Nurturing the Spirit of Entrepreneurship
As with most economic downturns, this current recession has prompted a global resurgence in entrepreneurship. New ventures are being launched worldwide everyday by displaced corporate executives, seniors and students alike. That’s good news, as economists point out, because growth in entrepreneurship has historically been a precursor to economic recovery.
Entrepreneurship and self-employment are quickly becoming viable alternatives to traditional jobs for many people, including recent college graduates. Few however have had any formal education, mentoring or assistance in how to start and run a business. But, that’s beginning to change.
Rekindling the spirit of entrepreneurship among students, as well as providing formal educational programs and a supportive environment is not just a good idea but it greatly expands the range of options students have upon graduation.
While there continues to be disagreement on the definition of entrepreneurship, all will agree that being on your own takes a combination of self-reliance, confidence and the ability to take risks. But, how do you know if you have what it takes to be your own boss? Can students start their own businesses while they are still in school? What does it take to create an environment where student entrepreneurs can flourish?
Some believe we should start in elementary or high school where innovation and creativity naturally flourish. Being inquisitive is part of being a kid. It’s when we become adults we typically lose our curiosity and creativity because we are more often than not conditioned to “color within the lines.” As adults we often become risk-adverse and tend to avoid failure and its consequences.
Entrepreneurs however readily accept failures as a part of discovering something unique and special. They learn from failure and pivot to the next great opportunity. It’s been said that we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. That’s a tough sell in an academic environment, but it would be a huge disservice to fledgling entrepreneurs to lead them to believe that all good ideas are going to succeed. They’re not!
Johnson & Wales University Entrepreneurship Center recently partnered with the Met School, a very unique inner city high school in Providence, Rhode Island, that lays claim to the nation’s only free-standing entrepreneurship center located at a high school. Here, students live their dreams and launch their new business ventures in a supportive environment that brings education, mentors and support services under one roof. While not every student venture succeeds, the results overall are quite noteworthy.
Jodie Woodruff, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, says "creating business plans based on a student's ideas, interest or skill has ignited the creativity and enthusiasm of students while strengthening financial literacy skills, along with life skills, through something most students identify with; making money."
Met School students currently run a soft drink company, a tee-shirt company and support each other in a variety of new ventures from a tasty Peruvian sauce to a fitness center called Boomer Fit that’s especially designed for the ever expanding baby boomer generation.
Flavio, the Met School student entrepreneur with the Peruvian sauce, was recently introduced to Linda Kane, JWU’s Community Service Chef, who is mentoring him on the process of getting his product through the food regulatory maze as well as introducing him to supply chain partners in the food packaging industry. Chef Kane has her own products in the marketplace (RI Red HOT Sauce and Cowboy Ketchup) and knows firsthand the challenges he faces. “The recipe is the easy part” she explained, “and just the beginning.”
Flavio’s excitement and appreciation can be summed up in his thank you note to Chef Kane. “Our meeting on Wednesday was great and I got so much out of it. Linda I'm really grateful that you could make it to the meeting and was a little frightened when you said that this was only going to be the beginning but at the same time I was ready to take on that challenge and very excited all at the same time.”
Last year, Johnson & Wales University awarded its first $20,000 four-year scholarship to a Met School entrepreneur who is beginning her studies at the university in the fall. Additionally, the two entrepreneurship centers will be embarking on a mentoring program where students from JWU will be working with Met School students in a collaborative relationship to promote entrepreneurship and the launch of new student run ventures.
At the Johnson & Wales University Entrepreneurship Center, students from all academic majors work within a supportive environment where they can try out their new ventures in the “Test Track” incubator. At JWU, students compete annually for seed money cash awards, incubator space, mentors and support services provided by both the university and the Small Business Development Center which is located on campus.
Not all new student ventures will be highly scalable or even succeed. Many will fail or never get out of the incubator stage. But those that do will at a minimum keep both the student founder and a small group of friends and family members actively engaged in gainful employment – a worthy goal for sure.
It’s never too early to begin teaching and mentoring students to follow their dreams of starting and owning their own business. Learning that hard work, willingness to take risks, and that failures can be the best learning experience you can ever have is a good foundation not only for aspiring entrepreneurs but for young people in general.
Working with student entrepreneurs over the past year has given me much greater hope for the future. Entrepreneurship is not dead; it’s just waking up after a long nap, energized and rearing to go. As Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro, said during his JWU commencement address: “You never know.”
