Young entrepreneurs

By Beth Pratt
Small Business

Youth entrepreneurship is booming in the United States. Web sites are popping up all over the Internet with resources, blog sites and stories on how the next generation of entrepreneurs is turning passion into profit.

Entrepreneur Inc. magazine recently devoted an issue to 14 of the top young entrepreneurs in the nation, who made between $5 to $54 million in revenues with their start-up ventures in 2008.

Last year the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a leading foundation promoting entrepreneurship, commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey of more than 3,500 U.S. young people on entrepreneurship.

The results indicated that a large majority of our youth want to be their own boss and make their ideas a reality.

Overall, 63 percent of youth ages 8 to 21 said they have the ability and desire to successfully launch their own business. More than 70 percent of our high school students consider owning and operating a business as one of their top three career choices. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of the students polled felt that entrepreneur training and skills should be taught in high school.

Entrepreneurship is becoming a viable alternative for our young people who may not be interested in a traditional liberal arts college education.

Entrepreneurship training in tandem with career technical training is a dynamic combination that provides young adults the skills to apply their technical skills, such as graphic design, and strengthen it with business knowledge and applications. In the last two years, colleges throughout the United States, including Napa Valley College, have developed entrepreneurship initiatives within college and high school vocational programs.

NVC is responding to the demand of educating the next generation of entrepreneurs. A grant through the California Community Colleges Economic Workforce Development is allowing us to start the Napa Youth Entrepreneurial Program, or YEP.

The YEP grant allows the NVC Small Business Development Center to provide more resources, including counseling and training to youth and young adults ages 14 through 28.

This summer Napa Valley College will host the second annual Business Boot Camp for Young Entrepreneurs, from June 22 through June 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The five-day program will train youth in a fun and hands-on environment. Camp participants will have the opportunity to learn the skills needed to start and operate a business including: researching a business idea, analyzing your competition, understanding e-commerce, developing promotional materials, understanding financials and presenting plans.

 Participants will be guided in teams by our NVC SBDC advisors, instructors and local business leaders. The Business Boot Camp is also sponsored by many local businesses and includes guest visitors and field trips.

A limited number of scholarships are available for students interested in attending the training.

For more info on programs for youth entrepreneurs, call 253-3210 or cmonahan@napavalley.edu.

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