Girl Scouts: Today's Entrepreneurs, Tomorrow's Leaders

October 29, 2004

By Marion F. Swan, staff writer

National Business Women's Week, held from October 18-22 this year, has marked the contribution women have made to the working world for 75 years. Girl Scouts build the skills they need to make their own contribution through a well respected entrepreneurial program for girls—the Girl Scout Cookie® Program. Each year Girl Scouts ages 6-17 learn to set goals, manage money, work as a team, create marketing strategies, perfect presentation skills, and incorporate customer service into all they do. A valued American experience, the Girl Scout Cookie Program is not just about cookies—it's about the skills girls learn, the confidence they gain, and the fun they have working together.

Beyond the Cookie Table

For the past three years, Girl Scouts ages 11-17 from the Totem Girl Scout council in Washington State have transformed their annual cookie experience into a mini enterprise. Local business women provide mentoring to teach the girls about maintaining a professional appearance, writing presentations that are concise and direct, providing customer service, and maintaining business contacts.

Armed with self-designed business cards and a list of familiar businesses to approach, these young Girl Scout entrepreneurs take their activities beyond unfolding bridge tables in front of grocery stores. Presentations are designed with the customer in mind and range from full-fledged PowerPoint slide shows to anecdotal discussions about what the Girl Scout experience means to them.

When a local bank decided to present their "Employee of the Month" with a specially designed Girl Scout Cookie gift basket, the enterprising Girl Scouts added the gift basket idea to their list of offerings. Citing this experience as "the most fun they ever had," these leaders of tomorrow learned some valuable business lessons, including listening to customers and maintaining a professional appearance. One girl was amazed at the power of their Girl Scout uniform. "It gave us instant credibility," she said.

Cookie Questions Answered

Parents who are facing their daughter's first involvement in the Girl Scout Cookie Program often have questions ranging from "Does this mean I am going to have to sell cookies?" to "What will this experience do for my daughter?" to "What happens to the proceeds from the Girl Scout Cookie Program?"

The Rock River Valley council in Illinois decided to tackle these questions head on. A cookie program training module was designed for the parents of Brownie Girl Scouts. Designed to give families a face-to-face explanation of the "benefit per girl" of this program, this event started out with a PowerPoint presentation and ended with an opportunity for parents to get all their questions answered.

Held in late August, over 100 Brownie Girl Scout families turned out for this first-time event. The overall consensus was that parents were much more positive and very happy that their daughters have the chance to gain valuable skills such as goal setting and teamwork. Realizing how much their daughter will benefit, one set of parents stated, "The Girl Scout Cookie Program has become the top choice for our daughter's active participation."

A Proud History of Developing Future Leaders

The first recorded sale of Girl Scout Cookies took place in Oklahoma in 1917 when some Girl Scouts baked cookies and sold them in their school cafeteria for a service project. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process to license the first commercial baker to produce cookies that would be sold by girls in Girl Scout councils. From its earliest beginnings to its current popularity, the sale of cookies has helped Girl Scouts have fun, develop valuable life skills, and support Girl Scouting in their communities.

For more information on how you can support Girl Scouting in your community, contact your local Girl Scout office.