St Teresa’s entrepreneurs making a name in Noosaville

9/07/2021

​The shark tank sessions were very popular with business students

​THE Year 9 Business program is fast becoming one of the most popular subject choices for students at St Teresa's Catholic College, Noosaville.

The program's100K Entrepreneurial Classroom Project (ECP), encourages students to design, produce and sell their own products and services under the guiding hand of teacher Daniel Neven.

Daniel said entrepreneurial skills were some of the greatest assets young people can develop to ensure a vibrant future.

He said the 100K ECP project brought business alive in the most real way, with students earning money they can keep.

“Environmental impacts were also a huge factor in the creation of the products and services, along with all the typical business considerations.

Students' products ranged from handmade cutting boards, infusion soaks, cleaning products, dog treats and toys, and jewellery to surf wax and lip balm.

Student Charlotte Dawson loved being part of the hustle and bustle involved with the project.

She said something she loved about taking Year 9 Business was getting to learn what it was like to start up a business and then go into selling the product to the public.

“It has taught me what challenges come along the way of starting a business and to accept failure as part of the business journey," she said. 

As a part of the project students also took part in shark tank sessions, where local business owners gave feedback and approved the seed funding for each project.

All aspects, from product, packaging, target market, advertising, price points and cost of goods, were presented and dissected.

Guest presenters such as Jan Osmond and Rod Solomons from Business Mentors Noosa, Tomas Piccinini from Venture Labs UQ and former St Teresa's student Breeze Lidden, founder of Zoopeez, gave students real world advice on how to succeed.

Amazingly, two of the products developed were offered an opportunity to feature on Amazon.

Along with developing an online presence and sales funnel, Eumundi Markets hosted a stall for each class, where personal selling techniques were honed, and further sales made.

As some students continue to grow and develop their businesses, you can be sure these St Teresa's Catholic College students have the potential to become successful young entrepreneurs. 

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