As part of my CAS Creativity Experience, I participated in Global Odyssey 5.0, an event organized by Business Management and Economics students, where I set up a fashion stall with 2 of my peers. Our stall featured a variety of fashion accessories, including macrame keychains, lip balm charms, scoobies, earrings, and hair braids, many of which were handmade DIY products that received a great response. The experience involved budgeting, sourcing raw materials, crafting products, pricing strategies, and selling on the event day. We carefully set on profit margins to make sure reasonable pricing while making a profit. On the day of the event, we arranged our products with clear pricing, attracting a significant number of customers, particularly for our lip balm charms and earrings, which were among our bestsellers. Throughout this process, I gained valuable insights into business strategies, marketing tactics, and collaboration, making this event a new and enriching learning experience for me.
LO3 Initiate and plan a CAS experience
Organizing a fashion stall at Global Odyssey 5.0 required great planning, coordination, and initiative to ensure the success. From the initial stages, my team and I had to brainstorm product ideas, budget for raw materials, create DIY accessories, and determine pricing strategies that would competitive, profitable and handmade. We carefully planned the selection of fashion accessories, ensuring a mix of trendy and affordable items like macrame keychains, lip balm charms, scoobies, earrings, and hair braids. Additionally, we had to strategize how to present and market our products, which involved designing an appealing display and setting appropriate price points. Effective time management was crucial, as we had multiple handmade products and we had to completed everything before the event. On the day of the event, we successfully performed our plan by attracting customers, handling transactions, and promoting our best-selling items. This experience held up the importance of proactive planning, organization, and teamwork, as well as the ability to adapt and problem-solve in real time, making it an invaluable learning opportunity.
LO5 Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively
Setting up and running the fashion stall at the event was a highly collaborative experience that required teamwork, communication, and coordination. Working alongside with my peers, we divided responsibilities efficiently, one of us focused on budgeting and purchasing raw materials, another on crafting DIY products, and the third on pricing and marketing strategies. During the event, we worked together seamlessly to set up the stall, attract customers, handle transactions, and promote our best-selling items, such as lip balm charms and earrings. We also supported each other by managing rush hours, restocking products, and engaging with customers to boost sales. This experience held up the importance of collaboration and shared responsibility, as our success depended on how well we worked as a team. By trusting each other’s strengths and working towards a common goal, we were able to maximize sales, manage challenges efficiently, and create a memorable experience.
LO7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Running a fashion stall at Global Odyssey required us to make ethical decisions in various aspects of the experience. One of the key reflection was setting fair prices while we aimed to make a profit, we also ensured that our pricing was reasonable and accessible to customers. Additionally, we took responsibility for honest marketing, ensuring that our products were accurately described and presented without exaggeration. Ethical decision-making also played a role in sourcing materials, as we opted for high-quality, sustainable raw materials where possible, rather than choosing cheaper but lower-quality alternatives. Furthermore, we were mindful of customer interactions, maintaining expertness, transparency, and fairness while handling transactions.
Through this experience, I effectively demonstrated several learner profile attributes. I showcased communication skills while collaborating with peers and teachers, and maintained balance by ensuring all tasks received equal attention. Additionally, I applied ATL skills, particularly social skills, which were evident in the collaborative efforts I contributed to. I also developed self-management skills by staying on schedule and attached to the planned structure. This experience provided valuable insights into business operations, offering a hands-on understanding of running a small-scale profit-generating stall. I learned how to create an expense sheet and apply smart pricing strategies to maximize sales.
Evidence:
