What is Youth Entrepreneurship (YE)?
Entrepreneurship is a skillset and a mindset. It’s not just about starting and running businesses. It involves finding new opportunities, developing ideas, and taking initiative. It also empowers youth to take control of their future and learn independence. Afterschool and summer programs can use YE as a tool to help youth build practical skills like leadership, problem solving, financial literacy, and communication.
Why is YE Important?
Youth entrepreneurship education provides one pathway to creating future leaders. When youth participate in YE curriculum, it prepares them for real-world challenges. While not every student will leave their afterschool program starting a business, learning to think with an entrepreneurial mindset will help youth adapt in the job market, reach for opportunities, and learn how to set and achieve goals.
How Does Florida After School Support YE?
Spark Mentorship and Materials Program
Bring the VentureLab Spark Mentorship and Materials Program to your community! Join Florida After School for an action-packed youth entrepreneurship experience where students work with a mentor and a framework to grow an existing business idea and their entrepreneurial mindset. They set SMART goals, mindset goals, and take actionable steps toward bringing to market or scaling their business.
Using the VentureLab ESTEAM® approach, students build creativity, resilience, problem-solving, and collaboration skills—preparing them to thrive in school, career, and life. Let’s work together to inspire the next generation of innovators and changemakers.
If you’re interested in learning more about this opportunity, please reach out to McKenzie Coker at mcoker@flafterschool.com.
Our YE Partners
Lemonade Day is a fun, experiential program that teaches youth how to start, own and operate their very own business – a lemonade stand. Each year, in participating cities, youth have the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship.
Networks for Teaching Entrepreneurship provides continuous and collaborative educator support.
VentureLab is a national nonprofit dedicated to sparking entrepreneurial mindsets in youth through fun, interactive, and hands-on learning experiences. The VentureLab ESTEAM® approach, (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) empowers students to build creativity, resilience, problem-solving, and collaboration skills—preparing them to thrive in school, career, and life.
VentureLab’s programs teach entrepreneurial thinking and employability skills by:
- Providing opportunities for group work, prototyping, and hands-on learning.
- Demonstrating examples of real-world challenges and inspiring female role models tackling them.
- Creating opportunities for risk-taking and confidence-building.
- Helping instructors establish a safe (and brave) space for creativity and exploration.
With their Kidpreneur Playbook and interactive resources, WagiLabs empowers students by sparking their curiosity, compassion, and courage.
Young Entrepreneur Institute is focused on impacting as many students as possible by collaborating with educators and sharing best-in-class knowledge and expertise.