<p>Hi there, </p>
<p>I want to start a business club at my school and I heard all about FBLA.</p>
<p>So for those of you in FBLA, I'd like to ask...</p>
<p>What exactly do you do?</p>
<p>-What are the competitions like? (Details if possible)
-Is it a pretty "serious" club? Or do people goof off a lot?
-Are there "tests" and stuff you do (tied in with the competitions question)</p>
<p>Also, bonus thing: Do you know how it compares to the DECA business club?</p>
<p>Hi! I am an FBLA club president of a relatively new club (~20 members).</p>
<p>The main activity is the competitions: tests, performances, and projects. They are easy and the whole experience of going to the national competition is very fun. Taking a week off, etc.</p>
<p>I keep it a serious club. This really depends on how you make it. If you keep it structured, it will be serious.</p>
<p>We also do some charity fundraisers (March of Dimes) and community service.</p>
<p>It is what you make of it. It is easy to do nothing and wait for the competitions, yet there are many opportunities to make it interesting. Hell, buy a $20 gift card, tell all members to design an advertisement (or something business-related), choose the best and award the card. I do this every club meeting, often with multiple cards. Fun, random things like that make it good.</p>
<p>@Justin314 how often does your club meet? (Once a week? Twice a month? etc.)</p>
<p>and could you explain the competitions a little bit more too? Like what tests? what performances/projects?</p>
<p>From my experience with both clubs, DECA takes their competitions way more seriously. They have weekly meetings, and often meet on Saturday mornings close to competition time. Our DECA teams usually win state awards though for competition, and they also run our school store (which is HUGE. I’ve never seen a school with a bigger school store than ours or one that does more. They bring in and sell all sorts of fast food daily, and candy, smoothies, apparel, etc. They sell more than the cafeteria!) So yeah that’s DECA’s main thing at my school but I’m not sure if that’s a normal DECA activity at schools since I was only a member for a little while.</p>
<p>I’m in FBLA though and we meet once a month from 6pm-9pm. We have the largest chapter in our state because of this, and that’s the goal of the weird times, because everyone joins since its not a big commitment. Once a year we go to “leadership conferences” which is where you go dressed in business attire to a hotel with conference rooms and stuff and listen to seminars and have leadership workshops and meet new people. You get a really fancy lunch from the hotel and its an all day event. We also usually have an overnight even that is like this too. FBLA’s main competition is in February of every year. In November/December you sign up for events you want to compete in (which range from public speaking, to multiple choice tests on accounting, business management, projects on community involvement, etc.) it’s held at the High School of whoever your regional President is, and you get a free lunch, and they have awesome entertainment such as a hypnotist show, dualing pianos, and comedy standup in the gym because the different competitions ate going on all day. Then at the end they have awards, and if you place in the top 3 in your event you move on to state. When you place in the top 3 at state you move on to nationals. </p>
<p>The other main thing for FBLA is BAA awards (I think that’s what it’s called) you complete work on a computer program and earn you letters (F,B,L, and A) as you move up (one a year). Idk, I never did it but I guess it’s a big deal…</p>
<p>We also do things like fundraising money for soldiers and the homeless, volunteering at elementary schools, scholarships for members, and lock ins. </p>
<p>Overall I totally recommend you start a chapter! I love FBLA. It’s actually the only club that I’m in that I REALLY like and aren’t just there of college apps. Some people take it seriously, but some don’t. It’s whatever you want it to be really :)</p>
<p>Oh and like Justin314 said, March if the Dimes is huge with FBLA. That’s our biggest fundraising event.</p>
<p>Sadly our school only gives us time during the school day for a meeting once every two months. We have tried before and after school meetings, but a majority have other things to tend to (and those that don’t, not surprisingly, are too lazy to come). </p>
<p>If your school provides enough time, I would highly recommend FBLA.</p>