Planting seeds for the future

In their words . . . . .

Fourteen middle school students explored their future last week at the Butler County Entrepreneurship
Investigation (ESI) Camp held in David City. They visited a number of local businesses, heard from local
entrepreneurs, and planned and operated their own businesses on a crash course that included everything from business plans to an actual sales day on Friday. Their sales success varied, but the general consensus on Friday was that they all profited from the experience.

The Banner-Press asked what they learned, what was their biggest surprise from the camp and how they
thought it would affect them in the future.

Here's what they had to say in brief interviews:

Austin Bradley, eighth grader, Rising City:
Go Go Frisbees: There's some hard things but it's pretty fun. My
biggest surprise was selling all of my product, Go Go Frisbees. Me and my partner Brianne Romshek came up with the idea. I came up with the Frisbee she came up with the designing. It took five to 10 minutes to make and they sold for $4. It was pretty fun.

Kristin Potter, ninth grade, Rising City:
Memories Kept: I was selling pictures that I took of anything that inspired me. I matted and I framed them.
I did pretty well. It was a very good program. I think a lot of kids should try it. It helps you do what you want to do and have fun doing it. After shooting a photograph, it took all of 10 minutes to print it.
I was surprised at how much (business owners) love their business. You have to have a lot of energy.

Melanie Mimick, freshman, Aquinas:
Memories Kept: I'm making soft letter pillows. They took about an hour for each one. I'm using a skill that  I learned in 4-H. I liked it I thought it was really fun. I liked the field trips. It was fun to learn about how we can start our own business and knowing we can start our own business.I will probably look differently at school and keep working as hard as I am. I'll try to excel in school and get higher in my class.
If other kids were interested in starting their own business, I would recommend this camp a lot. It helps you
figure out what to do in a business. You don't know what to expect. You might think it's kind of dorky but its not. It's a lot of fun."

Curtis Blowers, Rising City, a freshman at Aquinas:
Happy Feet: We had six pairs of flip-flops left out of 20. I worked with Rachel Stara, Gentry Dodson and Shania Steager. It took up to an hour to make the hard ones and 15 minutes for easy ones.
I like having things the way I like it. I thought you could customize shoes the way you like it.
I learned that it is possible to make your own business.  We might actually keep doing this the rest of the
summer. I was surprised at how our product is selling fast.

Rachel Stara, David City, a freshman at Aquinas:
Happy Feet: It was fun. I learned a lot. I just found it kind of interesting to start my own business.
I was surprised about how much fun it was. I didn't think it would be too much fun but it was.
The sandals cost $1 and you decorate them and you end up with $6.

Jacob Gleason, Schuyler, seventh grade at District 24:
Smokin' Aces: ESI camp is entrepreneurship investigation about people who have made their business out of nothing.They have been telling us very straightforward how there's challenges, and there's risks and rewards and you balance those out. The biggest surprise was why they were doing this. To give back to the community. I'm hoping that when I come back from college to my hometown and hopefully I'll conduct my business there. This is our idea, we have produced this product and it's been selling pretty well. I would recommend it for others. Not too many people think about entrepreneurship. I think it would be a great experience for kids who think that they should go to a corporation like Google or Microsoft. You have to make sure you have a passion for what you do.

True Siffring, eighth grade, David City:
Smokin Aces: This week mostly my favorite part was going around and visiting businesses locally.
Normally, I wouldn't be doing anything. It's a good opportunity to be doing something instead of sitting
around. I was surprised that we actually got to do that and sell stuff and keep the money. I never thought they would do that.

Dillon Hicks: eighth grade, David City:
H and S Charity. H and S Charity raised funds with a ball toss for prizes. (Half the proceeds, $17, went to Blue Valley Community Action.) You always see people playing games at the carnival and the fair. We thought we could do that and help somebody while we were doing it. I found out I could actually start a business and run a business even though I'm only 13. It's not that hard once you know what you are doing.
I am surprised at how many people we actually had today.

Tyler Schmid, seventh grade, David City:
H and S Charity: I learned what entrepreneurs do and how they save money, how they work their business and stuff like that.This is actually pretty fun coming here and having all this experience. I think this is more fun than school.

Elizabeth Hruska, eight grade at David City:
E Fashions and Jewelry: I learned how to run a business and how important it is to stick with what you want to do. It will take a while but eventually you will get to where you want to be. I've been making bracelets for two years. I got a kit for Christmas. I've always been very crafty. I like to walk down the street and see friends wearing things I have made for them. I was making bracelets, mostly these are made out of embroidery cloth. They are $1 each. Most people are willing to pay that much for something simple and quick like this. I had sold them to friends and family but never the public so I was surprised.
I knew we'd be traveling but I didn't realize how much we would get to see and how many people we would get to talk to. I picked up on how long it can take to start a business. It depends on what you are doing and how much competition you have. You have to balance your family and your friends and how much you are willing to put in for that.

Emma Mattingly, eighth grade, David City:
E Fashions and Jewelry: I learned a lot about being an entrepreneur. You don't learn that in school.
Being able to get this education about opportunities we can have in the future, it makes me feel that much
more successful. It kind of opens up your opportunities. I would be swimming or sitting at home or walking my dog. I didn't' know what an entrepreneur was before this camp. Even though I live in the city. there's nothing to do in the summer. This gave me something to go out and do. The hardest part was coming up with how much you should price your items.

ESI Campers Brianne Romshek, Shania Steager and Gentrie Dodson were not able to attend the last day of the camp.