Entrepreneurship Project
Growing up here in Baltimore, I understood at a very early age the role of businesses in a community. A business can either take from the community or give back. With the recent budget crisis, I understood as a person with a degree in Business Management that businesses could have helped with the budget and any other needs of a community. After doing research on my students' hobbies and favorite businesses in Baltimore, I decided to create a project that allows my students to explore the origins of a business and how they contribute to Baltimore City and County.
I first created lesson plans about entrepreneurship using the Biz Kid$ educational television show to provide deeper information on the city. I also distributed homework that supported more research on the children's neighborhoods and their opinion on their neighborhood.
Furthermore, I allowed my students to interview business owners over the telephone to ask them questions regarding the business. To make this possible, I contacted businesses beforehand to give them the time to speak to my students. As an extra credit opportunity, I allowed my students and parents to schedule a date for the owner of their business of choice to speak to my class on the importance of entrepreneurship. After the project, my students and I reflected on the experience to better prepare for the next project.
Table of Contents
1. Business Surveys
2. Lesson Plan and Homework
3. Research and Takeaways
4. Business Interview
5. Business Owner Visit
6. Student Writing and Reflection
7. Conclusion
Business Surveys
Before the project can begin, I conducted a survey and gave out a permission slip. The survey was essential because I needed to use the interests of my students to pick businesses that aligned. In addition, I chose businesses based on their favorite businesses to go to in Baltimore. I also sent home a permission slip because students need guidance from an adult to talk to other adults using a telephone. Below are examples of the surveys and permission slip.
Research and Takeaways
The first step of this project was to give my students a survey and use that information to research appropriate businesses. After analyzing the survey results, I created a database of information on each business which will be stored on a google link drive. With this drive, students can access information on each business to complete their project. Below are the sample survey and the business database page. Click here to access the Google Link Drive to the resource list.
I took away the following from this research:
Lesson Plan and Homework
My next step in this process was to create a lesson plan and homework that supports the lesson. The lesson introduced my students to entrepreneurship and the benefits of it with the help of a video. Click here to view the video. In addition, I assigned homework in which they analyze areas where specific businesses would thrive and an analysis of their own neighborhood.
Business Research and Interviews
One of the first steps to complete this project is research. My students used my google link drive full of resources to complete the research portion of the project. Research only has surface level information. Interviewing the person that established the business can provide information that is not readily available for the public. To initiate the interview process, I contacted most of the businesses beforehand to prepare them for the interview. The interview itself has twelve questions and I or an adult must record the answers. A sample of the research process, interview questions, and a company responding are provided below. The video below is me guiding a student through the google link drive to complete her research.
Business Owner Visit
To includes parents by allowing students and their families to visit their business to interview the owner. Even though this was extra credit, seeing the pictures of my students visiting these iconic businesses led me to shed a tear. They gained so much knowledge about the business and employees showed them around the business. This encounter is unique for people, not just children. The pictures are shown below.
Student Writing and Reflection
One of the last assessments of this project is the essay. I want my students to write an informative essay using the information they gathered from research and the interview. I also wanted their opinion on the business itself and the entire project itself. In these three essays, you will see that this project allowed my students to take advantage of an opportunity and they were guided to newly opened life paths.
Conclusion
Overall, this experience was revolutionary. My students were exposed to entrepreneurship at a very young age through an engaging project. In addition, this project was perfect for my students because they learned about their community through the eyes of the businesses they support. They now know information that is not on Google, have experiences they went beyond the classroom and they have the knowledge to eventually open up their own business that can make their community a better place. Moreover, my students have successfully grasped the concept of entrepreneurship and explored new gateways with a new way of thinking.