TEAM ATB ACTIVITY GUIDE

ACTIVITY UNITS

Kids are full of great ideas and now it’s time for them to fully exercise their entrepreneurial spirit! Whether your group met as a Team ATB or conducted stand alone activities, this unit contains ideas for a last session or closing for the club. It also provides suggestions for developing an entrepreneurial project with your group and individual ideas for kids to pursue on their own.

MINI ENTREPRENEURIAL FAIR

Schedule a final closing session and ask kids to invite family and friends to come and check out their entrepreneurial skills.
· Ask the kids to pick their favorite JUMPSTARTERs or an EXPLORE IT! activity and run a mini-club session for their visitors.
· Ask for volunteers to post their Life Trees or museum exhibits and answer questions about them. After being a part of Team ATB, do they want to change their Trees? Create a new one?
· Kids can exhibit their ATB Roadmaps.
· Have an awards ceremony or hand out the Team ATB Entrepreneur Award to club members.

OTHER IDEAS

· Ask a local entrepreneur to come and talk at the last session or a special club meeting. Make sure that he or she is comfortable answering kids’ questions about his or her successes—and failures. Remind the speakers to keep their presentations brief, personal, and easy to follow.
· Take a field trip to a small business or community project started by an enterprising individual. Ask if a representative of the company or project can talk to the kids about how it was created, some of their successes, any roadblocks they’ve encountered, and how they overcame them.
· Have an Idea Fair. Invite kids or groups of kids to display or present entrepreneurial ideas they have already launched or are interested in starting. They could hand out samples or information, show a prototype, or conduct a survey about possible ideas.

START AN ENTREPRENEURIAL PROJECT

Kids learn best by doing. If your Team ATB members are interested, have them set up their own entrepreneurial project or business. How much guidance you will need to give them depends on your kids and the nature of the project. If the kids pick an ambitious plan, you might be able to partner with a local business or business school to provide volunteers to help guide the project.

An entrepreneur is always looking for a new or innovative product or service that other people will want or that will fill a need in the community. Hold a group brainstorming session to generate ideas. Ask kids to imagine the types of products or services they might provide. Possible projects might include a store for the program or organization, craft fair, or car wash.

Help kids create a simple business plan. Ask them to consider the following questions:
1. What will we sell? Are there products and services that our community doesn’t have?
2. Who will buy our product or service and why?
3. What is our goal?
4. Where and for how much will we sell it?
5. How will we finance our product or service?
6. How will we produce or create it?
7. What role will each Team ATB member play?
8. How will we persuade customers to buy it?
9. How will we keep customers coming back for more?

For more information on developing a simple business plan, see Resources

A product is an object that is made and sold (or given away). Some examples of products are dog biscuits, T-shirts, and jewelry. A service is something you provide to other people. Some examples of services are pet care, lawn mowing, and babysitting.

A business plan organizes your idea(s) on paper. It helps you outline the steps you need to take and the resources you’ll need to start up your business. You need a plan to show to anyone you ask to invest money in your project.

Kid-Solo Venture

If kids want to plan a business venture on their own, they should choose something they enjoy and are passionate about. They may want to refer back to their Life Tree from the activity unit Be Whatever You Want to Be. If they’re going it alone, they might want to pick something that doesn’t require a big time commitment; it’s okay to start small! To get going, ask them to consider:
· What am I good at?
· How do I like to spend my time?
· What hobbies do I have?
· What chores do I have?
· Is there something I do well in school?
· What do other people think I’m good at?
Help kids translate their answers into a project. Kids can continue their planning by using the resources in this unit and by answering the questions on the Project Planning Worksheet.

Ways Team ATB Can Support Kid-Directed Projects • Kids can test products and services and refine them together. • Team ATB can be used as a brainstorming group to help solve problems, create new marketing strategies, or even as a “sales” team. • Team ATB can help kids connect to other resources. • Team ATB members can support each other to keep trying, explore new directions, and recognize opportunities. It might even be helpful to revisit some of the activities using kids’ actual projects. But mostly, kids can share and be inspired by each others’ efforts and enterprises. Good luck.

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS IN ACTION

For more inspiring profiles and interviews with real kid entrepreneurs, visit Young Entrepreneurs.

RESOURCES

These resources provide additional information and background on pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor. If you have access to a computer, bookmark the recommended web sites. Remind kids that they can borrow the recommended books from the library. Also see the general Resources section. Web
allterrainbrain.org

A customizable spreadsheet, Business Builder, allows kids to project startup costs and potential revenue for several types of businesses. Click on the Activities Page and scroll to the Odds & Ends section.

Be A Success
hotshotbusiness.com
Take a shot at success by playing this game that customizes businesses. Come back again and again to improve your score or try a different business.

Be Your Own Boss
pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/boss/
Play this game to learn about running a business.

Cultivating Entrepreneurs
kidsregen.org/educators/educators2.php?section=eduNga&ID=2
Explore business ventures related to gardening.

Kids in Business
harlemlive.org/community/orgs/ptw/entrep99.html
Read about a business class in which all of the kids started their own business.

National Resource Center for Youth Development
nrcys.ou.edu/handouts/pdfs/what_is_your_entrepreneurial_iq.pdf
Includes worksheets, resources, and business ideas.

Online Competitions
appserv.pace.edu/execute/page.cfm?doc_id=14204
studentcenter.ja.org
nfib.com/page/nfibYoungEntrepreneurAward
Offer contests for kids up to age 21.

Books

Better than a Lemonade Stand: Small Business Ideas for Kids by Daryl Bernstein (Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., 1992)
Written by a fifteen-year-old, suggests a variety of business ideas; includes supply lists, tips on advertising, and what to charge.

Girls and Young Women Entrepreneurs: True Stories About Starting and Running a Business Plus How You Can Do It Yourself by Frances A. Karnes, Ph.D., and Suzanne M. Bean, Ph.D. (Free Spirit Publishing, 1997)
Not just for girls, provides inspiration for all kids to take positive risks, aim for independence, and strengthen their talents. Gives lots of real-life examples of successful female entrepreneurs.

The Kid’s Business Book by Arlene Erlbach (Lerner Publications Company, 1998)
Contains ideas for starting a business, information on start-up costs and expenses, and tips to help kids be successful. Profiles business owners ages 7 to 12.

Latino Entrepreneurs by Susan Zannos (Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2001)
Describes what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and includes profiles of Latino business owners.

The Totally Awesome Business Book for Kids: With 20 Super Businesses You Can Start Right Now! by Adriane G. Berg and Arthur Berg Bochner (Newmarket Press, 2002)
Written by a thirteen-year-old (and his mom), presents business skills kids need to know.

Some Inspiring Fiction

Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson (Puffin Books, 1989)
Two young teenage entrepreneurs start a summer business that’s a big success.

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen (Random House, 2007)
This novel follows the ups and downs of owning a business as a 12-year-old.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)
A brother and sister compete to see who can make the most money during the last week of summer vacation. Includes real-life math problems and marketing tips.

The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill (Houghton Mifflin, 1999)
Two enterprising sixth graders create and sell a cheaper and better toothpaste to become millionaires in just one year. Includes real-life math and business problems.

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