Mount Mercy students work with SCORE, farmers market vendors

CEDAR RAPIDS — 'Real learning often happens when you get dirty and sweaty, like today,' says Nate Klein, wiping his brow on a day when the temperature reached into the high 80s.

Klein is a Mount Mercy University business professor and adviser to the campus chapter of Enactus, an international club for those interested in entrepreneurship and helping promote positive change in the community.

Klein was at the Downtown Farmers' Market on Aug. 15 with a group of students dressed in gray shirts, each with the word 'Enactus' emblazoned in yellow, standing at booths with clipboards in hand. They were there to study the businesses of vendors at the market.

'This gives students a great chance to learn outside the classroom,' Klein said.

In 2014, club members spoke with farmers market vendors, who said there weren't a lot of venues operating where they could sell their wares during the winter months. So this past December the club hosted a market for about 20 vendors on Mount Mercy's campus.

In May, the vendors rejoined club members to learn more about marketing and management, and Enactus members asked what more they could do to help.

Seth Pennock, a senior finance and marketing major at Mount Mercy and a member of Enactus, came up with the idea of meeting the vendors at their booths at the downtown market.

'There are so many opportunities for full-time businesses to get support, but not as much for part-timers,' Klein said.

Nine Enactus students and 10 members of SCORE, a volunteer organization that provides mentoring to small businesses, convened at the Aug. 15 market to observe the vendors for an hour and a half, then survey their customers.

Dick Bice, a SCORE volunteer, laughed as he pointed out Mount Mercy junior Lloyd Mackayi, a business major.

'He's my consultant,' he joked.

They observed vendors including Jeanne's Soaps; Ryan Fisher Designs, which sells artistic signs; Corn Fusion, a popcorn business; CinnaMini, which sells doughnuts and drinks; and Tericloth, which sells tie-dyed clothing.

At an Aug. 26 follow-up meeting at Basile Hall on the Mount Mercy campus, the teams shared their insights with some of those vendors.

Mount Mercy junior Mark Mettler, a biology and psychology major, and SCORE volunteer Terry Lamb sat down around a small table with Bill Thompson, whose wife, Teri, runs Tericloth.

Mettler suggested the Thompsons add a changing area, so people can try on some of their items.

'I think that would help more (potential customers) go from lookers to buyers,' Mettler said.

At another table, Pennock, along with SCORE volunteers Robert Kazimar and Kathy McCartor, spoke with Jeanne White of Jeanne's Soaps. They suggested she build a website, and fine tune her inventory procedures.

'You want to grow still,' McCartor said. 'You need to know your best-sellers.'

At the end of the follow-up meeting, vendors were asked three questions:

• What are your strengths?

• What are your weaknesses?

• What would you do if you were given $10,000?

James Yoder of CinnaMini said he and his fiancee, Irena Mitchell, provide a good product at a fair price. However, they're not strong at signs or advertising other products.

'People don't know we have a fresh raspberry iced tea, it's caffeine free, brewed from fresh raspberries and it's very good for kids,' Mitchell said. 'If they don't know, they won't buy.'

Bice suggested Yoder and Mitchell give out free samples of the drinks. Surveys taken at the market indicated customers love samples, he noted.

Yoder also said if he had $10,000, he would buy another trailer and expand, so they could attend markets in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids on the same day.

At the end of the meeting, Klein told the participants that Enactus, SCORE and the vendors would 'continue the conversation.'

Enactus plans to host another farmers market on campus on Dec. 12, marketing major Pennock said, adding they want to bring in more vendors this year.

'There's no joy like the joy of helping someone struggling succeed,' Bice said.