Young Entrepreneur Academy
Transform your dreams into a business
Welcome to the Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA)! This is a collaborative effort of the Washington State Department of Commerce, Employment Security Department, and the Young Adult Advisory Council. This self-guided curriculum was co-designed with young adult entrepreneurs, especially for older youth and young adults who are ready to explore self-employment and entrepreneurship.
From dreaming up your big idea, to marketing, to preventing burnout, to all the details on taxes and legal requirements and, of course, all things money–we got you!
About the academy
“What’s the secret? The short answer is that everything you need in order to succeed already exists inside you. Your talent, your passion, and your determination are the biggest keys to your success.“
– Moziah Bridges of Mo’s Bows.
When you finish this academy, you will:
- Be ready to tackle starting your own small business or try out self-employment.
- Have a workbook of resources, reflections, and a business plan.
- Understand how you are a part of a greater a whole, a community, and how we work together to care for ourselves and others.
You have passion and you’re contemplating turning that passion into a thriving business. So where do you start? Every person who is selling a product or providing a service has been exactly where you are now, at the beginning.
Before you begin
Entrepreneurship is a big step! It requires commitment, willingness, and knowing that you will be challenged to grow in new ways. Growth is always a bit uncomfortable. If you’re not feeling a bit uncomfortable, you’re not in the growing space – you’re doing what you already know and feel good about doing. It is wise to wait until you feel prepared to try hard things and know that it is likely you’ll make mistakes, even fail several times, and still be willing to learn and try again. And try, again! And again!
You will find this course most useful when you are ready to grow. Only you can decide when you are ready for this work.
Program units
The Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA) has 10 program units for you to explore—in any order—though we have them listed, left to right, top to bottom, in an order that made the most sense to us. They are designed to be useful, individually. So, if you’re already running your business but want to focus more on the legal section, feel free to do so. Jump around!
Each unit has an assessment link at the end. Assessments are optional but they are a great way to check your knowledge and see if you are understanding the most important parts of each unit.
Don’t forget to use the YEA workbook! It has reflection questions for each unit, templates for you to use as you work on your business plan, and has the assessment questions included, too! You can edit the document or print it out to write in.
Meet the Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA) team
Meet the team of young adults and their supporters who developed each unit, the workbook, and the visual representations. YEA had a lot of support from several partners across the state, as well.