19 Dec Students in remote Northern Territory explore their potential as young entrepreneurs.
Aboriginal students at Urapunga Primary School launched their own little business in just five hours. 30 students from Preschool to Grade Six explored their potential as entrepreneurs in a one-day workshop, supported by not-for-profit organisation Circulanation, in partnership with Urapunga Primary School.
Tanya Egerton, Founder and Entrepreneurial Educator at Circulanation describes the process, “Be The Boss is designed to provide students with a first-hand experience in establishing a small business.”
“Students worked in teams to bring three unique business ideas to life in just one day. This approach allows students to quickly learn and apply basic business concepts and practice interpersonal skills in a low-risk environment.”
“We believe that young people have bright ideas that can tackle challenges and shape the future. Our aim is to empower young people in remote Australia to explore their potential as innovators to be the leaders of tomorrow.” said Tanya.
Urapunga is a remote Aboriginal community located 600 kilometres south-west of Darwin near the southern edge of Arnhem land, Northern Territory. Home to 108 people, it is the dream of Urapunga Elders and parents to inspire and support young people in their community to one day start their own business.
Edna Nelson lives in Urapunga and is a Teacher at the Urapunga School, “The kids had a lot of fun and it was a great way to show our young people that you can use your talents to create new opportunities and build a strong future for yourself and your family.” said Edna.
Students received five Deadly Dollars as startup capital to buy the supplies they needed to kick-start their business, worth twenty-five dollars each. Teams chose to invest in one of three pre-packaged business ideas including, jewellery made from wooden beads, Indigo dyed t-shirts and chocolate crackles. Teams then set about identified their target customer and how much their customer might pay for their product, before starting production and marketing.
Teams share their customer profiles with the rest of the class 
Latarjar Duncan holds a hand dyed indigo t-shirt 
L-R Lynette Collins and Jade Huddleston promoting the market stall at the Urapunga Store
The day culminated in a pop-up market stall at the school, with family and friends support the students by purchasing goods developed throughout the day. Students were encouraged to think like social entrepreneurs, with everyone agreeing to donate the funds raised to the school for a future trip to the neighbouring community of Ngukurr for social sports activities.
Acting Principle Will Roestenburg commented, “Soft-skills such as creative thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communication and leadership can be effectively taught in an engaging learning environment. Students need real-world experiential learning opportunities that allow them to try, test, learn, and sometimes fail in order for these skills to be learnt and applied.”
“Programs like Be The Boss are an excellent vehicle for young people to develop both their enterprise and soft-skills in a safe and supportive environment. I was proud of all our students for stepping up to this challenge.”