for cooperstown sixth-graders... TREP$ Means Business

2-12-10
 
By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

WHAT IS TREP$?

TREP$, a trendy term for young entrepreneurs, is the award-winning, entrepreneurship education program teaching kids in grades 4-8 the basics of business ownership.
For details on the program, visit: www.trepsed.com

Among other things, TREP$ is a bridge for children – in this case, sixth graders, 12 years old, almost young adults – to talk to adults as adults.
Usually, that’s not an easy conversation, said TREP$ co-founder Pam deWaal of West Milford, N.J., calm amid a storm of buying and selling that whirled around the CCS Middle/High School cafeteria for two hours Saturday, Feb. 6.
Baggums’ creator Jacob Russell – he was one of 48 entrepreneurs who developed products, packaging and marketing plans, and were now peddling the result – proved deWaal’s point.
“My mom” – his parents are David and Nancy – “used to make these kinds of bags,” said Jacob, as he walked an interviewer through his business’ development with aplomb.
He held up a squarish sack that tightens with a drawstring. You can fill it with books, or whatever, then sling it over your shoulder.
Jacob’s experience – market research, if you will – with the sacks made them a natural, but he didn’t stop there.  The sacks retail for $5, but he developed a beach bag for $8 and a pocketbook for $10.
(At shortly before noon, he was planning a sale, a $2 reduction on each item .)
Jacob had scavenged the Russells’ Chestnut Street home for cast-off clothes – one of the sacks, for instance, was made from super-hero pyjamas – so he kept his costs low.
Still, production was time-consuming.  “I’ve learned business is a lot harder than most people think,” said the entrepreneur, who netted $175, which he donated to the Susquehanna SPCA.
Pam deWaal and her partner, Hayley Romano, were trained as teachers – Pam also runs a business, Mountain Soul Jewelry, which provided the entrepreneurial piece.
Self-described “PTA moms,” the pair created the program in 2006 for their children’s school, “having no idea the way it would spread,” said Pam.
But spread it did.
First, it was a hit in West Milford.  Then, it won the 2006 New Jersey PTA’s Champion for Children Award.  Calls started to come in, so the partners decided to develop a teacher’s manual, lesson plans and a workbook.
A start-up kit is $599 and workbooks $10 each.  Grades 4-8 can participate.
Today, 40 schools – in New Jersey, Ohio, Utah, Georgia, Canada, even Saudi Arabia – are using the TREP$ curriculum.  (The Saudi customer insisted two separate tapes be created:  one for boys, one for girls.)
In addition to learning how to communicate with the adult world, everyone learns life lessons from walking the entrepreneurial walk, whether the pupils end up runnning their own businesses or not.
“Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a corporate employee,” said deWaal, “you will be more successful if you have an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Cooperstown’s Carina Franck is a friend of Pam deWaal’s, and followed TREP$ development with some interest.  Now co-president of the local PTA, it seemed a like a good time for Franck and co-president Erika Idelson to try it out.
Franck chaired the committee.  Idelson, Kathleen Gozigian, Rebecca Stone, Annmarie Leinhart Bascio and Martha Heneghan rounded out the organizers.
“I am blown away by the community support she’s gotten here,” said deWaal, surveying the scene.
Right in front of her was Noah Briggs, who was selling giant Boston-creme filled Big Top Cupcakes, selling for $5 each.
“I had this whole table filled,” he said.  Only a half-dozen were left, and Noah was taking orders.
As with Jacob, Noah discovered running a business is a lot of work, and it can be expensive:  He spent $64 on ingredients and three days in the production.
“Last night,” he said, “we were up ’til one, baking and wrapping them.”

ENTREPRENEURS ABOUND
Here are the companies and entrepreneurs who participated in the TREP$ Marketplace Saturday, Feb. 6, in the CCS Middle/High School cafeteria:
•  All You Need Is Love: Katie Franck and Jen Snyder, soaps, necklaces and Cards
• Baggum: Jacob Russell, cloth bags
• Beadiful Smiles: Margie Knight and Sylvia Johnson, earrings
• Best Friend Babysitters: Emily Greenberg and Maddy Sandler, babysitting service
• Birdhouses by Matt: Matt Burch, wooden birdhouses
• C&A’s Cocoa and Spice Cookies: Alex Greenberg and Colin Wilcox, hot chocolate and spice cookies
• Coco Loco: Connor Fay, chocolate
• COOP-GUM: Anna Greene, bubble gum
• Dylan’s Delights: Dylan Snyder, cookie mixes and candy
• Elijah & Augustus Fine Chocolates: Eli Sandler and August Stegman, homemade chocolates and candy
• For The Birds: Lauryn Makofske, bird houses
• K&C Crafts: Carson Haney and Kate Preston, bookmarks and picture frames
• K&W Crafts: Ken and Wade Stahl, key chains, necklaces and bracelets
• Harmony Healing Herbal Salves & Oils: Alexandra Williams, herbal salves and oils
• Harry’s Healthy Treats: Emily Murphy, dog treats
• Hunter’s Sweet Treats: Hunter Ducey, cookies and brownies
• Kah Manrah Chocolates & Candies: Robert Iversen, Andrew Burnham and Michelle Zeh, candies, chocolate and hot chocolate
• Like Grandma Made It: Scott Curtis, homemade ice cream
• Magic Cupcake: Noah Briggs, cupcakes
• The Mallory Gallery: Mallory Arthurs, shopping lists, babysitting service, coloring books
• Pin La Chocolate: Nolan Rock, chocolates
• Otsego Scenery: Joseph Peterson, photographs
• SH&B: Becca O’Dell, Sarah Heneghan and Helen Powers, soaps, felt products and animal treats
• Save The Birds: Timmy Griffin and Quentin Powers, wooden bluebird and owl houses
• Taped: Aaron Idelson and Catherine Borgstrom, duct tape products
• Wool to the Max: Max Ofer, jewelry, ornaments, felted animals and bags of wool