JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new venture by a Jacksonville non-profit will give young adults with business ideas space to let their ventures flourish while learning what it takes to start a business.
Krumpin' 4 Success, Inc. is a local youth organization "dedicated to decreasing risk-taking behaviors & youth recidivism through providing creative, activities and promoting academic stability, economic sufficiency, positive mental health and successful transition to productive citizenship."
Shanna Carter, the group's CEO and founder, said the organization's successful entrepreneurship program will soon have a tangible fixture in the form of a "Youth Business Mall."
"Just to really see it is surreal," Carter said, standing inside the Morning Star Faith Temple on Golfair Blvd. in the Brentwood neighborhood. "I'm just really, really excited for them to be able to do something great and be successful in life and business."
The building was given to the group to be used as a type of incubator space, where teens and young adults who are affiliated with the Krumpin' 4 Success entrepreneurship program can run their business out of one of 10 kiosks being build inside.
Carter said the entrepreneurs who want one of the spaces will go through the normal process of opening a business, teaching them the skills needed to do so in the real world.
"The kiosk will actually have their logo on it, it will be their merchandise, and so they will be basically lease the space," she said. "It's not just about them having a space to come and say, 'I'm making money.' No, they go through the same process as if they were a business owner out getting property and leasing property anywhere in our city."
The "entrepreneurship" program Carter's group conducts was started in 2015, and she said since then they've worked with a number of young adults, helping them to take an idea from scratch and create a business and website.
"We have a lot of people that will tell them, 'Go just start a business.' And they tell them three things to go do. But no, first you have to have the mindset for this. Because it's not easy being an entrepreneur," Carter said.
Currently, the organization has 17 local youth in their entrepreneurship cohort, with the next batch set to start in March.
Once completed, Carter said the space will also have a coffee bar and an outdoor dining area.
"It gives me the opportunity to show off my skills," said 21-year-old Natasha Baker, whose passion lies in cooking. "This program is basically helping me show what I'm capable of as far as my creativity and bringing my art out."
The group is more than just entrepreneurship though: Carter said a big part of what she and her team does includes being involved with the youth they mentor, helping them to get their high school diploma or G.E.D. and breaking the stigma of the school-to-prison pipeline.
"You're getting people to help mold you every single day," said volunteer Janay White. "You're getting people in here to help you with your credit. You don't have a reason to act out or commit a crime if you have access to all the things that you would be committing a crime against a person for."
Carter said she hopes to eventually have four "Youth Business Mall" locations spread out across the city, expanding potential spaces for young entrepreneurs and bringing the concept into different neighborhoods.
