Thursday, June 18, 2009 8:38 PM CDT
EIU entrepreneur camp wraps up with business proposals
By CHRIS ESSIG, Staff Intern
CHARLESTON — What business would you create with $50,000?
The question was posed to 11 local high school students earlier this week and to no surprise, the answers varied.
The conclusion of this exercise on Wednesday marked the last day of Camp e3, a three-day workshop held at Eastern Illinois University used to enrich potential entrepreneurs.
The students were split into three groups, and on Wednesday, the groups gave their business propositions to a panel of judges made up of business owners and counselors.
The first group created a marketing company entitled Surely 16 Marketing. The other two ideas focused on computer technology and healthy foods.
The marketing company would be located on Lincoln Avenue and would make logos, brochures, radio commercials and Web sites for potential businesses.
The company would also emphasize “buying local” by offering discounts to small businesses, non-profit agencies and the city of Charleston.
The “16” in the company’s name refers to Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president.
One of the team members, Gerhardt Shafer of Charleston High School, said the team had a tough time picking a concrete idea. The group brainstormed around 10 ideas before sticking with Surely 16 Marketing.
The second group proposed Tangible Technologies, a computer repair shop that would also be conveniently located next to campus.
Besides computer repairs, the company would make house calls, offer to back up files on customers’ computers, and teach classes in social marketing, Adobe Photoshop and HTML.
The last group wanted to start Fields of Grain, a restaurant and grocery store that would focus on selling healthy foods.
The idea came about because few restaurants in Charleston and Mattoon offer healthy food choices, the group said.
The group would also ask doctors at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System to make suggestions on what healthy foods to provide.
Charleston High School’s Ryan Dau, a member of the group, drew comparisons between their proposed business to the Strawberry Fields natural food store in Urbana.
The three teams also had to make a quick commercial for their business, which was shown before their presentation.
After deliberation, the judges chose the group that proposed Fields of Grain as the winning proposal.
While the students were dealing with imaginary money, the winning group won $100 for each member.
One of the judges was Brian Titus, owner at Lorenz Supply Co. He said all of the ideas were viable.
“All the participants did an excellent job,” he said.
One of the reasons they chose Fields of Grain was because their idea presented “less competitive pressure” than the two other companies.
The judges focused on a few areas, including: marketing, budgeting, concept feasibility and creativity, said Jeanne Dau, director of the Business Solution Center, located on EIU’s campus.
Overall, the camp’s goal was to get students thinking about their possible future in the business world.
“We’re trying to plant the seeds of entrepreneurship,” said Dau.
The seed was planted early, as the camp was open to students between 14 and 18 years of age.
“The earlier they start, the better their future,” Titus said.
Contact Chris Essig at cessig@jg-tc.com or 238-6860
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