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NAPLES — Don’t be surprised if you hear about Cameron Whisman in 20 years.

The 13-year-old Pine Ridge Middle School student hopes to attract Naples residents to the golf course he intends to design and build.

He is in eighth grade, but Cameron is already taking his first steps to becoming a successful businessman. He has been a member of the school’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter for two years.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I have learned so much. I have met a lot of people. I think it is going to help me in the future.”

The Pine Ridge Middle School FBLA chapter held its annual Leadership Conference this week at the Quail Run Country Club. About 35 students attended the conference.

Business education teacher Roberta Harris said the conference allows students to learn about the business world from people who are involved.

“They learn about the banking side of a business and about entrepreneurship,” she said. “They also learn about what it takes to start a business and be successful.”

Students traveled from Pine Ridge Middle School to the Quail Run Country Club where they listened to several speakers talk about business, including retired marketing teacher Ned Harris and B&W Golf Carts Inc. owner Steve Parker.

Kris Scoone, senior vice president at Bank of Florida, began the afternoon by speaking to the students about the role banks play in helping entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

“Why do businesses partner with banks? Because a banker can help build confidence for your business and can give you good advice going forward,” she said. “You bring us in at the beginning and you bring us in again because you want to maintain growth.”

Scoone told the students that they would need to open an operations account, a payroll account and an investment account for their businesses. She said they would also need to go to the bank to ask for a loan.

“I am going to sit down with you annually and review your finances,” she said of the time after a business got off the ground. “We need to make sure your money went back into your company.”

Jake Houk, 13, said he joined the FBLA to get a better perspective on the business world.

“I would like to own my own business one day instead of working for someone else,” he said. “I think the most difficult thing will be managing employees.”

Eighth-grader Olivia Leamer said she would like to start her own interior design business some day.

“Starting a business is a lot harder than you think it is going to be. You can’t just open up and start a business. It is hard work,” she said.

Olivia said her favorite part about the FBLA and business class experience has been designing Web pages for her business. Olivia and a friend designed their business Web site around makeup.

“It’s really fun,” she said of the club. “We have gotten to go to cool places like Mediterra and learn about different businesses.”