A solar powered doghouse, day care, lawn services, umbrella cup holder and more.
Those were some of the ideas students from Perquimans County High and Middle schools presented to Brian Hamilton during his visit to Perquimans.
Hamilton is the founder of the Hamilton Foundation, a non-profit focused on opening the door of entrepreneurship for all.
The students completed the Hamilton Challenge, a seven-day journey that takes innovative ideas from conception to a potential business.
During Hamilton’s presentation, he advised students to continue their education but also inspired students to expand their options by exploring the principles of starting, running, and growing their own real businesses.
The talk helps introduce the values of entrepreneurship to young minds: a strong work ethic, honesty, and commitment. Students leave the talk with a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship as a career path and as an avenue of financial stability.
Hamilton told the students, “my success can be traced all the way back to the days of starting small businesses when I was young. If you start your own ventures as a youth, your ability to succeed in life increases.”
Jill Cohen, the director of Career Technical Education coordinated the event for Perquimans.
“We are the first school district in northeastern North Carolina to complete the Hamilton Challenge,” Cohen said. “Our students have creative ideas that could easily transfer to business opportunities. Mr. Hamilton listened to our students, asked them questions to clarify their ideas and encouraged the students to refine their products/services. We had a full day for Brian, with presentations at the Hertford Rotary Club and at Perquimans County Schools CTE Business Advisory Council.”
