The WHHS Marketplace, sponsored by the Future Business Leaders of America Club, took place on March 23rd, 2018, where students swarmed outside of the commons during periods 5, 6, and 7, as well as after school in order to support the business owners and buy their homemade products.

Thanks to Patricia Noll, graphic design teacher and the Marketplace organizer, the future entrepreneurs of Wayne Hills were able to present their potential at the annual Marketplace event with tremendous success.

Aspiring entrepreneurs and potential businesses sold a variety of products, including cotton candy, jewelry, art, henna tattoos, brownies, and assorted pastries. These select students from FBLA have proved themselves to be quite the promising speculators, and several students, including freshman Skylar Sieradzky, voiced their impressions on the Marketplace.

“Great experience with money and selling [products],” she claimed. “A lot of the sellers made a lot of money from selling simple things. It made me wish I participated.”

Sophomores Lexi Siegel and Riley Flynn, owners of “Pop!,” a cake pop stand, commented that they decided to participate in the marketplace because they thought it was a “fun and easy way to make money” and expected to make “about 150 dollars” in profit at the end of their sales.

Sophomore Muhammad Hozien, owner of the cake and fudge stand “Muhammad’s cakes,” said that he thought the event would “be fun to make both [goods and money].” When questioned about what was required of him when preparing for the marketplace, Hozien explained that he had to make sure he “didn’t go over the budget with pricing.”

“You want to make good profit,” he elaborated. “You have to watch out for how much you’re spending on buying ingredients, how much you’re selling each item for, and how popular it’s gonna be.”

However, there weren’t only foods present at the Marketplace; senior Annisa Miralislogue decided to exercise her creative thinking by selling the products that will launch her uncle’s new business: body scrubs.

Selling one bottle for five dollars and two for eighth, Annisa created delicious smelling, all natural body scrubs at her house the night before the Marketplace. The flavors included lavender, peach, chocolate-vanilla, cucumber melon, and refreshing orange. Made with organic and edible ingredients, the body scrubs proved to be quite the worthy investment.

“They were really relaxing to make,” she explained. “They make your hands feel so good. You can use them anywhere. And if you use them in the shower, your entire bathroom will smell amazing.”

As excited as the students were in terms of attracting customers, the organizer, Ms. Noll, displayed her enthusiasm even more.

Noll commented that she is “proud of [the entrepreneurs’] efforts from the start of the program all the way through the end of the event,” and that she is “confident that next year we will be able to run it successfully after school.”

In addition to this, she also thanked Danny Boguslavsky, a key FBLA officer who “helped tremendously” to get the event rolling, as well as Mike from the Sodexo food company.

“Mike from Sodexo helped us out by letting us run the event during the lunches for this year to launch the Marketplace event. We are very grateful that he made this special circumstance for this year. We are now confident that next year, we will be able to run it successfully after school!”

Ms. Noll then further explained that it was heartwarming to witness how much the students involved in the Marketplace learned. According to her, some realized that selling products required more work/effort than anticipated, while others learned that they must accept whatever profit they gain, even if it’s very little.

The Marketplace was an educational experience for both buyers and sellers. Students and staff alike enjoyed the Marketplace and are excited to see what all of the aspiring entrepreneurs will come up with next year.

Congratulations to everyone and the start of their long success! As Ms. Noll proudly states, “They did such a great job. I am so proud of their efforts from the start of the program all the way through the end of the event!”