Harlie Stein of Enterprise learns the proper way to introduce yourself with Anna Gahley from Burns.

BAKER CITY — Two groups of youth entrepreneurs participating in the Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program in Wallowa and Harney counties met in Baker City on March 11 for the YES! Rural Youth Entrepreneur Summit.

The summit offered teen entrepreneurs a chance to present their businesses for feedback from a panel of business and entrepreneurial experts, learn how to properly introduce themselves, and end a conversation in a business setting, and learn which of four personality styles each had, and what it means when dealing with people and choosing a career.

The event was held at Launch Pad Baker, and hosted by Baker County economic development director Bryan Tweit, and Churchill School, a former elementary school-turned entrepreneurial hub. Tweit helped round up the panel of experts, which included: Bret Carpenter, professor of entrepreneurship at Oregon State University; Brian McDowell, regional economic development coordinator for Business Oregon; Julie Keniry, director of Eastern Oregon University’s Rural Engagement and Vitality Center; Lea Hoover of Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative; and Vanessa Spreit, who owns her own marketing consultancy.

“I really enjoyed listening to everyone’s business presentations,” said Shaylee Root, founder of Good Good Sugar, a baking business that promises better than average sugar cookies. “They were interesting and inspiring.”

When presenting her business, Root said she has learned the importance of managing her time.

“I have a planner now,” she said.

Levi Ortswam and Maclane Melville, both students at Enterprise High School and partners in Steadfast Recycling, a curbside recycling business, presented their business to the panel.

“Their insights were phenomenal,” Melville said.

“We got great advice on how to improve our business,” Ortswam said.

Enterprise junior Harlie Stein founded BS Boutique, handmade jewelry and accessories, focusing on leather.

“I liked how they talked about how success doesn’t mean being rich, it can mean doing what makes you happy,” she said.

The morning session featured a personality test, where the teens learned which of the four basic personality styles they are: director, thinker, socializer or relater.

“Learning more about my personality and what it means was really interesting,” said Robin Holtby, a Native American artist who specializes in beadwork. “I also learned how I can improve my business by marketing better.”

Tizrah Douglas, creator of a henna tattoo business, said the panel made her realize she was doing better than she thought.

“They encouraged me to keep going, and had suggestions for how to market my designs online,” she said.

Joseph Charter School senior Bayden Menton said learning how to properly introduce himself was helpful, as was hearing the stories from the other business owners. Menton, who participated in the Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program last year and was the top producer for the year, with his business, Old School Cutting Boards, launched a second business this year, Mountain High Micro Greens.

“I’ve learned so much more than I ever thought, about who I am as a person and what I value,” he said.

The Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program was launched in 2010 as a way to introduce rural teens to entrepreneurship and business so that they could learn how to create economic opportunity for themselves and others. Stacy Green is the creator and adviser of the program, which is funded and administered by Building Healthy Families.