Year 10 students today, New Zealand's entrepreneurs of tomorrow

Business studies teacher Patrick Hounsell at Te Awamutu College's Year 10 Business Market Day. Photo/Kate Durie

Te Awamutu College Year 10 Business Market Day was held on Tuesday, September 20 from 1.30 pm in the school hall.

"To some of the kids it is a bit of a novelty as this is the first one they have had," says Patrick Hounsell, the business studies teacher at Te Awamutu College.

Patrick says this is a tradition for Year 10s at Te Awamutu College, and they really enjoy it.

He says it "provides them with a lot of experience into what they have to think about when they start up and run their own business. It is a really good way for them to learn and prepare them to become entrepreneurs in the future because that's what we like to see, certainly in New Zealand."

While Patrick says he would like them to start producing products, he sees that food and drink seem to be the most popular option for Year 10 Business Studies students.

Year 10 student Tayla Neilson-Smith says she got inspiration from her brother, who took part in a previous year and decided to sell hot chips, as his group sold out fast.

"We saw that it was a good business and ordered $150 worth of chips in advance from Simply The Best and we have almost sold out. Countdown Te Awamutu sponsored us and provided us with cups and sauce."

Tayla Neilson-Smith selling hot chips to fellow students at Te Awamutu College. Photo/Kate Durie

Tayla says she learned how to create a business plan, as well as create a chart of expenses and assets.

"It has been also helpful for us to learn how to deal with crowds," she added.

Fellow Year 10 student Emily Brier's group decided to sell Spiders, made from ice cream and fizzy drinks, as it is something people don't often purchase.

"We added three options of soda and three options of toppings, and lots of people have enjoyed them."

Emily's group was sponsored by FreshChoice Te Awamutu who provided the team with two cases worth of cans of fizzy drinks.

"Our group learned about how it is tricky to accurately think about how much product we are going to need is difficult to predict and everything adds up quite quickly," says Emily.