Students vie for dollars from Bod

Economics students are putting their learning into practice as they develop a simulated business plan to produce a unique good or service that could benefit students, faculty, and staff at Bethany or be used at any school or university. In the simulation they are vying for a grant from Bod, Inc.—an elite athletic-educational driving foundation.

The students need to develop a creative product and to present a detailed business plan that considers production and marketing expense and potential revenue related to starting a business such as the feasibility of a target market and the balance of how much to charge for a product to make it profitable for them, yet affordable for the target market.

Teacher Jennifer Lucas-Germeyan explains, “Economics is all about making choices to satisfy wants and needs based on the limited resources that are available. All societies and companies answer three basic economic questions: what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom. Those questions often seem irrelevant to students’ lives as they sit in class until they try to answer those questions in their group as they develop their business plan.

One group formed The Rolling Pin, a business that would make and sell nutritious homemade-style bread by the piece (or loaf) on college campuses so that students could purchase and eat on their way to class. “We wanted a “green” product that was nutritious and pragmatic,” says business partner Misha Rebec. Their slogan: “Go Grain.”

Another group, Electronic Ergonomics, designed ergonomic chairs to keep students healthier and more alert by supporting better posture. Other features included temperature control and audio options for large college lecture halls. Another third group, Taek, Inc., designed a business plan to sell I Am Here, an automated attendance taker that eliminates teachers using valuable class time to take attendance as it tracks students as they go through classroom doors.

 “It’s easy to come up with business ideas, but much harder for students to calculate expenses and potential revenue. This can be quite frustrating for students, but I’m delighted time and time again when students get over their initial frustration and present detailed plans for innovative products.”