January 23, 2022: Cookie Entrepreneur + Meet Your Customers + Cybersecurity Basics
Cookie Entrepreneur #1, 2, 4 | Meet Your Customers #1, 4 | Cybersecurity Basics #4
Meeting Activities:
See the Meeting Plan
Updates on Girl Scout Cookie Program by Michelle, our TCM (Troop Cookie Manager), aka Cookie Diva
Worked on requirements for the Cookie Entrepreneur Family Pin and the Meet my Customers badge
Goal setting. Girls discussed and voted on excursions they wish to prioritize, and the number of boxes required to pay for them.
Finding customers. Girls brainstormed to whom and where can sell.
Make your pitch. Practiced selling to customers by breaking into small groups to role play/create a skit and then perform it for the group.
Briefly discussed Cybersecurity Basics on how to be safe when selling online.
Comments:
COOKIE PROGRAM
Michelle reminded families to complete their Cookie Program Permission Form and to provide their availability for manning troop booths on the Troop Booth Sign Up Form.
Note: we only need a broad sense of who is available on what dates and what times. We don’t yet know what GSCO-organized booths will be available. Once the portal opens, we will only be able to secure 2 hour slots, so it is not a commitment for the entire day. Michelle won’t try for any time before 10:00am or after 4:00pm.
Some families are already on Digital Cookie and selling. We’ve sold over 350 boxes already! Before next meeting, create your Digital Cookie site and start marketing it.
There is a shortage of the new Adventurefuls cookie. Our baker has shut off online orders for delivery to be able to have stock available for troop distribution. They hope to catch up in February. So… we will be limited in the number of Adventurefuls in the near term.
Cookie Distribution is at our next troop meeting on Sunday, February 6.
SUMMARY OF COOKIE RESOURCES:
GS of USA - Digital Cookie Portal - online sales platform; each scout must register individually from link sent from GSCO
GS of USA - Cookie Resources Page - Lots of helpful information
GSCO - Cookie Program Family Guide - Great overview of program logistics
GSCO - Cookie Program Permission Form - Required for all participants!
Troop Cookie Calendar - Key dates!
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PIN + MEET MY CUSTOMERS
As we go through the Cookie Program, girls will earn their Cookie Entrepreneur Family Pin along with relevant badges. We worked on:
1. Go for the goal. Set a family goal and a troop goal.
2. Find more customers. Brainstorm who, how, where, when can find customers and ways to spread the word about your cookie business.
4. Make your pitch. Think of how you’ll ask people to buy cookies. Practice your pitch!
TROOP GOAL
We discussed a bunch of different ideas and the girls voted to prioritize how to spend their troop funds, in the following order:
Wonders of Water Journey—Excursion to Denver Aquarium for 3 hour program ($27/scout) — $351/troop
Cabin Camper—Excursion to Garden of the Gods + overnight stay at Camp Hut ($150/night for up to 30 people) — $300/2 nights
Design Your Badge Day/First Aid—Excursion to Tomahawk Ranch for full day of programming in Bailey CO ($45/participant) — $585/troop
Pets—Excursion to Denver Zoo, Animal Academy: Life Cycles ($12/participant) — $156/troop
Hiker—Excursion to a Colorado State Park ($9-10/vehicle) — $177-130/troop
Bugs—Excursion to Butterfly Pavilion ($25 program cost + $6/scout + $10/adult) —$403/troop
Painting—Excursion to Denver Art Museum (Free for students and 1 adult/10 students + $5/per person special exhibit ticket fee) and supplies for cookie booth decorating and mural project ($?)
To do everything would cost $1,925 (if all 13 girls attend all activities). Therefore the girls would need to sell 2,376 boxes (earning $0.81 per box).
To round up, our troop goal is…drumroll… 2,400 boxes! This would be about 185 boxes/scout.
SETTING A CHARITABLE GOAL
There was some discussion after the meeting about setting an additional philanthropic goal. For example, we could seek to give 10% of troop earnings to causes the girls care about.
When they voted on their Take Action project, the girls identified a few areas of interest. Below are some organizations that could represent their top take-action choices. We could also just support the local food bank, Food Bank of the Rockies.
Please discuss charitable giving with your scout and come prepared to vote. Feel free to send me other ideas!
Guns are bad — Everytown for Gun Safety
Conserve water — Colorado Water Trust
Stop killing animals — PETA
Stop trash in oceans — The Ocean Cleanup
Stop smoking — American Lung Association
Reuse trash for art — Art of Recycle
MEET MY CUSTOMERS
#1 - Find customers
Girls brainstormed ideas on who, where, and how they can sell cookies. Even discussed affiliate marketing, getting others to sell for you, e.g., older siblings
On selling at school, I’ve already reached out to the the other DLS GS troops and DLS administration about coordinating booths on campus during school dismissal and at fun club pickup. Will have DLS booth days/times for sign up by next meeting.
#4 - Make your pitch!
To help them think about the how they might pitch potential customers, I divided them up into small groups to role play. Each group had a different target audience. As they performed their skits for the group, we discussed some of the things to consider for each target audience. For example:
Park — Can only take small bills, $20 or less. If someone wishes to pay by credit card, they can with the Digital Cookie app.
Troop Booth — Tell your customers about the troop goals and why you are excited about the cookie program.
Neighbors — Don’t go into anyone’s house, even if they seem nice. Unless you know the neighbors well, don’t disclose where you live. If they say they are not interested, be gracious. Say, ok, maybe next time.
Workplace — Identify your parent. Unless you have boxes in hand, tell customers how you will deliver their cookies.
Family and Friends — Make sure you say thank you for their support. Perhaps create thank you cards. Perhaps create business cards with your online store QR code so they can pass along.
CYBERSECURITY BASICS
We briefly discussed how to create layers of security around one’s personal profile online and to be safe when using online tools like Digital Cookie.
The girls asked, “What is an online profile?” I answered that it is your name and other identifying information like your age, birth date, address, phone number, etc. We want to protect this information from people who might misuse it or seek to cause us harm in real life.
I demonstrated our online profile as being an egg, fragile and in need of protection. Around it we add a layer of security (cotton balls), around that we add another layer (tissue), around that we add another layer (newspaper), and we tuck it away safely (plastic box).
We discussed three real-life safety rules to follow when we go online:
Don't talk to strangers
Stop and think about your actions
Don't believe everything you see or that people tell you
Most of the girls have heard some variation of “Stranger Danger” before. They could also readily understand the concept of stopping and thinking before writing or doing something online because they are taught about bullying at school. Though I don’t think they understand that anything they do online is FOREVER. If they say a mean thing in the heat of the moment on the playground, they likely will have an opportunity to apologize for it later. They may not get that online.
I think that #3 is the most challenging for the girls. They tend to trust everything that they see on the internet. The idea that someone who presents as a fellow 8-year old could be a 62 year-old man is really difficult for them to grasp.
Announcements:
The Girl Scouts of Colorado are always posting interesting things to the events calendar. Here is a sampling of upcoming events that we can participate in as a troop or you can register for individually. See GSCO Events Calendar.
Inspiring Futures Speaker Series
2/10 - Paleontology
2/15 - Denver Zoo Animal Care
Girl Scout Day 2/25 - CO Avalanche ($36)
Follow Up:
Complete the Troop Booth Sign Up Form
Register for Digital Cookie. When using Digital Cookie, discuss cybersecurity basics such as how to set a strong password.
Start marketing your online store!
Add a photo and create a marketing video
Create a marketing email to friends and family
Create business cards with your store’s QR code
Discuss a philanthropic goal with your scout and decide on her top 3 causes to vote at next meeting.
See you on Sunday, 2/6!
Thank you!
Meredith (Mila’s Mom)