Teaching enterprising skills

Not all our students are destined to become captains of industry; however, engaging them in entrepreneurship now will arm them with a set of highly transferrable skills they will be able to deploy in the future no matter what their paths.

Equipped with the skills of teamwork, problem solving, financial and digital literacy, creative and critical thinking, and communication, they will be ready to innovate, collaborate and deploy a solutions-focused mindset to any task or problem in their careers and life generally.

At St Margaret’s, entrepreneurship in the classroom is largely project-based, with a key focus on providing authentic opportunities for students to engage in real-world learning experiences.

Market Day

An inaugural Market Day for Year 10 Economics and Entrepreneurial students resulted in a packed Eton Hall, sold out stalls, and over $4,000 raised for charity. Tasked with developing a not-for-profit business from the ground up, students came up with ideas such as dog leashes, cosmetic products, crazy socks, candles, beeswax paper, handmade gift cards, jewellery, key chains, baked goods, and even the adoption of plants.

The student-led project challenges students’ creativity, champions innovation, and inspires student entrepreneurship.

The ‘$20 Boss’ project helped turn their ideas into reality, giving students a $20 capital investment into their business enterprise, which they then developed into an operating business ready to trade.

The project required students to pitch an idea, consider the mission of the business, and develop design, pricing, and promotional strategies, all with the aim of raising as much profit as possible for chosen charity Make-a-Wish Foundation. Secondary teacher Georgia Nankivell said Market Day was introduced to allow the students to have experience in the practical application of the skills and theory covered in class.

‘It required them to develop and present an elevator pitch to secure their initial capital investment, allowed them to build digital technology skills to construct their marketing campaigns and collect market feedback, and enhanced their excel spreadsheet skills to calculate unit costs and profit margins.

‘Simultaneously, they developed skills such as creative thinking, problem solving and initiative,’ Georgia said.

Market Day demonstrated to students in entrepreneurship that not everything always goes to plan and, in turn, gave them the opportunity to develop skills of reflection and analysis to improve their business ideas and make as much profit for a good cause as possible.

Shark Tank

Year 9 entrepreneurial students collaborate on an enterprising project before pitching their ideas to a panel of real-world business minds, in a ‘SharkTank’-like setting.

Through their projects, students work practically to solve real-world problems and hone their ability to articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively with the aim of influencing the sharks to ‘buy-in’ to their proposition. Real-life entrepreneurs must develop a ‘pitch perfect’ proposition for potential investors, and this project gives students the ideal forum to practise these skills in a safe and supportive environment.

In 2022, our generous ‘sharks’ included Peter and Penny Wolff (Wolff Coffee Roasters), Julia Spicer OAM (Queenslands’ Chief Entrepreneur), Darren Crombie (E3 Advisory), Diane O’Reilly (Founder and Director of Marketing, OMG Decadent Donuts), Kellie Haeusler (QUT lecturer in entrepreneurialism), Natasha Nankivell (Founder of Global Alternative Funds), Steven Sorbello (Managing Partner, BDO Australia), and Matt Lyons (Business Manager, Macquarie Bank).

Students pitched a variety of innovative product ideas, including a pen designed for time-poor people that converts handwritten notes to electronic type; an app that connects teenagers to parttime jobs throughout Brisbane; and a sustainably made gift card solution aimed at eliminating single use plastic gift cards.

Secondary teacher Jon Grant says the Shark Tank project requires students to think like an entrepreneur by identifying a problem impacting society and devising an innovative product idea to solve it.

‘The students need to develop a creative solution to a real-world problem and conduct the research to back up their business proposition. As part of the pitch process, they are required to identify their target market and competitive advantage, and present their profitability calculations to the ‘sharks’, who, in turn, provide valuable feedback and recommendations,’ Jon said.