Before hearing about the Summer Company Program, 16-year-old student, Jackson Byard was thinking that his summer would consist of doing landscaping for family members, free of charge. Upon learning about the program, Jackson’s eyes lit up. He had finally found the perfect way to mesh his love for landscaping, with his growing fascination for entrepreneurship. After applying and being accepted into the program by his future mentor, Olga George-Cosh, JB Yard Co was born.
Being his first business endeavour, Jackson wasn’t sure what the summer would have in store. However, he was extremely excited for the prospect of running his own company and all of the challenges that would come with it. Byard exclaimed, “I wanted to earn money, see how well I can do running a business during the summer, and challenge myself.”
Over the course of the summer, Jackson picked up some incredibility valuable transferable skills. These include business skills like business planning, sales and marketing techniques, bookkeeping, and web development. As well as life skills like time management, financial management, networking, scheduling, customer service, and organization.
To help accelerate their business knowledge, the Summer Company students attended several workshops and seminars. The first session, Business 101 gave the students a crash course of the essentials of getting into business. They also participated in a Record Keeping and Time Management workshop which gave Jackson essential bookkeeping skills. This allowed him to schedule his required 280 business hours in a more manageable fashion.
The mentorship aspect of the program afforded program coordinator, Olga George-Cosh the opportunity to pass down her knowledge to the next generation of entrepreneurs. Jackson in particular saw this mentorship as an incredible asset. Her influence on Byard was evident throughout his participation in the program. In their exit interview, Olga stated, “As a 16-year-old, Jackson demonstrated a lot of commitment and maturity while participating in the Summer Company Program. He had financial success, managed in a short period of time to gain new clients, and he will be able to continue his business next summer. He definitely improved his approach and became a better communicator, pushing himself to take risks outside of his comfort zone.”
After taking time to reflect upon his first entrepreneurial experience, Jackson explained, “Before Summer Company I never thought about running my own business, but now I have a better understanding of what it takes to be self-employed.”
As Jackson returns to High School this Fall, JB Yard Co has been put on hold. We here at the Business Centre are extremely excited for all of the amazing things that Jackson has in store as he continues his entrepreneurial journey. As we head into the fall and winter months, we will put the thoughts of yard maintenance aside. However, once the need for lawn care creeps back in, be sure to call JB Yard Co for professional lawn and garden care that you can trust!
"I already told my friends about the Summer Company Program. Everything was well planned and supportive." — Jackson Byard