The Pursuit of Economic Knowledge Continues for YE Students

Many individuals and supporters of Youth Entrepreneurs are aware of our desire to develop entrepreneurs in our communities. Through our year-long program, students spend many hours learning the numerous principles involved with one day starting and running their own business. What many are unaware of, and what comes as a shock to our students at the beginning, is the importance of knowledge in basic economic concepts. From scarcity, supply and demand, and opportunity cost - to name a few of them - economic knowledge is crucial in developing a business plan. We are aware all of our students will not start businesses, but feel developing an economic way of thinking will be critical to any future success. Each school year, our classroom teachers typically begin the year diving into some basic economics. What has excited us at YE is that more students want more knowledge in economics! We have started new alumni programs over the course of the past two years, such as Scholars and Leaders and The Urban Economics Academy. These programs allow students to explore different mental models that deal with economics through readings and discussions. It is becoming more and more apparent; students want more opportunities!

So that brings us to this week! The Foundation for Economics Education (FEE) has partnered with Youth Entrepreneurs for more opportunities! Eight Youth Entrepreneurs alum from Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City have traveled to The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah to take part in FEE’s Freedom Academy. These academies are designed specifically for high school students to introduce them to basic concepts in economics, the role of liberty in the founding of America, and multiple special concepts in modern economics (recession, bailouts, etc).  The students will have the opportunity to make connections with hundreds of students across the country; students who desire to formulate their own opinions regarding what is taking place in our nation and sift through all the political rhetoric taking place during an election year. This is a tremendous opportunity afforded to them and we look forward to hearing their reflections at the conclusion of this experience!

YE Creates Lifelong Connections

You never know when you might meet a mentor who changes your life. The latest issue of Splurge Magazine features an article about a Youth Entrepreneurs student who formed a lasting connection with a volunteer in the YE classroom.

YE alumnus Paul Wemmer met then Business Plan Advisor Paul Attwater in his North High School classroom in Wichita in 1996. Attwater encouraged Wemmer and gave him valuable business advice. Wemmer then worked in a summer partnership at Attwater’s firm. Sixteen years later, Wemmer still credits Attwater as a valuable business mentor.

Read the full article for more details on how YE creates meaningful mentoring relationships.

Wow! What a week! The YE office was a busy place last week.

We welcomed several new teachers for new teacher training beginning Sunday afternoon. The new teachers were thrown in to an afternoon of gamification with Jonny B.

Monday and Tuesday’s trainings were led by veteran teachers Kathy Shockley and Lisa Yoder. The new teachers were taken through “A Year in the Life of a YE Teacher.” They got a lot of information to help them kick off their first year as YE teachers and were able to form some new friendships!

Wednesday afternoon and evening all YE teachers and staff came together to kick of the 2012 teacher summit. Chase Koch shared his failures and the lessons learned while working within Koch Ind. Dr. Steve Wycoff followed Chase with his view on reaching today’s students in while considering the current state of public education in Kansas. The speakers were followed by a delicious dinner.

Thursday morning offered the teachers an opportunity to learn about what commercial lenders want from Marc Ward, VP Sunflower Bank Commercial Lending. Mr. Ward let teachers know what he looks for when considering a business plan. Mr. Ward was followed by YE alumnus and Swim Zip President Betsy Johnson. Mrs. Johnson shared her experiences in getting a product to market. Mrs. Johnson was a wealth of knowledge when it came to producers and sales reps. Her enthusiasm was definitely infectious and felt by everyone in the group.



YE Teachers having lunch at Ziggy's Pizza in Clifton Square with YE alumnus and Swim Zip President Betsy Johnson



That afternoon the teachers broke off into three groups. Each group had the opportunity to spend a few hours in an area of Wichita eating lunch and a walking tour to visit with local entrepreneurs. Some of the highlights included lunch at Ziggy’s Pizza in Clifton Square, a visit to Devlin’s Rod and Custom, and a chat with Jack Kellogg, owner of Hatman Jack’s. The walking tour was followed by either relaxation or recreation. Those who chose relaxation were treated to either a pedicure or massage at Beau Monde Spa and Boutique. The teachers looking for some recreation went to either Michael Murphy and Sons for some skeet shooting or The Edge Paintball Adventures. I think it is safe to say this was the favorite part of the week for most teachers.

Friday morning YE alumnus and MBM team member from Georgia-Pacific shared his take on how the entrepreneurial mindset leads to success in the market. Mr. Dredge spent time connecting what we do in the classroom to what makes for marketable and successful community members. Teacher training wrapped up with more gamification. There are definitely some teachers who are far more competitive than others.

The teachers, new and returning, were provided a lot of experiences to take back to the classroom to share with their students. I would say, from a teacher’s perspective, this year’s training was an overwhelming success.

Adventure, Motivation & Business - Skip Yowell

I had the honor Wednesday evening of speaking to a group of 100+ youth and community members who are a part of Youth Entrepreneurs, including students, alumni, teachers, and supporters.  I enjoyed sharing stories and lessons about my journey in business over the past 45 years with JanSport.  Fortunately the JanSport brand has been successful making quality products worldwide, providing innovation and employing people, all while having fun. 

But after I spent Thursday as one of the judges for the 2012 Business Plan Finals Competition, I realized something.   

My skills in high school were not even close to the knowledge of these students on some best practices for a successful business plan. These students are getting an early start on having a successful career; and I’m sure they’ll make far fewer mistakes than I did. And overall, they demonstrated great confidence and presentation appearance. I was very impressed…hats off to their teachers for fine work teaching the basics of business.  This was a very rewarding experience for me.

Guest Blogger, Skip Yowell, Co-Founder of JanSport

Mission Accomplished

While it’s one of the busiest times of the year, this is always an exciting time for us. I love seeing the results of the students’ hard work in their final business plans and tradeshows, the testimonials we hear from parents, teachers and students as they wrap up the year, the positive results we see reflected on end of year surveys and post tests, and the excitement of the many hands-on business experience opportunities students will be able to experience this summer through the generosity of partnering companies. 

None of this is possible without the support of our many donors and volunteers. As we wrap up our fiscal year on May 31, I cannot begin to express enough the appreciation I have for the inspiration I’ve received and lessons learned - both personally and professionally - from the many meetings I’ve had with successful entrepreneurs and businesses in the communities we serve. Each one fills me with more passion and fulfillment for the work we do and the work of each of our businesses in contributing to the betterment of our communities. I know our staff and teachers feel the same. Youth Entrepreneurs’ program and business continues to evolve with each new nugget of information learned and support invested. 

As we wrap up another successful annual campaign drive, reaching an amazing 120% to goal, I think it’s evident that our donors increasingly realize the importance of teaching today’s youth entrepreneurial skills that will pave a path to success. Entrepreneurship is not just one more course in our area high schools; it is something that will have a high and positive impact on the world we live in. Job creation, economic prosperity and improvement of social welfare are critical goals, and entrepreneurship is a catalyst on the path to their accomplishment. Thank you to all our supporters for investing in the lives of our students and communities!

-From guest blogger Phoebe Bachura

Dreams become Dividends

Four Days, 850 miles, and a lot of smiles!  This was the week that Kylie Stupka and I shared.  Kylie and I traveled across the state to our four Regional Dreams to Dividends ceremonies and were able to see many of our YE students receive scholarships and venture capital awards; along with celebrating our wonderful volunteers, teachers, community supporters and most importantly our students!

Dreams to Dividends is also a chance for us to see some of our students showcase their business plans via a “showcase trade-show.”  I heard so many comments from attendees that our students had wonderful plans and that they were impressed by our students’ ability to speak confidently and passionately about their plans.

Eric Hren spoke at our Kansas City Regional Dreams to Dividends on behalf of the Cerner Corporation and their sponsorship of our Kansas City Metro Business Plan Competition.  He shared the sentiment he’s often heard that this generation of students is lacking passion and is on the path to fail. However, after speaking with our attending students, he stated that if the rest of this generation of students were like our YE students, who inspired him with passion and enthusiasm, then society would be absolutely wrong about their path to failure! 

One of the highlights of each evening was finding out which students would be moving on to The Finals.  You could sense the anticipation in the room on all four nights, and it was exciting to watch the reactions from students, parents and teachers to see how proud and excited they were to be moving on in the competition. 

Patty Brown from The Rotary Club of Wichita, who sponsored the Wichita area Business Plan Competition, mentioned how impressed Rotarian judges were with this year’s student business plans and presentations.  It made me thankful that I wasn’t one of the judges faced with the difficulty of choosing the winners this year! 

At the Southwest Regional Dreams to Dividends, event sponsor Mike Weber of Weber Refrigeration and Heating challenged our students to find a need to service in order to be successful.  I know that our students are up for this challenge!

We are extremely grateful, as we certainly could not have awarded $27,200 in venture capital funding without the support of the above sponsors and others, or the $102,500 in higher education scholarships without our many scholarship partners:
           

·         Dodge City Community College

·         Ellis Foundation

·         Emporia State University

·         Garden City Community College

·         H&R Block

·         Newman University

·         Meritrust Credit Union

·         Shelter Insurance

·         W. Frank Barton School of Business and Center for Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University

·         Washburn University

·         Wichita Area Technical College

I know that our entire staff is so proud of all of our students, not just those who were awarded scholarships or Venture Capital but all of our students for completing the YE year.  We can’t wait to see where the road ahead is going to lead them!  Congratulations to all of our students on a great year! 

Chelsey Karlin

YE Program Coordinator

Teacher of the Year at NFTE's Gala

Welcome to NYC. We have just arrived in Times Square to attend NFTE’s Annual Dare to Dream Awards Gala. My husband, Kevin is with me. It’s our second trip the New York & we want to squeeze in everything possible!

Later, we attend an Italian dinner with NFTE founder, Steve Marriotti. During the dinner, we meet teachers from across the United States and 9 other countries. 

Wednesday morning we stop by the set of the Today show. There was a large promotion for the Summer Olympics –just 100 days away. On the show this morning were gold medal winners from the 1948 Olympics.

The remainder of the morning we visited the WTC Memorial. The work so far is awesome. Security @ the WTC is tight.

After this we head to NikeTown! Five floors of the latest in athletic wear. They even have a special design gallery to custom design your kicks. My husband scores a new pair of shoes… Who wouldn’t love this store?!

That night we attend the Gala—held @ Marriott Hotel (Times Square). The showcase by the Young Entrepreneurs of the Year are super. We had a great time & enjoyed our experience.

Thanks so much for this opportunity!

 - Guest Blogger, Janet Hartley, Wichita West High School Youth Entrepreneurs Teacher & NFTE Teacher of the Year

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Gala

Kenon Thompson is a guest blogger for us this week. Kenon shares with us his adventures in New York City during the NFTE Gala. Kenon was awarded the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award! Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience with us!

http://www.kenonthompson.com/2/post/2012/05/2012-nfte-global-young-entrepreneurs-of-the-year.html

It's Competition Time: Believe in Yourself!

Believing in yourself and your dreams is oftentimes very difficult to do. But this past week I was fortunate enough to witness several young people who believe in themselves and their futures. Ninety-two students from eight different regions across the Youth Entrepreneurs program competed against their peers in their regional business plan competition last week. One of the reasons I feel this program is so valuable is because it inspires young people to dream at an age where they still believe anything is possible. One regional competitor in southwest Kansas said it best when he opened his presentation with the slogan “All you have to do is BELIEVE.” I can attest that every single judge, teacher and audience member believed in the vision of this future entrepreneur after he had finished his presentation. His passion for his business opportunity filled the entire room.

Competition time at Youth Entrepreneurs is both an exciting and terrifying time for students, teachers, and staff alike. This is where the rubber hits the road and all the hard work pays off. The students have spent the better part of a school year coming up with a business opportunity and creating a business plan. Their teachers have enlisted the support of local business professionals, known as Business Plan Advisors (BPAs), to visit the classroom monthly to mentor the students on their plans and presentations. Never did the students imagine they would write a 15+ page business plan, let alone stand up in front of a panel of distinguished business men and women to present their ideas. But each of these competitors was able to conquer glossophobia (A new term that I learned from one competitor known as the fear of public speaking) and present their ideas to the judges in eight minutes. Many of the students thought these eight minutes were the hardest part, but following their presentation, they had to be quick on their feet in order to field questions from the judges for another five minutes. While listening to these budding entrepreneurs, it was easy to forget they are sixteen and seventeen years old.

Now that the Regional Competitions are complete, we are all eagerly awaiting to find out who placed in each region. The first, second, and third place winners in each region will receive $1,000, $750 and $500 of venture capital or scholarship funding. In addition, the first and second place winners will be advancing on to our Final Competition where they have the opportunity to compete for $2,500, $1,000 or $750. What an exciting time, but we will have to be anxious for a little while longer because the winners won’t be announced until our Dreams to Dividends Ceremonies. Make sure to come join us at the ceremony closest to you to find out who placed at regionals and who will be advancing onto our Final Competition in Wichita on May 31^st.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, donors, and teachers for your help in allowing these young people to BELIEVE in their futures!

Kansas City Dreams to Dividends            

KCKPS District Office

May 7^th, 6:30-8:00pm

Topeka/Lawrence Dreams to Dividends

Topeka Public Library

May 8^th, 6:30-8:00pm

Wichita/South Central Dreams to Dividends

Abode Venue

May 9^th, 6:30-8:00pm

Southwest Dreams to Dividends

The Golf Club at Southwind

May 10^th, 6:30-8:00pm

YE Summer Partnerships = Your Competitive Advantage

 We’ve all heard it a thousand times… and it’s true. The job market is tough and the competition keeps getting tougher! But what if you already had an edge over your peers because you chose to spend a small portion of your summer working with a company who believed in you?

This summer, 46 businesses will partner with Youth Entrepreneurs (YE) to provide unique on-the-job learning experiences for nearly 150 alumni of the YE program. Similar to an internship, summer partnerships provide opportunities to gain insight into various industries and network with leadership of partnering companies. How many of your friends can say that they have had the opportunity to eat lunch with top executives from companies such as Freddy’s, Westar, GM, or Google?

Whether you’re a looking to build your resume’ or still exploring your career options, this is the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the game. Maybe you’ll meet your long term mentor. Maybe you’ll be offered a job. And, maybe you’ll decide that a career in marketing or finance isn’t really what you thought it was. The choices you make today will either put you one step closer or further away from your goals. Apply for a YE Summer Partnership before it’s too late; Deadline is this Monday, April 16th at 5:00 pm.

"By participating in a summer partnership I was able to broaden my horizons about different careers and gain experience in a corporate business environment."
-Philip Hammons
Van Horn High School

 Thank you to all of our partnering organizations!

 KC Metro 
Backfire BBQ
BATS Exchange
Bernstein Rein
Cerner Corporation
Community America Credit Union
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Fervor Marketing Concepts
General Motors
Google
Kansas City Board of Trade
KPRS 103.3
Morningstar Communications
Propaganda3
River City Studio
Sporting Kansas City

Southwest Kansas
American Family Insurance – Chris Boys
Dodge City Convention & Tourism Bureau
Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation
Finney County Convention & Tourism Bureau
Golden Plains Credit Union
Main Street Dodge City
Scheopner’s Water Conditioning
Weber Refrigeration and Heating
WindRiver Grain

Topeka
Boutique Ten47
Dynamic Computer Solutions
Premier Employment Services
Security Benefit
USD 501
Westar Energy
WIBW

Wichita Metro
Alpha Bio Systems
Eric Fisher Academy
Freddy's Frozen Custard
High Touch, Inc.
Howard + Helmer Architecture
Koch Creative Group
Leslie Rudd Investment Company
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
YE Profit Project
River City Brewing Co.
Flint Hill’s National Golf Club
Jimmy John’s
Physicians Development Group LLC 

Not region specific
Primetime Sports

For questions about Summer Partnerships contact Lindsay Jennings at lindsay@yeks.org or 316.828.3917

Finding Value within the Pitch!

Value creation, a term YE students hear over and over again throughout the course of the year.  We challenge students to develop a business concept that will create value in the lives of consumers; finding a need and fulfilling it.  If you can cultivate value then consumers will continue to seek after your products and services.  Yet far too often students underestimate the value of being able to clearly articulate what their business idea/concept is through verbal communication.

Luckily, YE offers various ways for students to compete and place their business ideas on display.  After all, while there is tremendous value in writing a feasible business plan there is just as much value if not more in being able to communicate it effectively and efficiently to investors and consumers alike.

For this reason YE is holding its first ever ElevatorPitch Contest during the month of April.  Students have been busy finishing up writing their plans, working on presentations, and perhaps have even experienced the excitement of hosting a trade board show.  Now they have the opportunity to create a video elevator pitch for their business.  This is their opportunity to put their business on display for the world to see.  Who knows, perhaps a venture capitalist will see their video and want to invest!  The contest is being hosted on Youth Entrepreneurs Facebook page.

Students who choose to participate will gain something far more valuable than that of the cash prizes that are being awarded.  They will have went through the knowledge processes needed to effectively summarize their business in a way that makes it unique. Others are excited to buy their product or services; a fundamental skill every business owner must have.  A business owner never knows when an opportunity might arise to pitch their business idea/concept so their pitch must always be ready; as handy and accessible as the business card in their back pocket.

Take the popular ABC show Shark Tank for example; here you have the typical business owner pitching their concept to a pool of investors, the “Sharks”.  Some business owners are in the startup phases while others have been in operation for awhile.  Nevertheless, their pitch has to entice the “Sharks” to see the value in investing into their company.  But here is the kicker, while some business owners walk away without an investment from the “Sharks” all is not lost because of the thousand other viewers, i.e. potential investors are receiving the same pitch.  Many past contestants who do not receive an investment on the show will gain investment from outside investors based off of their pitch that was presented. 

Business plans come and go, business cards get lost in the shuffle, but a well develop and executed pitch last in the minds of the listener forever.  So while there is value in the actual pitch itself there is also value in development process as well.  You never know when you might have to pitch your idea so it is best to have it ready to go, and who knows the person standing in the back of the elevator or room might be person who actual walks away persuaded to invest and not the actual person receiving the pitch.

Youth Entrepreneurs Elevator Pitch Contest runs April 16^th – April 30^th via our Facebook page.  Make sure to visit and vote for your favorite elevator pitch!

 - Tiffany Staley, Program Manager

The Washington Journey

Guest blogger Teaira Ransom writes about her trip to DC with the Urban Economics Academy group. You can read Teaira's last blog here.




It’s three in the morning and time to load up the car to begin my adventure; soon I will be in a whole new atmosphere. My mind is on a rollercoaster of beautiful thoughts and imagining different scenery! In the beginning we all had one expectation in mind, we all wanted to have a fun time; somewhere in the middle is where everyone’s expectations started to change. Hence… frustration, let’s start from the beginning.




We started our learning expedition at the Cato Institute. Cato was a beautiful and newly renovated institution. Cato allows people to speak their minds on subjects that many people feel are taboo. This organization makes you think about every day issues in a different mindset. We learned more on things such as free markets and limited government. My favorite session was when we got to talk to someone who studies welfare reform at the Heritage Foundation. It was interesting because I had no idea a job such like this existed. Welfare is one of my favorite subjects to discuss so I was looking forward to hearing their point of views on the subject. On Tuesday we spent some time with the Charles Koch Institute. Jeff Proctor had us play the trading game. Although I have played the game before, it was even better because I felt like I learned more about trade and the risk involved. I love how they encouraged us all to join their summer programs and how they all were really enthusiastic.








Now here’s where things started getting a little heated. There were some mild differences within the group, but then again that is to be expected. There was some mild complaining amongst a few people, but then again that is to be expected. There was some attitudes being displayed but AGAIN…to be expected? WRONG!!! Appreciation people!! Yes the word is APPRECIATION!! I personally enjoyed everything, the walking and most of all the COMPLAINING, yes I enjoyed the complaining, I viewed it as a source of entertainment, but I must confess toward the end I had enough with the complaining and found my self wondering “umm didn’t Mr. B say if he had any problems he would send people home… umm can we get a shuttle to the airport ASAP”. I believe this trip has taught us all something special; everyone reacts different when they are placed in a different environment. All the arguments were so childish and unneeded. I believe that the trip would have went better for a lot of people if vitamin B12 was giving to each of the students. I also loved riding the subway and would love to live in D.C if I ever had the chance. The trip was fun, although I didn’t expect many of the things that happened on this trip. Again, I believe this trip was a learning experience and at the end of the trip I found myself asking the same question over and over. Would I ever do this again? Well… I guess you’ll just have to find out.

Spring 2010 Newsletter

The newest edition of the Youth Entrepreneurs newsletter is now available on our web site. This issue includes highlights from Dare to Dream, Skip Yowell, Clearwater High School and much more!

Urban Economic Academy

Guest blogger Teaira Ransom is in DC this week with the group of 13 students and YE staff for extended hands on learning in free market economics.

Boring, uneventful and tedious, these are thoughts that came to mind while thinking about enrolling in the YE Urban Economic Academy. I was more interested in the opportunity to travel rather than the actual class. When I began the class, my eyes became open to a whole new world. I suddenly found myself thinking of economics while doing every day things. Discussing subjects such as unintended consequences and welfare really agitated some of the students. Seeing the reactions of individuals when certain topics arose was a journey in itself.

My perspective on this class has changed, although the materials, and each session has little hidden surprises. Whether it was the reactions from your classmates or someone saying something funny, the class is always stimulating. It can occasionally have boring moments, but not everything is meant to be “fun”. I personally enjoy this academy due to the non-traditional way it’s taught. During each session, students have an equal opportunity to share his or her opinions; whether we agree or disagree or agree to disagree. In our sessions, we talk about things that affect families, friends, community or us personally. The topics are relatable and understandable. I look forward to every class and anticipate each bundle of knowledge I receive from each discussion.

Bringing Business into Schools

Don't miss TK Magazine's issue featuring Topeka High School YE teacher Mr. Murray Moore. You can link to the online version of the magazine here.

Winfield High School Youth Entrepreneurs learn business savvy

Take a minute to hear directly from our Winfield High School teacher, Jayna Bertholf in this article she submitted to the Winfield Daily Courier. Thank you Mrs. Bertholf for sharing Youth Entrepreneurs student experiences with the Winfield community.

Jumpstart Kansas – The Freedom to Jump

President Michael Schneider challenges incoming freshman to McPherson College to have the “freedom to jump”.  Recently I witnessed 12 groups of Kansas high school students put their inhibitions aside to take the leap.  A leap of faith that resulted in receipt of a $5,000 cash reward to Youth Entrepreneurs East High School Alumni, Colin Johnson and his partner Damien Gilbert.    

Presenting their plan via rolling Animoto visuals to the tune of OneRepublic’s Good Life the duo explained and sold their recycled steel bottle business to all in attendance.  They nailed the numbers, pinpointed the research and demonstrated the scalability.  The crowd was enraptured by the business idea and equally impressed with the poise, presentation style and confidence of its founders.  Apparently, so were the judges.  Walking away, check in tow, I heard the challenge from President Schneider as he congratulated the duo by exclaiming...”do this...really do this...make a bottle.”  They earned it and deserved to win.  Congratulations to SteelSalvation.  You’ve made us proud.  

Excitingly, Colin wasn’t the only YE student in the room.  Ideas abounded and students leapt.  Two other East High students, current YE students, Deshae Caldcleught and Natalie Lash competed with their tutoring café concept called “One Smart Cookie”. I tasted the healthy culinary creations they’ll be serving the students they tutor.  These girls have a great concept.  They, too, will go places.  

Checking in all the way from Wyandotte High School, last year’s YE Finals competitor Trina Durham wowed the judges with her social entrepreneurship concept proposing privatized foster care reform. “Why can you do this better than the current system?”, she was asked.  Simple, she replied, by shifting the burden of care from government to capable, passionate citizens.  Her plan, inclusive of economic incentives for her foster children, demonstrated her understanding of the true pathway to prosperity!  

By flashing photos of scantily clad, pregnant, intoxicated and drugged teen girls, our YE intern, Alexandria Webb, caught the attention of those in the room while presenting her venture, K.U.L.E girls.  Focusing on design, government and business, K.U.L.E girls is redefining success in the minds of young women.   Although K.U.L.E girls didn’t take home the social entrepreneur title, you wouldn’t have known it from the reaction in the room.  Even, kcteenlife.org, the group that won, found their way to Alex at the event’s end to exchange business cards and strategize future partnering!

 Finally, to talk about life after the leap, Kalene Smith, a Campus High School YE alum gave the students insight into next steps and expectations.  Kalene, an A.S.E Certified personal trainer, is operating a web-based training platform.  Her story took the audience from sitting in Kathy Shockley’s Campus High YE class to negotiating her own gym contract.  Additionally, she and her partner have written a recipe book and have sold over 100 copies in the last 4 months.  Her story resonated with the young competitors in the room who posed question after question about her journey.   

It was FUN!  What is better than spending your morning with such a group of impressive Kansas teen entrepreneurs?  Those of us in the room left feeling inspired and hopeful.  I, personally, left smiling.

To learn more about the Jumpstart Kansas program, check out http://blogs.mcpherson.edu/entrepreneurship/jump-start-kansas/

 - Kylie Stupka, Youth Entrepreneurs Executive Director

YE Alumni Kenon Thompson - Back to NYC for NFTE Award Ceremony

Check out Youth Entrepreneurs alumni Kenon Thompson's blog post "Back to NYC for Me" where he talks about his upcoming trip to New York City for the NFTE Global Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Awards. 

Congratulations and best of luck in all your future endeavors, Kenon!

Ideation Pt 2: Hunches, Research & Serendipity

In college, I knew a guy who had this latin phrase tattooed on his stomach: Audentes Fortuna Juvat. In Latin it means, "Fortune favors the daring." He was, and still is, a very interesting guy, but I could never get past this lingering thought of the risk involved. Maybe being daring is fun, but fortune may not always be in your favor.

Soon after finishing school and arriving among the working many, I was introduced to a similar phrase from Louis Pasteur, "Fortune favors the prepared mind." This made a bit more sense to me and somehow eased my concerns about being daring and not having good fortune. But, I had a very small amount of knowledge about Pasteur and his work in germ theory.

Then, serendipity struck. I was sitting at home on a lazy Saturday afternoon, watching one of my favorite networks, The Science Channel, when a program came on about Ignaz Semmelweis. Here is a link to a short clip.

Basically, it told the story about Semmelweis noticing a problem of mother & infant deaths in his obstetrics ward in the hospital in Vienna. Long story short, Semmelweis had a problem that was a "life or death" kind of problem and, through observation and research that followed a hunch, it led him to believe that the problem could be solved by forcing obstetricians to wash their hands. It seemed simple enough, at the time.

Semmelweis daringly published a book on his findings and the positive results he had documented by instituting his tactics in his hospital ward. Long story short, fortune did not favor him. He was ridiculed by the medical community, lost his job at the hospital in Vienna, had a nervous breakdown, was committed to an insane asylum and died soon after. A sad story, indeed.

Semmelweis's practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed germ theory. The main difference is that Pasteur was a disciplined scientist and researcher. Because he was able to prove that microbes exist and they were the cause of infection, his ideas were widely accepted and revolutionized medicine almost over night. His breakthroughs raised the quality of life for all of us, even 250 years later.

You might be wondering to yourself, "Jonny B, what does this have to do with ideation?"

Referring back to my first post on ideation, I talked bout the first source of opportunity being problems. Solve a problem with less resources and you have created value. The bigger the problem solved, the greater the value to society, the greater the return to the entrepreneur.

Semmelweis and Pasteur weren't so much interested in being entrepreneurs. But, they paved the way for the mutli-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry that soon followed. And, if you watched the short video above, hopefully you are drawing some of your own conclusions about people with hunches and ideas. I'll close with this: What would have happened if Semmelweis & Pasteur had been "Friends" on Facebook?



Thanks for reading.

Jon Bachura
Director of Curriculum & Training
Youth Entrepreneurs

Dare to Dream

I recently read a poster that proclaimed, “A dream is just a dream until you ACT upon it”.  This struck home with me and provoked me to think about dreams I had; dreams that for some reason or another never came true.   Yes, this is a part of life and I’m not the only one who hasn’t fulfilled all of my dreams, but I wonder what could’ve been, had I been inspired to act upon them; if someone had DARED me to dream.  What if someone dared you to dream as a youngster? 

Youth Entrepreneurs (YE) took on the challenge of encouraging our students to not let their dreams pass them by.  Over the course of two days, we DARED 925 high school students to turn their dreams into reality.  YE hosted workshops that were charged with energy and inspiration.  Not only were new friendships formed among students who never would’ve otherwise met, but the day was full of practical learning scenarios that could be transferred into their daily lives.  In the words of one YE student, the day was ‘DOPE’.

Buy low, sell high; a cornerstone concept in business.  This is what the Youth Entrepreneur students learned in one of their breakout sessions called ‘Fuel Frenzy’.  During this activity, half of the students were buying fuel while the other half were selling it.  The goal was for individuals from one group to strike deals with the opposing group and make a profit; all the while learning the art of negotiation.  What wonderful knowledge and skills to acquire at such a young age!

Do you ever wish you would’ve learned about personal finance while you were a teenager so that you could have avoided foolish money decisions as an adult?  Hopefully none of the YE students say that later down the road because they had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Reality Game’.  In this session, students were randomly assigned jobs ranging from those that required college level degrees to jobs that paid on an hourly basis.  Dependent on their monthly income, they had to navigate through a series of life tables (housing, automobile, utilities, groceries, child care, student loans, etc.) and determine what they could afford.  The students quickly learned some keys to having disposable income each month are to have a well paying/stable job, a driving record free of tickets, accidents and DUI’s, a low debt to income ratio and a good credit score to boot.  It was a great crash course in how making wise decisions as a young adult can lead to a financially stable future.

During an etiquette luncheon, the students learned tips on what to do at a business lunch/dinner.  Everything from which fork to use, to what to do if you need to spit your gum out, to appropriate conversation starters and which side of your chair to enter and exit from were discussed.  Eating is a topic these teenagers didn’t think they needed a lesson on, but as one student stated, “I really need to know the importance of fine dining for business dinners and just nice occasions”.  I think it’s safe to say we met her expectations.

To end the day, national inspirational speaker, Eric Anderson: The Magician with a Message spoke to the students.  He spoke to them about rising above any occasion.  Whether you feel on top of the world because you have a job and girlfriend or you’re feeling low because you are broke and jobless, you have to find a way to deal with the cards you were dealt, be productive and stay positive.   In between his messages, he wove in magic tricks that left us all wondering how he did it!

It was a remarkable two days that we had the privilege of sharing with 900+ teenagers.  It was hard not to walk away feeling inspired to follow your heart and turn your dreams into reality.  With that, I DARE you to DREAM.

- Priscilla McInnes, Northeast Region Director 

Dare to Dream was sponsored by: 

 

WindRiver Grain

Maupin's Truck Parts

Business Plan Advisors Add Value to Classrooms

Most not-for-profit organizations will tell you that one of the most important keys to success, if not the most important key to success, is the amount and quality of the men and women who volunteer.  We don’t differ in this area at Youth Entrepreneurs, in fact the 240 or so professionals that volunteer their time and knowledge in our classrooms are a huge part of our student’s success as well.  In my role I am able to see this almost weekly.  I have seen a shy unconfident student turn into a business owner in a matter of months, and the great thing about our classroom is that because of the environment heavy on Knowledge Sharing, I have seen it work the other way as well.  I have seen a volunteer who wasn’t sure they had anything to offer learn that they in fact, had plenty to offer, they just needed someone to ask the right questions, and put them in a position to be an advocate, and mentor.

Being a Business Plan Advisor (BPA) is a chance to see our students growing and learning first hand.  From helping the students with their Market Day bids to getting them through those rough spots in their business plans, our BPA’s are committed to the success of the students in the classroom they work with.  

A huge thank you is not near enough to show all of our Business Plan Advisors how much we appreciate them, and what they help our students achieve.  We literally couldn’t do it without you!

If you are interested in becoming a part of this group of classroom volunteers check out our web site.

-Grant Mankin

SCKS/ICT Program Manager