A Young Enterprise Journey
BHGS Sixth Formers Build Entrepreneurial Skills
A team of Sixth Formers from Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School joined the Young Enterprise Scheme to have an insight into the industry of business.
From our first meeting in September 2018, we discovered that we wanted to target two main issues throughout the UK; pollution and obesity. Throughout this rewarding process, we were fortunate to have the guidance of our business advisor, Mike O’Brien and the support of our teachers, Mrs Ruffhead and Miss Grossman. This led to the formation of our company, Eco-Fit, which primarily aimed to sell eco-friendly and sustainable resistance bands, which were made from natural rubber. However, as our company progressed, we invested time into creating prototypes of an elasticated, eco-friendly water bottle holder to store money, cards and keys. After meeting with an experienced designer from John Lewis, we gained advice into the development of this product. To gain funding, in order to purchase stock, we sold shares to teachers, friends and family.
Throughout our journey, we overcame difficulties; including sourcing our resistance bands with a low carbon footprint, to ensure that our eco-friendly ethos was maintained. In addition, we were committed to attending many trade fairs and markets to promote our brand and sell our product. At the Welwyn Garden City Trade Fair, we were proud to be awarded certificates for ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Best Trade Stand’. We decided that it was important to promote our resistance bands throughout school by notifying families through InTouch, creating a social media competition, running a trade stall on Friday lunchtimes and organising morning Pilates classes for the Year 7 forms.In March, we competed against local schools at the North and East Hertfordshire Young Enterprise Competition. Through our determination and great performance throughout the presentation and interview, we were successful in winning ‘Overall Winner’, ‘Best Trade Stand’ and ‘Marketing’. This meant that we had earned a place at the County Finals, which were held at Hertfordshire University in early May. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful at progressing to the next round; we were however honoured to have won an award for ‘Customer Service’.
As a team, we are extremely proud of our progress throughout the Young Enterprise Scheme because we have learnt some vital entrepreneurial skills. We continue to be a profitable company and will continue to sell our eco-friendly resistance bands.
For more information or to purchase our product, visit our website: www.EcoFitUK.comNicole Edwards(12Austen)