Having a student business has SO MANY benefits.  Depending on what your product or service is, you have the opportunity to practice independence, money math, cooking, responsibility, and so much more!  In this series, various guest bloggers (teachers & special educators) will share their tried and true experience of starting and running a student business for special education students.  Hopefully these posts will give you some great ideas or inspire you to start a classroom business of your own to teach students valuable vocational & life skills!  Up next is a classroom that sells hand-sewn cloth masks!

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About The Guest Blogger:

My name is Marissa Cormier, and I am the Life Skills teacher at the middle school level, in Fredericksburg, Texas, grades 6-8. I have students who have a wide range of abilities, in a moderate-severe setting. Our student-run business is called Pawsitively Tasty Dog Treats. We provide this product on a monthly basis, as well as special occasions, such as dog birthday cakes/donuts.

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How The Business Started:

I wanted my students to have the opportunity to acquire real-world skills, but in a safe manner. Due to Covid, I wanted this business to be something we could do strictly in the classroom, and limit exposure. I submitted a business plan to my administration and it was approved.

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Safety Precautions:

Prior to making any dog treats, we spent some time on kitchen safety, discussed the importance of clean hands and work area. My students have a full kitchen, and prepare weekly recipes, so this was really just a natural transition to this treat business.

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Student Tasks & Time Committment:

My students participate in making the grocery list, doing the shopping, gathering our supplies, following a recipe, making and baking the treats, quality control, packaging, delivering, and counting the money.

Each month, it takes two full days of preparation, shopping, and baking. We currently offer pickup in the classroom or curbside delivery. This also allows our students to demonstrate their social skills during transactions.

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Supplies:

We have 2 easy and healthy recipes for our dog treats. Both were found on Pinterest. Simple and inexpensive ingredients such as: peanut butter, oatmeal, apple-sauce. One important lesson we learned is to always use name brand peanut butter, if you want the best consistency!  I ordered doggie treat cookie cutters, bags and stickers from Amazon. That was my donation to the business. Our classroom budget covered the initial ingredients needed.

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Marketing:

We sold to parents, family members, teachers/staff on our campus, and to Central Office. Advertisement was done through email, newsletter, and Facebook. We also made a big batch, and donated to our local SPCA.

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Product Pricing:

We chose to not put a price on our product. We take orders, and the customers choose their own price (donation). We made more than enough to continue our business. I paid my students out of this money. They are allowed to use their paycheck at the vending machine, or thrift stores that we often visit. We also took a walk to our local ice cream shop with our profits!

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Tips:

My only advice, is to start small with who you share your business opportunity. If we had advertised to other campuses, all we would be doing is making dog treats! It is a very popular business!!

Thanks for reading!

Marissa Cormier

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