From “Krazee” candy to comfy childcare, kids pitch business ideas at CCCC camp

SANFORD, N.C. — Coming up with feasible business plans is a challenge for adults, let alone middle schoolers.

But that was the adventure students took on at the Learning Entrepreneurship through Action and Play (LEAP) summer camp run by CCCC’s Small Business Centers July 13-16.

At LEAP, students have four days to dream up and develop business proposals, before presenting them to judges on the final day. That also meant taking the stage in the auditorium of CCCC’s Dennis A. Wicker Civic & Conference Center in Sanford in front of loved ones and other onlookers.

Phillip Pappas, coordinator of CCCC’s small business center for Chatham County, explained to the audience that each team would play a 30-second advertisement for their business and then talk through their plan, before judges selected a best overall winner and winners for three other categories. Prize packages were sponsored by First Bank of Lillington. 

Each team had an imaginary budget of $5,000 to spend, shared Mari-inetta Pavlic, who led this year’s LEAP camp. That had to cover necessary expenses, including a month’s rent if a space was needed for the business. Campers were also encouraged to think of business ideas that could make a positive impact on their communities.  

First to present were Roderick Abetia, Lindzey D. Carrera, and Adelia Kiwaza with their plan for Krazee Sweets, a small shop in downtown Sanford that would sell a diverse assortment of candies, emphasizing international flavors. 

“We want to show that we can give everybody a chance to try new stuff, try new candies and cultures,” Roderick said.

Next up were Michael Davison, Lucas Smirnov, Harrison Smirnov, and Oliver Ziebert presenting their idea for Comfort Oasis, a business where parents could leave their children to hang out and watch a movie while lounging in bean bag chairs and eating snacks. 

Olive Bagley, Antoinette Peluso, and Charlotte Smirnov shared their idea for a party planning business called OCA Party Planners, repeatedly emphasizing their slogan "seamless and stunning” to drive home the results customers could expect if they hired the business for their parties.

Lastly, Sawyer Gaddy and Luke Wagner, whose team was called The Pool Players, presented their idea for a business that would provide historical tours of Sanford. They shared a detailed map they had drawn that included a variety of historical landmarks where they could provide historical context, stories, and information. 

After conferring, the judges decided OCA Party Planners had the best marketing, Comfort Oasis was the most innovative, and that The Pool Players’ Sanford historical tours would be most likely to have the biggest community impact. 

Krazee Sweets won for best business plan overall. Speaking after the event, judges Nia Miles of First Bank of Lillington and Neil Bullard of Neil’s Apparel and Accents praised the Krazee Sweets teammates for their knowledgeability about the Sanford community, and the thoughtfulness and detail they put into their plans for merchandise, location, and store hours. 

“They definitely took into account how to appeal to everyone, which I think is very smart, especially when you are protecting that bottom dollar,” Bullard said. “I thought it was a very feasible idea.” 

Lindzey, a member of the Krazee Sweets team, said her biggest takeaways from the experience related to working with teammates and becoming more outgoing. 

The most challenging parts, she said, related to budgeting for the business and figuring out how to use a small amount of money wisely to make enough money to pay the next month’s rent. 

“In the end, it works out,” she said. “You make good friends and you enjoy it.”

For more information about CCCC’s Small Business Centers in Chatham, Lee and Harnett counties and the ways they help local small business owners and entrepreneurs, visit www.cccc.edu/sbc.

For more information about LEAP and other summer camps at CCCC, visit www.cccc.edu/summer-camps.