Entrepreneurs: Dreamers in and of Service

When a day is as special and as powerful as Martin Luther King Day, it deserves a blog post that is equally special and powerful. The formal name of this important day is actually Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day of Service, and it is coming up on Monday, January 20th this year. Dr. King was dedicated to serving as a voice for others and fighting for what is right. While much time has passed since Dr. King gave his incredible “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., many of the same issues still continue today, telling us all that there is still more to do, more that we each must do—to make this world a better place.

Dream of Better, Make It Happen

Because one of the four strands of the FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is Entrepreneurship, and many entrepreneurial endeavors begin with dreams, this post focuses on how we can all help our dreams for a better world to become real.

Many entrepreneurs take great risks and commit to their endeavors with extreme passion in order to make a difference. One definition of an entrepreneur is someone who looks at things differently, challenges the status quo, and deeply believes that he or she can do it better or differently. This description defines much of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplished.

That’s why in this blog post, we take a different sort of look at both Dr. King’s creative vision as well as how the many successful entrepreneurs weave together their passions and their desire to be of service to others, helping to create bigger and better FUTURES for all. We hope you will become inspired to use your entrepreneurial talents, passion and compassion, and in some cases, physical strength to “be of service” to others. This post is filled with ideas.

A Quarter of a Century!

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service marks the 25th anniversary to celebrate this Civil Rights leader’s life and the long-lasting legacy that we have been fortunate enough to receive. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, we all need to think of this day as “a day on, not a day off.” In fact, did you know that MLK Day is the only federal holiday that’s officially designated as a national day of service? The goal is to provide an opportunity, time, and encouragement to Americans to do what they can, offer their talents, and step up in order to improve their communities. Entrepreneurs can play key roles in these efforts—and not simply on this special day. Dr. King devoted his entire life to service; by focusing our attention on service for this one day, the hope is that these efforts will continue—everyday.

The Dream Speech We Almost Didn’t Hear!

This example shows that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was indeed, a risk-taker, a true entrepreneurial quality. It was on August 28, 1963 that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech as part of the March on Washington. In the months leading up to this march, many important events took place, causing reactions and chain reactions filled with extreme mounting tensions. In June, President John F. Kennedy called for a drive for more civil rights on national television—on the very same night that NAACP leader Medgar Evers was murdered in Mississippi. This was the catalyst for the civil rights march.

The speech was delivered to approximately 250,000 people who came to Washington, D.C., from all across the country to march for civil rights. Dr. King’s speech was part of this incredible day, but did you know that we almost missed hearing this speech for two reasons?

First, a very expensive sound system was installed specifically to be sure attendees could hear the events at the Lincoln Memorial. Remember in 1963, technology was nothing like it is today. After the sound system was installed, according to many sources, the equipment was said to have been deliberately damaged just before the speeches began. Once this was discovered, Attorney General Robert Kennedy quickly enlisted the Army Corps of Engineers to work to fix the system.

It’s the Gospel Truth!

The second reason we almost didn’t hear this part of Dr. King’s prepared speech is because, according to those close to Dr. King, “I Have a Dream” actually wasn’t part of the speech he’d written and had planned to deliver at this march. Mahalia Jackson, the famous gospel singer and musical legend, had frequently accompanied Dr. King to events and rallies where she would perform. It’s been reported that when he felt most discouraged, Dr. King would even call Jackson on the phone just to hear her sing. It was because of Mahalia Jackson that Dr. King put aside his notes and began to speak of his dream that day. She was seated within earshot of Dr. King and as he read his speech, she spoke out loud, urging Dr. King, then and there, to “Tell them about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream.”

Those words started the transformation from the prepared notes Dr. King had written to the messages from his heart, the messages we still hold fast to today. The original written speech was given by Dr. King to George Raveling, a college basketball player from Villanova, who was there that day to serve as one of King’s bodyguards. It’s said that Raveling has kept the speech safely locked away all these years.

What Dreams Can You Act Upon?

As for the rest of us? We’ll need to be content to relive these words and moments by reading and listening to the speech. Click on the link from the National Archives to read the speech and click on the YouTube link below to hear an audio recording of Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech:

• Full Speech from the National Archives

• Link to YouTube audio recording

As you listen to these compelling words, consider your dreams for a bigger, better FUTURE for those in your school, family, and community. Once you focus on your dream, start to put it into action—just one action can make a difference. What single action can you take, starting on Monday, to help those in your community? There are many organized events scheduled for this day and a quick search should give you lots to choose from near you.

Entrepreneurs in Service

When you join a group of volunteers in your community, you’re likely to discover that some of the people around you are getting things done and making things happen—more than others. Check out those people who are carrying the wood, hanging the signs, serving food, and setting up all the crowdsourcing donation accounts on computers. Chances are, they also happen to be entrepreneurs, eager to give back and apply their talents to the causes in their communities. What terrific role models for your kids to meet, too!

If there are no planned events near you, tap into your inner-entrepreneur, create your own, and invite others to join you. Chances are, there are others looking to be part of something, too. By inviting others, you’ll likely increase your mission’s chances for success.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Hold a bake sale with your kids.

• Volunteer to work at a soup kitchen.

• Help build or repair a home.

• Look in your neighborhood for ideas and ask around. You’re likely to discover many projects in need of starting.

Your Entrepreneurial FUTURE

As you focus on discovering and applying your own entrepreneurial energy on this upcoming day of service, think about how your family, students, and those around you can all benefit from acquiring a stronger awareness of the tenets of entrepreneurship and all four of the financial literacy strands of learning. All entrepreneurs benefit from knowledge.

From Personal Finance and Economics to Entrepreneurship and Investing, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is the groundbreaking Financial Literacy Program that empowers students BEFORE High School—to achieve their best success AFTER High School. Ariel Education Initiative is founded upon the belief that Financial Literacy is a critical 21st-century skill and is vital to our kids, our society, and our future. That’s why AEI developed FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ and that is also why this program is 100% free.

The goal of FUTURES is to provide a robust financial education program for kids and budding entrepreneurs and investors of all ages—in school and far beyond. Whether it be learning to invest in securities, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, the fundamentals of becoming an entrepreneur or conducting a cost/benefit analysis, this program offers learners the chance to shape their own point of view that will empower them to make wise money choices—long into their futures.

The FUTURES program’s detailed Entrepreneurship strand covers much more than just Entrepreneurship; it covers a wealth of powerful future-focused leadership concepts for kids and adults. From business startup and financing, flow of money, public and private corporations, target markets and the always important social responsibility, readers are able to experience and visualize themselves as entrepreneurial leaders.

With the help of FUTURES easy-to-use worksheets and games, you’ll all unlock a richer grasp of what it takes to start and run a business. Many kids and adults discover their own entrepreneurial passions and are able to shape these glimmers of passions into future ideas. What ideas are inspiring you these days? What are YOUR big dreams?

In this strand of FUTURES, you will also explore the various parts of building and running a successful business, learn about how franchises work, discover the difference between investing in a startup business versus a franchise, and investing in a business and running that same business every single day (and night!). You will also learn about how to make financing decisions and become a more worthy candidate for credit.

Beyond the Program, Into the World

The FUTURES program simplifies and deconstructs complicated, intricate Financial Literacy concepts to make them relevant and easier to understand for students. With the full FUTURES program at your fingertips, you and your kids will better understand the complicated world of finance AND develop their own personal stake in it. Created by teachers for teachers, this proven educational program is FREE and readily available to districts, schools, teachers, coaches, counselors, and families, too!

As Dr. King would have no doubt supported, the FUTURES program encourages learners to develop and form their own point of view of finance and investing, while honing their critical thinking skills as they progress through the depth and breadth of the four FUTURES strands with their 29 stand-alone modular sections.

Further, real-time, real-world, relevant connections drive kids’ interest and create effective links between academic content and the business world. This unique multi-disciplinary approach elevates learning, allowing educators, school districts, and families and community centers to help prepare tomorrow’s leaders—today—so they can compete in and become strong leaders of our ever-changing global marketplace—in their futures.

As you consider how you will honor Dr. King’s memory and champion his legacy on this upcoming day of service, take some time to download any or all of the 29 sections or modules from FUTURES. The information within this program can help you and your children to begin to transform a single day of service into a lifetime of commitment to service.

Big Dreams? Wake up and Make Them Happen!

Do YOU Have a Dream?

As we approach this year’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday, your team from FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is focusing our next few blog posts on entrepreneurship. It’s our way to honor Dr. King’s belief in everyone’s ability to have—and strive to realize—a big dream. While even our biggest dreams cannot compare to those of Dr. King, the passion, commitment, and energy that entrepreneurs bring to their businesses is a powerful way to grow and deliver results that can make a big difference.

Many entrepreneurial accomplishments begin with a dream. While dreaming is the first step, there are many steps and mis-steps that must happen to transform a dream into an entrepreneurial reality. In today’s post, we’ll cover the fundamentals of entrepreneurship by exploring a tasty transaction. In Blog 11, we will showcase the amazing entrepreneurial content within the FUTURES program.

With the right amount of drive, tenacity, commitment, energy and of course, knowledge, there is no wrong age to become an entrepreneur. You’re never too young and you’re never too old. Whether you have kids of your own or have kids in your charge in your classroom, why not start exploring entrepreneurship with your children? Discovering what they know, believe, and want to learn can help you chart a bigger FUTURE course for your own learning, too.

Know Any Entrepreneurs?

Start by asking your kids or students if they know what an entrepreneur does. “Do you know any entrepreneurs? Have you ever been an entrepreneur?” If they answer “no,” suggest they think again. They might not realize that anyone who has ever had a babysitting gig, a paper route, a dog-walking job, or set up a corner lemonade stand has actually worked as an entrepreneur. Share examples of entrepreneurs in your neighborhood—the dry cleaner, the food truck owner, and even the tech lady who drives around in that little bright green car with the computer magnet on top.

Thirsty for Success?

Start with a simple and familiar example that’s also delicious. Take a closer look at what it takes—from logistics and planning to investments and profits—to create and run a successful lemonade stand. Ask the following questions:

• What happens at a lemonade stand?

• Is it transactional? Experiential? Both?

• Who are the different people who must participate in the lemonade stand?

• How do you get ready to open a lemonade stand? What do you need to accomplish?

Walk kids through these steps.

1. The entrepreneur finds the right location.

2. The entrepreneur buys lemons, sugar, and cups to make lemonade.

3. The entrepreneur makes lemonade.

4. The entrepreneur sells lemonade.

5. The entrepreneur buys more supplies to make lemonade.

6. The entrepreneur needs to promote the lemonade stand (with a sign, by shouting at passing cars, by creating 2-for-1 sales, and more)

7. The entrepreneur needs a table, some chairs, and other materials like a table cloth, cash box, and perhaps a roll of paper towels.

Produce It and Consume It!

Once kids grasp the concept that running a lemonade stand is like running a small business, build upon the lemonade stand model to introduce two economic concepts—producers and consumers. Explain that when an entrepreneur buys lemons, sugar, and other supplies to make lemonade, she or he is a consumer. When the entrepreneur makes and sells lemonade, he or she is a producer. Explain that the people who buy the lemonade are also consumers.

Ask kids to make a list of examples of times they’ve acted as a consumer and times they’ve acted as a producer. Can a person or business ever be both a producer and a consumer? You can ask these questions while you’re out and about or when kids “consume” paper and paint for their next class project. Make this set of questions a habit and before you know it, they’ll be asking you about these two powerful terms.

Let’s Make a Deal!

Now that you’ve explored how a lemonade stand works, ask children how they think they would decide what to charge for each cup of lemonade. Begin by prompting them to think about everything they need to “consume” or buy in order to make the lemonade. You should then ask how they think they should decide on pricing. Does their answer indicate that they’ll make a profit?

Pricing Process

1. Have kids look up the cost of all the ingredients online or by asking family members what they last paid for these items at the grocery store.

2. Remind them that lemons and sugar cost money, but they also will need many other things—materials for a sign, a table for the stand itself, a pitcher, cups, and ice.

3. Based on all these factors, ask kids to come up with a plan.

4. How many cups need to be sold to “cover” costs? If the price is too low, the stand isn’t profitable. If the price is too high, no one is going to become a customer.

5. Try to settle on what is a reasonable price to charge for a cup of lemonade at a lemonade stand.

6. Ask kids to think about how much THEY would pay for a cup of lemonade—with their own money? This is a great way to tap into the concept of fair market value.

7. Coach kids to consider how many cups they must sell to cover their costs. Invite them to estimate how long they think it will take to sell that many cups.

8. Remind your budding entrepreneurs that consumers have to want or need what they are selling much more than those consumers want or need the dollars in their pocket. Coach kids to think about why people buy lemonade on a hot summer day.

9. This may spark your entrepreneurial team to reconsider selling cold lemonade in January. What might happen if they switched from lemonade to steamy hot chocolate instead? While hot chocolate might appeal to more buyers on a cold winter day, what new challenges does this create? How will the hot chocolate stay warm? What about marshmallows? Can you charge more for those?

Lead kids through this process and let their ideas lead you through the “teachable moments” by creating more and more questions for them to answer. After all, asking and answering questions is a big part of becoming an entrepreneur.

Questions to Grow On

Ask practical questions like:

• How will you make change?

• Do you need money to begin your business?

• What’s the money for?

• How much money do you need?

• What could happen if you buy too many supplies? Are any supplies perishable?

• What could happen if you buy too few supplies?

• What will you do if you run out of lemonade?

• What is your plan for any leftover lemonade?

• Will you have a sale to “drink up” the excess? (Or is lemonade on the menu for dinner?)

• If you switch to selling hot chocolate, what additional costs might come up?

• Is there a location that lets you run your hot chocolate stand even when it is snowing?

• Can you inspire your kids to DREAM BIGGER and create one combined seasonal “beverage company” that sells iced lemonade in the summer, warm apple cider in the fall, hot chocolate in the winter, and flowers in the spring?

Safety First!

Hot drink of cocoa or cool glass of lemonade—who’s feeling thirsty now? If your kids want to plan a real lemonade or hot cocoa stand, remind them that safety always comes first. While it’s easy to set up an indoor stand in the wintertime, it’s a smart idea all year long. Lemonade stands and any other sort of child-centric entrepreneurial adventures should take place in a safe place such as a community center, as part of a school event, or at a block party or other neighborhood gathering, and with adults present. Stress that even budding entrepreneurs need permission and approval from adults first. If your kids are permitted to venture outside for their lemonade stand, an adult should always be close by even if it is in a place you know well. Besides, you can later share that first business with your grown child someday when a FUTURE, more grown-up business is launched.

Bigger Entrepreneurial FUTURES!

The FUTURES Program, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ helps entrepreneurs. Check it out! By considering the various factors in starting a business and the importance of goal setting at the beginning stages of the business—and every single day thereafter—readers will become more aware of the realities of entrepreneurial undertakings. True entrepreneurs won’t be discouraged—they’ll just get smarter about how to tackle each and every potential obstacle.

The Entrepreneurship strand helps kids and adults think clearly about and explore how they might want to run their own businesses one day— which might be tomorrow with our help! Many FUTURES users just might start their very own businesses—with this strong jumpstart from FUTURES—and from you!

Dreaming of lemonade? Hot chocolate? Baked goods? Eager to launch a store on Etsy or other marketplaces? By digging into this strand of FUTURES, your entrepreneurial future will be poised to take off!