The NextGen CEO cohort of spring 2025 begins March 27, featuring some 20 student participants learning how to start and run their own business.
NextGen CEO is a nine-week digital business education course that teaches young people the basics of starting their own business, courtesy of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber.
The program is targeted to those at a sixth-grade learning level and covers five main categories: business fundamentals, cost models, marketing and customer service, money management, and future planning.
At the conclusion of the program, students will launch the businesses they have worked on during the course, and have the opportunity to sell their product to the public.
The spring 2025 cohort is in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mid Central Coast, hosted at the Railroad Clubhouse and Evans Park Club sites in Santa Maria.
“In 2024, our Guadalupe Club members had an amazing experience with the Next Gen CEO program and we are thrilled we can expand this to even more kids in Santa Maria,” said Anna Libbon, chief program officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast.
“I was so excited to see how passionate our club members were about starting and marketing their own businesses,” she said. “The skills they learned and the fun they had aligns perfectly with our goals in serving kids with high impact after school programming.”
“By providing these students with the skills and knowledge to start and run their own businesses, we’re not just shaping their future, we’re empowering them to shape the future of our community,” said Michael Boyer, chamber president/CEO.
“This partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mid Central Coast is a testament to the power of education, collaboration and innovation,” he said. “We look forward to seeing these young minds turn their ideas into reality.”
For more about the NextGen CEO program, visit https://www.santamaria.com/education-workforce/nextgen-ceo/.