MACON, Ga. — Bibb County Schools is helping students be great leaders and future entrepreneurs.
Students from 9 Bibb County schools created their own companies to compete in the Foundation Leadership and Entrepreneur X-perience or FLEX competition.
Executive Director of CTAE Cassandra Miller-Washington says as the district works on their 3 E initiative, enroll, enlist, and employ. They realized they were missing another E: entrepreneurship.
"We started out with 17 business plans, that was amazing for us," Miller-Washington said.
Their community partners looked at blank submissions and narrowed it down, so now 9 businesses are moving on to the next round of competition.
"Students truly are entrepreneurs by nature. Our students really have a lot of creative ideas," Cassandra-Miller said.
Students have created all kinds of businesses from photography to baking.
After working with mentors, making business plans, and making a few sales, these students are opening their shops up to the community during a kids only pop up shop at 7th Street Salvage on Saturday.
One Northeast High School junior, Taylor Munos, has an apparel company called Archipelago.
"The Flex program has helped me out a lot especially with the $200 loan. I've put more than $200 into my business and I've learned from many different mentors," Munos said.
He says he is inspired by brands like Nike and Spencers. He makes a series of minimalist hoodies, T-shirts and more. He says he's soon going to expand into beanie's and shorts.
Munos says their slogan 'we peekin' is all about doing your best and meeting your highest potential.
"I see a lot of people be inspired by this and wearing it, feeling good about it, peekin'. We'll always be peekin' as long as you're wearing this, I think you'll be peekin'," he said.
The pop-up shop will be at 7th Street Salvage from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.