On Feb. 15, Chase County High School held the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, an event which allowed students in grades 7-12 to compete against each other in presenting their own business ideas to a group of judges from the business world.
Seven business ideas participated in the challenge with each business required to submit an executive summary prior to the event, a formal presentation to the three judges and a tradeshow, which was open to the public and for the judges to also view.
Each judge scored the participants in each category and then scores were averaged together to determine the top three winners.
Sophomore Kinslea Glanville presented her photography business called “Kinslea’s Camera Clicks and Designs”. Her inspiration for her business came from her love of photography, which she has been doing for four years.
Another business presented was “HousePlant Hub” by sophomore Connor Jahnke, who has raised plants for four years and has about 31 various plants. One of his favorite things about plants is propagating them and watching them progress and grow over time.
Freshman Wyatt Miser participated by presenting his “Welding and Fabrication” business. His grandpa inspired him to create a welding business. Next year Miser plans to attend the local Flint Hills Technical College to participate in the welding program.
“Community Closet” is a business run by sophomore Piper Vogel, who got the idea of her business from her mom. Using a building in downtown Strong City, Vogel’s main goal for her business is to give items to people in Chase County to make their lives easier and better.
“Carl's Camper Storage” is a business created by junior Josiah McKee and sophomore Carson Schroer. They wanted a way to make money throughout high school. This business would require storage units to house campers, boats, etc., which would be located in Marion. Customers could rent by the month, and the business would not just stop with storage, they would offer to fix flat tires, add winterization and more.
“Madelyn’s Meat Goats” was created by freshman Madelyn Wilson, who said, “Our mission is to raise quality meat goats, have good stock and build, for reasonable prices.” Goats could sell anywhere from $2.50 to $4 per pound. The seller could make up to $250 from one goat. Wilson advertises locally and online with a Facebook account. She will also make fliers to hang up at local businesses. The business is located southwest of Cottonwood Falls, and Wilson will have up to 18 kids (baby goats).
“Affordable Outlet” is run by senior Cooper Schroer, who drives to Garnett to pick up a pallet from a warehouse. The pallets are 4’x4’x72” tall, with 30 items per pallet. Schroer buys the products in bulk and sells directly to the customer. He has always been fascinated by the overstock and liquidation process. This sparked Schroer’s interest when he started selling car parts on eBay.
“I created an online retail company, the goal is to provide an assortment of quality products to my customers at affordable prices,” Cooper said.
Schroer’s business won first place, which earned him $1,000 and the opportunity to also compete at state. Wilson finished second and received $750. For third place, $500 went to McKee and Schroer and their Carl’s Camper Storage business.
“They all had really good businesses, the point scores were pretty close,” head judge Ciara Miller said. “It was mainly the executive summary that was better and they had it more planned out. But, Cooper has already tested out his business and it’s already in progress.”
