A strong smell of pizza, along with words like “futurepreneur” and “artpreneur” drift in the air as the first cohort of ArtPreneur 2.0 meet at the Halifax offices of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development, or CEED. This is the second of eight meetings for the young artists who are here to learn skills they hope will help them turn their talents into profitable businesses.

A collaboration between CEED and the Youth Art Connection, a group that partners with community organizations and professional artists to deliver programs that empower youth, the new eight-week business incubation program offers 15 young creators the opportunity to learn useful skills, such as creating a business plan.

“At (the art connection) we are very concerned about the issues youth are facing in Nova Scotia right now,” said Ryan Veltmeyer, co-founder of the organization with his wife Ann Denny.

“High youth unemployment rates, stress and mental-health challenges and a cultural gap with older generations, are some of the issues causing young people to leave our province for opportunities elsewhere in Canada.”

Veltmeyer, himself a musician, said it makes sense to teach artists business skills as “every artist is an entrepreneur, but artists wouldn’t think to go to CEED.”

The students are receiving business training from CEED staff and mentoring from Veltmeyer, Denny, and hip-hop artists J-Bru and Shevy Price. The young artists will also attend off-site meetings, workshops and individual coaching sessions with the goal of designing a professional-level product or service by the end of the eight weeks.

“I’m hoping I can get the tools, help and advice I need to propel my business to the next level. Currently I’m selling my jewelry through word of mouth and online, but I want to make a name for myself here in Halifax,” said participant Aaron Stevens of X.A.C. Productions.

This is the first of this kind of program for CEED, although the organization has over a decade of creating programs that connect youth to the workforce through either entrepreneurship or employment.

CEED education and small-business consultant Melissa MacMaster said the students in this group are younger than those in regular cohorts and the program has been adapted to their specific needs. Students are looking at creative industries in some depth. All the artpreneurs will present and pitch their product or service at the ArtCeleration event on July 8 at the offices of sponsor McInnes Cooper.

As he sat down, pizza in hand, ready to learn how to write a business plan, rapper Nima Tabatabaei, 18, said he has been rapping since he was 12 and had decided it was time to learn the business side of the music industry. “I’ve learned a lot so far,” he added.