Final Day of Show-Me 4-H Wares

Yesterday was the last day of Show-Me 4-H Wares, and we are sad to see it end! The young entrepreneurs had a very successful day, and we hoped they learned new life skills in the process!

One of our exhibitors was Jaeden Sears of Livingston County 4-H. His business, Jaeden’s Paracord Creations, sold bracelets, dog leashes, and dog collars made from paracord. He had a variety of designs available, and he made custom orders as well for customers! All of his designs were woven by hand, and he was able to reach a wide variety of customers!

Another exhibitor was Madison Green of Johnson County 4-H. She sold dog treats for her business, Once Bitten Pet Treats, and she had a variety of flavors to offer. Dog-lovers of all kinds came to visit her booth, and she made a very decorative display! Also, she gave customers handmade gift bags when they bought her product. All of her dog treats were made by hand!

Our third exhibitor was Paige Dameron of Audrain County 4-H. Her business, Upcycled Garden Art, sold ceramic plates and garden wares to fair-goers. Her designs were all handmade and were very unique, and she enjoyed working at the fair! Paige was also one of our exhibitors who had business cards, which is always a plus for every entrepreneur!

We hope our exhibitors learned new skills that they can apply to various aspects of their lives during their time at Show-Me 4-H Wares, and we were glad to have met each exhbitor! To all the exhibitors, please keep in touch with Missouri 4-H, and finally, thank you to everyone who came out and supported the young entrepreneurs! They really appreciated your support!

Keep a lookout for next year’s Show-Me 4-H Wares at the Missouri State Fair! Show-Me 4-H Wares will be back in action during that time!

Show Me 4-H Wares —Day Three!

Show Me 4-H Wares finished its third day yesterday! We had a variety of exhibitors from across Missouri, and they all had a great time selling their wares!

One of our morning exhibitors was Dennis Harris of Cole County 4-H. His business, Paracord Crafts and Specialty Pens, sold paracord bracelets and dog leashes and pens with duct tape designs. He made his products by hand, and he received many comments on his work!

Tim Russell of Johnson County 4-H was our second morning exhibitor yesterday, and his business, Ribbon Roses, sold flowers made from ribbon. He gave demonstrations on how to make his products during his selling time, and many customers stopped by to look at his flowers!

During the afternoon, two more exhibitors came to sell their products to fair-goers.

Amanda Hampton of Cooper County 4-H was one of the exhibitors during the afternoon session, and she sold scarves, hair accessories, home decorations, and more with her business, Amanda’s Pumpkin Patch. She’s been returning to Show Me 4-H Wares multiple times throughout the years, and she continues to do great work!

Braelyn Cowan of Gentry County 4-H was our second exhibitor of the afternoon. Her business, Cowan’s Crafty Creations, sold greeting cards, candles, ornaments and other accessories. Her products were homemade, and she was having a great time selling to customers!

As you have probably noticed, all of our exhibitors make their products by hand! They put a ton of work into their creations, and we’re super proud of everything they do!

Today is the last day of Show Me 4-H Wares, and we’ll be sad that the program is ending for the year!

Thank you to everyone who came to support the young entrepreneurs!

Another Great Day at Show Me 4-H Wares

Four more exhibitors sold their products on the second day of Show Me 4-H Wares, and the second day was just as successful as the first!

Madelyn H. of Cole County 4-H sold her wares for her business, Ephesians 2:10 Designs. She sold scarves, hats and other accessories at the fair, and she made all of her products by herself! Her wares were crocheted, and she even had a free raffle as a part of her business!

Hannah H. of Cole County 4-H was another exhibitor at the Missouri State Fair on the second day, and she sold crocheted items for her business, Loops ‘n’ Things. She made all of her items by herself, and her wares included hats, scarves, towel-holders, and other accessories. Her towel-holders were her best-seller, and many customers remarked on how cute her products were!

Bryan Lillibridge of Henry County 4-H sold welcome signs that were made from welded horseshoes. He welded the signs by himself, and his signs were very original! He learned his skills through one of his 4-H products, and we were very glad that he could come and sell at the fair!

Libby and Allie Tull of Macon County were our Biz Buddies for the competition! Their business, All Gifts Homemade, sold pet treats, sewing kits, wallets and other accessories that they all made by hand! The pet treats were one of their top sellers, and they had a great time selling their wares!

We’re proud of all the exhibitors so far, and we appreciate everyone coming out and supporting the young entrepreneurs!

We hope that this is a great learning experience for the exhibitors! Everything from organization to public speaking skills can be learned by working a booth, and we’re excited that 4-Hers have a chance to own businesses!

First Day of Show Me 4-H Wares!

Show Me 4-H Wares kicked off today at the Missouri State Fair! Three 4-Hers came to the state fairgrounds today to sell their wares to fair-goers, and we wanted to give you a quick overview of what the 4-Hers sold!

Kassie Rankin of Boone County 4-h was one of the sellers today, and she owns a business with several family members called Three Belles Décor and More. The business sells bows, scarves, ribbons, and other accessories. A link to their website can be found here: http://threebellesdecor.com. Kassie Rankin has sold to many fair-goers, and she’s looking forward to selling to more in the future!

Our second seller was Christopher Spencer of Franklin County 4-H. He sold boomerangs that he made with his woodworking skills to fair-goers, and he was our top-earner for the day! Spencer sold boomerangs of all sizes and colors, and he’s only been working on the business for two months!

The third seller was Krystalyn Peel. She sold jewelry made from bottle caps, and many of these charms could be used to make necklaces. Her business is called Small Treasures, and she said her pig, Harley-Davidson, and Elvis-themed charms were the best sellers of the day. She has sold to a multitude of fair-goers, and she’s excited to sell to many more!

We hope our exhibitors learned some valuable lessons today while they were selling! Operating a business involves many different variables, and we hope the exhibitors found these challenges and this experience rewarding!

We’re looking forward to meeting the exhibitors scheduled to sell tomorrow, and we hope you’ll come out to the fair and support our youth! We’re located in the Mo-Ag Theatre on the state fairgrounds. We’ll see you there!

Last Day of Build-a-Biz Camp

Today was the last day of Build-a-Business camp, and we were very sad to say good-bye to our campers!

Dr. Sean Siebert, the founder and CEO of Invent Yourself, LLC and a professor at Columbia College, started off the day’s activities by speaking with the campers about writing a business pitch. Siebert gave the campers tips about owning a business, and he advised the campers on how to present themselves during their pitches. After giving his talk, Siebert met with several campers and spoke with them about their business ideas and pitches. It was a great start to today’s activities!

After Siebert spoke with the campers, the campers had the chance to work and perfect their pitches before the competition began. Campers worked tirelessly on their pitches, and they rehearsed as much as they could before the competition began!

Lunch was served around noon, and families and friends of the campers came for support.

Once lunch was over, the pitch competition began! Each camper got three minutes to present their pitches to three judges. Nestor Santos from the Missouri Innovation Center, Peter Beard from Central Technology Services, and Luis Jimenez from EternoGen were the judges for this competition. All 16 campers got their chance to present their business ideas to the judges and audience!

Campers were split into two groups. The first group was the junior category and included campers between the ages of 12 and 14. The second group was the senior category and consisted of campers ages 15 to 18.

The overall winner and senior category winner was Hunter Hedgepath, and the runner-up in the senior category was Kayla Huff. Hallie Lindsey won the junior category, and Kaitlyn Roberts took second place in this category.

The winners of the senior and junior categories received business start-up kits that included receipts books, a calculator, notebook paper and other useful items for every entrepreneur. The overall winner also received a Kindle Fire, which was provided by CLIMB (Collaboration, Leadership and Innovation for Missouri Business) at Mizzou.

Steve Henness, our camp director, stands at the far left. From left to right, judges Peter Beard, Nestor Santos and Luis Jimenez sit at the judges’ table.

After the competition was concluded, our campers hurried off to Allen Auditorium in the Arts and Sciences Building for the Summers @ Mizzou closing ceremony. The ceremony lasted for about an hour, and after this, Missouri 4-H camp staff said good-bye to our lovely campers!

It was sad to say good-bye, but we hope our campers know how proud of them we are! They have worked very hard these last four days, and they all did an amazing job during their pitch competition! We had a wonderful time working with the campers, and we’re sad to see them go! We wish camp could’ve lasted longer, and we really look forward to seeing what they’ll do in the future. We hope our campers will keep in touch with us!

We would like to thank all of our guests for Build-a-Business camp! This camp couldn’t have happened without the participation of our guest speakers, businesses and pitch competition judges, and we really appreciate the time you took to make this camp a memorable and rewarding experience for our campers!

Also, thank you to our sponsors for supporting Build-a-Business camp! Our camp works toward making dreams a reality, and your support helps us to reach this goal for our campers!

Build-a-Business camp will be back this time next year, so stay tuned for more updates in the future!

Customer Service Challenge and Biz Pro Session Recap

There was a lot of excitement today at Build-a-Business camp! The day opened with a presentation by Cindy Mustard, the former executive director of the Voluntary Action Committee and a city volunteer. Her family has lived in Columbia since the 1800s, and she has a large and influential presence in the Columbia community.

Mustard talked with students about the importance of customer service, and she gave the campers tips about how they should go about advertising for their businesses. She gave the campers handouts, and the campers were very appreciative of her advice!

After Mustard’s presentation, the campers were presented with a customer service challenge. For this activity, three groups of campers were going to create an advertising campaign for three local businesses, and they were going to take this advertisement to the streets of Mizzou. We partnered with the Textbook Game, Vienna Beef and Shakespeare’s Pizza for this challenge, and each group had a different marketing approach!

The Textbook Game group focused on attracting more customers to the business, and the group’s strategy included wearing a sandwich board and having one camper dress up as a chicken. The campers in this group were advertising for a 10 percent promotion off any textbook purchase at this business, and they advertised for this business outside Mizzou’s Student Center.

The Vienna Beef group focused on getting more people to visit the business’ food cart, and for this activity, they advertised near the Missouri School of Journalism. They used balloons and their voices to attract customers, and they tried many possible techniques to capture people’s attention.

The group that advertised for Shakespeare’s Pizza was located near Lowry Mall, and they used an iPad to attract more customers. People got the chance to get their picture taken with the campers and their team leader, Will King, and the group also used the spoken word to attract more customers.

At the end of this activity, the campers, as a whole, had spoken to nearly 500 people in Columbia. The groups had an hour and a half to advertise, and based on this time frame, the Missouri 4-H camp staff was very impressed with this number!

After this challenge, the campers had lunch and then returned to the classroom to learn about how much their business would cost to create. The campers also learned about tax laws and licensing laws for their businesses.

Once this session was over, the campers got smoothies at Catalyst Café in the Bond Life Sciences Center, and after this, the group met with nearly 20 business professionals to get more insight and advice about their businesses. The campers rotated among the professionals, and we tried our best to get a strong rotation during this session! The campers really appreciated this session, and most of the campers left the session feeling more encouraged and confident about their businesses.
At the end of camp, the group picked out their order for the pitch competition on Thursday. This competition serves as the culmination of everything the campers have learned during camp, and during the competition, campers will pitch their ideas to three judges, who will grade them on their performances.

We know this sound nerve-wracking to our campers, but we know that our campers will do an amazing job! They have been working extremely hard this week, and we’re excited to see what they have to bring to the competition! We wish our campers the best of luck at the competition, and we look forward to seeing the families and friends who are coming to support the campers during the competition!

Creative Marketing Challenge!

Our campers got to go on a field trip today! We met with three businesses at the REDI business incubator, and during this time, the campers were split into four teams. The purpose of the exercise was to have the business owners pitch a problem their business is facing to the campers, who would then think of a solution to that problem.

Several campers worked with Dual Cases, a company that designs custom phone cases with a variety of themes. The company told the campers that they wanted to develop new ways to advertising to a larger audience, and the campers came up with a variety of solutions for this issue! Some of their ideas included advertising on sidewalks with chalk, having high schools sell their phone cases through a fundraiser, and creating a new slogan and marketing brand for the business. Campers Hunter Hedgepath, Taylor Plunkett, Carter Gloyd and Joseph Meidl were the Generation Z experts that worked on this project!

Another group worked with Re-Do Designs, a company owned by Hanna Taylor, one of Build-a-Business camp’s counselors! Hanna asked the group to come up with an advertising strategy for furniture and wedding design products that she wants to sell. The group devised a plan to have her set up an Etsy site, and they suggested that she sell her items at craft fairs. The group also developed a new slogan and logo for Hanna’s business! Grace Klutke, Ron Franklin, Kaity Roberts and Joseph Kim were the campers who worked with Hanna’s business.

Another group worked with Annette Driver, the owner of Driver’s Food and Products LLC. The company specializes in barbeque and steak sauces, and the company wanted the group to find a way to market the products to a younger and broader customers base. The campers suggested that she should develop a social media presence, and they said that more customers should know about the history of her family business. They also created a poster that Driver could use as tailgating events for her sauces! Dillen Mayfield, Kayla Huff, Hallie Lindsey and Havlynn Stapleton worked with Annette Driver for this activity.

The fourth group of campers worked with Brandon Painter, the owner of Empower & Define Coaching. Painter asked for a way of marketing his product to potential customers for his life-coaching business, and after working with this problem, the campers suggested that Painter should make an app that will allow people to talk with him or other counselors if they need help. They also suggested that Painter should make a logo for his company to catch more people’s attention. The campers thought Painter should have a larger social media presence and should create a specific mission statement for his target customers. Alex Daniels, Kameron Hall, Josef Foersterling and Lafe Arens were the campers who worked on these solutions.

The campers received a filling lunch at REDI, and after this, we returned to our main classroom to discuss the important aspects of starting a business, such as designing a name and slogan and finding a prime location for a business. The campers worked very hard to discover and create these aspects, but we are really proud of their progress! The campers are doing great work, and we can’t wait to see where they take their ideas!

If you’d like more information about the businesses we worked with today, please feel free to contact us using the contact form under the “About” page! Thank you!

Also, if you’d like to see an in-depth report about today’s activities, check out this report on KOMU-TV8 about Build-a-Business camp! We are super excited about the coverage our camp is receiving, and we hope to have more people find an interest in entrepreneurship through media projects such as this!

http://www.komu.com/videos/build-a-business-camp-exposes-youth-to-entrepreneurship-24479/

On a final note, we would like to thank all the businesses and their owners for working with our campers today! We really appreciate the time you took to help make a memorable and rewarding experience for the campers!

First Full Day of Camp!

Our campers experienced their first full day of camp today! The campers got a chance to learn about the skill sets an entrepreneur must have to succeed, and they came up with their business ideas for camp!

Campers got the chance to meet with Meg Goddard, the owner of FreshStart, which provides care packages to international students who are about to start college in the U.S. Goddard is a student at Columbia College, and her business idea came from her own personal experience. She is originally from England, and when she first arrived to the U.S., she didn’t have all the essential items that she needed, and she didn’t know where to get them. With her business, she intends on providing international students with the products that could be difficult for them to find. More information about her business can be found at: http://freshstartus.org/.

Meg Goddard, the owner of FreshStart, talks with campers about how her business began.

During her talk, Goddard advised campers to accept failure, and she told them that they shouldn’t be afraid to fail. Also, she told campers that they should be willing to change their original idea if the change will benefit the business. When Goddard first started her business, she wanted to market to every college student, but after thinking about her target customer, she narrowed it down to international students.

After Goddard’s talk, she was followed by Dustin and Austin Stanton, the owners of Stanton Brothers Eggs, the largest free-range chicken egg farm in the U.S. The brothers operate their farm out of Centralia, Missouri, and Dustin started the business when he was six. The business started with six chickens, but over the years, it has grown to having over 16,000 chickens.

The brothers sell to Lucky’s Market, Hy-Vee, Schnucks and many other grocery stores in Missouri. They also sell eggs in St. Louis and Jefferson City, and they frequently sell eggs in farmers’ markets.

During their talk, the brothers advised the campers to focus on building their business brand. For Dustin and Austin, they have company colors (orange and blue), and whenever they sell at farmers’ markets, they display a giant stuffed chicken on top of their tent to notify customers of their location. Their business has relied on word-of-mouth advertising, and they feel they have learned more from their business than they originally believed.

Austin Stanton, left, and Dustin Stanton, right, explain their business model to campers.

The students got the chance to ask Goddard and the Stanton brothers questions about their businesses, and after these presentations, the campers got a quick lunch break!

After lunch, the campers got a tour of Mizzou’s campus! The first stop on the tour was the Mizzou Store in the Student Center, which is the main hub for Mizzou gear and textbooks. Michelle Froese, the marketing and public relations manager for Student & Auxiliary Services, met with the campers and gave them a tour of the store. She talked with them about the business side of the store and how the store decides on its product pricing. Campers had the chance to ask her questions about the store, and our campers enjoyed seeing an inside look at the Mizzou Store!

Michelle Frose, the marketing and public relations manager of Student & Auxiliary Services at Mizzou, talks with the campers about the business aspect of the Mizzou Store.

The second stop of the tour was Tiger Garden, an on-campus floral design shop. Campers met with Kim Martin, the manager and instructor at the shop, and Martin explained to the campers about how the shop works and makes a profit. Campers learned that most of the shop’s plants come from Colombia and Ecuador and that 20 percent of the shop’s yearly profit comes from sales on St. Valentine’s Day! Martin advised the students that being a business owner isn’t always the most fun job, but she said that with hard work and perseverance, the campers could succeed.

Kim Martin, manager and instructor at Tiger Garden, talks to campers about the main components of the flower design shop.

The final stop on the tour was the Craft Studio. On this stop of the tour, campers met with Kelsey Hammond, the coordinator of the Craft Studio, and received a tour of the studio. Hammond spoke with the campers about being open about their business ideas, and she encouraged campers to “fake it until you make it.” She advised the group to be confident and outgoing, and the campers enjoyed speaking with her!

Kelsey Hammond, the coordinator of the Craft Studio, talks to campers about the inner-workings of the studio.

After the tour, campers got the chance to think of a business idea that they will develop throughout camp. We’re going to learn their ideas as a surprise for now, but be assured that our campers have thought of great and original ideas! We’re very excited to see what will happen to these ideas as the campers develop them!

Before we say good-bye, I promised a camper that I’d include this picture on today’s blog, and to honor that, here’s the picture!

This picture was taken at the Mizzou Store, and the quote says, “Let these columns stand. Let them stand a thousand years.” The quote was said by Gideon F. Rothwell, the president of the Board of Curators at MU in the 1890s. During this time, the university was thinking about tearing down the columns on David R. Francis Quadrangle, and with the help of Rothwell’s quote, the columns remained standing.

That’s all we have for today, and thank you for following the blog! We look forward to all the amazing times that camp will bring in the next few days!

Let the Entrepreneurial Fun Begin!

Build-a-Business camp started today, and Missouri 4-H camp staff had a great time getting to know our campers! We really appreciate our campers coming to Columbia even though it was pouring down with rain!

Campers settled into their rooms at Hatch Hall and sat-in on the opening assembly for Summers @ Mizzou. After that, the camps got to meet their counselors and other campers. It was a very exciting time for everybody, and we really appreciate all the work that everyone did to make today happen!

Build-a-Business camp opened by playing several team-building games, and it gave everyone the chance to connect faces with names and vice versa!

Also, the campers had the chance to talk about their business ideas and what they planned to do in the future. Many of the campers were still unsure about their specific idea, and for this stage of camp, that’s totally understandable! One of Build-a-Business camp’s missions is to help each camper find an idea that the camper finds enjoyable and marketable. No matter what stage campers are in their business plans, they already have a head-start just by being present at camp today!

Since having an imaginative business idea is extremely important for every entrepreneur, we’re going to focus on finding the right business idea for each camper during Monday’s camp session. We look forward to seeing what ideas and creative thoughts our campers have to share and develop!

Today was a great start to camp, and we’re very excited to have an energized and focused group of campers. Although this week will be busy, we’re looking forward to everything on our schedule, and we hope the campers are too!

Have a great night, and we look forward to seeing our campers bright and early at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow!

We’re So Close!

Less than a day until Build-a-Business camp begins! We hope our campers have a safe trip to Mizzou’s campus!

Tomorrow will be an orientation night for the campers, and everyone will get the chance to settle into their rooms at Hatch Hall. Missouri 4-H camp staff will get to spend about an hour with our campers tomorrow, and we’re super excited to meet them! We’re doing our best to make sure this camp experience is the absolute best for everyone at Build-a-Business camp!

Campers will sign in at the main lobby of Hatch Hall starting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, and after they’ve gotten settled, they will meet in room 113 in Eckles Hall for a Summers @ Mizzou orientation. After this, the camps will split up, and this is when we’ll get the chance to meet with our entrepreneurial campers!

Although camp is only five days long, we have a ton of information to cover! While this might sound intimidating, be assured that our main goal is to give our campers a positive, productive and super fun experience!

To all our campers, make sure to bring your creativity and entrepreneurial ideas! We’ll be experiencing entrepreneurship at a variety of levels, and in order to get the most of this experience, we hope you’re looking forward to working with us and with learning more about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur!

We wish a safe trip to Columbia for our campers, and we can’t wait to meet them tomorrow!