{"id":3513,"date":"2012-11-12T16:01:44","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T16:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.andersons.com\/?p=38"},"modified":"2023-01-27T16:59:56","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T16:59:56","slug":"float-building-supplies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/float-building-supplies\/","title":{"rendered":"Float Building Supplies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersons.com\/School-Supplies\/School-Store\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.andersons.com\/sitecore\/shell\/Controls\/Rich%20Text%20Editor\/~\/media\/488DA52703324D1FBA1E9ECA2E1206E7.ashx?h=267&amp;w=260&amp;as=1\" alt=\"Elementary School Store\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re getting ready to open a&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersons.com\/School-Supplies\/School-Store\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">School Store<\/a>, or re-vamp the one you have, these guidelines will help your store be profitable and rewarding.&nbsp;<strong>The Plan<\/strong>&nbsp;Start by creating a business plan. It can be simple or extravagant. You\u2019ll want to calculate costs, potential profits, and outline a general plan of action.&nbsp;<strong>Location. Location. Location.<\/strong>&nbsp;It\u2019s as important for a school store as in real estate. If you don\u2019t have a designated spot for your store, it can be as easy as setting up a table in a hot location. Think about high traffic areas such as busy hallways, lunchrooms, or activity areas.&nbsp;<strong>Hours of operation<\/strong>&nbsp;Another key factor in determining success. Your store needs to be accessible to students. If it\u2019s not open when they need their supplies they may go elsewhere. By the same token, most school stores cannot possible function full time. Choose one or two key days per week, or a couple of optimal hours each day. Consider before and after school, during lunch or recess, or even during activities outside the school day such as during open house, athletic events or concerts (a great opportunity for parents to stock up for their kids).&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;Choose your merchandise<\/strong>&nbsp;If you are just starting out you\u2019ll want to start with the basics. As you begin to see profits you can re-invest in new and exciting stock. Bringing in new items helps keep interest and excitement high. If you\u2019re on a tight budget start with items in your school colors to save money on the imprinting. Later you can add items with your school name, logo or mascot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersons.com\/Promotions\/School-Store-092011\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.andersons.com\/~\/media\/Andersons\/blog\/backpack.ashx?h=260&amp;w=260&amp;as=1\" alt=\"Backpack\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Things to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>General School Supplies such as Pens, Pencils, Folders, Notebooks and Erasers<\/li><li>Backpacks &amp;\u00a0Book Bags\u00a0<\/li><li>Apparel<\/li><li>School Spirit Items\u00a0<\/li><li>Water Bottles,\u00a0Wristbands\u00a0etc.<\/li><li>Snacks (keep parents and staff happy by offering healthy options)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Staffing your store<\/strong>&nbsp;Students are key in staffing your store. They\u2019ll learn valuable lessons and help promote interest and excitement in your store. Come up with different job assignments such as, cashier, stock, inventory, advertising etc. Create job descriptions and help students gain experience in all areas.<strong>Consider going high-tech<\/strong>&nbsp;We all know that life exists online for most people. Find a way to give parents and community members access to your store online. Some options include a weekly email with current \u201cspecials\u201d, an actual website for your store or a page on your schools website, social media such as facebook and twitter. The more ways you reach parents, the more excitement you\u2019ll see and the more profits you\u2019ll generate.<strong>Advertising &amp; Promotions<\/strong>&nbsp;Some of the old tried &amp; true methods of advertising still work. Kids can create posters to hang throughout the school. Send printouts home in school communications&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.andersons.com\/School-Supplies\/Notebooks-and-Folders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">folders<\/a>, or advertise in the school newsletter. Offer specials and promotions each week or month. Sell gift certificates that parents can purchase for students or teachers. (Don\u2019t forget, your store can be a great resource for teachers needing last minute supplies too!).&nbsp;<strong>Most importantly have fun<\/strong>&nbsp;Enjoy the spirit of the project. Don\u2019t get stressed out or bogged down with the details. Let the kids sail the ship; you just provide the map to do so. In the end you\u2019ll have a successful school store, gain immeasurable experience for the kids and help promote school spirit and morale among the entire student body and staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re getting ready to open a&nbsp;School Store, or re-vamp the one you have, these guidelines will help your store<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,10,19,28],"tags":[100,352],"class_list":["post-3513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-decorations","category-fundraising-elementary-school","category-middle-school","category-school-spirit","tag-build-a-float","tag-parade-float-building"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3513"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5266,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513\/revisions\/5266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itselementary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}