Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
From left, Thomas Palla, Madison Williams, Isabella John and Reece Harmon demonstrate giving a pneumonia shot to a cow, one of the services offered by their small business, Utterly Fantastic Vet Clinic, one of the many small business ideas Clovis students showcased at the Clovis Youth Entrepreneurship Camp's business expo on Saturday.
CLOVIS — Clovis middle school students took the first steps toward forming their own small businesses last week at the first Clovis Youth Entrepreneurship Camp.
Sponsored by Clovis Municipal Schools, the Small Business Development Center at Clovis Community College and the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce, the camp taught students the ins and outs of creating their own small business before giving them the chance to show off their own business ideas at an expo on Saturday.
"I loved it, I would go here every weekend if I could," Madison Williams said, a Yucca student who attended the camp. "I enjoyed getting to work with other people and getting to learn about entrepreneuring and getting a chance to show what I want to do when I'm older."
CMS Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Joe Strickland was pleased with the participation in the event. 23 students completed the camp and others were interested but there was not enough space, according to Strickland.
"The kids were brilliant," Strickland said. "These kids had great ideas, they were really driven, they wanted to be here and it showed when they were talking about their passions and what really drove them and why. That's what this camp focused on, that's what I liked about it."
Business ideas the kids came up with included Utterly Fantastic Vet Clinic, a 24-hour veterinary service for both large animals like cows and small animals like chickens or pets and Investigative Health Clinic, a service that combines health care and criminal investigations all under the same umbrella.
During the three-day camp participants heard presentations from local business owners detailing different aspects of business like customer service and commercials, and also took tours of three local businesses and talked with their owners, visiting Leslie Candy, Paleteria La Tropicana and Windrush Alpacas Farm.
"They explained their life story of how they created their business, so that was kind of cool," said Luna Rodriguez, a Gattis student who participated in the camp.
In April the students will be able to put what they learned to the test at a small business fair sponsored by Clovis Community College.
Strickland said middle school and high school students will present their business ideas to a panel of judges made up of local business people, with the winners receiving cash prizes.
