Five Steps to Launch a Student-Run Business on Your Campus

A Simple, Proven Path for Schools Ready to Launch

Author

Stephen Carter
January 26, 2026

Quick note—don’t miss your chance to be part of one of the most energizing events of 2026: the Entrepreneurship Symposium for Christian Schools. Whether you’re building an entrepreneurship program or ready to launch one, this gathering will accelerate your impact.

One of the biggest misconceptions schools have about entrepreneurship is that launching a student-run business has to be complicated, expensive, or disruptive. It doesn’t.

In fact, when done well, it follows a clear, repeatable pathway—and most schools already have everything they need to get started.

Here’s what it actually looks like.

Step One: Start with a Small, Committed Team
Identify a group of 8–12 juniors and seniors and place them into a year-long entrepreneurship course for the coming school year. This is not a club or an after-school activity. It’s a leadership-level course where students take real ownership, make real decisions, and build something that will outlast them.

Step Two: Equip the Teacher for the Launch
Send the teacher leading the course to Seed Tree Entrepreneurship Training this June. This is where the full plan comes together: curriculum, timelines, launch strategy, operational guardrails, and all the resources needed to guide students from idea to execution with confidence.

Step Three: Build the Mindset Before the Business
During the first semester, students focus on developing the entrepreneurial mindset through hands-on projects using the Seed Tree curriculum. They learn growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking; not in theory, but through action. By the end of the semester, students pitch a business grounded in a real problem they are solving for your school community.

Standing out as a Christian school while staying true to your values is more challenging than ever. At Seed Tree Group, we help schools implement a proven entrepreneurship program that empowers students to take ownership of their education, equipping them with life-ready skills and creating a distinguished school with engaged students, inspired parents, and energized donors.

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Imagine your culture infused with growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking. Imagine your team acting and thinking like entrepreneurs.

Stephen Carter