5 minute read
That Lightbulb Moment
By Emily Daniels
This past summer, a group of young entrepreneurs had a unique opportunity to experience what it’s like to run their own businesses. The iCREATE Camp participants, consisting of middle and high schoolers from all over Mississippi as well as Louisiana and Colorado, spent a week on Mississippi State’s campus learning important entrepreneurial skills necessary for creating a successful small business. The campers had only six days to develop a business plan, then design, create and sell products to consumers at the MSU Idea Shop in downtown Starkville. The best part? The students got to pocket their earnings at the end of the event.
The iCREATE Camp is a partnership between MSU’s School of Human Sciences (SHS) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (E-Center) in the College of Business. Established in 2016, iCREATE Camp has attracted bright young students to Starkville each year to learn about entrepreneurship. Like many other events in 2020, the interactive learning experience was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year saw the return of iCREATE Camp, as well as new leadership for the program.
"This is my second time working with iCREATE, but my first year serving as Camp Director,” says Brooke Lammert, Program Coordinator for the E-Center. Through her experience assisting with the week-long camp in 2019, she felt ready to take on a more challenging role.
“As director, the success of the event ultimately rests on your shoulders,” says Lammert. “I was fortunate to have help from some great mentors like Eric Hill and Jeffrey Rupp from the E-Center and [SHS Associate Professor] Dr. Charles Freeman. I built out the entire schedule along with Dr. Freeman, and I had to make sure that all needs were met before and during the camp – from food, lodging, and transportation to scheduling all the activities we were going to do and all the speakers they would hear from during the week. You want to make sure that the campers get the full experience, to see what it takes to build a business from the ground up.”
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in June, 10 eager campers arrived at Mississippi State’s campus to meet up with Lammert and their camp counselors – student entrepreneurs from the E-Center and employees from the MSU Idea Shop.
“This camp was smaller than some of our others in the past, but we think this size is the sweet spot because it’s just enough campers that they feel like a part of a big group, but small enough that everyone has a chance to step up and feel heard,” states Lammert.
After getting settled in Hurst Hall dorm on campus, the group met in the E-Center that evening for ice breakers and to go over what they would be doing throughout the week. They learned about important company roles like CEO, CFO, COO and CMO, and they elected a representative for each position. Their first item on the docket was to decide on the theme for this year’s business. Since their pop-up shop would take place in the Idea Shop the day before Father’s Day, they quickly decided the products they would sell would be centered around all things “Dad.”
“After the theme was decided, we broke them up into teams and set them loose on Main Street,” explains Lammert. “Each team had to complete 30 surveys, asking store owners and customers for feedback on what items they would like to buy for their fathers – or what they would like to receive as a father. The outgoing campers loved it, and for a few it was a learning process. It was good for the group to learn how to interact with different personalities.”
The surveys they collected gave them a good idea what type products customers might purchase from their shop. By Wednesday, the campers decided to make a wide variety of products from which their customers could select – from koozies and key holders to a book of dad jokes and large, MSU-themed paintings by camper Taylor Herron.
A high school junior from Madison, Herron has been painting since she was five years old. She already had experience selling her artwork to customers in her hometown and says she aspires to start her own business one day, using the skills she learned during the camp.
Artist and iCREATE camper Taylor Herron made MSU-themed paintings for the group to sell in their pop-up shop.
Photo courtesy of Brooke Lammert
“I just want to make someone happy and able to say, ‘I own this painting, and nobody else is going to have that in the world,’” says Herron of her one-of-a-kind pieces.
Lammert says when the campers weren’t busy creating the last-minute Father’s Day gifts for their shop, they enjoyed outings to meet and greet local entrepreneurs in the Golden Triangle area.
“The campers met with Hannah and Hunter Bell from Mom & Pop Food Truck and Jabari Edwards with J5 Global in nearby Columbus, and they had a paint party at Dunkington Art & Jewelry just around the corner from the Idea Shop,” she says. “They also got to meet former E-Center students Hayden Walker and Anna Barker and take a tour of [their company] Glo’s headquarters, where they design and distribute both Glo Cubes® and Glo Pals® all over the world. I love that the iCREATE program not only gives these kids hands-on startup experience but also the opportunity to have one-on-one time with these successful entrepreneurs and learn all the ins and outs of running your own business.”
The 2021 iCREATE campers with their advisors and counselors
Photo courtesy of Brooke Lammert
On Saturday morning, the young entrepreneurs were ready for business at the MSU Idea Shop. With all their handmade, unique creations on full display, they opened their doors to the community.
“We opened at 10 a.m., and by 2 p.m., we had made about $2,700,” exclaims Lammert. “They almost completely sold out of product, and I think we even broke sales records at the Idea Shop for the day as a whole! There was a huge turnout, and I was blown away at the support from the community.”
After the shop closed, the campers met with Charles Freeman and Eric Hill to add up all the costs, labor and profits before dividing their earnings. This year, each student left camp with nearly $150.
