Fun Week with Aria

This last week was a full week of business for Stay At Home Rustics, and of course Aria and I.

The week started with finishing a baby gate installation that I had started on the weekend, but the hardware I had purchased wasn't long enough for the opening/closing latch. So on Monday, we finished that up at some friends house with Aria tagging along. 

On Wednesday we went to another customers house where I installed an unfinished fireplace mantle. The mantle is a larger version of some of the floating shelves I've previously made, and of course placed over a fireplace. 

One thing I love doing is allowing my customers to finish the pieces themselves. This allows for customers to truly customize what they're getting in order to match their current home furnishings. And the neat part about the floating shelves is, just taking out a few screws allows for them to slide off their cleats for easy finishing. Works out really well for customers.

On Thursday, I had a really fun opportunity in the community. I was asked by a high school business teacher (friend from our church) to take part in a "Shark Tank" like presentation for her freshman business class. Each student had to create business plans for a product they invented. The business plans were thorough, with marketing plans, financial outlooks as well as distribution methods. The students then gave short presentations of their plans to the "Sharks" who then asked questions on their business plan. 

It was a fun opportunity to see the influence of the great entrepreneurial show on our young people. Business sounds easy, but it is also so competitive. Understanding how to get the edge is what every business is looking for. An edge could be price, it could be customer service, it could be a completely new product. Either way, It was very interesting to see how these students interpreted competitive advantage and how they'd target their respective target markets. 

I will be going back next week to judge some more students, and am really excited to see the next batch of ideas. Fantastic idea for young students.