Wow! There's money in the clothes at Salvation Army: On fashion, profit, and smart biz students!

Biz students show that there's little to fear and much to hope for.

If you're looking for the absolute latest in technology, software, gizmos, or video games, you can't find it--much less buy it--for it's still on the shelf somewhere waiting for the next strategic move to be made or, more likely, in the laboratory waiting still for further development to take place.  In the case of next wave of young business professionals--those people who will be going into business--the same idea applies: you can't see them very well because their still "in process."  

But that doesn't mean that you won't be impressed when the new "line" is unveiled.  As an insider to the process of cultivating the next wave of business professionals, I'd like to share two terrific stories of what some ambitious, recent biz students are up to--and I think you'll find it remarkable what they've cooked up--how they can turned ordinary stuff into veritable gold!  I've got two case-in-points.

How much can a discarded tee shirt really be worth?

Sleeve Candy guys: Huskat, Beeb, Moogley, and FuzzyA short while ago I ran across the story of some creative--and ambitious biz students at the Kellogg School who figured out that there was a profit to be made by using the stuff one could find easily enough in--of all places--Salvation Army stores.  They decided to sell used--but cool--tee shirts and now operate the world's largest selection of pre-owned tee shirts!  There are four of them, replete with duties to go along with their nicknames: Reed Huskat ["Head Person" and Chief Bean Counter, AKA "Huskat"], Hanif Sean Perry [responsible for marketing and AKA "Beeb"], Kavin Arumugham [in charge of operations and AKA "Moogley"], and Andrew Fazekas [in charge of "Web and Product" and AKA "Fuzzy"]. 

Their tees are shown in all their splendor on line at their store's site, SleeveCandy.  What's more, they make a selling proposition that's pretty nifty based on uniqueness, selection, social good, and environmental friendliness.  In the process of doing this they are figuratively finding money in the clothes on sale at your local-but-lowly Salvation Army store!  [Because of SleeveCandy, I think I've found a terrific place to buy some great, inexpensive, and unique Christmas presents this year for some hard-to-find-gifts-for-people!]  Check out their site, if only to be impressed at their ingenuity to turn what's "ordinary" in to "specialness"--all at a substantial profit.

Move over Cole Haan--to make room for Mallory Musante.

Mallory MusanteAnother amazing success story bred in a school of business come from my own biz school and a 2010 College of Business undergraduate, Mallory Musante.  She takes plain shoes and by almost alchemist-like-skills turns them into distinctive, unique--yes, literally unique--shoes for who ever decides that that's what they'd like to have just for themselves...what she calls wearable art.  In fact, I met someone as recently as two days ago who told me she's planning to order hand-painted designer shoes for herself and her bridesmaids at an up-coming wedding she planning--all from Mallory Musante who today is hot in the world of fashion!  

My introduction to Mallory was simple and unremarkable--she made an appointment to see me and wanted my approval as a dean in the College of Business for her proposal to get course credit to create a business plan for what turned into Mallory Musante Shoes.  When we met in my office she was polite-yet-very-focused on getting underway with her project back then, those 14 or 15 months ago.  Today what then seemed inauspicious has turned in to a big deal: she has received all kinds of media attention, endorsements, and awards and is on her way to making a difference in the world of style and high fashion!  Again, I'd invite you to check out her site and see for yourself what she's done and offers to a very intrigued world.

Seeing tomorrow's world of commerce through the eyes of a biz prof today.

The Occupy-Wall-Street gang and others claim that going to college is a bust and waste of time--but I know differently.  Working in a biz school allows me to peer down the road in a way that's not really possible for most of you, but I can see only the promise of terrific, enterprising, and vibrant business professionals of tomorrow.  To make that same point a different way:  I'm presently working with about 70 undergraduate biz students this term; four of them own and operate their own businesses and two other young women have serious plans to introduce new product lines in their family's enterprises, one of them in Burma.  

What I do is a great way to make both a life and a living--to work with promising, enterprising, industrious business leaders of tomorrow.  [Don't tell the people I work for that if they didn't pay me, I'd likely still do my job for free, but I'll take it just the same--believe me, I can put the money they pay me to good use.]  However, because I've got the good fortune to be an "insider"--to see what's around the corner in a way you can't, I thought I'd share a little of the "fun" by letting you in on some of the interesting people I see and learn about...all on their way to the rest of you very soon!
_______________________________________________________________

Follow Keith's biz blog on Twitter for updates and see more of what he's reading about on his Facebook Page. If you are inclined, you can write him at kmurray@bryant.edu.