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Scott Beckman, State Coordinator, NM Youth Entrepreneurship Network<\/p><\/div>\n
At a time of rising unemployment in New Mexico and across the nation, lawmakers want to make sure the state\u2019s young people aren\u2019t forgotten \u2013 especially young people who hope to start their own businesses one day and help build the New Mexico economy.<\/p>\n
Three bills before the state\u00a0Legislature aim to help prepare the business leaders of tomorrow. Senate Bill 191 and House Bill 623, sponsored by House Speaker Ben Luj\u00e1n, would appropriate $50,000 from the general fund in the next fiscal year starting in July to contract with a nonprofit organization to develop a self-supporting entrepreneurial program for youth. Senate Bill 29 would set aside $200,000 to support a variety of entrepreneurial development measures, including programs oriented toward young people.<\/p>\n
All this is good news to Mollie Kelly. The 19-year-old Santa Fean wants to run her own boutique and start her own clothing line one day, but first she needs to complete an associate degree in business administration and earn a certificate in fashion design at Santa Fe Community College. She worries about what the future holds for aspiring entrepreneurs of her generation, but she intends to stay positive.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHow can I even think about starting my own business when other businesses are falling apart?\u201d she said. \u201cBut now is not the time to hunker down; it\u2019s the time to offer services that others aren\u2019t providing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly is trying to do that very thing at Warehouse 21, where she is leading the startup of a merchandise co-op that will sell youth-made products in the teen arts center’s Internet cafe.\u00a0Warehouse 21 \u201cis all about empowering youth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ana Maria Gallegos y Reinhart, director of Warehouse 21, joined others at the state Capitol on Feb. 16 \u2014 the beginning of National Entrepreneurship Week \u2014 to support the two bills that backers say would encourage the training and development of a new generation of entrepreneurs. Also present were Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, House Speaker Luj\u00e1n, representatives of the Regional Development Corporation, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Workforce Solutions and state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, who sponsored both Senate bills.<\/p>\n
The event was sponsored by the New Mexico Youth Entrepreneurship Network, which is made up of 42 local, regional and state organizations \u2014 public and private \u2014 that joined forces in 2007 to champion youth-entrepreneurship education in New Mexico as a means of energizing economic development in the state and addressing the high rates of poverty and academic failure in the state.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneurship education involves preparing individuals, especially young people, to contribute to the economic development and vitality of their communities. It doesn\u2019t just teach them how to run a business but also how to recognize and pursue opportunities and to think in critical and innovative ways.<\/p>\n
Article 74<\/p>\n
Download 74_Re-energizing New Mexico’s Economy Begins with Youth PDF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bills before the 2009 New Mexico State Legislature that will support youth entrepreneurs are discussed. Continue reading