The students at the Estevan Comprehensive School are making a name for themselves as titans of industry.
Through the school's business program last semester, two companies were founded and competed toe-to-toe as they attempted to capture the Energy City's sweet tooth. Both companies, Truffle Shuffle and First Class Baking, centred their businesses around producing and selling baked goods around the city. After finding success locally, each company was recognized with a variety of awards at the Junior Achievement of Saskatchewan Hall of Fame banquet in Regina on June 11.
The two companies and their employees/shareholders were nominated for each of the 16 awards, and while competing against 30 other companies from schools across the southern half of the province, the students won five.
Truffle Shuffle took the proverbial cake at the banquet, as the business was honoured as the company of the year.
Both Estevan companies generated high net profits. With each student putting $20 into the company as a shareholder, those investments had a return of $344.55 for the First Class Baking team and $344.25 for Truffle Shuffle shareholders. First Class generated total sales of $14,858 and a net income of $5,913, while Truffle Shuffle generated $17,155.77 gross sales and a net profit of $7,847.42. The companies both showed off a flare for community stewardship as well, with Truffle Shuffle donating $1,000 of their profits to United Way Estevan, while First Class Baking presented $1,000 to the Hearthstone campaign for a new nursing home.
First Class Baking won an award for their shareholders' report, and company president Alexandria Neuman noted their detailed business plan included reports from six areas of their business.
"Each VP talked about what was going on in their area," said Alexandria of the 26-page document. "We put that all together in a business plan just to give a really in-depth look at our company."
Looking back at what they learned about running a company, Kallie McConnell is quick to say, "It's not as easy as my parents make it out to be."
McConnell won the Production Excellence Award for work with First Class Baking.
Something that their teacher Josh LeBlanc touched on was stress management and how to efficiently use both time and resources. Putting any personal issues aside and getting along with others in the company was a key in ensuring a successful business.
"In our company we had a lot of conflict management," noted Shaylee Foord, president of Truffle Shuffle, who said that helped them in dealing with customers as well. "(It was important) knowing how to talk to people and relate well to people, so that if there was an issue, it could be resolved quickly."
Shaylee earned the President of the Year Award for her work.
Truffle Shuffle's Shelby Frehlick noted the company was a lot of work, and it took a dedicated group to stay at the school as late 3:30 a.m. one night to make sure they had all of their orders out.
Emily Schroeder earned the Salesperson of the Year Award, as not only the top salesperson on her team, First Class Baking, but also producing top sales against competing companies. She used both her experience working in Estevan at a store as well as her connections in the oilfield to generate top numbers.
"I transferred those skills to the company," she said. "We tried to canvass the city. We split the city up into four sections and for about three weeks straight we went to businesses every day and tried to get our information out."
Perseverance is an important quality in any salesperson, and Emily proved she had what it took to close the deals. Access to oil companies at a prime time during the holidays was also key to her success.
"The part that really helped me was that I have parents in the oilfield. We were conveniently around Christmastime, so I had a few companies that wanted to buy the products to give to their customers for Christmas, so I had a few big sales that way."
With the two local companies competing directly, Shaylee said that helped push everyone to try to one-up the competition with their peers.
"That's one of those things that gave us an advantage," she said. "We couldn't tell how any other companies in the province were doing, but seeing the other class and knowing they're way ahead of us (was a motivator)."
"Their goals were to try and surpass each other throughout the entire time," said LeBlanc, who helped plant seeds of competition with each company by telling each one how far behind they were.
He said what the students really learned about was the importance of a deadline. The companies didn't just have to hand in an assignment on time, but they were expected to deliver their products on time to paying customers who expected a certain level of service.
"They definitely surpassed their goals. The kids don't really see what they did until the end. I think a lot of them were surprised that night to see their name in the program," said LeBlanc, who, as an instructor, was proud to see the companies recognized for their effort.
