CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
CHALLENGES ARE WHAT MAKES LIFE INTERESTING ; OVERCOMING THEM IS WHAT MAKES LIFE MEANINGFUL.
~JOSHUA J MARINE
NIRMAAN Enterprise, a business run by our school believes in Women Empowerment and aims to provide employment to women of economically weaker section, thus ,making them independent. It is run by the students of St.Marks and currently has over 80 students in its team. With a huge team came a lot of challenges but it was our choice to face them or to run away. Hence, we took the challenges in a constructive way.
CHALLENGE 1: Firstly, it was difficult to manage a group of 80 students and meet regularly as it was quite a challenge for everybody's schedule to coincide because the team comprises of members of various classes, i.e., from 9th standard till 12th standard. These meetings however were very important to ensure that everything was smoothly sailing in the various departments and also for discussing new ideas.
SOLUTION: To overcome this problem we tried to communicate through WhatsApp and also held as many meetings as possible in the zero period which was then comfortable for the team members. We have also tried to team up the elder members with the new ones for their constant learning.
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| Students in a meeting |
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| Seniors guiding the juniors |
CHALLENGE 2: Secondly, this year there was not a remarkable increase in sale. We identify CBSE's constantly changing pattern as one of the reasons for the same.
SOLUTION: We have been trying to keep abreast with the change by working calmly as an integrated team. Hence, we put up are stalls as many times as possible to increase the sale. The response is usually positive due to the well identified customer base in the form of parents.
SOLUTION: We have been trying to keep abreast with the change by working calmly as an integrated team. Hence, we put up are stalls as many times as possible to increase the sale. The response is usually positive due to the well identified customer base in the form of parents.
CHALLENGE 3: Another challenge is to keep the students motivated. It is important to promptly boost them so that they are constantly working hard for the success of the enterprise.
SOLUTION: A great way to do it is by choosing the "Most Enterprising Students" by the end of the year.When the younger members see their fellow mates being recognised they get inspired.
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| Most Enterprising Students |
CHALLENGE 4: This year the women wanted to take leaves on various occasions and festivals. This inconsistency was a little challenging.
SOLUTION: To overcome this challenge we started giving the ladies raw materials for home so that they could work according to their own comfort.
SOLUTION: To overcome this challenge we started giving the ladies raw materials for home so that they could work according to their own comfort.
Women and children working together.
CHALLENGE 5: NIRMAAN Enterprise runs by the motto of 3 P's namely People, Profit and Planet. It sometimes is quite hard to stand by it as all the three need to work simultaneously.
SOLUTION: In the recent times we have come up with a solution. We use scraped cloth to make bags and we also use recycled paper/ newspaper for the purpose of packaging.
SOLUTION: In the recent times we have come up with a solution. We use scraped cloth to make bags and we also use recycled paper/ newspaper for the purpose of packaging.
CHALLENGE 6: To run any business, we need a strong customer base. It can be difficult to sell similar products every time to the same few consumers.
SOLUTION: We keep on adding new products to our list. The recent addition are candles, oreo and marie chocolates. We have also started setting up stalls outside the school premises or sometimes selling it through rallies.
CHALLENGE 7: Truly said ‘communication is the key’. We try to communicate with our costumers as much as possible. It can be a task when someone refuses to participate in this interaction.
SOLUTION: Our students try to take feedback from parents so that we can work on the betterment of our products. We also communicate with people through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and through blogs. These have definitely helped us reach out to more people.
Children selling products.
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| Interaction with the parents. |
However, we are glad to acknowledge that we were able overcome all of these challenges together as a team because as they say : "Team work makes dream work".
