The students in this semester’s entrepreneurship 30 class at the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) hope the community will embrace their business venture.
They have created Empire Clothing, which offers T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, hoodies and jogging plants in different sizes for males and females. Prices range from $25 for the t-shirt to $60 for the jogging pants.
“They’ve done well,” said entrepreneurship 30 teacher Josh LeBlanc. “They’ve done everything that they needed to so far. The business plan is where it needs to be.”
Some of their apparel boast crown logo for Empire Clothing, but others have a pump jack and a water tower in their effort to pay homage to Estevan.
Students started selling their merchandise the week after Remembrance Day, and LeBlanc said the sales have done well. He expects it will pick up as Christmas approaches, and once they get more clothing into the school’s store. They will also have an Internet store for online shopping.
The class had less time to get their business started than previous classes, but LeBlanc said they are now on track.
“They bounced back and forth with a few different ideas, starting in the beginning (of the school year),” said LeBlanc. “They started partially on one project, and then they decided that idea wasn’t going to work for them, so they decided to move onto the clothing idea.”
The students needed time to learn the necessary steps to do the logo screen printing in-house. But they have made good connections in the community, and LeBlanc expects that will boost their sales.
The first month of the school year saw the students learn about entrepreneurship, including the steps to start their own business and the skills that entrepreneurs possess. They also consider case studies of successful and unsuccessful business owners.
“Then they move into coming up with an idea,” said LeBlanc. “We do the opportunity and idea identification. And then they move into starting the business, with the business plan, electing the executive and the management team, and presenting the business plan in front of business people and parents.”
The students received feedback, made the necessary changes, and then started making the clothing. Each student in the class has a role within the company.
“By the end of the semester, these kids are going to put in an extra 100 hours,” said LeBlanc. “If we could get them dual credit, I would love to, but right now it’s not set up for that.”
At the same time, the students do get profits from the sale of the apparel. They will split the profits.
One dollar from the sale of each clothing item goes to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation.
Borys Bodnarus is a Grade 12 student and the vice-president of production. He is pleased with the efforts of his classmates.
“People like our clothing,” said Bodnarus. “It’s pretty comfortable. It’s probably the most comfortable thing out there. We made sure we ordered the higher-end clothing, so the return rate is low and the customer satisfaction is high.”
They chose a clothing business because they wanted to make something that is comfortable, and can represent the school and the city.
He regards Entrepreneurship 30 as a great learning experience for the students who are registered. It has taught them how to operate a business, and the hours required of being an entrepreneur. They have had to stay after school a lot of nights.
And they have learned more about the value of giving back through their commitment to the hospital foundation.
LeBlanc noted they have 21 students in this semester’s class. Entrepreneurship 30 will be offered once again during the spring semester, which means another group of students will be taking a business idea to the community.
