Background: My 5th grade son is learning about running a business. He needs to come up with a product that he can produce himself and then resell for profit. He has to purchase the supplies, figure the manufacturing costs, pay rent for his space etc and then attempt to sell the product to the whole school.
He is excited about the project except for one little issue. We can’t come up with any ideas. The Merchandise Mart is going to be Dec 14th so we were thinking something Christmas related and we have searched the web but nothing really seems easy enough to mass produce. Any of your have any ideas that we could look into?
If yes, I would suggest chocolate covered stick pretzels or other chocolate covered something that requires no cooking. It takes almost no skill, doesn’t go bad quickly (low shrink), and will often sell for a good premium.
buy stick pretzels, chocolate, various cake decorator items (little colored dots, mini m&ms, etc.) (here’s where he can compare prices at different suppliers and really decide what he wants his price point and quality point to be).
Melt chocolate. (using the microwave is ideal because its safer for kids and harder to burn the chocolate)
Dip each stick half way, and while chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with decor items.
Place on wax paper to cool at room temperature
Profit!!!
If more than one product line is needed/wanted nut clusters are also ridiculously easy (dump nuts in melted chocolate, spoon onto wax paper in globs.)
If no food products are permitted (I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case), remember, to be successful, your product needs to appeal to the buyer and/or fulfill a need. You can’t start by thinking about what you can make and hoping people want it. You have to figure out what they want, and then see how your skills fit in.
Who is the market? Other kids only, or kids AND their parents? Selling to kids and selling to parents are two very different ballgames. The kids are a way tougher crowd, because they don’t need much and don’t get motivated to buy by cuteness or nostalgia. Candy is a safe bet but once that’s off the table, you really have to think.
Hello Again, you are corrrect that no food products are allowed. He will be selling to the whole school, K-5, so its just kids. Appreciate the response.
I have seen student decorate pencils as a project. Flowers are the norm but they could be adapted to Christmas. The materials are relatively cheap and kids need and can afford them.
Ok. I guess a couple of questions I would want to know the answers to would be these:
what amount of money are most kids going to have to spend? This is important. You don’t want to make something too expensive for your market.
Do most kids in this school buy their parents a Christmas gift? Do they plan to buy a gift for themselves, or a gift for someone else, at the merchandise mart? Just ask around but try to ask people other than close friends.
Are there any popular trends in the school right now? (either pop culture/tv like pokemon, power rangers, Glee, that sort of thing – or clothing trends, especially among the girls). There might be something he can tie into, maybe not.
Is he permitted to sell services? He could gift wrap items people are buying from other vendors for a fee (this assumes he’s kind of good at gift wrapping).
Crafts that I can think of that create surprisingly nice results from very little skill include candle making and colored/molded soaps, but I don’t think you’re going to sell soap & candles to the under-10 set.
Your 5th grade kids can learn what it really takes to run a business: Business license, peddler’s permits, health department inspections (probably the reason you aren’t allowed food products). Learn which city inspectors you need to bribe, and how best to get to them.
The Inexplicable War on Lemonade Stands, Erik Kain, Forbes Magazine, 8/3/2011. (Discusses mostly the lemonade stands and some other informal food vendors – but issues about business licenses and peddler’s permits might apply to any other kind of product as well.)
Hmmm, now I’m thinking about the possibility of assembling kits that would allow the buyers to do an activity at a later date. However, most of these sorts of activities would require adult supervision. That could be a problem. OTOH, maybe its not YOUR problem if the activity looks fun to buyers. You’ll also need some completed samples to inspire purchase, and that could eat into profits.
Like, bundling a white t-shirt with a sponge stamp and a fabric paint. Or a candle kit - three small chunks of craftstore candle wax, three different pieces of crayon (for color), a dixie cup for a mold, a length of wick, and some simple instructions.
Think about how a business would do market research on this, and then you’ll have some extra education for your son. For example, have him do surveys during lunch/recess for the next week, asking the other kids to list the items they have purchased in the last two weeks, and any items they wanted to purchase (under $x) but didn’t. Now he knows what people are already spending their money on.
Can he do programming in any way? Some kids are good enough with that to design a game they could sell on CD or for download.
What about any video or audio skills? Last Christmas, two of the Jr-High-level relatives put together a claymation movie for the family. I really thought they could ply that skill for profit if they put their minds to it. If he has any kind of musical talent, he might try his hand at selling a set of ring tones.
Consider whether he has the skills or equipment to personalize items. Everyone likes things that can be personalized. For example, my first thought was to use a programmable sewing machine that could sew a stylized name onto a backpack or jacket; instead of manufacturing anything ahead, he’d be providing the service on site. Of course, those sewing machines are not cheap and there’s some software knowledge required… but there are those bedazzler things that put gems on items, or iron-on transfer sheets for custom T-shirts, or things of that sort. Heck, even a sheet of personalized stickers might be popular at Christmas-time. He’d only need a computer, some Avery labels, a color printer, and then his labor to design the templates that he’d customize and print at the event.
You are going to want to make something that the other kids will want to buy.
Containers of slime - you only need Elmer’s glue and borax, different food colors, and zip top bags for containers - all cheap. Make pink slime with a picture of Hello Kitty glued to the bag for the girls, etc, and superheros with coordinating colors for boys. It’s also easy and fun for you kiddo to make.
I suggest personalized pet items. For example, you can buy pet bowls at the Dollar Store (you’d want to make sure they’re safe). Your son could paint the pet’s name on them or user sticker letters and animal stickers. He could personalize collars as well. The Dollar Store is your friend.
If he can get some molds of letters, maybe he can make and sell personalized rubber stamps. Not sure what it takes to make a stamp design, but Im thinking press clay (or Fimo?) into a assembled letter mold of the person's name, coat the face with latex, attach to a backing wood and handle. Hey, its the manufacturing process in miniature…
You’re doing this all wrong. He should use a leveraged buy-out to acquire other kids’ distressed businesses. Then he should lower operating costs by cutting anything hindering operating costs, namely workers. Next, he should sell off the remaining assets at an inflated value to other kids for profit. If he’s unable to increase the value of the company, he can always package it with bits and pieces of other profitable companies and sell shares of that package to other young entrepreneurs. He can then develop a market to trade these packages -even split them up and rebundle them again for added value. Once the other children see how successful he’s been, they’ll start hiring him as a consultant for their firm and he’ll be able to turn a quick buck even if he’s unable to make them profitable.
Don’t you want your kid to learn how to be a successful businessman? Geesh!
When I was in school, we had a similar assignment, but it was a team competition. The winning team sold party-favor-type toys inside little plastic Easter eggs.
That product was a huge hit. It was cheap, so many kids bought multiple eggs. There was an element of surprise, due to the large variety of toys inside. Kids compared what they got with each other, which generated a lot of enthusiasm. There were also rumors that one of the eggs had a major prize inside (not sure whether that was true), so in a way it was like a raffle.
Instead of plastic Easter eggs, you could buy empty capsules for toy vending machines, although the non-transparent ones are kind of ugly. If you’re not allowed to fill them with store-bought toys, how about making something from pipe cleaners? There are so manycutecraftideas for pipe cleaner animals. They can also be easily turned into Christmas tree ornaments.
Pipe cleaner animals might be too time intensive, but there are other similar options out there. For example, pipe cleaner rings are super easy and quick to make, but they won’t appeal to boys.