Vincent Fitch hopes managing Century High School's school store will prove to be a good stepping stone to opening his own business.

Fitch, 18, of Eldersburg, already knows basics of management, inventory, supply and demand ... and school restrictions.

"We can't really sell any food because it competes with the cafeteria, so we had to think of some new ways to get people into the store," said the Century senior.

The answer, he said, was value. He stocked the store with items costing about $1 -- which drew students in to look at the inventory and make at least modest purchases.

Fitch hopes he can learn even more business and marketing tips by attending Catch the Entrepreneurial Spirit, a conference Friday, May 15, at Carroll Community College. The event is hosted by the college and Carroll County Public Schools.

The conference will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free for high school students, $10 for college students with ID and $39 for the general public. The conference also includes lunch.

Those who attend can go to sessions where they can learn about Internet business, get legal and financial advice, learn what to know when starting a business and more.

The conference will feature speaker Ben Casnocha, a 20-year-old who started his own business six years ago at age 14. Casnocha serves on the board of California-based Comcat Inc., which is an e-government technology firm. BusinessWeek named Casnocha in 2006 one of America's best young entrepreneurs.

Kathy Menasche, senior director of workforce and business development at CCC, said the conference is a way to help broaden the services of the college's Miller Entrepreneurial Institute to the community and current and potential CCC students.

"People these days, in our opinion, can benefit learning about entrepreneurship just in their everyday aspect of their lives," she said.

Fitch credits working with his stepfather, Dana Robins, for his desire to take business classes -- and he credits his parents, too, for making him work for things.

"My step-dad and parents are pretty old school, where they don't cut me any slack for whatever I do. If I fall on my butt, then I fall on my butt," he said.

Fitch is looking forward to attending the conference, and is already building a foundation for starting his own business.

Recently he and classmate Brad Anderson entered a mock business plan for a sports equipment and merchandising company, TB Sport LLP, into a Future Business Leaders of America competition. The two envisioned a store that would carry equipment for more than 40 sports and also sell and create jerseys for local sports teams.

The plan made it to the national competition and will be judged at a June conference in Anaheim, Calif.

Fitch, who will attend West Virginia University, knows the recession may provide a challenge for new and existing businesses.

But he isn't deterred by what he sees and reads. He's confident that by the time he is out of college, it will be a prime time to be in the business world.

"A lot of (students) don't understand that by the time we graduate college four years, five years from now, the economy will probably be rising," Fitch said.

"Now's a good time to get into that field."

If you go

What: Catch the Entrepreneurial Spirit

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday May 15

Where: Carroll Community College

1601 Washington Road, Westminster

Cost: Free for high school students; $10 for college students with ID and $39 for the general public. Price includes lunch.

Registration due by Monday, May 11.

To register, visit www.carrollcc.edu/cetcourses or 410-386-8095.

Spinning spirit into gold

Carroll County has several resources for people wanting to start a business. Here are a few links to help get your idea moving.

Miller Entrepreneurial Institute -- www.carrollcc.edu/carrolltraining/millersbc/default.asp

Start Up Carroll --www.startupcarroll.com

Carroll County Department of Economic Development -- www.carrollbiz.org

Carroll County Small Business Development Center -- www.carrollbiz.org/sbdc/aboutus.html

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