02/27/2007
Take Time to Teach mentors offer educators a crash course in entrepreneurship
Cheryl Sheen, owner of Sheen Financial Advisors in Plainwell, Mich., doesn't have a lot of free time in her day, but she takes the time to offer her expertise and insight to teachers in her local school system because she believes it's important.
"Small business makes up such a large part of our workforce, and we need to encourage it, especially in Michigan where businesses and jobs are scarce," Sheen says.
Through the Young Entrepreneur Foundation's Take Time to Teach (T3) mentoring program, Sheen has found a way to promote entrepreneurship where it is most needed--in high schools.
The T3 program, which is part of the YEF's Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom effort to expose high-school students to real-life stories of entrepreneurship, is designed to familiarize teachers with the subject of small business by providing them with mentors who can answer their questions and give them a practical perspective on starting and running a business.
NFIB members who sign up are asked to share with teachers how they turned their dream of owning a business into a reality and also advise them on how to integrate Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom curriculum into lessons.
Many young adults are entrepreneurial in spirit, but some don't know where to start--and teachers often don't know how to guide them, says Brad Eiffert, a T3 mentor who regularly speaks to the University of Missouri's business students.
"Sometimes students are intimidated by the concept of owning a business," he says.
All they need is someone to encourage them to consider the possibilities. Eiffert will never forget the day a small-business owner spoke to his accounting class during his junior year in high school.
"It ignited an interest in me in pursuing a business education--and it made a difference," Eiffert says.
Now, as owner of Columbia, Mo.-based Boone County Lumber Company, Eiffert visits classrooms himself to share his experiences with high-school and college students.
"I feel an obligation to share because, along my path, others have shared with me," he says.
Mentors who sign up for the T3 program can interact with teachers via phone, e-mail or in person before or after school. If locations and schedules permit, they can even stop by the classroom when the EITC material is presented. Mentors who do visit classrooms often learn as much from the experience as students, Eiffert says.
"When you put your experiences into words, you realize how far you've come," he says.
Not only did Ray Childs sign up to be a T3 mentor, he also visits guidance counselors at local schools to make them aware of the Young Entrepreneur Awards program and find out if there are any students who might be interested in applying for the scholarships.
Childs, owner of Archbold, Ohio-based Childs Investment Group, believes that helping students is important because years ago someone did the same for him.
"Where are kids supposed to get their values and preparation for tomorrow, if we're not willing to guide them?" Childs says.
"It's the responsibility of all of us to reach out and help tomorrow's leaders--to encourage them and pat them on the back, and to step up to the plate and set an example."
The Young Entrepreneurship Foundation still needs more T3 mentors to reach its goal of recruiting 200 by this fall. To learn more about becoming a mentor, contact Julie Carney at (202) 314-2042 or julie.carney@nfib.org, or sign up online at www.nfib.com/page/howYouCanHelp. Visa USA is a copresenting sponsor of the T3 Mentoring Program.
