Raising Entrepreneurs

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Five dollars a week just wasn’t enough allowance for 12-year-old Eduardo Lopez, so he started his own business.

Eddie’s OH’ Fudge, named after Ralphie Parker’s famous “Oh, fudge” line in A Christmas Story, was created in early January to supplement Lopez’s meager allowance.

But, there was a bigger purpose behind the business.

Lopez hopes to attend culinary arts school to realize his ultimate goal of opening a New York City restaurant and puts back a large portion of his profits into a bank account dedicated to his tuition.

Using a family recipe handed down from his grandmother, Lopez quickly gained a client base at Premier High School, where he attends seventh grade.

“My teachers are some of my biggest sales,” says Lopez.

Read the full story in the Del Rio News-Herald.

This one particularly appeals to me, because I went through a phase of searching for exactly the right fudge recipe, experimenting, and developing a range for fudges which get rave reviews - and can all be made in one bowl in the microwave!

I, too had problems with the vanilla fudge (Eddie talks about this later in the story) - maybe I should send young Eddie my recipe!

Eddie recently turned 12, and he’s well on the way to success in business!

He’s only 7 years old, but Miles Louison speaks like a seasoned business man.

Miles started his candy sushi business, called “The Dessert Company” in March. Since then, he has made and sold more than 100 orders of candy sushi, more than his mom said she would have ever expected.

The sushi are a combination of rice crispies, marshmallows and gummy candies wrapped up to look like the traditional Japanese delicacy.
Ask him what he wants to do with the profits from his candy sushi business, and he answers like he’s been crunching numbers and meeting a budget for years.
Read the full story in the Aurora Sentinel.

This kid is amazing - you really need to read the full story to get a sense of him, but he’s obviously got business in his blood. His parents are very sensible and supportive, and I predict Miles will have great success. He chose his business name because it would allow him to brach out into other product lines - take about thinking ahead! And he’s only seven …

“I use it to buy more supplies,” he said last week as he melted marshmallows in the microwave of his family’s home in south Aurora, Colorado.

Thirteen Ottawa-area students have been selected to participate in the Ontario Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s summer company program, to be delivered through the Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI), the local business development organization announced Thursday.

Armed with business plans and an unshakeable commitment to succeed, the young business owners are eligible for up to $3,000 in startup expense funding, including $1,500 upon the successful completion of the program and return to school. Summer company, one of several initiatives of the provincial ministry delivered through OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre, is designed to help young entrepreneurs develop, plan and execute a successful business venture, say organizers.

It’s great to see these initiatives taking off all over the globe! We’ll be looking forward to hearing the results when these young entrepreneurs complete their projects.

Nearly 250 Stockport schoolchildren are taking part in the Stockport Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

The children, aged from seven to 11 years, attend 19 primary schools throughout the borough. Each school has been given £500 (through extended schools funding) to set up and run a small business, and for market research, designing, producing, advertising and selling a product. Each child has a specific role within the ‘company’ such as finance director or marketing manager.

The schools are linked to local businesses who provide business planning and marketing support, and supported by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council which makes the initial links with businesses, and arranges extra training in, for example, food hygiene and ideas for the schools.

Read the full story at Crains Manchester Business.

Charlotte, Carolina:  Black Enterprise Magazine held its Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference and Expo in uptown Charlotte. While the event drew a number of adults in to learn and network, it also provided a venue for future business owners to grow.

“My business is called Buttons by Jordan,” said 12-year-old entrepreneur Jordan Culpepper, who says he has already saved $4,000 for college.

“My business produces healthy bars,” countered 9-year-old entrepreneur Joshua House.

The two, along with a number of others will gain vital knowledge in making their businesses grow thanks to the Expo, which targets adults, teens and children from all over the country.

Young Entrepreneurs

While the event drew a number of adults in to learn and network, it also provided a venue for future business owners to grow.

“I’ve learned so much that being able to have the opportunity to work with so many people, they game me insight on how businesses run,” said teen Dezmin Alhambra.

The Expo offered advice from adults, and allowed the children to build their own businesses by making commercials, business plans and turning those plans into potential dollars.

“These are huge life lessons that they can take with them and use in school to adulthood,” said business owner Malla Haridat.

Most of the children who are already business owners say they will save the money they make from their businesses to use for college. Others say they will put it back into their businesses to help it grow.

Source: Time Cable