
The nine students with Beadlink Creations decided to sell keychains after conducting market research and distributing surveys to classmates, explained spokeswoman Timi Konu. Survey respondents chose the colours they wanted to see, while the business students then fulfilled those requests.
“The product is useful and stylish because you need somewhere to keep your keys and you need to look good doing it. So it’s a combination of fashion and necessity,” she said, noting users won’t lose their keys anymore because the chains are “big and bold.”
With a laugh, the Grade 12 student said she hasn’t used the keychains because she rarely misplaces her keys.
Beadlink Creations offers three types of keychains: trademark with silicon beads for $16, triple threat with three hexagon-shaped beads for $18 and specialty with patterned and hexagon-shaped beads and other silicon objects for $20.
Neither Konu nor her business partners had any previous business experience and were new to the entrepreneurship world. However, she thought helping run a business was positive since it’s something she wants to do in the future.
Moreover, she joined the class because it’s innovative, eye-opening, and exposes students to the real world. She hopes to learn more about management, tracking finances and developing her public speaking skills.
Jewelry
The 13 members of Unity Jewels decided to sell jewelry because they wanted a product that everyone could enjoy and not just be for men or women, explained spokeswoman Praizelle Gumacal.
“We wanted it all to be collective and not just so separated. We wanted to be a unity,” she stated. “Kind of unisex — for everybody.”
The business’ logo is the infinity sign, which represents how “correlated” everyone is and how differences should not separate people, the Grade 11 student continued.
The group wanted to break the traditional idea of who should wear jewelry and encourage everyone to wear their products. Moreover, they saw making and selling jewelry as a challenge to take on.
Gumacal has never operated her own business before but helped her family run a food truck — Pedro’s Barbecue — during Sidewalk Days and Canada Day by acting as cashier and server. With this project, she hopes to learn more about human resources — she wants to start an HR company — and how she can grow as an employee.
Ireland Guillaume, co-president of Unity Jewels, has some business experience after helping run The Good Scoop ice cream shop this summer. From that, she learned about marketing, social media and working as a teammate — skills she can use to support this project.
Guillaume added that she was excited to work with her friends and hoped they could make a large donation to Transition House.
Christa Lapointe, Entrepreneurship 30 teacher, said it was great to see the students sell products different from past years. Furthermore, they wanted to focus on production and what they could make in the classroom.
“I think both have (items that are) quality, affordable products that really do serve a large market and have potential to sell quite a bit here in Moose Jaw and the surrounding area,” Lapointe added. “(I’m) quite excited for the companies.”
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