Registration is now under way for Entrepreneurship Summer Camps, hosted by Troy University’s IDEA Bank and the Small Business Development Center.

The camps will focus on high school students who want to develop skills necessary for successful entrepreneurial start-up businesses. The camp is supported through a grant from the Wiregrass Resource Conservation and Development Council.

The 10-day camp will be from July 11-22, and Lynne George, the IDEA Bank’s director, said students can expect to learn the “ins and outs” of how to start a business.

“Students will start with an idea for a business that they want to open or an idea for a business that they’ve already started on,” George said.

The day-to-day activities will take students through the steps to develop their idea into a practical business model. 

“We’ll go through things like your business plan and your financial plan, and we’ll also go through things like entrepreneurial law, marketing and brand development,” George said.

The camp will also touch on entrepreneurial mindset and confidence, how to pitch your idea or how to give a sales pitch, and how to communicate professionally.

“It will introduce the younger entrepreneurs to the services the SBDC offers in these areas to any start-up businesses,” said SBDC Director Juliana Bolivar. “Beyond the basic skills they will learn in the camp, we want to give them the skills they are not necessarily learning at home or in school in order for the students to be better prepared to formally launch businesses in the future.”

The camp will finish with the students pitching their idea to a panel and a reception to follow.

There will also be a competitive element to the camp.

“The pitches will definitely have a competitive battle,” George said.

George not only wants students to learn what goes into starting a business, but to also build confidence.

“I want students to feel confident enough to go out there and pursue whatever idea it is that they have,” George said. “A lot of students, especially younger students don’t feel ready.

“You have this great idea, and you know what you want to do, but you don’t feel like you have the expertise or the experience or the knowledge. I’m hoping that this camp will give students enough knowledge and practice to give it a shot,” she said.

Applications for the camp open Jan. 17, and the registration fee is $250.

There are need-based scholarship opportunities available for students who cannot pay the registration fee.

“I definitely want to encourage high school students who have an entrepreneurial spirit to apply,” George said.

To register, visit the Entrepreneurship Summer Camp at https://www.troy.edu/community-outreach/idea-bank/entrepreneurship-summer-camp.html.