Coastal Alabama Kids Entrepreneurs, a Coastal Alabama Business Chamber program, will open a program on May 11 in hopes of getting local elementary school students interested in the process of entrepreneurship and business development. The first “CAKE Day” will be held.
Penny Hughie, vice president of education and programs, said the event aimed to educate young students about the benefits of entrepreneurship and was designed specifically for students at local elementary schools.
Hughie said the program primarily runs weekend workshops for students interested in business, but also gives local elementary school students the chance to gain “hands-on” experience running a business outside of the classroom. He said he wanted to give.
“We have participated in other 'children's' entrepreneurship programs in the past, but rather than trying to make someone else's program work for us, we are adapting it to children in the outside community.” It was important to me to create something that was unique. “We live in a community driven by entrepreneurship, and children are sometimes much smarter than we give them credit for. They're like little sponges, absorbing all the information. You'll absorb it, learn from it, and hopefully grow.'' You can become a business owner here in our community. ”
Huey said the program will begin to take off in 2023, with the chamber working with local elementary school administrators to consider similar programs and consulting with parents and local business owners to develop the program. He said he planned it.
“We also had people like Yolanda Johnson from the Alabama Small Business Development Center on board, and we got a lot of information and advice from her on how to help adults start businesses and develop programs for kids.” said Huey. “We spent a year researching and learning as much as we could to make sure we were building the best program possible for our kids.”
Huey said the main event of the program will be the upcoming CAKE Day, where students from Gulf Shores Elementary School, Orange Beach Elementary School, South Baldwin Christian Academy and local homeschool students will participate in a variety of activities. A student-run business is expected to appear.
“We provide the community with a map showing where the different stands are, their business names, what they offer, and their opening hours. Each student operates their own stand at each location. “We're going to sell our products and services,” Huey said. “Businesses range from selling coffee, lemonade, and desserts to jewelry, art, and fishing lures. The types of businesses our students run are limited only by their imagination.”
Huey said there is also a “judging” team that visits all locations, interviews students, purchases products and issues scores to students based on how well they perform the program's lessons. At the end of the event, judges will award certificates and prizes to the winners.
“This is an opportunity for kindergarten-age students to start and run a real business. We teach them how to come up with an idea, how to brand, and how to develop a business plan.” We can let them rent space through our 'lease' process and even set up a fund from which they can borrow money through our 'Little Lenders' program,” Huey said. . “The goal is for the kids to start and run a business and actually make money. We also want them to be able to manage that money well and keep some for themselves and some. It also teaches us to save things for a “rainy day” and, most importantly, to share. A portion of the money they raise goes back into the communities that support them. That's an important lesson for them to learn. ”
The CAKE Day event will take place on Saturday 11th May and the exact location of the student-run business stand will be provided by organizations near the event.
For more information about joining the program or attending CAKE Day, please visit www.mygulfcoastchamber.com.
