Students Launch a Product Business
This is a student favorite!!
In this project students learn how to launch a business focused on a product.

Students learn how to:
  • Brainstorm products to sell.
  • Create a strategy to select the right product to sell.
  • Source the product from Alibaba, the giant Chinese manufacture hub.
  • Research competing companies.
  • Develop initial marketing plans using the 4 P's.
  • Create a financial model of their product business.
  • Create a presentation to investors.

Brainstorming products to sell

To kick the project off, I have the students read a chapter from the awesome book, 100 Side Hustles.
This book highlights 100 entrepreneurs who started successful side hustles. Each profile is about 2 pages long. Perfect for High School students. I would highly recommend buying a copy of this book.

One of the entrepreneurs highlighted started a Bouncy House business. There are a couple of things that are great about this profile for my students. 1) They can all relate to Bouncy Houses. They have been in them. They know what venues they are appropriate for, etc. 2) The entrepreneur lays out the 4 criteria he used to narrow down the hundreds of products he had brainstormed to finally select Bouncy Houses. 

I use this concept of creating criteria with my students as they brainstorm their potential products to sell.

Check out the Youtube video

Sourcing product from Alibaba

Once students have selected a product to sell, they go to Alibaba to find manufactures for their product.
This is always an exciting moment because the students get to learn about our global supply chain, and view real manufacturers of products they've used. They also get introduced to the strategies wholesalers use to price their products.

Here is an example of a product and it's pricing from a manufacturer in China.
In this example, if you order over 10,000 units you get a 20% discount.
In the project, students research their product and find at least 3 manufacturers.
They compare various aspects of each manufacturer and decide which one to move forward with based on cost, quality, allowance for customizations, shipping details, etc.

Researching competitors

Once the students have selected their product, chosen a manufacturer, they then look at the market to see who they will be competing with. This is a great experience for the students, both humbling and exciting. Humbling because they often see that there are a number of strong competitors in their space, some who have priced the offering lower than the students were hoping. Exciting because they get to strategize how to position their offering in unique ways (bundling, product improvements, etc)

Develop initial marketing plans

Developing marketing plans always starts with knowing your target market.
Students define who they will target with their new product offering and then get to work strategizing their marketing mix using the 4 P's (Product, Price, Place, Promotions).
Students enjoy this part of the project as they get to imagine how they will present their product to prospects and win against their competition.

Create a financial model of the business

The financial model consists of the equation Revenue - Expenses = Profit.

Students use a custom financial model calculator, which I built, to experiment with various scenarios around pricing, costs and # of sales per month.

The calculator also calculates the star up costs for this project. The start up costs are three months of product inventory.

Students love this exercise and are surprised by the start up costs. *This is a great opportunity to discuss start up funding options!

​Check out the calculator here.

Create a presentation to investors

As students are working on this project, they are adding their progress to the Investor Presentation Slide Deck.
The project comes with the template, which students customize as they work.
The slide deck covers:
  • The chosen product
  • Product branding
  • Product demand
  • Supplier information
  • Product pricing
  • Competition
  • Financial models
  • Marketing strategy
  • Uncertainties
By the end of the project students have a detailed, logical presentation to give to class, take home, hang on the walls of your school, etc.
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Check out other projects from Awesome Business Curriculum