Envision the typical 13-year-old girl. A whirling mass of
hormones might not be far off the mark. But starting a homebased
business with her mother? That's the scenario Dr. Marilyn
Kourilsky, vice president of the Kansas City, Missouri-based Center
for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation created in 1995 with the Mother and Daughter
Entrepreneurs in Teams (MADE-IT) program operating in four cities:
Des Moines, Iowa; Sacramento, California; Eugene, Oregon; and
Miami.
MADE-IT is a two-year project that provides 13- and 14-year-old
girls and their moms with the knowledge it takes to operate a
homebased business. One of the program's primary goals is for
the duos to use profits from their businesses to finance the
daughters' college educations.
"The program is daughter-driven. We look for girls who are
creative, imaginative, show leadership potential and are
motivated," says Susann Siebke, program coordinator of the
Iowa MADE-IT program at Des Moines' Drake University.
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What attracted Des Moines entrepreneurs Kimberly Morris, 13, and
her mother, Cindy, to the program was the opportunity to achieve a
longtime goal. "I always wanted to start a business,"
says Kimberly.
"Kimberly and I already had some experience working
together," says Cindy. "I did day care for 11 years, and
she was a great help. She did a lot of reading to the kids and
making crafts."
After being selected as one of eight teams from Des Moines to
participate in the program, Kimberly and her mom attended a
week-long workshop at Drake. Participants learned about the
financing, marketing and administrative operations of a business
from business consultants and experienced mother-daughter
teams.
"We learned the importance of making a good business
plan," says Kimberly. "I particularly liked the guest
speakers who came in to talk to us. I was encouraged because [one
speaker] told us how much fun she had working with her
mother."
Now the Morrises face the nuts and bolts of launching their
business, SMARTEES (Super Minds Are Readers), which will present
free puppet shows and sell T-shirts, tote bags and other items
promoting reading. According to Siebke, MADE-IT personnel will
remain in constant phone contact with the fledgling businesses and
periodically hold workshops for the teams to discuss problems and
successes and to build moral support. About midway through the
first year, the Morrises will be paired with a mentor.
If all goes as planned, Kimberly and her mom will join the ranks
of other MADE-IT graduates like Casey Collier, 16, and her mother,
Janice. During its first six months in business, the Colliers'
ArenaWest Western-themed apparel lassoed more than $50,000 in
sales; that figure has increased 25 percent every year since they
started the business in 1995.
The Colliers exemplify what makes the mother-daughter
combinations so powerful: Daughters believe they can conquer the
world--and mothers temper the union with experience and
caution.
This month, we say goodbye to our "Home Inc." column.
No, we haven't forgotten about the booming homebased market--on
the contrary. Beginning October 28, our new magazine,
Entrepreneur's Home Office, will cover homebased business from
top to bottom. We'll discuss finances, technology needs,
health, family and the political issues that energize you. Find it
on your newsstand or, to subscribe, call (800) 926-6995.
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