Shaqu’la Hall.asp, 16 – Business Plan
Hoop It Up
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"I will have a fun camp where children can meet new people. Expanding my business will give young people a safe and fun place to go."

Shaqu’la Hall developed her business plan in the NFTE program at Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh, which she completed in January. Her business idea is Hoop It Up, a series of basketball camps for boys and girls, to be held at elementary and middle schools in the Pittsburgh area. She hopes to start with a summer camp and gradually expand to programs throughout the year.

Shaqu’la’s plan involves hiring teens who are “responsible and patient with children” to help run the camps. “I will hire people in the community to work for my business,” she says. “One of the most important needs of my business is to lower the high unemployment rate.”

Shaqu’la learned the hard way how important it is to back up your work when using a computer. “I had 15 slides completed on my business plan and the backspace button got stuck on my keyboard, which caused my business plan to be erased,” she says. “I didn’t have it saved anywhere else as a backup file. I thought it was unreal.”

She had to gather up the information she had lost and stay after school for a week to retype the plan before it was due. “It was all worth it when I found out I had one of the best business plans in the class,” she says. Shaqu’la plans to graduate from high school and attend college.