My Kind of Town: Inspiring the Next Generation

On Tuesday, Jan. 25, I had the opportunity to meet with about 25 high school students to inspire them to follow their dreams.

The students had come from St. Louis to Chicago for a two-day trip to meet with several business leaders to learn more about business and marketing.

I started by giving the students a tour of the Russian Pointe offices, located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, and we also took a tour of the warehouse, where the students learned about our inventory system and how important it is to have an organized inventory in a successful business.

This was the third time that the tour company, My Kind of Town, has asked me to speak to high school students about business, and it is always so exciting to see how much enthusiasm these young people have for their bright future. They were so curious and had so many questions! They wanted to know how you import a shipment of products from oversees, how do you market a product, how much money do you need to start a business, and how did I start my business.

I talked about the challenges I faced in building Russian Pointe – from not even speaking English 17 years ago, to starting a business in my college dorm room.

Thinking back to my own humble beginnings, I felt honored to be speaking to them. Hopefully, by motivating a younger generation to succeed, they will continue to promote international business both here in United States and abroad.