Press Releases
April 15, 1998 |
Contact: Carolyn
Foy |
Young Entrepreneurs Exhibit Their Skills at Student Business Fair
Hillsborough, N.C.-Young entrepreneurs will show off their business skills on April 23-24, 1998, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at A.L. Stanback Middle School for the second annual Student Business Fair, a trade show students display their business ideas to classmates and business volunteers. The Business Fair is the culmination of a 12-week program sponsored by CED to help cultivate entrepreneurial aptitude among middle school students.
Since January, two classes of eighth grade students at A.L. Stanback and C.W. Stanford Middle Schools in Hillsborough have been learning about starting a business and developing a business plan with the help of area entrepreneurs and MBA students. Each Monday, guest instructors from area businesses taught students how to find a business opportunity, how to conduct market research, the basics of finance and legal issues, and other elements of entrepreneurship.
Each Friday, a dedicated group of mentors-business professionals and MBA students-visited the schools to follow students' progress and guide them as they worked through their business ideas. The program also included field trips to area businesses such as Laser Image Corporate Publishing, Simply Delicious salad dressings, Sports Endeavors, and local banks for a hands-on experience in a work environment.
"Thirteen- and fourteen-year-old students produce a wide range of business ideas," says Kerstin Le Floch, CED youth program coordinator. "In addition to a few beauty salons and day care centers, the students envision opening a on-line coffee shop at the Raleigh-Durham airport, selling educational board games, starting a mobile horse-grooming service, and launching a new record label. One team of students has designed a space-saving bed that can be collapsed into a table, while another makes custom signs out of wood or a synthetic material for homes or businesses. The displays very professional - these kids are ready for business soon."
"The support of area entrepreneurs and business is a large part this program," Le Floch continues. "A major strength of the program is the instruction and mentoring from active members of the entrepreneurial community, and our volunteers have given valuable time and knowledge to the students."
CED would like to recognize the Future Entrepreneurs mentors who have been donating their time each Friday for the spring program: Susan Acker, Analytical Sciences; Hazel Cordle, Smith Breeden; Wic Ware, NC Institute of Minority Economic Development; Stewart Griffith, Touch America; and J.P Marston, Matt Karash, Chris Solano, and Henry Ijams, Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC-Chapel Hill.
For more information on the Business Fair or volunteer opportunities with the Youth Programs, Contact Kerstin Le Floch at 549-7500, ext. 125.
About CED
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located at the CED Entrepreneurship Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, was formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs. CED sponsors annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED also offers the FastTrac entrepreneurial training program, youth programs and other outreach programs.
CED is a private, non-profit organization and is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,000 members representing 1000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms.