Students get real-life economics lessons at VCU

Purses made out of metallic Capri Sun drink packets, duct tape and ribbon might just be the next big thing.

Daniel Hennig, 10, started selling them for $25.

“Since everyone wanted them, I raised them all the way up to $50,“ Daniel, a fourth-grader at Jackson Davis Elementary School in Henrico County, said yesterday.

His merchandise of 24 purses and wallets sold out in 15 minutes. Consider it a economic lesson in supply and demand.

“A lot of people demand goods and stuff, and if there’s a lot of people, you might want to raise the price,“ he said.

Daniel was one of 869 students from 19 area elementary schools participating yesterday in Mini-Economy Market Day at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center. The students were charged with coming up with a product, making it, marketing it and ultimately taking it to the showroom floor.

“They’re all producers. They’re all consumers,“ said Suzanne Gallagher, director of the Center for Economic Education at VCU’s School of Business. “They’re all making choices.“

Daniel drank a lot of Capri Sun and cut up the empty pouches. Then he used duct tape to piece them together. Some squares were silver, others showed the Capri Sun labels, full of surfers and fruit. Ribbon handles—threaded through holes punched in the top of the bag—completed the purse.

At the close of the market bell, Daniel was unsure of his profits or the cash that Daniel and Garretts Extraordinary Bags & Wallets brought in.

“I haven’t counted yet,“ he said. “But I have a whole bunch.“

A lot of students were counting cash. They had some spending money to buy products.

The students were paired up so one could shop and the other could sell their merchandise.

But partnerships can have their perils.

Glenn Bowen, 11, from Elmont Elementary School in Hanover County, spent a lot of time at his booth because he said his partner kept taking money from the till to go shopping. “It’s taking some money out of me,“ Glenn said about his wandering partner. “I’m running my own business because he keeps going shopping.“

Glenn and his partner sold Rattlers for $3. Plastic bottles were filled with beads and connected to rubber bands that allow the user to twirl, flip and shake to create noise.

“Pick the right business partner,“ said Glenn, the co-owner of Big Shot Rattlers.

“Partnerships do have their challenges,“ Gallagher said. “They always say that’s the hardest form of business. [In] a sole proprietorship, you get to make all the decisions, but in a partnership you’re equally in charge, and you don’t always see things eye to eye.“

Success often can depend on marketing—another lesson of the mini economy, and one heeded by Katie Rose, 10, who chose to go after her clientele.

The Greenfield Elementary student walked around with a megaphone advertising homemade flubber. That’s a goo created by mixing glue, borax and colored water.

“Get your flubber,“ Katie screamed. “It’s right here, before it sells out.“

Another tip picked up? Know your audience.

Graham Schiltz and Matt Ladocsi, both 10 and in the fourth grade at Greenfield Elementary in Chesterfield County, created candy cars, boats and airplanes. The airplanes had Life Savers wheels and candy bar wings.

In seven minutes, the two had sold out of all their merchandise.

They spent $18 on their products, which sold for between $5 and $7 dollars, depending on demand.

“You might as well raise the price to get some more money,“ Matt said.
Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or .