LLWR apprentices show business flair to win Challenge
Donation to LLW Repository Ltd's charity of the year after success in Gen2 competition.
LLWR apprentices presented with certificates after winning the Gen2 Entrepreneurial Challenge.
It was ‘business as usual’ for LLWR’s talented apprentices when they entered training provider Gen2’s Entrepreneurial Challenge, taking first place after turning a profit of around £870 in just one week.
The idea of the Challenge was to set up a sustainable business using a £250 starting budget, and the 8 LLWR apprentices, from a wide range of disciplines, opted to produce fragrant wax melts.
Amy Fox, who was Project Manager, mirroring her apprenticeship role, said: “We brainstormed and came up with several other ideas, but they were going to be too time consuming so we thought the wax melts were the better option.
“We looked online to see what a business case consisted of. We had seen them before but not written one. It was all new to us.
“It was researched and written in 3 days and was 15 pages long and included roles and responsibilities, marketing, research, finance and sustainability.
“We researched several websites to find out where we could source our products at the cheapest prices and it turned out to be Amazon. We bought wax, essential oils and moulds.
“It took us 8 hours to produce 948 melts, heating the wax and oils, pouring the mixture into the moulds and refrigerating them. It wasn’t that complicated, really.”
The group advertised within LLWR and sold them on a specific day, during National Apprenticeship Week, and received permission to sell in Dummail Park shopping centre in Workington. They even set up specific Facebook and Instagram accounts for sales.
“We didn’t really expect to win,” Amy added. “Other teams had weeks to prepare and we only really had one. But it was good to work as a team with the other apprentices, as I don’t see them that often, and it was also useful for me to get more experience as a project manager.”
Profits will go to LLWR’s charity of the year, Danica’s Dream Fund, but the group are not yet finished. They still have 5kg of unused wax and plan to sell the melts for charity at forthcoming company events.
“We will keep the business going,” Amy said.