Students learns about entrepreneurship through project

The annual Econ Fair allowed the senior class to sell products they made themselves, to the junior high and high school students, March 13. Hosted by Robert Foshee‘s economics class, senior entrepreneurs exercise their ideas by creating a product and then selling it to other students and faculty.

Students organized into small groups of two or three, then used their own money to make the product. This allows them to create a marketplace for supply and demand.

During lunch, students from junior high and high school were able to buy the products, letting the economics class collect the profits. Products varied from lunch food to dessert treats to even t-shirts. Students enjoyed the opportunity to buy products from other students, changing the normal lunch schedule.

Christian living teacher and leadership co-advisor Aubri Foster loved the idea of the Econ Fair. She believes the students are given the opportunity to put their ideas to work and learn new strategies in business.

“I think it gives students an opportunity to put their ideas to work and reap the benefits,” Foster said. “It’s a blast to all be together in the gym and I always enjoy the food; it’s always a fun time!”

With the whole senior class peddling their wares, The Feather captured this scene in the gym during the Econ Fair, March 13.

The Econ Fair is in full swing! Students brought their appetites today! @fresnochristian #thefeather pic.twitter.com/q1YLpRKKWi

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) March 13, 2019

Foshee enjoys guiding his students in their journey of entrepreneurship, and successful ways of marketing their product.

“Some advice I would give to my economics students is to put together a focus group,” Foshee said. “They can go out and find out what students like, and what they want to buy. That way you don’t start selling stuff the students don’t even want, or miss out on a great opportunity.

While the economic classes have been doing this fair for years, this is the sixth year in a row in this format, allowing the whole student body to participate.

“The Econ Fair has been going on for over 15 years,” Foshee continued.” The purpose of the entrepreneur project is to give students hands-on experience learning about being an entrepreneur and the skills that go into it. Students will learn about budgeting, advertising, working with a partner, people skills, and good customer service. My favorite part of the Econ Fair is teaching the students all the different parts of the project and helping with any questions they have.”

Many groups turn to social media to gain interest from students in their products leading up to the fair. Once the fair is over, the students reflect on the experience and how they might use sales skills in the real world while occasionally making a little bit of extra cash during the event.

Landon Goldsborough, ’19, who ran “Sticker-rama” with Brandon Brogan, ’19, says the first-hand experience helped him learn about business principles.

“Econ Fair gave me a better perspective on how cost and selling price need to have enough margin for profit,” Goldsborough said. “I also learned how to market products to a specific customer demographic. I used social media to create connections with potential customers. Posting often about the benefits and details on your product can also help build interest.”

Preparation for the event began weeks ago as the senior class split into groups or individually to create their own business. Their task was to decide on a product to sell at the fair. Ezekiel VanNoy, ’23, says he enjoyed the many options for lunch, and shares what he learned about selling a product.

“The french fries were really good, probably the best thing I had,” VanNoy said. “I learned you have to choose a product that’s wanted, and not something out of the ordinary that people won’t buy. All the desserts were my favorite part, and just going around and looking at different things to buy.”

After the fair, the groups will count how much money they made, and depending on how each group profited will determine their grade for the project.

For more articles read, Captain Marvel features female lead, classic storytelling  and 36th FCS auction, ‘Going Places’, highlights student involvement, March 9.

Kyler Garza can be reached via email. 

Below is a slideshow of Annual Econ Fair, March 13.