1. Entrepreneurship Ideas
Fort Smith Public Schools
Melinda Briscoe, Northside High School
Judy Smith, Southside High School

2. Business Plan Competition
Chamber of Commerce
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith
Fort Smith Public Schools
Purpose:
To promote and encourage entrepreneurship in local schools in order to enhance entrepreneurship in the community

3. Business Plan Competition
Weekly goals
Rough drafts
Last week of October
Revisions
Complete by Thanksgiving break
Business plan presentations
1st week of December
Businesses are loaned:
$350 if sole proprietorship
$500 if partnership
Business results presentations
Mid-April

4. Running the Business December to April Weekly goals Weekly reports
Required: Enterprise Management II
Weekly goals
What you plan to do
What you actually accomplished
Weekly reports
Sales
Financials

5. Running the Business Present businesses ideas to community
Rotary Club
January
Chamber of Commerce Business Expo
February or March
School business fair or career days
During lunch in December, January, &/or February
Business Results
Mid April
Report on success and obstacles
Awards and scholarship presentations

6. Teachers Learned……. No more than 2 partners/team
Better to have students work in a partnership
Keep student projects/plans
Need more actual business partners to mentor students
Allow time in class for students to work on plans
Teach students how to keep accurate records

7. Students Learned……. It takes many contacts to make a sale
Who you choose as a partner makes a difference
Time is money
Time management
Failure does not mean the end
Networking makes a difference
Get phone numbers and s of potential customers and follow up

8. What They Say About It…….
“….., we learned to deal with failure…We have already faced the biggest element most people fear, now we are eagerly aiming for success.”

9. What They Say About It…….
“The first thing I would do is choose better partners. Partners can be a big asset. But mine turned out to be a big disappointment.”

10. What They Say About It…….
“….., you can sit in a classroom and talk about the mechanics of launching a rocket for weeks on end, but until you actually go out there and light the fuse, you don’t really know what launching a rocket is like.”

11. Interested? Expect Seek Attend Trial and error learning
Community and administrative support
Attend
Business expos and related activities

12. Contact Information
Melinda Briscoe, Northside High School
Judy Smith, Southside High School
Craig Pair, Control Technologies
Business partner