Tales from Camp: Business inspiration at RYOB Camp

Do you know any kids who have started their own business?  If you set foot in Running Your Own Biz (RYOB) Summer Camp, youth business owners are all around you!

In this one-week camp, second and third grade students learned basic business skills that prepared them to open their very own store at the end of the week.  For example, students learned about the importance of market research when they wrote down a list of questions and surveyed their peers. Questions like, “Do you like blue or purple?” or “Would you purchase a bracelet for $1 or $2?” help the students decide what kind of products to create and what kind of prices to set.

Plus, RYOB campers received inspiration from real youth business owners.  This year, 12-year-old Hannah Reyes stopped by the camp to share the story of her business, called HER Designs.  “Hannah’s presentation was one of camper’s favorite aspects of this camp,” said RYOB Camp Director, Maite Wantwadi.  “Seeing a real youth business owner helps these kiddos see that creating a business is really possible!”

10-year-old Ben credits RYOB Camp with helping him make his dog treat business even better.

For 10-year-old Ben, Running Your Own Biz camp was a perfect chance to make his own business even better! Ben is the owner of DÖGE which sells all-natural, canine culinary creations. He credits the camp for sparking ideas about how to market his products, which he’s tested on quite a few dogs already. “I’ve given away samples to quite a few dogs, and they all like them!” Ben said enthusiastically.

All of this learning comes full circle at the Friday “Mini-Marketplace.”  Parents, family and friends all gathered to shop from these small businesses, which sell products created by the young entrepreneurs. Big Seven, a business created by Ben, Tyler, Annemarie, Jonah, and Zoe featured piggy banks, picture frames, and lanyards that were flying off the shelves.  “I think our products are selling so fast because they are colorful, unique, and hand-made,” said nine-year-old Tyler.  Annemarie added, “We’ve made everything ourselves.  It’s been a really fun week!”