Our "Why”
Believe In Your Business (rebranded as Be Your Own Boss) was formed over a decade ago to “Be a catalyst for youth entrepreneurship in Northeast Indiana - in order to normalize entrepreneurship as a practice and career in our region.”
A vibrant Northeast Indiana economy is key to something we all want - a great life for our children and their children. Building that economic vitality depends upon on the strength of our future entrepreneur ecosystem. The number one metric of an entrepreneur ecosystem is simply its number of active experienced entrepreneurs.
To Students: We believe you can be BE YOUR OWN BOSS to enable you to be financially and personally independent throughout your life!
To Parents: We believe your daughters and sons are totally capable of developing the entrepreneurial skills that will enrich their lives!
To Teachers: We believe that collaboration can complement both your and our student engagement and produce better student outcomes!
Through our programming, and in collaboration with teachers and partners, we are helping to build the community of active, experienced, young entrepreneurs throughout the entire Northeast Indiana region. The entrepreneurial builders of our region’s future! The new economic heroes who will lead our next generation’s economy to a bright future for you, your children, and their children!
Our Values
We help high school students grow via hands-on IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE. Learning while doing not only kickstarts real entrepreneurial activity, but it also creates a high quality learning experience.
We COLLABORATE by working with teachers and partner organizations. We provide those immersive experiences to students together with teachers in their classrooms and together with partners at their events.
We BELIEVE in students. We know that these young adults are just as capable as any adult, and we work together with them as fully capable entrepreneurs. We help them start and grow real businesses, not throwaway classroom exercises.
We believe that OWNING A BUSINESS IS A NORMAL CAREER PATH. Many people see career planning as preparing students to be employees. We see it as preparing them to be employers!
We value the combination of FINANCIAL AND PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE that owning a business provides a founder together with a commitment to MAKING OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE. The two are not mutually exclusive.
OUR PROGRAMMING
You can engage with us in one of three ways - Community, Coaching, and Competitions.
Being a BYOB member is open to literally any high school student in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Kosciusko, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley counties. Even if you don’t have a business idea in mind yet - just an interest in exploring being a business owner - you can join!
COMMUNITY
Northeast Indiana high school students interested in owning or growing a business can join our Be Your Own Boss COMMUNITY. Once you register, you will receive access to a private BYOB Members Only webpage where
- You can download our DIY Workshops.
- You can set up one-on-one coaching sessions with our Entrepreneur Program Director.
- You can apply for our Young Entrepreneur Award and Grant.
- You can apply for our Young Visionaries Fellowship Award and Grant
- You will be invited to special events.
Just click here to register - it’s FREE, of course.
COACHING
We provide students with COACHING to help them start and grow their businesses. You own the business, not us, but we can help you think through making your business successful.
You can download our 8 DIY Workshops. They are free pdf files that are designed to let you work at you own pace and in your own space to start and advance your business step by step. In each one you get a little information for context followed by some thought-provoking questions to apply to your business. DIY Workshop #1 is available for anyone to download right now. If you are a student and want to gain free access to ALL DIY workshops, just click here to register for BE YOUR OWN BOSS. They are all freely available at the private BIYB Members Only webpage.
DIY Workshop #1 - Why Start a Business?
DIY Workshop #2 - Need a Business Idea?
DIY Workshop #3 - What’s Your Vision?
DIY Workshop #4 - What’s Your Brand?
DIY Workshop #5 - What’s Your Business Model?
DIY Workshop #6 - What’s Your Pitch?
DIY Workshop #7 - What’s Your Capital Source?
DIY Workshop #8 - Being Legal and Professional
You can arrange for Steve Franks, our Entrepreneurship Program Director, to visit your classroom for a one-on-one in-person coaching session - as long as your teacher arranges the visit.
You can arrange a one-on-one coaching session with Steve at your convenience via Zoom or in-person at a public venue like a coffee shop. For students under 18, a parent or teacher must be present for any in-person coaching session. All Zoom sessions will be recorded in their entirety. Once you register, you can arrange a coaching session via the private BYOB Members Only webpage.
Steve has coached over 2,000 founders from small side gigs to large ventures in a wide variety of industries. Many of those have been student-owned ventures. He has personally owned or co-owned four businesses.
COMPETITIONS
Since 2019, we have recognized outstanding entrepreneurs in two COMPETITION categories. Starting in 2023, we will make these awards quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) with an annual “Top Award” given at our annual Gala to one of the quarterly awardees. Applications are open year-round.
Our Young Entrepreneur Award is given to registered Believe In Your Business members who deserve who be recognized for their outstanding achievement. Quarterly awardees receive a $500 no-strings grant and well-deserved bragging rights. Go here to see past winners and learn more. You can apply for this award and grant at the BIYB Members Only webpage.
Our Young Visionaries Fellowship Award is given to registered Believe In Your Business members who are planning or operating a business, nonprofit, or just a project that is specifically designed to make their community a better place. In other words, beyond just financial business achievement, we believe that it is important to exercise your entrepreneurial muscle to make the world better. The community you choose to impact can be whatever you see needs a helping hand - your school, neighborhood, city, planet, a demographic group, an ethnic group, or any group you identify that has a problem or a gap. Go here to see past winners and learn more. You can apply for this award and grant at the BIYB Members Only webpage.
For Students
You can get started right now.
Just click here to register for Be Your Own Boss. ALL with ANY interest in entrepreneurship are welcome! Then, if you are brand new to entrepreneurship, scroll back up and download your first DIY Workshop #1 - Why Start a Business?. You can be on your way in minutes!
For Teachers
If you teach business or entrepreneurship, we can help.
If you teach technology, science, art, or a trade like cosmetology, construction, auto mechanics, graphic design, or culinary arts - and want your students to be prepared to start a business in one of those fields, we can help.
If you are a DECA leader or lead a student entrepreneur club, we can help.
Just click here to get introduced.
We work WITH you. We can visit your class, group, or club to either …
Meet one-on-one with students or teams planning businesses for an immersive coaching experience. This can be very handy if you are preparing them to compete in pitch competitions like Innovate WithIN or Trine University’s Innovation Challenge.
Lead a highly interactive workshop around an entrepreneurship topic.
To hear about us from a fellow teacher, you can contact …
Kristin Giant at FWCS Amp Lab
Bob Haddad at FWCS New Tech Academy
Ashley Johnson at DeKalb HS
Riley Johnson at FWCS Amp Lab
Tami Maxey at Lakeland HS
Jeff Roberts at FWCS Amp Lab
Josh Smith at FWCS New Tech Academy
Veronica Townes at FWCS Anthis Career Academy
For Parents
We can help your daughter or son prepare to become financially and personally independent. We know that you want them to have a successful career and a happy life. We agree (who wouldn’t?), and we believe that cultivating entrepreneurial skills (whether they plan to grow their own business or be employed by a successful employer) is important for them.
Assuming that your daughter or son shares your interest in entrepreneurship, please ask them to register at the student link above.
If you have questions and would like to speak with our Entrepreneurship Program Director, just click here to start the conversation.