In a state that celebrates its size, small businesses occupy a special place in the economy. And with that reality in mind, the Rhode Island MicroEnterprise Association created the Youth Enterpreneurship Program three years ago with the goal of equipping high school students with the skills needed to be successful businesspeople.
This year’s edition began this month in more than 20 classes at 15 high schools throughout the state, with about 400 students expected to take part in the 11-week program.
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Kenneth Proudfoot, development director at the RIMEA and director of the youth program, said very few students take business courses in high school, even though many of them will be in the work force soon after receiving a diploma.
The purpose of the initiative is to provide skills that will make the students more attractive for employers, while developing the ability to contribute new ideas in the workplace.
“The goal is to teach [the students] to think,” said Proudfoot, who is also the founding director of the Larry Friedman International Center for Entrepreneurship at Johnson and Wales University.
RIMEA’s original program was launched five years ago and was specifically geared toward developing entrepreneurs. Three years ago, Proudfoot rolled out a revised curriculum that was geared toward all students and is based on getting students to observe, think and communicate – personal qualities necessary for any vocation.
Statistics from the R.I. Economic Policy Council show that only 29 percent of Rhode Islanders between the ages of 25 and 34 have a bachelor’s degree. The question is: Are those students forgoing higher education employable?
The program stresses skills like writing, planning, marketing and financial literacy – abilities that are necessary in any job, said Proudfoot.
“[Educators] have got to get kids to think differently and use their creative juices,” said Ann Marie Marshall, director and CEO of the RIMEA.
A partnership between the RIMEA and the Southside Community Land Trust in South Providence helped create 8 Women about a year ago. The business venture led by Southside – and financed through grants totaling $20,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island – brought eight high school students in the Providence region together to package and market an organic fertilizer.
Katherine Brown, executive director of Southside, said the goal of the venture was to provide a smaller product size of the organic fertilizer that is normally sold in larger commercial sizes and link young gardeners with an older generation of gardeners, while supporting the Land Trust.
Other students have invented products, designed clothes, started small landscaping or pet care businesses, said Marshall. As a 17-, 18- or 19-year-old out of high school, it is an ideal time for a person to take a chance on something they are passionate about.
“[The students] are never going to fail … they will just get feedback,” said Proudfoot.
For the first time this year, one or two students from each class will take part in the Young Apprentices Program, in which they will shadow a local entrepreneur to gain hands-on experience.
The program is also adding an Eco-Ventures Rhode Island component that will encourage students to create businesses to address the energy challenges of the state in an environmentally friendly manner. The idea is to create a business that can provide long-term income for the school while solving a current problem for the region, said Proudfoot.
A pilot program also will begin in January at the middle school level, where there is a real opportunity to mold the minds of the students, said Proudfoot.
The program will run until the middle of April, ending with the third annual Youth Entrepreneurship Day.
