The New Rochelle Public Library welcomed Bo Kemp, President of Urban Fresh Food Markets, on April 14 to teach students about vital entrepreneur skills and give them an opportunity to be a part of the (BID) Saturday Market Young Tycoons Program.
Born in Detroit, raised in Washington D.C. with a bachelor’s degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, Kemp is an involved member of the New Rochelle community. His kids have attended New Rochelle High School and he runs the local farmers market.
Kemp addressed students from Grades 3 to seniors in high school, informing them that at the end of his introductory program they would all be eligible to take part in the Young Tycoons Program.
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It's a non-for- profit organization whose mission is to “further the development of young entrepreneurs who practice responsible business and financial habits and are capable of making informed business and financial decisions.”
First, Kemp told the students his story of how he began his entrepreneurial skills at such a young age and how it has benefitted him moving forward.
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Starting off with collections that later progressed into money-makers, Kemp collected everything from stamps to coins to even precious metals and rocks.
Kemp told them they could collect baseball cards or even comics and sell them for a profit—which got all the kids listening and on the edge of their seats. But what really caught the students' attention was when Kemp spoke about how he bought his first stock at age 11 and how much money they would make if they started looking into the stock market at a young age as he did.
“You guys will know when certain areas of the stock market like Air Jordan’s or Yu-Gi-oh! Cards are hot or not and that is the determining factor of a stock's success,” Kemp said.
After talking about how to start working on their entrepreneur skill set, Kemp went into more detail about the program these students were now eligible for. The New Rochelle Downtown (BID) Farmers Market opens from May 31 to Nov. 22 and the kids have the opportunity to sell goods at a booth and make profit to keep.
“Well when can we start,” one 3rd grade student yelled out with enthusiasm
“The booth is run by kids, with products made by kids and all the profit the kids make goes straight to them,” Kemp said.
The students have two options: join him at a booth selling specific goods with the profit being split amongst the kids working; or if students want they can operate their own booth for $70 and launch their own business. If the student decides to launch their own business they can promote and sell what they please and all the profit goes straight to them.
Kemp said he plans to keep in contact with the students who attended this program through email and will work on their ideas with them before the opening of the Farmers Market for the summer.
