Smart Hustle Jr.
Big ideas start young.
Smart Hustle Jr. introduces elementary and middle school youth to entrepreneurship, STE(A)M, creativity, financial basics, product-making, teamwork, and confidence-building through hands-on learning.
Program Overview
Entrepreneurship for younger creators, makers, and future leaders.
Smart Hustle Jr. is YEI’s entrepreneurship and creative learning program for younger students. Participants explore business, art, STE(A)M, product design, customer service, confidence, and leadership in a fun, age-appropriate way.
Students learn by doing. They make products, test ideas, practice pitching, learn money basics, work in teams, and experience what it feels like to create something people value.
The program helps young people see themselves as creators, problem-solvers, business owners, and leaders before they reach high school.
STE(A)M-Based Business for Kids
Where youth creators become young entrepreneurs.
Designed for grades 4–8, Smart Hustle Jr. helps students learn how to run a business while completing fun hands-on projects like T-shirt printing, slime making, candle making, beauty products, gardening, design, and youth-made products.
Students explore money management, branding, marketing, customer service, and business fundamentals using YEI’s hands-on STE(A)M business kits. The experience can end with a youth pop-up shop or showcase where students sell or present their creations.
Run a first STE(A)M-based business
Sell products to real customers
Receive a Jr. Entrepreneur Certificate
Create a brand and learn marketing
Make T-shirts, beauty products, candles, slime, and more
Build confidence, teamwork, and money skills
What Students Do
Learn business by making, creating, and trying.
Make Products
Students create hands-on products such as lip gloss, slime, T-shirts, perfume, keychains, crafts, candles, plants, or youth-made goods.
Build Ideas
Youth learn how to name a business, describe a product, think about customers, price items, and explain their ideas.
Practice Financial Basics
Students explore cost, price, profit, saving, spending, and how entrepreneurs make decisions with money.
Pitch & Present
Youth practice speaking about their ideas, sharing what they made, answering questions, and building confidence.
Collaborate
Students work with peers, solve problems, make choices, give feedback, and support each other’s creativity.
Sell & Showcase
Students may participate in pop-ups, showcases, family events, or youth marketplace experiences.
Current Program Sites
Smart Hustle Jr. meets youth where they are.
Smart Hustle Jr. is currently offered through YEI’s school-year program at Ketcham Elementary and through weekend or special-session programming at the YEI Studio for students who attend other schools.
Ketcham Elementary School
Our primary Smart Hustle Jr. school-year site, where students participate in entrepreneurship, STE(A)M, product-making, business basics, and youth marketplace preparation.
YEI Studio Weekend Program
A weekend and special-session option for students who do not attend Ketcham but want access to hands-on entrepreneurship, product-making, and youth business experiences.
Additional School Partnerships
YEI is exploring additional school partnerships to bring Smart Hustle Jr. to more students across DC.
Hands-On Learning
Young people remember what they get to build.
Smart Hustle Jr. uses creativity as the entry point into business and leadership. Students are not just told what entrepreneurship is — they experience it through making, testing, sharing, selling, and reflecting.
Every activity is designed to help students build confidence, curiosity, communication, customer service, and problem-solving skills.
Program Flow
From first idea to youth showcase.
Explore
Students are introduced to entrepreneurship, creativity, STE(A)M, and examples of youth-owned businesses.
Create
Youth make products, test ideas, design packaging, explore branding, and learn how products are made.
Practice
Students practice pricing, pitching, customer service, teamwork, money basics, and problem-solving.
Showcase
Youth share their products, pitch their ideas, sell when possible, and celebrate what they learned.
Watch Youth in Action
See Smart Hustle Jr. come to life.
Watch younger entrepreneurs create products, practice pitching, work together, build confidence, and experience the excitement of turning their ideas into something real.
Business Clubs
Students can explore different creative business pathways.
BizBeauty Business Club
Students create custom beauty products like lip balms, scrubs, candles, and simple personal care items while exploring cosmetic chemistry, product design, branding, budgeting, and selling.
- Beauty products and candles
- Molecules, mixtures, and marketing
- Financial literacy and budgeting
- Pop-up shop or showcase experience
BizTee Business Club
Students design and create custom apparel like T-shirts and hoodies while learning branding, marketing, art and fashion careers, budgeting, business basics, and event selling.
- Custom T-shirts and apparel
- Branding and marketing
- Art and fashion career exploration
- Sales at youth events or pop-ups
BizGrow Business Club
Students grow herbs and plants, explore sustainability, and create eco-friendly products like teas, herb bundles, or garden-inspired goods while learning green entrepreneurship.
- Gardening and sustainability
- Eco-friendly products
- Green entrepreneurship
- Youth-led pop-up sales
Program Format Options
Business club experiences can be adapted for school-year, afterschool, summer, weekend, or special-session formats. Common structures include 2 hours per week for 20 weeks or 4 hours per week for 10 weeks.
What Youth Gain
Smart Hustle Jr. builds more than business skills.
Younger students need safe spaces to try, create, speak, lead, and learn from mistakes. Smart Hustle Jr. helps youth practice the skills that support school, life, leadership, and future entrepreneurship.
Creativity
Students use imagination to make products, design brands, and solve problems.
Confidence
Youth practice speaking, presenting, asking questions, and sharing their ideas.
Financial Awareness
Students begin learning cost, price, profit, saving, and value.
Teamwork
Youth collaborate, give feedback, listen, and build with others.
Problem-Solving
Students learn how to test, improve, adjust, and keep going.
Leadership
Youth take ownership of their ideas and begin seeing themselves as leaders.
Who It Is For
Designed for younger entrepreneurs in the making.
Elementary Students
Age-appropriate entrepreneurship, making, creativity, confidence, and financial basics for younger learners.
Middle School Students
Deeper opportunities to build ideas, practice pitching, develop products, and explore early business skills.
Schools & Community Sites
Smart Hustle Jr. can support afterschool, summer, enrichment, youth development, and family engagement programs.
Start young. Build confidence early. Let youth see what they can create.
Bring Our Program to Your School
YEI can partner with schools and community sites to bring hands-on entrepreneurship to more students.
Smart Hustle Jr. can be adapted for afterschool, summer, weekend, enrichment, or special youth entrepreneurship experiences. YEI can support curriculum, supplies, teaching artists, peer mentors, product-making, business lessons, and youth showcase planning.
Schools and partners interested in bringing Smart Hustle Jr. to their site can contact YEI to discuss scheduling, staffing, materials, goals, and program design.
Bring Smart Hustle Jr. to Youth
Help younger students discover the power of their ideas.
Partner with YEI, support supplies, sponsor a youth showcase, or help bring hands-on entrepreneurship to elementary and middle school students.