Future Business Entrepreneur

In the course of my business career, I have been given many opportunities to make a difference.  One of my passions is our youth.  I firmly believe that our youth are truly our future and we should invest in that future at every opportunity.  Early this year I was approached by the Vice Principal of Beech Grove High School and asked if I would consider mentoring a student in the School to Career program they have.

I immediately said yes, and offered some other business contacts that might be able to have a student work with them in this program.  What I had been told, is because of privacy laws, and HIPPA it was becoming increasingly more difficult to find sites for students to "intern".  This program is only available to those at the very top of their class.

I feel I've been very lucky to have Zachary Capps, as my intern this semester.  This young man is incredible.  Very intelligent, and has a strong sense of community, and an even stronger desire and commitment to exceed in all that he does, including becoming a business owner in our city of Beech Grove. I am amazed by his business ideas, the fact that he has a business plan, for each of his different business ideas and he sees opportunities that many older adults don't.  I will be honest and say when I started out as an entrepreneur, I did not have a business plan, and I was 30!!  Zac, just turned 18 this past August and has business plans.

When Zac told me about an opportunity that several students in his school have, I immediately donated to their cause.  I'm asking friends, family and colleagues to read Zac's story below and if you are able to please contact me to donate to this opportunity.  Zachary as well as his fellow business students have done a phenomenal job, raising the money they have raised up to this point on such short notice. They need to raise an additional $2000.00 by Tuesday 11/25/14.  They just found this out on 11/20/14.

My name is Zachary Capps and I am a 18 year old senior at Beech Grove High School about 5 miles south of downtown Indianapolis. I have been given a very great opportunity in getting to spend my entire first semester working with Dawn on a student based internship. I have been lucky enough to have known Dawn due to her daughter and my sister being such close friends growing up through their child hoods. I was kind of excited to get to work with her. Lets just say the last weeks have been very interesting.

I have been very interested in pursuing a career in business for most of my life. Going into the semester I worked with my teachers at the high school to find the perfect fit for my interests. The closest opportunity I could find was real estate. I was a little skeptical about this at first honestly. My step-father is a Realtor and I have seen all the hours you must put in to be successful. It is a commission based job, forcing you to put in the work in order for you to be successful. I have always been a hard worker and top in my class so I knew that this job should not cause any harm to me. I ended up choosing this opportunity expecting to just get by with the work and maybe meet some new people. I have sure done that.

At the beginning of my internship, I was introduced to a lot of new people and new technology. I had to learn real estate diction and new laws and regulations the state has placed upon real estate agents. Surprisingly, I caught on to this information very quickly and have been able to use it to my benefits. It took a couple of weeks for me to get the hang of all the requirements, but after those weeks I have been very confident in my work. I have been able to travel to houses, attend closings, and learn how to list houses. I have also been able to schedule showings, smoke detector checks, and work with clients on an individual basis. This experience has been much more than just real estate.

Dawn has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of new people, make new business connections, and socialize with professionals in the business fields that one day I hope to be at. Over the last semester, I have met a lot of new people and learned the real life of a Realtor. Being a Realtor is definitely not an easy job. It requires a lot of patience and constant contact with several clients at once. This field of work, has only reinforced my mission of being an entrepreneur.

Through the school system I have been very involved in building a brand new business academy. At the beginning of this year, I received my wish and we established a business academy. I have a mission that before I graduate for high school that I leave a lasting legacy for the business academy. Beech Grove High School has recently established enrollment in the nationally recognized business association named, DECA. The goal of DECA is to create leaders and entrepreneurs from teenagers to build the future of our nation. I want Beech Grove DECA to help create a greater Beech Grove city.

Beech Grove DECA was recently given the opportunity to attend a business conference in Orlando, Florida. Us students were very stoked about the opportunity. However, we were given very little time to act if we wanted to realistically attend this event.

We were told on November 10th that we would have to come up with nearly $5000 by December 19th, but would have to have nearly half of that by November 25th for a down payment. The club came within $700 of making that goal a reality with such short time. We put so much time and effort into making this happen, that we were literally shocked to hear that plans had changed. The school system has decided that we are unable to take a bus to the event and we must fly. That adds $2000 to our cost that we have to come up with in such short time. Beech Grove DECA has a mission to attend this event and bring back different marketing techniques that corporations like Disney use on a daily basis to help build up local businesses. We are asking for everyone's help to donate money for our cause. We are accepting donations to the club in general and also donations for the trip only. The students have put in so much time and effort that not attending this trip would be very disappointing. Hopefully one day, Beech Grove DECA can team up with you or your company to help greater your business!

If you are interested in donating, please contact me dawn@dawnwhalen.com, or at 317-459-5182 and I will provide you the information needed to donate.

Fight the Good Fight Against Mosquitoes

As long as there have been people in North America, there have been mosquitoes. So the annoying and potentially dangerous pests probably aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. But we can protect ourselves from them by following “3 D’s of Protection” recommended by the American Mosquito Control Association.

Dress: Try to wear long pants and long sleeves outdoors when practical, especially at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most prevalent. Also wear light colors and avoid tight clothes with a loose weave, which mosquitoes can bite through.

Drain: Mosquito larvae float atop still water to grow and hatch, so the key to prevention is eliminating standing water around your house and in your yard. Items that encourage water collection include roof gutters, pet water dishes, children’s toys, bird baths, pool covers, and tarps.

Defend: Three mosquito repellents approved by the Environmental Protection Agency are generally safe and effective – DEET, Picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus. Keep the following tips in mind when using repellents:

• Spray on exposed skin, not clothing.
• Apply sparingly and reapply as needed. (Saturation doesn’t increase effectiveness.)
• Keep away from eyes, nostrils and lips.
• Minimize use if pregnant or nursing.

7 Crazy Tricks for Food Storage

Use these storage tricks to get the most out of your food and make your life easier:

1. Check the edibility of your eggs by placing them in a bowl of cold water. Eggs that sink are fresh. Floating signifies that they are older, as moisture is lost through the porous shell over time.

2. Ripen fruit by placing it in a paper bag to trap the ethylene gas that helps it ripen.

3. Extend the life of tomatoes by storing them at room temperature instead of in the fridge, and place them stem-end down, to block air from entering and water from evaporating from the cut stem.

4. Include an orange peel or apple slice with your brown sugar to keep it from hardening. If it is already hardened, microwave it next to a small glass of water.

5. To make bananas last longer, separate them and wrap the stem in plastic wrap, which will block the release of ethylene and keep them from ripening too quickly.

6. Store plastic wrap in the refrigerator – chilled wrap is easier to handle.

7. Plastic wrap driving you nuts anyway? Instead, use a disposable shower cap to cover bowls of food.

Garage Security Tips

You may lock up your house like Fort Knox to keep you and your valuables safe. But the garage door is often overlooked in the process, and burglars use this knowledge to their advantage to gain access to your house. So consider these garage do’s and don’ts in your home security plan.

Don’t leave your garage door remote in your vehicle. Do purchase a keychain remote opener and carry it with you.

Don’t leave your garage door open. Do consider installing a device that automatically closes the doors after a predetermined amount of time.

Don’t leave the door leading from the garage into the house unlocked. Do make sure it is as secure as your front door, if not more so.

Don’t give burglars places to hide. Do install low-cost outdoor motion-sensor lighting around the garage.

Do frost or cover any garage windows so thieves can’t see what is inside or that your vehicle is gone.

Do put a padlock on the inside of your garage door when going out of town to ensure that the door cannot be opened.

Also keep in mind that most home invasions occur during the day in the middle of the week when no one is home. So always be sure to secure your house before leaving for the day,

Selling a Home “With Children in It”

Selling a home “with children in it” is a trying situation.  Children come with so many accessories! Here are some ideas to help lessen the stress.

1. Put laundry baskets in all the rooms where toys accumulate.  When you get notice of a showing, go into each of these rooms, fill up the basket, and put the basket in the car.  After all the baskets are in the car and the house is ready, either drive off or go for a walk.  Buyers are looking at your house, not your car.
2. Place high chairs, bouncy seats, and other baby furnishings in a neat line-up in the garage for showings.
3. If there is a bedskirt on the child’s bed or crib, scooting toys, clothes, school papers, and all the other kid’s stuff under the bed works.  Nobody checks under the bed.  They DO check closets, so don’t shove anything in there.
4. Keep a couple rags and spray cleaner handy for daily mishaps.  Treat them right away, before they dry up and are harder to remove.  WD40 takes care of crayon “art” on the walls and cupboards.
5. Don’t forget all the playthings outside.  Corral them into a box in the garage for showings also.
6. Straighten up/clean the house every night after the kids are in bed.  Then, when you get them up, make the beds first thing, get them dressed, then feed them.  That way, if you get a call for an immediate showing, you won’t have to refuse it.

If you arrange your life to go into “showing mode”, it will be much easier and less stressful while your home is on the market.

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