Youth learn business skills at entrepreneurship camp

Given the opportunity to create a business idea, local young adults chose what they’re passionate about.

This week young entrepreneurs 15-20 years old attended a business camp put on by the Del Norte Workforce Center.

They learned about various aspects of starting a new venture, such as developing a business plan, how to get financing and then marketing their idea.

“Young people, in one week, learn everything they need to turn their hobbies, interests and dreams into a business plan,” said Tim Hoone, director of the Workforce Center.

On Friday, each of the 20 students presented a business plan to a panel of judges.

Ideas ranged from an affordable fashion boutique, a coffeeshop for high-schoolers and a drug treatment center for teenagers — all things that interested them, but also missing in the community.

The top three students won cash prizes and the top two will attend a national business camp at Walt Disney World in Florida next month.

The winners and their business names were Cecil Arispe in first place with Fashion Reality, Gabriella Diamond in second place with Dime-N-Dash Ring and Irene Moreno in third place with Kreative Zoom.

This was the first year for the Academy for Future Business Owners in Del Norte County, Hoone said.

As a member of the Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium (NoRTEC), the Workforce Center received some money to organize the camp, Hoone explained. Only four other Northern California counties are doing a business camp for young people this summer.

The instruction was geared toward learning all the aspects of starting a business. But the reality is that it may take many years for the young entrepreneurs’ dream-businesses to come to fruition.

“Whether it’s the first idea or next week they have a different idea, now they know the process,” Hoone said. “They will have a better understanding of how to make that business successful.”

Some of the ideas presented Friday were ambitious, and all were for services the young adults said were needed in the community. Some said they wanted to go to college before actually opening a business.

First place winner Cecil Arispe’s business idea was a designer clothing boutique for males and females called Fashion Reality.

“My goal is to make fashion more affordable,” he told the judges Friday morning during the first round of business presentations.

Shopping in Portland, Arispe realized that designer clothing is grossly overpriced. By selling fashion staples at a reasonable cost, he said, more people will be able to afford trendy clothes.

“So everyone can make their fashion dreams a reality,” Arispe said.

He wants to start off with a store in Crescent City, then move online and eventually open a store in Portland.

Ashley Buchert wants to start a non-profit drug treatment facility for teens called Ice on Fire.

“I would like to make a difference in the community,” she said.

She said that there is a significant number of teens who abuse drugs and alcohol in Del Norte and her center would help them get clean. There isn’t a rehab center specifically for teens in Del Norte, she said, and the service is sorely needed.

It would cost $150 to stay at the rehab facility for three months, which Buchert said is an affordable price. In order to keep the cost low for residents, Buchert said she would need to raise funds and apply for grants to pay the bills.

“People would want to put money into this because it would benefit the community,” she said, confident that she could find funding.

Hannah Seaton realized that students at Del Norte High School don’t have many lunch options within a walking distance from the school. Students can leave the campus for a half-hour lunch, but many can’t drive yet or don’t have a car, she said.

Her idea was to open a restaurant on Washington and Arlington near the high school called Em.

“A place where people can feel comfortable simply having a cup of coffee and study,” Seaton said.

The food would come from local farmers and producers and it would be a place for local artists to display their work, she explained.

Buying property and constructing a building is expensive though, Seaton noted. It may take a while to raise capital first, she said.

“It will cost a lot, but I think I can do it,” she said.