OUR Enterprise & Projects
Follow along with us to keep up to date with our lastest news!
Gift Store & Makerspace
Our GIFT STORE open to the community and an internship site where our Youth Entrepreneurs (a.k.a. "Changemakers") intern and learn professional and business skills. Participants learn communication skills and customer service skills necessary to succeed in business. Learning is a process where making eye contact, white-glove service, professionalism, money handling, end-of-day reporting, and more are learned through modeling, feedback, and training.
You can find high-quality trending items from gift store suppliers, local artisans, and youth entrepreneurs at the CES Main Street Gift Store. Products are carefully selected, and input from participants is often an opportunity to learn about purchasing. When a participant is interested in launching a specific product line, issuing a purchase order and coordinating with the manufacturer or sales representative becomes a hands-on lesson in real-world business. It’s an opportunity to build confidence while learning the terminology, process, and communication skills needed to successfully complete a wholesale order—knowledge that transfers directly to future entrepreneurial ventures.
Our MAKERSPACE is where products are developed and branded by Youth (and an occasional adult.) We have various tools such as computers, printers, hand tools, a Glowforge, a Cricut, and a 3D printer available. Included in the Makerspace are business desks and equipment so that participants can become familiar with the office settings and what would typically take place in a business environment. Students have access to barcoding equipment to make SKUs for their products and worksheets to complete purchase orders when they enter their inventory into the point-of-sale system. Students must know their product(s), "Cost of Goods Sold," and retail prices before merchandising and selling their product in the Gift Store.
Check out our store in downtown Farmington, between Java Joe's and Tuck's Ale House at 156 Main Street, Farmington, Maine 04938. Phone Number: (207) 779-1779.
SKILLS DEVELOPED
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​White glove Customer Sales & Service
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Proper Business Etiquette
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Business Terminology
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Point of Sale Processing
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Money Handling Techniques
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Financial Reporting
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​Profit and Loss
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Balance Sheet
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Payroll, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable
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Marketing & Merchandising
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Inventory Management
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Quality Control & Job Materials
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Wholesale Ordering & Trade Shows
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Work and Career Readiness Skills
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Collaboration & Teamwork
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Values - Hard work, Compassion, Integrity, Service, Discipline, & Trust
Tiny Home Pilot
"Making home possible"
"Making Home Possible" is a project led by The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES). The project aims to solve the lack of affordable housing and provide internships, mentoring, and work opportunities.
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Why? Franklin County does not have a Homeless Shelter or Youth Center. As a result, runaway, drop-out, and homeless youth are in dangerous situations where they are influenced, groomed, sexually assaulted, used for free labor, and many other nefarious purposes.
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Our "CES Changemakers" are working hard to solve this problem by bringing light to the issue and partnering with Maine based businesses to learn how to develop affordable housing responding to the nationwide housing crisis. Thanks to Kennebec Cabin Company, Home of Maine Cabin Masters, Supporters, and 28 Maine based businesses, we were successful in showcasing the first Tiny Home on Wheels for Homeless Youth. You can see the process by viewing Maine Cabin Masters Episode, Season 10, Episode 13, titled "Great Things, Small Packages". CES plans to expand its entrepreneurial campus to include a modular housing division providing opportunities for youth that responds to a real community need.
Regarding the Tiny Home Project, (not our sole mission):
"There are currently 46 homeless youth in the Mt. Blue school system, and not a single shelter in our area to support them. In just one of my classes, I had three students without a stable place to call home. These young people aren’t just statistics, they’re potential entrepreneurs, leaders, and community changemakers.
We have a responsibility not just to meet their basic needs, but to help them build a future. Through the lens of entrepreneurship, we can offer not just shelter, but purpose, dignity, and a path forward".
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—Bonita Tompkins
CEO, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES)