BizVoice July/August 2014 - page 32

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BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – July/August 2014
Studying ‘Unlikely’ Entrepreneurs
Through Ice House Program
Becoming a successful entrepreneur or small business owner
can pose a number of challenges. But thinking around those
problems – especially in the face of adversity – is what 10 adults in
Whitley County learned to do during the recent Ice House
Entrepreneurship Program.
The program, based on the Clifton Taulbert book
Who Owns
the Ice House
, teaches attendees how to think like an entrepreneur,
look for various opportunities, find the answers to questions and
solutions to problems that aren’t being solved, says Whitley County
Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President Alan Tio.
“In the case of the
Ice House
book, it’s about someone who is
an unlikely entrepreneur. Clifton Taulbert’s uncle, he lived in the
deep south, in the Mississippi Delta, which didn’t promote risk
taking or going out on your own,” he explains. “The book is about
this guy who did (go out on his own) and some ideas as far as what
people saw in him and what set him apart.”
The Whitley County EDC offers a number of programs as
part of its Small Business and Entrepreneurship Initiative. Built on
a base of manufacturing and agriculture, the county is working to
bring young professionals back to the area, and programs such as
the Ice House are part of that goal.
“Thinking like an entrepreneur means taking risks, being
adaptive, experimenting, being creative, really focusing on once
you have a path forward the process of repetitions and improving
and building your capabilities,” Tio concludes. “It’s very relevant
to our economic development. And what programs and services
we offer, we want to make sure they’re relevant and consistent.”
QUICK HITS
Madison County Focusing on Young
Entrepreneurs
The old saying, “It takes a village” is appropriate in describing how
Madison County is going back to its innovative roots and supporting young
entrepreneurs.
The Madison County Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) – for
students in grades 6 to 12 – requires a heavy amount of community and
business support to help students learn how to brainstorm ideas, turn those
ideas into companies, present the companies to investors and secure funding.
The program teaches students more than business acumen; it also
breeds confidence, says Madison County Chamber of Commerce
Executive Vice President Angela Barbosa.
“The students who have come out of it, some will continue with their
businesses – but the experience they’ve learned and the confidence they’ve
gained is incredible. People who could barely look you in the face can stand
up in front of 100 people. It’s the self-discipline and confidence that grew
for these students,” exclaims Barbosa, who also runs the YEA program.
The community volunteers are a major part of the program’s success,
with 40 to 50 adults helping through the 30-week after-school course.
“Madison County’s roots are entrepreneurial,” Barbosa notes. “It’s a
great time in the life cycle of Madison County. What we see this program
doing is re-seeding entrepreneurism on one hand and also allowing
students to connect at a young age with what Madison County is about.”
The first class of YEA students graduated in May, with products and
innovations such as mobile apps and games, candles that use essential oils
to keep various bugs away, hand-painted canvas shoes, lawn care service
and more.
Brandon Boynton created the Bully Box app, which allows students to
anonymously report acts of bullying. A local and regional winner, Boynton
was one of six finalists competing at the America’s Small Business Summit
in Washington, D.C. in mid-June. He did not make the cut to the final three.
The Purdue College of Technology at the Flagship Enterprise Center
in Anderson hosts the program.
RESOURCE:
Angela Barbosa, Madison County Chamber of Commerce, at
RESOURCE:
Alan Tio, Whitley County Economic Development
Corporation, at
Working With the Innovators
By Charlee Beasor
Through the Madison County
Young Entrepreneur’s
Academy, Pendleton Heights
High School junior Brandon
Boynton created The Bully Box.
It is a mobile application that
allows students to
anonymously report acts of
bullying to schools.
Whitley County’s Economic Development Corporation offers programs
throughout the year to bolster entrepreneurs, including Lindsey Hively,
owner of Poptique Popcorn.
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