Colby 8th Graders Showcase Entrepreneurship Projects at Event Center

Creativity, business ideas, and a lot of hard work were on display Wednesday as Colby Middle School eighth graders presented their entrepreneurship projects at the Colby Event Center.

The event serves as the final showcase for a nine-week project in Brandi Jones’ Career and Computer Applications class. Now in its 12th year, the program allows students to develop and present their own business ideas through a combination of research, marketing, and public presentation.

Jones explained that the program is made possible through partnerships with Network Kansas and the Thomas County Economic Development Center.

“We go through Network Kansas and the Thomas County Economic Development Center,” Jones said. “They sponsor it, but it’s also through Network Kansas. Years ago we visited one in Bird City and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we could totally do this.’”

Throughout the project, students must build a full business concept from the ground up. That includes writing a three-page business summary covering competition, finances, and marketing. They also create a promotional video and present their ideas in person during the trade-show-style event.

Jones says the project brings together many of the skills students learn throughout school.

“It involves public speaking and writing and research and communication skills,” she said. “It’s kind of a cumulative of everything in our school, putting it all together.”

The trade show featured a wide range of creative ideas from the students. Some businesses focused on baking and clothing design, while others explored more unique concepts like handmade pipe-cleaner flower bouquets, faith-based T-shirt designs, weighted scented stuffed animals for comfort, and even guided fishing tours.

One of those ideas came from student Parker Sullivan, who partnered with a classmate to create T&P Community Fishing Guide.

“Our business name is T&P Community Fishing Guide,” Sullivan said. “Me and my partner will take you on a guided service. We also offer fishing lures that we made ourselves and we fish most lakes around here in Kansas and even into Nebraska.”

Sullivan said the idea came naturally because both partners grew up around fishing.

“We grew up fishing in families where fishing was a big thing,” he said. “So we just kind of wanted to help people and get more people interested in fishing.”

The project helped Sullivan and his partner learn the basics of running a business, including marketing and product costs.

“I think we learned how to catch the eye of a buyer and find people interested in fishing,” Sullivan said. “Since we make our own lures, we can make our products cheaper instead of buying someone else’s.”

Students also had to create a promotional video for their business. Sullivan said that part of the project proved to be the most challenging.

“I think our video might have been the hardest part,” he said. “But I feel like we did better at our in-person presentation.”

The trade show is also part of a larger statewide entrepreneurship competition. Judges from the community evaluate the projects, and the top student business will advance to the state competition in Manhattan, with a new regional step being added this year in Hays.

For Jones, the biggest takeaway isn’t just the competition—it’s watching the students grow throughout the project.

“Some of them will want to be entrepreneurs someday and some of them won’t,” Jones said. “But they learn what it takes to run a business or work for someone else.”

She added that the confidence students gain through presenting their ideas in front of judges and the public is one of the most rewarding parts of the project.

“I am so proud of these kids,” Jones said. “Just what it takes for them to stand up here in public and in front of judges and be able to do this… for some of them, this is a big feat.”

By the time the projects reach the trade show stage, Jones says the results speak for themselves.

“You wonder during the nine weeks if it’s all going to come together,” she said. “Then we get here and they put everything out and I think, ‘Oh my goodness, they are amazing.’”