young enterprise product ideas

[youngenterprise06]

My school has entered the young enterprise competitions and I have been selected project manager. My team are struggling to come up with good product ideas that would help us go far in the competition. We want somthing that is easy and cheap to make and something a market that we could break into and make good profits.
We are all between 16 and 17 years old and therefore we don't have that much business experience and would really like to hear from you. T

Thanks

 

[Ozzy]

Hi,
To be honest if we knew the answer to this question we would all be doing it. From my experience of working with Young Enterprise companies you need to think of something unique for your own school and/or circumstances. Some of the best ideas are the simplest, and it is not necessarily the most amazing idea that woudl win the competition. It most often is the best run and implemented idea.

 

[lex]

I did young enterprise and got the highest score in my region, well on the test anyway. The rest of my company decided i was not worth bothering with and didnt let me help with marketing and anything else so we didnt do well, thier loss.

Anyway some good products:

1Ltr Water Bottles (Filled) - A company did this and sold them as water savers to put in toilets, they did very well with this.

Picture Frames, CD Clocks, Christmas Cards all the usual stuff. Go with the water thing.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Making a product based around safety always gets you extra brownie points.

 

[toystoyou]

Given the push towards greener living, recycling and sustainability anything that you can create that helps in any of these areas is a good idea.

 

[creacom]

I was project manager of my enterprise group. We went for food. We contacted a local company that sells excellent jams, sauces and things like that and they let us market their products under our branding !

Was excellent, we sold a lot more than expected and got in all the locla press. Basically, we didnt have a lot to do but the company that makes this stuff has quite a "posh" and expensive reputation. As soon as the locals saw our branding and school name, they snapped it up at just under a fraction of the normal retail price.

Cant give you a lot of advice on what to aim for but when it comes to your group, you will have some people who dont pull their weight. Dont focus on them, include them but dont get dragged down by them and you and the people who do make the effort will see the benefits.

Best of luck

Jacqui

 

[andrew1810]

We went for the easy option and put a vending machine in the 6th form room, did well enough and we made a couple of hundred between us (plus lots of free chocolates from suppliers)

 

[Cornish Steve]

By when must you choose an idea? For how long does the competition last? By what criteria are you judged? Can you provide details of the timeline?

 

[hightide]

where are you based?
we could help you with a number of things:
- production of christmas cards, calendars etc. for the Christmas market
rough calculation we use for fundraisers is that you can easily make £4k+ if you can sell 1,000 calendars: and that could be easier than it sounds
be helpful if you were near me, but still happy to work remotely
drop me an email - [email protected] - or call me on 0121 354 8001

 

[citrus]

I was project manager of my enterprise group. We went for food. We contacted a local company that sells excellent jams, sauces and things like that and they let us market their products under our branding !

You need to be very careful with food products, re the risk of legal action if someone gets ill. IIRC when I did Young Enterprise (~10 years ago) the rules actually stated that you weren't allowed to sell any food products.

Our company was terrible, but the company in our region that had the greatest success had found a local craftsman and acted as retail agents for his hand made rocking horses. They weren't cheap by any means, but they only had to sell a few to generate good revenue. Small companys and sole traders may be glad of the extra exposure and outlets for their goods.

Also, I like toystoyou's idea about recycling. What about a simple way of helping people sort their rubbish for recycling bins? I know I personally find it a pain having two seperate pedal bins in our little kitchen.

 

[creacom]

To go back to the food products....everything was covered by the producers insurance. We had nothing to do with production and only basically stuck our lables on the produce when they were sealed.

On the bottom label it also explained the initiative clearly and that we did not produce it.

Jacqui

 

[citrus]

To go back to the food products....everything was covered by the producers insurance. We had nothing to do with production and only basically stuck our lables on the produce when they were sealed.

Well weren't you jammy! [sorry ]

 

[mose]

when i was at school we made badges of pamela anderson topless, one of my friends dad was a printer and run us off a whole batch, they went down very well with the kids, until the teachers found out!!!lol.

 

[WithFig]

Theres always the option of buying in stock and reselling it.

Mixed Lots and surplus stock could be a good source of goods. One of the main problems we had when i did young enterprise was finding places to sell goods.

One option could be to buy in mixed lots/surplus stock at a fraction of the price to resell. You could resell on eBay, car boot sales (if any of you drive?) through local shops etc. You have the added bonus of being a young enterprise good so local independent retailers will probably more than likely able to stock some of the goods that you buy.

I think one of the main problems you will have is "Where can we sell these goods" especially if the goods you go for are not aimed at students within your school.

With Christmas coming up car boot sales and local markets can be very very profitable. Just take a look on ebay - - Goto the wholesale | Mixed lots section.

Myself and a friend (who was also in my young ent group) are in the processing of setting up our business. We deal in surplus/bankrupt goods etc and sell a variety of items.

Christmas Cards and related items at this point in the year has a huge potential. Give me a PM if you would like me to keep an eye out for any particular products that I might be able to send your way or if you want any further info on surplus stock etc!

Good Luck but most importantly have fun doing it!

 

[youngenterprise06]

Thanks for the replies. I had problems logging in which is why i haven't replied. I think we need to make our product and start selling in about a month so we don't have much time. I need something that could take me all the way. The Calender idea sounds good because i think i would be easy to make and yet it could make alot of money. I would like to do somthing where i could get bonus points but i don't know if the enviromental stuff will make as much money. We've got to decide on the product by next week so hopefuly my team will think of something. T

Thanks

 

[adam]

Have you time to make a calendar?

Where are you based? Is there anything your region is known for?

 

[eddieriby]

These were the days......I was the MD of our Young Enterprise company which got to the Northern Finals @ Nestle's in York (I'll never forget the powerpoint presentation crashing in front of 200 people!).

Random I know but we decided on Bird Boxes!! Manufactured them ourselves, stained and painted etc. We had them endorsed by the RSPB and did really well, even attending a European Young Enterprise International Trade Show in Germany!

I'd just keep to something simple, don't over complicate things and make sure you keep clear records of everything that takes place. Be confident during any presentations you have to make and always be prepared.

Enjoy it!

 

[Gillie]

I have spent the last two weeks judging a new thing in this area, Lancs younger Enterprise awards, and its been a wonderful experience and eye opener.

One of the best ideas that worked was a simple book aimed at young children ie 2-3 yr olds, that was made at a local press that they sold and sold in vast quantities. It was the adventures of a monkey and had flaps to see what he had got up to. Now they persuaded the printer to run with it as a partner of theirs, then basically organised visits and stands at all the local playschools and nurseries etc and sold over 2,000 of them in the space of a four week period. A website was also set up, and used effectively to market the product.

Now the frightening part of it all .... they were only 14/15 years of age!

 

Were doing YE in our school and a lot of our initial ideas our aimed out our junior school. It all depends on your school, if theres any openings in your school and its regulations. Externally well its anyones game.

 

[Danie-Academy]

HI

Our Young Enterprise has only recently formed and are struggling to get started.. We'd love any ideas on what we could do??
Or if any local business personel could offer any advice??

Dugannon Area.

 

[Alex@AMB]

When I did it, we did ringtones and logos for phones. Back then, they werent so freely available. We had a laptop, a data cable and a mobile phone. Each one we sent cost us 12p (price of a text message) and we were selling them for between 50p and £3.

Coined it in.

 

[bridges]

When I did it, we made wheat pillows (the ones you put in the microwave to warm up) and we made a profit, really enjoyed doing that!

B x

 

[Officebird]

HI

Our Young Enterprise has only recently formed and are struggling to get started.. We'd love any ideas on what we could do??
Or if any local business personel could offer any advice??

Dugannon Area.

Hi,

You may find it better to start your own thread as most people (like me initially), will notice this is an old thread and ignore. Also it would be helpful if you explained a bit more about what you are trying to achieve. Is it a school project? Ho long does it run for?

 

[mhall]

I have been a judge for Young Enterprise for many a long year. Please, no more CD clocks, "learning aids" or stuff you buy from Ikea and paint.

Choose your target market carefully as this impresses most - don't take the easy option of selling stuff that other 16 year olds will buy unless its a really novel idea. Things you make yourself are fine, just make sure you can prove you can make more. Stuff for younger children always seem to do well. Never forget that you are part of a massive target market and you could know better than anyone else how larger companies could reach YOU. I have yet to see a Young Enterprise "Consultancy " business, selling its knowledge to other businesses.

And boring as it sounds, Young Enterprise are obsessed that you stick to the rules, I remember suffering an hour long debate over whether a Business Plan cover counted as part of the ten pages allowed - we all agreed it was a stupid argument but that "extra page" was the only thing that seperated two very good teams.

And one final point- if you have a "mentor" be very wary about selling anything your mentor is involved in. They are supposed to support you, not use you as a selling arm (unless of course, your business is just that)

 

[Faith28]

I'll always say card games...

 

[scribe]

where are you based?
we could help you with a number of things:
- production of christmas cards, calendars etc. for the Christmas market
rough calculation we use for fundraisers is that you can easily make £4k+ if you can sell 1,000 calendars: and that could be easier than it sounds
be helpful if you were near me, but still happy to work remotely
drop me an email - [email protected] - or call me on 0121 354 8001

Cracking idea, get your tutors to do a nude calendar

 

[Draugen]

I forever live in fear of a YE representative knocking on my door demanding money.

While myself and my school chums started out as the usual honest and enthusiastic mini business minds, in reality we defrauded hundreds of people and then ran off with the profits!

- We ran a raffle without a prize (made £300)
- We bought photo frames and incense burners from the Pound shop and then sold them at a 500% markup as being made by A Level technology students
- We paid none of our YE VAT or other associated fees
- We learned about expenses early on and ordered buffets for our meetings
- We made a profit, but neglected to pay any dividends to our shareholders and instead went out for a slap up meal and got hammered on the profits.

I believe my school did not participate in Young Enterprise for several years following!