amber howitt

Entrepreneurship Activities for Students: Amber’s Green SuperCamp Reflection

Enterprise For KidsTeam Amber's Stories, Family Adventure & Real-World Learning, Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , ,
entrepreneurship activities for students Amber leading run at Green SuperCamp

Entrepreneurship activities for students do not always look like business plans and market stalls. Sometimes they look like leadership camps, team challenges, goal setting, confidence building and learning how to step out of your comfort zone.

Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection shows how real-world learning experiences can help children grow in confidence, courage, communication and initiative.

entrepreneurship activities for students Amber at Green SuperCamp with new friends
Amber and new friends.

Entrepreneurship Activities for Students at Green SuperCamp

For our readers who were expecting Part 3 to our “Teaching Your Kids To Achieve Success” series of articles, I’d like to let you know that will be up very soon and it will be well worth the read.

Flynn and Amber Howitt have just returned from a Young Leaders Camp in Bali. As it is so fresh and exciting, I thought we would interrupt our five-part series and share some snippets of Amber’s experience whilst on camp.

Before I hand you over to Amber, I would like to give our readers a little background about Green SuperCamp, which was held at Green School Bali.

In 2012, three of our children — Kaitlin, Jai and Flynn — attended the camp and returned full of experience and wisdom. The camp is designed to create young leaders who care for our future world.

It does this by building their confidence, encouraging them to think big, and giving them the skills to learn, interact and step out of their comfort zones. In this way, it becomes one of those powerful entrepreneurship activities for students that teaches far more than a normal classroom lesson.

Leadership and learning activities:

student leadership activity Amber participating in a team performance
Amber participating in a team performance.
entrepreneurship activities for students Flynn learning trust through teamwork
Flynn learning to trust.

This year Amber was old enough to go along too. She was very excited because she had heard all the awesome stories and learning from her siblings’ camp experiences the year before.

Also, a bunch of friends from Western Australia were coming along as well — Maddi Barrett, Macy Hobson, Georgia Dewar and Lachlan McRoberts.

To learn more about the philosophy of Green School Bali, you can read our earlier article.

Amber Howitt’s Green SuperCamp Reflection

So enough from me… here is Amber Howitt’s Green SuperCamp reflection.

Green SuperCamp, for me, was an amazing experience! Everyone there is treated evenly and kindly. No one is excluded or mistreated, so everyone is happy.

Your phones and valuables are given in, but you can reunite with your valuables almost every night to contact your parents.

Learning through real activities:

student learning activity grinding grain at Green SuperCamp
Grinding grain.
entrepreneurship activities for students teamwork at Green SuperCamp
Flynn and his SuperCamp team.

The Green SuperCamp itself is built mainly out of bamboo. It is nurtured and cared for by the people within it.

They use water from their lake and purify it. People from the world outside Green School can come and collect the water for free and use it in their homes.

Green School is meant so people around the community can be involved with the school. They make their own power using solar energy and grow their own food in food gardens.

Goal Setting as Entrepreneurship Activities for Students

The camp has inspired me to do more with my life, rather than just sit around and be… normal.

It has inspired me to take challenges, adventures and think of the things I could be doing. Writing books and travelling around the world are two of my crazy ideas. Those things might be a little hard for someone at the age of eleven though, but I can try to work up to that goal.

The steps for goal making are:

  • Design it
  • Outline it
  • In your face — tackle barriers
  • Take action!

Because of this, goal setting is one of the most practical entrepreneurship activities for students. It helps children imagine a future, break it into steps and take responsibility for moving forward.

Facing challenges and building trust:

entrepreneurship activities for students high ropes course facing fears
High ropes course. Facing fears!
team trust activity for students Flynn floating on hands
Flynn floating on hands.

Learning Strategies and Student Confidence

We were taught Quantum Reading and Writing. I improved my reading speed with the same comprehension by over 100%.

I concentrated by using the Alpha State. Alpha State is a technique to relax and concentrate better.

The steps to Alpha State are:

  • Sit up
  • Breathe in and out
  • Close eyes
  • Think of a peaceful place
  • Roll eyes up and down
  • Open eyes
  • Concentrate

These strategies are useful because they help students understand how they learn. For entrepreneurial kids, focus, confidence and self-awareness are just as important as having a business idea.

Camp life and friendships:

student life skills activity preparing home grown food at camp
Maddi preparing the home grown food.
students building friendships at Green SuperCamp
Macy and Georgia

Communication as Entrepreneurship Activities for Students

The friendships you can make at Green SuperCamp are really special. I made friends with both team leaders and kids from all over the world.

It is really easy to do so because everyone wants to make friends. Sometimes your relationships can last forever.

Green SuperCamp teaches you how to have the courage to become friends. No one is alone at Green School or Green SuperCamp.

I also learnt techniques to help me learn. These help me improve my relationship with my teachers. We call this “SLANT”.

Here are the “Tips for Learning” or “SLANT”:

  • Sit up
  • Lean forward
  • Ask questions
  • Nod your head
  • Talk to your teacher

Communication skills are an important part of entrepreneurship activities for students. Students need to ask questions, listen well, speak clearly and build trust with people around them.

Thanking and Apologising

students saying goodbye to leaders after Green SuperCamp
Flynn saying goodbye to new friends!

We also learnt the importance of thanking people and apologising. We were taught how to do this properly.

We call the steps to thanking “OTFD” or “Open The Front Door”.

Observation, Think, Feel, Desire

We call the steps to apologise “AAMR”, pronounced “A Mr!”

Acknowledge, Apologise, Make it Right, Recommit

Eight Keys of Success

Lastly, we were taught the “Eight Keys of Success”. These are the keys that keep you on course for success.

For each of these keys, we learn a different hand movement. This helps us remember them.

Here they are:

  1. Integrity
  2. Failure Leads to Success
  3. Speak With Good Purpose
  4. This Is It
  5. Commitment
  6. Ownership
  7. Flexibility
  8. Balance

Altogether, these keys are another example of entrepreneurship activities for students because they build the habits children need for leadership, responsibility and future enterprise.

Why These Experiences Matter

If you read this and think, “Nah… my child wouldn’t want to go to that camp!” think again.

Any child, from any place, no matter what, will want to go to GreenSuperCamp.

Thank you to my parents and camp sponsors for making it possible for me to attend Green SuperCamp. Thank you to my friends and new friends that supported me on camp.

Also, thank you to all the team leaders and facilitators who taught me all the tools I need for life. Lastly, thank you my team. GO TEAM H!

Thanks Amber for your reflection.

Jai, Kaitlin and Lachlan are currently on the Senior Green SuperCamp. You can also read Jai’s Green SuperCamp experience and Flynn’s Green SuperCamp reflection.

Kaitlin also shared why she wanted to attend the Green SuperCamp in Why Our Kids Wanted to Attend the Green SuperCamp.

Our “Teaching Your Kids To Achieve Success” series will continue with Part 3. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2.

Key takeaway: Entrepreneurship activities for students can include leadership camps, goal setting, teamwork, confidence building, communication skills and real-world challenges. Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection shows how these experiences help children grow.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection, you may also like:

Amber would love to hear your comments. Be sure to ask her some questions below.

Upcycling Business Ideas: Amber’s New From Old Project 2

Enterprise For KidsTeam Amber's Stories, Family Enterprise Stories, Kids Business Ideas, Money Lessons for Kids , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Amber Howitt learning upcycling business ideas through her New From Old enterprise

Upcycling business ideas can start very small. Sometimes all a child needs is a second-hand item, a little imagination, a few practical skills and the confidence to have a go.

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After Amber’s first New From Old project was successful, she was ready to keep her enterprise momentum moving. This time, her opportunity came from a visit to the Geraldton Recycling Centre with her Gran.

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Amber finding an item at the recycling centre for an upcycling business idea
Amber learnt that enterprise opportunities can sometimes be found in unexpected places.

Upcycling Business Ideas: Amber’s New From Old Project 2

Amber’s rabbit hutch project was hugely successful. She made an easy sale with excellent profit, and it gave her the confidence to look for another enterprise opportunity.

This post is part of Amber’s New From Old resale enterprise series, where she learnt how to find second-hand items, improve them and sell them for profit.

After the success of the rabbit hutch, Amber was looking for a new Enterprise for Kids project to keep her momentum moving forward.

So she planned a visit to the Geraldton Recycling Centre with her Gran to see if she could find another opportunity.

Finding Upcycling Business Ideas at the Recycling Centre

Amber was under instructions to only bring home something small, as we were returning to Burekup and already had a lot to fit into the car.

That is often a useful boundary for kids. It helps them look carefully, think practically and choose something they can actually manage.

For families in the Geraldton area today, the City of Greater Geraldton’s Resource Recovery Station is a useful reminder that recycling and reuse can create real-world learning opportunities for children.

Amber negotiating at the recycling centre as part of an upcycling business idea
Amber negotiates with the recycling centre man.
Pine timber display shelves Amber found for her upcycling business idea
Amber’s pine timber display shelves before the makeover.

What Amber found was a small pine display cupboard.

She thought it could make a good doll house. As an alternative, she could simply tidy it up and resell it.

That was smart thinking. She was not locked into only one idea. She could see more than one possible use for the item, which gave her flexibility.

Negotiating, Improving and Selling for Profit

Amber negotiated with the recycling centre man, batted her big blue eyes, and bought the shelves for a couple of dollars.

This was a simple but valuable enterprise lesson.

She was learning how to:

  • spot an opportunity,
  • look for resale potential,
  • negotiate a price,
  • improve an item,
  • advertise it,
  • and sell it for profit.

These are the kinds of practical skills that children can learn through real-world enterprise projects.

Amber sanded the cupboard back, gave it a coat of varnish and advertised it for sale.

Amber's upcycled display shelves after varnish ready to sell for profit
After a lick of varnish, the shelves were ready to sell.

Sold for $15!

Once again, Amber was happy with her profit. She added the cash to her money jar in readiness for her next Enterprise for Kids opportunity.

What Amber Learnt from Her Upcycling Business Idea

We watched Amber’s confidence skyrocket from running her little business projects.

This is one of the things we love about small enterprise experiences for children. The money matters, but the learning is even bigger.

Through this project, Amber was developing skills in:

  • opportunity spotting,
  • creative thinking,
  • negotiation,
  • marketing,
  • basic pricing,
  • follow-through,
  • and confidence.

She was also learning that value can be created.

The pine shelves were not worth much sitting at the recycling centre. But with a little care, sanding, varnish and marketing, they became something someone else was willing to buy.

That is a powerful lesson for children.

Amber’s Reflection on How her Money Goal Has Been Progressing

Amber reflects on what her money target is and how she has been progressing towards her goal. Click the image to view her reflection.

Amber's Reflection on how her Money Goal is Progressing
Amber’s Reflection on how her Money Goal is Progressing (click to view video)

Upcycling Business Ideas Teach Kids to Spot Opportunity

Upcycling business ideas are wonderful for kids because they do not need to start with a lot of money.

Children can begin by looking for small, manageable items that can be cleaned, repaired, painted, polished, repurposed or presented better.

They can learn to ask:

  • Could this be useful to someone?
  • Could this be cleaned up?
  • Could this be turned into something else?
  • Could this be advertised better?
  • Could I buy this cheaply enough to make a profit?
  • Who might want this once it is improved?

These questions help children think like entrepreneurs.

They begin to see that opportunity is not always obvious. Sometimes it is hidden under dust, scratches, old paint or someone else’s discarded item.

Amber’s New From Old Series

This project was another step in Amber’s New From Old journey.

Her first project showed her that she could buy and sell for profit. This second project showed her that she could take something simple, improve it and make another successful sale.

Each small project helped her build belief in herself.

We do hold the crystal ball, and we know what Amber gets up to next. You will be amazed by the opportunities she finds.

Stay tuned for more in Amber’s enterprise journey.

Key Takeaway: Upcycling Business Ideas Can Start Small

Key takeaway: upcycling business ideas can teach children how to spot opportunity, negotiate, improve an item, advertise and sell for profit. Amber’s New From Old project showed that a small recycling centre find can become a valuable real-world money lesson.

Where to Next?

What second-hand item could your child clean up, improve or resell as a small enterprise project?

Buy and Sell for Profit: Amber’s Rabbit Hutch Flip

Enterprise For KidsTeam Amber's Stories, Family Enterprise Stories, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Buy and sell for profit with Amber's rabbit hutch flip

Buy and sell for profit sounds simple, but it teaches children a lot. They have to spot an opportunity, understand value, negotiate a price, improve the item, advertise it well and then complete the sale.

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This is the second article in Amber’s New From Old series. After planning her enterprise idea, Amber wasted no time putting it into action — and her rabbit hutch flip became a wonderful first success.

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Amber contemplating how to buy and sell for profit through her New From Old enterprise
Amber contemplating her next New From Old enterprise opportunity.

Buy and Sell for Profit: Amber’s Rabbit Hutch Flip

Amber didn’t waste any time jumping into her New From Old money-making enterprise.

She bugged me to take her to the Dardanup Tip to see what she could find. So, after her Saturday soccer game, we paid a visit.

At the tip there was a salvage area where anything that could be recycled was put aside and sold. The current Shire of Dardanup Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Centre information still shows how recycling and Tip Shop-style reuse can be part of local waste recovery.

Almost immediately, Amber spotted an opportunity.

She saw a damaged rabbit hutch. We looked over it and could see that it was generally in good structural condition and could easily be repaired. However, it did need a paint job.

So Amber went up to the tip man and struck up a deal.

She bought the cage for $10.

Ten dollars was a real bargain! We looked up the exact same cage sold online in kit form and saw that people were paying around $180 for them.

Amber’s New From Old Series

This post belongs in Amber’s New From Old series, where she learns how to find second-hand items, improve them and sell them for profit.

Repairing the Rabbit Hutch

Arriving home, there was a buzz of interest as the neighbouring kids headed around to see Amber’s rabbit hutch. They were really curious to see what she was up to.

Amber bought a couple of paint brushes for $5. Then, using some old house paint she found in the shed, she and her friends set to work painting.

She also employed her brother Flynn and his mate Dan for $2 each to fix the broken part of the cage.

They thought that would be awesome!

Enterprise for Kids was now becoming infectious in the neighbourhood.

Chayse helping Amber repair the rabbit hutch for a buy and sell for profit project
Chayse helping Amber repair the rabbit hutch.
Amber fixing the door latch on a rabbit hutch to sell for profit
Amber fixing the door latch.

Learning to Add Value

This was a wonderful real-world money lesson.

Amber had not simply found something to sell. She had found something that needed attention, repair, paint and presentation before someone else would see its value.

That is one of the big lessons in learning to buy and sell for profit.

Profit often comes from seeing value that other people miss.

Amber was learning how to:

  • spot a bargain,
  • research the value,
  • negotiate the purchase price,
  • make repairs,
  • use help wisely,
  • advertise the item,
  • and sell for a profit.
Amber employing Flynn to help repair her rabbit hutch for a resale project
Amber employing Flynn to help her fix the rabbit hutch.

Pricing and Advertising the Rabbit Hutch

It was all great fun and, in no time at all, the cage was ready to be sold.

Amber continued her research into what to sell the cage for. She spoke with Darcy’s Mum about cages and also to Nicolette from next door. Both had owned rabbit cages and understood their value.

Finally, Amber decided that she would ask $90 for the bunny hutch.

Her next job was to put a free advert on the local Buy and Sell Bunbury Facebook page.

She put her ad up with a photo and waited for a response.

Amber photographing her rabbit hutch before advertising it to sell for profit
Now for the picture for Amber’s Facebook advert.
Amber's finished rabbit hutch ready to sell for profit
Amber’s finished enterprise idea.

Sold for $90!

You wouldn’t believe it!

Within ten minutes, the cage was sold for the full $90.

In fact, two other people had their hand up to buy the cage if the first deal fell through.

Amber met and thanked the man who came around to pick the cage up and eagerly took the cash payment.

She really did pull the money bunny out of the hat!

Amber’s Profit

All up, it was an outstanding result.

In only a few days, Amber’s profit was $71 after costs.

She was well on the way to attaining her goal.

With her money jar now looking very full, she was rearing to go for another visit to the tip!

She had already begun developing an enterprise mindset around business and money, and her financial IQ was growing.

What Amber Learnt About Buying and Selling

Amber’s rabbit hutch flip was not just about making $71.

It taught her that she could take an idea, act on it, solve problems, ask for help, make decisions and sell something successfully.

That kind of learning is powerful.

She also learnt that buying and selling for profit is not only about finding something cheap. It is about understanding value.

She had to ask:

  • Is this item worth fixing?
  • Can it be repaired easily?
  • What will the costs be?
  • What are similar items selling for?
  • Who might want to buy it?
  • How should I photograph and advertise it?
  • What price should I ask?

These are real business questions.

Buy and Sell for Profit: The Bigger Lesson

For children, a simple resale project can teach lessons that are difficult to learn from a worksheet.

Amber learnt through action.

She learnt that opportunity can sometimes be sitting at the tip, waiting for someone with imagination to notice it.

She learnt that old things can become valuable again.

She learnt that money can be created through effort, creativity and follow-through.

Most importantly, she learnt that she could do it.

That belief is one of the most valuable outcomes of all.

Key Takeaway: Buy and Sell for Profit Starts With Spotting Value

Key takeaway: buy and sell for profit projects can teach children how to spot value, negotiate, repair, research prices, advertise and complete a sale. Amber’s rabbit hutch flip showed that one small second-hand item can become a powerful real-world money lesson.

Where to Next?

What second-hand item could your child buy, improve and sell for profit?

Resale Business Ideas: Amber’s New From Old Enterprise

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Resale business ideas with Amber’s New From Old enterprise

Resale business ideas can begin with something as simple as learning how to spot a bargain. For Amber, that lesson began with her Gran, who knew how to find value in second-hand items long before “upcycling” became a popular word.

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This short post begins Amber’s New From Old series. It is the starting point for her resale enterprise, where she learns to find old or unwanted items, improve them and sell them for profit.

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Gran helping Amber discover resale business ideas through bargain hunting
Gran is a great bargain hunter.

Resale Business Ideas: Amber’s New From Old Enterprise

My family immigrated here to Australia from Kenya back when I was just a kid in 1970.

They came out with little qualifications, money or possessions and were supporting a young family. In order to make ends meet, my mother became very good at hunting down a bargain at a variety of places, including op shops, lawn sales, second-hand shops and markets.

Years later, she opened her own second-hand goods shop and did exceptionally well out of it as a small business.

So, when Amber was looking for an enterprise idea, she knew exactly who to speak to.

Learning Resale Business Ideas from Gran

Amber knew her Grandmother was an expert at finding bargains and then on-selling them for a profit.

Her Gran suggested that Amber start her search at the local tip’s recycling centre, a place where thrown-away items are put aside, then sold to the public for next to nothing.

Here was a wonderful opportunity to buy something, fix it up and resell it.

For families in the area today, the Shire of Dardanup Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Centre is a useful reminder that recycling, reuse and waste recovery can create opportunities for families to think differently about what gets thrown away.

One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure

The old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” was to ring very true here.

So that is the basis of Amber’s new business.

To create something new from something old.

That is why resale business ideas can be so powerful for kids. A child does not always need a huge amount of money, a shopfront or a complicated business plan.

Sometimes they simply need:

  • someone who can teach them how to spot value,
  • a place to search for bargains,
  • a small amount of starting money,
  • a practical eye for what can be cleaned, repaired or improved,
  • and the confidence to try.

Amber’s New From Old Business Plan

Amber’s business plan was simple and sound.

Find something old.

Look for the hidden value.

Buy it for a low price.

Clean it, repair it or improve it.

Then resell it for a profit.

She was definitely onto a winner.

More importantly, she was proud of what she had come up with.

That pride matters. When children own their enterprise idea, they are much more likely to take action and follow it through.

Why Resale Business Ideas Are Great for Kids

Resale business ideas are wonderful for kids because they teach practical business skills in a very hands-on way.

Children can learn how to:

  • notice opportunities,
  • compare prices,
  • think about what other people might want,
  • clean or improve an item,
  • take a good photo,
  • advertise clearly,
  • talk with buyers,
  • and understand profit.

They also learn that value is not always obvious.

Some people see rubbish.

Others see opportunity.

Amber was beginning to learn how to see opportunity.

Amber’s New From Old Series

Follow Amber’s New From Old journey: This article begins the series. The next posts show Amber putting the idea into action and learning how to buy, improve and sell for profit.

Next we will share Flynn’s business plan for his new enterprise.

It is really a honey pot of gold!

Key Takeaway: Resale Business Ideas Can Start Small

Key takeaway: resale business ideas can help children learn how to spot value, buy carefully, improve second-hand items and sell for profit. Amber’s New From Old enterprise began with Gran’s bargain-hunting wisdom and a simple idea: create something new from something old.

Where to Next?

What old item could your child turn into a new opportunity?