This semester, the marketing class participated in the 2018 PMSS Holiday Bazaar. The project involved forming groups and establishing businesses to sell unique projects. I joined forces with Eric and Jason to construct the Festors Gifts brand. The goal of the group was to take advantage of the holidays by selling seasonal gifts and accessories to customers at low, affordable prices. These products included a stockpile of greeting cards and a handful of ornaments, all handcrafted with quality at interest. Throughout the weeks, a number of concerns were seen, but fixed within time. Trial and error played a key role in the design as well as overcoming learning curves. Even on the final days, changes were made to business operations to increase efficiency and benefit the business operation. For instance, the first few days of sales, the time to get the business up and running was evident. However, within the last couple of days, setting up was brief. Overall, the experience was positive, with compelling challenges to conquer.

Through this project, a variety of academic concepts became discernable, including ones such as critical thinking, creative thinking, time management, and social interactions. These concepts were incorporated and utilized to reach objectives within the operation. When analyzing survey results, critical thinking was required to understand and pull practical information from the collected data. Creative thinking was employed when generating product concepts and design ideas and social interactions were compulsory to engage customers. The success and profits of our business was largely credited to the academic concepts used.

The experience of the assignment was not substantially different from my initial expectations as I’d already gone through another project that was nearly identical in previous years. Aside from the occasional alterations, the experience was largely alike.

Numerous new ideas and concepts were explored, cultivated, and utilized. As per usual, time management was a key player in the project, along with financial management, business operations, and cooperation within a group. Time was managed decently, however tasks could definitely have been completed quicker and more smoothly. Creating a schedule and assigning roles and responsibilities to each member was an effective method to maintain anxiety levels. During financial calculations, value inconsistencies were noticed, highlighting probable errors during sales. Through this experience, it was clear that controlling and recording all expenses and revenue was important. Without management, the business could easily lose money. Learning to operate the business was crucial as well, understanding what to do, and how. Cooperation within the group was imperative to being successful. As previously stated, agreeing on roles and responsibilities would keep the group on task. Aside from this, I learnt to take initiative when group members didn’t cooperate. When tasks weren’t completed on time or if the group’s discussions went off on a tangent, someone had to step in and pull the group back on track. If, in the future, similar events occur, the motivation to meet established goals would be perhaps the most decisive of actions.

 

View our products here: https://pmssholidaybazaar.wixsite.com/2018/festors-gifts