Innovative Jodie an enterprise finalist
MILLSTREET Community School Transition Year student Jodie O’Callaghan displayed entrepreneurial and innovative skills on her selection to represent Local Enterprise Office South Cork in the senior category at the National Final of the Student Enterprise Awards Competition.
Hailing from Bolomore, Rathcoole, Jodie’s business plan is impressive. Her product is the JK9, a pet-themed wall hanger for keys and dog leads, the name is a combination of Jodie’s initial and K9 as an abbreviation of canine.
To earn acknowledgement at this level, Jodie’s creative talents surfaced to demonstrate exceptional enterprising skills. By doing so, Jodie’s progress to date has seen her initiate an innovative and popular product; source raw materials and initiate a recycling scheme that impressed adjudicating panels.
Designing a product and devising a method of mass production, the project involved the development of wood-working skills, market research, problem solving for a variety of issues, creating a business plan and adapting a marketing strategy.
This has led to a product so popular, Jodie’s biggest problem now is keeping up with the demand.
She is of course delighted with her success and says she has learned so much about business, as well as developing a huge range of skills.
Due to the current situation and restrictions put in place to tackle COVID-19, the National Final in Croke Park scheduled for this Friday is cancelled, but a national judging panel is carrying out a paper based judging exercise for all national final business reports and winners chosen. An awards ceremony to present prizes follows later in the year.
Meanwhile, anybody interested on obtaining one of Jodie’s Pet Hanger creations can do so by contacting her on Instagram jk9_2020.