REAL Enterprises

OVERVIEW

Mission and Purpose
Helping individuals, communities, schools, and rural America grow through hands-on entrepreneurship education. REAL Enterprises is committed to preparing youth and adults to be active, self-sufficient and productive citizens and effective contributors to community and economic development.

What is REAL?
REAL Entrepreneurship, a course offered in high schools and community colleges, guides students through the process of creating small businesses of their own design. The process includes:
• self-assessment to determine students' potential and existing marketable strengths,
• community analysis to identify needs and trends in the local economy,
• research and writing of a comprehensive business plan for a student’s chosen enterprise, and
• start-up support (including loan capital) if students choose to open and operate enterprises.

Mini/Middle REAL programs provide age-appropriate entrepreneurial preparation for elementary and middle school students. Students explore entrepreneurship in the context of a fully functioning in-school community, and apply entrepreneurial practices to school-based enterprises and community needs.

REAL Workshops are 2-day workshops on-site for groups of educators. The School-Based Enterprise Workshop helps teachers create school-based enterprises that are productive, entrepreneurial learning experience for students. The Building Entrepreneurial Skills Workshop introduces youth to entrepreneurship and foster entrepreneurial skills.

eREALonline.net - a selection of online programs of study for high schools, post-secondary Institutions, community organization, and Individuals. Included In the eREALonline.net program of study are three courses: eREAL Entrepreneurship - an online entrepreneurial education and training course based on the REAL Entrepreneurship curriculum; REAL 21st Century Business and REAL e-Business Planning - online Internet business planning and commerce courses for high schools and adult learners.

Rapid Response Entrepreneurship Modules - A two-day course to train instructors in the delivery of eight 2-3 hour modules designed for adults on the go who need help with a specific topic related to small business planning or management. Topics include: Am I Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur?; Pricing; Products and Services: Can My Business Idea Support Me?; Financial Projections; Achieving Sales Projections through a Viable Marketing Plan; Tax Planning and Reporting; and Bookkeeping.

REAL Enterprises is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to help individuals, schools, communities, and rural America grow through hands-on entrepreneurship education. The national organization and member organizations in 13 states partner with participating schools and provide:
• curriculum materials • instructor training • help identifying funding
• on-site support • technical assistance • evaluation

Why is REAL important?
REAL Entrepreneurship, Mini/Middle REAL, and the workshops are hands-on courses. Young people and adults use their communities and businesses as “laboratories" in which to:
• consider entrepreneurship as a career option,
• develop skills and understanding necessary for successful employment, and
• create job opportunities for themselves and others by starting or expanding viable enterprises.

REAL provides:
• preparation for the transition from school to work in small businesses,
• academically rigorous curricula with an integrated technology component,
• a proven ability to assist non-traditional entrepreneurs (e.g., female, minority, low-income),
• meaningful student interaction with the local community and the global economy, and
• partnerships with business and civic leaders (through REAL Community Support Teams).


Experiential Education is the Key
• REAL is committed to providing a quality hands-on educational experience for each participant.
• For teachers to be effective coaches and facilitators of students work, on-going support and professional development for REAL educators is critical, as is the chance to network with other instructors.
• REAL’s curriculum and professional development program for teachers are based on the experiential learning cycle - - “experience, reflection, expansion, application.”
• The experiential process helps REAL students become entrepreneurs and/or prepare to be successful in work and life. It is REAL’s objective that students develop skills like planning, budgeting, and the ability to present ideas effectively in written and oral presentations, and gain knowledge about themselves, their community and ethical considerations.
• REAL has set out its approach to experiential education in a set of “Educational Principles.”

What has REAL accomplished?
• in 1999-2000 over 14,000 students participated in REAL programs in 33 states.
• since 1991, over 1000 instructors have been trained in REAL’s curriculum and experiential approach.
• From 1991-1999, 659 REAL graduates from North Carolina started or expanded businesses creating 762 new jobs and contributed more than $7 million to the North Carolina Economy.


PROGRAMS

REAL Entrepreneurship (K-12 and adults)
Outcomes and Content
The REAL Entrepreneurship course is designed to help participants develop skills, expand their knowledge, and create tangible products, including new enterprises. A summary of these three areas follows:

1. SKILLS: REAL Entrepreneurship gives participants opportunities to develop skills which increase their likelihood of success as entrepreneurs and which better equip them for life and the world of work, regardless of their ultimate career choices. These skills include:
• LIFE SKILLS: abilities related to living an effective and successful life
• OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION: the ability to recognize favorable circumstances
• OPPORTUNITY EVALUATION: the ability to measure and analyze opportunities for their feasibility and practicality,
• OPPORTUNITY REALIZATION: the skills required to seize opportunities

2. KNOWLEDGE: REAL Entrepreneurship seeks to increase participants' knowledge in the following key areas:
• SELF: personal attributes, attitudes, needs, goals, and capacities, especially as they relate to career choice
• PLANNING: effective planning strategies and process for business and other undertakings
• ENTREPRENEURSHIP: the personal and professional realities of owning and operating a small business
• BUSINESS: marketing, operations, and financial management
• LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: permits, licensing, taxes, and other necessities of operating a business

3. PRODUCTS: REAL Entrepreneurship students create a number of products, including:
• JOURNAL: a documentation and evaluation tool which chronicles the process of analyzing self and community, planning an enterprise, and writing a business plan
• ORAL PRESENTATION: several opportunities for oral presentations in class which culminate in the presentation of the business plan to an audience beyond the class itself
• BUSINESS PLAN: a comprehensive and substantive document which addresses an identified business or community need, is based on research of the local community, and is written for a significant enterprise, economic in nature, including for-profit and non-profit ventures and projects
• VIABLE VENTURES: businesses, community services, or projects which students implement themselves or offer (in the form of completed business plans) to other entrepreneurs, agencies, or organizations for implementation

• Course Outline
I. Introductions
A. REAL Entrepreneurship
B. Business Planning

II. Planning to Plan
A. Self Assessment
B. Finding a Niche in the Local Economy
C. Introduction to Financial Concepts

III. Assembling the Business Plan
A. Products & Services
B. Market Feasibility
C. Financial Feasibility
D. Marketing
E. Operations
F. Financials
G. Executive Summary
H. Revision & Presentation
I. Open For Business

IV. Implementing the Business Plan
A. Introduction to Implementation
B. Being an Entrepreneur
C. Utilizing Others
D. Getting and Keeping Customers
E. Managing Assets
F. Being Legal & Ethical

REAL Entrepreneurship Educational Principles (Youth and Adults)
The development (and potential execution) of a business plan for an enterprise of the participant’s choosing is the central project of the REAL Entrepreneurship course. It is the primary vehicle for achieving REAL’s desired outcomes.

First, the business plan is an end in itself, a detailed “road map” for an enterprise the student may open and operate, depending on its feasibility. It may include elements of a “life plan” describing steps the student will take to achieve his or her career goals. Second, the planning process is a means to help participants develop the knowledge and ability to identify, evaluate and realize opportunities.
In order for the business plan to be both a useful document and an effective vehicle for the acquisition of skills, the process by which the REAL Entrepreneurship course is taught is critical to participants’ success. REAL is built on the following educational principles:

1. Students and instructors work together on enterprises that reflect student needs, desires, and concerns.
2. In order to infuse the process with student choice, design, revision, execution, reflection, and evaluation, the role of the instructor is that of facilitator, coach, team leader, and guide rather than boss.
3. The instructor ensures the academic integrity of the program by creating opportunities for students to master certain basic competencies during the preparation and execution of the business plan.
4. Student action, rather than passive receipt of processed information, characterizes work in the REAL program. The process emphasizes peer teaching, cooperative learning, and teamwork.
5. Students connect with their communities and work with individuals and groups outside the classroom.
6. There is an audience for student work beyond the teacher. The audience may include individuals, small groups, or the community at large, but it must be an audience the students want to serve, engage, or impress.
7. REAL’s course content builds progressively toward established goals, allowing students to apply and benefit from past experience as they acquire new knowledge and skills.
8. REAL instructors model entrepreneurial attitudes by implementing policies and practices that allow students to think and work creatively.
9. The REAL course provides participants with ample opportunity for conscious, thoughtful reflection on their work.
10. The program includes constructive, honest, on-going evaluation of skills, knowledge, and changes in student attitudes.

Mini-REAL (K-5)
Outcomes & Content
The development of a Mini-REAL community planned by the participants is the central project of the Mini-REAL program.

• Merchants Mall: This is the entrepreneurial cornerstone of a Mini-REAL community. Materials in this chapter help students learn skills by owning and operating a business venture. Students initially purchase items from their teacher(s) to sell in their stores, but as the businesses grow and demand increases, warehousing and manufacturing soon become new opportunities for student-run ventures.
• Courts: Every classroom, as well as every community, has norms and rules individuals must adhere to as a part of the group. When someone does not conform to expectations, then appropriate consequences must occur. Activities in this component may result in the creation of a legislative body, a written constitution, a community charter, and the formation of courts to address special community needs.
• Banking: Because it is important that students gain an understanding of the flow of money, banking is an integral part of the Mini-REAL community. Banks initially provide a place to cash checks, save money or take out a loan. Eventually, there may be competing banks, interest calculated on accounts and certificates of deposits to compete for the investment dollars of Mini-REAL citizens.
• Revenue: This component helps students understand that nothing is without cost. Citizens must pay taxes on the goods and services they receive. Paying taxes helps students understand that communities, too, must make decisions about the tax revenue they collect. Teaching revenue concepts may include personal budgeting, gross and net earnings, salary raises or bonuses, credit counseling, garnishment, etc.

Mini-REAL Educational Principles (K-5)
The process by which the Mini-REAL program is taught is critical to participants' success. In order for the Mini-REAL community to be both a useful activity and an effective method for the acquisition of critical skills, the following principles should be in place:

1. Students and teachers work together to develop the Mini-REAL community, thus reflecting student needs, desires, and concerns and replicating the components of the larger community.
2. The teacher's role is facilitation. Coaching and guiding infuse the process with student choice, design, revision, execution, reflection, and evaluation.
3. The teacher ensures the academic integrity of the program by creating opportunities for students to master basic competencies during the planning and functioning of the various components that comprise the Mini-REAL community.
4. Student action, rather than passive receipt of processed information, characterizes the Mini-REAL program. The process emphasizes peer teaching, cooperative learning, and teamwork.
5. Students connect with their communities and work with individuals and groups inside and/or outside the classroom to gain expertise in various Mini-REAL community components.
6. Mini-REAL provides an audience for student work beyond the teacher. The audience may include individuals, small groups, or the community at large.
7. Mini-REAL's program content builds toward the established goals, allowing students to apply and benefit from past experiences as they acquire new knowledge and skills.
8. Mini-REAL teachers model entrepreneurial attitudes as well as economic and citizenship skills by implementing policies and practices that allow students to think and work creatively.
9. The Mini-REAL program provides participants with many opportunities for conscious, thoughtful reflection on their work (e.g. in journals, skits, and playback activities).
10. The program includes constructive, honest, on-going evaluation of skills, content, and changes in students' attitudes thus resulting in expanded student and program activities.

Middle REAL (6-8)
Outcomes & Content
Middle REAL seeks to help middle school students gain hands-on experience in three areas:
• Being an effective citizen of the school community
• Being an effective part of an enterprise
• Affecting the broader community* in a positive way
(*Community may include family, neighborhood, town or some segment of the population)

The four components of Middle REAL may be taught in the following sequence or may be presented to students individually, depending on need and student day structure.
• Community Counts: Applying the REAL Exploration (see below) process to address a need in the local community. The process, which includes exploring the community’s history and current institutions and needs, features research, proposal writing, creating a plan of action, identifying and securing resources, and exploring ethical and legal issues. Community Counts underscores each student’s worth as a potential change agent.
• REALity Check: Learning the real value of money for oneself and one’s family through budgeting, demographics, and goal setting.
• The REAL Workplace: Learning how an enterprise works through the experience of holding a job and participating in the running of a school-based business. Managing, operating and marketing the enterprise teach students the key concepts of responsibility and accountability.
• REAL Exploration: Learning the entrepreneurial process through research, writing and implementation of a business plan for a class or school-based enterprise. This process reinforces the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the areas of presentation, leadership, communication, and collaboration.

Middle REAL Educational Principles (5-8)
Students in Middle REAL have the opportunity to learn in a hands-on way about their personal and family economic needs, about how an actual business operates, about the entrepreneurial process, and about serving the broader community’s needs. The process by which Middle REAL is taught is critical to each student’s success. The following principles are essential to helping students acquire the desired skills and knowledge:

1. Students, teachers and parents work together in Middle REAL to reflect student needs, desires and concerns involving the larger community.
2. To infuse the process with student planning, choice, design, revision, execution, reflection, and evaluation; the role of teacher is that of facilitator, coach, team leader, and guide rather than boss.
3. The teacher ensures the academic integrity of Middle REAL by creating opportunities for students to master basic competencies.
4. Student action, rather than passive receipt of processed information, characterizes work in Middle REAL. The process emphasizes mentoring, peer teaching, and teamwork.
5. Students connect with communities, families, individuals, and groups inside and outside the classroom.
6. There is an audience for student work beyond the teacher. The audience may include individuals, small groups, families, or the community at large, but it must be an audience the students want to serve, engage, or impress.
7. Middle REAL’s program content builds toward established goals, allowing students to apply and benefit from past experiences as they acquire new knowledge and skills.
8. Middle REAL teachers model entrepreneurial attitudes as well as economic and citizenship skills by implementing policies and practices that allow students to think and work in an entrepreneurial manner.
9. Middle REAL provides participants with ample opportunity for conscious, thoughtful reflection on their work and on the consequences of their actions.
10. Middle REAL includes constructive, honest, on-going evaluation of skills, content, and changes in student attitudes that result in expanded student and program activities.



Workshops
School-Based Enterprise Workshop
REAL’s School-Based Enterprise Workshop is a hands-on session for teachers planning to start, or already working with, school-based enterprises (SBEs). In 16 contact hours, participants focus on how to set up and operate school-based enterprises that are economically sustainable, while providing productive and entrepreneurial learning experiences for students.

Participants receive a copy of REAL’s “Who’s Minding the Store?: A guide for educators working with school-based enterprises”. An experienced school-based enterprise teacher and staff from REAL Enterprises facilitate the workshop. Topics include:
• Business planning (and re-planning): the key to a successful enterprise
• Gaining administrative support
• Using the experiential learning cycle to make your SBE a powerful learning tool
• The 7 Cs of SBEs, including Control: How much is enough?
• Mistakes to avoid
• “Intrapreneurial ventures:” giving all students an entrepreneurial experience
• Student/teacher SBE presentations
• How SBEs can help teachers and students meet your state’s content standards

Building Entrepreneurial Skills Workshop
REAL’S Building Entrepreneurial Skills Workshop is a hands-on session designed for educators and youth workers who want to introduce youth to entrepreneurship and help them develop entrepreneurial skills. Participants will leave the workshop equipped with a “baker’s dozen” of activities they can use with youth in a variety of settings -- school, after-school programs, and community-based organizations.

The workshop focuses on both the “what” and the “how” of entrepreneurial training. Key entrepreneurial skills and attributes -- self-assessment, team building, creativity, effective communications, opportunity identification, and business planning and operations -- are addressed through experiential activities. These activities, designed for use with the Experiential Learning Cycle, actively engage young people and create interest and excitement for entrepreneurship. Experienced educators and staff from REAL Enterprises facilitate the Workshop.

In addition, the Building Entrepreneurial Skills manual contains information about entrepreneurship’s place in the American economy, rural economic development, and REAL Enterprises. In keeping with REAL Enterprises’ tradition of hands-on training, workshop participants will experience first-hand many of the activities included in the manual during the workshop. This will enable them to facilitate activities effectively once they return to work with youth in their respective settings. This program is especially helpful to community-based organizations that provide a variety of training opportunities for youth and adults.


INSTITUTES
REAL Institutes (K-12 and adults)
40 contact hour course that prepares high school, post-secondary, and community-based organization educators to teach REAL Entrepreneurship, the hands-on course which helps student learn to think, plan, and act as entrepreneurs. Institute participants experience the highlights of the REAL course as their students will, interact with experienced REAL instructors, and prepare lesson and course plans. Held during the summer. Graduate credit is available.



REAL Enterprises’ Product & Service Fees

REAL Institutes
40 contact hour course that prepares high school, post-secondary, and community-based organization educators to teach REAL Entrepreneurship, the hands-on course which helps student learn to think, plan, and act as entrepreneurs. Institute participants experience the highlights of the REAL course as their students will, interact with experienced REAL instructors, and prepare lesson and course plans. Held during the summer. Graduate credit available. Cost: ranges from $1,400 - $1,700 (includes tuition, lodging and most meals).

REAL Entrepreneurship Curriculum Guide, 1st year license fee, and Library
The curriculum guide is a four-volume set designed for those setting up hands-on REAL Entrepreneurship programs in their school or community organization. The guide contains over 170 group and individual activities, business planning journals, an integrated technology component, a course planning guide and an implementation guide. The Entrepreneurship Library is a set of 11 commercially available publications that accompanies the Curriculum Guide, providing additional resources for instructors and students.
Note: the Guide is licensed only to teachers/educators who attend the REAL Institute. Cost: $800 (includes 1st year license fee) + $50/year license fee after 1st year.


REAL Entrepreneurship Spanish Language Supplement & Marketing Guide
This supplement includes REAL Entrepreneurship activities that have been translated in Spanish and also includes ideas related to marketing a Spanish language REAL class. Cost: TBD

Student Workbooks
Note: available only to trained REAL teachers and available in Spanish. Cost: soft cover, spiral bound $11 each; 3 ring binder $16 each

Mini/Middle REAL Institutes
32 contact hour course introduces teachers to programs, which develop entrepreneurial talent in students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Classroom simulations, community projects, and actual business ventures stir imaginations, foster good citizenship, helps students learn the real value of money and provide entrepreneurial experience. Held during the summer. Graduate credit available. Cost: ranges from $700 - $1,000 (includes tuition, manual, and some meals and lodging depending on location).

Mini and Middle REAL Manuals
The Mini-REAL Manual is a detailed instructor’s guide for establishing a Mini-REAL community in a self-contained classroom, grade, or school. The Middle REAL Manual includes activities and step-by-step guides for implementing Middle REAL’s four strands: REALity Check, REAL Exploration, REAL Workplace and Community Counts. Note: the Mini-REAL Manual and the Middle REAL Manual are licensed only to teachers/educators who attend the Mini/Middle REAL Institute. Cost: $150 (Additional manuals for the same school may be purchased at a reduced rate.)

School-Based Enterprise Workshop
A hands-on session for educators planning to start, or already working with, school-based enterprises. In 16 contact hours, participants focus on how to set up and operate school-based enterprises that are economically sustainable, while providing productive and entrepreneurial learning experience for students. Cost: $5,000 for 20 participants ($250 per person includes tuition and manual).

Building Entrepreneurial Skills Workshop
A hands-on session designed for educators and youth workers who want to introduce youth to entrepreneurship and help them develop entrepreneurial skills. Cost: $5,000 for 20 participants ($250 per person includes tuition and manual).

Who’s Minding The Store? A Guide for Educators Working with School-Based Enterprises
Includes group activities, ready-to-use forms, and approaches to help teachers create school-based enterprises that are entrepreneurial and rich learning experiences. Cost: $35


eREALonline.net
A selection of online entrepreneurship education and training courses for high school and post-secondary institutions, community organizations, and individuals.
• FEES for Facilitator Training
(successful completion mandatory for certification as an eREAL Facilitator)
eREALonline.net Facilitator Training Institute
Instructor Training:
§ $550 tuition for non-REAL instructor (includes additional 2 weeks of training)
§ $350 tuition for REAL certified instructor
§ Required $16 for Student Workbook (3-ring loose leaf binder)

• FEES for Curriculum, Students, and Licensing
 Because each of the three courses is independent of the other, the fee structure applies to each course selected for instruction.

 

Rapid Response Entrepreneurship Modules Training
A one and one-half day course to train instructors in the delivery of eight 2-3 hour modules designed for adults on the go who need help with a specific topic related to small business planning or management. Topics include: Am I Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur?; Pricing; Products and Services: Can My Business Idea Support Me?; Financial Projections; Achieving Sales Projections through a Viable Marketing Plan; Tax Planning and Reporting; and Bookkeeping. Cost: For non-REAL certified participants (1.5 day Training) $450, Real certified participants (1 day training) $250, and an Annual Update Licensing Fee $25 per year after the first year.





LOCAL CONTACTS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
AlabamaREAL              Ms. Tommie Syx         205/348-6432         tsyx@pacers.org

Georgia REAL              Dr. Paul DeLargy         706/546-9061         georgia.real@gte.net

Mississippi REAL          Dr. Nancy Boyll           601/366-6405          nbo729@aol.com

North Carolina REAL     Mr. Mark Sorrells        828/926-8748          mark@ncreal.org
                                  Ms. Angela Overton    919/688-7325          angela@ncreal.org

Oklahoma REAL           Mr. Cletus Carter         580/259-6499         ccarter@ptsi.net

Pennsylvania REAL       Ms. Kathleen Chambers 610/430-3808        kcpareal@aol.com
                                  Ms. Laura Mesoraco      814/938-7692        mesoraco@penn.com

South Dakota REAL      Mr. Curt Shaw              605/892-2138        shaw@dtgnet.com

UP Michigan REAL        Ms. Dar Shepherd        906/228-5571        dar_shepherd@northerninits.com

Vermont REAL             Ms. Patti Coultas          802/888-1105        vtreal@together.net

Virginia REAL               Mr. Paul Kuzcko          540/523-5064         info@LPOY.org
                                  Mr. Bill Smith              540/523-5064         vareal@LPOY.org

Washington REAL         Janet Collier               360/498-5431   
                                  Danica Kelly
                                  Linda Mettler              360/498-5250          mettler@centurytel.net

National REAL Mr.         Cullen Gurganus         800/798-0643         cullen@realenterprises.org


Board of Directors
Mr. James Amps, III                      Amps Communicators, Inc.                           Pembroke Pines, FL
Ms. Patti Coultas, Treasurer            Vermont REAL Enterprises                             Morrisville, VT
Mr. Brian Dabson, Chair                 Corporation for Enterprise Development          Washington, DC
Dr. Paul DeLargy                           Georgia REAL Enterprises                              Athens, GA
Dr. Keenan Grenell, Vice Chair        African-American Entrepreneurship Summit     Auburn University, AL
Suzanne Isack                               Brainfood, Inc.                                              Washington, DC
Ms. Stacy Jones Jurecek                 Natural Fibers of Texas, Inc.                           Eldorado, TX
Mr. Paul Kuczko                            Virginia REAL Enterprises                               Big Stonegap, VA
Ms. Lisa Mongiat, Secretary            Ishpeming High School                                  Ishpeming, MI
Dr. David Stern                             University of California at Berkeley                  Berkeley, CA
Ms. Diane Thomas Brooks              County Middle School                                    Quitman, GA
Mr. Rich Tulikangas                       Linking Learning to Life                                  Burlington, VT
Dr. Allie Whitehurst                       Oakland Unified School District                       Oakland, CA