Do you have what it takes to be an
entrepreneur?
Many of us possess many qualities essential
for being an entrepreneur but lack the courage and confidence to do so. Keep your dreams alive and believe in
yourself!
What are you waiting for? Step up and join
us as we take you through our Entrepreneur journey in EMRS!
Pre-event
Week 1:
Reporting early at the EMRS project room on
the 24th June, we were briefed about the rules and regulations, and assigned
to an event that would be managed entirely by our team. How cool is that?
What was our event? The NYP
Entrepreneurship Week 2013 that would be held at the Atrium on 30th
July to 1st August.
Now, hold your horses, we would first need
to establish our ICs for the event. As the overall IC, Nevin would lead the
team in the planning and executing stages of the event. Technology savvy Kaiser
would take care of the logistics. Gladys tapped on her creativity handling the
A&P and Claire handled the finance matters of the event.
Our team set out to identify the tasks to
be completed and put a deadline to them.
Highlighting the important milestones and dates in a timeline, we paced
ourselves and managed our time well.
It was our honor to be invited to the trunk
show presentation by the Retail Studies students. Nevin, Kaiser, Gladys and Jia
Hui represented EMRS Team 2 in the trunk show presentation. Having seen
innovative presentations, we saw potential in the students being entrepreneurs.
We asked for their interest in taking part in our Entrepreneurship event as
vendors and to our surprise, many of the students wanted to participate as
student vendors.
However as we could only accommodate a
limited number of vendors, we had to screen the applicants and shortlist them. After
confirming the vendors, we contacted and arranged for a meeting with the
vendors.
Week
2:
Besides sourcing for vendors at the trunk
show presentation, we also collaborated with Entrepreneurship Development Club
(EDC) to increase product variety. On our first meeting with EDC, we defined
the roles and settled administrative matters.
Week
3:
Meeting the Retail Studies students allowed
us to gain a better understanding of the products they intended to sell at the
entrepreneur event.
To add to the variety of products available
at our event, we explored the option of bringing in food vendors. What type of
pre-packed food is popular among NYP students and staff alike? Coolgurt and Lao
Ban of course!
We also sent invitations to performers such
as the Dance Company, Soundcard and Chris from These Brittle Bones.
And now, to wait for their favorable reply…
Week
4:
We were glad to have companies willing to
distribute samples at our event. The
companies are none other than The Body Shop and Berocca!
And now, how could our event do without ex-NYP
students sharing their successful entrepreneurial stories? To complement the
entrepreneur booths in the atrium, we decided to have an entrepreneurship
seminar at B203. Founder, Event Director and Magician of JNR ENTERTAINMENT, Mr
Robin Goh selflessly agreed to share entrepreneur tips with aspiring
entrepreneurs. Not forgetting Mr Howie Chang, Director, Product
Management at RedMart
and CoFounder at Stylelogue, who also took time off to share his
experiences in being an entrepreneur.
Week
5:
Introducing EMRS Team 2’s teaser… ticket
stubs!
To create awareness of the Entrepreneurship
Week event, we decided to create a teaser that will captivate students so that
they would visit our Facebook page. What
better way to do so than to create ticket stubs bearing the details of the
event and a QR code that links to the Facebook page? We distributed the ticket
stubs all over NYP and received numerous likes and shares on Facebook
thereafter.
Our posters featuring the budding
entrepreneurs!
Week
6:
Our final publicity poster!
After much effort, our final poster is
ready to be displayed around NYP campus!
Our posters also gained recognition from
the Nanyang Polytechnic Facebook page and was seen by many NYP students.
All smiles as we work and play!
Finally, we are left with the decorations
for the event. In line with our theme
Dreams Alive, our team decided that a hot air balloon as the backdrop of our
photo booth would fit in just fine. To add an element of fun to the photo
booth, we made props like moustaches, bow ties, hats and spectacles and
Polaroid frames.
We also made direction signs with
entrepreneur qualities on them.
30th
July
The day has finally arrived!
Prepared and ready for our Entrepreneurship
Week event, we started the day by preparing the atrium according to the floor
plan.
Our
event in full swing!
Our vendors and their booth displays…
The retail vendors then started setting up
their booths and displaying their products.
Ready for our first day performance?
Taking time out of their busy schedules,
Alistair and Karen from Soundcard came down to the atrium for a lunchtime
performance.
Gracing us with their presence, The Body
Shop!
The Body Shop gave out 200 of their lovely
tree tea oil samples every hour. On top of that, the tea tree mascot and three
lovely ladies went around taking photos with students.
Livening the event with her cheerful voice,
Henrietta, the emcee introduced the event and warmly welcomed passers-by to
visit our entrepreneur booths.
Our much anticipated food vendors :)
Who is able to resist a cold dessert on
such a hot day? Be it Coolgurt or Lao Ban Beancurd, you’ll sure to be satisfied
after having your fill.
31st
July
The atrium on the second day of
Entrepreneurship Week.
It is our honor to welcome back
entrepreneurs that were ex-NYP students. Having gained experience and knowledge
from starting their businesses, Mr. Robin Goh and Mr. Howie Chang have
altruistically shared their insights and stories with the participants of the
seminar. The response for the seminar was good and the seats were filed up
quickly.
A token of appreciation for our speakers,
Mr. Robin Goh and Mr. Howie Chang.
Having the soundcard, Louise Ann and dance
company among the list of performers during the lunch break, we were thoroughly
entertained as they put up a great performance.
To our surprise, NYP TV turned up at the
Entrepreneurship Week event and interviewed Nevin and Gladys.
1st
August
Be energized with Berocca!
A Berocca vending machine was stationed at
the atrium and Berocca energy drinks were given out.
The moment we have been waiting for, Chris
from These Brittle Bones! Only 14 years old, Chris has performed globally and
he is here on NYP campus. Performing a total of 6 pieces, Chris attracted
crowds, with students stopping in their tracks and watching from the sky
bridge.
Last but not least, performances from
Soundcard, it was our pleasure having Bryan and Wan Xin from Soundcard with us
at the atrium at 1pm.
Students having fun at our photo booth!
Filled with fun, laughter and joy, who
could resist not taking a couple of photos at our photo booth? Grab a prop and smile
at the camera :)
Time for set down and wrap up our event.
Fret not, many hands makes work light. With
the combined effort of EMRS Teams 2 and 3, we went full speed ahead in clearing
the atrium. In no time, the atrium was spick-and-span, restored to its original
splendor.
A job well done to EMRS Team 2 and 3! Time
to huddle together and take a group photo!
Camaraderie between members of EMRS Team 2
and 3 would never be forgotten; we will definitely take these wonderful
memories with us even after our stopover at EMRS.
Our team’s opinions:
Nevin:
As the Overall IC, my biggest challenge was
firstly to ensure that all areas of the event were well coordinated and
executed to succession. I’ve learnt plenty from working with different vendors,
such as students from the Retail Studies section, from the SBM Entrepreneurship
Development Club and sourcing for external food vendors, performers and seminar
speakers for our event.
Gladys:
Being the Retail student vendors IC was
definitely a tedious job as coordinating them was difficult since all of them
had different schedules. Nonetheless, it has improved my patience and
communication skills. Additionally, I was the Advertising & Publicity In
Charge as well. I have learnt quite a bit about the wonders of Photoshop as
well as PowerPoint with the help of my teammates.
Claire:
As the Finance IC, I have learnt to be more
flexible and receptive to exploring unconventional methods to achieve our
goals. Working with the various vendor groups has been an enriching experience
as I picked up communication skills, business process skills and entrepreneurial
skills etc. from corresponding with them.
Kaiser: As the Logistics IC, I was given
the opportunity to handle tasks that were beyond the four walls of the
classroom. This provided me a hands on experience on how logistics works and
how stressful it could be. I would like to thank EMRS Team 3 for helping out to
make this event a success. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.
