Minding Our Business: Spring Program

MINDING OUR BUSINESS SPRING PROGRAM
A MENTORING PROGRAM IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Click here to view the 2007 Spring Program Picture Gallery

The program’s 12 mentoring sessions run from February to May. All 12 mentoring sessions are held from 3-4:30PM at four Trenton public schools: the Hedgepeth-Williams Middle School, the PJ Hill Elementary School, the Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School, and the Luis Munoz Rivera Elementary School.

Minding Our Business (MOB) seeks to advance the personal and vocational development of inner city youth through entrepreneurship education and mentoring. The MOB Program is in its twelfth-year of operation. The program’s success has attracted media attention at the local, regional and national level.

The MOB Program is an after-school program that works with 200 middle school students in Trenton, New Jersey. The students, ages 11-14, participate in twelve 90-minute training sessions from February to May. Rider University’s business students comprise each mentoring team, and they mentor a group of five to twelve middle school students in team building, leadership, communication, and entrepreneurship skills. The mentors receive 30 hours of intensive training and will spend over 30 additional hours mentoring during the program. In addition, Rider student mentors receive three academic credits as part of the business course “Minding Our Business” taught by Dr. Sigfredo A. Hernandez, the program’s founder.

Under the guidance of their mentors, who facilitate the 12-week curriculum, each student team develops an idea for a new business. Each team then prepares and presents a business plan to the MOB Advisory Board for approval and feedback. The MOB Advisory Board is composed of business leaders. The board grants loans of up to $200 to each student team's business based on the merits of its presentation. Next, the student teams execute their plans and manage their businesses at a community market fair. As part of the project, student teams and their mentors also set aside a day to visit successful entrepreneurial firms in the Trenton-Mercer area. They meet with the firms' CEOs to learn how their businesses were started and how they operate.

The Spring Program is unique compared to other entrepreneurship programs for middle school students. First, it is based on a team concept of mentoring and entrepreneurship that challenges students to develop team skills and become effective team members. Second, to the best of our knowledge, it is the only program in America for middle school students that allow them to prepare and present a business plan, borrow seed money, and run their businesses at a community fair event. Finally, mentors receive intensive training in mentoring skills, team management, and in facilitating the 12-week entrepreneurship curriculum.

The Key accomplishments of the 2006 Minding Our Business Spring Program are:

The majority of the students perceived better changes in self as a result of their participation in the MOB program.

better entrepreneurship skills (84%)

better team skills (78%)

more desire to start their own businesses than before MOB(69%)

more interested in a career as an entrepreneur (67%)

better leadership skills (67%)

better feelings about self (63%)

better ability to communicate (61%)

better getting along with family (59%)

better getting along with other students (51%)

better student (51%)

better getting along with teachers (50%)

more interested in going to college because of MOB (48%)

Mentors observed positive changes in the large majority of students as a result of MOB. The most frequently mentioned positive changes were:

greater knowledge of entrepreneurship (82%)

gained confidence (74%)

increased participation (73%)

more motivated to learn (71%)

improved ability to communicate (71%)

getting along with others (66%)

improved leadership skills (61%)

Impact of MOB on mentors learning & vocational development. Mentors agree or strongly agree that:

MOB was a great learning experience (97%)

Plan to do more community service in the future (86%)

More interested in working with kids as a result of MOB (86%)

MOB had significant effect on career plans (75%)

MOB gives an edge in the job market compared to other business graduates (75%)

A stronger desire to start own business after MOB (75%)

* Based on the 2007 evaluation of the Minding Our Business Program at the Hedgepeth-Williams Middle School and PJ Hill School with 112 students attending regularly.