A class of young entrepreneur have been selling their wares at the Winkler Christmas Market the past few weeks.
Garden Valley Collegiate’s Gr. 11 venture development course tasks students with coming up with a business idea and launching it.
In past years, the teens have sold their products at a market hosted by the school, but this year instructor Rhonda Kezema decided to try something new by teaming up with the holiday market that runs in the greenhouse of the New Leaf Garden Centre the weeks leading up to Christmas.
It’s a chance, she said, to reach out to a new group of customers and give the kids even more real-world business experience.
Photos by Ashleigh Viveiros/Voice
They were among the vendors at the Winkler Christmas Market last weekend
“I’m finding that the students, there’s a bit more pressure now that they’re going outside of their comfort zone, not having it here in the school,” Kezema said.
The course has 18 students and 11 businesses represented at the market on a rotating basis. They’ve spent the entire semester working up to these sale days, learning how to come up with a product, figure out their profit margins, market it, and so on.
“At the very beginning, it’s about finding an idea, a passion as far as what is going to motivate them to create a small business, finding a partner to work with that has similar interests,” Kezema said. “Now this market is the big moment of their launch.”
The course is a popular one with students looking to get some hands-on experience with the ins and outs of the business world. The list of product ideas this year runs the gamut from custom candles to handcrafted ornaments to dog treats.
“It’s incredible what they’re able to come up with,” Kezema said. “I’m just blown away by these students. They’re working really hard to get this underway.”
On Friday, Landon Penner, Quinn Giesbrecht, and Nolan Lepp were selling 3D printed gift card holders under the Holiday Home business banner.
“We like to call them the Kard Keepers,” said Penner. “At Christmas you always get a gift card or some cash, and it’s usually pretty boring—you get your gift card in a little paper thing. The idea of the Kard Keeper is that it’s a little something extra, something special.”
The holders each having a holiday saying on them and can be used again and again.
“So instead of just unwrapping the paper and throwing it out, you have this. And you give it to someone else and they can use it too,” said Giesbrecht.
By late Friday afternoon, they had already sold over half of their stock.
Penner and Giesbrecht shared that they very much enjoy the various business -focused courses at GVC.
“It’s different from every other course,” Penner said.
“It’s really good experience,” added Giesbrecht. “It’s fun and it teaches you lessons that even if you don’t become an entrepreneur … just learning how to talk to people in general, it’ll definitely help you.”
“And you make a bit of money,” added Penner.
Sharing the table that day with Holiday Home was H&P Candles, a business created by Tymofii Hovorukha.
“I make them from soy wax,” he explained. “So it’s safe for allergies.”
Hovorukha said that his girlfriend loves candles, so that was the inspiration behind starting up this business, which includes a range of different scents and shapes.
Hovorukha said he never expected to have the opportunity to explore entrepreneurship before graduating high school.
“I’m from Ukraine. We don’t have this stuff,” he said of the course. “I didn’t think I will have [the chance] ever in my life, so it’s very special for me.”
He’d like to run his own business, perhaps a restaurant, when he’s older, and he feels he’s learnt a lot of valuable dos and don’ts already.
“My teacher [is] teaching me every single thing I know, and my classmates [are] also teaching me some things.”
Manning the GVC vendor table on Saturday were the masterminds behind TOTE-LY WILD.
Madeline Peters, Heidi Braun, and Rachel Stempler were selling custom tote bags, with 10 per cent of their profits going to CancerCare.
“We do the designs ourselves with fabric paints and stencils,” explained Stempler. “We wanted to find a way to give back to the community, and we’re very passionate about CancerCare Manitoba.”
“When I was in Gr. 3, I got diagnosed with cancer,” shared Braun, “so it’s always been something that I have been passionate about. And it’s affected us, all three of us, in one shape or form, so it’s something we can all connect to and be passionate about.”
When coming up with a product for their business, the ladies wanted to do something practical that just about everyone could make use of.
“It’s something that’s really useful for everyday use,” said Stempler. “You can use these for anything, really.”
Stempler observed that the venture development course is a safe place to learn the ropes of business.
“It kind of gives you an opportunity to be creative and try things that you maybe wouldn’t necessarily have tried,” she said. “I don’t think any of us would have tried to start a business without this course, without someone to kind of help you start out. It’s really helpful to have that information before you get started. It’s a little less scary to jump into something like this.”
“We’re allowed to fail, make mistakes, try again,” added Braun. “I think it teaches us a lot of important life lessons … all of this is so valuable, and we can take it with us.”
Fellow Zodiac Caleb Dueck, Gr. 12, had his own table set up at the market, not just for one day but for multiple weekends.
The budding entrepreneur has been an avid woodworker for years now, and last year started up CSD WoodTurning to sell his creations at local artisan markets.
“I learned how to use a lathe when I was 14,” he said. “I started with bowls and then eventually moved into this kind of style: trees, mushrooms, decorations.”
Doing it all by hand brings a personal touch to every piece, noted Dueck, who enjoys the challenge of working with the wood and coming up with new product ideas.
“It’s very satisfying. I like the feeling of when the shavings just fly off, and the fact that I’m making it all by hand,” he said. “I took to it pretty quickly, but you can still very much tell the difference between the first trees I did and the ones I’m making now.”
He’s teamed up with his mom, Nellie, in this venture; she helps him with the finishing touches on many of the decorative piece he creates.
His time at local markets have helped him to become a better salesman, Dueck shared.
“I was never a really big talker at the beginning,” he said, noting the only exception was when people would ask him about his process—and then he found he was talking too much about his passion for the work. “So I had to learn exactly when to talk and how long … figuring out the best way to market yourself and keep people buying and moving along.”
Dueck says he’s been pleased with the response to the business, and hopes to branch out to markets in Winnipeg soon.
“Right now, though, we’re staying here in Winkler … trying to get our name out there more.”
You can check out the GVC entrepreneurs and the 40+ other vendors setting up shop at the Winkler Christmas Market for its final weekend this Friday (12-9 p.m.) and Saturday (9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).
