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Youth Community Entrepreneur Program

The Youth Community Entrepreneur Program (YCEP) works cooperatively with local youth to provide entrepreurial development, mentorship opportunites and peer support, in an effort to help them create sustainable community businesses.

LifeCycles Youth Community Entrepreneur Program is one of a growing number of youth-entrepreneurship programs nationwide that aim to give youth the skills they need to create their own businesses and succeed.

The Youth Community Entrepreneur Program is unique among these for its emphasis on the creation of sustainable agri-food businesses that strengthen our local food supply. These businesses are integral to revitalizing our community-based economy. 1999 was the first year for Youth Community Entrepreneur Program! with 8 participants given a stipend for 6 months. They were provided with organizational tools, workshops, computer and business training, mentorship, weekly meetings with a coordinator as well as support from LifeCycles in the form of contact networks, contracts and desktop publishing.

Sustainable?

To find out if what you do is sustainable, do this simple test: are the materials, activities and energy involved renewable, can they be reproduced and go on and on indefinitely? Sustainability means going about your business in a way that can be repeated without hurting the earth. Businesses can do this by "closing the loop." For example, a landscaper can use soil amendments that are made from decomposed vegetables that otherwise might have gone in a landfill. This closes the loop because the cycle of life starts over again with plants using decomposed plants as their sustenance. On the other hand, an unsustainable landscaping business would use factory-made chemical fertilizers and machinery powered by fossil-fuels, neither of which are renewable, and cause ecological harm even after they are used.

Why sustainable community micro-enterprises?

Clearly, small business continues to be the engine of growth in BC and across Canada. The more local business and community groups can do to support small business through skill enhancement, mentorship and network support, the more resulting sustainable jobs will be created for youth and adults alike.

The key sectors of high employment growth are currently in the sustainable community sectors such as agri-food, eco-tourism, environmental services, information technology, crafts and others. These sectors tend to be made up of numerous small businesses that tend to have a strong legion of support from the local community. More and more people like to be able see and meet the entrepreneurs providing them with the key products and services they require everyday such as food, health products, environmental services, crafts and the like.


Program Outline

LifeCycles' Youth Community Entrepreneur Program 2003 will provide the skills, tools and support for 12 youth (16-30 years) to develop business plans, explore community micro-business opportunities and initiate sustainable community businesses. The program is designed to empower youth and help them develop avenues for self-employment. It provides a "next step" for youth who have gained a broad range of hands-on, personal, and organizational skills through skills development programs and other personal experiences. As a non-profit organization focused on youth skills initiatives, urban food security and sustainable community economic development, LifeCycles will utilize its extensive community partnerships to support youth in the business planning and business start-up stages.

Examples of business ideas this coming year include organic market gardening, eco-tourism bike and nature tours, value-added food products, herbal skin tonics, aromatherapy, web design and programming, crafts, natural fibre clothing, and permaculture design.

The Program includes:

  • a 1-week Entrepreneurial Development Orientation;
  • personal support and hands-on business experience from mentors (120 hours);
  • weekly one-on-one meetings with the Coordinator for personal and business counselling/guidance support, and bi-monthly group meetings for peer support;
  • a 2 day Business Plan Management workshop series in July;
  • continued business planning/management workshops (up to 12 guest speakers);
  • Microsoft Word, Excel and Internet Explorer sessions;
  • one-on-one support to complete a business plan;
  • and, ongoing follow-up and support from LifeCycles.

Objectives

  • Build lifelong entrepreneurial skills and increase business planning capacity among Greater Victoria area youth
  • Create avenues for youth to start-up community businesses, and enhance their employment opportunities in the emerging sustainable community business sectors
  • Provide a base for continued support to young entrepreneurs developing community business and related micro-enterprises
  • Encourage and facilitate the development of cooperative business relationships and networks (formal and informal) between youth participants, and with other community partners and mentors, to strengthen each participant's chance of success in business
  • Enhance sustainable community economic development in the Greater Victoria area
  • Create a flexible model for LifeCycles and other groups to support youth in developing environmentally and socially responsible community businesses.

Past Participants

Past participants included market gardeners and herb growers, bakers specializing in organic, naturally-leavened bread, a heritage seed-saver, a landscaper that uses edible plants and a bike-and-trailer hauler of veggie boxes. They all believe in being as environmentally friendly as possible and passing these benefits on to their customers.