Helping Turn Hobby into Growing Business

Professor Marsha Loda’s Social Media Marketing class was tasked with a project to create a business, design a website, and begin the marketing process.  Some students created mock companies to complete the project.  For senior marketing student, Devon Corbo, this was a chance at his entrepreneurial dream.

Devon decided to take a leap of faith and use his shoe company, Sole Exchange, for this project. For the past five years, Devon has been collecting shoes as a hobby. With the help of his fiancé and Hull College professors, Sole Exchange became more than just a hobby. After creating his website for the class project, Sole Exchange’s sales began to increase and Devon was on his way to becoming a young entrepreneur. This marketing class was only the beginning of how Hull College helped paved the way to Devon’s dream.

Devon started to apply all of his business courses to his new business.  “My Principles of Accounting class with Professor Osborne allowed me to learn about the proper reporting for business activities along with how to prepare financial statements,” clarifies Devon. Devon also commented on his Salesmanship and Sales Marketing class with Professor Rhodes, who encouraged him to focus on the golden rule of selling; “Don’t focus on the profit, focus more on the customer, everything else will follow if you do your best to help the customer.”

Devon’s other classes such as Principles of Marketing and Services Marketing with Professors Mobley and Hinkson taught Devon the value of the product, price, process, and people. “In order for my business to grow, I need to invest in high-quality shoes that will not only sell but also have a long life cycle. I also have to know the worth of my company, my time, and my product to give a competitive price to my customers. The process and my customers are my top priority. In order for my customers to be pleased with my service I need to make sure the process of buying and selling my shoes is efficient,” describes Devon.

Devon is graduating this Summer with a new and upcoming small business with the help and encouragement from the Hull College of Business. When asked what advice he has for students, Devon said, “If you don’t take risks, there is no reward.” The Hull College of Business has taught Devon how to take smart risks and to learn from his mistakes. As shown here, the Hull College of Business helps their students achieve their dreams with highly personalized education, passionate faculty, and engaged students who are wanting to advance their career.  Another way Hull College is the Business School for Business.