Start-Up Farmers Market helps student entrepreneur’s businesses
On April 11, the northeastern corner of the Quad was crowded with booths and business during the student Start-Up Farmers Market, an event held as part of the Utah State University Entrepreneurship Week. Customers explored booths filled with jewelry, food and clothes, all made and sold by student vendors.
The week was full of events devoted to celebrating and highlighting the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. According to the Huntsman website, the Center for Entrepreneurship helps students build their own businesses and gain hands-on experience in the field.
The market gave students the opportunity to showcase their startup products and companies on campus in a real market setting.
Sydney Scalley, an entrepreneurship student, showcased her business by selling homemade French macaron.
“The business name I have for it is called Smacs,” Scalley said. “I’ve always liked making macaron, and I realized you can’t find them in many places that are for a pretty reasonable price and that are quality.”
According to Scalley, she started her business through the entrepreneurship minor, where each course involved creating and executing an idea for a business. Scalley has been working on her business since her first year.
“That’s what kind of gave me the confidence to go for it,” Scalley said. “With the courses that I’ve taken, it helped me to learn a lot of fundamentals.”
Alaisa Phithak, a marketing student, had the opportunity to sell at the market for her business, Jellipeace.
“I make beaded jewelry for college students,” Phithak said. “I noticed, going to the farmers markets here in Logan, that there wasn’t a big offering of beaded jewelry at an affordable price.”
Students sell various items at the Farmers Market on the Quad on April 11.
Phithak said her business is targeted towards college students who may not have the funds to buy jewelry. Jellipeace provides students with a more affordable and local option.
Phithak said she started her business last summer and initially began selling through her personal Instagram. This year’s start-up was the first time Phithak was able to sell her jewelry in a farmers market setting.
“In my head I was like, ‘It’s okay if I don’t sell anything, at least I can get my brand out there and make sure people know that my jewelry was on option if they’re on a budget,’” Phithak said. “I was blown away by the amount of support the other students were showing me by buying my products.”
Phithak had the opportunity to speak with other student entrepreneurs who were selling their products at the market. She said she learned a lot from their insight and from the process of selling goods in-person.
“Knowing how to talk to your customers, getting them engaged and excited about your product and informing them about why you’re doing it is super important,” Phithak said.
Phithak got involved with the market through the entrepreneurship minor, which she chose to gain a better foundational understanding of what it takes to run a business.
“Something that I’ve always wanted to do with my specific job is to be able to make my own hours and be my own boss,” Phithak said. “That’s a big reason why I decided to minor in entrepreneurship.”
Phithak hopes to continue expanding her business, and plans to start selling her jewelry at other farmers markets in the future.
“If you have a business idea that you think is a great idea, I think you should pursue it,” Phithak said. “It can be really scary, and you might not know what the outcome will be, but you will never know unless you try it.”