tudents from the Business Principles course will sell baked goods as a part of their course curriculum Dec. 11 and 12. The bakeries will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. There are five bakeries total: Southside Sweets Bakery, Cherry on Top Bakery, The Sweet Spot Bakery, Bakery on the Moon and Chocolate Spot Bakery.
Sophomore Claire Swindle, a student in the Business Principle class, is one of five Chief Executive Officers (CEO). Swindle is the CEO for Southside Sweets Bakery.
“I was selected by my teacher and other business professionals from State Farm, Landmark and other local businesses,” Swindle said. “They interviewed every person in the class and then discussed who would be fit for the job.”
As part of her role, Swindle hires other students from the class to fill different positions, such as the vice president of marketing, human resources and product development officers. Swindle said she evaluated students and helped make the selection process.
“I interviewed everyone in the class and hired 5 of them, but there are other CEO’s so everyone has a job,” Swindle said. “I oversee everyone and help out with anything they need, I also report to the teacher what each student needs and such.”
Working alongside Swindle is sophomore Kalinga Nihorimbere. Nihorimbere is a chief financial officer, and is also a part of Southside Sweets.
“I had [to] write a business plan and present it to Landmark Bank to get a loan,” Nihorimbere said. “I had to price the food and to make sure we can pay off our loan workers, ourselves and the food.”
The class showed Nihorimbere what it means to run a business and cater to a variety of consumers, keeping in mind a variety of factors. She said the goal is to make $260 from the bakeries, and after paying rent, the employees and the cost of the food, finish the project with a profit of $89.
“Business Principles has taught me that in business you have to be flexible to help others and be attentive to what the customers want and how to reach them,” Nihorimbere said. “[I learned this] through posters, location, price, food and appearance.”
Once the bakeries open, senior Ncuti Ishimwe plans on visiting, as she has a sibling and friends who will be working the tents.
“I’m most excited to see the creativity of the underclassmen at RBHS, and all the hard work and time they put into this project,” Ishimwe said.
The bakery is an accumulation of knowledge and hard work of the whole semester Swindle said. Starting in September, students selected recipes, taste-tested the goods and narrowed down recipes. In addition, students went to Walmart to decide which products would be the most cost effective and tasty.
“We had to meet with a real estate agent to figure out locations,” Swindle said. “We met with Digital Media, so they could make our flyers and menus; we had to pick out decorations for our teacher to buy within a budget.”
Swindle said she is most looking forward to welcoming everyone to her bakery and seeing which products end up selling the most. The money earned over the course of the two days goes towards buying pizzas for the employees, students in Digital Media and My Cuisine.
“Basically we have done a simulation of what a real business would be like,” Swindle said. “I’ve learned a lot about communication and leadership through this experience.”
Are you in Business Principles? Let us know in the comments below.
Sarah • Dec 14, 2018 at 8:44 pm
It’s great how the students can learn real-life skills by doing this class and also sell some good food!
Alma Jarbou • Dec 14, 2018 at 9:51 am
This is really awesome! Plus, the sweets were super good!
Lupita A • Dec 13, 2018 at 1:33 pm
Didn’t realize how much work get’s put into this. Really cool!
Maddie • Dec 13, 2018 at 12:21 pm
Good coverage. I think it’s really cool that teenagers are learning these skills in high school and are able to put them into action.
Ross • Dec 13, 2018 at 12:02 pm
I’m a big fan of the snacks at the bakeries. They allow students to mix it up with what they eat from the monotony of everyday school lunch.