I don't get my hope from anyone in Washington, DC.
I have the joy of working each day with young entrepreneurs who are brimming with true hope and optimism about the future.
Today I spent the day leading 72 students at Centennial High School in Franklin, Tennessee on a full day of what we call the Entrepreneurial Challenge. It is an exercise originally developed by my friend Dr. George Solomon at George Washington University.
Twenty four teams each comprised of three students developed ideas based on the theme: "Find a business opportunity that can be started in Williamson County that take advantage of or is able to thrive in the current economic downturn"
All of the teams did a wonderful job.
The students came up with their ideas, researched them to turn them into viable opportunities, and then perfected their pitch all in about four hours. They then pitched to various entrepreneurs from the community for several rounds.
The winners where three young women who came up with a business with the following mission: "To provide informational and enjoyable cooking programs to kids and teens which promote a healthy lifestyle with affordable life changes." Their proposed venture would both teach low cost options for kids to make health meals at home, thus saving money in these difficult times and addressing their concern with obesity among young people.
I left the school feeling a lot more hopeful about our future.
Jeff,
My name is Bradley Metrock and I started a new video game retail concept called The Score down here in Williamson County.
You had several of my high school staff from Centennial in your entrepreneurship event today - sounds like a great experience for everybody involved.
The Score itself is a business constructed to be able to thrive in the down economy. The popularity of video games, which is driven how cost-effective they are as entertainment, has helped propel our business forward.
I enjoy reading your columns in the Tennessean and was pleasantly surprised to hear some of my guys mention your entrepreneurship thing today. They really enjoyed it, and actually thought about mimicking The Score as their contest entry...lol.
If you ever do anything like this event again, please let us know, as we'd love to be part of it in any way we can.
Thanks,
Bradley Metrock
President, Score Holdings LLC
Even people who have had their small business struggle with marketing and entrepreneurial strategies. I myself, was fortunate to get great advice and use, "The Ultimate Practice Building Book," by David Zahaluk. It really helped me to clarify and differentiate my practice from a marketing standpoint. It's amazing!