Dream It. Build It. Sell It. Become a Digital Boss.

Ready to launch your own online business and become a digital entrepreneur? E-Store Entrepreneurs is your fast track to building, branding, and running a real e-commerce store from your first product idea all the way to a live, customer-ready website. This is not a simulation. Students build actual online stores, design real brand identities, write product descriptions that convert, and develop marketing strategies using social media and AI tools. Middle school students build their stores on Wix. High school students build on Shopify the same platform used by millions of professional businesses worldwide. By the end of the summer, every student walks away with a fully functioning store and the skills to grow it. This year, E-Store Entrepreneurs gets even bigger. Students will learn the business side of e-commerce budgeting, overhead, startup costs, pricing strategy, and how to read a profit and loss statement alongside all the creative and technical skills that make a store stand out in a crowded market.

 

🏗️ Build Your Own Store — For Real

Set up a real, live online shop using Wix (Middle School) or Shopify (High School). Students will learn the full store setup process: choosing a niche, selecting a platform theme, creating product pages, setting up navigation, and preparing the store for launch. Under TTC's developer account system, every student's store is fully built during camp and handed off to a parent/guardian at the end of the program to connect banking and officially launch.

Students will also learn the fundamentals of drop shipping how to source products from suppliers without holding inventory, how to set pricing for profit, and how to fulfill orders automatically. This opens the door to launching a store with virtually no upfront inventory cost.

 

🎨 Brand Like a Pro with Canva

A great product means nothing without a great brand. Students will use Canva for Education (free for students) to create professional-quality logos, product images, banner graphics, social media posts, and full store visual identities. Students will learn how color, typography, and design psychology influence buying decisions and how to build a brand that customers remember.

 

📣 Market & Sell — AI-Powered Digital Marketing

Students will dive into the full digital marketing toolkit:

• Social media marketing — building an audience on platforms that drive e-commerce traffic

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — getting found on Google without paying for ads

• Influencer marketing strategies — how to identify and partner with the right creators

• AI-powered marketing tools — using artificial intelligence to write product descriptions, generate ad copy, create social media captions, and analyze customer behavior

• Email marketing basics — building a customer list and turning one-time buyers into repeat customers

 

💰 Business Finances & Budgeting (New for 2026)

This year, E-Store Entrepreneurs goes beyond the storefront. Students will learn how real businesses manage money:

• How to calculate startup costs and overhead

• Pricing your products for profit (markup, margin, and break-even analysis)

• Reading a basic profit and loss statement

• Tracking expenses and revenue

• Introduction to business tax deductions for e-commerce sellers

High School Pro Half Day students will also cover Wharton Business Foundations through Coursera the same curriculum taught at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

🤝 Collaborative Learning

Brainstorm product ideas, get real feedback from instructors and peers, and work alongside fellow young entrepreneurs in a supportive creative environment. Students are encouraged to collaborate, share strategies, and learn from each other's successes and challenges just like real business owners do.

 

🏆 Store Showcase & Business Grant Competition

Present your finished e-store to the group, your instructors, and invited guests. Receive real-world feedback and compete for TTC's High-Yield Business Grants awarded at the Formal Awards Ceremony in August to the most successful and innovative student entrepreneurs. Full Summer Pro members are eligible to apply for grants.

 

🚪 Signature Class Group Project — Portable Escape Room

E-Store Entrepreneurs students collaborate to create Portable Escape Room  an on-demand, mobile escape room experience brought directly to the customer's door. Students build the brand, the e-commerce store, the booking system, and the full marketing campaign for this one-of-a-kind service business. In a powerful cross-camp collaboration, E-Store Entrepreneurs teams up with the AI Authors camp to develop the escape room's storyline, clues, and narrative while AI Authors students get hands-on help with their website development. This teaches students the power of real business networking, strategic partnerships, and how different departments within a company depend on each other. The Portable Escape Room concept: customers book through the website for events like birthday parties, school events, or corporate team-building. The TTC student team arrives on-site, sets up a themed mini escape room in any space, and runs the full experience. Students build the complete business model, create the physical prototype, and run the live experience for real attendees at both the Networking Event and Family Appreciation Day.

 

💻 Platform Guide — Wix (MS) vs. Shopify (HS)

Middle School Students build on Wix:
Wix gives younger students maximum creative freedom with a true drag-and-drop interface and 800+ free templates. Students can build and design their full store during camp without needing a credit card. At the end of the program, parents can choose to upgrade to a paid Wix plan ($29–$39/month) to accept real payments and remove the Wix watermark completely optional. The store is handed off to the parent via Wix's built-in site transfer feature.

 

High School Students build on Shopify:
High schoolers are ready for the industry standard. Shopify is the platform used by millions of professional e-commerce businesses worldwide, and building on Shopify is a skill that looks great on a resume or college application. TTC manages all stores through a Shopify Partner development account (free to build, no credit card required during camp). At the end of the program, the parent is invited to take over as account owner, enter their payment details, and officially launch the store on a paid Shopify plan (~$39/month). The student continues running the business the parent is only the legal account holder.

 

⚖️ About E-Commerce Compliance for Students Under 18 — IMPORTANT for Parents

Tech Time Cincinnati is committed to full legal compliance. Here is what every E-Store Entrepreneurs family needs to know:

Platform Age Requirements:
Both Shopify and Wix require account holders to be at least 18 years old to enter into binding contracts and process real payments . Students under 18 cannot independently create and own a live, payment-enabled store not because of TTC's rules, but because of the platforms' own Terms of Service.

 

How TTC Handles This:

• During Camp: TTC builds each student's store under TTC's own Shopify Partner or Wix developer account. Students log in as staff/collaborators during class and do all the building, designing, and product loading themselves. TTC's account covers the development phase at no cost.

• At Graduation/Hand-Off: TTC transfers full store ownership to the parent/guardian via Shopify or Wix's built-in transfer feature. The parent enters their own payment information and officially activates the store. Students continue managing the business day-to-day the parent is simply the legal account holder.

• For 18-Year-Old Students: Students who are 18 or older can create and own their Shopify or Wix account independently, with no parent required.

 

Drop shipping & Supplier Contracts:
Most drop shipping suppliers also require account holders to be 18 . TTC teaches drop shipping concepts and sourcing strategy in class, but live supplier accounts will be part of the parent take-home setup process for under-18 students. TTC will provide a parent guide with recommended compliant supplier platforms. Students 18 and older can set up supplier accounts independently in class.

 

📅 E-Store Entrepreneurs Camp Logistics

Camp Location: TTCF Education Building | 230 Northland Blvd, Suite 127, Springdale, OH 45246 Phone: 513-443-5144
Check to see if your school building is listed as a host location for the summer, or call our office for availability.

Schedule: Dates: June 3 – August 7, 2026 (10 weeks)

Tier Ages Schedule Days

Pro Full Day13yr–15yr (Middle School) Mon–Thurs 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (extended day included)

Pro Half Day16yr–18yr (High School) Mon–Wed 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM (no extended day)

Explorer 2-Week 13yr–18yr 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Mon–Wed

Extended hours beyond 3:00 PM (Pro Full Day): $75 flat fee per occurrence, pre-arranged up to 5:00 PM

 

🎖️ Certificates & Credentials E-Store Students Can Earn

• 📜 Coursera: Google Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Professional Certificate (ACE-recommended: 9 college credits)

• 📜 Coursera: Shopify Essential Training Certificate (HS students)

• 📜 Coursera: Learning Wix (MS students)

• 📜 Coursera: Wharton Business Foundations Capstone Certificate from University of Pennsylvania (HS Pro Half Day only)

• 📜 TTC E-Store Entrepreneurs Certificate of Completion

 

🎉 NextGen AI Summer Membership

Unlock a summer of innovation, creativity, and real entrepreneurship with the NextGen AI Summer Membership! Spread your payments evenly over three months or choose weekly and bi-weekly options. Registration is simple and locks in your spot for the entire summer.

Membership Benefits:

• 🎯 Guaranteed placement in your chosen NextGen AI camp track

• ⭐ Priority access to special events, guest speakers, and high-yield business grant competitions

• 🤝 Supportive environment for building friendships and real business skills

• 💳 Simplified registration and flexible payment for busy families

• 📚 Access to the password-protected Members-Only Webpage

• 💻 Free Fridays open lab access (10 AM–2 PM)

• 🎟️ Discounted or free guest passes for the Networking Event, FAD, and Awards Ceremony

 

📝 How to Enroll

1. Visit techtimecincinnati.net → Summer Camps tap

2. Select your interest camp and view the program details. 

3. Click the "View Details" button 

4. Select your membership tier: Pro Full Day, Pro Half Day, or Explorer 2-Week

5. Complete checkout payments 

6. Complete the Youth Registration Form online under the Youth Tech tab within 24 hours to secure your spot

 

💡 QUICK TIPS

• ✅ All NextGen AI camps are for students currently ages 13–18

• ✅ Full/Half Summer Pro campers are eligible for our high-yield business grants awarded at the Formal Awards Ceremony

• ✅ Students may apply for a scholarship online or in person to reduce program cost

• ✅ Under-18 students: All store accounts are held by TTC during camp and transferred to a parent at the end of the program. No parent setup required during camp.

• ✅ 18-year-old students can create and own their Shopify accounts independently.

• ✅ Call us at 513-443-5144 for scholarship questions, school partnership inquiries, or to check if your school is a summer host location.

 

Tech Time Cincinnati Foundation | 230 Northland Blvd, Suite 127, Springdale, OH 45246 Website: techtimecincinnati.net | Phone: 513-443-5144