One, One Full Basket: The Case for Contemporary Cooperative Economics

Chico Rey and His Kingly Character
Last week, On the Money, ushered in a two-part discussion on the profitability of cooperative economics during the height of slavery in the Western Hemisphere. In particular, "One, One Full Basket: Chico Rey and Cooperative Economics" chronicled the financial acumen and leadership of Chico Rey, an enslaved African king who secured the freedom of his court, family, and himself through the practice of pooling money, resources, and abilities amongst community members.

Even though the canonized financial exploitation of Africans saw its end at the close of the 19th century in the Americas, 1865 and 1888, in the United States and Brazil, respectively, conditions of utter and outright economic despair continued as a reality for the African-American. Instead of fighting their way out of slavery, the chief priority shifted slightly, and only in the way of semantics. The experience of the African-American from 19th century until now has been one of overcoming abject poverty. And in similar suit, employing cooperative economics can and has been proven to be both socially and monetarily rewarding.

George Subira's Special Note to Black Women

The struggle to financial stability has especially been difficult for black women given the economic inequity of white pathriarchy, which often manifests itself in women shouldering the bulk of financial responsibility of single-parent parenthood. With the prevalence of female-headed households in our community, investing our time and effort to financially organize and empower this demographic may be one of our collective saving graces.

Well-respected money guru and Afrocentrist GeorgeTrower-Subira appealed to low-income black women to strengthen social networks as a means to individual prosperity in Black Folk's Guide to Making Big Money in America. In particular, he encouraged black single mothers to purchase real estate and provides a feasible model:

"Suppose two black women, each with three kids, wanted to own their own house. If each in working a day job and selling some comestics on the side, why can't they apply for a mortgage together to buy a three family house? They can rent two floors and live together on the first. A year or two later they get themselves in a position to buy another three family house, again buying it together. They rent all three units and the house just pays for itself..."

You Can't Run Away From Yourself

Trower-Subira's advises it for black women in the 'hood. .It's what founder of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga, labeled "Ujamaa," --Swahili for cooperative economics-- and championed its cultivation during the Black Power Movement. This principle, in particular, focused on the building, maintaining, and patronizing black-owned profit-generating institutions and businesses.

It's alive and well in the Caribbean as well. It's what Antiguans call "susu" or "box" Jamaicans refer to as "partners", Dominicans consider "san", those from Martinque call " sousou" and Haitians label, "sangue," "solde" and "comble". The practice is "esusu", a community-based form of mutual finance originating from the ancient Yoruba in Nigeria. In its simplest form, a number of people add a fixed amount of money to a common fund at specific intervals for a set period a time allowing rapid capital accumulation, interest-free loans, and forced savings.

This thing that we do, this thing that we practice, and this worldview that we hold--sharing, understanding the inextricable link of the social and the financial-- has its roots in the African principle of communal solidarity. Let's continue to build financial wealth through principles of mutuality, community accountability, and complementarity.

One, One Full Basket Part I: Cooperative Economics and Chico Rey

The Economics of Slavery

The system to which we, as those of African descent, have the most visceral psychological, emotional, cultural, and mental sentiments and responses is one with its roots in money. The driving force behind the Transatlantic Slave trade was the forging and strengthening of a global system based on economic exploitation. In the case of Africa, it was the systematic exploitation of its natural and human resources.

In the most widespread accounts of slavery, we hear of a rancid, blanket despair: rapid

disintegration of customs, beliefs, and family structures; broken spirits; weary bodies. Very few accounts, however, herald the enduring power of the African human spirit let alone the financial deft and vision of many of our heroes, whose stories remain untold. The story and legend of Chico Rey of Brazil serves as a quintessential example of the power of cooperative economics, patience, and hope.

One, One Full Basket: Cooperative Economics and Chico Rey

Chico Rey was an African king prior to being enslaved and transported to Brazil at the beginning of the 18th century. During the Middle Passage, he lost his wife and most of his children. One son survived the horror of the voyage. Once they arrived to Brazil, his son and he were bought by the same slavemaster and placed to work at a gold mine in Villa Rica, the capital of the province of Minas Gerais, located in the interior of Brazil. During his forced years of servitude, he was baptized and also forced to adopt the name, Francisco. As a sign of continued loyalty, admiration, and respect, his former subjects and countrymen affectionately referred to him as "Chico Rey." "Chico" is a nickname for "Francisco" in Brazil and "rey" means "king" in Portuguese.

This kingly character was driven by a vision and work ethic that focused on the liberation of his son, his people, and himself. To this end, he worked not only in the gold mines during the week, but he also worked for himself on Sundays and holidays for years in order to purchase his son's freedom. After his son was liberated, they both worked tirelessly to manumit Chico Rey. Once he and his son were free, together they worked and pooled their resources to secure the freedom of the king's subjects. Each subject would then, in turn, join the efforts to free the next. Little by little, they reunited Chico's court, bought a gold mine, and liberated other slaves in nearby areas.

As a testimony to the greatness and staying power of his people, Chico Rey later founded the brotherhood, Our Lady of Rosary, the patron icon of blacks, and constructed a church in her honor with the same name. Once a year, Chico Rey, his queen, and members of his court would

hold a service and procession in honor of the patron. Those that participated in this ceremony wore their most beautiful, expensive, and elaborately decorated attire. Women decorated their hair with bits of gold, which they would eventually wash under the image of Our Lady of Rosary with 'holy water' in the church. This gold was ultimately used for the liberation of other slaves. Brilliant!

Even though Villa Rica has been renamed, Ouro Preto, the annual feast of Our Lady of Rosary continues to be a mainstay in the cultural and historical fabric of the Afro-Brazilian experience. The history of Chico Rey inspires us to keep trying a little harder, plan a little more carefully, and prioritize with a little more confidence, and endeavor with a little more cooperation to overcome the legacy of a financial reality rooted in disenfranchisement and inequity.

Diversification is Key Part II : 22 Different Ways to Say "Financially Giving"

Wanna Be A Baller, Shot Caller?

Society approximates lavish living, free spending, and the acquisition of obscenely unnecessary items with happiness, power, and control. As a society, we also view those that spend on others as kinder, nicer, and better-spirited than their financially conservative counterparts, even though these categorizations are not directly correlated. Being generous with money for the sake of appearances and greasing the spokes of the networking cipher is very different from being free with money for charitable causes. These acts, in terms of movement, motivation,  sentiment, are completely diametrical. Thankfully, there are dozens of words available to aid us in distinguishing amongst the "financially giving":

altruistic (adj.) unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

benevolent (adj.) generous in providing aid to others.

eleemosynary (adj.) open-hearted in giving assistance to the poor.

excessive (adj.) an amount or quantity beyond what is normal or sufficient.

extravagant (adj.) exceeding reasonable bounds.

generous (adj). liberal in giving or sharing.

headlong (adj.) unthoughtful; often reckless actions.

heedless (adj.) carelessness or lack of responsiblity or proper regard for consequences.

hasty (adj). hurried, often in the ways of making decisions.

lavish (adj.) immoderate in giving or bestowing; unstinting.

improvident (adj). not providing for the future.

imprudent (adj.) a lack of caution in practical affairs; unwise.

impulsive (adj.) inclined to act on sudden urges or desires rather than reason or careful deliberation.

madcap (adj.) behaving wildly; rashly.

precipitate (adj.) acting with or marked by excessive haste and lack of due deliberation; lack of due reflection.

prodigal (adj.) given to or marked by unrestrained abundance.

profligate (adj.) characterized by wasteful, lavish, and unnecessary spending.

scattergood (n.) a person who spends money or resources wastefully

slapdash (adj.) unthinking boldness and haste

thriftless  (adj.) reckless, especially in the use of material resources.

wastrel (n.) a person who spends money or resources wastefully

Who Are You When No One is Watching?

The "Lady in Red" in Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf narrates how leading a double life burdens the authentic self with grief and emptiness.  On the outside, the woman that the "lady in red" speaks of is well-dressed, sexy, charming, and the secret desire for most men. Her image commands attention and gave her a sense of identity and power:

orange butterflies & aqua sequins

esconsed tween slight bosoms

silk roses dartin from behind her ears

the passion flower of southwest los angeles...

she let her thigh slip from her skirt

crossin the street

she slowed to be examined

& she never looked back to smile

or acknowledge a sincere 'hey mama'...

delighted she was desired

&and allowed those especially

schemin/tactful suitors

to experience her body & spirit...

When, however, she became grounded in the reality that she in fact wanted love and understanding rather than superficial unions, she  experienced great pain in admitting to her vulnerability. She experienced even greater pain when  she knowingly behaved in ways that continued to overlook her needs. 

laying in the water

she became herself

ordinary

brown braided woman

with big legs & full lips

reglar...

she wd gather her tinsel&

jewels from the tub

&laugh gayly or vengeful

she stored her silk roses in her bed

&when she finished writin

the account of her exploit in a diary

embroidered with lilies & moonstones

she placed the rose behind her ear

& cried herself to sleep. 

As it relates to our finances, when all of the pats on the back, looks of envy, accolades from acquaintances and strangers, and fleeting moments of self-importance and power dissipate, what do you have to show for yourself? Lost time, unaccounted for debt, a bruised ego, self-doubt, and a shaky financial future? If you find that your spending is causing you to live a life that is not aligned with what you can afford or who are you really are, chances are that you are using money and the spending of it as a proxy for something else. (i.e. love, status, importance, intimacy, purpose, security, happiness). If, however, in giving to others, you are simultaneously taking care of you and yours, you are fortunate and wise enough to have found a balance as it relates to (spending) money and happiness. Congratulations!

Diversification is Key Part I : 22 Different Ways to Say "Cheap"

That was a Cheap Shot

Not many people are comfortable with being labeled "cheap" because of the negative connotation attached to this word. Being cheap not only typifies a reluctance to spend money, but it also projects an extreme level of selfishness that transcends financial concern and often alludes to moral, social, and ethical dysfunction.  Not everyone that is reluctant to spend money, however, is cheap. Cheap is a misnomer placed on the frugal and provident, who, more than not wanting to spend money, are most concerned with minimizing waste and excess of any kind. 

What Did You Call Me?

Below are 22 different ways to distinguish, characterize, and explain the divergence amongst the financially cautious. Which best suit you?

1. avaricious (adj). greedy; immoderately desirous of acquiring

2. cadger (n.) someone who tries to get something for free.

3. canny (adj.) shrewd; especially where one's own interests are concerned

       having or showing clever awareness and resourcefulness in practical matters

4. chary (adj.) trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error

5. chinchy (adj.) embarrassingly frugal

6. chintzy (adj.) unforgivably ungenerous

7.churl (n) a rude, boorish person; a miserly person; a medieval English peasant

8.costive (adj.) stingy; sluggish; causing constipation

9.economical (adj.) prudent and thrift in management; not wasteful or extravagant

10.frugal (adj) very careful with money

11.mingy (adj.) mean and tight; stingy

12.miserly (adj.) lacking generosity 

13.niggard (n.) a stingy; grasping person; niggardly (adj.) stingy; miserly

14.parsimonious (adj). excessively frugal; too economical

15.penurious (adj.) unwilling to spend money; yielding little

16.provident (adj.) providing carefully for the future; relating to the mindful development and use of resources.fore

17.scrimy (adj). petty and reluctant in giving or spending

18.scrounger (n.) someone who seeks to obtain through begging or borrowing without intention of repaying.

19. shnorrer (n.) someone that takes advantage of the generosity of others

20.skinflint (n.) a selfish person who is unwilling to spend or to give.

21.stingy (adj.) ungenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money

22. thrifty (adj.) careful in the use of material resources

Strike a Balance

In our efforts to secure a solid, plentiful financial future, we must remember to attend to our present selves as well. If you find that saving is ruining or lowering your standard of living, your intimate relationships, or your overall mental and emotional health, it may be important to address the psychological underpinnings of your behavior. If, however, you feel more confident, secure, and well taken care of both in the present and for your future each time you squirrel a little money away... then I say, Save On! Save On! 

Wow, You're a Life-Saver! Part II

Repetition is the Essence of Pedagogy

In the last column, we focused our attention on five financial tools of engagement that life-savers use to not only thwart monetary self-sabotage, but also hone proactive, capital accumulating practices:

1. Life-Savers carry calculators

2. Life-Savers carry big bills.

3. Life-Savers carry business cards.

4. Life-Savers carry pen and notepad.

5. Life-Savers carry chips on their shoulders. 

Practice with Principle Makes Perfect

Life-saving is not just about tools and practical tips. Life-saving is a philosophy and way of life based on principles of personal accountability, delayed gratification, balance, single-mindedness, and creativity. In order to practice the habits of life-savers, it is crucial to first internalize their underlying philosophies. 

Life-Savers do not hate, they appreciate (literally).

Saving money would be easy if the products and services that corporate masterminds introduce and push had no style, added little convenience to life, and did not cater to human vanity. But they do! Sitting on a $4,000 leather couch imported from Italy may evoke the feeling of being ensconced in velvet, silk, satin, and other materials soft and buttery to the touch. Navigating the curves and turns of a windy road with ease in a $40,000 luxury car also elicits intense sensations that range from excitement and peace to invincibility and control.  Similarly, purchasing trendy clothing, designer shoes, and lavish accessories stroke the human psyche's craving for immediate gratification, want of recognition, and desire for (perceived) superiority.

Life-savers are realists and do not disparage the allure, aesthetic, and appeal of these type of items. What life-savers as realists clearly understand, however,  is that these items depreciate (often exponentially) after years of wear-and-tear, once driven off the showroom floor, and if not taken care of. Instead, life-savers buy items that conserve their value and appreciate in 

worth : index funds, mutual funds, 401ks, continuing education courses, commercial and residential properties, copyrights, and art and leave fantasies of the acquisition of excessive material trappings for fairy tales. 

Life-Savers  prefer inconspicuous consumption over conspicuous consumption. 

The motivation behind conspicuous consumption is the want to impress others and convey an elevated socioeconomic--whether true or not. The purchase of visually stimulating items such cars, clothes, mansions, yachts, country-club memberships, and electronics project and promote this image.

Conversely, inconspicuous consumption gives the impression that one is of low or moderate means and status. Life-savers thrive on this perception. It not only eliminates the jealousy and envy that may accompany the flaunting one's good fortune, but it also minimizes risk for robbery and injury. In other words, subscribing to a philosophy of inconspicuous consumption allows life-savers to build wealth through high-income earning, low attention-grabbing assets (i.e. land, stock, bonds, leases) while maintaining their financial privacy and anonymity.

Life-Savers rebel with a cause.  

Most of America is financially illiterate and financially reactionary. This makes those that are fiscally savvy and proactive in wealth accumulation stand out and stand alone. They live below their means, differentiate between wants and needs, safeguard against unnecessary debt, protect their credit scores, create emergency funds, take advantage of tax-shelter options such as tax-deferred annuities (TDA), individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and other  long-term economic planning. 

Knowledge and insight garnered through study and practice comfort life-savers as they  encounter the glaring manifestations of financial ignorance-- disdain, suspicion, exclusion, and mockery from chronic spendthrifts--while on their long and often lonely journeys toward financial security and prosperity. 

Life-savers prepare for the worse, hoping for the best. 

Not everything goes according to plan. Despite attention-to-detail, hardwork, and immaculate planning, there are things that are essentially out of our control. (i.e. natural disasters, accidents, death). With life being unexpected in nature, life-savers buffer themselves from unforeseen financial blows by always accounting for them in their planning. They keep emergency funds, insurance contacts, and liquid financial reserves updated and readily available. 

Life-Savers worry about their names, not brand names. 

 Your reputation and history for repaying loans and handling debt is crucial when you are seeking to establish a solid financial identity, especially in the eyes of loaning agencies. Your credit score, the numerical indicator of your creditworthiness, dictates your level of success in applying for loans, securing investors, or even purchasing a cellphone. 

As a result, life-savers pay close attention to what they sign their names to. They understand that in agreeing to the terms of a loan, a new account, or credit card that they are ultimately responsible for managing payments. This is particularly why life-savers are averse to co-signing loans, agreeing to open accounts in "my mama name", and establishing joint checking and savings accounts even with the closest of loved ones. 

Wow, You're a Life-Saver! Part I

Be a Life-Saver!
Talks of an imminent recession, massive layoffs, surges in the prices of wheat, housing and mortgage slumps, and an increasingly impotent dollar are causing widespread concern for the financial future of the average American. Now, is as good a time any to discuss the importance of being a saver for life or "lifesaver." In the next two columns, we will explore revolutionary, yet seemingly trivial tools and ways of thinking that keep lifesavers more adept at absorbing the impact of external threats to their financial peace of mind and purchasing power.
Below are five basic tools that lifesavers use to defend themselves against corporate agenda, piracy,and peddling.

Life-Savers Carry Calculators
Keeping a calculator handy, whether the one on your cellphone, in your purse, or in between your ears, saves you from succumbing to alluring discount offers and seductive sales pitches. Once you realize that 20% off of $200 is actually $60 more than the $100 that you wanted to initially spend, you'll be more discerning and wary of department store bargains and holiday sales.

Using a calculator while shopping also helps you to discern when there in fact is a bargain, even though it is not so apparent. For example, last week I went to a buy hair conditioner. The four-ounce bottle cost $10, while the eight-ounce bottle cost $15. My initial thought was to buy the four-ounce bottle, but a quick calculation made me see that it would be in my best interest to buy the larger bottle now and save myself $5, in addition to transportation or other non-related costs that would accompany the purchase of another four-ounce bottle at a later date.


Life-Savers Carry Pen and Notepad
The necessity of pen and notepad as tools of proactive saving often go overlooked. Not only should you use these tools to create lists of items and estimated prices before you leave the house, you should also use this list to guage the completion of a task. More importantly, carrying pen and notepad allows you to jot down better prices, patterns in your spending, lucrative opportunities, and financial tips in one place.

Keeping all of this data in one location proves key. Over a period of time, these financial journals illuminate financial priorities (or lack thereof), business ideas, and serve as reference for invaluable human and capital resources.

Life-Savers Carry Business Cards
Those that commit to a life-saving lifestyle are prepared to absorb the financial shock of life's unexpected events because of their long-term money mindset. Equally important, they prepare for financial opportunity in the present. That is, their proclivity for planning and practicality also allows them to take advantage of opportunities to network and embark on money-saving or money-making ventures when least expected. To this end, they keep updated business cards on their person at all times. This facilitates the broadening of their social base and projects to those with whom they encounter a level of business savvy and creative maturity.

Life-Savers Carry Big Bills
The largest denomination of money in this country are $50 and $100 bills. Generally speaking, consumers usually reserve them for large purchases such as electronics, furniture, and or appliances. Conversely, consumers reluctantly use big bills to buy packs of gum, magazines, or quick bites to eat when they have no change. Life-savers understand that carrying big bills, like $50, make them less prone to frittering way their money on small purchases. With big bills, they are more easily able to monitor when bills are broken and when change is made. (Think: It's easier to keep track and more painful to spend four $50 bills than ten $20 bills or twenty $10 bills.)

Life-Savers Carry Chips on Their Shoulders
Most people go shopping with an aim to spend money. That is, they do not need much persuasion to spend money because in fact, they want to spend. They consider malls, salespersons, and outlets inviting, nonthreating, and without motive. On the other hand, a life-savers money mindset is the exact opposite. They enter commercial areas playing financial defense. They understand stores, shops, and others of commerce to be deliberate, purposeful, and predatory to their future financial security. As a result, they need proof, reason, and rationale as to why they should spend their money because their principal financial aim is to keep it.

"Mind Your Own Business": Teaching Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship to Our Children

Gimme Yo' Lunch Money

 I found it when I was nine. Farrah Gray, author of Reallionaire and Get Real, Get Rich found it when he was seven;  my third grade students found it last year.

The relationship between good financial hygiene and the pursuit of endless possibility. 

In fourth grade, I rented out my erasable pens for $0.25 each as the class transitioned from writing in pencil and in print to writing in script and in pen. By the time I was eleven, I had moved on to peddling posters from Right On magazine for $0.50 and $1.00, for small pictures and pull-out pictures of the then-hottest celebrities, respectively. Farrah Gray, the African-American mogul that become a millionaire by the age of fourteen, started selling home-made lotions door-to-door in the projects of Chicago's Southside. Last year, each of my third-grade students received a piggy-bank, which I expressly remarked was exclusively for contributing to their college funds. 

Awakening Their Financial Genius  

This proclivity for financial awareness and understanding of the benefits of entrepreneurship are direct indicators of financial literacy. Expert accounts of American households with average amounts of credit card debt as high as $9,000 in 2007, increases in the rental of shortage units, and the surge in the interest and number of housekeeping reality shows, however, point to the glaring levels of financial illiteracy throughout this country. 

Despite the severity of  this widespread and ever-deepening social problem,  mandatory financial curricula continue to be absent from most primary and secondary schools' core educational priorities. This means that teaching our children about money, entrepreneurship, and healthy spending habits has to begin at home:

1.   Watch television and flip through magazines with them to analyze the role that commercials and advertisements play to encourage 'group-think' and mass consumption.  Children and young adults in tune with much of pop culture turn a blind eye to the reasons why they buy certain labels at certain times.  They honestly believe that they purchase them  from their own volition. If at this stage in their development they profess their individuality and autonomy, why then, do many strive to look, dress, smell, and posture in identical manners to their peers? The manner in which they conform, that is-- what they consider worthy of buying, wearing, drinking, saying, and driving --comes from social cues orchestrated and controlled by seemingly innocuous suggestions and subliminal reminders of what should constitute their external identity and internal values. 

2.  Identify symptoms of  impulse buying and implement strategies to thwart its influence.

Many of us, including children and young adults, experience an increase in heart-rate, sweaty hands, and a trance-like state when we are overcome to buy on impulse. While it is important to acknowledge the sensation, it is of greater importance to implement impulse-related rules of engagement to spare your future of financial difficulties: Walk directly out of the store and to your car. Repeat your favorite money mantra.  Keep all ATM cards and credit cards in house before you leave the house. Give yourself a 48-hour rule: If there is a purchase over $20 that you want to make, think about for 48 hours. Once you have given physical and mental distance between you and the item, your impulse to buy would have waned or completely died all together. 

3. Educate them. 

For lower-elementary school students (K-2), books like It's a Habit, Sammy Rabbit celebrates a rabbit that saves its carrots and fosters early savings habits, while books like All For the Better follows  how a Puerto Rican family in El Barrio consistently saves money to support their extended family in Puerto Rico during the Great Depression is more appropriate for upper-elementary school students, (3-5). Similarly, The Center for Black Business History, Entrepreneurship, and Technology provides information on the four century tradition of black business activities from slavery to freedom in the United States for more advanced readers. 

4. Set financial goals and expectations for them. 

 Open a saving accounts with them and have them make bi-monthly contributions. Insist that they pay in full or in-part bills (i.e. cell phone, nails, entertainment, shopping). This instills a sense of responsibility. Having them play an active role in their financial lives will also streamline their priorities and understanding between a "want" and a "need" once they will not be getting it free. If you allot an allowance, maintain strict rules that restrict advances, discourage borrowing, and create  incentives to save. (i.e. providing matching funds)

5. Encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. 

 Our children possess an array of intellectual, artistic, political, and cultural  talents, passions, and interests. Allow these predilections to become  potential sources of income. If your child the teacher's pet? Let invaluable skills such as excellent reading, strong organizational skills,  reliability, and congeniality be the beginnings of an educational enterprise for her/him. Is your child particularly athletic, fashionable, handy? Allow him/her to train, design, and fix for a fee around the neighborhood.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Mogul

There are several programs available to elementary, middle, and high school students interested in learning about microenterprises, the workings of start-up companies, and the nuances of self-employment. Below are programs, agencies, and organizations that equip our youth with key entrepreneurial skills and opportunities to secure funding for their enterprises.

These opportunities make a great complement the financial instruction that you do at home.The resources listed below are by no mean exhaustive. 

• National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) teaches high school students how to start and run a small business. Students have the opportunity to gain work-based experiences, develop leadership skills, and boost their self-esteem.
  
• Junior Achievement focuses on preparing American youth for the demands of a global economy. Through age-appropriate curricula, activities, and training, students of all ages learn about the market economy, work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and money-management.  
• Black Enterprises Kidpreneur/Teenpreneur Conference targets African-American youth, ages 7-17 for workshops that range from increasing interest in business and creating business plans to managing and establishing microenterprises. 
• Students in Free Enterprise is an international organizations that grooms college-level students for socially responsible entrepreneurial endeavors. They provide credit-card counseling, free enterprise project implementation, and professional mentorship. 
  
• U.S. Small Business Administration Teen Business Link provides a slew of links and resources to mentoring programs, academic scholarships, and internship opportunities. 

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