Participants in the Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program attended a two-day leadership and innovation tour to Walla Walla on May 9-10. They met with Chris Figgins, chief executive of Figgins Family Wine Estates, to see the new facility the company is building. The entrepreneurs also toured Nelson Irrigation and met with Jeff Smyth, a Wallowa High graduate, who founded Sapere Consulting, and Enterprise High graduate James Hall, who founded Harvust, a technology company that connects farmers to farm workers. From right, Landon Greenshields, Bayden Menton, Maclane Melville and Alona Yost get a tour with Chris Figgins.

The Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program finished the year with a potluck and awards ceremony May 4. Enterprise High School junior Harlie Stein won Top Producer and Most Likely to be an Entrepreneur awards for her efforts building BS Boutique into a successful jewelry and accessories business that made over $2,000 in revenue during the program.

Bayden Menton, a senior at Joseph Charter School, earned Most Valuable Entrepreneur for his 100% attendance record and leadership as president of the program.

Stein had the most successful launch in program history, beating out the record of $600, set last year by Zoey Leith’s EZ 123 Kitchen, when Stein debuted at the Joseph Holiday Bazaar in December. After two days at the small local crafts fair, Stein pocketed over $1,000 selling earrings, leather dog collars and customized “Dude Shoes” that she embellished. Stein also made sales at the rodeos she frequented as a competitor, and found customers in Idaho and California as well as Oregon.

“I just wore some of my jewelry and accessories, and people liked them, so they ordered,” Stein said. An Instagram account and word-of-mouth rounded out Stein’s marketing techniques. “I realized if I put my things out there, people would be interested.”

Alona Yost’s Perfect Pet & Child Care was second in revenues, earning just over $1,000.

“I had about six families I did regular child care for, plus pet sitting of everything from cats and dogs to horses, cows and goats,” said Yost, who served as vice president. “I learned about time management, and how to break down my week hour by hour. It really helped me learn how to get everything done.”

Landon Greenshields, an Enterprise senior, created Landon’s Heavy Lifting, a service business that provided help moving heavy furniture, hay, wood and other heavy items.

“I learned how to charge for travel time and mileage, and how to pay employees properly,” said Greenshields, who traveled as far as Flora with a crew of two, for a job moving hay.

Menton, who broke all sales records last year with his business Old School Cutting Boards, took this year a little easier.

“I tried a new business, Mountain High Microgreens,” Menton said. “It wasn’t nearly as profitable, but it was something new to try.”

Other participants included Maclane Melville and Levi Ortswam, a junior and senior at Enterprise, whose business, Steadfast Recycling, offered curbside recycling to residences and businesses in Joseph and Enterprise.

“It was hard to juggle sports and running a business, but I am glad I stuck with it,” Melville said. “I had to learn how to keep away from procrastination. When we mapped out our week, hour by hour, I had the most productive week I’ve ever had.”

Ortswam, an exchange student from Nigeria, said learning about American entrepreneurship was a great experience.

“This program helped me build confidence in myself,” Ortswam said. “I learned to do what I thought I couldn’t do, which is creating and managing a business.”

The young entrepreneurs were visited throughout the year by established business leaders and entrepreneurs in the community, including Natalie Millar, chief executive of Terminal Gravity Brewing, and ShanRae Hawkins, founder of Stingray Communications. Millar, a graduate of Wallowa High School, is a certified public accountant, and showed the teens how to write an income statement. Hawkins shared her journey from Joseph High School to landing a job as the first director of marketing for what would become the Old Mill District in Bend.

The Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program is in its 12th year. The program is open to juniors and seniors county-wide, who are expected to create, launch and run their own business.