When Nikki Parmar joined Sage Hill School as a freshman two years ago, she was eager to share her school spirit by wearing a Sage Hill sweatshirt. But the enthusiastic freshman couldn’t find the school store.
After investigation, she discovered the school had only an online store, which she said was hard to navigate and whose apparel options were limited. Few students even knew there was a store.
“I moved to Orange County from China before my freshman year,” said Parmar, whose father had business overseas. “I was very excited to go to Sage Hill, and I wanted to show my school spirit.”
She developed a solution, drafting a proposal to Head of School Gordon McNeill on how to promote the online store. She wanted to make it easier for classmates to buy items, plus make a lasting change in the way the store operated.
Parmar met with McNeill at the start of her sophomore year last August. He embraced her enthusiasm and connected her with Shideh Soleimany, a member of Sage Hill’s parent association, for guidance.
Parmar, with McNeill’s blessing and Soleimany’s advice, put her plan into action, taking over the store’s operations. Every week she set up a booth at student gatherings with Sage Hill sweatshirts, T-shirts and water bottles for sale. A group of friends caught her enthusiasm and joined her.
Parmar said Sage Hill students were excited to buy spirit apparel—at every event, she said she sold out of several items, and students began to visit the online store regularly.
Now Parmar had a new problem: keeping inventory. So she found a vendor that could keep up with the growing demand.
Parmar peppered fellow students with questions: “What would you like to see in the student store? What kinds of products are you most likely to buy?”
She and her team, armed with the information, expanded the product offerings to include customized tumblers and—the top seller—“booty shorts” with Sage Hill School emblazoned across the seat.
The online store had quadrupled its profits by this past June, McNeill said, and is now a functioning small business instead of an online afterthought.
Parmar and her team gauge inventory, create promotions and develop marketing plans. Soleimany said she advises the students, and they do the work.
Parmar will be in the 11th grade when school starts in September. She plans to start the Sage Hill School Store Club, with the goal of expanding the success of last year’s efforts. Parmar envisions an extensive social media outreach campaign, including a Facebook page where students can place orders online.
She said she’s grateful administrators trusted her to try out her ideas.
Her search, beyond helping her show her school spirit, has evolved into a small-business endeavor. She’s discovered a passion for marketing in the process.
“This experience has been terrific,” she said. “I love sales and marketing. I think that is the tack I want to follow with my life.”
