The students in Mrs. Margot Arnold's Entrepreneurship 30 class saw great success with their business last semester, the Cloud 9 Blanket Company. In fact, they were recently able to donate $1,168.07 to the Family Place.

Launched in October of 2022 and operational until the end of January 2023, they made 537 plush throws in all, available at affordable prices, with the option of customizations.

"Our venture was ultimately a massive success in our community, catering to businesses and individuals alike," they explained in a press release. "Our mission statement was 'We strive to warm communities one blanket at a time.' We warmed the hearts and bodies of all our buyers through our excellence in quality, competitive pricing, and unique custom options. Our company catered to every need of every consumer. We abided by this mission statement and our company values in every product we released to the community. Our company is proud of the profit we made for all our members and the contribution we made to the Weyburn Family Place."

The Junior Achievers reported a good amount of startup work to get things going, but their order numbers spiked shortly after their first successful prototype rolled off the line. 

"Our company had to quickly cap off Christmas orders when we received 300 orders in three days," they told. 

The Cloud 9 Blanket Company was made up of 24 employees who all contributed to the sale, production, and delivery of the blankets in a timely manner despite overwhelming order numbers. We made use of five class periods a week as well as regular production nights to complete these orders.

Products evolved, including offering colours like cream, grey, and pink, with navy and red also briefly offered due to multiple suppliers.

"We settled on our final colors for their durability during printing and the high quality of the pictures we pressed."

They also offered two sizes of print, but due to the reasonable and competitive pricing, there was no discount offered for bulk orders. 

"Overall, our post-pandemic product was perfect for a community seeking comfort and relaxation after years of stress," they shared. "Our product was well received because of its timing and its prominent family values."

As Mrs. Arnold has explained previously, the main goal of our company was to grow as a team to gain real-world skills for them to take forward beyond high school. 

"We are proud of the motivation, dedication, and problem-solving skills presented by each of our employees. Although we had some obstacles, both as individuals and as a company, all our issues were handled in a fair, professional manner that reflect the values our company was based upon. Overall, the incredible people that made up this team were the critical factor for our success, both in thriving as a profitable business and growing as a group of students taking a business idea to fruition and a successful outcome."

The student entrepreneurs made sales of the blankets via phone calls and messaging apps, through social media private messages, emails, in person by handing out order forms, and through posters they put up in public spaces.

Sales were made at local businesses, in homes, and even in Regina. They were able to take the time to make the sales during class, after school, and at lunchtime.

Aside from selling to businesses, their biggest market was teenagers and adults over 30, as well as some young adults. 

"Mostly women have bought our blankets, but a good portion of men have as well."

The company expressed gratitude to their community sponsors, who provided the funding needed to start the business and begin initial production. 

"We are proud to be part of a community that is so generous and goal-oriented with the youth of our community. Our sponsors include Weyburn Dairy Queen, Barber Motors, Souris Valley Industries, Crescent Point, Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, Weyburn Co-op, and the Weyburn Credit Union. We are grateful for the support these companies have shown to our initiative."

The company also received recognition of First Place (Grades 9 to 12) by Community Futures Sunrise for the YouthBiz competition.

View the variety of blankets they made HERE.

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