Highlights from the 2013 National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge from NFTE on Vimeo.

Knight Foundation supports the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to use technology to prepare students from low-income communities for today’s job market. Below, Alice Horn, executive director of NFTE South Florida, writes about lessons being taught in a digital classroom initiative that began this fall.

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship helps inspire young people to take control of their futures.

Our students come up with innovative ideas and business plans, essentially using our classrooms to create their own opportunities. They develop an entrepreneurial mindset by participating in hands-on activities—and they get a chance to put their ideas into practice.

This week innovators and startups are celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week, so it’s an ideal time to reflect on attributes that enable success. Here are some of the key principles our students are learning, ideas that apply to anyone interested in growing as an entrepreneur, this week or any day of the year:

1.     Drive

Simply put, passion.  Do you have enough passion to make up for the other qualities you may lack? This includes the initiative and self-direction to set goals, learn on your own, focus on achieving your goals and, most importantly, act. Every day we tell our students to only pursue ideas they are passionate about, because that business is what you will eat, sleep and breathe as an entrepreneur.

2.     Communication and Collaboration

The art of the hustle, as some Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship students would say.  Critical to any entrepreneur’s success is the ability to connect with others and present your ideas in an articulate and compelling way.  Charisma is important, but working in a group and listening to team members is just as necessary.  This month, NFTE South Florida will host a virtual elevator pitch competition for students to practice their presentation skills while receiving feedback about their ideas from business professionals.

3.     Persistence

Enough said.

4.     Creativity and Innovation

Perhaps one of the most unique characteristics that any entrepreneur must possess is the ability to recognize opportunities that others do not—to understand a problem that exists for consumers and fashion a solution. Also, it means to view failure as a way as an opportunity to learn and improve what you offer the market.

5.     Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

To recognize the opportunities that exist in the marketplace, you must be able to interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis.  As part of the Digital Classroom initiative, Larry Genet of CBRE, the real estate services company, began a virtual discussion with two groups of students about how they can take skills they are learning through Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship to create a business. In response, one student in photography class said they had never recognized the opportunity for real estate photography, and thanks to that conversation, he would create a business plan to do just that.

6.     Goal/Results Orientation

Critical to long-term success is the ability to create goals and develop a road map to reach those goals.  This is precisely what each of our students learn. They work throughout the school year to develop an innovative business idea and to learn the skills necessary to make their roadmap, a business plan.

7.     Flexibility and Adaptability

Adapting to different roles is often necessary to operate, especially as a new startup. This flexibility also includes the ability to incorporate feedback effectively and to learn from setbacks.  No one knows this better than Jessica Kizorek, who described herself as artist/leader/entrepreneur/author/philanthropist – all roles she plays in running her three businesses – when she coached NFTE students virtually on personal branding.

8.     Productivity and Accountability

Being your own boss has its pros and cons.  Of course, it means you can set your own schedule and do not need to answer to anyone else.  However, it also means that to be successful, there are no “higher-ups” to depend on.  The entrepreneur has to be self-motivated enough to make dreams reality, which is easier some days than others.

9.      Information Literacy

Staying informed is the first step to being an innovator.  Knowing what is out there—and just as important—what isn’t enables entrepreneurs to create space for their idea.  Recently, Wifredo Fernandez of The LAB Miami acted as a virtual speaker to two Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship classrooms, and shared that he recognized the opportunity for an incubator in Wynwood after extensive research and analysis.  Students were so impressed with his experience several students are interested in becoming members of The LAB.

10.  Future Orientation

Entrepreneurs need to be able to prioritize long-term success in the face of short-term sacrifice.  Our students connect with successful entrepreneurs for advice about how to dream big, but start small.  Throughout the months of October and November, students have spoken virtually with successful entrepreneurs for advice about how to make their dreams a reality.

For more information about NFTE South Florida and the exciting things happening in the digital classroom, visit our website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.