WEYBURN – Cloud 9 Blanket Co. is a Junior Achievement company founded through the Entrepreneurship 30 program at the Weyburn Comprehensive School, and the board held their wrapup meeting for the semester on Thursday.
The program follows the outline of what an average day of a entrepreneur looks like and how a startup operates. This includes writing a business plan, making a product, and dispersing shareholders reports. This is all taught through the high school by the Entrepreneurship teacher, Margot Arnold.
The company began in late November with 24 student shareholders and was liquidated at the end of the semester in January. Cloud 9 Blanket Co. sold blankets with custom heat-pressed images sent in from the customers via email.
The company sold 537 blankets during their two-month span. On top of this, the company also donated 10 per cent of the overall profit to the Family Place to support their new facility. This came out to a total of $1,168.07 for the donation.
Representatives of the Family Place, Tanya Burdan and Allison Kerr, along with some children from their Mini-Go program, attended the students’ final board meeting for the presentation of the donation.
“It was a great pleasure to work with all the members of Cloud 9 Blanket Co. Our team has put forward a lot of time and effort into learning the in’s and out’s of entrepreneurship,” said the co-presidents, Dalton Molnar and Owen Burdan. “Thank you to all who purchased and supported us in becoming young entrepreneurs and exploring the business world. We’re looking forward to seeing where these skills will take all of us in the future.”
The students made sales over the phone, and used snapchat, phone calls and other messaging platforms; used social media private messages; posters and order forms were put up around town, and they also used emails and promoted in person by handing out order forms.
Sales were made at local businesses, at members homes to family member and friends, and through a retail outlet at the Cornwall Mall in Regina. Sales were made during the students’ class time, as members went out to area businesses, as well as after school or at lunchtime.
Looking at their customers’ demographics, most of the buyers were from local businesses, but many were teenagers aged 14 to 19, adults over 30, and some young adults. Many of the customers were women, but there was a good portion of men who also bought blankets.
Methods of promotion included using social media, with Tik Tok and Instagram being their most popular platforms, with some response from Facebook and Twitter, along with posters around Weyburn, using the electronic billboard at the Comp, and leaving business cards in various locations.
