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Southwest inspires more than 300 Memphis Youth in Entrepreneurship

By Joan McGrory 

Southwest’s Business and Legal Studies faculty pose during a Youngprenuers virtual session. Top Row (L-R): Dr. Robin Cole, Dr. Nathan Washington and Dr. Joan McGrory. Bottom Row (L-R): Oyama Hampton, Dr. Eddie Baker and Dr. Twyla Waters.
Southwest’s Business and Legal Studies faculty pose during a Youngprenuers virtual session. Top Row (L-R): Dr. Robin Cole, Dr. Nathan Washington and Dr. Joan McGrory. Bottom Row (L-R): Oyama Hampton, Dr. Eddie Baker and Dr. Twyla Waters.

Southwest Tennessee Community College business and legal studies faculty plus the Project M.O.S.T. (Men of Southwest) Team and Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) advisors teamed up with the Memphis Office of Youth Services in a 4-week series called ‘Youngpreneurs’ (Young Entrepreneurs) for teaching local high school students fundamentals of entrepreneurship.

More than 300 local high school students known as Memphis Youth Ambassadors participated in a 4-week (March 21 - April 14, 2022) program, dubbed Youngpreneurs, to learn fundamental business concepts and the free resources available to support business startup and ownership.

The Youngpreneurs conference is the idea of the City of Memphis Office of Youth Services.  According to Marquis Robinson, manager of the Memphis Ambassadors Program of the City of Memphis Office of Youth Services, there is no straight path to success. “While many students choose traditional classroom education to be prepared for the job market, others choose to venture out on their own,” Robinson said. “For those students in the Memphis Ambassadors Program who choose that path, we wanted to be proactive in giving them tools for success. The ongoing partnership with Southwest has helped give our ambassadors insight into the hard work and dedication it will take to be their own boss,” Robinson added.  “We want our ambassadors to critically analyze their future selves to begin shaping the future they envision for themselves. The purpose of the Youngpreneurs is to teach ambassadors how to think not what to think and hopefully spark the creativity that lies in all of us and teach them how to turn a passion into a paycheck.”

As an alumnus of Southwest, Robinson reached out to the College for support. Southwest President Dr. Tracy D. Hall touts the Southwest as a community partner and resource and so the decision to partner with the Memphis Ambassador Program was an easy one. Dean of Business and Technologies Dr. Robin Cole explained, "Southwest has become a comprehensive center for developing entrepreneurs.  Our business program’s entrepreneurship concentration educates and develops individuals who have identified a passion for entrepreneurship and building their own business. In addition, Southwest houses the Tennessee Small Business Development Center that provides additional support and resources for entrepreneurs leading them on the path to successful business ownership." 

Southwest developed an excellent program for the Memphis ambassadors by invoking an internal network of expertise and real-world practitioners including the business and legal studies faculty, Project M.O.S.T. and TSBDC. According to Businss and Legal Studies Department Chair, Dr. Eddie Baker, learning the fundamentals of starting your own business is essential in the current economy. He said that per the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, three major findings regarding small business and entrepreneurship opportunities have emerged: 1) over 4.3 million new business applications were filed in 2020, an increase of 24.6% from 2019; 2) approximately 380 out of every 100,000 adults each month became new entrepreneurs in 2020; and 3) retail trade saw a 58% increase in new business applications from 2019 to 2020.  “Given this growing trend, our business program has strived to meet the educational needs of the current influx of new entrepreneurs by offering an Associate of Applied Science in business with a concentration in entrepreneurship and small business management as well as a technical certificate in entrepreneurship and small business management at multiple locations and online,” Baker said. 

Faculty from the Department of Business and Legal Studies were eager to share their passion for entrepreneurship and information to support business success. Business and Legal Studies Professor Dr. Joan McGrory stated, “A good business education can inform your decisions in key areas such as identifying your target customer, selecting the best business structure, planning for good customer service, and establishing protection for your intellectual property. Without a strong foundation, the lessons learned from mistakes can have a high cost in time, money, opportunity, and business relationships."  

Project M.O.S.T. staff (L-R): Kariem-Abdul Salaam, Kayla Tunstall, Daphne Traywick, Debra Davis and Sherman Robinson.
Project M.O.S.T. staff (L-R): Kariem-Abdul Salaam,
Kayla Tunstall, Daphne Traywick, Debra Davis and
Sherman Robinson.

Southwest resources also include the highly recognized Project M.O.S.T. that specializes in outreach to African-American male students and recognizes the importance of entrepreneurship to economic success while teaching the entrepreneurial mindset as part of the organization’s program.  Director of Project M.O.S.T., Kariem-Abdul Salaam, says the curriculum used by M.O.S.T. to teach the concepts for supporting entrepreneurship and developing an entrepreneurial mindset also strongly supports student success as well as success in any career endeavor. “We teach eight life lessons on choice, opportunity, action, knowledge, wealth (resourcefulness), brand (reliability), community, and persistence all of which build foundational skills for the success of all people.”

TSBDC is a key partner in the Youngpreneurs program as it introduces a community of real-world practitioners, free resources, and experienced business counselors focused on supporting startup businesses and growth.  A focus of TSBDC, Executive Director Dr. NaShawn Branch says, is helping the next generation of entrepreneurs plan for success in a competitive job market and in the rise of the gig economy.  According to Dr. Branch, “Our goal is to teach student entrepreneurs to quickly develop a sound business model using a simple one-page canvas business map.”

TSBDC Staff (L-R): Dr. NaShawn Branch, La'Breda Morrow and Dr. Eddie Harris. 
TSBDC Staff (L-R): Dr. NaShawn Branch, La'Breda
Morrow and Dr. Eddie Harris. 

Next year, the goal is to offer an on-campus Youngpreneurs conference according to Associate Dean of Business and Technologies Carlton Greene.  Planning for this on-campus conference began under his leadership prior to the global pandemic. “The opportunity for Southwest to host the Youngpreneurs conference next year will allow students to interact in person with an array of professional entrepreneurs, speakers, staff, and faculty,” Greene said. “Additionally, the on-campus experience allows students to both learn and utilize acquired skills in a different capacity than they would have in a virtual setting.” 

For more information about the Youngpreneurs program, contact Professor of Business and Legal Studies, Joan McGroary, at jmcgrory@southwest.tn.edu.