Yes2 - Financial Education for Australia's Youth :) Feedback please!

Shonnie

Shonnie

Hey guys!

Another exciting announcement :)

Late last year, whilst reading a Jan Somers book I had a bit of an apihany! Jan mentioned in the book that there is NO education for Australia's youth when it comes to their financial future.. I was like, well.. Why not?!

So I had a chat to JamesGG and he mentioned that he'd had a similar thought a few months earlier.. All of a sudden a massive lightbulb went off (simultaneously?) - and we just went WELL WHAT THE HELL!

Lets be the first!

SO! After many many months of procrastination.. we finally got our stuff together and starting working on Yes2.

Yes2 stands for

Youth Entrepreneurial Strategies 2 Success - catchy huh?

Basically, the idea behind it is to go directly into the schools and give engaging presentations to Year 10 and possibly Year 11 students.

Yes2 will feature four main presentations to start off with - starting with
  • The Financial Basics (credit cards, psychology etc)
  • Property Investment (of course!)
  • Shares
  • Businesses (how to start one.. etc)

We've also got two websites (one for teachers and one for students) -

The teachers one is still in the pipeworks but should be up within the next week or so.. That will cover our presentation content, prices for the talks, what we can give to the students etc.

The STUDENTS website, is a little closer to being finished. You can check it out at http://www.yes2.com.au - I'm still creating the images on the front page so don't stress.

But if you look through it you'll see articles about all the different topics that the kids can read up on - some are written by James, I think one by me, and some by our Expert Panel (who I'm sure you'll recognise from the forum)..

We've also included our own Yes2 forum for the kids where they can get together to chat about whatever they want..

Even though we are still a couple of weeks away from officially launching, we'd LOVE to get some feedback from you guys..

What are your thoughts? Thoughts on the articles? imagery? Wording? Target audience?

ANYTHING would be appreciated :) We have one mentor on the project who has been working in the school system for a while.. but outside opinions are always appreciated!!

We are both really passionate about this project and think this is a fantastic way to get the next generation to take control of their future.
 
wow, half of somersoft wrote it. good idea and I hope your spinning wheels gain traction.....David Koch is big into this stuff as is his daughter...she put a book out a few years ago about leaving home and financial sense. Get in touch and see if he'll get you on 7 after you get it matured.

You want to talk to VicEd or whatever your state ed dept is, and see what they are doing already. and if they have any pointers in how to evolve the site and any lessons into thematic modules.


a few late at night off the top of my head suggestions......

consider sticking some whatif spreadsheets in it.
better than just offering a passive read.

say a decent budget spreadsheet or cash book
another for leaving home considerations and itinerary, share housing costs, share tracking inc divs
real cost of car vs other transport
weighing up rent vs buying ppr

have a squiz through somersoft's spreadsheets. I've done a few specifically for young'uns ....


a section on understanding the macro economy
and the micro
inflation
rates
why assets grow, and sometimes don't
good debt bad debt....
where the economy might be heading
all that stuff

I don't think anyone is dumbing down economic forecasting and fundamentals for high school kids at the moment. can always be done better anyways....tis a hard subject to simplify and maintain balance.


some great content in most of your sections. though I wonder what age group you are targeting. Some of the language and concepts seem a bit above 15 year old level.

the business section is light on at this point.
- need to expand on the SWOT thing, which is the most important info I offer young people. why reinvent the wheel stuff? difficulties of going up against someone with established networks, systems, supply chains, deeper pockets for price wars...advantage of starting up in a field you have been working in for a year or three and have some inkling of what is required.
- young people can be pretty idealistic about starting a business....if they're on it, they're enthusiasm can dig them out of any hole they fall into. ..otherwise time or Mum and Dad can do it....but an ounce of prevention.....

- choosing business partners.

- starting off part time while working for someone else to reduce risk, or even at school....ideas for p/t businesses while at school.

- doing test markets or starting small to find out whether the rest of the world agrees with your dream.

- getting an edge by better customer service .....one of the keys to quick success against establishment.

- free legals and accounting advice via govt etc (maybe dale and james can whip up a template for young'uns to fill in for a start up....all this stuff is partial to systematization....gee there's guys designing computer programs to steer third world nations into globally competitive powerhouses.

- cheap advertising....

- entry and exit strategies.

- business structure




Suppose you have to roadmap time invested in the site and what your end goal is...
 
Shonnie, James...I think this is fantastic, so commend you on this. Don't forget the regionals mate..:)

The concept and info is inspiring, delivery and lifting the awareness are key issues for the minute?

What about approaching/involving some high profile young Australians, music industry people, actors, celebrities etc (brainstorming here) who may help promote this? I think this country shares a great passion for our young people trying to be the best they can be...

Getting it out there....

Talk about tapping into the fountain of youth! Are you able to consider covering even younger Aussies down the road? Stoke up the coals and get the flicker going guys, I love this...

I was reading the Somersoft Pensioners thread and it kept crossing my mind, we need to start young, inspiration and skill and knowledge and kickstart the creative juices in young people, much easier than trying to shut the gate after the horse has bolted.

I just love this.

Yes to Yes2
 
Great concept and great ideas.

I was thinking about this earlier, and thought about the very young ones...primary schoolers. They are most susceptible to influence. And they need to start forming good saving habits, especially if their parents don't...save that is!

Call it something like "Money for JAM"...kids like jam!:)

JAM could stand for:
Junk and Money
Just Add Money

or JOM
Junk Or Money!

BTW instead of going into schools with educational chalk and talk type stuff....kids like to play games. I know about CF101, and RK has written a book for kids, but is there a game for kids?
 
Congratulations

Forget the kids, I'm reading it myself :D

Some great ideas above, my initial thoughts are some interactivity (powerpoints, vidoes etc) scenarios, charts and some common theme/system that teaches kids about saving and spending money (good money habits).

Most parents want to teach their kids about money (the concept and good money habits to receive a sound financial knowledge base) and how to use it to build an enriched life with its application; anything that assists us is a bonus as I'm one of these people that probably has said "They should teach this stuff at school"

Earning, Investing, Spending, Saving
Your Credit Past is your Credit Future
How to Repair Debt
How to Build Wealth
Power Of Compounding (Debt :mad: & Income :D)
High Returns = High Risk
GrandMa/Pa Power (Grandparents words of Wisdom)
Wants/Needs
Managing Mobile Phone/Credit Card Bills

Etc...


The Power of Compounding should be put on the site (with a picture or three)

Children seem to learn best by doing (again, forget the kids, thats me as well).

Great Initiative !

All the best :)
 
Last edited:
Hi there
one of the things that is most valuable on the SS site is the real life stories

often when people are trying to reach kids they take people to talk to them who have been through it themselves

I know when I was trying (and am still trying) to get through to my eldest daughter about managing money etc - I read to her some of the stories from the Richest Man in Babylon.

Some of the conversations we have had most success with our children is when my husband gave examples from his work of people having difficulty and what they had to do to recover from the situation (as a Wing Commander in the RAAF - he had to deal with a squadron of people - many of whom did have money concerns) and the questions asked did suggest some of the information was getting through

If you can get some anecdotes from kids in the target age group - I think that would also be beneficial for the site.

thanks
 
Hiya,

Thanks for the feedback, guys, 'preciated.

WW, some great ideas there, particularly in regard to business. Certainly haven't finished writing articles for the main content, but you've got me thinking about a couple of new concepts to get stuck into now as well. Thanks.

Sim', yes, we're certainly keeping the govt initiatives in mind as well. Rather than let these turn us off the idea, we're embracing the scenario as a neat little segue into our service and integrating the end product (from a school's point of view) in with what the education departments are trying to achieve. Thanks for the network link, too; this is one that I had not seen before...!

OO, promotion of the site is certainly next on my agenda. As WW mentioned in his post, Koshie seems to support this kinda stuff rather a lot and is amongst the first people we'll contact next week once the parent site is online as well. And by all means, we won't forget the regionals. Well aware that many programs (financially based or otherwise) tend to ignore and this in itself provides an opportunity to fill a gap.

Sailor, thanks for your ideas, in the post and earlier email. I know that being too boring (I am an accountant, after all!) is a trap and so we need to keep things interesting; our presentations will include short games and plenty of visual stimuli. That Shonnie and I are such good looking people won't hurt any either, I'm sure ;)

Redwing, again, some great ideas from you this morning; thanks. I guess in taking a step back, I can see that I have ignored some of the more basic and (to me) boring concepts which desperately need explaining. Have added many to the list (which seems to be growing every time I knock something off it!) and whilst the government is intending for many of these basics to be taught in schools anyway... No guarantees that it'll happen before we get there. More is, in this case, certainly better than less.

Raddles, you're spot on, I think. Kids will relate better to this sort of thing in part because it is being presented by Shonnie and I. We're speaking their language, and really not that far removed from their age group and interests. Being successful, attractive and young should mean, I reckon, that we have a much better chance of getting our point across than some balding overweight grey suit from the bank talking about the same topics. Hopefully it will not be long before our own forums begin to become a little more active, and one change that I want made is for the 'about us' section (with our stories) to be more prominent. But, maybe that's just my ego talking...!

Thanks again, people, for the kind words and encouragement. So much passion in this project and I'm incredibly excited about taking it live. That said, any harsher criticisms are more than welcome, too, please. We need to know what's wrong, as well as what's right, for this to be the massive success that I know it will be.

Cheers

James.
 
Hey guys :D

Great concept and long overdue, especially for teens!!

As a former teacher, I'd reiterate what others have already alluded to- make sure you make the content and presentations engaging enough to keep their attention ie: hands on activities, games etc that this age group can relate to, as they are terribly fussy if they consider something not "cool" and will pretty much switch off without audience involvement.

Know your target market specifically as there's a big difference between presenting to 12yr olds and 17/18 yr olds.
Ask for written anonymous feedback from every presentation you initially trial as kids are honest on paper :)

Best of luck with it all and keep the enthusiasm going!!
 
wtf!

fantastic site, i can see this being a great resource for teens.

one tiny suggestion, heading "Excuse me sir, wtf is Yes2?" is the first text that users read and has a couple problems - great big "sir" authority figure will put kids off and great big "wtf" will put teachers and parents off.

maybe use some SMS lingo in headings but all paragraphs in true English

Scuz me m8, what is Yes2?
Youth Entrepreneurial Strategies 2 Success - we’re here to
give you the head start in life. You don’t have to slave away
in a job you don’t like for money that isn’t worth it.
 
Shonnie and James

Looks great!

May I suggest one more resource you may look at adding to your lists - Noel Whittaker has written a book, Getting it Together, which is aimed at financially educating young people. It's the book I used some years ago when educating my own girls about all matters financial.

Best of luck in your endeavours - as others have said, it is long overdue!

Cheers
LynnH
 
Great stuff Shonnie and James GG (& all else involved).

Have only quickly glanced through the site (will have a better look later).

If only a small percentage of kids run with this, it will all be worth it IMHO.

Hope this proves to be successful and doesn't fade away. Maybe some sort of projects can be give to the kids/students involved so that they can physically see what can happen with a bit of know how and compounding etc. If the venture is successful, would be great for those involved to do some sort of follow up with the students, kind of like an on-going mentoring system, and then get the students that are progressing well to do some type of presentation/s to the next batch of hopeful students.

All the very best with it.

Regards
Marty
 
great idea and site and concept ... however ... for the next stage how are you going to implement it in the schools?

are you going to employ people to be presenters, or will it be a skill from the teachers?

If the former .... where do we sign up?
 
Youth financial Education

What a co-incidence, I have been researching this for 6 months (seeing what is available and making various notes etc). How this came about was, my now 17 year old son didn't understand compound interest. I was explaining CI to him and I started questioning him as to why he hadn't covered this at school as he is doing math methods and specialist math at VCE level. We are very open and discuss investing etc at home but I had assumed that he understood about CI.
CBA have something which is so wrong.....
There are a couple of program type things out there but nothing informative, compelling, engaging or unbiased.
I am glad you guys are doing it.
Good luck.
 
Great work Shonnie and James!

Love the look of the site, and I'm sure it will be a great success!! ;)

Now if only I had the entreprenarial flair to take on something like that then I too might be able to quit the rat race which has me tied to a desk...

Well done,
Michael.
 
I'm happy to do presentations / write articles. As much as I am in denial I am a Gen Y'er with M+ portfolio so I should be able to relate.

Great work so far, if there's any advice I can give is to

- Break down the articles into categories;
Beginner , Intermediate, Advance.

From what I've noticed alot of the articles are full of great information but I would catergorise most of them into intermediate and advanced, which is going to be way too much for a kid browsing the site thinking about the basics of property.
I also think that people writing the articles need to really look at the style of writing, and think that this information is presented to a year10 or 11 student that knows nothing about investing. The writing style needs to be simple, catchy, and easy to read. If they want more advanced information then the resources for that are everywhere, say here for example.

I would definitely get a team together from each state, and perhaps somersoft meetings can come into play with this to brainstorm how the websites can get to the kids, and how we can get presentations into the schools. I think you guys could have a very good thing going, but something this scale you will need help with alot of the organising and marketing. Seems like alot of people are around that will put their hands up.
 
Thanks heaps for the support guys! All the feedback is SO valuable.

We had our mentor mention the "WTF" issue as well - and James and I are attempting to find a compromise where we are both happy. He wants to keep WTF and I think it's better if we tone it down a bit for launch..

Thinking of What the Hell is YES2? or something along those lines.. any ideas?


As far as the presentations go, James and I will be giving the presentations initially.

Thanks for the offers of help though!

We are looking to capitalise on the fact that we are still both fairly young (23 and 22) - and that we can relate to the kids because we are in the same generation.

Although as far as expansion goes we'll definitely have to look at guest speakers etc. if all goes to plan - so we'll keep you guys at the top of the list when looking for help!
 
I think you are onto a good thing, however looking through it, I am also concerned about the "WTF". Something that puts the older generation off is NOT going to be good. Keep to things that everyone can relate to. The below alternative is a good suggestion.
softmonkey said:
maybe use some SMS lingo in headings but all paragraphs in true English

Scuz me m8, what is Yes2?
Click to expand...

stumunro said:
Great work so far, if there's any advice I can give is to

- Break down the articles into categories;
Beginner , Intermediate, Advance.

From what I've noticed alot of the articles are full of great information but I would catergorise most of them into intermediate and advanced, which is going to be way too much for a kid browsing the site thinking about the basics of property.
Click to expand...
This is another concern. There is really some great info, but some of the newer investors we get on this site have trouble understanding some of that stuff. I'd suggest keeping it very basic. Once there is an understanding of the basic, then perhaps move gently onto some meatier stuff.

Is the idea to teach them everything they will ever want to know while still at high school & bore those with no interest or selfconfidence to tears, or is it to open their eyes to the possibilites around them & get them thinking & researching themselves.

The Y-man said:
I'm happy to do pro bono if the school isn't too far away.

(Jingo and I discussed this some time ago....)

Cheers,

The Y-man
Click to expand...

Happy to put my hand up on this one as well.
 
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