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Developing entrepreneurial talent through action learning and fostering the creation of sustainable enterprises throughout North Carolina.

      

May 2012
In This Issue
NC REAL Institute Coming Up in June
Last Call for May 24-25 Youth Camp Training
NC REAL Goes Online!
"Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies" Gets Off...the Ground
REAL Alumni Honor Roll Needs Your Help To Grow
Banking on Youth
NC REAL Hangs Out New "Shingle
New Generation Ventures Opens Door for Young Adults
Workforce Development Youth Summit Highlights NC REAL
REAL Graduation Day at McDowell Tech
Link of the Month

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NC REAL Institute Coming Up in June

 
NC REAL will conduct a very important training in June. 
 
The REAL Institute is the primary training for educators and civic leaders who want to become certified facilitators.  Participants who complete the Institute will become certified to teach the REAL approach to entrepreneurship education.
 
The next Institute is offered the week of June 11-15 at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock. 
 
The curriculum  
For more information about how to register for the Institute visit the NC REAL Web site by clicking here.

Last Call for May 24-25 Youth Camp Training

 

NC REAL recently added a special training for how to present an effective youth entrepreneurship camp on May 24-25 in Morganton. We offer this training because a number of potential facilitators expressed interest in sponsoring a summer event for youth.

 

If you are thinking of attending, please register now at our Web site so we can get an accurate count. The deadline for registration is Friday, May 11!

 
NC REAL Goes Online! 
 
It's almost impossible for a small business to be successful today without a robust online presence.  In light of that fact, we are in the process of developing a new NC REAL online resource.  It is built upon the great work that went into E-REAL, the current online tool developed in close collaboration with Western Piedmont Community College and its Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center Director, Eddie McGimsey. 
 
The new resource will take this work to the next level, maintaining the integrity and content of the current NC REAL curriculum.  It will maintain the action learning approach and make it more user friendly.  We hope to select a designer this month with the ability to find new ways to engage users in interactive ways.
 
There will be more information about development of this new online resource in upcoming issues of REAL Talk. 

 

"Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies" Gets Off the Ground

 

If you have paid a visit to Snappy's Lunch in Mt. Airy
Angela Shur
Angela Shur
lately, you may have caught a whiff of apples or peaches wafting from the small business next door, Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies.  Miss Angels is run by Angela Shur who attended a REAL class in 2011. 
Along with her husband, Randy, they also own and operate Rolling Hills Farms where Angela gets the fresh fruit for her pies from their orchard of more than 2,000 trees.

 

She specializes in their signature "5-Inch Cutie Pies," but also offers custom made confections such aspie "Double Trouble Pies" that have one kind of fruit on one side and a different type on the other.  You also can choose from Danish, cookies, cakes, cheesecake, brownies and more.

 

The business began near the Shelton Vineyards in Dobson.  Last year she applied for a grant from the Rural Advancement Foundation to expand Heavenly Pies and received $10,000 based in part on the hope she would serve as a model for other farmers.  She stands as living proof that you can use available resources to create business opportunities and earn additional income. 
 
Not only did Shur find a way to use a profitable way to use the excess fruit that wasn't selling, but all of it gets used.  Leftover pies are donated to five organizations in Surry County to feed the poor, homeless and battered women.  At the end of the day when all the pies are baked, she takes the peels from the fruit home to give her neighbors to feed deer or add to her own compost bin.
 
To go on top of your pie, they just have started making homemade vanilla ice cream!  Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The store is located at 153 North Main Street in downtown Mt. Airy.

 

 
REAL Alumni Honor Roll Needs Your Help To Grow
 
Since NC REAL trains teachers who in turn help youth and adults start small businesses, we aren't always directly in touch with owners after they have taken REAL classes.  In other words, we are a step removed from the people who benefit the most from our work.

It is essential that we keep up with success stories to tell their stories as well as our own.  We want to stay in touch with our "alumni" and keep up with their progress.  If you know of any business that was started by someone who attended a REAL class, please let us know by sending an email. We will add them to our list of successful "alumni" that is growing daily.  Click here for a snapshot of the alumni list as it stands today. 

 

 

Banking on Youth
 
Banking on Youth is an exciting opportunity toBanking on Youth   showcase great ideas for ventures that directly benefit society.  If you are age 13-20 and can show your venture idea through a creative and fun 90-second video, you may be able to win one of 33 different $1000 seed money prizes to bring your idea to life.  The deadline for submission of the video and application is June 10, 2012.
 
It gets even better!  The top six entrants, chosen by the Consumer Bankers Association and Youth Venture, will win all-expense-paid trips to the annual Global Youth Venture Summit in Washington, DC in July.  There, you will compete in a "pitch-off" for the chance to win the Audience Choice Award of $5000 or the grand prize of $15,000.
 
NC REAL Hangs Out New "Shingle"
 
Marketing is a major part of NC REAL's message toGet REAL would-be business owners.  We have taken a page from our own textbook to create a new marketing brochure that lists in simple terms what we offer and how much it costs.
 
It also makes the point that if you don't find a regularly scheduled event that fits your needs, we are able to individually tailor entrepreneurship projects.  Whether you are new to REAL or an experienced facilitator, take a look at our new "shingle" by clicking here.

 

 
New Generation Ventures Opens Door for Young Adults
 
Ventures 
 
The NC Rural Economic Development Center has 
invested in a major new program for young adults called the "New Generation Initiative."  The Initiative has four components: Careers, Leaders, Communities and Ventures.
 
The New Generation Ventures component is of particular interest to young adults (18-30) who want to start and operate a business in rural North Carolina.  "Ventures" offers business coaching with a counselor who will help you navigate the road to self-employment and link you to resources.  Your counselor will assess your entrepreneurial skills and readiness, as well as your budget and credit history. 
 
Ventures connects young entrepreneurs by offering business planning workshops, including NC REAL.  It also helps them potential business owners network with others who have similar aspirations, including business mentors in the community.  Finally, it helps provide access to capital to start or grow businesses. 
 
Click here to learn more about the New Generation Initiative.  Then, watch the very interesting orientation video on the Ventures component of New Generation to learn more about this exceptional opportunity offered by the Rural Center.
Workforce Development Youth Summit Highlights NC REAL
 
Over 250 youth interested in entrepreneurship from
across the state met recently in Greensboro to learn about business opportunities and experience the NC REAL approach to entrepreneurship.  They also heard from from Arel Moodie of the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour. The Summit was sponsored by North Carolina Workforce Development. 
 
It was a high energy weekend mixing networking
Youth at Workforce Summit Experience "Action Learning"
with a serious "boot camp" approach to learning about starting and running a small business.  Following the Summit, NC REAL continued to explore opportunities for future collaborative efforts by meeting with Workforce Development directors from across the state.

 

REAL Graduation Day at McDowell Tech

 

McDowell Technical Community College had its latest
McDowell Tech graduation
REAL Graduates in McDowell County
REAL graduation on April 16.

 
Already, two of the graduates have started a business called, Carronni's Sweet Creations.  It's a labor of love between mother, Michelle Huelskamp, and daughter, Cari Loftis.  They are working side-by-side to combine their passion for food with enjoyment of interacting with people.
 
The mother-daughter team started by creating new recipes to please palates in a friendly small town community in the foothills.  The devoted pair went door-to-door building a clientele one customer at a time.
 
Cari started her career in hospitality serving guests in upscale restaurants.  After moving to the foothills of North Carolina over six years ago, she realized that her calling in life was to feed and interact with the community.
 
Michelle has always been compassionate.  She was a social worker for twelve years.  She has composed and designed two cookbooks and won several contests for her baking skills from Taste of Home magazine.
 
Their target markets are local businesses, farmers markets, wineries, breweries and special events.  Their specialty is cupcakes.  They use fresh ingredients from local farmers that are handcrafted in small batches.  Their goal is to be the premier cupcake producer in all of Western North Carolina. 
 

Link of the Month 

 
The National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is a membershipNACCE  organization that helps community colleges link their traditional role of workforce development with entrepreneurial development. Even though it's a membership organization, many of its resources are excellent and free to anyone interested in entrepreneurship and economic vitality for local communities.
 
For example, there are resources such as the "Young Entrepreneurs Essential Guide to Starting Your Own Business!" and a free online course and podcasts about essential steps in starting your own business.
 
A special bonus is the opportunity to nominate an outstanding entrepreneur for the 10th Annual Conference Awards. There are four categories of awards: Alumni Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial President, Lifetime Achievement and Impact. The application deadline to nominate is August 3, 2012. To learn more about the awards and how to nominate, click here.