Beyond the Lemonade Stand: Involving Your Community in Entrepreneurship Education

November 4, 2007Presenters: Malinda Todd and Leslie Scott

Entrepreneurship Education- Who is it Reaching in North Carolina?

• 3,600+ of North Carolina students take Small Business/ Entrepreneurship

• 2,000+ Students take REAL Entrepreneurship Courses

• 10,000+ Participate in 4-H Entrepreneurship/Economic Programs

• 80,000+ Student impacted by Junior Achievement

Number reached by entrepreneurship programs

Around 100,000

Number of North Carolinians under the age of 19

2,410,000

Challenges to Entrepreneurship Education

Testing Entrepreneurship often discounted as vocational

training Classroom structure not set up for hands-on learning

Don’t Wait for the World to Change

Change it Yourself

Create a Team

Think of people in your community that are interested in youth entrepreneurship. Some possibilities include:

• Teachers• Young People• Chamber of Commerce Members• Small Business Owners• Small Business Service Providers (SBDCs, Incubators)• Members of Service Organizations

Burke County- Youth a Priority Created a team to build entrepreneurship

development Team included local chambers, local governments,

economic development office, community college. Held workshops throughout the county Encouraged teachers and community organizations to

learn how to teach entrepreneurship Brings local business owners and business support

providers into the classroom

Assess Your Community Knowing what exist in your community gives you a

good starting point Involve a wide-range of people in the assessment–

school teachers, church representatives, after school programs, community colleges

Think strategically about all age groups Think about the number of students reached

Energizing Entrepreneurship- A Model

The energizing Entrepreneurship for Rural America is a national curriculum that North Carolina has used to inspire locally based entrepreneurship development strategies

Communities send diverse teams to the three-four day workshop

Teams leave the workshop with a strategy to build entrepreneurship in their communities

Programs That You May Have and Just Didn’t Know It.

4-H– Offers programs in entrepreneurship, economics, and financial literacy

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts both offer badges in entrepreneurship and business

Junior Achievement REAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning)

there are programs in several states DECCA and FBLA- Programs that teach business and

marketing in the high schools

Support Current Programs Put together community support teams with people

knowledgeable about small businesses to provide advice and to small business

Match business mentors to young people or to teachers

Provide materials to classes that are teaching entrepreneurship

Help plan and raise funds for field trips to small businesses

Encourage Local Organizations to Implement Entrepreneurship Programs Approach the local school system- Superintendent,

business and marketing teachers, board of education Approach local organizations that can access existing

curriculum- boy scouts, 4-H Approach organizations that have the capacity to add

new entrepreneurship programs– community colleges, after school programs, community development corporations

Be Entrepreneurial– Start Your Own Program! Partner with local organizations if possible Good partners should either work with youth or be

involved in entrepreneurship (or both) Possible partners include◦ Summer camps◦ Universities◦Workforce Development youth councils◦ Churches◦ Councils of Government◦ Community Development Groups

Tap into Existing Curricula Many organizations offer curricula and facilitator

training for entrepreneurship◦ NC REAL◦ NFTE◦ Kauffman◦More at www.entre-ed.org

Tyrrell County– Teaching Entrepreneurship and Conservation Worked with regional Conservation organization to

create a youth camp that taught entrepreneurship and conservation

Students created business ideas in the growing eco-tourism industry

Students learned the importance of developing sustainable businesses that celebrate their community

Contact InformationMalinda ToddNC REAL Enterprises3739 National Drive, Suite 110Raleigh, NC 27612phone: 919-781-6833 ext. 126malinda@ncreal.orgwww.ncreal.org

Leslie ScottN.C. Rural Center4021 Carya DriveRaleigh, NC 27610Phone: 919-250-4314lscott@ncruralcenter.orgwww.ncruralcenter.org