While many of the world's natural resources are being depleted, one is waiting to be unleashed–women."—Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx
Facebook out, Twitter in? Is the word "cool" still "cool"? What, exactly, is Snapchat? Kristin O'Connor jokes about some of the things she's learned keeping abreast of teen culture while being a mentor with the Lancaster Chamber's Women in Business Mentoring Program, one of the many initiatives in the Susquehanna Valley designed to foster an early interest in business, particularly among girls.
Since 2008, the Lancaster Chamber (www.lancasterchamber.com) has hosted girls in their junior year from local high schools. With limited space, teachers and counselors from area schools are provided the criteria from the chamber, then students are “nominated” based on who would be a good fit and would most benefit from the experience, explains Sandi Thompson, pro-grams manager for the chamber.
Now in her fourth year, O'Connor, box office manager of the American Music Theatre, looks forward to meeting her current mentee and embarking on another year of fun planned activities. The "curriculum" consists of seven planned activities that really engage the students and give them real world experience. Three of the most notable, according to O'Connor, are the strength profile, expo, and job shadowing.
At the initial meeting, each student receives the results from her questionnaire: a fifty-plus page book outlining her strengths. "It's a tool that will help them for years to come when deciding on their career path," says O'Connor. "They love this profile!"
Next is getting the girls out of the classroom for greeting and mingling with professionals at the Chamber Business Expo; "Their mentors take them to the booths to find out about career opportunities and educational requirements for careers they are interested in pursuing," remarks Thompson. In addition to the students meeting various local experts, the mentors and the companies they work for benefit, as well, from this networking opportunity.
Last, but not least, they may job shadow twice with chosen professionals. This exciting experience is "often the highlight" of the program. Sometimes the students have “aha” moments or realize that maybe the career choice was not as expected. "At the very least, they’ve experienced several hours in the professional world, which is so very different from any experience they will get in a high school or college classroom," says O'Connor.
Spanning from September through April, the program engages girls in additional activities like proper business etiquette, one-on-one conversations with mentors, follow-up with school facilitators, and even a fashion show intended to introduce suitable business attire. Students receive a certificate following the conclusion of the program and are encouraged show it to future colleges and employers.
And while there is no formal follow-up with the students, many mentors and mentees forge friendships that endure following the program. O'Connor, who says her students have been "gracious enough" to accept her as a "friend" on social media, adds: "My mentees teach me a lot about life from a fresh perspective, and this program keeps me on my toes knowing I have to set a good example for them."
Sweet Experience
Based on the knowledge that hurdles can discourage many youths from chasing their dreams, the vision for "Lemonade Day" came about eight years ago to founder Michael Holthouse, who thought kids needed "real-world experience" to learn the ins and outs of starting a business. According to the Lemonade Day website (www.lemonadeday.org), "By running their stand, they learn the business and life skills needed to set a goal, make a plan and work the plan to achieve their dreams."
Since 2013, the Harrisburg Young Professionals (HYP) (www.hyp.org) have implemented the initiative of Lemonade Day with similar goals in mind, to help positively impact the children of Harrisburg. The group, started in 1998 by five friends, has since grown to include over 1,000 members, some designated as part of the Outreach Committee associated with Lemonade Day. This year's Outreach Committee Chairs were Jen Lowe and Kara Emrich.
Lemonade stands, ubiquitous summer staples, make for a relatable way to encourage kids in sixth through eighth grade to try their hand at starting a small business through the fourteen-step process. This summer, nineteen Harrisburg students worked with Outreach Committee volunteers for four weeks to create business and marketing plans, a budget, unique lemonade recipes, and a sales strategy. "Each team of students is given a budget and works together to decide where their funds should be spent, how their lemonade should be priced, and what their team should do to be successful in raising funds for their selected charity," says Renee Custer, executive director at HYP.
There is no cost for students to participate, as "the Lemonade Day Platinum Sponsor, Enders Insurance Associates, and Stand Sponsor, Aetna, covered all costs associated with the program, including Lemonade Day team shirts and lunch for the students," says Custer.
Working in groups of four to five with their volunteers, students then set up their stands in various locations on Second Street for three hours on August 4th to sell their own unique lemonade batches. The sales from the stands benefit charities chosen by the students. Over the past three years, some that have benefitted are: the YMCA, Keystone Human Services, the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Inspiring Speeches
Helping students accomplish goals, especially over summer break, can lead to extraordinary memories and positive lessons for kids during a time when they might have been enjoying their leisure time. Another program in the area, however, works with students during their school year, rounding out their educational experience.
The first Friday of each month, students of Linden Hall (www.lindenhall.org) are able to hear the latest speaker in their "Girls in Business" series. Spanning the semester, the series of nine speakers started in September and concludes the first week of May. Now in its second year, the newly implemented, topic-focused format will begin with "philanthropy."
Kristina Martin, director of communications and advisor for the business program, says the first speakers, two co-chairs from the Lancaster-based non-profit "Go Red for Women," will "stress the importance of philanthropy in business," which will "tie in with existing community programs for students." Not that Linden Hall students find the ten-hour community program requirement a burden, she says, in fact; students enjoy their service contributions and some have started their own programs.
Proud of its two-hundred and sixty-nine-year history, Linden Hall, the nation's oldest independent all-girls boarding school, seeks to embody a diverse population of students, with thirty percent reporting as day students and seventy percent living full-time on campus. Of students attending the school, as many as sixteen countries may be represented, allowing the Girls in Business program to enable international students to become more engaged in the community. Commuting girls also benefit by learning what may be available to them locally.
Featuring all female speakers, the program seeks to show the girls, who are in grades six through twelve, that starting a business is well within reach. While the program is "geared towards upper grades," students in the youngest grades are still encouraged to participate. "It's never too early," advises Martin. Of the two-hundred students, forty to sixty have signed up for the program, which runs as a club during lunch time.
With networking set to be a future topic, Martin hopes the girls learn the importance of building relationships and making connections. She wants the students to see that "these are the relationships these women have forged" and to see "how they have contributed" to the community. Learning about successful women while implementing similar skills hands-on enables the school to maintain its core mission: Linden Hall girls are part of a global community working cooperatively to empower and support each other.
Harvesting a great business idea from seed to fruition can be a daunting task for anyone, especially females. With so many seemingly insurmountable aspects like initial funding, solid marketing strategies for today's social media-driven landscape, and potential time constraints for already busy students, the mere thought can potentially discourage even the most determined candidate. Fortunately for today's future female business leaders, resources and programs in the area are bountiful, and the burgeoning market for female entrepreneurs is budding more than ever.