St. Wolstans Community School

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Lauren Higgins Roche, Aideen Galligan, Megan Strickland, Eilíse Munroe, Zoë Palmer, Roisin Byrne and

Bennery Quinn

Submission to the County Kildare Enterprise board.

CONTENTS:

1. Cover Page2. Contents3. Introduction4. Summary5. Team/Product 6. Production Process7. SCOT/SWOT analysis & Market Research8. Market Plan/Finance9. Review/Conclusion

10. Appendices

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INTRODUCTION:

• Who are we? We are “Snapshot Frames”. We are a team composed of seven members from St. Wolstans Community School: Lauren Higgins-Roche, Bennery Quinn, Zoe Palmer, Aideen Galligan, Megan Strickland, Eilise Munroe, and Roisin Byrne. The name came about due to our consumers being able to “Snap-on, and, snap-off” our magnetic frames. Also, a “snapshot” is another word for the photo, so it fit the product nicely.

• Our product is? Our product is a hand decorated magnetic photo frame. Each one is decorated with a combination of both re-cycled and purchased materials. Our frames are available in vertical and horizontal designs. They are individually packaged in a sealed, clear, plastic pouch. Each of our frames can be used on any metal object, for example: On a school locker, work locker, fridge, filing cabinet etc.

• Our product does? Our product can stick to any metal object, some of which are listed above. It holds an average sized photo. It can be used to protect your photos edges from getting torn, damaged, and frayed. It allows you to have your favourite and most loved photos with you everywhere: School (locker), work (locker, filing cabinet etc.) at home (on the fridge, washing machine etc.)

• The benefits of our product? Our product has many benefits and unique selling points. Firstly, no two of our frames are the same. They are all one of a kind. We use re-cycled old occasion cards to decorate them (e.g.: birthday cards, Christmas cards, thank you cards. Etc.)

• They are light weight yet durable.

• They come in a multitude of unique designs; there is one to suit every taste.

• They make fantastic gifts! Secret Santa, stocking filler, a birthday surprise, and a Valentines gift…the list is endless.

• The customer gets real quality for just €4.00. Each one is carefully hand designed by our talented production team.

• Our product is? Our product is a hand designed magnetic photo frame. This frame is

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SUMMARY:

Our choice or product was a good one. Although it did have a few issues. The reasons behind us believing out product was a good choice, is because our frames were a product which we could produce many of, in a short space of time. Our product is unique and no two are the same. Our product incorporated eco-friendly aspects, which we believe is a very important factor. Each one was inexpensive to produce, and it was easy to make each frame to a high standard. Also, our product is very functional, and can be used for more than one thing, not only holding photos, but for timetables, a small mirror, etc.

Even though we are confident that our product was a good choice, we did encounter a few issues with our product choice. Our product was well finished and there was a lot of interest in the product, but, there were many people who seemed unwilling to pay €4 for our product. People did not seem to realise the amount of skill and hard work that had to go into hand designing each frame. Students did not seem to realise that this was a very good price for a hand designed, high quality product.

We got the idea for our product through our initial idea generation. Our first idea was to make a locker decorating kit. One of the items that was going to be part of this product, was a magnetic photo frame. When we realised that the locker kit was too expensive to produced, we decided to take one of the most useful of the items from the kit, and make that into our product. We chose the magnetic frame. This is where our product came from.

The skills which we had within our team, were broad. We had people with good communication skills, people with design skills, people with leadership skills, and people with good sales abilities. As not everyone had all the skills needed, people had to learn new skills. Communication and listening skills had to be learned by many members of the group. These were very important as every persons idea needed to be heard, and opinions needed to be valued.

Our customers for our product were students in our school, teachers in our school, and also adults outside of school, such as our friends and family.

We promoted our product in three main ways. We used brightly coloured eye-catching poster around the school so that students and teachers would know about our product. We used images of our product on these to generate interest, we also provided a brief description of the product, along with information such as the price, where and when we would be selling, and any deals that we had going on. We also used social media, we set up a Facebook page for our company, to allow people to stay updated with our new designs, and our offers. Word of mouth was also used to get people down to our display.

During the course of our mini-company experience, we did take risks. The biggest risk which we took was in regards to our pricing. When we surveyed people in our school, the majority said they would pay €5-€8 for one of our frames. When they were actually made however, we had a team meeting. We decided that this price was

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too high for selling to students in our school. This was a risk, but, we felt it needed to be done.

The difficulties we had to overcome were minor. We had some difficulties with the frames initially. When a frame was painted, it would cause the frames to almost sort of, contract. This meant there was a bend in the middle, which caused an issue with it sticking to metal surfaces. We solved this by flattening each frame before selling it. Another difficulty we encountered was when we were trying to get a stand at a Christmas Craft fair. This was difficult due to the cost of stalls being quite expensive, the ones which were not, had no stalls left. We had a minor difficulty with our team structure, but this was easily fixed and roles were re-distributed.

We have made a profit of: €74.19

Team

• Lauren Higgins-Roche: CEO and Suppliers (Overseeing of all, finding reliable and suitable suppliers for all of the materials needed)

• Eilise Munroe: Sales and Market research (Selling to the students at school, and compiling survey results in graphs and pie charts)

• Megan Strickland: Finance manager (keeping track of all transactions, keeping accounts, ensuring financial sustainability)

• Aideen Galligan: Sales and production (Selling to students and teachers in school, designing and decorating the frames, along with assembling them)

• Zoe palmer: Head of Production, Finance (Overseeing of all production, head of the production team, also keeping track of money)

• Roisin Byrne: Marketing/Production (Promoting the product and creating products)

• Bennery Quinn: Marketing/Promotions (promoting and creating posters, displays etc.)

PRODUCTS/SERVICES:

Our product is a magnetic photo frame. Each frame is hand designed using an array of materials, both recycled, and purchased. E.g. gems, paint, glitter, stickers , and designs cut out from old occasion cards. This product will hold your average sized photo, though some may contain a message or proverb etc., and can be affixed to any metal surface. E.g. Lockers, fridges, driers, washing machines. This frame will be made of cream card, with a cream card backing. Once each frame has been made and decorated, they will be packaged into a plastic slip. This will then be sealed.

Our product is innovative due to the fact that each one is one of a kind. No two are the same. Every single one is unique. We are taking very basic materials, all which can be

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recycled, and making them into a high quality, well finished product. We take one thing, the used occasion cards, and turn them into something new. We use them to decorate our frames. Our frames can also be used to hold not only photos, but a timetable, a mirror, or even a small memo board.

PRODUCTION PROCESS:

We produced the product in a few simple steps:

• First off, the production team cut some of the cream backing card to size. They affix this to the back of the frame base using PVA glue, leaving a space at the top for the insertion of the photo.

• The team will then come up with some design ideas, and will lay out the gems, stickers, glitter, images etc, onto the frame, to see what it will look like.

• Next, the frames are painted. This step is not always done, due to the fact that the finish on the frame base is cream, and smooth, so it can be left unpainted for a more simplistic look.

• Once the paint has dried, the sticking can begin. Cut out images of designs for the recycled occasion cards can be stuck on, along with gems, glitter or stickers.

• They are left to dry, some are flattened or pressed to ensure they will stick properly.

• Once they are dry, four small squares of magnet, each 1cm, are cut. These are stuck onto the back. One in each corner.

• They are then slipped into their clear plastic slip. Sealed, and ready for selling.

We did encounter a few problems when it came to making our product. It all stemmed from the fact that our base frames, were more expensive to purchase then we had thought. The cheapest price we could find, was not cheap enough for us, but we had no choice but to make the purchase, take the risk. Getting the materials was not as difficult, we found them in local stores, and online. Design had one minor issue, when the glue would dry, it would really restrict the flexibility of the backing card. So, on some frames, it would not stretch enough for the photo to fit in. However, this issue was easily resolved by using less glue with a smaller applicator.

We arrived at our price for €4 through having lots of group meetings. Once our surveys had told us that people would pay €5-€8, we began to discuss our thoughts on that price. Older students would have that money, but the younger students would have less to be spending. We went on the concept of “Pocket Money Purchases”. Something under €5, that’s pretty, well made, functional, and value for your money. Despite being told that we should have raised our price, people were not buying our product at €4, so we did not think they would be inclined to purchase it for more. We needed to stay confident in our own pricing.

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Each frame cost just €1 to make. Each one was sold at €4, although, near the end of selling, after the demand for our product had died down, we reduced the price to €3, and did a two for €5 deal.

SWOT/SCOT ANALYSIS:

Strengths: • We had members of our group that were good at art and design. • Each frame is hand decorated, no two are the same.• We had an existing market.• Our product is lightweight and durable.• The product can be used outside of school.• Great gift option.• Very affordable.

Weaknesses/Challenges: • There were unexpected costs.• We needed to assure high quality.• Very time consuming to design each frame.

Opportunities:• Sales could be made at craft fairs.• They can be sold as gifts.• They can be sold in gift/craft shops.

Threats: • People may not appreciate the effort that was put into the product.• Other mini-companies offering hand- made/hand decorated products.

MARKET RESEARCH:

In order to conduct market research, we firstly looked on the internet and in local shops to see whether there were similar products already available. We found that there were some similar products such as magnetic frames and small frames, but they were not handmade. This desk research allowed us to see that our product was unique and unavailable in our area.We then decided to conduct field research. In order to do this we created a survey. The survey consisted of questions that would give us a good idea of our target market and what they were looking for in our product. The survey also told us the amount that people were willing to pay for our product.

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We made 50 copies of the survey and distributed them around our school, and to some adults outsides of school. We distributed them around the school because this is where we were planning to set up our stall and sell. The target market we decided upon was women aged 12-50 years old. The reason we started at the age of 12 was because the average age of First Year students is 12.In order to make sure that we had done our market research with the correct target market, we asked a few adults that we knew, whether they, or people they knew, would be interested in our product. Although they did show interest, we found that our main market was in fact in our school. Our target market were in fact the main purchasers of our product. This provided us with the information that our target marked was a good choice. In order to meet our Customers’ requirements, we had to produce both horizontal and vertical frames. We also took a custom order, along with lowering our price to make our product more accessible to the students in our school. We promoted our enterprise by using social media, and posters. We created a Facebook page for our product, and we created posters containing all relevant information such as: Price, product description, where we’re selling, when we’re selling, and a product visual. We also used word of mouth, going around school spreading the word.

Marketing Plan:

Our marketing plan was as follows: • To spread the word throughout our school by putting up brightly coloured eye

catching posters. These would include images of our products, along with the price of our product, where and when we would be selling, and s brief summary of what our product is.

• We planned to promote our product through creating a page on a very popular social networking site. We all decided upon using Facebook. This page would provide updates on prices, deals, and new designs. This page would provide people with all the information they would need, on the product, and on us as a company.

• We planned to generate interest by spreading the word by mouth. When our sales team would be selling, we planned to have people going around the school letting people know where we were, and what we were selling.

• We planned to promote our product at Christmas Craft Fairs, we knew this would be difficult, so we were mostly relying on our other forms of marketing, as they were definitely do-able.

Finance:

Once we agreed on our product, we brainstormed how much money would be needed to finance our enterprise. We first decided on €10.00 from all seven of us, giving us a Share Capital of €70.00 to begin. People were beginning to buy crafts and such without checking with the Finance team first, so we were

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running out of money quickly, and didn't have sufficient funds for future purchases. We had a meeting, and all agreed that an extra €5.00 would be paid by everyone to be prepared for any unexpected costs that may arise. This gave us a Share Capital of €105.00 for costs. To figure out how we would price our product, we wrote up 50 surveys, and distributed these to the students of our school, who were our main target audience. We gave them a choice of three price ranges that they would be willing to pay for our product. The choices were:• €3-€5• €5-€8• €8-€12The majority of the students surveyed said they would pay €5-€8, the percentage of students, (as seen on our Market Research Results) was 49%. We first decided on charging €4.99 for our frames, but soon felt that students wouldn't be inclined to purchase a product for that price, and that students don't have an that sort of money on hand to bring in. After much deliberation, we decided on our price being €4.00 for our frames. Taking into consideration the fact that it costs approximately €1.00 to create each frame, we settled on having a mark-up percentage of 300%, which is €3.00 onto our cost price, giving us a profit of €3.00, and a selling price of €4.00. However, towards the end of selling, we realized that the demand for our frames has lessened, and not as many people were willing to buy, despite our ongoing mentioning of our selling days and price. Our C.E.O decided to drop the price of the frames to €3.00, and in turn do a deal in which two frames will cost €5.00, meaning the public save €1.00. This way we will push the demand of frames towards the end of selling, and clear our stock faster.

REVIEW/CONCLUSION:

As a team, we feel we got along really well. There was quite a contrast of personalities in our group, so of course there were some conflicts between different members in our group but overall everyone focused on their work and getting it done. When problems would arise we would all help out and put our heads together to figure them out. We worked very well as a team and everybody pulled their weight in the group. One thing that made our group work well was that nobody took a Mini-Company problem outside of Mini-Company, no one took anything personal, and we kept any disagreements within the Company. As everyone was good at a different thing, it wasn't difficult to distribute jobs to each one, as we were able to tell who suited what role in the company.

As in every company, there were a lot of difficulties in working as a team, especially when personalities contrasted. There were a lot of people with different personalities in our group, and because of that, certain issues were handled differently by different people. Everyone's solutions to a problem were of course, different, and this became an issue when trying to find a solution to our problem. Some people in the group were Assertive, and

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thought of the most logical solutions to a problem and knew exactly how to carry them out, some people were Agressive, and had more of a short-temper when trying to get their point across, and some were very Passive-Agressive, and would not put input into the group for fear of not being noticed. This was a problem a few times in the group, but we overcame those obstacles, and came to compromises.

Some people in the group learned the skill of communication, whereby we would learn how to get our points across without getting short-tempered or upset. If someone wanted to disagree, everybody listened and took into consideration their point. We learned the skill of inclusion. We soon learned that some people may be too shy to say what they want to say, so we made sure they were allowed have a say, and that their thoughts were taken into consideration also.

Lastly, the most important skill we learned was how to compromise, how to come up with a solution that everybody would be happy with, and that no one was not counted in. Team-work was also very important, and learning how to handle different personalities in the group, this helped us move forward as a group when we overcame this obstacle. Business skills were of course learned by all, how to draw up accounts, market research, and also sales. This will help us in later life if we were to go into business of any kind, so it was an important skill also.

Yes, after the competition our group will continue to trade. This is in order to clear our stock and try to make more profit if possible.The best advice we were given was to raise the price of our product, as it was worth more than we were selling for. Althought we opted not to raise the price due to the target audience we were dealing with, we did take away that we needed to be confident in our price, and really believe we can sell our product for the price it deserved to be sold for.

If we were to give advice to anybody thinking of starting an enterprise, we would tell them to really research in detail the product they're thinking of selling, their competitors, prices of certain materials, and other things relevant to their product. If we researched a little more than we did, we might have thought differently about pricing and other aspects of our product. Make sure there is a member of your team confident in business skills, as the Finance part of the company is probably the most difficult, and if you have someone that has done business, they will really be one of the strengths in your company. Choosing the right C.E.O is also important, you want to be sure you have the right person for each job, and someone that's assertive also. Our C.E.O choice was a good one, we had an assertive leader who listened to everybody's thoughts, and that's important in a company.

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