Summer business camp at WCU puts kids in boss's chair

By Virginia Culp - WCU Intern

23 highschoolers from around western and central North Carolina come to Western Carolina University to participate in a week-long camp for aspiring entrepreneurs. During their stay, they learn what it takes to start a business and to keep it afloat. Hands-on learning helps the students understand the theory behind a successful small business, including finances, marketing and customer service. The camp, which is cosponsored by NC REAL and the Small Business and Technology Development Center at WCU, is open to eighth through 12th grades and costs $100.

For these budding entrepreneurs, the campus of Western Carolina University will be a proving ground where they will learn what it takes to operate a small business and perhaps even take the first steps towards ownership of one.

Returning camper Colby Justice of Waynesville is one of several students with big plans. At 15, he has already started his own lawn care business and has secured 13 customers.

"I've learned a lot about setting up a business," he said of the Entrepreneurship Camp. "It's helped me get ahead."

Wax-On Wax-Off, a wholesale car wash supply business, is the brainchild of (from left) Tara Carrington of Clyde, Taylor Cairns of Charlotte, Brandon McKee of Kings Mountain, Tiffany Gardner of Marion and Kenny Brown of Waynesville. The group presented its idea to a panel of judges Friday morning. ­ Herald photo by Virginia Culp

REAL, which stands for Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning, is a nonprofit organization that teaches people of all ages about business through experiential planning activities.

"We try to get (the students) to understand all business types," said Allan Steinberg, regional director of SBTDC. Rather than focusing on any one type of business, campers gain exposure to home-based businesses, product-oriented and customer service establishments.

In the past, these have included local businesses and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce; this year, campers toured In Your Ear Music Emporium, My Best Friends Dog Grooming, and Nantahala Outdoor Center.

"They're not limited to fast food on Main Street," Steinberg said.

In addition to the types of businesses available, campers also study the community and the market to determine what sort of business is needed in a specific area. Customer service, marketing, advertising, and location are all part of creating a feasible business plan.

Steinberg is quick to point out that there's more at stake than profit.

"It's not all about money," he said. "We try to instill how to pick a business." More than anything, he said, an entrepreneur needs vision. Otherwise, he or she could wind up in a business that, while profitable, is little more than a source of frustration.

Angela Cogdill, who works with NC REAL, adds that lack of planning dooms many small businesses from the start.

"We're trying to teach the process of opening a business," she said.

In addition to market savvy, the camp builds group work and leadership skills as each student takes on unfamiliar tasks. The goal is to prepare a viable business plan, using real-world agencies and numbers. Along the way, the groups of entrepreneurs must create designs for a business card, sign and slogan.

Each group must produce a business plan by the end of the week. The groups are all given bank loans of $10,000 with a set interest rate as start-up capital, and out of this they must pay their employees, purchase initial supplies and open a business. Calculating how to keep these on-paper-only businesses afloat also includes figuring out how long it will take to pay back the loan and make a profit. At the end of the week, each group presents its plan to the bank committee.

Some returning students opt to become Junior Counselors, who help the staff and serve as peer counselors to the other campers. This year, the camp has five junior counselors, some of whom have participated in the camp two or three times.

Since a substantial part of the camp's expenses are covered by underwriters, grants and donations of goods and services, the fee for participants is only $100. Enrollment is limited to 40 students each year, and the application process begins in January. For more information, contact Allan Steinberg at 227-3459 or Angela Cogdill at (800) 798-0643.

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