BAM! Entrepreneurs Program Lead
Position Type: Seasonal Contract Position
Compensation: $35–$45/hour, DOE
Hours: 60-70 hours over 10 weeks
Duration: July 25–September 2026
Reports To: Program Manager and Executive Director
About BAM!
Business Art Mentorship (BAM!) empowers underserved youth ages 12–21 in Mesa County through free mentorship opportunities in entrepreneurship, the arts, leadership development, and workforce readiness. BAM! creates affirming, youth-centered spaces where young people build confidence, develop professional skills, explore career pathways, and connect with supportive mentors.
About BAM! Entrepreneurs
BAM! Entrepreneurs (BE) is a creative business and entrepreneurship program for underserved and LGBTQ+ youth ages 14–21. BE helps young creatives explore how their artistic skills, ideas, and talents can become real-world professional opportunities. Depending on the season, BE projects may include community art markets, gallery-style art shows, commissions, creative services, small business concepts, or products for retail or online sales.
Through hands-on learning, mentorship, and real-world opportunities, youth build skills in creative entrepreneurship, professional communication, pricing, marketing, customer service, project planning, presentation, and financial literacy. BE is more than a business program; it helps youth build confidence, identity, belonging, income-generating skills, community visibility, and future creative pathways.
2026 BE Project: From Idea to Income
The 2026 BE project, From Idea to Income, will focus on product-based creative entrepreneurship. Youth will participate in a 10-week program held once per week for three hours at the Grand Junction Business Incubator. Participants will learn how to conceptualize, design, price, produce, market, and sell a cohesive 3–5 piece product line.
Youth will create a basic business plan, brand identity materials, pricing worksheets, product photography, product descriptions, a line sheet, and a formal business pitch. The program will culminate in a public launch and business pitch event, with potential additional opportunities to sell or showcase work through local retail spaces, online marketplaces, community art markets, or future BAM! events.
Target age: 14–21
Program length: 10 weeks
Format: 1 session/week, 3 hours/session
Location: Grand Junction Business Incubator
Capstone: Public Launch + Business Pitch Event
Program season: Approximately July 25–September 2026
Estimated contract hours: 60-70 hours
Position Summary
The BAM! Entrepreneurs Program Lead will serve as the primary facilitator, mentor, and curriculum lead for the 2026 BE project. This role is responsible for leading weekly sessions, adapting and creating youth-friendly worksheets and activities, making sessions fun and interactive, and guiding youth through product development, creative business planning, pricing, marketing, sales preparation, and public pitching.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead 10 weekly BE sessions that are engaging, hands-on, youth-centered, and interactive.
- Adapt and create session deliverables, worksheets, activities, templates, and youth-facing materials.
- Guide youth through developing a cohesive 3–5 piece product line.
- Support youth in creating a business plan, brand identity, product descriptions, product photography, pricing sheet, line sheet, and formal pitch.
- Teach foundational business concepts including cost of goods, profit margins, wholesale, retail, consignment, online sales, marketing, and customer service.
- Help youth prepare for a public launch, pitch event, market, sales opportunity, or retail placement.
- Support youth in building confidence, professional identity, communication skills, self-advocacy, and creative problem-solving.
- Connect creative entrepreneurship activities to real-world income opportunities, community visibility, and future career pathways.
- Coordinate with BAM! staff, mentors, the Grand Junction Business Incubator, local businesses, artists, galleries, festivals, and community partners.
- Track attendance, youth engagement, weekly deliverables, surveys, sales/project outcomes, and reporting information.
- Communicate regularly with the Program Manager and Executive Director.
- Foster a welcoming, inclusive, trauma-informed, youth-centered, and affirming environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working with youth, especially underserved youth ages 14–21.
- Experience in entrepreneurship, small business, creative business, product development, sales, marketing, commissions, retail, gallery shows, or community art markets.
- Experience facilitating workshops, teaching, coaching, mentoring, or leading project-based learning.
- Ability to create engaging curriculum materials, worksheets, activities, and youth-friendly business tools.
- Strong communication, organization, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
- Understanding of trauma-informed, youth-centered, and inclusive mentorship practices.
- Experience working with diverse communities is highly valued.
BAM! is committed to creating a welcoming, affirming, and inclusive environment for all youth and encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply.
Pay: $35.00 - $45.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
