After seeing her grandma struggling to hold heavy pans, Celia Gates recruited an inventor as a mentor then designed ergonomic pans. Kayley Vincent and Jennifer Land created a cookbook that turned local business owners into foodie stars – and turned a profit for them. With churchgoers’ support, Henry Pearce raised money by donning a 1920s bathing suit. What sparked their entrepreneurial streaks?
16,000 young Brits were given a tenner (10 pound note) and “challenged to make as much profit and social impact as they could.”
The goal of the partners who back this Make Your Mark contest: “To drive economic prosperity and social cohesion by increasing the UK’s enterprise culture and entrepreneurial behaviour.”
They designed a powerfully simple contest that reinforces confidence, collaboration, real life skill-building – “a healthy ambition to be enterprising – to have ideas and make them happen.”
Sitting in a classroom listening – even to an extraordinary teacher -students can’t cultivate a “can-do attitude and the skills to spot opportunities, overcome challenges and implement ideas.”
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of young people say their top career choice is to run a business.
Some contests randomly reward winners, but yours, like this one, can reinforce the traits that relate to your kind of work – and that matter to the people you serve.
What if you forged an alliance of businesses and organizations that serve the same niche market? Then co-designed a simple yet exciting contest that:
• Enables participants to hone the skills they most need.
• Motivates them to form teams to improve their chances to win and thus their ability to collaborate.
• Shines a spotlight on all individuals and organizations that support the success of the contest and the participants.
• Involves several contest categories for diverse talents to be recognized and rewarded with prizes.
• Generates bragging rights for participants and resources for them to continue their efforts after the contest is over. (This contest, for example, includes “a national network of student-led enterprise groups.”)
