Entrepreneurship Investigation Camp Update 3-10-08

Attached is the proposed ESI Camp curriculum for your review. I have also attached a copy of the January meeting minutes for those who may not have received it previously.

Please take a look at our ESI Camp distribution list and let us know if we have inadvertently omitted anyone.

The next step will be for the PowerPoint committee to compete the presentation for the schools. We should try and have this completed in the next couple of weeks.

Have a good week.

Leslie

Entrepreneurship Investigation Camp Meeting

January 29, 2008

Target Audience

§ Next year’s (2008-2009 School Year) 6^th 7^th and 8^th graders

§ 12-15 youth (6 or 7 from each county)

§ Can work individually or in a team

§ Start with Chase/Perkins to fill class, if need can advertise beyond county

Marketing Plan

Power point presentation in schools

Work with schools to get the grades come together for a short presentation

Dates

July 7-11, 2008

8:30-12:30

Snack and Games around 10:00

Loans/Funding

Possibly LB40

Banks

Parents

Registration cost of $15.00

Application

Have an application that kid use to apply for the camp. On the application include an area for kids to write about their business idea

Location

Imperial in 2008

If the camp goes over well and we want to hold a second year the next camp will be in Grant.

Amy and Debbie will work together to transport from Perkins County to Imperial

Mentors (Business Support for Youth)

Need to find people to help as a business mentor

Have those people help with camp in some sort of way and be available to help youth with their business following the camp.

Committees

Class Structure – Leslie, Kimberly, Amy, Val

Marketing/Application – Brenda, Debbie, Amy

Mentor & Tech Support (Support System) – Jo, Tim Moore, Shaun Meyer

Games/Snacks – Kimberly & Debbie

Email Address

Kimberly Cook kcook2@unl.edu

Debbie Kuenning dkuenning2@unl.edu

Shawn Stutzman shawnstutz@chase3000.com

Jo Leyland jol@imperial-ne.com

Amy Thelander communitydev@gpcom.net

Leslie Carlholm lesliec@imperial-ne.com

Class Schedule

Have done by March 1^st and ready for next meeting.

Youth Council

Involve Chase & Perkin’s County Youth Council in camp.

Next Meeting

March 4, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. MT in Grant at Amy’s office

What is an Entrepreneur? Cover Definition of Entrepreneur Edwin Perkins Story Kool-Aid Story Questions 1-6 Provide list of local entrepreneurs Questions 1-5 Ask Marcy Nesbitt (M&M Jazz) to speak during the snack period

Playing the Part Dress like a pro (1,2 and 3) – Use clothing cutouts to emphasize different dress codes Think Positive Questions 1-4 and 7-10 Acting the Part – Have kids draw cards depicting different comments and behaviors and let the group determine which are professional.

Staying in Business and Out of Court Provide handout with the protection marks and corresponding definitions Bring in items and have students look for and identify protection marks. Provide handout for Pay My Uncle Sam Step 2 #1-6 Provide list of mentors and their contact information

Leader of the Pack (legal structures)

Building Your Reputation Provide a handout with a list of personal values. Where do you stand? This I believe Building you reputation

Go over Monday’s Homework

Draft Mission Statement Activity 1: Your Personality DNA Provide list of examples from Activity 2 Participants need to complete mission statement for their business.

Draft Goals and Objectives for Business (Maximum 3 goals) Format: Goal______ Objective _______ Objective _______ Objective _______ Goal______ Objective _______ Objective _______ Objective _______

Who is the Intended Target? Introduction Activity 3: The Customer Profile Activity 4: Who is YOUR Customer, really?

Packaging & Product Investigation Activity 1: Bring in a variety of products for students to examine. Activity2: Investigating Your Products or Service

Who is the Intended Target? Activity 1: Who is the Target Market? Provide handout of questions 1-7 for participants to fill out while watching TV Packaging & Product Investigation Activity 3: Packaging a Product Prototype Participants should start designing their prototype packaging.

Participants share information gleaned from homework activities

A Thorough Sweep of the Competition Activity 1: A Thorough Sweep of the Competition

Products at All Costs: Activity 1: The Price Puzzle Activity 2: Buy My Products Activity 3: Calculating the Selling Price

The Clues are Everywhere Activity 1: Name that Business Activity 2: Community Recognition Activity 3: Business Name, Slogan and Logo

Finish Business Slogan and Logo Continue designing packaging prototype

Participants share their Business Slogans and Logos.

The Advertising Detective Activity 1: The Advertising Detective – Bring in example ads (18-3) for participants to evaluate. Activity 3: Word up! Activity 4: Don’t Always Pay for What You Get Participants need to write a press release for their business.

We’ll Keep in Touch Activity 1: Keep Your Customers Coming Back Questions 1-3 & 6

Participants will work on their individual business plans. Worksheets will be provided to determine: § Start up costs § Operating Expenses § Costs of Goods or Services Sold § Balance Sheets § Cash Flows § Pricing

We’ll Keep in Touch Activity 2: We’ll Keep in Touch (Advertising Campaign) Participants need to complete one type of advertisement material for their business.

Participants will share their advertisements with the group.

Participants will need to finish the financial worksheets for their business plans.

Participants will present their business plans to loan officers.

Red Carpet Training

http://ruralinitiative.nebraska.edu/development/tourism/red_carpet.html

Perkins County Red Carpet Training will be March 27th and April 3rd at the Midwest Electric Community Room from 6:00PM to 8:30PM

March 26 / April 2 - Chase County (Imperial)

Entrepreneurship Investigation Camp

We are planning to hold a dual county ESI Camp next summer targeting 6th, 7th and 8th grade students who have a business idea and would like to put together their business plan and conduct product or service testing before launching their businesses.
This camp would be higher level of entrepreneurship training similar to a mini-EDGE class. We hope to develop an ongoing relationship with the camp participants as they start their businesses and develop a mentoring and technical resource support system for them.
If any of you would be interested in participating in planning and conducting this camp and/or becoming part of the mentoring support system, we are meeting on January 29th in the Lied Imperial Public Library meeting room at 10 AM. The meeting is anticipated to last 1 1/2 hours.
The meeting agenda is attached.

Entrepreneurship Investigation Camp
Lied Imperial Public Library
January 29, 2008
10 AM

Agenda


1. Determine Marketing Plan
a. Outside Dual County Area?
b. In Chase and Perkins Counties Schools?
2. Dates
3. Class Structure
a. Number of Days?
b. Hours per Day?
c. Application form with Busyness Idea?
d. Games?
4. Location(s)
5. Transportation of Students (if one location)
6. Snacks
7. Entrepreneur/Business Mentors & Technical Support System
8. Determine Subcommittees
9. Set date for next meeting

HUNT CHALLENGE UPDATE

HTC Communities Excel at Building Endowments—The Hunt family (owners of Great Plains Communications) has made $50,000 challenge grants to six of the communities their company serves. The purpose is to build an endowment to support HTC type activities (supporting youth, leadership, entrepreneurship and philanthropic giving). The terms of the challenges are a three to one match and a series of six benchmark goals.

· Imperial has cleared the sixth benchmark, raising $150,000, which the Hunt family matched with $50,000 for a total of $200,000 for their endowment, just 16 months into the fundraising campaign.

· Creighton has cleared the second benchmark, raising a total of $120,000 including the Hunt challenge grant.

· Wausa has cleared the second benchmark, raising a grand total of $132,000.

· Perkins County has cleared the first benchmark, raising a grand total of $100,000.

Congratulations to these HTC communities for their philanthropic success!

Business Transition (Succession) at the Imperial Inn on January 29, 2008 at 6:30 PM

Dana Beck of the Center for Rural Affairs presented a power point display on creating a plan of succession for businesses. A plan keeps the business open and growing in small towns, she stated. (Republican photo)

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By Carolyn Lee
The Imperial Republican
About 30 people attended a meeting concerning the transition of business ownership Tuesday night in Imperial. "Planning for Business Success" was sponsored locally by banks in the area, BW Telcom and Farm Credit Services of America in Imperial.
A presentation on the Rural Enterprise Assistance Project, or REAP, was the main focus of the evening.
Sponsored by the Center for Rural Affairs, REAP consists of the elements of networking, business management training, credit and technical assistance.
As representatives of businesses from Grant, Wauneta, Imperial and Benkelman listened, Tara Hosick of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development explained that when a Business Expansion and Recruitment survey was made in Chase and Perkins Counties recently, the main concern was the transition of ownership of businesses.
She said the concern was not just for the critical needs of the business, but also for the aging population in small communities. "What do you do about a business before you just close it?" she questioned, so that a community doesn't lose that business.
Randy Raile of BW Telcom of Benkelman said his family's fourth generation business is a case in point.
In 1989 his parents, the owners of BW Telcom at the time, were killed in an auto accident. There was no plan of succession in place, and not much estate planning.
Although he was able to take over operations, Raile said that under other circumstances, "the people you might want to sell to might not have the same morals and values." Small business is the character of little communities, he noted.
Sometimes it's better to have a business successor from within the community.
"Find an individual and teach them how to run the business," he urged.
How do you retain those individuals? Raile said a good pension plan and split-dollar life insurance to ensure longevity are the answer.
He also suggested a business evaluation for the true value every 10 years or so for IRS records, life insurance on the key business person to pay down taxes, and "last to die" insurance, for the health of the business concerned.
Dana Beck of the Center for Rural Affairs explained REAP's "Harvesting the Entrepreneurial Venture" to the group. Business succession is important, she stated, because one third of business owners in the United States are over the age of 55.
According to the Small Business Administration, the primary cause for business failure is lack of planning. At some point, every business owner leaves their business, she noted, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
Over two thirds of owners expect their business to remain in the family, while only 35 percent survive to the second generation. Business owners also think there is plenty of time to make a written strategic plan.
Beck said an advisory team can aide in a business succession plan. Team members may be an attorney, accountant, lender and financial planner and/or business consultant.
The team and business owner will assess the current health of the business, identify priorities, set time frames and communicate with each other.
Beck said the place to start is by updating the business plan, networking with other businesses, and identifying candidates as potential business transfers.
She also said that besides the team of advisors, a business owner might want to reach out to successors such as young adults and alumni from the community. Another plan is to involve youth in the community, to make them aware of business opportunities.
The evening was organized by the Chase-Perkins Counties Hometown Competitiveness Program, in partnership with the Imperial, Perkins County and Wauneta Chambers of Commerce.
The project is funded in part by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission.
Leslie Carlholm, Economic Development Director for the City of Imperial, said representatives of the Creighton University School of Law will be in the area Feb. 11 to talk with business owners interested in creating a plan of succession. She may be contacted at the city offices for more information.

“Planning for Business Success”

http://picasaweb.google.com/kevinpoppe13/BusinessTransferHTCImperial


Locally owned businesses mean big things for rural Nebraska towns and the successful transition of these businesses is vital to the future of our communities. All businesses will transfer at some stage of their life cycle, but only one out of three businesses have a written strategic plan for business succession and the majority of companies have no plan of any kind for continuing their business to the next generation.
Do you know where your business is headed? Would you like to find out where to start on the road to succession? Allowing adequate time for strategic business succession planning provides the opportunity for increased flexibility and creativity in transferring business ownership to the next generation.
Planning for Business Success is an “After 5 PM” Event organized by the Chase-Perkins Counties Hometown Competitiveness Program in partnership with the Imperial, Perkins County and Wauneta Chambers of Commerce to discuss these issues on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in the Conference Room of the Imperial Inn, 748 East 12th Street, Imperial beginning at 6:30PM. This project is funded in part by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission.
This event is open to all business people, potential buyers, farmers, and ranchers regardless of Chamber membership.
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“Planning for Business Success” Agenda
6:30 PM Welcome and Networking Time
7:00 PM Tara Hosick, Nebraska Department of Economic Development
7:10 PM Randy Raile, BW Telcom
7:20 PM Dena Beck, Rural Enterprise Assistance Project-REAP
“Harvesting Your Entrepreneurial Venture”
8:00 Questions, Evaluations and Wrap Up
8:30 PM Adjourn
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January 8, 2008 Steering Committee Meeting

Agenda for Perkins/Chase Counties HTC Steering Committee

January 8, 2008

12:00 Welcome and Introductions

Kathy, Amy, Ann, Kevin, Leslie and Jana via phone

12:05 Update from Perkins County

Youth - have worked on several community service projects

E-Ship/Business

Philanthropy -- We think we made the match???!!!

Other pertinent information –

** Field Trip to Ord

* Tim Moore resigns from HTC Steering Committee

Perkins County Zoning – updated Comprehensive Plan

Ethanol Plant Recruitment – Madrid up and running

Bio-Diesel Project – appears to be working on it some

Pipeline Progress – bought water from Golf course to test line

Noble Energy (Natural Gas) exploration in Perkins county and others, looks promising, purchased a building in Imperial

12:25 Leadership Plenty Update - Signup deadline Jan 15^th, only 3 people right now

12:30 Update from Chase County

Youth (ESI update) 9 kids completed the mini ESI sessions (5^th graders) -- plan to do an ESI camp this summer, hopefully a multi-county effort

E-ship/Business

Philanthropy Need to plan a party to celebrate making the match for the Hunt Challenge!!! Hopefully will celebrate success at Annual meeting in March.

Other pertinent information –

Ethanol Plant Updates – in a holding pattern

12:55 BR&E survey & Shop Local First Campaign Update – both went really well. Shop Local First committee consisted of Wauneta, Perkins Co and Imperial. Oct receipts highest ever in Imperial.

Red Carpet training – one meeting in each county.

Business Succession workshop Jan 29^th . Dean Beck w/ REAP to do presentation and Creighton University to do followup.

1:00 Closing comments/thoughts

Blog Address ---- http://chase-perkins-htc.blogspot.com/