It was a case of reality television meets Economics 101 as groups of Oxford Elementary fifth-graders got tossed into the infamous ‘Shark Tank? last week.
No students were eaten alive, but they all learned valuable lessons about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to starting their own businesses.
Using a modified version of the ABC television show ‘Shark Tank,? Oxford High School senior Sarah Ricketts and sophomore Sara Ruch, both of whom are members of the DECA Club, had groups of fifth-graders come up with ideas for businesses, then present them to a panel of judges.
For those not familiar with the reality show ‘Shark Tank,? which premiered in August 2009, it features five multimillionaire business tycoons (affectionately known as the ‘Sharks?) who hear investment proposals from entrepreneurs and consider whether to invest in the businesses.
Ricketts and Ruch decided to use the reality show as a fun and inventive way to promote entrepreneurship to the fifth-graders and teach them exactly what it takes to build a business from the ground up. On the flip side, students also learned that being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone.
For the project, the student groups had to write a description of their business including a list of products and services; do background research on the leaders in their industry; design the layout of their building; create a newspaper advertisement; and determine who their ‘target market? is (i.e. the age/gender of their potential customers).
The fifth-graders also had to pick a location for their business and conduct a SWOT analysis of that spot. For those not familiar with business lingo, SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
For about a month, Ricketts and Ruch visited the fifth-graders once a week to guide them along and check on their progress.
‘We taught them all the concepts of what it takes to be an entrepreneur,? Ruch said.
‘We were surprised they were so excited about doing this with us,? Ricketts said.
Last week, the students presented their business ideas and plans to a panel of judges that consisted of Suzanne Ardelan, owner of Curves, a gym for ladies in downtown Oxford; Bill Keenist, senior vice president of communications for the Detroit Lions, and Madonna Van Fossen and Michael Johnson, employees of the Oxford Downtown Development Authority.
Ashley Prusa and Keaton Giberson were selected as the overall winners for their business ‘Pages,? a book store that allows customers to not only purchase materials, but also check them out for free like at a library.
For their efforts, the winners each received a $10 gift certificate to the Oxford 7.
All of the students who participated in the DECA project were rewarded with a ‘Shark Tank? T-shirt and a chocolate bar.