GOOD EARTH
Thursday 28 September 2017
CHOITHRAM SCHOOL, INDORE (INDIA)
LAUNCHING OUR SCHOOL BUSINESS
‘The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.’ Keeping this in mind, we formed our business team and brainstormed ideas for growth and diversification of our business, now in its fourth year.
Our market research through google forms sent to parents and teachers assured us of a large customer base and a continuous market demand for our handicrafts, compost and saplings.
We visited some of our competitors and analyzed our competitive advantage. The SWOT analysis helped us to convert our weaknesses and threats into our strengths and opportunities.
We sat with the Art teachers and the School Horticulturist to decide the products and their prices, keeping in mind the preferences of our customers.
We did not require any start-up capital. We just required INR 12, 860 to cover our direct and indirect costs which we used from the ‘Special Recognition’ award money of $300 that we received last year.
We promoted our business through announcements in the morning assembly,sending SMS and message through the school app, uploading E-leaflet on the school website and the blog as well as through standees.
Leaflet
Standee
To launch our business, we organized an Orientation Event for the parents of each class on the day of the annual result apprising them about our enterprise and how we use the profits.
During the launch event, we sold compost to the parents and teachers.We bought brown paper bags in bulk and pasted stickers of our logo on them.The compost sold like hot cakes as the business team exhibited their persuasive selling skills.
As a part of our ‘Promotion Strategy’ we gave 1 kg extra compost with every purchase of 10 kg compost and more.
One of our customers (Mr. Pravenn Singh Mandloi), a parent who has a big farmland placed an order for 500 kg of compost as he very happy with the results after using it last year. Jayanthi Bhutda, the Sales and Marketing Manager remarked, ‘This is amazing! The maximum quantity that anyone had bought till now was 10 kg. We’ll be able to make a huge profit this season.’
Jayanthi Bhutdha
in a tête-à-tête with Mr. Praveen Singh Mandoli
We have asked the School Management to get one more big pit dug in the school campus to increase our compost production as few of our customers had to return empty handed as revealed in the ‘Customer Feedback Form’.
Customer
Feedback Form
After the launch event, General Manager Chelsea Sawlani remarked, ‘It’s a feeling of deep satisfaction and happiness, full of nervousness but lots of excitement!’
Aastha Vijayawargiya, Finance Manager, said, ‘Counting the money and cross checking with the bill entries was a mammoth task but gave me the actual feel of running a business.’
Aastha Vijayawargiya, Finance Manager, said, ‘Counting the money and cross checking with the bill entries was a mammoth task but gave me the actual feel of running a business.’
