Buenos Días, Buies Creek!

Otherwise in English, Good morning Buies Creek! I know, I know...but it's the only word I could find to express "hello" that started with a "B" to keep with m've had some students from San Salvador and Mexico this year! So we will consider this a tribute to them!

This week, the students get the privilege of working with Lindsay Hollandsworth, programs and communication manager of the Jesse Helms Center. During most weeks, Brian Rogers, the chief operating officer of the Helms Center, travels with the FELC program and directs the events and schedule that week. Brian is getting a break this time and Lindsay is taking over FELC at Campbell University!

Once check-in was completed, the students and parents headed to Lynch Auditorium in the Lundy Fetterman School of Business for orientation. Lindsay broke down the expectations and clearly identified the all the ways to score a one-way ticket back home! We hold high expectations for our FELC students and expect nothing but professionalism. Our students are the best of the best! And we know and trust they will deliver top-notch behavior and performance.

After orientation, it was time to say "adiós!" to the parents and guardians who dropped their students off with us. It's time to get down to business!

It may only be the first day, but what better time to start than now? Lindsay dove head-first into our first discussion, Free Enterprise 101. Some students aren't always 100% sure what exactly the free enterprise is and does...and that's okay! By the end of the week, each student will be more familiar with the term than most of the students at their high school and even some adults! That's where w, the counselors, come in.

What is the goal the students are striving for during their week at FELC? To win best company overall! How do they do it? There are two components: Earn the most money and score as high as possible high on as many projects as they can! The companies are competing against each other. Just like in the free enterprise system, there will be a first place and there will be a last. The main project of FELC is the company competition. Each team will be assigned an industry and each team will create and provide a true product or service. What comes with a offering a true product or service? TRUE PROFIT! Real cash! Our students will spend money on credit and then pay it off and make profit in the meantime.

On top of running a full-time business during the week, FELC students will be assigned group and individual projects! Today, we will introduce the first two:

1. Company Business Plan & Marketing Strategies: Every company needs a business plan! It's the road map to success. Each company will create and write-out a business plan as if a formal request to a banking institution.
2. The Commercial project: Advertising is key to creating good business. Each group will film (or act out) a proposed commercial for their company

Tonight, the FELC students have three hours to brainstorm for their company, choose a business name, elect leaders and officials, design a company logo (if desired) and get a purchase order ready to go for the company store to order their inventory! This week we have SIX teams! Team Freedom, Honor, Independence, Justice, Liberty and Virtue. The catch? We have only FOUR industries!

1. Entertainment
2. Concessions
3. Publications
4. Style

This means that four companies will be in direct competition with another team. We will have two entertainment groups and two concessions. Time for some friendly competitiveness! This encourages companies to think "outside of the box" and really analyze the concept of "supply and demand." It's tough, but it's possible and a whole lot of fun-filled brainstorming!

At the end of the night, each company will have elected a president, vice president, chief financial officer (CFO), and a purchaser. Throughout the week, the students will be given a plethora of assignments. As more projects are introduced, it's inevitable that we see committees begin to form within the teams. That's what we like to see! One person can't do it all. The key to success in any business is delegation and time management! This week will get stressful. The students will get tired and frustrated and they may panic a little. Perfectly normal! This is exactly what the FELC program is designed to do. Not to anger or frustrate the students, but to push them to their limits. It's at the "limits" that we really see what these students are capable of doing! This is where the talents will come forward, the leadership abilities will surface, and the professional skills will take charge! We wholeheartedly believe in each one of our FELC students and we intend to bring out the "inner leaders" in them.

The teams will also have a business name chosen as well! So far, I've heard company name's including Insane to Entertain, East Coast Entertainment, Concession Obsession, M.A.P. publications, and #Merica. (Yes, pronouned "hashtag merica.) I guess they're trying to target a young market age that's obsessed with twitter!

Tomorrow starts the first official day of selling! I can feel the eagerness and anxiousness coming from this group of FELC students and I'm excited to see what they have in store.