LTU Students in Business: Sarah Thurmond

Think taking a 15 to 19-credit hour load in one semester is a lot of work? Try 15-19 credit hours, 6 children and starting up a business that involves traveling during the summer. That's what LTU Bachelor of Science in Information Technology student Sarah Thurmond has been doing this year.

Thurmond, whose husband and a son are fans of hardcore Christian music, was talking with her husband last year about the lack of traditional music-fan accessories in that genre. Normally, music fans can find t-shirts, hoodies and all other manner of clothing and accessories to display their music preferences, but the Thurmonds weren't having any luck. An idea sparked: if we can't find what we want, she reasoned, let's just create it ourselves!

At the time, Thurmond was enrolled in the New Ventures course (MGT3013) in the Undergraduate Management Programs, a course that focuses on the skills and knowledge necessary to design, launch, and manage a new venture. Through assignments in the course, Thurmond drafted a feasibility study to determine whether there was a market for the clothing, how much money she and her husband would need to invest and how best to launch the business. After the study was complete, Thurmond determined that the clothing business was a viable opportunity. After discussions with her husband and her family, the business was officially launched in December 2007 as Starve the Flesh Clothing.

In the New Ventures course, Thurmond also completed a market analysis and worked on the financial papers necessary for starting and funding the business. The Thurmonds' goal was to do the printing in-house using direct-to-garment technology. They didn't want to rely on third-party print-your-own-tee-shirt resources like Cafe Press -- they wanted full control over quality and print time frames. They also chose not to go with the older screenprinting process, the machinery and equipment for which are extremely costly, time consuming and do not produce the color intensity that can be produced in the direct-to-garment process. Although less expensive than the screenprinting equipment, the direct-to-garment printer (similar to an inkjet printer) was still pricey. Thurmond contacted the Small Business Association (SBA) and applied for a small business loan to cover the cost of printing in-house and the cost of the company's original inventory.

While it is often said that SBA loans are difficult to come by, Thurmond did not encounter any difficulties and was granted a loan, despite being a full-time student and not employed outside of the new company. Why? "I had a business plan," she explains, "and all the market analysis and financial papers" that she created in New Ventures. The SBA, as well as other funding organizations, look for strong documentation showing that the business is viable and worth investing in.

The next step was to create the designs. Not having a budget (or the need, yet) for a full time graphic design staff, Thurmond contacted the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit and hired a few students to develop designs on a freelance basis. Having the designs and the means to produce them, Thurmond needed a place for consumers to come and purchase the clothing and other itimes. The logical place? The Internet. Knowing that the business should be web-based, but without any prior website experience at all, Thurmond worked with Dr. Bush in the Undergraduate Management Programs on a directed study. In the course, Thurmond learned website theory and put it into immediate practice, developing the website, including e-commerce technology, for the company.

All companies need marketing in order to thrive. Thurmond and her husband identified three platforms to start their marketing efforts: Christian music festivals, Myspace.com and Facebook.com. All three areas are places where the company's target market already congregated, meaning the Thurmonds did not have to make an effot to first attract the audience and then deliver the message -- the audience was already there.

Thurmond took time over the summer to travel with her husband and children to various music festivals where she rented vendor space. Most festivals contract with vendors to let the vendors sell as much as they like, and then pay a percentage of profits to the festival at the end, rather than paying a flat fee up front for rent. The summer road trips were interesting, Thurmond reported. Her children, who ranged in age from three to sixteen years old, had various attention spans, and for some of them, sitting in booths for 12 hours a day was not going to work. Thurmond adjusted, however, and she and her husband and older children took turns working the booths and watching the younger family members.

And that's the ultimate goal that Thurmond has for Starve the Flesh -- that it becomes a business where all family members pitch in, and that it grows to a point where it can safely provide for the family's economic needs.

How did Thurmond get to LTU in the first place? She first learned of the university and its business programs in the 1990s, hearing positive assessments from business leaders in her community. She ultimately decided to pursue her degree in Information Technology after gaining an appreciation for the combination of theory and practice that LTU is known for. Now that she's been a full time student (and consistent Deans Honor Roll recipient), Thurmond says that she also likes the emphasis on communication in combination with technology within the degree programs as well as within individual courses.

Thurmond is continuing to develop her business as well as work toward completing her degree. Her company's website is http://starvetheflesh.com/