Girls learn about business careers, practices - Naples Daily News

Friday, May 4, 2007

If you want to go places in life, follow your dreams.

That was the message for girls ages 12 to 18 at the eighth annual Girls Going Places entrepreneurship conference at Florida Gulf Coast University on Wednesday. The 135 young women who attended were encouraged to be themselves, take control of their finances and consider careers in business, finance and entrepreneurism.

For Paige Hunter, a junior at Gulf Coast High School in Collier County, the conference emphasized how important it is to “believe in yourself and to do things because you want to, not because people tell you to,� she said, as the day-long event came to a close.

Girls spent the day participating in activities such as a game called Hot Company to learn about business. They conducted interviews with female business owners and took part in a product development/marketing activity called Product-in-a-Box. They sat at large circular tables in groups of about eight with two local businesswomen, who facilitated the event.

When Paige’s table opened their Product-in-a-Box kit, they found scraps of fabric, pieces of plastic, brightly colored curly garlands and other random objects. The goal was to make the objects into a model product, identify a price, choose a target market and create business and marketing plans.

Together, the group of eight students decided to transform the box itself into a “Power Wave,� a vehicle for kids such as the mini cars called Power Wheels. But Power Wave would be different, they decided, because it would work on land and in the water.

Paige and Lindsey Martin, another junior from Gulf Coast High School, tackled the exterior and interior design. They taped seats inside the box, wrapped the curly, plastic garland around the outside and added a steering wheel and antennae.

Sisters Alexis Kochis, a Lely High freshman, and Veronica Kochis, a Lely High senior, also bent over the model product, adding the engine and other parts, while Jessica Alonso and Marisel Alvarez, a sophomore and a senior from Gateway Charter School, cut fabric to cover the seats.

Across the table, Monica Amaya and Jennifer Lee, both 7th-graders at Fort Myers Middle School, worked together on the business plan, gathering ideas from the busy product developers.

Power Wave should be for ages five and up, because it had small parts and was a moving vehicle, Monica and Jennifer decided. As for marketing, they’d put commercials on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel.

After about 20 minutes of brainstorming, crafting and writing, the girls were ready to present their idea to the entire group. Fifteen groups presented their ideas, which included kites that can be customized, environmentally friendly vehicles, dolls made from recycled materials and a missile to distribute spy cameras.

“I realized how creative I can be while doing the group challenge,� Veronica Kochis said. “It was fun to get involved with the other girls and to see that we were a lot alike in terms of problem-solving.�

Later, when one of the presenters asked girls to stand up and state an accomplishment they were proud of, Veronica raised her hand to tell the group that she had been accepted to Florida Atlantic University to study life insurance and financial planning.

Her father works for Guardian Life Insurance, and one day, she dreams of pursuing a leadership role in the financial services industry, she said.

The goal of the conference is to educate young women about financial independence, achieving economic equality and career options, said Vicky Madden, vice president of Alliance Financial Group and conference organizer.

When Madden started working in the financial service industry in 1987 she looked around and saw a male-dominated work force. So she started the conference to reach out to young women and plant the idea of pursuing careers in business and finance.

Learning to be financially independent will help young women, personally and professionally, for the rest of their lives, she added.

“It empowers them,� Madden said. “We talk about the goals, aspirations and dreams that they may have. We emphasize that they should pursue those dreams and never give up.�