A good enterprise session gives young people a decision to make and a chance to see what follows. It does not need a public sale, expensive resources or a competition with one winning team.
These ten activities suit youth groups and can be adapted for different ages, communication needs and confidence levels. Use familiar materials, offer speaking and non-speaking roles and agree safe boundaries before starting.
Ten tasks with a purpose
- The customer detective. Give each group a fictional customer with a practical difficulty, such as carrying art materials in the rain. They propose three questions before designing anything. Debrief: which question would change the decision most?
- The paper prototype. Build a rough version of a storage or display idea using card. Another group tries it without instructions. Debrief: what did watching a user reveal that discussion missed?
- The £10 budget. Provide a pretend materials price list and a fixed budget. Groups choose quantities and keep a reserve. Debrief: what did you decide to leave out, and why?
- The price puzzle. Give a product cost and two possible prices. Work out the contribution per sale before other costs. Debrief: what else would you need to know before choosing a price?
- The thirty-second explanation. Explain a useful idea to a partner, who repeats back what they understood. Recording is optional and private. Debrief: which part of the message stayed clear?
- The role rotation. Run a mock order desk with maker, checker, record keeper and customer roles. Rotate halfway through. Debrief: where did information get lost between people?
- The packaging limit. Protect a paper product using a restricted amount of clean, suitable material. Compare protection and waste. Debrief: did using more always produce a better result?
- The changed brief. After a first plan, introduce a realistic change: less time, one missing material or a different collection point. Debrief: what could remain unchanged?
- The feedback sort. Supply a mixture of specific comments, personal preferences and unclear statements. Groups decide which comments deserve a test. Debrief: what makes feedback useful?
- The evidence exhibition. Display an early sketch, a changed version and a short explanation. Learners choose the evidence themselves. Debrief: what does the work show that a final score would hide?
Make the debrief part of the activity
Allow time to examine a decision rather than squeezing in another task. Ask for an example: “Where did you change your mind?” is easier to answer than “Did you learn teamwork?” Accept a drawing, a written sentence or a paired response.
Do not reward only speed, polished speech or the largest pretend profit. A careful safety decision, a clear handover or an honest calculation can be equally valuable evidence.
Choose a useful sequence
For a short session, combine customer detective, paper prototype and evidence exhibition. For a longer project, add the budget, role rotation and changed brief. Avoid stacking every activity into one day; learners need space to notice and use feedback.
Our broader guide to entrepreneurship activities offers another starting point. Whichever task you choose, finish with one practical next step the group understands and can explain.
