Today was a sad but exciting day as camp draws to a close. Today was the day that all of the countless hours and hard worked paid off. Today the companies presented their business plans to investors. Before their presentations, the campers all gathered to hear a shareholder’s address given by Rob Goggins, the Chief Operations Officer of Great Clips. Rob focused on what leadership means in today’s world, and on his definition of leadership, which is the ability to positively influence change in others regardless of title or role.
After the shareholder’s address, the group split into their companies to learn how to pay for their lifestyles. In their companies, students learned how to set a budget and tips on how to follow it. They also learned new ways to save money.
At last, the highlight of the week came: our business plan presentations. All the students showed how nervous they were going in, but after they were done you could see the relief on their faces. Students bubbled with pure joy that they had succeeded! After a week of preparation, all their hard work paid off. All the campers went in front of a panel of ‘investors’ and presented their business plans. Every company requested a loan to start their business. Every company received part of their loan!
Campers later got to hear from Quincy Oliver. Quincy spoke to campers about believing in the incredible and achieving the impossible. Early in his career, Quincy’s friends told him he couldn’t be successful as a speaker. He continued to push to do what he loves and now speaks all the time, charging $2,500 an hour to speak to all kinds of audiences.
To conclude our last night at Minnesota Business Venture, campers participated in Minute to Win It activities. Campers had a blast competing for prizes and cheering on the people they have gotten to know the past week. We’ll finish off the night with a dance–the perfect way to end a great week!