JA program turns students into entrepreneurs

 Five “company officials” of Marianas High School’s Team Bendi, one of the participating teams in the Junior Achievement Program in the CNMI, said their experience motivated them to think of taking up a business course in college then starting their own business in the future.

The students-all juniors-served as guest speakers at yesterday’s Rotary Club of Saipan general membership meeting at Hyatt Regency Saipan.

Rotary sponsored and mentored members of Team Bendi so they could gain actual experience in running their own businesses through the JA program. “Bendi” means “sell” in Chamorro and “useful” in Japanese,

JA is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and finance literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. These programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs that make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.

The JA program in the CNMI slumbered for several years before it was revived in 2011 by the Public School System and the Commonwealth Development Authority, with the support of the Northern Marianas College.

Team Bendi, composed of six officials and 16 employees, sold “Be A Hero” wristbands and “Respect” thumb rings at the JA Trade Fair at the Garapan Street Market last March 29. The group used promotional stunts such as live mannequins to sell their products. Team Bendi sold 300 products during the trade fair, allowing them to reach their sales goal of $1,300.

Participating teams in the JA program learn about the value of contributing to their communities by supporting their own choice of a nonprofit group. For Team Bendi, they chose to donate their proceeds to the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.

Team Bendi is scheduled to do their “liquidation” during their 12th meeting today as the program nears its end.

“We worked as a team, shared ideas, and discussed what was best for the company,” said Charles Bautista, vice president for production.

Bautista said his participation in the program “taught me that if you’re going to start a business with people you don’t know or are not comfortable with, you just have to give it your best shot and show them what you’re capable of and what you have to offer.”

“We learned that in business, nothing is free and that we have to account for everything,” said Jessica Gamba, VP for finance who was responsible for keeping track of company records and payroll. Each Team Bendi employee receives $1 each per meeting while each officer receives $2 per meeting.

“By joining JA, I learned how to start your own company from scratch. Overall, I can say that my experience with JA was really fun,” she said.

For Donovan Flores, VP for marketing, he never thought that as a student, he will be given the chance to experience what entrepreneurs do.

“Doing all that was fun and exciting and my experience in the JA program is like no other,” said Flores, adding that he hopes to enhance his business skills in college.

The two other officers who attended yesterday’s meeting were Daphne Dela Cruz, VP for human resources, and Antonio Cabrera, VP for public relations. All students expressed interest in joining the JA program again next year.