07/ 25/ 2006
NFIB's Young Entrepreneur Foundation, in partnership with Visa USA, announced a new online curriculum to teach budding entrepreneurs the basics of how to start a business.
A recent Visa USA/NFIB survey showed that while 90 percent of teachers and guidance counselors say their high-school students have expressed an interest in becoming their own bosses, 75 percent think kids don't know where to turn for assistance. Also, 74 percent of respondents whose schools do not offer this instruction think that it should be provided. In schools that offer entrepreneurship instruction, 30 percent of respondents said their students are more likely to wind up starting their own business one day.
With this complimentary curriculum, which integrates entrepreneurship into existing coursework, teachers can educate future entrepreneurs on how to write a business plan, obtain funding and interact with business-related agencies. The National Education Association also reviewed the curriculum and agreed to make information about it available to its 2.8 million members.
"Most young people are full of promising ideas, and the new curriculum will enable any classroom to help students learn how to turn those ideas into credible businesses," said Don V. Cogman, chairman of the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation. "We are pleased to be working with Visa to find another way of recognizing the entrepreneurial spirit within our nation's young people."
NFIB.com
Access the free, online curriculum at NFIB's Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom page at www.NFIB.com/EITC or at Visa USA's site at www.practicalmoneyskills.com.
