Entrepreneurship Panel Opens Opportunities at New City Kids (Jersey City, NJ)

Entrepreneurship Panel at New City Kids: Jersey City (Photo by New City Kids)

Do something you love and express your unique strengths.

Jersey City, NJ

We were honored to be invited to take part in the New City Kids (Jersey City) Entrepreneurship Panel for New City Kids Teen Life Interns, a diverse group of local high school students. The goal was to provide teens with professional connections and exposure to jobs and careers that widen their opportunities.

The panel took place on Tuesday, February 18th from 6:30-7:30 PM at 240 Fairmount Avenue, Jersey City NJ. Open to all New City Kids Teen Life Interns who are employed by New City Kids as Tutors and Music Teachers, attendees included teens ranged in age from 14-18.

Panelists

The following individuals serve as panelists:

• Kris Van Nest – Founder, Director, Executive Producer of THISLEARNING® & MAKE IT Series – Full-service film and video production in Jersey City, NJ.
  
  
• Kevin Gosa – Co-founder of 3 organizations that help companies overcome being stuck in a “business as usual” mindset.
  
  
• Adam Morris – Founder & CEO of Redstage – B2B company that provides e-commerce solutions.
  
  
• Eugene & Bernadette Barnes – Co-Founders of Woke Empowerment / As One Entertainment, a production company that specializes in live events. 

Panelists were asked a diverse range of questions about their personal experience in entrepreneurship, including what inspired them to start your own business, one significant challenge and how they overcame it, and what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur.

Common to almost all responses, panelists embraced the blended nature of entrepreneurship as a mix of uncertainty, excitement, and ultimate satisfaction of doing something they love for a living that allows them to express their unique strengths.

Inspirations

One of my personal inspirations for rocking entrepreneurship that I shared during the panel is to build your endeavors around a single strength you have, as shared by Deepak Chopra's interview on How to Unlock Your Natural Happiness, Creativity and Productivity:

"If (someone) notices a single strength you have, your disengagement rate will fall to less than 1%... honestly acknowledge that you’re good at sales, or you’re good at maintaining relationships, or you’re good at solving problems. But it has to be authentic and genuine."

Also featured was a 2014 video with Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline, who shared his Getting Started In Entrepreneurship: Finding Your Golden Purpose at the Local Living Economy Summit courtesy of Rising Tide Capital:

1. Find Something You're Great At Doing
2. Find Something You Love Doing
3. Find Something People Will Pay You To Do

Thanks

Special thanks to the New City Kids students who took time out of their evenings to attend and to Karen Dilsizian, College Readiness & Alumni Relations Coordinator for New City Kids (Jersey City), who arranged the event. New City Kids offers after school programming for local low-income children and teens to give them the opportunity to explore music and academics in a creative and fun environment. For more information on this event at New City Kids, contact Karen at 201.855.9842 or visit www.newcitykids.org.

You may also like to check out our articles on Entrepreneurship to explore more:

• Accelerate Your Success: Get Featured, Free by MAKE IT Series
• 14 Small Business Planning Tools, Techniques, and Resources by Kris Van Nest

Event Photos by New City Kids

Signage Photo by MAKE IT Series