CEO Academy graduates 37 young entrepreneurs, celebrates national recognition
Janel Shoun |
Marlon Douglas is only 16 years old, but as the owner of Marlon’s Creations, he’s well on his way to becoming a business tycoon, complete with his own television appearance.
| Marlon Douglas in his younger days. |
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Marlon as an older teen, with his
Mickey Mouse creations. |
Marlon, an eleventh-grader at Nashville School of the Arts is developing his own interior design business and travels the country to attend business plan competitions for teens. He owes his pre-teen financial success to CEO Academy (Children’s Entrepreneurial Opportunities), a six-week summer camp that teaches diverse youth basic business skills.
The nine-year-old program is prominently featured in the PBS documentary, shot four years ago and produced by the award-winning Corporation for Educational Radio and Television. Lipscomb has been the host location for this valuable program, initially targeted to disadvantaged youth, for eight years now.
- To see a rough copy of the documentary, to air locally in October, go to www.certnyc.org/ceo/html.
In the film, Marlon, then 12, is shown in his first year at CEO Academy, debuting Marlon’s Creations which sold handmade frames, artwork, floral arrangements, sand sculptures and purses. He continued attending CEO Academy and has made a pretty penny over the years setting up his booth at local trade shows and student vendor expos, he said. Now he serves as an intern and Chairman of the graduation event committee for the program. Thirty seven students completed their business plans, manufactured products at summer camp. Marlon’s job is to ensure that the graduation celebration is a success.
“I can’t believe I was that little and how much I have grown up,” said Marlon, who this year decided to use his growing inventory of artwork and crafts in an interior design business for children’s rooms. He has created a sample room based on Mickey Mouse, in homage to his big ears, which do tend to stick out in the documentary.
“I did a sample room so I can show customers what I am capable of. My whole goal is to bring out the child’s personality. I want to show them they can be proud of who they are,” he said.
That same message will shine through at the CEO Academy graduation, where Marlon will be encouraging 37 new budding entrepreneurs, ranging in age from six to 18. The participants at this year’s Young Entrepreneur’s Expo will show off their products, present their business plans and display their talents. Booths will display a wide range of business ideas from candles to funeral homes.
The well-deserved publicity for the CEO Academy comes at the perfect time, said CEO Academy founder Terri Chapman. The coming year will bring a time of strategic restructuring and exploration of new opportunities and revenue sources for the Academy, she said. Consistent with the program’s theme of self-sufficiency, Chapman plans to spend this year researching new income streams including benefactors and clientele who extend beyond the program’s traditional clientele from economically disadvantaged communities.
“Public and private school administrators, universities, and the business community have always been supportive of our programs. This year we’re looking for visionary professionals to serve on our new advisory panel. These volunteers will brainstorm ideas to restructure our program in our endeavors to expand nationally,” said Chapman. “We’re considering expanding the program into some new markets, adding more programming and possibly adding some educational product. Chapman is also looking forward to taking on more staff, as the Academy’s current workforce consists solely of volunteers, seasonal consultants and interns on a stipend.
The CEO Academy will reach out to a new client base this year by re-focusing on the original faith-based values of the program, a focus that three years of government funding significantly curtailed, Chapman said. The goal is to place emphasis on the opportunity for youngsters to interact with a diverse group of their peers, both racially and economically.
“I’ve always been of the opinion that if you teach a person to fish, they will eat for life. Our goal is to give students and their families the tools they need to live a financially successful lifestyle,” Chapman commented. “We’re entrepreneurs! So we’ll be thinking ahead, just like our students.”
To contact CEO Academy for more information, click here.