How entrepreneurship can spark youth employment

Developing an environment where entrepreneurs and small businesses can flourish is a focus for many cities. In Little Rock, Arkansas, that effort is starting at a younger age.
 
Dana Dossett, Director of Community Programs for the city of Little Rock, was part of a May 26 discussion titled “Spark! Building a Creative Economy.” She was joined by Chad Kauffman, President of Junior Achievement of Little Rock and Tiffany Jacob, Youth Master Plan Specialist for the city of Little Rock. They were in Memphis as part of the annual Neighborhoods, USA conference.
 
Youth unemployment is an issue that spans local, state and national entities in the U.S. Many communities have searched for solutions. In Little Rock, that means leveraging cross-sector partnerships to address youth unemployment by creating an entrepreneurship program that provides aspiring teens the skills and real-world experience to become leaders in the city’s emerging creative economy.
 
Growing up in Denver, Dossett participated in Junior Achievement, where the organization is based. That possibly is one reason the offerings are robust there.
 
Dossett participated in Junior Achievement’s company program that allows participants to create a business from start to finish. Starting as a ninth grader, she participated in the program every semester through high school graduation, as did her two siblings.
 
Dossett’s background is in marketing and public relations, and she credits participation in the Junior Achievement program for giving her a lifelong focus on entrepreneurship.
 
When Dossett arrived in Little Rock she established a relationship with Junior Achievement of Arkansas, an organization that had done similar company creation programs, but never fully taken on the concept that she remembered from her youth. Launching the program last year wasn’t perfect.
 
First, Dossett said they tried it the traditional way as an after-school program. It was slow to gain traction, so they shifted it to an in-school program with the Little Rock School District. The program launched in classes at Central and Parkview high schools and was taught as a 15-week program.
 
It wasn’t perfect; because it was part of the classroom curriculum it meant some students were less interested than others. But all the students were engaged, Dossett said.
 
The students actually created a business. At Central it was a business selling personalized clocks. At Parkview it was a cookie business. Students raised funds to buy raw materials, including selling stock.
 
“Alongside that we also tried to interest students in developing their own businesses,” Dossett said. “They came up with ideas and the second semester we worked on that to create a pitch to do in front of judges.”
 
Six final companies actually presented ideas to judges, much like what is seen on TV. Dossett’s office will work with the winning businesses through the city’s Small Business Development office to help them get to the next level.
 
The program is new, but Dossett said she sees a lot of potential.
 
“By and large it really worked,” she said. “We want to share the program with other cities. Don’t just use entrepreneurship to sell lemonade stands but help students understand business ventures. We’re focusing on students to result in job creation.”
 
Dossett said partnerships are vital to make similar programs work for other cities. It doesn’t have to be Junior Achievement, but the organization’s time-tested curriculum and programs makes it an easier task for any community.
 
“It really takes a lot of different people to make it successful,” she said. “For any city that has Junior Achievement there it’s something they can be engaged in. It’s a win-win situation. What I tell organizations I work with, some of them have a hard time getting participants. I have a city with people looking for things. You have the program and I have the citizens. We need to work together.”
 
Ultimately, while the Junior Achievement company creation program operates in the classroom, Dossett said the goal is to convert it to a successful after-school program. She said she hopes Little Rock’s experience with it in the classroom as well as after-school efforts will make her talk appealing to more communities looking to develop a similar effort.
 
“We’ll present on how it could and should be run as an after-school program and then if you can get a program with a school how it can work there,” she said. “We can serve as a promising practice for any city who wants to do this.”