The Warren Miller Freedom Foundation's Young Entrepreneur Program offers a ten-week curriculum aimed at giving students, grades 6-12, the opportunity to learn how to start their own businesses! Students develop a plan, learn basic business vocabulary, discuss and practice marketing, customer service, record keeping, networking, problem solving and ethical business practices. Each class is supervised by a mentor who guides the entrepreneurs through the ten weekly lessons. Building relationships is an important part of any classroom or business and is an integral part of the Young Entrepreneur Program. Mentors keep the classroom active with hands-on experiential learning. The students are encouraged to role play, actively challenge their classmates, research and map the business needs of their communities and, most importantly, use their talents to find a business they can enjoy and grow. Each week the students end the class with a challenge to meet a specific business goal for the upcoming week.

Students in the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation Programs start a service or sales business within the first two weeks! Thus, the classroom discussions are based on their own personal experiences. Typical classroom sessions are two hours, once a week. Students record their business progress weekly by refining their business plans, and setting new goals. The program may be offered as part of an established business curriculum or in an after school, home or community center setting.

Each session covers:

• Goals for the week
• Business and Journal topics for discussion
• Business vocabulary
• Activities based on the WMFF Student Guide
• A weekly challenge.

Once the Young Entrepreneur students have an opportunity to market their own businesses in a safe and helpful environment, the fun begins. A new and profitable world opens up! Most young people do not get the opportunity to study entrepreneurship in their regular school curriculum. The YE program fills that gap with fun, facts and 'real world' experience. Our goal is for entrepreneurship to be a word every student understands, appreciates, and practices.

Starting a Young Entrepreneur program in your area is easy! Just click here to find out how.