Business Incubation and Design - Maxine Elloian

Hi Interdisciplinary readers!

My name is Maxine Elloian, and I am a high schooler from northern Illinois! I am very excited to share my experiences and resources you can use to advance your business and STEM knowledge! Today, I will be diving into a project I did that involves both fields. In the middle of my sophomore year, towards the end of 2020, I created a mock business in which my team and I were challenged to create the best product using effective business strategies. We utilized a variety of online resources that anybody could learn to help us make the most of our business!

The first step in our process was to learn how to start a business. If you are interested in creating your own business, whether it be a small one now or a large one in the future, the easiest and most accessible resource is the internet. There are thousands of experts eager to share their knowledge with audiences on sites such as YouTube. Gillian Perkins, an entrepreneur and podcast host, has a fantastic YouTube channel that breaks down how to start and grow an online business. My team needed exactly that, and with this inspiration, we were able to pinpoint exactly what we needed to do from there to set up our mock business.

Business does not only involve verbal communication with workers and customers. Visual communication is essential to a successful business, leading my team and I to decide our next step was to create a business logo. We used Canva, a graphic design platform that is friendly to use by even less tech-savvy people; it is also an excellent way to create posters for spreading the word about your business! To learn the importance of a logo design and receive tips on creating one, Visme is another YouTube channel you can use to learn how to promote your product effectively.

STEM was also a crucial part of our project. A successful business has a product that has to be designed and a website to share it with others, which uses computer science and engineering. Before we could build our product, we designed it using a software called Fusion 360. This resource is fantastic for modeling just about anything your mind creates, but it does require some practice and knowledge of how it works before jumping into a project. YouTube Channels such as the software’s very own AutoDesk Fusion 360 channel as well as The Fusion Essentials channel can teach anyone how to navigate it. If you have a passion for engineering and want to utilize it in your business, you can also look into engineering classes at your school, which will dive into programs like Fusion or other similar softwares. Similarly, looking into coding classes at your school or using YouTube channels such as freeCodeCamp.org can be extremely helpful in making a website, as my team and I found throughout our project.

Finally, my team and I put together a virtual presentation to share our finished product and business plan with a panel of judges. Learning to make effective presentations is essential for a business but also for a student in high school or college in general. My team and I utilized Microsoft Powerpoint to bring our presentation to life. If you are a student interested in developing your skills with Microsoft, it is a great idea to look into Tech Certification classes at your school that offer the opportunity to earn a certificate in each of the Microsoft programs. Being certified in Microsoft Powerpoint myself was really helpful in easily navigating the tool, but simply practicing with the program and going to YouTube channels such as Technology for Teachers and Students for help with anything along the way is also effective.

Thank you for reading about my business and STEM project! Please feel free to reach out to me (maxineelloian@yahoo.com) with any questions. Also, check out our student blog to share your own story!