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School Based Enterprise

Is there anyone out there that has any helpful hints for the School Based Enterprise event from National DECA. I tried to do the project this year with my Advanced Marketing class, but there were many obstacles that didn't allow us to complete it in time. Basically, I am asking for pointers that helped you accomplish the goal for becoming a certified School Based Enterprise.

Thank you in advance for any information that you can offer.

Free gift

If you are the first one to send an email to ReachMe@TheMarketingTeacher.com I have a free gift just for reading this blog.

Where is the DECA bailout?

We hear over and over about companies that have spent when they shouldn't and then get bailed out from the government, but still find the money to give big bonuses. Where is the DECA bailout?

Each year we travel to conferences with student, the future of our country, but we continue to hear things like, "you need to fundraise," or, "we just can't help you pay for that this year." So we look for new ways to raise funds while being given more guidelines and more restrictions when it comes to what we can and cannot sell.

I'm sure that I am preaching to the choir, but I just wanted to get this off my chest. What do you have to add???

Rule # 2 - The 17 Indisputable Rules of Teamwork

This concept could not have been more poignant today as I begin to reflect on an event that was held last year at my high school. A 12 hour walkathon was held as a fundraiser / awareness campaign for a local family. I arrived at 2AM because I volunteered to come in with a DJ service, JProductions and help him setup to provide entertainment for all the walkers and volunteers and carry them until the wee hours of the morning. I was amazed at how many people were there, awake, in good spirits and walking towards their goal: 7AM. For those of you who were there, thanks. For those of you who could not make it but helped in some way, thanks also. It was an amazing success and brings me to the 2nd Indisputable Law of Teamwork.

The Law of the Big Picture: The Goal is More Important Than the Role

Everyone that helped, be is as simple as passing along information about the event was important. An event of this size and scope could have only been as successful as it was with the helping hands of many. When people come together for a cause, success is imminent. You should have seen the camaraderie, it was amazing. There were stations all over the school with volunteers from the community, parents and businesses. Classrooms had places to make shirts, signs and blanket squares; the cafeteria was loaded with foods of all types. People were coming together to make a difference, in something that was larger than they were. Always remember the rules.

Trendwatching

Do you subscribe to Trendwatching.com? I find it useful for interesting news items and of course, trends, to share with my students. The site is run by a trend firm based in Amsterdam, and provides insight to consumer trends around the world.

The link below is to their October briefing (you can sign up to receive a free monthly briefing). The topic for October was what they called “Perkonomics”, providing added value to products, services, memberships, etc.

http://trendwatching.com/trends/perkonomics/

In this unstable economic time, consumers are finding more reasons to hold on to their money, rather than spending it participating in the retail world. While they may not have much patience for gimmicks, some added “value” may be appreciated.

Also, you can sign up to be a trend-spotter and earn points towards prizes through their sister site Springwise (http://www.springspotters.com/springspotters/).

Rule # 1 - The 17 Indisputable Rules of Teamwork

Recently, while I was researching something for a class, I came across this list of the 17 Indisputable Rules of Teamwork by John Maxwell. I liked the list so much I have printed it and sent it to some of my friends, many of which have been on my team in life. It adds a little perspective to things when you consider that the middle class in our country is shrinking and your generation is more likely to "boomerang" home after college as rising costs of housing spin up and out of control. I am going to blog each of the seventeen separately so you can take the time to reflect on their independent significance. The rule was part of the list; the comments are mine for you to respond to.


Rule # 1: The Law of Significance:
One Is Too Small a Number to Achieve Greatness

No one person is so important as not need the support or input from someone else. It is often said that behind every famous or important person is their mentor. Few people, if any achieve success without the help of others. Think about the people in your life that are behind the scenes and allow you to accomplish what you do. You likely perform some of those same things for people in your life. We need each other; virtually no one can be successful alone.

The Good use of You Tube

One of the great things about the advancement of videos on the Internet has been the ability to easily post and view them online.  While You Tube has become a cultural phenomenon as well as a major distraction for teenagers, I have found that it does have some good uses. 

 

One of the things I have found out about students today is that even though they watch a ridiculous amount of TV, they don’t actually pay attention to it.  Many times in class I have referenced a show, a movie or even a commercial to them only to get crickets in the background.  This makes driving home a point or brining up an example difficult.

 

Now with You Tube (and other online video sites) I can show them what I am talking about.  I have been able to go to these sites and stream a clip, or a commercial that is relevant to what topic I am on.  It adds value to my presentation, at the same time braking up the monotony of me speaking.

 

I know that not all schools have the capabilities or even the permission to view you tube, but I have found that even msnbc, and cnn will often have clips to view.  Even if I can’t get a clip from the Internet during school, I can try to capture it at home and burn it to a DVD.  It’s another great way to show the students how some of the marketing applications transfer into the real world.

Training Students to Think Like Entrepreneurs

Have you ever asked your students, "What do you want to do when you graduate?” maybe you’ve put forth the following, "Have you ever considered becoming an entrepreneur?"

"An entrepre-what?" may be the response.

Perhaps you are teaching entrepreneurship in your marketing program, or maybe you're not. Either way, here are some reasons why you should.

Successful entrepreneurs often share similar traits and skills which serve them well in their pursuits. While traits are characteristics students inherently possess (risk-taking, organization, creative thinking, etc.) they can still benefit from chances to improve them. Skills (problem-solving, communication, leadership, etc.) on the other hand can be learned with practice. The marketing classroom is the ideal place for students to work on both which will benefit them both personally and professionally.

According to a recent BusinessWeek article by Marshall Goldsmith, author of the recent book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, the changing global economy has altered the career landscape our students will enter. (We're All Entrepreneurs BusinessWeek August 14, 2008 http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_34/b4097046759335.htm) Our students must be prepared with more than the typical “hard and soft skills” recommended by career counselors; what do they need to know to succeed? Goldsmith offers two main thoughts:

Students Must Learn to Compete
*People around the world will be competing for jobs in the U.S.; they speak fluent English and are well educated.
*The world may be more equalized than ever, but the advantages students in our country took for granted may not be around (loans, acceptance to universities, etc.)

Students Must Act Like Survivors
*Earning a degree or certification won’t be enough, students must be proactive in updating their skills, even as their free time may become more scarce.
*Students may not want to “settle” for a job they don’t consider glamorous, but they need to honestly look at the probability of success in those fields.

As marketing teachers, we are in a position to highlight the dynamics of an ever changing field, but we could do students a disservice if we don’t paint an accurate picture of the world they will be entering. Our free market system (as rocky as it appears at the moment), allows for endless opportunity to those willing to explore the possibilities and take the necessary risks.

Whether students pursue entrepreneurial business ventures or not, they need to see themselves as an “enterprise”, selling and presenting themselves as such. Teaching the foundations of entrepreneurship will help them do so.

Videos in the Classroom

For the past couple of years I have been trying to incorporate movies into my classes more and more. Some people would say that this is a bad thing, but I truly think it is a way for us to engage our students with a format that is familiar to them.

I should mention that I don't just put the kids in a room and let them watch a movie. I always have a reason for the movie and I always have a worksheet that they must fill out in order to complete a larger assignment once the movie is over.

I normally use movies like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Tucker, but I want to know what you use. Please take a couple of minutes and let us all know what you are using to engage your students in terms of movies.

DECA in the Future!

I have been involved with DECA for more than 15 years as a student, employee of DECA Inc., and as an advisor, but even with this experience I feel like I am behind when it comes to keeping my students on the cutting edge of DECA competition. Please share with me what you do with your students in terms of the following areas:

• Role-Play/Case Study Prep
• Test Prep
• Written Event Prep
• How do you get kids to write the manuals?

I wanted to post this because we can all learn from each other and hopefully see each other in Anaheim when our kids are competing for top honors.

The Game of Classroom Management

Even though I have been teaching for 7+ years, I find myself every August trying to figure out how I am going to organize my classes differently so that I can be most productive. This year I began teaching Sports & Entertainment Marketing, which got me thinking. Why can't everyday be a game. So I decided to format my classes in a way that follows a typical football game, with a few minor changes. The format for my 90 minute block is below:

Pre-Game Warm Up: 15 minutes
(students read over articles, prep for presentatons, etc.)

First Quarter: 15 minutes
(review/new information)

Time-Out: 5 minutes
(students use bathroom/stretch/ask questions)

Second Quarter: 15 minutes
(new material or quiz/test)

Time-Out: 5 minutes
(students use bathroom/stretch/ask questions)

Third Quarter: 15 minutes
(new material/project time)

Time-Out: 5 minutes
(students use bathroom/stretch/ask questions)

Fourth Quarter: 15 minutes
(review the day, assign homework, follow-up)

I know what you are thinking, yes I give them 15 minutes of breaks, but I do it for a couple of reasons.

The first is that it helps to limit destractions. They know they are supposed to use the restroom or get a drink during this time, so they don't ask during instruction time.

Second, my school division is big on brain-based learning strategies. This summer they gave us a list of suggestions that included things like chunking material, students moving around, having a mint or gum 5 minutes before a test, and many others that work well with this format.

You may have also noticed that I listed quiz/test during 2nd Quarter. I do this so that I allow the kids the Pre-Game Warm Up to self-review, and 1st Quarter for us to review as a class. I don't give a lot of paper/pencil quizzes or tests, so I want to give them the best chance for success.

This is just my way of doing things this year. I hope it may get the creative juices flowing for some of you.

If you have other ideas please share them as well.

Technology and the Internet

Hello, I hope the beginning of everyone's school year is going well.

This past summer I took a class on how to create my own Moodle and I learned more than creating an online marketing course.

I learned that there is an abundance of video and podcast teaching tools available. I found that You Tube and other sites including Entrepreneur.com have great videos that my students can learn from. It helps me bring some real life issues to the class and another way to differentiate my teaching.

Branding Your Program Starts with You!

Have you ever thought about how all the little things you do each day help create a brand for your program, because you are the face of your program? If you thought about it, would you do some things differently knowing that? Hopefully the answer is "no" and they are you who you are at work and at play.

I read a book called "How" by Dov Seidman. The full title is "How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything...in Business (and in Life)" It is a pretty good read. And it got me thinking about why some Career and Technical Education Programs thrive and others do not. The biggest factor is the teacher. So with that in mind, I thought teachers should look at themselves to see what image/brand they are projecting to the students on their campus and parents in the community?

How you make decisions
How you say what you mean
How you follow through
How you treat others
How you make mistakes
How you apologize

All those "Hows" become your story – Your Brand

Our church has a sticker that some people put on their cars to show they are members of this Church. My husband does not want the sticker on his car. He said that sometimes he does not drive in a way that is in keeping with the Church, so does not want the Church to have a bad image because of him. It is funny and it is true. You are the image of your program. Are you creating a good image?

So maybe we need to do a SWOT analysis on ourselves, our attitudes, our classrooms, our daily lesson plans, and our manners.

What are the strengths?
What are the weaknesses?
What are the opportunities?
What are the threats?

Do we provide a class that kids want to be a part of?
Do kids tell others about the good things we do in class?
Do we create projects that engage students?
Is their work meaningful and significant?

Look for the opportunities to sell your brand. Here are a few that are easy to do.

• I cover classes for other teachers and used to look at it as an interruption to my prep. Now, I see it as a valuable opportunity to meet some new students and recruit them to marketing and DECA....just by introducing myself and getting some time with them. And I get comp time. (I love 2 for 1's)
• Use duty time as a way to meet kids. I visit every table during lunch duty and introduce myself. I ask what is the best part of their day so far. I have to be at duty anyway so might as well meet more kids!

So, think about how you brand your program.

What other ideas can we share with each other? Post them here so we can all do a better job!

Easing into the New School Year

The first few weeks of school can be crazy especially if you are a new teacher.  You’re learning about the school, trying to figure out the students, and working to keep them interested in what’s going on.  The last thing you want to have happen is to have a class of 25 students all hating Marketing because it’s sooo boring.  And you know how broad some of the first few chapters of the Marketing books are.  They give you a big overview of Marketing first before getting into the meat of things.  I’ve found a quick way to ease into class while at the same time keeping interest with the students.

 

Every morning, or the night before, depending on how late I’m up grading, I take a few minutes and look through business websites.  The more common ones like MSNBC, CNN, Forbes etc are the best because they usually carry the most up to date articles.  I’ll also look on Boston.com for more local articles too.  I look through the sites to find articles to share with the class.  I’m not looking for the most important business articles, but the articles that the class can relate to the most.  Yes, I know that the Fannie and Freddie crisis is important, but high school students would rather know what changes Steve Jobs is making to Apple.  I’m fortunate enough to have a Smart Board in my class and can show them the article, but if you don’t have a projector, you can still give the students the important details of the article. 

 

What this does in break up the routine they’re used to in the beginning of class and gives me a chance to talk about current issues.  Sometimes a discussion will spark from it, especially if the issue is big. When Playstation 3 came out, I went onto Ebay to watch how high people were willing to spend for it.  Or students will inquire about when we might learn more about it in Marketing.  If you get a discussion from them or not, the students know that you’re not just up there to spout notes and give tests, you’re taking real life subjects and brining them into class.

eBay project

One of my biggest projects I do in my classes is the eBay project. I have students donate items to sell on eBay and the proceeds go to a charity. The students learn the basics of eBay and the decisions needed to be made. They essentially go through the 4 P's of Marketing in this decision making process. (What to sell, what price, what categories, etc., what wording should be used to catch the buyers' eyes, and shipping costs, etc.) They get so excited when they find out how many hits and bids they have. If you have any questions, let me know!

Trial Post

Hello Everyone! This is my first trial post so I'm hoping it goes through. I'm looking forward to working with you all on this project.

Let's get posting!

Go ahead, give it a shot and we'll get comfortable with the blog. I will promote it in a week or two.