Business BootKamp (TM): The New American Dream
Throughout all of America’s history, people have been coming to America to follow their dreams. Generations of families have searched for true happiness. While the manifestation of the American Dream has changed over many generations, the heart of the dream has always remained consistent. The pursuit of the American Dream has always been a quest for true happiness.
For the original settlers, this was in the form of religious freedom.
For refugees, it was freedom from persecution, and the ability to live in peace and prosperity. As generations past, and the society became more industrialized there were specific professions that parents encouraged their children into. Early on, it was accounting, then it was being a lawyer or a doctor, and so on a so forth. Today’s parents now have a different dream for their children. They are pushing and encouraging their children to be entrepreneurs, to harness their creativity and passion and follow their dreams, through beginning a business. Who is to say precisely where or when this trend began? Was it because of the Great Recession, or the personal device technology boom, or was the simple invention of the AppStore, or something else entirely, that set American’s minds running wild with ideas and the courage to set those in motion, and take a chance? While the answer to this is unclear, one thing is certain: the New American Dream is being an entrepreneur and in being in business for yourself.
This is clear in the newest addition to high school curriculum: the entrepreneur program. These highly selective programs, in high schools across the country, focus on enabling and teaching keen high school students about how to run a company. The majority of these programs help the students begin and run their own companies. Most partner students with mentors to advise them on their specific business needs. At the end of the program, some even provide their version of ‘Shark Tank’ for their students to go in front of real business investors and pitch their products, services, and essentially their entire company.
These programs have enabled individuals like Joyce Hsieh to begin and successfully operate their own companies (How to start a business in high school – Advice from 17 yo Joyce. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.catapultideas.com/how-to-start-a-business-in-high-school) . Not only are these programs offered in schools (sometimes at no additional cost), but there are companies that provide this experience in a summer camp format. Much the same way that sports fields will hold a summer sports camp, or an art center will hold summer art camps or classes. Parents are willing to pay for these extracurricular classes and to support their children while they explore the wild, wacky, and incredibly rewarding career of being your own boss, running your own company, and truly making a difference in the world, one interaction at a time!
Unlike many other countries, in the US, you have the right to marry who you want and also hire divorce attorneys should you choose to do so. If you are injured at work, you have the right to hire a workers’ compensation attorney. While we take many of these things for granted, many people in other countries are not blessed with luxuries such as these.
One thing is for sure: parents want their children to be happy. Modern parents, view happiness are being achieved through entrepreneurship, and the trends in American high school curriculum make that clear.
Dream on America, Dream on!
Chelsea Auton
The Volpe Consulting & Accounting Team
Sources:
Delivering on the American Dream | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/blogs/delivering-american-dream
How to start a business in high school – Advice from 17 yo Joyce. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.catapultideas.com/how-to-start-a-business-in-high-school
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/caroltice/2014/05/31/new-high-school-business-incubator-funds-teen-entrepreneurs/#6264a5ba1b24
