Marketing EdVenture

Day 14 | DECA Mistake #5: Stop Trying to Do It All Yourself

When you have students working on multiple DECA projects, you can quickly become the person who has to read, evaluate, correct, and give feedback on everything.

I eventually realized:

That wasn’t sustainable.

So I created a system.

For the first draft of their written project, I put together a folder containing:

📄 Project guidelines
📊 The DECA scorecard
📝 Their written project
📋 An evaluation sheet

Then I sent the folder home with the students.

Their assignment?

Get feedback from another adult.

It could be a teacher, a parent, or another adult they trusted to give them honest feedback.

I tried to have this process happen around Thanksgiving.

By then, their first draft needed to be completed.

They took their project home, received feedback, and brought it back after Thanksgiving break.

Then I reviewed the feedback, added my own feedback, and they used all of it to revise their project.

The result?

A much stronger final document ready for December submission and January competition.

And it helped tremendously.

But here’s the bigger lesson I learned after years of advising:

It’s not how you start. It’s how you pivot.

You may start the year thinking you have the perfect system.

Then you discover what isn’t working.

Change it.

Build a better process.

Delegate where you can.

Create systems that allow your students to take ownership of their work.

💡 Lesson learned: You don’t have to be the only person responsible for helping your students improve. Create opportunities for feedback, reflection, and collaboration.

👇 Experienced DECA advisors: What’s ONE piece of advice you’d give a new advisor?

And if you’re a new DECA/CTSO advisor, what’s one thing you want to know before competition season begins?

Drop it in the comments. Someone reading this may need exactly what you have learned.

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Day 14 | DECA Mistake #4: I Had to Learn How to Manage ALL the Projects

Here’s the problem with having students compete in different DECA events:

You’re suddenly managing A LOT of different projects.

And honestly?

It can become overwhelming.

I had students working on different projects, different sections, different deliverables—and everyone was moving at a different pace.

Which meant I was constantly repeating myself.

“This group is working on this section.”

“That group is already on section three.”

“Wait… this group hasn’t started that part yet.”

😩 You get the picture.

So eventually, I created something that changed everything:

A project management timeline.

I looked at all of the DECA projects my students were working on and identified the concepts and deliverables that overlapped.

Then I created a timeline that allowed us to work cohesively.

Instead of teaching the same concept five different times to five different groups, I could teach it to everyone at the same time.

➡️ Teach the concept
➡️ Students work on that section
➡️ Check progress
➡️ Introduce the next concept
➡️ Students move to the next deliverable

Now I wasn’t managing chaos.

I was managing a system.

And this is one of the biggest lessons I learned as a DECA advisor:

💡 Your students can work on different projects without you having to manage every project separately.

You just need a system that creates a common timeline for the work.

👇 DECA advisors: How do you keep track of multiple students working on different projects?

And if you’re a new advisor, remember:

You don’t have to manage harder. You need to manage smarter.

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Day 16 | DECA Mistake #3: Stop Putting Every Student in the Same Competition

Here’s what I discovered after a few years of trial and error as a DECA advisor:

Not every student should compete the same way.

I discovered that my sophomores weren’t strong writers yet.

So instead of pushing them toward written projects, I had them focus on role-plays.

And eventually, I discovered something that worked particularly well for my sophomores:

Partner role-plays.

They had the opportunity to work with another student, prepare together, and perform as a team.

That worked much better for my students than having them compete individually.

Then I changed my strategy for my juniors and seniors.

They focused on written projects.

And we became strategic about partnerships.

I told my students:
🔹Don’t automatically choose your friend.
🔹Choose someone who is going to help you succeed.
🔹If you know your friend doesn’t want to work...
🔹If you know your friend isn’t going to contribute...
🔹If you know you don’t work well together...
That’s probably not your best partner.

🔹My students started changing their mindset.
🔹They weren’t choosing partners based on friendship.
They were choosing based on who would help them win.

And that strategy worked.

We became very competitive—and eventually, we were making it to Nationals every year.

💡 Lesson learned: Know your students. Pay attention to their strengths and weaknesses. Then build your DECA strategy around what gives your students the best opportunity to succeed.

👇 DECA advisors: How do you decide which events are the best fit for your students?
And if you’re a new advisor, don’t be afraid to experiment. Your strategy may evolve as you learn what works for your students.

Day 15 | DECA Mistake #2: Don’t Let Students Pick Their Event Without a Plan

After that first year at DECA State, I knew something had to change.

I went back to my students and said:

“I don’t want to experience what we experienced last year.”

So we changed our approach.

Instead of everyone simply choosing whatever event they wanted, I created a process.

We looked at the different written projects and competition opportunities, and I started matching students with opportunities that aligned with their strengths.

And I learned something important about my students:
Written projects were a game changer.

Some of my students didn’t have the discipline to sit down and study for a role-play or a 100-question test.

But give them a project?

They could research.

They could create.

They could communicate with people in the community.

They could take what they were learning and build something around their own interests.

And perhaps most importantly...

They controlled the narrative.

They weren’t wondering what question would appear on a test or what situation they’d be given in a role-play.

They were able to decide what they wanted their project to communicate and how they wanted to demonstrate what they had learned.

So here’s my advice if you’re a new DECA advisor:

📌 Review the written projects with your students.

Have a DECA day where you walk through the different projects and explain what each one means.

Then have students:
• Choose a project
• Identify their partner
• Explain WHY they chose it
• Share their initial idea
• Submit it for your review

Then you can decide:

“Yes—move forward.”

“Maybe—let’s work on this.”
or
“No—let’s look at another option.”

Don’t just let students pick an event.

Create a selection process.

💡 Lesson learned: The goal isn’t to put every student into the same type of competition. It’s to help each student find an opportunity where they can demonstrate their strengths and what they’ve learned.

👇 New DECA advisors: Do you have a process for helping students choose their events?

Tell me what works for you—or if you’re still trying to figure it out

Day 14 | DECA Mistake #1: I Let My Students Choose Their Competition

Let me tell you something...

I made the same mistake I believe many first-year DECA advisors make.

My first year teaching, I knew NOTHING about DECA.

Instead of taking the time to really understand the competition structure, I let my students tell me what they thought they needed to do.

One group wanted to do a community service project.

Everyone else chose role-plays.

So that’s what we did.

They prepared. We went to competition. And they actually made it to STATE.

But when the awards ceremony came...

Names were called.

And my students’ names weren’t.

I watched the disappointment on their faces—and I knew I didn’t want to experience that again.

So I went home and did something I should have done from the beginning:

I studied DECA.

I looked at the different competition areas and started figuring out which ones actually aligned with what I was teaching in my Fashion Marketing program.

That experience completely changed the way I approached DECA.

💡 The lesson: Don’t let your students’ knowledge of DECA become your DECA strategy.

If you’re a first-year advisor, take the time to understand the competition areas and then determine which opportunities make sense for YOUR students and YOUR program.

You don’t have to figure it out the way I did—by learning the hard way.

👇 DECA advisors: What is one thing you wish you had known your first year?

And if you’re a new DECA advisor, follow along because I’m sharing the mistakes I made so you don’t have to.

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Day 13 — Part 2 | I Didn’t Just Build a Class. I Built a Student Experience.

One of the biggest changes I made to my Fashion Marketing program was creating a project-based environment with progression.

My students didn’t just move from one grade to the next.

They moved from one experience to the next.

My project management background helped me think about the program as a progression:

Freshman → Sophomore → Junior → Senior

And each year came with something new to look forward to.

🛍️ Sophomores looked forward to going to Market Hall and visiting malls for hands-on activities.

🎓 Juniors looked forward to entering the dual credit program, going to the college campus, getting a college ID, and taking college courses.

👗 Juniors also began looking forward to planning the fashion show.

✨ Seniors looked forward to producing the fashion show, completing advanced coursework, and even walking across the college graduation stage before receiving their high school diploma.

There was always something ahead.

And that expectation created excitement.

Students knew:

”Next year, I get to do THAT.”

That’s what I learned about creating a project-based environment.

Students remember experiences.

And when students have clear expectations for what they’re going to experience and accomplish, it creates excitement, accountability, and a sense of growth.

Your program doesn’t have to look exactly like mine.

But ask yourself:

👉 What can students look forward to next?

👉 How can each year build on the previous one?

👉 What experience can you create that makes students excited to move forward?

💡 The lesson: Don’t just plan your classes. Think about the student experience across the entire program.

👇 What’s ONE thing you could implement that would give your students something exciting to look forward to?

Tell me in the comments!

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Day 13 of 100 | The One Corporate Skill That Changed My Classroom

If there’s ONE thing I can point to that truly changed my classroom, it was this:

I brought project management into my teaching.

It didn’t happen my first year.

After that first year, I sat back and looked at everything my Fashion Marketing program needed to accomplish—and I realized my project management experience could help me organize it in a completely different way.

I started looking at my program as a series of connected experiences.

Each semester could become a stepping stone to the next.

That mindset helped me create structure, manage multiple things happening at once, and build opportunities for my students to grow.

And it wasn’t just about organizing lessons.

I began bringing professional expectations into the classroom, including:

👔 Professional Dress Days
🤝 Peer Evaluations
💬 Constructive Feedback
📋 Professional Expectations
🎯 Real-world accountability

For example, I created Professional Dress Days and even went to thrift stores to find suits my students could wear—not only for professional dress days, but for competition.

I also implemented peer evaluations because in the professional world, you’re going to receive feedback from other people.

My students needed to learn how to give constructive criticism AND receive it.

That was project management thinking meeting real-world preparation.

💡 The lesson: Your previous career experience may be one of the greatest resources you bring into your classroom.

You don’t have to leave your industry experience behind when you become a teacher.

Bring it with you.

👇 What’s one skill from your previous career that you could bring into your classroom?

🎥 Part 1 of today’s story. Part 2 is coming next!

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Day 12 of 100 | I Turned My Fashion Marketing Class Into a College Credit Pathway 🎓

When I became a Fashion Marketing teacher, I knew I was going to teach fashion marketing.

What I didn’t know was that I was about to become a dual credit instructor.

And that changed everything.

My students weren’t just learning Fashion Marketing in high school. They were working toward an 18-hour college certificate while they were still in high school.

We aligned the high school curriculum with the college coursework and expanded the program into a three-year dual credit pathway.

Why did that matter?

Because my students were already capable of learning this material.

So why not give them the opportunity to:

🎓 Earn college credit
📚 Experience college-level coursework
💼 Become more career-aware
🚀 Build confidence for their next step
🔗 Create a pathway from high school to college and career

And here’s something I want every Fashion Marketing teacher to consider:

Look beyond your classroom.

Is there a community college in your area with a fashion, marketing, business, retail, or related program?

Could your students earn college credit while they’re still in high school?

It may be worth exploring.

💡 Today’s challenge: Find one college or community college in your area and investigate whether there is a program that could connect with what you’re teaching.

👇 Tell me in the comments: What college or college program could your students potentially connect with?

🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube for the story of how my program evolved into a three-year dual credit pathway.

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Day 11 of 100 | The Fashion Show Isn’t the Goal.

I love a fashion show. 👗✨

But after years of producing them with my students, I learned something important:

The fashion show is not the goal.

The goal is demonstration of learning.

A senior showcase gives students an opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned throughout their time in the Fashion Marketing program.

Think about everything that goes into making that experience happen:

✨ Visual merchandising
✨ Displays
✨ Retail and selling
✨ Collaboration
✨ Communication
✨ Ideation
✨ Project management
✨ Promotion
✨ Marketing
✨ Leadership

Even selling tickets becomes an opportunity to apply marketing and selling skills.

The fashion show may be what attracts students to your program—but the knowledge and skills they walk away with are so much bigger than the show itself.

And that’s what makes a Fashion Marketing program powerful.

Whether your students eventually work in fashion or pursue an entirely different career, they’re developing skills they can take with them into college, the workplace, and life.

🎥 In today’s YouTube video, I go deeper into how I used our senior showcase as a demonstration of learning and how it brought together years of classroom experiences.

👇 Does your Fashion Marketing program have a fashion show or showcase?

If it does, tell me what your students learn by producing it.

If it doesn’t, tell me what questions you have about getting one started.

Let’s learn from each other!

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Day 10 — Part 2 of 2 | The Mall Can Be Your Classroom. 🛍️

“You’re taking your students to the mall? What are they going to learn there?”

A LOT—if you have a purpose behind the experience.

When I taught Fashion Marketing, I didn’t want students to only hear about marketing concepts from a textbook or from me.

I wanted them to see it, experience it, and apply it.

So yes, we went to the mall.

But students weren’t just shopping.

They were:

🛍️ Analyzing retail environments
👗 Studying visual merchandising
🎯 Looking at branding and target markets
💬 Interviewing retail employees
🔎 Gathering primary research
📊 Connecting what they learned in class to real businesses

We also visited corporate environments, attended fashion events, toured colleges, worked fashion shows, and visited wholesale environments.

Those experiences gave students something a lecture couldn’t:

A chance to do the work.

And that’s the power of CTE.

You don’t always need an elaborate project. Sometimes you just need to look at your community differently and ask:

”Where can my students experience the concept I’m teaching?”

💡 Today’s challenge: Look at one concept you’re teaching and think beyond the four walls of your classroom. Where could your students go—or what could they experience—that would bring that concept to life?

👇 Tell me: What real-world experience could you bring into your Fashion Marketing classroom?

🎥 The full conversation is available on YouTube.