The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

Sweat Equity Enterprises is an awesome organization that allows high school students in the New York area to design and produce their own fashion products. Instead of going out to buy the latest fashions, these teens create their own…

The student participants gain intensive design, technology and entrepreneurship training as they develop original graphic, product, or apparel designs from concept to prototype in partnership with a company partner. Past projects include bags and outerwear for Marc Ecko Enterprises, graphic design for New York Cares and Abada Capoeira, shoes for Skechers, watches for Callanen/Timex, package design for Dr. Miracles Hair Care Products, skateboards for Zoo York, cars for Nissan, and electronics for RadioShack.

Check out the video below of students describing their products and learn more about Sweat Equity Enterprises at their website, www.sweatequityenterprises.org.

Image Source: Ten9Eight Website

(This was originally posted on my youth site www.DreamerENT.com. I’m an alumna of NFTE, an organization that teaches youth about entrepreneurship and that motivated this teen to start his own custom guitar company. To find out more about how you or someone you know can take part in NFTE visit www.nfte.com.)

14-year-old Alexander Niles, a middle-school student from South Florida, is mixing his love of guitars with entrepreneurship, creating custom guitars that he will sell on his online store. He constructs each guitar from scratch, and creatively embellishes them to the customer’s liking.

Alexander received his business training from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship NFTE, a great program for elementary to high school students that helps them build their own businesses. You can learn more about his company in this article in the South Florida Business Journal. Watch Alexander rocking out on his own custom guitar in the video below from the upcoming documentary Ten9Eight: Shoot For the Moon, which features several other young entrepreneurs. For more information about NFTE, visit http://nfte.com.

Nike is looking for their next Field Reporter, a young woman who will get the opportunity to travel across the country and interview some of the biggest athletes in the game. Check out Nike’s description of the contest below:

Who Were Lookin For
One lucky lady between 18-24 whos sassy, smart and sports savvy. If you’re in the know and on the go, its time to take your shot at being the first-ever Nike Field Reporter.

Whats a Field Reporter?
If you think you have what it takes to volley one-liners with Maria Sharapova, kick it with Mia Hamm, and Q&A over cappuccinos with Serena Williams, this is your dream job.

As the Nike Field Reporter, you’ll jetset around the country on Nike’s dime talking to athletes, artists and culture makers. You’ll report back in the form of photos, videos and blog entries.

You have to be ready for anything and anyone. As this is being written, the current Nike Field Reporter is spending a few days just hanging out with Kobe Bryant.

Think you could keep up? Remember this isn’t a job for the camera shy. Or the easily intimidated. You’ll need to show us you can talk a good game, as well as play one. Make us laugh. Impress us with your quick wit and storytelling. Prove to us you are Nike’s next star in a 2-minute audition video and sample blog post.

Check out the Nike site for more information and to apply.

You can visit the current Field Reporter’s blog here. Check out these videos of the first Nike Field Reporter, and the promotion video for the contest:

In the video below, a young journalist covered Essence Magazine’s 1st Young Women’s Leadership Conference that took place in November 2008, in Washington, D.C. The conference was aimed at supporting young women to be prepared for the workforce, and featured a number of panelists.

Two of the panelists included young entrepreneurs and designers Angela and Vanessa Simmons, the daughters of Reverend Run, and co-founders of the Pastry fashion apparel line. The girls encourage young people to pursue entrepreneurship, and tell young people:

“…With determination, perseverance and hard work, that the things that they want are attainable no matter what… No matter what background they come from, no matter how old you are, there’s no deadline on dreams, and you should just keep pushing and keep going to achieve the things that you want to achieve… We want to be that little hope of inspiration that it does happen and it can happen.”

– Angela and Vanessa Simmons, at the Essence Women’s Youth Leadership Conference