Dollar Enterprise from Theory to Reality: An Experiential Learning Exercise Applying Community Entrepreneurship to Plan and Operate a Small Venture on Campus

Dollar Enterprise, an award winning program using $1 seed money per person, was the first and the most comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum in the U.S. that integrates experiential learning and service-learning concepts into 3-month learning environment. This book describes step-by-step guidance for educators, program leaders, or other service providers to stimulate entrepreneurial learning for aspiring and nascent entrepreneurs across cultural, ethnicity, and learning ability. It develops three aspects of entrepreneurship that are often omitted in traditional business education and textbooks:

• Entrepreneurial individuals through developing mindset, traits, professionalism, ethic, leadership, and creativity using hands-on activities and participatory approach.
• Entrepreneurial knowledge and skills through developing communication, team building, business practices, and decision making using group projects and working with community partners focusing on problem solving.
• Entrepreneurial opportunities through developing resources, capacity, and networks by working with local businesses, government agencies, trade associations, and service providers.

Dollar Enterprise represents the best practice of entrepreneurship education that is informative, interactive, inexpensive, and creating the biggest impact. There is no restrictions or limitations for anyone interested in entrepreneurship. One key feature of Dollar Enterprise is community engagement beyond profit maximization and resource constraints. It offers a direct linkage between enterprise development and community development. This book helps educators and service providers to stimulate activities in working with other and also offers tips for students, educators, and service providers to think outside the box in new venture creation using unwanted wastes, recyclable materials, or reusable supplies to create new value added products and services.

Since 2005, Dollar Enterprise has educated more than 3,000 students, worked with over 400 community partners, donated more than $60,000 to charity organizations, and offered more than 50,000 service-learning hours to charity organizations.