Young entrepreneurs kick-start Noël

OVER 40 budding young entrepreneurs on MarketLink, the innovation and entrepreneurship programme at Limerick Institute of Technology, kick-started the festive season with a Christmas market attended by members of the local community, fellow students and staff from the college.
Now in its second year, MarketLink is a six-week multidisciplinary careers, innovation and entrepreneurship programme for third-level students studying in LIT. It involves a series of business workshops culminating in a practical element involving participants researching, planning and managing a market stall for one day.
Nine teams of up to five Marketlink students were provided with seed capital of €250 to develop Christmas products which they could sell on their stalls. Products for sale included Christmas cards, novel tree decorations, homemade cakes and sweets, Christmas cocktails of the non-alcoholic variety, mulled wine sachets and other seasonal items.
Some of the students organised lucky throws and raffles on their stalls, which proved to be a real earner and the students sourced their products locally where possible. The aim was to turn a profit on each stall with all proceeds going to the teams’ chosen charities including the Make a Wish Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, Milford Hospice, Limerick Animal Welfare and the Mid-West Simon Community amongst others.
Donnacha McNamara, head of Business at LIT said MarketLink was designed to engage with third-level students on a structured basis such that entrepreneurial behaviours, skills and attitudes were developed on a practical basis.
“The Christmas market allowed the students to put what they have learned to the test and we were delighted to see them applying some of the theories of product, price, place and promotion on their stalls. Some of them learned the value of bulk buying for their stalls, others used sales promotion to its full effect and many had broken even in the first few hours,” he added. 
In addition to participating in the Christmas market, MarketLink students took part in a series of four business workshops during October and November. The programme workshops provided participants with an overview and appreciation of the fundamentals of small business including business planning, presentation skills and the secrets of start-up success such as cash-flow management, team building and customer relations.
Final closing presentations will take place in January 2011 when one overall winner will be identified from the programme.