Boot Camp For Young Entrepreneurs.

Boot Camp is five days of intensive training in business and entrepreneurship for youth ages 12 to 19. The Camp is an initiative of The Enterprise Center’s YES (Youth + Entrepreneurship = Success) Program, which hosts camps throughout the year. YES also promotes youth entrepreneurship through school-based curriculum and for-profit ventures.

Over 200 youth and 28 companies will participate in a series of lectures, workshops, business simulations, and case studies designed to expose youth to business and equip them with the skills needed to succeed in today’s dynamic business world.

Each of the five days will focus on a topic fundamental to success in business and entrepreneurship: Vision, Networking, Sales, Technology, and Giving Back.

According to a national survey conducted by Kidsway, Inc. (1998), although many young people demonstrate an early interest in entrepreneurship, 85% reported that public education had taught them “little” or “practically nothing” about how business works. “Boot Camp is a great way to expose young people to the world of entrepreneurship. It’s fun but serious, exciting but strenuous,” said Della Clark, President of The Enterprise Center. “In a nutshell, Boot Camp is the perfect environment to prepare young people for success in business and entrepreneurship.”

Contributing sponsors and participating organizations at Boot Camp 2001 include the following (in alphabetical order): AND 1, AOL, Assurance Industries, A Touch of Jazz, Ben & Jerry’s, Best Buy, Black Enterprise, Black Star Supply, City of Philadelphia Support Community Outreach Program, City Year of Philadelphia, Dale Carnegie Training, Dubose Business Services, Exelon Energy, Forman Mills, GMAC Mortgage, Greater Philadelphia CORS Company, Herr’s, Nantucket Nectars, Next Step Enterprises, Philadelphia Foundation, Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., School Sports, Tasty Baking Company, Timberland, Verizon, WB17, West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution and WPVI-ABC6.

Founded by the Wharton Small Business Development Center in 1989, The Enterprise Center operates a dynamic business incubator, which has generated over sixty startups and created 300 new jobs, and model training programs for youth and adults.

For more information contact, Lee Wicklund, Youth Entrepreneurship Coach at (215) 895-4078 or Dawn A. Jones, Communications Specialist with The Enterprise Center at (215) 895-4023 or visit the web site at http://www.theenterprisecenter.com.