Would you like to pay by cash, check, credit or debit?

Students from MHS asked this question multiple times as they were selling t-shirts and hoodies at Chesterfield Mall. They represented Rockwood at the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce Spring Business Expo on March 1.

Laurie Philipp, business education teacher, said the Expo is an event where businesses from the St. Louis area set up tables to showcase their products and their company.

“They try to share their visions for the community and offer services to each other,” Philipp said.

This was MHS’ first time participating in the Expo. Philipp said the Business Management and Entrepreneurship class was offered an invitation from the Rockwood Communications Department

Philipp said the opportunity allowed students to see businesses in action. The students sold their products, just like the other real life businesses, to customers.

Philipp said students should take the class to  have the chance for this opportunity. Through running a real business, students are able to gain real life experience and discover the positives and negatives of business.

“They’re learning along the way even when they don’t realize it,” Philipp said.

Laasya Pothuganti, senior, was one of the students who went to the Expo. She said it helped her improve her method of selling products.

“You have to know how to communicate with people well, especially for sales pitches,” Pothuganti said.

Allyson Ingli, senior, said her favorite part was learning new sales methods from the salespeople at the Expo that she was able to bring back to the classroom.

“I liked gathering information and seeing all these people to try to mimic what they were doing,” Ingli said.

Ingli said the Expo primarily consists of real businesses rather than high schools, so there were plenty of chances to learn from the other businesses.

Ingli signed up to go to the Expo to have more opportunities in selling hoodies and t-shirts. Her class is selling t-shirts and hoodies with 314 on the back to represent the St. Louis area code.

She said the target market is mainly teenagers and people living in the St. Louis area. The products were paid for by either cash, check or a square reader, which is a machine that allows customers to pay with either a debit or credit card.

Ingli said the Business Management and Entrepreneurship class has taught her the process of starting a business to receiving a paycheck.

“The experience really helps if you’re going into some business major or going to be an entrepreneur,” Ingli said.