Here at the University of Evansville (where this blog is stationed), the business majors need to take an Entrepreneurship class during their sophomore year. There’s all the normal things that go into a class: papers, grades, and lectures. But the hallmark of the class has nothing to do with book work. Students actually start businesses during their second semester.

One such business is Sheer Poetry, run by sophomores Emilee Shake, Beth Gion, and Martha Lumley. They had a sale in one of the University rooms last Thursday, which seemed more than successful. Of course, there was a drought of girls around 8 due to the airing of a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy. But it did get busy again after 9.

I managed (okay, so it wasn’t such an ordeal) to get an interview with new businesswoman Beth Gion, one of the entrepreneurs behind student-run Sheer Poetry (she’s the one on the left, Martha’s on the right). The business focuses on selling unique jewelry pieces for cheaper prices than one would usually find in a boutique. (Sounds like they’re perfect for Etsy.)

College Stylings: Can you talk a little about your business?
Beth: We are making and purchasing hand-crafted jewelry and then reselling it. We have a variety of pieces and five lines that we try to stay within.

They are our Basically line, our Princess line, which is for little girls, our Breathe line, Shift and Radiance. Our Basically line, our Princess line, which is for little girls, our Breathe line, Shift and Radiance. Each one says a little about the pieces that are in it. Shift is for trendy, modern, bold people, and obviously, Princess is for little girls. Basically is your everyday silver and gold and simple stuff. Radiance is for going out and Breathe has a little bit of natural feel.

How long did you have to plan this business and how did it tie into your class?
We are required to take an Entrepreneur class as a sophomore for business majors here at UE. So we had a whole last semester to plan. Then we came up with a business plan and was graded on that. This semester, we have to implement that plan. That’s what we’re doing here tonight at our showcase.

We have to make a certain amount of revenue and a certain amount of sales and all of those things. That’s what we’re graded on.

What kind of problems did you find when you were planning this business?
Meeting together was always an issue. Trying to find time to do was hard. Also meeting deadlines and getting things arranged and classified. Being the creative was probably the biggest challenge.

Did you have ideas for jewelry and then put them into the lines? Or did you decide on the lines first?
We definitely started with ideas for the lines. I came on board with this venture a little later than Martha and Emily. I joined them probably two or three weeks into the semester. I left my previous group and joined them because I had worked in a bead store through most of high school, so I have a lot of expertise. They were grateful to have me, I think. It wasn’t my idea originally, but I definitely think I helped further it.

What kind of business did you switch from?
I was working with a group that was trying to do some entertainment and music. I wasn’t quite as interested in that as I am in this.

Did you make some of the pieces?
Yes, I made some of the pieces myself. All three of us are designers and creators, as well as owners. Part of our business model is that we don’t actually make them on the business’ time, we make it on our own time and then the business itself buys from each of us. As a group of three we can reject anything any of us has made. That way it helps divvy up the time and we get paid for our time. I’m really confident in this business model.

What are some of the problems that came from planning to implementation?
There have been a lot of issues. The university has been something we’ve had to work with. We’ve had to go through their red tape, talking to the right people. Getting the room tonight was a big issue. I was in Rob Pool’s [assistant dean of students] office a few times, and I had talked to at least three other people getting everything here tonight: drinks and food. That was probably the biggest challenge.

And then just knowing what we had to do and what was the next set step and what forms to fill out and everything. Our professor, Dr. Sherman, has been helpful with that.

How successful has tonight been so far?
Tonight’s gone really well, I would say. We don’t have any totals at all, but we feel very confident. There’s probably been over 50 items sold all together and we’re only an hour in. Everyone seems to like it. There seems to be something for everyone. No one’s really left empty-handed, so that’s exciting.

How does this fit in with selling to college students who don’t usually have that much money to spend?
We really did take that into consideration. A lot of it’s priced lower as far as hand-crafted things go. If you go into Evansville, there’s a store called Busy Beads, and we get some of our supplies there, but it’s also a place where they sell jewelry that’s been made. Their prices are much higher than ours.

It has also been great support from friends coming in and just getting one thing for them and maybe one thing for a gift. They do make great gifts because it’s something unique and nobody else has it. That’s kind of where we’re trying to hit our market, mostly. If you can’t get it for yourself, maybe you’ll feel more comfortable buying it as a gift.

Do you see ‘Sheer Poetry’ expanding?
Our next goal after tonight’s showcase is to get into some small shops in the Evansville area. We’re looking at getting into shops in little Nashville. We’re in a shop already in the Plainville-Olden area. We’re looking at Huntingburg and a few places in Evansville itself. We’re hope to get into some gift shops and boutiques like that. As far as expansion goes this is the next step.

How about the Internet?
It’s something that we have considered, but we would probably have to hire somebody to do that for us because none of us are very knowledgeable with the technology stuff. Depending on what we want to do after this semester, we’ll probably maybe just close it up and move on. And if we decide to keep going, we’ll look into Internet opportunities.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?
I want to compliment my partners on everything they’ve done and how much we’ve accomplished together.

If you are interested in Sheer Poetry, you can e-mail them at sheer_poetry at yahoo dot com.

This is the first in a series of spotlights that I will conduct on this blog. If you know any college students that have done anything interesting or extraordinary, feel free to use the contact form, or e-mail me at collegestylings-at-gmail-dot-com.

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Posted on February 9th, 2007 by Joy
Filed under: Spotlight