December 2015
Dear Friends,
What an exciting time of year! We celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week from November 16-22 quite appropriately- attending Marketplaces and seeing all the great work going on in our schools!

There are many exciting things coming together right now.  Schools have been taking their shot at the Facebook Challenge for their chance to win their own 8' TREP$ banner.  If your school community would like to give it a try- just reach out to us to get the ball rolling.   We are also very excited to introduce our new TREP$ logo which uses a light bulb to represent ideas and innovation- essential elements of the TREP$ experience.  Our new TREP$ "Kick Off" video is fantastic and will be shipping to our participating schools very soon.  Finally, look in the right column to see all the Marketplaces taking place.  Just think of how many young people are now being reached!

We have included in this newsletter, a list of game ideas for the budding entrepreneurs in your lives.  These are not recommendations, as we have not personally tested these games, but a time saving list with the age level and description.  In addition, there are many books available on the topic of entrepreneurship, both fictional and non-fictional that are sure to inspire. 

We have some great write-ups to share with you- written by and about young entrepreneurs we met this spring... "Spotlight TREP$":  Emily from Newton, NJ, Timmy from Florida, NY,  and Elyssa from Mount Olive, NJ.

As always, thank you for being a part of this important and extraordinarily fun mission.
 
Pamela deWaal and Hayley Romano




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9 Gift Ideas to Inspire
The results of an Amazon search for business and innovation games. 
Included are the manufacturer descriptions. 

Pitch It!  (ages 13+)  Can you sell Ice to Eskimos? What about Potting Soil to Police Officers or Bath Toys to Bankers? You never know what you're doing to have to pitch in this fast-paced game where big ideas win Big! Draw a product and clientele card. Pick your product name, come up with a slogan and design a logo. It's time to Pitch-It! Pitch your product to the rest of the players and vote on which one is best.

Disruptus (ages 10+)  Disruptus taps into the innate ability of the creative mind to see things in surprisingly new and different ways, spurring players to new levels of innovation and creativity with bouts of silliness and hilarity erupting along the way. Players look at images on the cards and follow whichever of the four innovation methods (Create, Improve, Transform, Disrupt) is face up onthe die as they jot down their ideas with pencil and paper. The player with the craziest, most innovative idea for modifying the objects wins the round. Several play variations for players of all ages and abilities.  One or more players or teams.

Start Up (all ages)  StartUp is a business board game in which players compete to guide their startup company from launch to the completion of a corporate headquarters. Along the way there are Business Opportunities, Capital Opportunities, and IPO Opportunities. Build Expertise to increase your chances for success and your company's value in an Initial Public Offering. Navigate Lawsuits, Price Wars, Networking Opportunities and Shock cards along the way. Unlike other business board games, StartUp is a lot of fun, even when you are not winning. You lose by succeeding more slowly, not by getting crushed. StartUp teaches business and math skills and models many real business situations, such as the value of investing in your business, the risks and rewards of business opportunities, and the trade-offs in a Capital Opportunity or an IPO. StartUp is fun for the whole family and will have your 9 year old (or 99 year old) jumping up and down thrilled to have completed an IPO. It is challenging at any age from child to adult.

CASHFLOW for Kids (ages 6+)  CASHFLOW for Kids is an educational board game that simulates real life financial strategies and situations in a context that engages and educates your child. You child's school teaches them how to work for money, but CASHFLOW for Kids teaches them how to have money work for them. As a simulation, your child learns valuable lessons and gains priceless insights into how money and investing work - all with play money!

Monopoly Empire (ages 8+) It's the classic fast-trading property game with a brand new twist! When you play Monopoly Empire you've got a tower to fill with billboards. Buy your favorite brands when you land on their brand spaces, and slide your billboard into the tower. Every time you pass GO, you collect the current value of your tower, so every brand you buy makes you richer! You can hit the top sooner if you buy an office, so start wheeling and dealing and build your way to the top in Monopoly Empire! Monopoly and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.

Pay Day  The classic game of Payday makes family finance fun as it reminds everyone just where the money goes. This is a game of making and spending money! You'll make money every month, but you might spend it just as fast.

AntiMonopoly (ages 8+) Anti-Monopoly from University Games is a fun update of the classic game invented by Elizabeth Magie 100 years ago. It's a twist right out of the headlines, as free market competitors clash with ruthless monopolists. In Anti-Monopoly, you must choose a side before the game begins. Will you be a monopolist or a free market competitor? The two types of players follow different rules in their quest for big money. This idea of movement and choice makes Anti-Monopoly the first game of its kind. Includes game board, cards, play money and metal playing pieces. Suitable for 2 - 4 players. Made in the USA. University Games offers you and your family original ways to have fun. Creative gameplay and quality components are our standard. We know that people want to play right away, so our games are easy to learn. Our games keep all players involved, even when it's not their turn. The games combine luck and skill and present a new challenge each time you play. And all University Games products make learning fun. Spend time with us and you can have a great time with your family, get to know the neighbors, entertain your friends, and even learn to read.

Learning Resources (Grade 2+) - Money Bags Coin Value - Educational Board Game- Valuable money skills are "in the bag" as students collect, count and exchange money all the way to the finish line. Includes game board with spinner, 100 plastic coins, play bills, markers and die. For 2-4 players. Game board measures 12"L x 17"H.

The Farming Game (ages 10+) Whether you're a real farmer or an urban dweller, you'll find The Farming Game is an accurate description of the business risks and gambles of farming. Players begin the game $5,000 in debt with 20 acres of inherited farmland. As players plant crops and sell livestock, they slowly work their way to success...that is if the elements cooperate! Farming has never been this much fun! For 2 to 6 players.
Meet Emily of "Funky Junk"
Marian McKeown School, Newton, NJ  
 
Hi!  My name is Emily and I am a ten year old, 5th grader at Marian McKeown Elementary School. When I was thinking of an idea for TREP$ I was really into duct tape and I thought I could make duct tape bows or wallets to sell. But, then I thought they would be a common product that everyone already had. Next, I thought about making keychains with Rexlace, but I didn't have a lot of the supplies I would need, and I thought they would be too expensive to make.

So one day I decided to go on Pinterest for an idea. I found these really cool looking necklaces made out of washers and scrapbook paper, and that was what I decided to do! We took a trip to Lowes and got a few washers to make some sample necklaces to see how they would turn out. They were fun and easy to make! My dad helped me find the most inexpensive washers from EBay and we bought them in bulk. Then, my mom and I made a few trips to AC Moore with our coupons to get all the other supplies we needed.

I started wearing my sample necklaces to school, and my friends all wanted one. Some of the designs that were on the necklaces were flowers, stripes, music notes, and even dog bones! I made 118 necklaces in total. Next, I started to think about my display. How was I going to set up my table to make customers want to stop and buy from me? I knew I didn't want to spend any money on my display because that would take away from my profits. So back to Pinterest I went looking for display ideas!

My project name was called Funky Junk, so I thought it would be fun to get "junk" to display my necklaces for the marketplace. I am lucky to have an uncle who lives on a farm and keeps everything! He helped me find some old rakes, a tire, a wooden ladder, and we even made a display out of old chicken wire. Some customers told me they came by my table because of my display was very unique and eye-catching.

The night of the Market place my product was hot! I couldn't even get all of the necklaces displayed before people were buying them. A lot of my teachers and classmates bought from me. I got free advertising because people bought them and started wearing them right away. I sold almost all of them and even had additional sales after the marketplace was over. Altogether, after my expenses I made about $220. The TREP$ Marketplace was a lot of fun and hard work and I can't wait to do it next year.
Meet Timmy, of "Timmy's Treasures"
Golden Hill School, Florida, NY 
 
My name is Timmy, owner of Timmy's Treasures. I'm nine years old and my company sells handmade necklaces and lucky Spartan gems. I was very excited to participate in TREP$ in fourth grade and I started thinking about what to sell before the workshops even started.
 
During the workshops, I learned some things about how businesses work, about how to plan different parts and, most importantly, how to greet and say thank you to get your customers to come back. We learned how to choose a price and how to make more than what we paid so we don't just break even. The workshops were fun, but the best part was the marketplace where we got to buy and sell items.
 
I got the idea for my products by looking at what other people made online. It had to be something that would be cool for boys, girls and adults, too. I also had to make sure the materials weren't too expensive. Once I chose some cool items to make, I had to buy the materials, make the products and then get ready to sell them. The day of the TREP$ Marketplace, I had to decorate and make my store look good so people would want to visit my table.
 
Before the Marketplace, we made advertisements and I even went on the radio with my friend, Will, and our principal, Mr. Cameron, to tell people about how hard we were working on our business plans and the products and services we were going to sell.
Meet Elyssa, of "Bright Switches"
 
My name is Elyssa and I am  in the 5th grade from Chester M Stephens Elementary School. My school just recently had our very first TREP$ Marketplace and I sold my first product too! I sold handmade light switch covers with cute designs on them. The reason I joined TREP$ was to learn how a businessman/woman felt when owning a business. I learned how hard it was to own an actual business. I thought at first  it was just selling and making a product. But when I participated in the workshops I realized that it was more than that.
 
I came up with the idea of a light switch cover when I was looking for an idea. I kept on thinking of doing a custom made phone case or mp3 case at first, but then I changed plans, since the phone cases were too expensive to buy. When I was about to make something I didn't enjoy, my mom told me about the paper covers I made to cover the light switch earlier in the year for fun. Then I thought of a magnificent idea. I could make a custom light switch cover!
 
It took a lot of work into making the light switch covers. I first had to figure out what spray paint would stick to the plastic. (I had MANY fails) I also had to sketch out what I was doing on the cover. It took me a very long time, but I enjoyed it!
 
At the Marketplace many people were saying that my light switch covers were adorable! I was so excited to be doing the Marketplace since I had worked so hard for it. I  was happy to see at the Marketplace that many people were interested in my product. Overall, my TREP$ experience was the most amazing experience I've ever had!