Beating the fear of cold calling, and other lessons kids taught me
This article covers the sales day (November 3rd) for the 14 teams of elementary schoolchildren entering Junior Economy College in Tatsuno. Part 1 is here. On November 3rd at the city festival, all 14 teams sold their wares. All sold food, while some also sold crafts they had made. The sales day started very early. Due to hygiene rules, all food needed to be prepared that morning. The teams were split into two groups, each heading to a local elementary school at 6:30 am to pre
What I learned about business from 75 Japanese fifth- and sixth-graders Part I of a three-part serie
Late last year, the Young Entrepreneurs Group at my local chamber of commerce asked me to judge a 5-month business competition for elementary schoolchildren. Called Junior Economy College, it started in Fukushima Prefecture in 2009 and now takes place in 28 Japanese cities. It’s a great initiative, and for a mature market like Japan, with quite a rigid education system, it’s something that more cities should try. I learned so much from the children that I’ve divided this arti
