Girls Inc. of Orange County’s Smart Ups helps girls boss up in a safe space
Celeste Nunez-Jurado is only in third grade but she is already a budding entrepreneur.
“I really love business and everything about it,” said Nunez-Jurado. “I have a podcast that relates to all things business.”
Her interest in enterprise makes her an ideal candidate for Girls Inc. of Orange County’s Smart Ups, a program designed for future CEOs.
“It is a program that teaches girls about entrepreneurship, and we take the approach about first teaching them about leadership and understanding that entrepreneurship is just one way to select a career,” said Lucy Santana, chief executive officer at Girls Inc. of Orange County. “We want to get them to start thinking early on about jobs and how to become self-sufficient young women.”
Girls Inc. of Orange County’s mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold. The organization achieves that by offering research-based programs for girls ages 5 to 18, SmartUps among them.
SmartUps is a four-week summer program that teaches girls in the third through sixth grades how to create a business plan. The girls learn introductory and advanced principles of business, take field trips to local businesses, hear from guest speakers and eventually participate in a business showcase and pitch event similar to “Shark Tank.” The girls present their businesses to investors, vying for “capital” to start their business.
Nunez-Jurado was among 45 business savvy girls who gathered in small groups at Santa Ana College on Tuesday to prepare for their upcoming presentations on June 29. On this day, the group is learning what makes a good “elevator pitch.” Nunez-Jurado and Ava Tang, a sixth-grader who has participated in the SmartUps program for three years, work together on a pet food concept.
“We have a business called Puppy Proteins and we are trying to help puppies and dogs in general, so when they want to eat human food they can,” said Nunez-Jurado, “But it is healthy for them, and it not like real human food, that way they can have that experience and they can eat what their human eats and they can all feel good.”
The girls are building a website, designing a logo and working on a prototype, but Ava points out they aren’t just learning how to start a business.
“We are also learning about leadership,” said Tang. “But it is not only that; it is about having kindness, having fun and listening to other people’s ideas.”
“I think it is also a program that really teaches about self-confidence,” said Santana.
The business ideas from the other girls range from restaurant concepts to therapy. One girl sketches a milkshake complete with a whipped top and cherry in her notebook. Another group of girls talks excitedly around their desks. The connection with other like-minded girls is something Tang missed in her other Smart Ups summers during the pandemic.
“It was during COVID in the previous years and we couldn’t really connect with other girls,” said Tang. “But it was still fun.”
The environment is one that is energetic and comfortable, with no one left out. Nunez-Jurado and Tang offer words of encouragement and compliment each other’s contributions to the conversation.
“They get to be in a space where as girls, as women, they can support each other,” said Santana.
It is a space that feels safe to the girls, and they recognize it.
“You are around girls, you are around the same gender and you feel comfortable,” said Tang. “I feel like with boys you feel like you are going to get bullied a little. But with girls, you know you got to help a girl out.”
“I definitely agree with Ava,” said Nunez-Jurado. “With girls, you can really connect with one another.”
“Girl boss” is a term often heard in entrepreneurship, and while it evokes feelings of empowerment, the gendering in the phrase singles out females in the business world. Why not just “boss?” Smart Ups challenges such messaging in its own way, Santana said, by shaping young girls who may be negatively noted as “bossy” into leaders.
“Rather than shutting them down, it is about redirecting,” said Santana. “It is always an opportunity to learn.”
The program also takes the girls outside the classroom into local businesses both big and small, like a visit to BJ’s corporate offices in Santa Ana and a restaurant in downtown Santa Ana, La Perla.
Mostly, said Santana, she wants the girls to start giving some thought to what their career paths might be in the future.
“If a girl has never had a conversation with anybody in their family about what their aspirations are, this is an opportunity for them to start thinking, ‘What kind of career do I want? What jobs might I pursue?’” Santana said.
For now the girls are focused on their upcoming presentations. Speaking from experience, Ava said she feels good but admits the presentation part can be daunting.
“I am feeling pretty good because this is my fourth year,” said Tang. “But it is nerve-racking because this is a different business with different people.”
Tang said their website and logo are good to go but they are still developing the Puppy Proteins prototype. Still, she feels confident the team will be ready for the business showcase on June 29.
“Thank God, it’s not this Thursday,” Tang said to Nunez-Jurado.
“That would be a lot,” Nunez-Jurado agrees. “I feel like we still have a lot to do but I am feeling really confident that we will be able to do it.”
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