These Kids Mean Business
Eleven homeschooled students, ranging in age from 7 to 17, gathered in the Bellevue University Student Center for an Entrepreneurship Expo last Thursday.
Janita Pavelka, a homeschool teacher and licensed entrepreneurship instructor, said a lot of time and care went into the students’ presentations.
“One of my students said to me, ‘This is hard work. This is a lot of hours,’” she said, laughing.
And the hard work showed as the students unveiled businesses ranging from pet care to baked goods to knick-knacks and more. All the students were ready to pitch their products to any potential customers that came by, and that’s what Pavelka, who teaches piano lessons, says is the advantage of this project.
“I thought, ‘This is great to own your own business,’” she said. “Why don’t we teach children how to do it and give them a sense of confidence and working with the public – the skills that you can’t learn in a book that you’re going to learn from meeting the public.”
Using Nebraska 4-H’s new entrepreneurship curriculum, EntrepreneurShip Investigation, Pavelka said the students have been able to experience starting their own businesses.
“They set up their ideas, wrote business plans, figured out the target market and how they’re going to market it,” she said.
Logo from Nebraska Department of Education.
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