Being a business person is not always easy. However, for the students in Melissa Hanrahan’s Business Entrepreneurship class, that is their specialty. In taking this class, students are given the unique opportunity to learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. As the class is not always an option, this year’s class is happy they have been given the opportunity.

“Through this class, I think it also built a lot of social skills between us,” junior Chad Blanke said. “It showed us how a company could really work and I think through it we’ve gone through differences and challenges through every step. I think it helped us build together to be a better company together and have a lot of teamwork.”

FHN offers many business related courses yearly. However, Business Entrepreneurship is not one of those courses. This course only runs every so often. The class only runs when enough students sign up for it and the teacher is available. The course is a semester-long course in which students get the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship as it relates to business. They get an introduction to the business world and how it operates and are able to put the things they learn into practice.

“The premise of this class that we’re taking is to learn about business and [learn] to be able to create our own [business] and sell a product that we’re proud of,” Blanke said.

Being a semester course, there is a lot to fit into a short period of time. One of their main projects is the brainstorming, design, marketing and selling of a product of their choosing. The students all work together to build the ideas for the product. They then work to market the product to a variety of people here at FHN. They then sell and distribute the product as the final part of the project. There is no precedent for what the product has to be and this year the students decided on a lanyard.

“It was a unique product,” junior Paxton Ellerbeck said. “Nine times out of ten when this class runs, it’s typically like shirts or something like that that’s sold. We wanted to go for a product that everybody wants, something that’s cheap and also unique that’s not often sold.”

Given that there is no precedent for the product and its design, creative liberty is left up to the students. Each student class in the class picks a product, designs it and presents their pitch to the class. After each student has presented, they vote on which product they would like to move forward with. This year, they decided to move forward on a lanyard. The final two options were designed by Ellerbeck and senior Vanessa Guerrero. After a class vote, Guerrero was declared the winner. Her design is a simple, geometric design that she feels will cater to many people and appeal to the interests of all students. 

“That was my personal design,” Guerrero said. “I just wanted to pick something that was somewhat generic and catered to a lot of people basically. Something that interested me was a design that was more abstract. I didn’t want it specifically to be school pride just because not everyone is into that. I thought what I came up with was pretty cool and simple and it stands out”

After reading this, many may be wondering where they can pick up a lanyard. The product is set to be sold exclusively from Nov. 8-19. To purchase one, one must find a member of the class and fill out a google form. The lanyards will be $5 and can only be purchased with cash. The proceeds from all sales will be made into a donation to a charity. After the sales period has ended, the students will distribute them to their respective buyers.  

“More than anything we have the goal to sell a product that people like and people want,” Guerrero said. “You know it’s something that we’re happy with and that it’s enjoyable.”