Ben Pope, head agriculture teacher, gave an interview on the FLEX program, a high school entrepreneurship competition Sumter County participates in. The program has 18 students, and the top 10 were recently selected. Pope told how each of the top ten students received a $200 loan, which served as a spring board for their ventures. “They use that to either launch or expand their business.”

Pope shared the experience level of the students. “It’s really been a mix. We have some that. . . didn’t ever think that they’d own a business or operate a business, and then there’s some that have been doing it for a few years now.” Students have created businesses ranging from food production, jewelry, crocheting, music production, pressuring washing, and perfume making.

Pope outlined the training necessary to prepare students to run businesses. “Part of the FLEX process is they attend workshops and trainings, so we try to identify various areas that need improvement. So the first workshop students participate in was the business plan workshop. So that’s where they went over every bit of information that goes into a business plan.”

The FLEX process helps students meet the requirements for their business. Pope gave the food-based businesses as an example. “The first step is to get a serve safe certification, and FLEX gets all that squared away, so they’ll actually be able to participate in a serve safe class, which is the first step to getting the cottage food license.” The serve safe certification is required before a student with a food-based business can compete at the State level.

Pope told how the students also learn the financial side of running a business. “Our second workshop is a business finance workshop, Miss Tanya Jones, at Sumter EMC, she led that workshop.”

In addition to learning how to keep track of finances, Pope told how the students are also taught how to make their product visible. “Our next workshop will be the marketing workshop, so they’ll get to learn about how best to market their businesses.” He told how students learn more about promotion by giving presentations for their businesses. “Its very similar to Shark Tank, so that’s kind of what this competition was based off of.”

Pope told how the students had been able to learn from real business owners. “Mister Kenny Phillips and Mister Jimmy Whaley came and actually spoke to our students about their businesses that they operated.”

Betty Suggs, work-based learning system coordinator, told how both businessmen were able prepare students for the difficult aspects of small business ownership, including what it was like setting up a business in a building and getting clearance from the Health and Fire Department, along with licensing.

Pope shared what aspects of running a small business had taken the students by surprise. “Just how much actually goes into a business.”

Suggs also added that the amount of record keeping involved in business also took students off guard. Pope gave an example from the food-based businesses, where carefully keeping track of the cost of ingredients is necessary to ensure students are turning a profit.

Customer service is another learning curve for students. Pope shared their progress. “I’ve definitely seen some improvements in them when it comes to interacting with their peers.”

Pope stated they were in the process of getting business licenses for the students, and were looking into youth membership at the Chamber of Commerce. “All the things that they actually need to be a legitimate business, and we’re working on that with our partners downtown.”

Pope stated where the students were at in the competition. “We’re currently in the middle of round two. It’s three rounds of judging.” He told how round one was where the students had created a business plan. “Round two is where they actually operate their business.”

Pope shared how the top three would be picked in February. “The top three get about another month, month and a half, to operate their business, and then they will compete for . . .the top prize.”

The stakes are high. Pope detailed prizes. “The student that wins first place here in Sumter County, they will receive $3,000. Second place gets $2,000, third place gets $1,000, and then our first-place student will move on to the State competition in April, where they will represent our County in the statewide competition.”

Pope told how the student’s business plans were judged by community members. “They gave some pretty good feedback to them.” Students who’ve completed business plans will be able to sell items to other students during the PAW’s celebrations at school. They will also get a chance to sell to the community at large during FLEXPO, which will be held in February in conjunction with First Friday.

Students will also have the opportunity to test the waters with their wares in downtown Americus. Pope stated their goal was to learn from the community. “Ideally we would love for them to be able to give feedback to our students, so that way they can work on improving in every aspect of operating the business.”

Pope told how round three judging would be open to the public, and that three finalists would be selected mid-March. Suggs stated the kids were enthusiastic about the competition. “This is big. The kids really enjoy it. They’re having a great time.”