Big picture soda

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Wednesday February 7, 2007
Follow Your Passion

by Bill Daugherty, Teacher at the Met School, Entrepreneur, Businessman
As many of you know, we are committed to giving back to our community in many ways but particularly through work. We have had the privilege of working with many non-profits to help them with their communication needs. We joke that, for the 33rd consecutive year, our pro-bono work has been the fastest growing part of our practice. Bill Daugherty approached us with truly a unique opportunity to work with his class at the Met School on the launch of their Big Picture Soda Company. We agreed because Bill is a dedicated, passionate leader of the project. Once we met the kids involved in the project we made a decision to dedicate whatever resources the kids needed to make the project come to life. These kids are inspirational, courageous and driven. They inspired us. We tried to educate them on the communications skills necessary for their launch but in the end we learned more from them. If you are in the Rhode Island market please support their effort by buying their product. Enjoy Bill’s story of their journey.
Jon

Can you imagine walking into a grocery store and trying to sell your very own soda to a manager who has shelves over-flowing with Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and other national brands with multi-million dollar budgets? Now imagine doing it when you were 15.

Students at The Metropolitan Career and Technical Center (MET) in Providence could tell you because that is precisely the challenge they faced last year. That is where one student’s dream inspired classmates, who then quickly recruited the generosity and talents of several small businesses to make ‘Big Picture Soda’ become a reality with sales at 25 locations throughout Rhode Island.

As part of an entrepreneurship class last spring, MET senior Yesenia Mercado drafted a business plan calling for the launch of new soft drink with a healthy and flavorful twist. Her plan soon came across the desk of Dennis Littky, the school’s executive director, who liked the idea so much that he encouraged Yesenia to “hire” 14 other students who could help with the project and to start a company: The Big Picture Soda Company.

What are we going to sell?
Companies like Yacht Club Bottling Works in North Providence stepped forward to help the kids develop the soda’s flavor. After 91 years in the business, the folks at Yacht Club have seen it all. They saw 59 independent bottlers in Rhode Island as of 50 years ago – now there are two. The employees spent months working with the kids to develop the final, passion-fruit pineapple flavor now on store shelves. They supported these kids long before it was clear whether there would be one sale. Today, they produce and distribute Big Picture Soda on very attractive terms so the kids can compete with much larger bottling companies at retail.

With a plan finalized by the fall, the students were now fulfilling their internship requirement and pledged that all future profits be earmarked toward need-based scholarships for other students at the Met. Now they needed money.

How do we get start-up funding?
In stepped Chris White and his team at Gamer Graffix in Cranston. Gamer is one of the most dominant producers of videogame accessories in the U.S. How could they help a group of kids start a soda business? They taught them to sell! Chris and his team spent weeks helping the kids develop their sales pitch. The one rule at Big Picture Soda is that the kids themselves have to sell the product. But the good folks at Gamer taught more than just selling, they taught the kids to have confidence in themselves and to take hold of opportunities. By November, the kids raised $10,000 in start-up capital all on their own.

**We can now sell in, but how do we sell ‘thru’? **
This is where Duffy & Shanley comes into the picture. Most of the D&S team worked closely with the kids on all aspects of marketing – packaging design, public relations, Web-site development, viral marketing, public service announcements – you name it. We were featured on ABC6, NBC10, The Providence Journal, Providence Business News, WPRO, HOT 106FM, Cox Cable and even a Jim Lehrer special on PBS. The best part about D&S was their desire to actually take the time to teach the kids how to do it all for themselves.

To us at the Met, this has been a true success story, and it all started with Yesenia’s passion to start her own business. She, along with her classmates, deserve tremendous credit for their planning and determination. But none of this would have been possible without the community businesses who stepped forward not only to help, but to actually teach these kids about business and life, and that has made all the difference. It has been inspirational to us all.