What better way to learn about entrepreneurship than to run a real business?

Taylor’s College, School of Hospitality and Tourism (TCHT) second-year bachelor’s degree students specialising in F&B and Culinary Arts Management are doing just that as part and parcel of their coursework for the Entrepreneurship in Food Service subject.

The students first spend three months in the classroom learning all aspects of entrepreneurship. They focus on modules, such as Building a Business Concept, Planning for Products and Services, Competitors’ Analysis, Pricing and Cost Estimating, Accounting and Human Resource. Upon mastering the theory of entrepreneurship, the students are then challenged to apply their knowledge by establishing and managing a small, on-campus food business in the following semester.

Divided into teams of six to eight, the students have to work together to develop a business plan and concept for their food business. Once that is approved, each team has to decide on its booth setup, sales strategy and promotional activities. Given a start-up loan of RM400, each team must not only be able to repay the loan at the end of their business, but also generate a profit.

The first team to run its business was called Food 4 Thought, which provided the campus community with a new food experience. For the first week, the team sold Western-style set lunches (trio of mushroom soup or cheese surprise; pineapple lamb skewers or spaghetti with chef’s sauce; and lemon meringue pie or apple meringue pie or chocolate brownies) for RM10. In the second week, members used the hawker-style concept, where a range of food and beverages were prepared fresh on the spot.

“Our strategy to make money was to buy things at the lowest cost possible so that we could sell our food and drinks at an affordable price for students,” explained Team Leader Stanley Ho. “To earn extra money, we also provided delivery service and catered for special events.”

He added: “Although the project was time consuming and challenging, it definitely trained me to think as an entrepreneur and instilled in me a desire to set up my own business in the future.”

Surpassing its target profit of RM500, the East Attack team made a total of RM591 by selling popular dishes from Asian countries. The menu included Indonesian tahu gejrot, Chinese dumplings, Japanese dorayaki and Vietnamese beef noodles. Team members promoted their business mainly through distribution of fliers, display of posters around campus and word-of-mouth advertising.

“One of the most important lessons we learnt was time management as we had to juggle this business together with our other classes. We made sure that we planned our schedules properly and delegated responsibilities amongst each team member,” said Team Leader Patricia Chandra. “Our strong teamwork was the main reason for our success.”

Besides focusing on running a smooth operation, team members also took time to observe their customers’ purchase activities and gain feedback from them about the varieties and quality of food sold.

Mr. Pradeep Nair, Taylor’s College chief operating officer, said: “Through this course, our hospitality students are challenged to think of great ideas for the F&B and culinary arts sector and turn them into money-making businesses.”

He added: “This spirit of entrepreneurship that is ingrained in them will no doubt make them outstanding leaders for the hospitality industry in the very near future.”

To find out more about the Bachelor of Hospitality & Tourism Management (Hons) programme at Taylor’s College, School of Hospitality and Tourism, please contact Emily Yeap at (03) 7877-9777 or yeap.emilymeifong@taylors.edu.my.