On March 19, our YEA! students will be presenting their newly formed companies for a panel of potential investors.

These students have been in class or on a field trip every Tuesday since November. They have listened to speakers on subjects like business law, setting up bank accounts, the importance of a website, and so much more.

They have learned the A to Zs of starting a business. As most of us know, one of the biggest aspects of startup is cost. The Investor Panel will give them an opportunity to shine their companies to businesspeople who are willing to financially support their new ventures.

This year, the YEA! program has 10 students and six startup businesses. Bostic Yard Detailing is one of the companies started this year which will have a sole proprietor, A’Zar Bostic. Khadejah Bennett, Modelle McRae, and Courtney Williams joined together to form Katch-Up, a website company helping teens to be better connected. Dashia Bullard and Tiana McMillan used their creative talents to start Terrific T-shirts. Shrink’d Surprises, a jewelry company, was established by Mary Elizabeth John. Everyone has a sweet tooth, therefore KeShawn Mason and Kiana Williams partnered to create Sweet Tooth Cupcakes. Lastly, Emily Sheppard has an amazing talent for keeping your ear phones untangled with her company, Forget Me Knots.

During this process, the students have taken a concept of a dream company and have put together business plans, marketing plans, created logos, and found the right model for each of them. They are now prepared to argue their case for investors to support their business idea. These investors will hear from each of the companies on March 19th at 6pm at Avinger Auditorium on the campus of St. Andrews University. It is an exciting event to hear how far each of the students has come in the past four months of classes.

If you are interested in attending, becoming an investor, or sponsoring the program, please call Jennifer McRae at the Chamber (910.276.7420) or email her at jmcrae@laurinburgchamber.com. This is an awesome opportunity for our young people, but more than that, we are creating businesses for our community.

There is an old Chinese Proverb that says “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” For these young people, they are planting their trees now. I hope you will join me in supporting them and our future on March 19.