Some of their businesses turned a large profit, while others did not, but at the end of the day, fifth-graders at Yvonne Milliner-Bowsky Elementary School said the last few months they spent learning how to become young entrepreneurs was an “invaluable” experience that showed them all the ups and downs of “getting into the industry.”
This crash course on business ownership started months ago, when the students began learning about free enterprise in social studies class.
Teacher Ava Braithwaite said, “They were interested in what they were learning, so I thought it would be great to put them on a project that would not only be relevant but would give them a better connection to the real world.”
“All 21 of the students became sole proprietors of their own business,” she continued, “and they went through the whole process, from deciding on a name to officially opening at an entrepreneurship fair we held at the school last week.”
The fair was open to the community, and the students – after setting aside a portion for school fees and a contribution to the Family Resource Center – got to keep whatever profit they made.
Braithwaite was able to bring several government agencies, including the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, in to work with the students. From there, the fifth-graders were actually able to register their trade or company name, learn about the background check process and get licenses from DLCA.
Braithwaite said she encouraged them to use whatever free resources they had available to help with overhead or ask their parents for a no-interest loan for any equipment that they needed.
Banco Popular also made the students business cards and came to the fair last week to talk to parents about putting the businesses’ profits into a junior savings account.
“The support we received from the community was overwhelming,” Braithwaite said Monday as she assembled her students into their final business meeting of the year.
“As a community, we put a lot of time and effort into teaching the students what they need to become good employees; I wanted to change that. It is important for us to teach them what it takes to be the employer and it is so important that we were all able to come together, give them that support and show them that it is a realistic goal.”
Speaking at the business meeting Monday, several of Braithwaite’s students said their biggest business challenge was running out of stock at the fair. Several student booths sold varieties of local food, drinks and produce, while others gave community members a chance to buy handmade jewelry, books, toys and novelty items, such as customized pins.
Fifth-grader Alex George had the only service oriented business, which offered up hand massages and a free bowl of tamarind stew to the first three customers. George said Monday that he learned his craft at home, giving massages to his grandmother, but also spent time preparing for the fair by learning some tricks of the trade on the Internet.
“It was a lot of fun,” George said.
While some students said Monday that the project made them see that opening a business was “a lot of hard work,” most also said they could see themselves going out on their own in the future. The students documented their work and feelings in a business portfolio, which Braithwaite collected Monday and will now sit down to grade.
“I think this was such a wonderful experience,” she said later. “The students learned a lot, I learned a lot, and I am so thankful to everyone that worked with us to make it happen.”
