By ARLENE MALDONADO
Tiger Media Network
High school entrepreneurs from across Ellis County had the opportunity to put their business ideas into action at the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge on Tuesday. The event, hosted by Grow Hays, brought together students with different ideas for products and services as they competed and presented their businesses for the grand prize of $1,000 in cash plus a $500 FHSU Entrepreneur of the Year Scholarship.
The challenge gave participants an opportunity to qualify for the Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge, which will take place in April. Students had to explain what their proposed business offered, who their customers would be, and why their idea could succeed. The event also allowed the young entrepreneurs to gain experience in presenting their ideas and thinking like business owners.
Lacora Durham represents Press AND Polish as a sign of, “Everyone deserves to feel beautiful”. 
Event attendees pose for the camera 
“Pure Wash”, another business that was built up in a way to help the people contain a clean environment. 
Catering services were also being shown as a way to help out with sweet deliveries as well as delicious meals to learn. to prepare 
Lacora Durham explains how her business works. 
Plumbing services explains the amount of help they have offered so far and how well it’s been booming for the economy. 
Also cooks and deliveries for the traditional and cultural foods that are brought for the people. 
‘Diamond Web Studios”, offers and explains how research helps develop the actual value to an item and what it could in regards to showing beauty.
The competition recognized winners in several categories, including first-, second-, and third-place businesses, People’s Choice, Best Trade Show, Ready to Launch and FHSU Entrepreneur of the Year.
A total of 25 businesses participated in the challenge, with TastyTamales taking first place, followed by HerdTrack in second, and Otte’s Lawn Care in third.
The top three business concepts were recognized for their overall presentations, while the additional awards highlighted different aspects of the participants’ ideas and presentations.
Many participants worked hard to develop and present their business concepts during the event. One of those participants, Ryleigh Byer, presented Butterfly Bridges Academy, a proposed childcare service that would provide short-term babysitting for families at an affordable price and incorporate educational activities for children.
“We teach each of the individual kids during our babysitting hours, as the parents work hard,” Byer said. “We strive to make smart and happy children while also being affordable for all families.”
Her idea gave participants another example of how personal interests and creative ideas can be turned into potential business opportunities. The top three business concepts also demonstrated the effort and creativity participants put into developing and presenting their ideas.
Lacora Durham, an entrepreneur who presented Press and Polish, focused her business idea on making beauty services more affordable and accessible. Durham said her goal was to create a business where people could enjoy feeling confident and beautiful without feeling that cost was a barrier.
“I want my business to be able to give everyone the chance to feel beautiful, no matter what,” Durham said.
Events such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge give young people an opportunity to take an idea from the planning stage and present it as something that could potentially serve customers and grow into a real business. For the students who participated, Tuesday was a chance to put those skills on display and take another step toward becoming future entrepreneurs.