Louise's Idea...
Third year English and History student, Louise Flower, 20, from York is a natural born entrepreneur. Since beginning her studies at York University she has taken an active role in the university’s entrepreneurial society and currently holds the External Enterprise Director role on the committee.
Louise was keen to get involved in the trading challenge and believes she has spotted the perfect products on Alibaba.com to appeal to fellow students, and business people alike with her ‘all you need’ kit. The kit will comprise of several handy products and will be marketed collectively as well as individually. Key products include a high-tech digital capture pen which uses handwriting recognition technology to capture ones handwritten notes, drawings, and sketches anytime, anywhere. These handwritten notes can then be uploaded, filed, emailed and edited once connected to a computer- great for lecture and/or business meeting notes. The pack also includes an emergency mini battery pack and cheap printer cartridges, which are handy to have at a reasonable cost.
Louise's business plan
Capitalising on the student population of York and other Yorkshire universities initially, Louise has devised an ambitious but realistic strategy for promoting her business idea. This includes the use of the various internal communication channels available within the universities such as intranets, university radio and display boards. Social media is a growing trend amongst Louise’s key target audience and she plans to utilise this through the creation of a blog as well as other social media channels.
Making the most of her existing contacts within the York Entrepreneurs, Louise plans to market via the website as well as creating a market stall at the student and city markets and will employ traditional marketing techniques such as leafleting and direct mail.
With a long-term business plan already in place to target small businesses and retailers, Louise is extremely confident she has picked the products that can deliver her the best results for the competition.
What Louise Says...
I have the energy, ambition, determination, competitive edge and opportunistic outlook to build a good business out of this opportunity. These are all characteristics which form the raw components of a budding business entrepreneur, and I plan to use this competition as a means of personal as well as business growth.
I also genuinely believe in my products and that I have spotted a gap which can be successfully plugged by what I plan to sell; bringing products that are usually comparatively expensive down to a more reasonable price for students and money-conscious consumers alike. Any profits I may make from this 3 month venture are going directly towards raising money for a charity drive to Mongolia that I am taking part in next summer.
Louise’s stage of the challenge
