Entrepreneur Of The Year
Quality over quantity
How Debra Hoffer narrowed the focus of JA Kentuckiana to make a bigger impact
Smart Business Cincinnati | July 2008
For years, the Junior Achievement of
Kentuckiana Inc. was using a cookie-cutter format that had been provided by
another organization. In that format, the
leading provider of economics programs
for children had a goal of touching the
lives of as many children as possible
across all grade lines.
While that mission was lofty and altruistic, Hoffer, JA of Kentuckiana’s president,
saw that the goal was flawed. Like any
business, she realized that by trying to
reach everyone in the organization was
effectively reaching no one. Since Hoffer
didn’t just want to make contact with a certain number of children, she decided the
organization should tighten its focus and
ensure that whatever children it did reach
were impacted by it.
Controversial as it was at the time, Hoffer
cut the number of children reached each
year from 40,000 to 28,000. At that same
time, the organization began reaching out
to only four grades.
Though Hoffer knew she would reach less
students, the program now sets a goal of
touching a child with its mission four times
instead of just sending out a blanket message once and hoping that it sticks. As a
result, more students are responding to the
programs being offered, and the benefit of
trimming the number of students has led to
higher quality. Forgetting the cookie-cutter
format and moving ahead, Hoffer is focused
on developing her program not by numbers
but in the way she changes lives.
HOW TO REACH: Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana Inc.,
(502) 561-KIDS www.jaky.org
