Enterprise Quinte

Be Your Own Boss

Summer Company program helps students run their own summer business

For those enterprising students looking for a challenging opportunity and a great way to take charge of their future, the Summer Company entrepreneur program can help kick start a summer business. All you need is a great idea, a little initiative, and the desire to be your own boss. Whatever your business idea, whether it's a recreational day camp, an organic vegetable store, a clothing design business or your favorite hobby, the Summer Company entrepreneur experience provides full-time students aged 15-29 with hands-on business training and mentoring and awards of up to $3,000 to help start-up and run their own summer business. Students are selected through a competitive process. To be eligible for the program the student(s) must:

•     Have a good idea for a business.
•     Prepare a comprehensive business plan.
•     Submit an application, together with their business plan and two letters of recommendation to Enterprise Quinte
•     Be returning to school in the fall

Once accepted into the program, they receive:

•     An award of up to $1500 in June to help with business start-up costs, and a $1500 award in September upon completion of the program.
•     Receive hands-on business training, mentoring and advice on running their summer company

The summer  will be the fifth year for the program. Last year, Summer Company awarded opportunities to students, whose business ventures ranged from landscaping to custom kid's cakes. At the end of the summer, many of the students who participated in the program said the entrepreneurial skills they developed were more valuable to them than the money they earned.

Summer Company is one of the programs offered through the Ontario government's Young Entrepreneurs Strategy - part of the government's commitment to raising awareness about the importance of entrepreneurship as a viable career option and the value of entrepreneurial skills in personal and career endeavours. Other initiatives include high school business plan competitions and youth conferences. My Company is aimed at helping young people set up their own full-time businesses.

Summer Company is a youth entrepreneurship program offered by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, which is committed to fostering a spirit of innovation among youth.