The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science presented its third edition of the Entrepreneurship Talks program produced by Kayla Hester. This March 10th session, “Your Personal Recipe for Business Success,” was hosted by James Wilcox, director of the Southern Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business.

Wilcox is a USM graduate with a bachelor degree in International Business and a master’s in Economic Development.  

Hester stated “(Wilcox) discussed how you can start identifying and using your available resources to seize opportunities for starting your own business.”

Ryan Hopson, an Entrepreneurship Talks veteran who has attended every meeting since the program’s inception said, “As a teen who is looking to go into business, I was surprised to be told I can go into business now, and the program teaches me ways of doing that. With incredible people speaking and helping, and Mrs. Hester’s support it is easier to bring my business plan to life.”

More tha 20 students attended the secession, most of whom attended the previous Entrepreneurship Talks workshops. Wilcox discussed the University’s Center for Economic and Entrepreneurship Education (CE3) programs. One of the center’s programs is the Making Money Now Challenge where participants start with $10 and create their own business.

Jordan Kranz an Entrepreneurship Talks first timer said, “It was fun and I learned a lot of things that I wouldn’t have learned in a traditional class setting.”

Examples used by Wilcox were Brandon, a clothing designer, Nicole, a fashion and training executive and Kiesha, a mobile snow cone stand owner. These three business owners grew their business to thousands of dollars from a solitary $10 bill.

Wilcox said, “Ten dollars is all it takes to start a business.”

Attendees filled out worksheets to learn what they should look for in preparing to own a business and ways to start. They discussed how to pick a ideal business location using economic, social and historical mapping techniques. To further entertain the potential future millionaires, Wilcox presented a Name That Billionaire game.

The Entrepreneurship Program  is laying the foundation for the 2017 school year Economics and Entrepreneurship class taught by Hester. Not many of the students attending the program know what’s next for the final segments of the program, or the beginning of the new Economics class; but, one thing is certain: Hester is not finished yet.