Sparking Creativity
in High School Entrepreneurs
Ashley Gaffney
gaffnean@gm.sbac.edu
Donna Martin
martindw@gm.sbac.edu
Buchholz High School
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Located in Gainesville, Florida
Student population of 2,200
Suburban demographic
Academic emphasis, highest rating on
state assessment tests
Academy of Entrepreneurship
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Career academy established in 1993
Magnet program
Present enrollment – 230 students, gr. 9-12
Variation of “academy”
– One elective class each year, two
teachers
– Not leveled by academic ability
– College prep curriculum, community
partnerships
Academy Structure
 Corporate Officers
– CEO—overall Spirit Spot success,
recruiting, officer installation, National
Technical Honor Society
– COO—Spirit Spot operations
– CFO—cash tills & reports for Spirit Spot
– CMO—Spirit Spot marketing
– CIO—Newsletters, press releases
– DECA President—Projects, membership,
competition
Curriculum
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Gr 9—Principles of Entrepreneurship
Gr 10—Business Management & Law
Gr 11—Business Ownership
Gr 12—Retail Essentials
(optional)
– Gr 11 or 12—Marketing Directed Study
– Gr 11 or 12—Marketing On-the-Job
Training
9th Grade—Principles of
Entrepreneurship
Ethics / Personal
Responsibility
•
Advantages /
Disadvantages
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Setting Goals
• Economics (Supply and
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Communication
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Parts of a Business Plan
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Forms of Business
Ownership
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Leadership / Management • Compensation and Benefits
Demand)
• Marketing and Advertising
• Financial Aspect of Business
• Technology
10th Grade—Business Management
and Law
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Economics (Supply &
Demand)
• Legal Issues Facing Start-ups
• Government Regulations
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Entrepreneurial Potential
• Site Selection and Layout
Ideas vs. Opportunities
• Marketing Plan
Globalization
Business Planning
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Market Analysis
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Business Ownership
• Price Strategy
• Promotion Strategy
• Channels of Distribution
DECA
 International marketing club for high school
students
 Prepares emerging leaders and
entrepreneurs in high school students
 Split into 2 chapters
– 9th and 10th grade
– 11th and 12th grade
 Project-based and test-based competitions
DECA Projects
 Creative Marketing – Business Fair
 Entrepreneurship Promotion – Teaching
kids at local Boys and Girls Club about
entrepreneurship
 Public Relations – Adopt-a-puppy-thon
 Learn and Earn – Fundraising for MDA
Junior Achievement
Success Skills
 Develops personal strategies to achieve
lifelong learning pursuits and career
opportunities
– Team-building
– Problem-solving
– Critical-thinking
– Communication
– Negotiation
– Leadership
 Mock-interviews conducted
Junior Achievement
Company Program
 JA Company Program
– Company structure and student roles
– Capitalization
– Customer-product focus
– Product-market pricing
– Company operations
– Product sales
– Company liquidation
Class Projects – Sales Unit
 “Can You Sell It?” Project
 Objectives—students learn and apply steps
of the selling process
 Project Details
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2-3 week unit
Sales training videos used
Pick a unique, non-existent product
Work with partner and role play a sales pitch
Rubric for grading
Class Projects – Advertising Unit
 Objectives—to present an ad campaign to
executives of an advertising firm
 Utilizes differentiated instruction
 Students choose a product and develop a
portfolio
 Rubric for grading
11th Grade—Business Ownership
 Business Plans—teams of two
– Junior Achievement program “Be
Entrepreneurial”
– Junior Achievement “Company Program”
– DECA Competitions
 Business plans
 Business operations plans (market
research)
 Advertising campaigns
Community Partnerships
 Junior Achievement
– Students as learners
– Students as teachers
 Santa Fe College/CIED
– Business pitch
– Mentoring, seed money
 Pizza Vito
– Social media marketing
Class Projects
 Credit Card Use for Spirit Spot
– Fees
– Terms and conditions
 Bobcat Blankets
– Marketing project involving social media
– Video for uploading
 Tshirt Designs
– www.customink.com
www.youdesignit.com
The Spirit Spot
 1200 sq. ft. retail store
– Apparel, spirit items, school supplies,
books
– Café
 Cooperative food program
– Exclusive menu
– Markup = 25-50 cents per item
 Four POS systems, 2 lunch shifts daily
 20 minutes before school—volunteer staff
Store Operations
 6-time DECA National Gold-Level
Certification
 Gross sales last year = $50,000
 School Uniforms—fantastic!!!
 1 day per week for “book work”
Store Operations
Store Operations
Store Operations
Store Operations
Benefits to the Students
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Real work experience
Leadership and management experience
Poise, self-confidence
Application of knowledge and skills
$ for DECA competition
Enthusiasm, Excitement, Wholehearted
involvement