Students Attend Youth Entrepreneurship DayBy borges, Section The Marketplace
"Persistence, optimism, creativity and the willingness to seek mentors are important for young entrepreneurs", Ben Casnocha told the one hundred fifty high school students who recently attended Youth Entrepreneurship Day in Viroqua. The event was coordinated by Sue Noble, Director of Vernon Economic Development Association and Laura Brown, Community Development Educator for Crawford County UW Extension.
Entrepreneurs should take action and not find excuses to not get started on their ideas. Casnocha stressed. "Do something, then make corrections when you see what you are doing is wrong," he said. "A lot of great companies start with a "mediocre" idea by somebody who takes "baby steps" in starting action on that idea, makes some failures and then makes adjustments," he added. "A big problem in most companies and most lives is too much talk, too little do. So go start accumulating unique experiences. Have a business idea? Jump in. Start something!" Ben Casnocha is a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, author, and college student. Currently twenty years old, he serves on the board of Comcate, an e-government technology firm he founded at the age of fourteen. He is the author of the book "My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley". More in the Full Story...
He has been named by BusinessWeek as one of America's best young entrepreneurs. PoliticsOnline ranked him among the "twenty-five most influential people in the world of Internet and politics." His work has been noted on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, USA Today and ABC's 20/20.
Casnocha said, "Our generation will need to be creative to compete. Thinking creatively is a big part of what it means to be an entrepreneur. To get ideas, go out into the market and the world, and figure out what people's problems are. Develop a solution to a problem. You can improve your life and your business and your entrepreneurship. Feed your brain with books and ideas, your body with exercise, your soul with great relationships. Be the best that you can be!" High School students attended from across the region including: DeSoto, Laurel, Necedah, North Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Seneca, Viroqua, Youth Initiative, and Westby. Casnocha's presentation concluded a day where students also participated in business related workshops such as: Secrets of the Millionaires, Boost Your Creativity, How to Get the Upper Hand(shake), How to Decide if Your Business Idea is a Good One, and Powered Up: Young Women in Business. "It really was a wonderful experience for the kids. It got their minds thinking and gave them a little bit of Why can't I do that? thinking", noted Mitch Tollefson, a teacher from Prairie du Chien. Sponsors for the event included: Xcel Energy, Alliant Energy, 3M-Prairie du Chien, Organic Valley, International Trade Business & Economic Development Council, Vernon Electric
Cooperative, Scenic Rivers Cooperative, Western Technical College, Southwest Technical College, Viroqua Food Cooperative, Vernon Memorial Hospital, Bramble Bookstore and Noble remarked, "Young entrepreneurs are the life blood of the future economy in our rural communities. We're working to create a culture that encourages innovation, idea exploration and business development. Our goal is to inspire young people to believe in their own entrepreneurial potential and to help satisfy the growing interest among young people to learn about owning and operating their own business." Brown added, "We are hoping this event will inspire longer term programming in youth entrepreneurship which may include curriculum development, support for mentorship programs, entrepreneurship clubs, or regular youth entrepreneurship events." For more information, check out Casnocha's blog at ben.casnocha.com or www.mystartuplife.com. |
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