The mission of the Business Side of Youth (The B. Side) is to develop the marketable skills and enterprising spirit of youth by providing entrepreneurial and leadership training, mentoring relationships, and support that will result in establishing youth-owned businesses.

The Business Side of Youth was founded in 2007 as a project of Eastern Michigan University’s Office of Academic Service-Learning (AS-L). The B. Side is made possible by grant funds provided by the Ann Arbor Community Foundation, the RNR Foundation, the James A. & Faith Knight Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The purpose of the program is to develop a youth entrepreneurial culture in the community by providing ongoing entrepreneurial training, developing youth-owned and youth-run businesses, and cultivating youth-adult business relationships.

The B. Side Basics curriculum is based on the New Directions in Entrepreneurial Education curriculum by Generation E Institute.

The B. Side is targeting youth between the ages of 13-20 years old to serve as B. Side Business Leaders; particularly youth residing in Superior Township, Township of Ypsilanti, and the City of Ypsilanti, which includes youth from Lincoln Consolidated Schools, Willow Run Community Schools, and Ypsilanti Public Schools.

At the heart of this project will be the relationships formed between youth and adults. Adults from the business community are being recruited to serve as mentors and advisors to the youth interested in business and entrepreneurship. Adult volunteers are also being recruited to conduct workshops, host internships/apprenticeships, offer business-shadowing opportunities, review resumes and business plans, conduct mock interviews, serve on panels, and provide financial support.

The main objective of The B. Side is to stimulate critical thinking and economic skills, encourage creative and intelligent risk taking, and instill independence and personal responsibility in youth. The program will achieve this through:

# Developing a mentoring and internship program between youth and business leaders in the community.
# Offering trainings, workshops, and community events focusing on youth entrepreneurship, career development, and leadership.
# Creating partnerships among schools, businesses, nonprofits, institutions of higher education, government entities, and community members to support youth-led enterprises.
# Utilize community spaces for entrepreneurial training, for displaying and selling youth-produced work, and for operating youth owned and/or youth operated businesses.
# Establishing a micro-loan fund for youth-owned businesses.
# Forging relationships with other youth entrepreneurial programs and business leaders throughout the state and nation to share best practices.

Recognizing the entrepreneurial gap in youth programs, The B. Side was born out of the voices of youth in Washtenaw County. The Business Side of Youth developed as a concept in response to youth summits, focus groups, and surveys conducted by "Ypsilanti Youth Empowered to Act, "Washtenaw Area Teens for Tomorrow":http://watt.ewashtenaw.org (WATT), and "Teen Center Without Walls":http://www.tcw2.com/ (TCW2). These survey tools served as a mechanism to capture youth engagement within the Ypsilanti region, including areas for growth in programming. The reoccurring theme voiced among young people has been a greater need for employment, and professional and skill building opportunities.

With the foundation that YYEA, WATT, TCW2, and other youth service organizations created to engage youth, The B. Side has been able to carve out a niche to provide entrepreneurial education and enterprise development for young people. The B. Side has been able to achieve this under the guidance and direction of the Founding Steering Committee, including *Charles Penner*, _Regional Director, MI Small Business and Technology Development Center_, *Lisa Dengiz*, _Youth Development Consultant_, *Denise Dalrymple*, _Department Head, Washtenaw County Children's Service_, *Derrick Jackson*, _Director of Elections, Washtenaw County_, *Dr. Kathleen Stacey*, _Director of Academic Service-Learning_ and *Jeremy Kenney*, _WATT Intern_.

The B. Side plans to set high academic standards and provide rigorous, meaningful instruction in entrepreneurship education to middle and high school aged youth. By giving participants in the program individual attention, The B. Side will draw upon their real-world experiences and current understandings of entrepreneurship and business to build new knowledge. One of the major goals of the program is to demonstrate connections between success in school and long-term career plans.

The B. Side would like to give a special thanks to the following people and organizations:

Volunteers & Mentors:
* Robert Simmons, EMU Assistant Professor and Program Partner for Young Detroit Builders
* Scott Teasdale, EMU GEAR UP Program Associate, The B. Side Advisory Board/Chair,
Program Support Sub-Committee
* Michael Pickerell, Technology Specialist - EMU College of Business
* Kory Scheiber, EMU Student, Michigan Service Scholar, Community Outreach Coordinator,
The B. Side Advisory Board
* Victor Tran, EMU Student, Digital Inclusion Site Coordinator, The B. Side Advisory Board
* Jackie Davis, State Farm Insurance
* Angela Barbash, Edward Jones
* Les Heddle, Edward Jones
* Nancy Mathias, Focus Leadership Development
* LaVonne Maxwell, Financial Accountant, McKinley
* David Mielke, Dean - EMU College of Business, The B. Side Advisory Board
* Lisa Dengiz, Youth Development Consultant, The B. Side Advisory Board/Chair,
Program Champion Sub-Committee
* Al Newman, CEO ReCellular and The Newman Group, The B. Side Advisory Board/Chair,
Program Sustainability Sub-Committee

Donors:
* Albert Berriz, CEO of McKinley.
* Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman's Community of Businesses.
* Monique Deschaine, Owner of Al Dente Pasta Company.
* Jesse Morgan of the Community Records Foundation.
* Peter Rinehart, Owner of Bombadill’s Coffee House.

The B. Side also appreciates the continuous support offered by:
EMU College of Business
EMU Center for Entrepreneurship
EMU Foundation
EMU Office of Research Development
SPARK and SPARK East
Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County, etcs
Ross Dunbar
Domino’s Pizza (Washtenaw and Cross)
Dunkin’ Donuts (Hewitt Road)