The NCEA Level 2 business students have an annual, market day, where they sell the products they have been designing since Term 1. There is always a wide range of products to buy from, such as slime, beanies, press-on nails, practical tote bags – and even food!
On the day, students set up their own stalls and showcase their products to students. Every business does their ordering process differently, with some setting up pre-orders on their social media accounts such as Instagram, while others sell their products on the day.
Students form a business plan with their fellow group members and decide on major aspects of their product, assessing and evaluating the risks of their decisions. One major challenge is sourcing a producer for the product they are going to sell. Some students had trouble with ensuring that the end result would look exactly as they wanted it to.
The students do fund their own startup money, but lucky for the students involved with the businesses, they end up keeping the net profit that they make from all their work. They either have a choice to keep it for themselves, or donate it to a charity related to their business.
Year 12 student Michael Eccles was interviewed on what his business sells and how the process went for his group. His product is a stack of cards that explain Kiwi slang.
“65% of Macleans students either don’t understand or struggle with understanding Kiwi slang. [My business] Ay Kiwi has made an effective way to help teach people Kiwi slang as each card has an individual QR code, that when the user scans it takes them to an audio recording of the correct pronunciation to tell them how it sounds.”
“Working with external businesses always involves some risk. We were fortunate to collaborate with amazing local businesses [Ela Purnell from Howick], but we did encounter a slight issue with our printed product. Upon receiving the cards and beginning the packing process, we noticed that the printing company had shrink-wrapped them too soon after printing. This caused the cards to stick together, making them impossible to separate without damage. We sent pictures of the damaged cards to the printing company. We are very grateful that they reprinted the cards, and ensured the new sets were properly handled.”
The Level 2 business cohort has another opportunity on the 30th of May to reassess their plan and try to improve from their previous attempt. Good luck to everyone!
“Taking Year 12 Business, has my team and I thinking like real businessmen.”
– Adriel Guanzon, group member of Totes Awesome
Written by Emma Li, edited by Ally Chu and Aaron Huang
Photography by Emma Li
