The aim of the event was to provide students interested in starting their own business with information on entrepreneurship resources, as well as guidance and advice on navigating the pitfalls associated with running your own business and making it successful.
]]>Harvey, a veteran and current student at Phoenix University, submitted a plan for a delivery service that will start with local food delivery and branch out to delivery of other items as it grows. Harvey is very determined to get this business, called Premium Rush, up and running within the few months and is currently working on developing the mobile app that customers will use to access his service.
Robert, a fitness buff, submitted a plan for a gym called Total Fitness that would cater to both youth and adults and feature video game based excercise. This business has always been a dream of Roberto’s and he plans to start a smaller business to help him raise the capital needed for his dream project.
Greta and her classmates submitted a plan for a food truck that will feature movies playing on screens outside of the truck, hence the name Reel Delicious. This started out as a class project that is quickly turning into reality. The students have been able to successfully raise $35,000 through Kickstarter for their business and are about to purchase their first food truck and equipment.
The winners of this year’s business plan competition received a prize package that included an iPad Mini, free workshop attendance, PR assistance, and other services and resources designed to help them launch and manage their businesses.
]]>Preparation for the competition started with a tour of SDSU and USD’s student stores where students learned about the merchandising strategies those stores use. The students were then paired with a mentor from the business community to help them develop a SWOT analysis and come up with a merchandising strategy that they could implement and test. The students implemented their strategy for a week, collected data, and analyzed the results, which they turned into a written proposal and presentation for the competition.
Written proposals for the competition were scored in advance of an event where all five teams were given a chance to present their proposal and results of their merchandising strategy to a panel of three judges, which included Sarah Castro, SDSU Aztec Shop Manager, Kim Missel, USD Torero Store Manager, and Gabriel Reyes, San Diego CITD Youth Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator. Prior to the announcement of the winning teams, guest speaker Ruben Garcia, Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s San Diego District Office, encouraged the students to explore business ownership as a career path and provided an overview of the no-cost services and programs available through the SBA to help support small businesses. The team from Serra High School’s Super-Q Store won first place in the competition with their strategy of using mobile racks to reach more students on their campus and bringing in vendors to do product sampling promotions. Second place went to the team from Clairemont High’s Chief Hut, who implemented an express line for a top selling product, and third place went to the team from Kearny High’s Komet Corner, who tested a combo meal strategy, pairing top selling items with less popular items.
As part of the services available to them through YEP, Aaron and Victor were able to meet with a CITD Business Advisor and get assistance with fine tuning their business plan and discuss start-up specifics including permits and licenses needed, business legal structure, marketing, and more. The pair then launched their business shortly after and held their first tournament on May 25th at a venue in their high school that they were able to secure at no cost. Their first tournament was a success, hosting a tournament centered around the video game League of Legends. Aaron and Victor plan to pursue college degrees while continuing to work on growing their business.
]]>The San Diego CITD Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) will be taking the winning students through the next phase of the implementation of their business plan. In this phase, the San Diego CITD will provide additional entrepreneurship training and mentoring geared toward helping these students fine tune their business plans and ultimately launch their businesses.
]]>Jo-Ann, a recent graduate from National University’s MBA Program, submitted a plan for a customize your own pizza restaurant concept and is currently seeking investment to get her business started.
Victor and Aaron, friends and avid video gamers, submitted a plan for a video game tournament hosting business. Victor and Aaron are already moving forward with their business idea and will be hosting their first tournament later this month.
Allison turned her interest in crafting and passion for art education into an idea for a business that will make hand-made custom journals using Scrabble® tiles. She plans on donating proceeds from her business to a non-profit organization that supports art education in elemetary schools.
Victor, Aaron, and Allison are all seniors at High Tech High Chula Vista.
In addition to the prize package offered through our regional competition, the winners have gained automatic entry into a statewide business plan competition where they will have a chance to win $5,000 in seed money. The YEP Spring 2013 Business Plan Competition is currently underway and the deadline to submits plans for this competition is April 17th.
]]>More than 800 job seekers and potential entrepreneurs attended the event, which was sponsored by American Medical Response.
]]>The interactive and entertaining style of the event kept the students engaged during the 2-hour event and they learned that’s it’s never too early to begin pursuing their dreams.
See more photos from the event here.
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