The Cookie CEO badge is part of the “Cookie Business” badge set introduced in 2011.
"To love what you do and feel that it matters-how could anything be more fun?" -Katherine Graham, former CEO of The Washington Post
When you earn the Financial Literacy badge called Business Owner, you come up with ideas for a business you'd like to run some day, and then do research to see if the business would succeed. Guess what? When you sell Girl Scout Cookies, you're already running your own business-and you can earn this badge for it!
When I've earned this badge, I'll know more about how to run all parts of my cookie business.
STEP 1: Set a group goal[]
Decide how many boxes of cookies you want to sell as a team, then break that overall goal down into smaller goals. For example, how many boxes do you want to sell per week? If you have several booths, how many boxes do you want to sell at each location? Think about goals besides sales, too. Perhaps each girl sets a goal for the number of customers she sells to or for the number of new customers she finds.
STEP 2: Explore how a small business works[]
There are many different tasks to do when running a business. Different skills are needed for each task. For example, accountants keep track of money, marketers design ads to sell a product, and customer-service representatives help customers with questions or problems. Find out more about the jobs people do in a small business, and discuss how those jobs apply to your cookie sale.
STEP 3: Create a cookie sale job list[]
Brainstorm with your group about the tasks involved in your cookie sale and the skills needed for each one. Divide the workload based on each girl's talents and interests. For example, someone who is good at art might want to make posters for the cookie booth, while someone who is very organized might want to keep track of customer lists or sales data.
STEP 4: Learn to make a good impression[]
Who is more likely to make a sale-a person who is sloppily dressed and distracted or rude, or someone who is neatly dressed and greets customers with a smile and a friendly handshake? Take the time to notice how salespeople act as you and your family or friends run errands or go shopping. Discuss your observations with your group, then role-play different ways to make a good impression. You may want to practice shaking hands firmly, greeting customers with a smile, or calling customers on the phone to thank them for purchasing cookies.
STEP 5: Track your sales[]
Your sales numbers are the key to knowing if you're meeting your goals and identifying areas where you can improve. Create a chart (on paper or on a computer) to track sales in different ways. For example, you may want to keep a log of daily sales that includes a note about the weather on each day; it will help you figure out how rain or cold affects your sales. You could even track sales by the hour to see what time of day is best for sales. You could also track sales by neighborhood or cookie booth location to see if you sell more cookies in certain areas. At the end of the sale, discuss with your group how you could use what you've learned to increase business next year.
Add the Badge to Your Journeys You might use your cookie money to fund a Take Action project for one of your Journeys. You can also ask customers about community needs as you're selling cookies.
Now that I've earned this badge, I can give service by:
- Helping Brownies set up a way to track their cookie sales
- Helping classmates at school work as a team on group projects
- Setting up a system to track information for a school club