Emerging Entrepreneurs Zone

Where new ideas take root—and future business leaders grow

This is the place for:

• High school students testing an idea

• College students launching side hustles

• Young creators, makers, and dreamers

• Student-led clubs or campus businesses

• Anyone under 25 curious about becoming an entrepreneur

If you’re ready to learn and grow—you’re in the right place.

The Emerging Entrepreneurs Zone (the EEZ) is your space to learn, connect, and grow with a community that believes in the power of student-led innovation. Whether you’re launching a side hustle, selling your first product, or just starting to explore what it means to be your own boss, this is where your journey begins.

Through the Emerging Entrepreneurs Zone, Elmbrook Schools’ LAUNCH students collaborate with Small Business Milwaukee on projects that address real-world business challenges. Each project gives students an opportunity to apply classroom learning while creating something of lasting value for local entrepreneurs and the broader business community.

Spring 2026 LAUNCH Student Project: Marketing Decision Guide

In Spring 2026, three students from Elmbrook Schools’ LAUNCH program partnered with Small Business Milwaukee to tackle a challenge faced by many small business owners: How do you choose the marketing opportunities that best fit your goals and budget?

Over six weeks, the students interviewed business owners, conducted research, and developed a practical decision-making framework to help entrepreneurs evaluate marketing options based on their goals, target audience, budget, and available resources.

This project reflects Small Business Milwaukee’s ongoing partnership with Elmbrook Schools’ LAUNCH program. 

Download the Marketing Decision Guide to explore the students’ work and discover a practical framework you can use when planning your own marketing efforts.

Fall 2025 LAUNCH Student Project: LAUNCH Into Networking

The inaugural Emerging Entrepreneurs Zone project challenged four Elmbrook Schools LAUNCH students to explore an important question:

How can young professionals become more confident networkers before they enter the workforce?

Working alongside Small Business Milwaukee and local business mentors, the students researched networking best practices, developed practical resources, and planned an interactive networking event designed specifically for high school and college-age participants.

The result was LAUNCH Into Networking, held at the Brookfield Public Library. Rather than simply talking about networking, the students created an experience where participants could practice introducing themselves, building conversations, and making professional connections with local business leaders in a welcoming environment.

To extend the project’s impact, each student also wrote an article for the Emerging Entrepreneurs Zone blog, sharing practical networking advice and personal insights with other young entrepreneurs.

The project demonstrated that networking isn’t simply about exchanging business cards. It’s about building relationships, asking thoughtful questions, listening well, and developing confidence that will serve students throughout their careers.

Mentor Reflection

Following the event, business mentor John Anderson shared these thoughts with the student team:

“Thank you for the privilege of joining your LAUNCH Into Networking event on November 4th. It was a pleasure spending time with all of you, and I truly appreciated the professionalism, curiosity, and maturity each of you brought to the conversation. You asked the right meaningful questions, listened intently, and demonstrated the kind of engagement that will benefit you well in every future opportunity. Your entire team should feel proud of the work you put into preparing and hosting this event. It was clear you as a team were intentional in your planning, and you effectively created an environment that felt welcoming, organized, and very much like a networking experience.

This blog is where young creators like you share how they got started, what challenges they’ve faced, and what keeps them moving forward. Your perspective matters and this space was created for you to share it.

Want to be featured? We invite student entrepreneurs to submit short blog posts that reflect their journey. Some possible topics include:

• • • Why I started my business (and what I’d do differently now)
    • My first customer: what I learned from the experience
    • School + Startup: How I balance both
    • How I found my business idea
    • Mistakes I made—and what I learned
    • My biggest win so far
    • How I stay motivated when things get tough
    • What I wish I knew before I started

Whether you’re writing for fun or building your resume, being published on our site gives you:

• • • Real-world writing experience
    • A professional piece for your portfolio or college applications
    • Visibility in Milwaukee’s small business community
    • A chance to inspire and connect with other young entrepreneurs

Submission Guidelines

• • • Write a blog post between 700–800 words.

    • Be original — write in your own voice!

    • Keep it positive, encouraging, and authentic.

    • Submissions must be your own work (teachers and mentors can help edit, but the ideas should be yours).

    • Include your name, grade, and school (you can choose whether to have your full name or just your first name appear publicly).

    • Email your blog post to [email protected] with the subject line: Milwaukee Makers Blog Submission.

Real-World Resources

We’re starting to create content specifically for student entrepreneurs—no business degree required! You’ll soon find:

• Easy-to-understand tips for getting started

• Branding and social media basics

• How to talk about your business (and make it sound awesome)

• Tools, templates, and guides made just for students

Here’s one link we’d like to share with you now:

• Grow With Google

Mentorship—Coming Soon!

We believe that big ideas grow faster with support—and that’s why we’re building something special for student entrepreneurs: a mentorship program designed to connect high school and college students with experienced small business owners, creative professionals, and community leaders.

We’re still in the early stages of shaping this program, and we want to do it right. That means starting small, learning as we go, and building on every success along the way.

• Are you a student entrepreneur who would love a mentor to bounce ideas off of?
• Are you a business owner who remembers what it was like starting out—and wants to give back?
• Do you have thoughts on how a mentorship program could really work for students today?

We’d love your input. Whether you want to mentor, be mentored, or just share ideas, we invite you to be part of the planning.

Let’s build something meaningful—together.