A colorful 3D block reading "THE $250 FLIP" sits in the foreground against a dynamic background of abstract blue, orange, and red shapes and event branding.

Doing Our Part through: Educating, Empowering, & Entertaining

LXCL:Please only register if you fully plan to attend and participate. This registration reserves one teen’s spot in The $250 Flip Entrepreneurship Challenge. Teens will be randomly placed into teams of four, receive $250 in startup capital per team, and work together to build, brand, market, and operate a real business. IMPORTANT: By registering, your teen is committing to attend ALL required program dates. Because this is a team-based competition, consistent attendance is essential. Please review the full schedule before registering and only reserve a spot if your teen can participate for the entire challenge. Registration includes all Business Labs, entrepreneurship materials and coaching, participation in the December 5 Santa’s Workshop marketplace, and the December 10 Awards Ceremony. Only 20 teen spots are available. No previous business experience is required. Need to arrive early or stay a little later? The DeSoto Parks &amp; Rec Center has activities you can enjoy before and after the workshop.

DOPE Teen

The $250 Flip Entrepreneurship Challenge Turn $250 into a business. Then see how far you can flip it. What would you do if someone gave you $250 to start a business?DOPE is teaming up with DeSoto Parks &amp; Recreation for The $250 Flip Entrepreneurship Challenge, a hands-on experience where 20 teens will be randomly placed into teams of four and given $250 in real startup capital. Your challenge? Build a business and turn that $250 into a profit.Create a product. Start a clothing brand. Buy and resell merchandise. Develop something completely different. Your team decides. You'll get four Saturdays of hands-on business training and support from DOPE before putting everything you've learned to the test by selling to real customers at the City of DeSoto's Santa's Workshop. And yes, this is a competition. The team with the highest verified net profit wins $4,000! Full Event Description: $250. 4 Teammates. One Business. What Can You Turn It Into? This isn't a workshop where we're going to spend weeks just talking about entrepreneurship. You're actually going to become an entrepreneur. Doing Our Part through: Educating, Empowering, &amp; Entertaining. (DOPE), in partnership with DeSoto Parks &amp; Recreation, is bringing teens The $250 Flip Entrepreneurship Challenge. We'll select 20 teens and randomly divide them into five teams of four. Each team receives: 💰 $250 in startup capital From there, it's up to you. Your team can purchase products and resell them, create merchandise, develop a clothing brand, make an original product, or come up with another approved business idea. But there's a catch: you have to make the numbers work. You'll have to track what you spend, save your receipts, price your products, market your business, sell to customers, and figure out whether your business actually made money. What You'll Learn Throughout the challenge, teens will get real-world experience with:<ul><li>Developing a business idea</li><li>Budgeting and managing startup capital</li><li>Branding</li><li>Sourcing products and inventory</li><li>Pricing for profit</li><li>Marketing and promotion</li><li>Sales and pitching</li><li>Customer service</li><li>Tracking expenses and revenue</li><li>Understanding revenue vs. profit</li><li>Teamwork and business decision-making</li></ul>And because this is DOPE, we're not interested in making this feel like another class.You'll learn it by actually doing it. The MANDATORY Schedule Saturday, October 17 | BUILD IT10 AM–2 PMMeet your randomly selected teammates, receive the challenge, and start building your business.You'll identify your customer, develop your business idea, determine what you want to sell, and start figuring out how you're going to turn $250 into more than $250.Goal: Leave with an approved business concept and Business Launch Plan. Saturday, October 31 | BRAND IT10 AM–2 PMNow it's time to make the business real.Teams will work on branding, sourcing, budgeting, pricing, packaging, presentation and purchasing.And remember: having $250 doesn't mean you have to spend $250.Goal: Finalize your brand, budget, pricing strategy and purchasing plan. Saturday, November 7 | SELL IT10 AM–2 PMA great product doesn't mean much if nobody buys it.You'll learn how to market your business, pitch your product, create promotional content, merchandise your products and turn potential customers into paying customers.Every teen will also participate in our 60-Second Sell Challenge.Goal: Get your marketing moving and get comfortable selling. Saturday, November 21 | RUN IT10 AM–2 PMNow we're getting ready for the real thing.You'll work on inventory, transaction tracking, customer service, payment processing and financial recordkeeping before participating in a Marketplace Simulation.Goal: Make sure your business is ready to open its doors. Saturday, November 28 | OPEN BUSINESS LABOptional Support SessionNeed some extra help?This is your opportunity to bring questions, receipts, inventory issues, pricing concerns, marketing materials or anything else your team needs help finishing.DOPE facilitators will be available for Q&amp;A, troubleshooting, coaching and final marketplace preparation. The Big Test | Saturday, December 5 | SANTA'S WORKSHOPNo PowerPoint presentation.No hypothetical business plan.You're opening for business.Teams will sell their products to real customers during Santa's Workshop, an event by the City of DeSoto.You'll manage your booth, talk to customers, make sales, track transactions and see whether all those business decisions actually paid off. After the marketplace closes, DOPE will verify each team's:Revenue − Business Expenses = Net Profit And we're not announcing the winner just yet...🏆 Awards CeremonyThursday, December 10 | 6–8 PM We're bringing everyone back (families/friends welcome too) together to celebrate what you built. We'll recognize our teen entrepreneurs, recap the challenge, reveal the final business results and announce which team generated the highest verified net profit. THE WINNING TEAM RECEIVES $4,000! Important Things to Know Before Registering:<ul><li>Participation is limited to 20 teens.</li><li>Participants should be prepared to attend all four required Business Labs and participate in the December 5 marketplace and December 10 Awards Ceremony.</li><li>Teams will be randomly assigned. Friends registering together are not guaranteed to be placed on the same team.</li><li>The $250 belongs to the team as startup capital and must be used for approved business expenses. Receipts or approved proof of purchase will be required for all business expenses.</li><li>Outside money from parents, family members or participants cannot be added to the team's startup capital unless specifically authorized by DOPE.</li><li>All products and business concepts must receive approval before selling.</li><li>The winning team will be determined by verified net profit, not simply who generates the most sales.</li></ul>

Doing Our Part through: Educating, Empowering, & Entertaining

The $250 Flip Entrepreneurship Challenge

211 E Pleasant Run Rd

DOPE Teen

Free

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