(Name-mce) ListServ Luscious chocolate, noble cause

[KispokoT at aol.com]

Greetings, NAME members,
 
This is one of my favorite stories of all time. 
 
Warm Regards,
Gina Boltz, Director
Native Village Publications
_http://www.nativevillage.org_ (http://www.nativevillage.org) 
Member, Link Center Foundation
 
 
 
Lickity Split Chocolate Studio, LLC
 
Luscious chocolate, noble  cause
 
Lickity Split Chocolate is a new Native owned and operated business  that is 
thriving. Although this may not be surprising (after all who doesn’t  like 
chocolate), consider the fact that Lickity Split is managed by 35 Navajo  and Ute 
children between the ages of 9 and 14 in one of the poorest counties in  the 
United States and it’s easy to see this business as an extraordinary  
commercial venture. 
 
Recently these youth and their AmeriCorp VISTA coach completed a $3,000  
order for a large Utah utility association. The customer was delighted with the  
chocolate and, thanks to the strong support of Senator Bob Bennett, the future  
looks bright for this tiny business enterprise. With a business contact made 
at  Utah’s Rural Economic Development Conference sponsored by Senator Bennett, 
 Lickity Split received recognition as an emerging small rural business. A 
major  contract with a billion dollar corporation resulted with the expectation 
that  Lickity Split will double in sales starting with the current holiday 
season and  continue to expand by breaking into a national, and perhaps worldwide 
market.  Can the kids pull it off? "Of course we can we are only limited by 
our  imagination," says 14-year old Lickity Split CEO, Andrew Dayish who is 
already  recruiting new youthful talent to brace for the anticipated growth.
 
So how did this youth-owned and managed business evolve and how does it  
operate? According to VISTA Member, Elaine Bland, the business began when a  group 
of children came to her home looking for a way to make money to go to the  
local movie house. Elaine suggested they start a business so they could afford  
to go to the movies whenever they wished, buy bicycles, computers, phones and  
Internet service. The kids liked the idea and after a lot of discussion and  
brain-storming, decided they would start a chocolate business where they would 
 make Native design chocolates. The idea and technology took some time to  
develop, but once the group discovered a way to make inexpensive yet unique  
chocolate molds, the customers quickly appeared. Several parents were asked to  
serve as the legal company owners and Lickity Split, a profit-making Limited  
Liability Company, was born with a mission that was limited to little more than 
 a desire to earn movie tickets. The children manage the business on 
Saturdays.  They hold principal managerial and board positions, make key decisions and 
 develop policy—all with a minimum of adult guidance and supervision. A 
Lickity  Split retail store is being planned to be built in Summer 2006.
 
Lickity Split operates with sponsorship from a non-profit educational  
foundation, San Juan Foundation. They receive business training and support from  
the Small Business Development Center. Since the youth are not allowed to  
participate in the chocolate business without a sustainable grade point average  of 
at least 2.5, the VISTA members and community volunteers tutor them in their  
school studies. Thanks to a VISTA supported program called Utah Tech Corp, 
each  Lickity Split youth was given a computer to help with their schoolwork. 
Tutoring  takes place two days per week and the children are excelling as much 
in their  studies are they are in their business. 
 
The best part of Lickity Split is the development the youth have shown.  They 
are highly motivated to make this business succeed and in the process they  
have become competent business professionals. They create new products, make  
customer contacts, conduct staff meetings, attend trade shows and even balance  
the company books. Ask any one of them what goes into pricing a product and 
they  will calculate the cost of labor, materials and overhead for you. The 
company  owners are being taught to fully operate the business after a yearlong 
mentoring  process. 
 
As second-year VISTA member Elaine Bland says, "It’s great to look back  a 
year and see these kids who spent hours watching TV and playing computer games  
now working up a strategic business plan, conducting staff meetings, 
developing  a website and meeting with top business and government officials." 
 
The youth live in San Juan County where poverty rates reach upwards of  40 
percent. Their home is located in a beautiful but vast, remote, area where  good 
jobs are scarce. Native owned businesses within the county consist of less  
than 1 percent of the established commercial industry inventory, yet the Native 
 population is greater than 50 percent. Lickity Split Chocolate Studio offers 
 hope that the future success of these young entrepreneurs and the prosperity 
of  San Juan County will be shaped by the industriousness shown by these 
youngsters  and the continuing success of this unusual chocolate factory.
 
Contact us at 

_lickitysplitchocolate at yahoo.com_ (mailto:lickitysplitchocolate at yahoo.com)   
Located in Blanding, Utah at Nations  of the Four Corners, 
707 West 500 South, Blanding, UT 84511 
(435) 678-4058.