Bethel Park students create award-winning business plan
Three Bethel Park High School seniors developed a business project that captured the No. 1 spot in a state competition and was one of the top-rated projects in an international contest.
Twin sisters Brea and Jala Schoffstall and Kelsie Rendulic, all 18, are members of the high school’s DECA club and based their project, “Brewing Up Success,” on the school’s business coffee enterprise known as Bean & Berry. Bean & Berry, also referred to as “The Bean,” is in its ninth year at the school, and offers beverages and snacks for sale from periods one through four.
“We knew we wanted to do something that was more hands-on than the rest of the projects we’ve done, so we came up with The Bean,” explained Jala Schoffstall. “We monitored what we could improve from last year and other years and what we wanted to do to better with The Bean.”
DECA, formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a career and technical student organization that prepares students for college and careers in business and finance-related fields.
“It’s a business club,” Rendulic said. “It involves if you were to open your own business or franchise a business. You work with what you learn and (integrate that) into the real world.”
With that in mind, the trio created a business plan designed to improve sales at Bean & Berry.
“(Our plan) was about raising sales for a business and how to manage a business,” said Brea Schofstall. “It was about profit and how to spend money to make money so we had to figure out the profit margin throughout the whole project. Our goal was to reach $10,000 by Jan. 1.”
Consider that goal reached, and smashed, as they amassed $24,731.55, more than $9,000 in bagel sales alone.
Partnerships were created with local businesses such as Bethel Bakery and Giant Eagle, which provided cookies and bagels respectively at discount prices. Promotions were expanded and the product line was widened.
“At first, we were only selling lemonade and Pop-Tarts and coffee,” said Brea Schoffstall during a busy morning at The Bean. “This year, we were able to get bagels, slushies and all different types of snacks.”
Bean & Berry profits from the first part of the year reduced the cost of the students to go to the DECA State Career Development Conference, held Feb. 19-21 at the Hershey Lodge, where they presented their business plan.
“That allowed a lot more people from our school to go and compete,” Jala Schoffstall said. “We wouldn’t have necessarily been able to do that if The Bean wasn’t able to help with funding.”
About 7,000 students took part in the career development conference, but the Bethel Park project was deemed the best.
“It was definitely very competitive,” Brea Schoffstall said. “We didn’t know we placed first. We just knew we made it to Orlando,” the site of the international competition. “That’s what our goal was. Walking across the stage felt really good because we knew how much work we put into the project and we knew we deserved (to go to Orlando). It felt really good.”
The DECA International Career Development Conference, held April 25 to 30, hosted 26,000 students from around the world who participated in the competition at the Orange County Convention Center.
Among those students, the Bethel Park trio placed 18th.
Emily Smoller, DECA adviser for Bethel Park, is impressed with her students’ accomplishments.
“It’s great that they did everything at the store so they were able to have an idea, actually implement it and show their results,” she said. “Some of the projects with DECA you can have a hypothetical plan, but they were able to actually do everything. They work here in the store every day, come up with the ideas, test everything out and implement. I just think that and the creativity they have is great.”
None of the three students has plans to go into the business field, but each admitted they received valuable experience through DECA.
“The biggest thing I gained was confidence in public speaking,” Jala Schoffstall said.
“We were meeting people you never get to really talk to,” added her sister Brea. “You meet a lot of new people and make a lot of new friends. On the business side, you learn a lot about managing a business and how it’s not always great. It’s always up and down and you have to learn how to work through it.”
Rendulic said, “DECA really helps with public speaking and now I love it. I think everyone should do DECA because it’s a great way to have a brighter future ahead of you.”