The first thing that comes to people’s minds when ‘Entrepreneurship’ is mentioned is that its business. Well, that’s not overly true; Youth Entrepreneur Programs help to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical applications of what they have learned in classrooms.
Youth Entrepreneurship Programs empower the youth, helps them to think outside the classroom, and provides them with innovative ideas and strategies.
This masterpiece welcomes all youth who are ready to leave the shore and dive deeper into the rare programs and strategies that are buried under the sea, and together we can exhume the treasures. What should you look forward to this masterpiece?
- What’s Youth Entrepreneur Programs?
- Entrepreneurship Programs in High school.
- Youth Entrepreneurship Programs.
- Why are Entrepreneurship Programs useful for youth?
- Possible questions that you need to ask.
What Is Youth Entrepreneur Programs
Earlier, I said Youth Entrepreneur Programs is not only about business, but the ability to harness all resources and skills you have learned into practical applications. Youth Entrepreneurship Programs is a platform for promising youth to help them tap all necessary resources to create, solve, and modify problems.
The Youth Entrepreneur Programs will help you to create a business for yourself or help you break a new ground that could lead to a major turnaround globally. The natural disposition of youth makes them suited to Entrepreneur Programs, provided they can get all necessary support to overcome the world’s growing challenges.
The building block of entrepreneurship skills should be taught in schools, most especially in High school. It prepares the students for what lies ahead, and now is the time to be proactively trained and equipped for the long steep journey. Let’s explore Entrepreneurship in High school. Are you ready?
High School Entrepreneurship
According to a prediction, eighty-five percent of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been conceived yet, did you know? The world is becoming more globalized day by day and thus exudes challenges – New and Existing, which needs solutions.
Teaching Students Entrepreneurship is very pertinent as they will need to build salient skills to combat growing challenges and tactfully solve complex problems. High school Entrepreneurship class is not just creating strategies to implement your business but creating in you an Entrepreneurship Mindset. I am sure you are puzzled by what the Entrepreneurship Mindset means, right?
I can’t define the Entrepreneurship Mindset but will give you a snippet about it. It’s the kind of mindset that makes you unmatched no matter what you are studying, regardless of what you major in. This mindset will equip you in full capacity, and apparently, nothing will intimidate you, no matter how big the challenge or problem.
Now, what are we trying to spawn in students with this Entrepreneurship Mindset? The three results are as follows;
- Problem Solving.
High school Entrepreneurship learning will set you up for real success in the problem-filled world. Entrepreneurship mindset will make you unique with the way you think and analyze. We will be considering two Entrepreneurship Programs at the High School level that can empower and transform your ideas into movable enterprise.
Diamond Challenge Business Competition
The Diamond Challenge is an entrepreneurial challenge for High school students to showcase their potential and business ideas on science academic research with the real world and industry practices.
Diamond Challenge ensures that teens have the opportunity to learn entrepreneurship and also helps them to actualize their ideas. The aim of the Diamond Challenge is to unleash potentials, build future idealists, instill in students entrepreneurial mindset and skills, and promote actionable entrepreneurs.
The Horn Entrepreneurship is the foundation on which Diamond Challenge is built upon. Horn Entrepreneurship is an envied university in Delaware when it comes to entrepreneurial activity. The entrepreneurial concept for High School students is to provide them with rare opportunities to learn, explore, enjoy, and experience entrepreneurship very early in their careers.
The Diamond Challenge is to empower students beyond entrepreneurial education; to make them mavericks in their thoughts to create, capture and showcase values from existing and new ideas regardless of your educational background or area of discipline.
The challenge is based on entrepreneurial science, that’s combining academic research with the real world and industry practices. The Diamond Challenge is that inertia that nudges High school entrepreneurs to upscale their level through meaningful connections, supportive resources, and transformative critiques.
The Diamond Challenge has a curriculum for interested participants. The curriculum is focused on developing an entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial processes in students. The curriculum equips them to be entrepreneurial in thoughts and areas of the discipline. The curriculum is in two series;
- Series One – Mindset and Means
This series focuses on building a tremendous foundation in entrepreneurial thinking and a bias towards taking action.
- Series Two – Evidence and Process
This is the testing and application stage. This series introduces us to evidence-based entrepreneurship; the initial vision is developed and tested to know the value that can be gotten from it: value capturing and the ability to decide to move forward with an idea launching.
How Do I Participate In The Diamond Challenge?
It’s an opportunity for High School students to showcase what they’ve got. What you should know about the challenge;
- The submission of work and presentation should be original, and it should be done by a team of 2 – 4 high school students between the ages of 14 – 18 at the time of the submission deadline and should be enrolled in an official high school, secondary education program or institution.
- Team members have the franchise to submit their original work by virtue of owning the content.
- Submissions and presentations shouldn’t violate third party privacy or copyright protection.
- An adult advisor (21 years of age or older) is required in the team to provide the necessary support for the team. Teams could have more than one advisor, but only one is officially recognized by the Diamond Challenge leadership team. The advisor included will be contacted for more information.
- A student can only participate in a team.
- Teams could have different students from different schools.
- Only members’ ideas conceived should be submitted. If a member who’s not on the team shares an idea, their full legal name should be attached to avoid conflict of interest and legal issues in the latter part of the challenge.
- Prior to the submission deadline, business and social concepts shouldn’t generate more than $100,000 as per revenue.
- All submissions should be in English.
- All participating members in the team (team leader, members, and an advisor) should have different emails, and it must be a real email.
- Written concept narratives are the first requirement in the first round of the competition. The narrative concept should be limited to 3 – 5 pages, double spaced. No cover pages are allowed. Should your narrative exceed the limit, only the first five pages will be considered. The margin of the narrative should be 1 – inch (2.54cm), and the font should be 12. The file should be formatted in pdf.
- Pitch decks shouldn’t be more than 15 slides in length. Ten slides is recommended. The pitch decks should be in pdf. Pitch decks can be updated prior to the pitching order or before the diamond Challenge summit.
- Incomplete submissions and submissions that don’t follow the rules, terms, and judging criteria may be penalized or excluded from judging criteria.
The above tips are needed rudimentary information to know about the Diamond Challenge. It’s an opportunity that will equip you in every aspect as you sail through the tide. Conclusively, Diamond Challenge judging criteria focuses on some factors when they weigh participants’ scores; Business and Social innovation.
Presentations, pitch decks, and questions will be weighed under three parameters, namely; Feasibility factor, Growth potential, and Wow factor. Let’s analyses it one after the other.
Feasibility Factor
The feasibility factors check if the team’s ideas are feasible. The extent or degree of the realism of what your idea can bring. Some ideas are great, but they aren’t realistic under certain conditions. So feasibility will check if your idea has something to bypass it. There are target areas you need to hit with your ideas; how would your idea reach a defensible position in your targeted areas or audience.
Growth Potential
Your ideas will be put on a scale in terms of profitability, size, and upscale to the current market. Would your ideas thrive?
Wow Factor
No idea is useless. You will be awarded for persistence, creativity, passion, the art of storytelling, and other variables that will
This program is an opportunity that guarantees a $100000 prize while developing your entrepreneurial skills and acquisition. The next on the youth entrepreneur programs list that you should know as a High school student is the DECA Idea Challenge. Let’s begin!
DECA Idea Challenge
It’s no gainsaying that 40% of American middle and high school students say they have the propensity and ideas to start a business or innovations that will shape the world. A lot of young people miss the way due to not having guidance or role modeling.
The DECA challenge will help you to understand business or innovation basics, communication skills among competitors, and business pitch skills. The DECA challenge dares students from various levels to showcase innovative ideas and use for a commonplace item in some days.
The DECA challenge is done at the Global Entrepreneurship Week. The challenge helps students to sharpen their innovative skills that would be of great benefit in the 21st generation.
Skills you need include; Creativity, Resilience, Communication, and Critical Thinking. Winners are recognized on the big stage of Global Entrepreneurship Week. (A week marked to celebrate innovators and job creators that have driven the economy and expand human welfare.)
Monetary awards is into categories;
- College/University: $750
- High School: $750
- Elementary /Middle School : $500
It’s an opportunity for everyone. No restraint or membership requirements to participate. We’ve dealt with programs at the High school level; other youth entrepreneurship programs are still in the market that can help you build your ideas and dreams. Let’s explore!
Youth Entrepreneurship Programs
Let’s consider some youth entrepreneurship programs that are in the market to help us get better in our entrepreneurial journey.
Acton Children’s Business Fair
This is one of the largest children entrepreneurship networks in the world and the leading youth entrepreneurship in North America. The business fair is sponsored by the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence, the Acton School of Business, and the ACBF.
The vision of the Acton Children’s Business Fair is to groom young entrepreneurs to become role models for the next generation. More jobs to be created for the teeming population.
Lemonade Day
Lemonade’s dream was conceived by Micheal Holthouse, a business mogul, and Entrepreneur. Lemonade Day is a fun-filled program with an experience packed event that helps young people to start, own and create their business – a Lemonade stand.
Lemonade Day helps youth to walk their dream to a business plan strategically by infusing in them life skills, character education. And principles that can help them start their business or company.
The Lemonade day is embedded with lots of lessons. Start your business, make a profit, save some, spend some, and share some by giving back to the communities. It’s an entrepreneurial program for all irrespective of your background, age, color, race, physical challenge, and social status.
Youth have the opportunity to experience entrepreneurial setup for their Business during Lemonade day in their city. Participating in Lemonade day will help you to understand business skills, a sense of responsibility, financial literacy, goal setting, and teamwork spirit.
Lemonade Day in different cities has helped youth to become independent and attain new heights. Some of the surveys by Lemonade showed that 72% want to start their own business, 64% want to invent something that will change the world, 80% say they have a solution around their problem, and 31% say they are running their business.
Young Entrepreneurs Academy
This is a redefining program for young entrepreneurs. An exciting program that will help It’s a groundbreaking program for middle and high school students to transform them into confident, well-informed entrepreneurs.
In this long term program, you might not be aware that students in middle or high school can conduct market research, spawn business ideas, write business plans, pitch decks to panels of investors, and flag off their company or business startup.
Young Entrepreneurs Academy will help students to transition successfully into adulthood; Help young students to reach their career pursuits by harnessing their creativity and vis. The Young Entrepreneurs Academy program will help you to actualize your ideas into something enterprising that can help the economic and social value of the world.
This program will instill in the life-based principles that will help you in your journey in life. The program will help high and middle schools to create a pathway for innovation and productivity. This program will enrich you to possess an entrepreneurship mindset. This program gives out scholarships for participants to further their education.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, we have touched on every angle of entrepreneurship programs that involves youth and students in high schools. It’s necessary for us to tap into all these programs and challenges to get better and set for ourselves a secured and better tomorrow.
Conclusively, we have explored a few youth entrepreneurship programs that can help you reach that echelon. You need to develop an entrepreneurial mindset; it’s very important. Participate in all these programs, remember no knowledge is wasted!
Questions and Answers
I know a lot of questions are on your mind that needs answers. Hopefully, some of the questions will be answered in this section, but if I don’t, I believe the above exhaustive guide will help you.
How can an entrepreneur teach youth?
Everyone wants to be successful and independent. Entrepreneurship turns youth into future leaders; it transforms lives. Below are tips that can help them:
- Make them understand financial literacy.
- Instill in them a sense of drive and self-discovery.
- Encourage curiosity and attitude of exploration in them.
- Let them know the value of goal settings and planning.
- Urge teamwork.
- Reward high-quality work and initiative.
- Let them know mistakes are essential for them to succeed.
How can we encourage small entrepreneurs?
All big and successful entrepreneurs started from scratch, and one of the biggest motivations is to motivate yourself for big wins. Below are some notes to see you through;
- It’s great to do what one loves.
- Your business is impressive, and it will go a long way.
- Failure is not an option. If you fail, fail forward!
- You can let others model your business.
- No matter the condition of your business, it will surely pass.
- You can be that instrument of change for all to dub.
- Consider starting up as an adventure rather than a challenge.
What are the benefits of entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship has a variety of benefits. Entrepreneurship molds future leaders. The benefits of entrepreneurship are below;
- It affords your flexible schedule.
- It makes you independent.
- It helps you to create values that align with your career.
- Your growth and development is inevitable.
- It connects you with like-minded people.
- It gives you that thrilling and unexpected experience.
- It boosts your self-esteem and ability to work with others.
- It builds you up to take leadership capacity and roles.
How can entrepreneurs motivate students?
Bringing entrepreneurship to the classroom is something but keeping the motivation strong among the students is another thing. I will suggest practical ways to do that;
- The art of storytelling as an entrepreneur will motivate them.
- Encourage them to think outside the classroom.
- Tell them about successful entrepreneurs, their success, and pitfalls.
- Organize entrepreneurship programs and competitions.
- Set up campus meetings to help build the spirit and urgency.
- Monitor commitment, passion, and energy.
- Partner with external bodies or organizations.
About Post Author
