Discover Youth Entrepreneurship In Atlanta

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With the economy in relentless decline and no viable end in sight, many of our inner-city youth have joined the working class as what have now been dubbed “bottle boys.” Over the last five years, the number of community youth who sell bottled water on busy street corners as a means to earn extra income has steadily increased. This has also led to an increase in complaints against these young entrepreneurs. These complaints range from them being too aggressive to these boys darting unsafely into traffic, and also that they do not properly dispose of their trash. I’m A Father F1rst decided to work towards a new solution to help teach these young men new skills. Learn about our Corner Boys program here and sign up to take part in future initiatives today!

Corner Boys

There are a large number of advantages and benefits to youth entrepreneurship in our city and in the lives of these young men. Some of these include:

  • Instillation of critical thinking skills
  • Teaches failure as a viable outcome
  • Promotes social and emotional well-being
  • Introduces collaboration as a crucial skill
  • Fosters confidence and creativity
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The Challenge

The youth in lower income areas in Atlanta face multiple barriers that stand in the way of attaining economic opportunities. The lack of soft skills development opportunities, formal education opportunities, and unstable family environments make it difficult for Atlanta youth to secure employment. Further compounding this issue is a lack of access to capital, geographic constraints, and a lack of entrepreneurial skills that make it difficult for young people to start businesses. To further the problems, the stay-at-home order associated with COVID-19 led to further strained local resources, school closures, the halting of summer programs, civil unrest, and much more.

The Objective

I’m A Father F1rst set out to develop and implement a youth entrepreneurship curriculum that provides true engagement in a learn-by-doing, real-world setting.

The Solution

During the months of June through August, we created an entrepreneurial skills training program for at-risk youth in Atlanta. This program aims to strengthen the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for youth participants to successfully start micro-enterprises. The training is designed to contribute to the program goals of positioning youth to be:

  • Economically self-sustainable
  • Meaningfully employed
  • Serve in positive leadership roles in their own communities

All of these positive aspects are encouraged, while risky behaviors that may lead to crime and violence are further discouraged.

The Training Program

During the training, youth participants will build key business skills, such as market assessment and analysis, marketing, customer service, operations, management, production, quality control, financial management, and soft skills. By learning effective communication, creativity, teamwork, and more, these youth will be able to form a stronger generation of young men working towards bettering themselves and their communities.

I’m A Father F1rst designed this program to:

  • Create and implement engaging community involvement growth strategies
  • Empower learners of all ages through skill-building and wealth generating activities
  • Develop employment and career-building opportunities to sustain purpose-built community initiatives

The Implementation

Participants learn and apply business start-up practices and concepts to projects they're passionate about. They build, test, learn, and apply — embracing the cycle of experimentation. This is core to entrepreneurship and a great training ground for life. The youth in our Atlanta program get comfortable with failing and learning from failure. While they are working in teams and being supported by a dynamic mix of I’m A Father F1rst mentors, this translates to deeper learning and skill building.

The overall program structure includes:

  • Obtaining permits for stands to sell goods
  • Registering program participants
  • Training in business, manners, appearance, and more
  • Train participants on safety and sanitation such as social distancing and trash disposal
  • Providing materials such as I’m A Father F1rst tents, t-shirts, PPE, hand sanitizer, and trash bags
  • Working with mentors to sell bottled water, fresh fruit, and other items

During all of the business activities, I’m A Father F1rst mentors supervise participants throughout set-up, sales, and clean-up. 

Join The Corner Boys Program Today

Would you like to partner with I’m A Father F1rst and join the Corner Boys initiative to help grow stronger youth entrepreneurship in Atlanta? Get in touch with our team or sign up today! We look forward to partnering with you to help create a new generation of businessmen in our community.