Programs

B. Side Basics
A 10-week/40 hour entrepreneurial education program utilizing NFTE, Generation E, and B. Side's own curriculum. Using a project based learning model youth will develop a business plan based on their own concept or idea and explore the possibilities for success. In the classroom youth will be engaged through hands-on learning and problem solving. A multitude of experiences are used to provide the youth with a clear and realworld understanding of business. Youth will complete a working business plan, present that business plan and compete for a cash prize with their classmates. B. Side Basics is offered during the Fall and Winter terms at EMU's College of Business. Modified programs are occassionally offered at additional times or through collaborations.

Young Moguls Club (YMC)
The Young Moguls are graduates from B. Side Basics who are pursuing their interests through business development and by attaining desired skills and knowledge about business.
They achieve this through multiple ways:
1. By bring in guest speakers from the business community and attending events for networking opportunities.
2. By competing in local and regional business plan competitions.
3. By connecting youth with mentors and by providing internships/apprenticeships.
4. By providing up to $250 in generator funds to test market products/services or launch a business.
5. By providing a continuous and realistic support system for YM's to explore entrepreneurship.

B. Side Enterprises
Being an entrepreneurship program means more than just educating youth in the classroom. The B. Side provides hands-on education while allowing the youth an opportunity to work and earn in a job setting. These enterprises allow youth a real world job experience, while also helping to create some sustainability possibilities for the overall program. To date two enterprises have been launched. The first is Digital Inclusion (DI), a computer refurbishment and recycling program which benefits low income residence and the community in general. DI has generated more than $21,000 for program continuation through the sale of the refurbished systems and services. Checkout direcycle.com for available products. The second was Concepts of Life, an online youth magazine that was launched in August 2010 - targeting ages 16 to 24 with its articles, videos and advertisement.

The B. Side of A.
The B. Side has created a skills-development project based learning program, The B. Side of A. (The Business Side of Art), to expose youth to various disciplines within the arts such as media, textiles and culinary. This exposure supports youth as they work to pilot their own business by increasing their skills in their area of focus. These are intensive 6 to 8 week programs conducted during the summer. During the school year one day workshops are provided to present year round opportunity. The summer programs range between 18 to 24 hours per week and place youth with local artisans who specialize in their fields. Each discipline is tasked with completing a project or collaborating to complete a project. By seeing projects from the beginning to end the youth are more engaged, comprehend the use of skills better and have a greater since of accomplishment. “This ain’t Art for your Mommy”