Most classes are great for learning the theoretical parts of various professions, but what could be better than in-the-field experience? Butler’s Real Business Experience (RBE) class offers exactly that by providing students with a small loan and one objective: run a business.
Currently, there are 28 RBE businesses, with products ranging from hair clips and perfume to spices and burger presses. While the students running these businesses sell to their peers and professors, they also make money from their inventory deals.
It would be unreasonable to ask these students to deal with the newly learned logistics of creating, marketing and running a business while also leaving them to make their own inventory. After all, a big part of commerce is the supply chain, and students themselves cannot be at the center of every aspect of it.
Sophomore marketing major Chase Snyder was the CEO of Blue’s Pillowzzz last semester, and he claimed that few were brave enough to stray from the formula of having a third-party vendor provide inventory.
“Product-wise, I don’t know … of anyone [producing] their [own],” Snyder said. “I know there was a company that would use their drone and shoot marketing videos for companies. It’s a little bit different than offering a physical product, but through this service, they [made] it themselves and actually recorded the videos for these companies”
RBE classes offer the real-world experience necessary for students to succeed in their future endeavors by gently guiding them through the nuances of the business world. After all, leaving them to their own devices with no help would hardly teach anything, so professors give students a hand when complications arise and advice is needed.
One of the biggest graces afforded to RBE entrepreneurs is the chance to table at Butler and sell their product to their peers. By allotting students with set times to market themselves on campus, the faculty behind the RBE classes grants these students some of their biggest sales opportunities.
Sophomore accounting major Kathleen Sheehan is the CEO of White River Sipping Stones, and she explained that RBE professor Kristi Mitchell does not leave students out to dry.
“I’ve seen her help one of the groups find a vendor because they were really struggling to do that,” Sheehan said. “She’s been helping our group find different places to do [business-to-business] sales. She’s just really been helpful along the way.”
While most other classes offer practical experience in the form of labs, art expositions and writing workshops, the RBE program sets itself apart by pushing students beyond the Butler bubble. They do not stop at just selling at tables or events; students are encouraged to market their product to local businesses and sell at a larger scale.
Though RBE classes prepare students for the real business world, it does not allow them to coast off of the success they create under its banner. Butler University retains the rights to all intellectual properties (IP) created through the RBE program, meaning students are not able to continue their endeavors using the same logos or designs.
Sheehan explained that despite the IP hold, longevity is a big focus for RBE.
“I’m actually working on our final presentation right now, and I have to do a slide about our team’s viability,” Sheehan said. “I think our team would definitely be able to continue after RBE. They do have [a] contractual clause that all intellectual property [made for an RBE] becomes property of the RBE program. We are able to continue business through the entrepreneurship classes, but I’m not exactly sure our group is planning on doing that.”
Despite this, the experience gained from participating in an RBE class is invaluable, and it exists to ensure students can replicate their success in other markets. Many of the businesses heavily incorporate a Butler Bulldogs theme, making it less viable to continue the business after graduation.
At the end of the semester, RBE teams have a chance to win one — or several — of the many awards presented by the RBE faculty and the Student Government Association. The prizes range from outright monetary rewards to grants for future business ventures. Some businesses are dubbed the most innovative while others are simply the most profitable, but all of them have a lesson to teach.
The best part about the RBE classes is their openness; students are encouraged to explore markets and create ideas that would otherwise be a financial risk without fear of their own material loss. With ideas as simple and efficient as doormats to more out-there thoughts like refrigerated stones to cool down drinks, the RBE program is an educational playground for any student looking to navigate the business world.