On the Move in 2010!
In 2010, the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation continues to spread the word about the excitement of entrepreneurship to young people and adults. We are looking at partnering with national organizations concerned with rural development and Native American education. School programs, organizations, community centers, clubs, youth groups and business partners are finding us on the website (www.warrenmiller.org) and through the enthusiasm of friends.
The Warren Miller Freedom Foundation has a number of new partnerships including the marketing classes at five high schools in Tacoma, WA, middle schools in Seattle, WA, Missoula and Billings, Montana, and East Point, Georgia, charter schools in Crenshaw, CA, a Late Night Gang Alternative program in Seattle, and Boys and Girls Clubs in several Northwest locations!
In July, Shelby Hosford, Director of Education, will represent WMFF at the National Rural Economic Developers Association conference in Portland, Oregon. Her co-presenter, Dana Baker of GNVW Consulting Group in Colorado Springs, has the idea of using our curriculum to educate young people in rural areas through the resources of public utilities. Most recently, a young pastor called looking to teach entrepreneurship to a group of street kids he rescued in Birmingham, Alabama.
If organizations wish to offer the class to adults, we also publish an adult WMFF Entrepreneur Program that is available now and is well received. The adult program is similar to our youth program, but offers more in-depth business fundamentals such as taxes, contracts, licensing and employee relations.
It is rewarding to talk to mentors and administrators throughout the country who are excited about our goals. We thank you all for your efforts to bring the WMFF Entrepreneur Program to your community. A BIG thanks goes to the donors who support us. We are moving forward and proud of our accomplishments so far but recognize that YOUR support made it happen. Share our website with friends and family and watch us grow!
- Shelby Hosford, Director of Education
Entrepreneurship: Stories from Warren Miller...
In January of 1948, I was living in the parking lot of Sun Valley, Idaho in a small eight foot long and four feet wide house-trailer. This was many years before the invention of the buckle ski boot, and in those days, cotton ski boot laces only lasted about two weeks. One day I found some army surplus nylon parachute shroud and used it for the laces on my ski boots. The one pair lasted me two and a half months, almost all winter long. I realized that I was really onto something revolutionary.
During the summer of ‘48 I located a large roll of the army surplus nylon parachute shroud. It was 500 feet long and was only to cost $11. One piece that long was enough to make almost 100 pair of shoelaces. I thought “I can retail a pair for $1.00 and convert my $11 investment into $100.” The next winter of ‘48/‘49 I had moved from my parking lot trailer to a garage in Ketchum with a dirt floor, as my shoelace business really grew. Although, some didn’t care for the olive drab, army surplus color of my nylon shoelaces. So, the next time I went to the local grocery store I purchased a $.25 package of black Rit Dye that would color 100 pair of laces!
Once I started offering the black laces, I sold over 200 pair to the local ski shops for $.50 each, wholesale. That equaled over $100 in my pocket. My $11 investment was making money and ‘Miller’s Marvelous ski boot laces’ was on its way!
Around Thanksgiving of 1948, I went on a selling trip for my ski bootlaces with the local plumber’s helper. The helper’s name was Klaus Obermeyer. You may have heard his name a time or two as Obermeyer has grown into one of the largest importers and manufacturers of ski clothing in America. Klaus and I traveled from Sun Valley to Boise, Seattle, Portland, and down the entire West Coast to Los Angeles, then back to Sun Valley through Salt Lake City. We traveled and slept in the back of my 1946 Ford business coupe and showered in YMCA’s for one dollar. I had to fill orders for almost 3,000 pair of shoelaces in only two weeks. I didn’t know how, but I had to somehow manufacture every single pair.
As the popularity of my shoelaces grew, the business grew. In April of 1949, the original $11 I paid for the first roll of nylon had been converted into almost $4,500 in the bank, and I had a long waiting list of Sun Valley employees wanting to work at the shoelace-burning parties. This just proves that with a little determination, almost any kind of business can be a success! If I can do it, so can you!
- Warren Miller
Introduction to the Board of Directors
After a year of legal/IRS efforts by our incredible legal advisers, we have successfully evolved from a private family foundation into a public, 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation, eligible for corporate/grant funding! This was an important step in the forward evolution of the foundation and opens doors to many new opportunities! With that milestone behind us, it was time to seat a board of wise and experienced people to help govern and guide our new public entity. I’m happy to announce the following individuals who have joined us on our Board of Directors:
- Brad Brotherton, Renton, WA: CEO Brotherton Cadillac/GMC, and a significant supporter of WMFF since day one, as well as contributing to many other non-profit boards.
- Nancy Domaille, Rochester, MN: CEO Domaille Engineering, and a generous supporter of WMFF as well as sharing her wisdom on many boards.
- Kemper Freeman, Bellevue, WA: CEO Kemper Development/Bellevue Square, always generous to the WMFF and purchaser of TWO of the Warren Miller Special Edition GMC Yukon’s.
- Grant Hosford, Tacoma, WA: Retired inner-city principal renowned for KEEPING kids in school now consults with many local school districts. His wife, Shelby, has been with us since the beginning as our Director of Education.
- Colin Kaufmann, Seattle, WA: CEO of the Warren Miller Company and co-founder of the Foundation. His company is a generous supporter of all the WMFF programs.
- Robert Marcovitch, Seattle, WA: CEO of K-2 Sports Corporation, supported the WMFF from the beginning and his wisdom is gratefully received.
- Scott Smith, Seattle, WA: Retired Microsoft in marketing, currently involved VP Sales and Business Strategy with Market Leader. He and his wife Joanna strongly support the WMFF programs.
- Clark Winter, Darien, CT: Founder of Winter Capitol International. Currently Chief Investment Officer at SK Capital Partners. Former Director of Portfolio Strategy and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs & Co. Clark is an expert in international markets for investment, is an author and energetic supporter. Clark was a featured speaker at two of our past fundraising events.
The esteemed list of individuals above, join with me in understanding the value to the next generation’s small business community, of reaching young people today and encouraging them in building their own businesses and developing financial independence for the future.
Reaching Out to Home Schools
After numerous requests, the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation made the leap into the private education sector and introduced our curriculum to Home School students nationwide! In June of 2010 Shelby Hosford (Dir. of Education) and Chris Larabee (WMFF Executive Assistant) attended the annual Washington Home-School Association (W.H.O.) conference in Puyallup, Washington.
We had a wonderful time introducing the Young Entrepreneurs Program’s curriculum to interested parents and eager students from all over the Northwest. We were delighted to find out that in the Home School sphere, our programs were quite unique! Parents were thrilled to discover a curriculum that was ‘hands-on’ and allowed their students (of nearly any age) to take the elementary subjects they were already learning and apply them to real-world applications such as entrepreneurship. One 15 year old is ready to launch a chocolate making business right out of his home!
My Experience as a Mentor: Changing Lives...
We are pleased to feature Corey Raths of Missoula who volunteered his time to teach four consecutive YE classes at Porter Middle School’s Flagship after-school program. Corey, a fourth generation Montana man and former University of Montana football player, is a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch.
Corey’s students have started a variety of businesses including Delicious Doggy Desserts, Zilco silk screen design, Hayes Lawn Care and Katie’s Dog Care. Corey had two fantastic students spring quarter that really impressed him. He says “Abby and Maddy changed my life for the better….our after school program is just the beginning of a friendship for life.”
“Abby started ABBA DABBA Advertising and Events and Maddy started his own comedian business. His motto is “Laughter is the best medicine”, staggering words of truth spoken from an automated wheelchair.
“Abby and Maddy, recently recognized as Outstanding Missoula Youth, have personal challenges but are gifted with positive perspectives. The value gained by our students in confidence and insight is an immeasurable head start in to the “real world”. We adopted the Warren Miller mantra and it resonated throughout the experience: “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”.
- Corey Raths, Mentor
One Student's Success
Tony J.
Business: Clean Car Service
Total earned to date: $100.00
“When I took part in the YE program I never knew how easy it was to make money. All I needed was a bucket, soap, and a few old rags to get started. I did not invest any money for my first two customers. It was so easy to make money, and once I did, I did what the program taught me, I invested my money back into supplies, and put some on the side to save. I am excited for summer, I know my customer base will get larger with the better weather.”
A Big Thank You to all of our Supporters!!
As always, the directors, staff, volunteers, and students of the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation and the Young Entrepreneurs Program want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of our supporters.
A big thank you as well goes to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Seattle Public Schools, the YMCA and other nonprofit organizations for providing safe and productive environments for our youth.
We are also very fortunate to have such fantastic corporate support as Brotherton Cadillac GMC for their sponsorship of the Speaker’s Dinners, as well as Warren Miller Company.
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