NEED a holiday break in exotic South Africa? Or you've checked out all the sporting goods shops and are still unable to find a table football set?
Look no further than the polytechnics - where the staff greeting you admittedly look a little wet behind their ears. These student entrepreneurs - in their late teens and early 20s - are practising the business concepts they have learnt, with advice from lecturers if needed.
Spice Tour Agency, for example, is a collaboration between Transimex Travel and students from Singapore Polytechnic (SP).
Four SP business school students manage Spice's operations, from planning tour itineraries to leading travel groups. Its office, rented at market rate, is located on the polytechnic's Dover campus.
Transimex, based in Coleman Street, provides the tour packages, which cover destinations as far away as South Africa. Spice has been operating since last September, and serves more than 400 customers a month.
Student 'co-boss' Hong Bing Hui, 20, found that learning the ropes of a customer-oriented travel business first-hand was invaluable.
"Things like starting from scratch and having to create new products to attract customers are stuff you cannot learn from books," he said.
Persuading friends and contacts to become customers is part of the on-the-job learning. Incoming co-boss Jennifer Tay, 18, said with a laugh: "I can offer special rates to my friends to boost business."
Out of every 10 customers, seven are likely to be SP students. The rest are corporate clients, students from other schools and walk-in customers. Spice advertises actively through colourful posters put up all over the school campus and brochures are handed out at Dover MRT Station.
Lecturers like Mr Conrad de Souza are always on hand to give support. Said the section head of SP's Tourism and International Business School: "We provide an avenue of advice that they can consult any time."
The students do not get a share of the profits, but they are paid wages comparable to those for other job attachments.
Such business ventures can also be found at other polytechnics.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) has two rather unusual offerings: a skating academy and a shop which stocks table football sets.
Business student and skating academy co-boss Ho Wei Qiang, 19, said: "My passion is skating and it's a good way to achieve some financial freedom." His company attracts around 1,000 clients a month by reaching out to community clubs and schools, conducting clinics and lessons, and selling skates and accessories.
He said: "Balancing studies and business was tough at times but this venture was about doing something different and fulfilling a dream."
Student ventures in NP get seed funding under a scheme called Entrepreneurs-Connect@NP. Up to 70 per cent - a maximum of $3,000 - of start-up costs is sponsored. Wei Qiang's start-up received that sum. It rents an office unit in Bukit Timah Plaza to store accessories and serve customers.
As for Temasek Polytechnic, its student-run Restaurant in the Square is quite well-known for its mainly Western cuisine, having been featured on television.
The students are trained in various aspects of running a food and beverage outlet, and the cooking is handled solely by them.
Business student Lee Yan Fang, 20, said: "It's not just about the food. Good service and menu selection win over people."
Other polytechnic-sponsored ventures include pushcarts selling knick-knacks outside the National Library, managed by students from Republic Polytechnic.
Business student Serene Goh, 20, said her pushcart experience will come in handy when she sets up her own events management company after completing her studies.
One business principle that all the student entrepreneurs have learnt is: Be prepared to sweat it out. SP student Tan Jing Mei, 19, a co-boss of the travel agency, said: "You must be willing to work long hours."
