As I was walking out of our main school building today, I noticed that our concessions window was open, and a line of students had formed in front of it. Since this was unusual, I was highly intrigued, and as I walked by, I saw three students inside the space selling chips and homemade salsa.

Their only sign was a hastily drawn piece of paper, and yet they were navigating a growing crowd of customers with little more than their product and their smiles. And it was a success by every metric.

“Where was the teacher?” some might ask. “Did they get a health license?” others may be wondering. “How did the cafeteria feel about them doing this?” still others are probably thinking. And yet, here they were, selling a product that they had not only created themselves but also had grown the ingredients from seed in our greenhouse.

We have worked over ten years to cultivate a culture ripe with the entrepreneurial mindset on our campus here in Cincinnati and it thrills me to no end to see the benefits of this mindset show up in various ways. And one of the most important aspects of this mindset is the art of selling.

So much of life involves selling—from selling our employers on our value to selling our families on our ideas, we are constantly navigating a sales world whether we directly work in sales or not. And yet little, if any, time is dedicated to giving students opportunities to sell.

Selling is hard—especially if we are directly attached to the product we are selling. When we sell, we risk rejection, failure, frustration, and humiliation. But when we sell, we learn more about life and people and empathy than any book or classroom can teach us. We ultimately learn how to think like entrepreneurs.

At the end of the day, a homemade salsa stand is a small thing. But, for these three students, it will have meaningful ripple effects for the rest of their lives as they grow in confidence and learn skills that will help them achieve meaningful success.

Ready to bring entrepreneurship to your school? Connect with me for next steps.

The 2024 CHCA Entrepreneurship Symposium is SOLD OUT

Did you miss your chance to sign up for our 2024 Entrepreneurship Symposium? No worries – this popular event will be back in 2025 as we continue to develop content and programming around the entrepreneurial mindset.

Want to get on a waiting list for future events? Email [email protected] to get notified first.