Legacy Impact Resource Community Center hosted its second Youth in Business Workshop, Saturday, May 7, in Frayser. 

In each workshop, youths aged 12-19 received the necessary information to start, manage and operate their own businesses through interactive lectures and hands-on experience. 

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Ranging from lectures on understanding business ethics to hands-on tutorials for craft making and app creation, workshops were led by volunteers from local businesses.

Participating businesses include KC Customs, Dream Life, Divine Flavor Threads, MADE and Smart Charge.

Co-founder and Memphis resident Tiara Caswell says a strong turnout for her first workshop in March invigorated her to keep the workshops going. 

“Originally the workshop started during spring break this year,” Caswell said. “The traction we got from the very first one was unexpected. We had so many parents, kids and volunteers show up that instead of ending at 4 p.m., we ended at 6 p.m.”

Caswell said because May 1-5 is designated as Children’s Mental Health Week, teaching entrepreneurship through the lens of self-care and mental health seemed like the right move.

“With this being Children’s Mental Health Week we decided to add this aspect of ‘total well-being’ to the workshop,” Caswell said. “When we do these workshops for kids we want to be intentional about how we deliver our message.”

Alexander Varnado, 25, is creator of PAWW, an app that provides pet-related content including options such as virtual animal adoption from private owners and in-person animal adoption by coordinating with local shelters.

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Varnado is currently a teacher at two local Memphis public high schools and also the owner and operator of the app creation business, MADE. 

“Being in the schools, I notice people are always on and distracted by their phones,” Varnado said. “Since they’re already engaging with mobile apps, they need to at least learn how to develop them. I want to help turn Memphis into STEMphis.”

Varnado said his app-creation workshop is proof that with the right amount of patience and focus, children can learn a useful technological skill.

“I tell them, ‘When you leave today, you now have the knowledge to build an app today,’” Varnado said. “Once they leave this workshop, they can go home and build an app. And if they want to launch it next week, there’s no excuse now.”

Varnado reminds his students the relevance of not just enjoying technology but creating it. 

“I always tell the kids: ‘You need to learn how to use technology before technology uses you. Before you decide to trap, pick up a strap or make a rap? Make an app.’”

Volunteer Carl Hill is the president and CEO of Golden Technology Services Inc. (GTS) in Cary, North Carolina and has been a board member of the Rotary Family Youth Initiative for the last 18 months.

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Hill opened the workshop with a lecture and questionnaire aimed to gauge the status of the children and young adults’ emotional and mental well-being.

“Everyone has a view of how they look externally. Sometimes we forget how we feel inside, and that’s where our self-image comes from,” Hill said. “Looking inward gives you a sense of how you feel physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. You ask yourself, ‘What is my life direction? What is my life satisfaction?’”

During his lecture, Hill handed out a variety of children’s books including “7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” by Sean Covey and “Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming your Life” by Michael Strahan. 

Hill said literacy is the starting point for any child struggling to overcome adversity and improve his or her life.

“Reading opens up the doors more so than watching TV because it’s active. If they read 10 pages a day and get through it, it will change their trajectory,” Hill said. “Adverse childhood experiences in a home create trauma with youths that prevent them from fully developing themselves.

“If you drive the reading, you change the vision of what you see in yourself and there are more possibilities.”

Jazmine Tricoche is the owner and operator of Dream Life, a branding and printing company on Summer Avenue. Tricoche created Dream Life in 2012 with a budget of $500.

Tricoche gave a workshop on branding and design to the students, including a tutorial on how to use the free design software, Canva.

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“I was never taught anything about entrepreneurship in school — how important or how scalable it was,” Tricoche said. “I want to teach the youths that there are many options to make a living. You don’t necessarily have to work a 9-5. The point is to do something that you love, find your gift and find your uniqueness.”

Tricoche said that by creating a workshop with tutorials on everything from ethical business practice to hair braiding, children can reimagine their interests from being merely enjoyable to potentially profitable.

“When you put together a workshop like this, they feel valuable amongst their community and their peers, and it invokes their thought process,” Tricoche said. “They think about their future vs. only thinking about right now.”

Tricoche notes that while teaching a child a new skill is the workshop’s mission, building the self-esteem and confidence of the participants is equally important.

“I love teaching children a skill that’s something they wouldn’t know,” Tricoche said. “But I think the most important thing is leaving that lasting impression on them that life is much greater than what you presently see. The opportunities are endless.”

Thirteen-year-old Aleenah Alexander explained how her personal business venture will likely be aided by the workshop.

“I make bracelets. It’s a hobby but also a job because I make money off it,” Alexander said. “I’m excited about the crafting workshop. I can’t wait to see how far we will get.”

A Planet Without Stuff is the unofficial name of Aleenah’s jewelry venture. She hoped the workshop would enhance her skills as a jewelry crafter and maybe more. 

“I do want the business to expand, but I also want to do other things. That way I’ll have my activities or other job and my bracelet business on the side,” she said. “I think this is going to really boost my bracelet business.”