The tables were set up in the elementary courtyard with soaps, stickers, mystery bags, and more. It was YED day for our enterprising 5th graders and our student-owned businesses were open and ready for customers.

Carrollwood Day School fifth graders have a unique opportunity during their unit focusing on business and economics. They have the chance to become young entrepreneurs. After learning about all aspects of operating a business, students collaborate with business partners to create their own business. They must first determine what type of business they would like to create:  a service business or a business producing goods and then they collaborate with their business partners to see what interests they share.  Students then determine what kind of business they would like to create. Prior to developing the business, they create a survey to analyze their business market. For these enterprising fifth graders, their business market is comprised of elementary students in grades one through four. Once the survey has been conducted and the results tallied, these entrepreneurs use the results of their surveys to begin developing their businesses.

While working with their business partners, they must create a name for their business and develop a mission statement. Students must also work with their partners to create a commercial advertising their business that will be presented to the rest of the elementary student body. With a budget of eighty dollars to create their business, they purchase all business-related items with the goal of serving 250 customers.  

This unit culminates with what has come to be known as Young Entrepreneurs’ Day at Carrollwood Day School. (Students lovingly refer to it as YED Day!)  All elementary students are invited to purchase tickets to be used on Young Entrepreneurs’ Day.  Teachers sign their classes up for thirty-minute time slots to visit the fifth-grade businesses and spend their tickets.  It is a fun-filled day providing students with real-life experience in the business world.  At the close of Young Entrepreneurs’ Day, the fifth-grade students calculate whether their business earned a profit or experienced a loss.  

Fifth graders use the money earned from this valuable learning experience to fund the action piece of their Exhibition.  The Exhibition is a unit that takes place each year and is completely student-initiated and student-driven.

Thank you to all the fifth-grade teachers for facilitating this day and the fifth-graders for their hard work and entrepreneurialism.