February 21-28 is the third annual National Entrepreneurship Week, sponsored by YEK partner the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. According to Kylie Stupka, executive director of YEK, the week couldn't come at a better time.

"Given the current economy, we are more confident than ever in teaching entrepreneurship to high school students," says Stupka, "Entrepreneurs are going to lead us out of this situation. The students we have in high school classes today will be the ones making tomorrow better for all of us."

Stupka says National Entrepreneurship Week refocuses the spotlight from troubling economic news to a point of hope for the future. The students are now halfway through the yearlong YEK class about business, economics, marketing and other market-based management principles. Each student has drafted his or her investment-grade business plan, the culminating project for a year of hard work.

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Across the state, YEK students in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City are working with an experienced network of more than 200 business plan advisors. These volunteers are entrepreneurs themselves, or have expertise in other areas of business, such as marketing, finance or legal structure. Working with a group of two to three high school students, business plan advisors listen to the students and provide suggestions and advice for improving their final business plans.

In Wichita, two successful entrepreneurs are sharing their experiences with YEK students. Kyle Gerstner, president and CEO of Green Zebra Concierge, and Trevor Harris, YEK alumnus and owner of Harris Agency Inc., are two of the business plan advisors who help students with all areas of their business plans.

"YEK teaches students the skills they will need down the road if entrepreneurship remains in their choice set," says Dr. Susie Pryor, a business plan advisor at Topeka West High School. "My biggest piece of advice for these kids is to keep an open mind about the possibility of working for yourself one day. It might happen at 18 or 80, but many people will start their own business at one point in their life."

In Lawrence, University of Kansas instructor Jana Fitchett and her Entrepreneurship In Practice college students are some of the business plan advisors helping students at Lawrence High School. Fitchett says shes seen growth in both her students and the YEK students as they work on business plans together.

Joyce Layman, professional speaker and change agent for Pacific Accord and business plan advisor at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, also knows the YEK classes are as much teachers as students."The best part about this role is the exchange of insights and knowledge with my mentees. Teens can teach us a lot if were willing to listen," says Layman.

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For Gerstner, Harris, Pryor, Fitchett, Layman and the other business plan advisors, working with YEK students is an opportunity to contribute to a more positive tomorrow. For the YEK students, business plan advisors bring real-world examples and advice that help their YEK lessons sink in and inspire them to think about higher education and, perhaps, one day turning their business plans from dreams to dividends.

About Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas (YEK)

Founded in 1991 by the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, YEK teaches free enterprise fundamentals to high school students through hands-on experiences. The program gives students the skills and tools to start their own business or enhance their business skills for future career opportunities, as well as encourages them to continue into higher education. Funded completely by private donations, YEK is a pubic not-for-profit 501(c)(3) foundation. For more information, to donate or to volunteer with YEK, please visit www.yeks.org.