Entrepreneurship program to open in fall
Toby Shearer
Issue date: 5/5/09 Section: Campus News
Entrepreneurship isn't just hard to spell, it's a major piece of the American economy especially since the birth of Internet commerce. Recent overnight successes such as Facebook and Twitter were started by college entrepreneurs, but many other small business ventures fail early on. Dr. Dianne Welsh is trying to change that for UNCG students with the founding of the Entrepreneurship Center within the Bryan School of Business and Economics.
According to Welsh the Center will open in September of this year and function like a small business incubator, providing approved student entrepreneurs a communal office space with little or no overhead in which to operate and grow their fledgling companies.
The Center will be temporarily located on the fourth floor of the Bryan Building, but Welsh hopes to find a more visible location within a year. According to Welsh the Center will expand on the Building Entrepreneurial Learning for Life initiative, (BELL), started in 2007.
"What the center is trying to do is give students the skill set to start their own business and then the space for free to do it," Welsh said. She said the Center will partner with local businesses to also offer internships and franchising opportunities to students.
Along with the Entrepreneurship Center, Welsh is working to expand the seven Entrepreneurship minor concentrations within the Bryan School and has submitted a proposed Entrepreneurship major to the UNC General Administration for approval. She hopes the major will be approved for the coming Fall semester.
The Entrepreneurship minor concentrations are open to students of any major concentration and the classes are designed to be progressive with students developing a business plan step by step. Welsh said students of any concentration could graduate college not only ready to start their own business but prepared to manage a successful small business.
"The chances of students being successful in their business after graduating [an entrepreneurial program] are very very high. It's a lot safer now depending on yourself rather than big companies because they're going away. The more options you give yourself in life the better off you'll be," Welsh said.
UNCG junior Pablo Diaz agrees with Welsh. At 19 Diaz developed a business proposal through the Campus Entrepreneur class and was awarded a $1,000 micro loan to fund his multimedia presentation company Idiaz last fall. Stepping out of his physics and economics major, Diaz said the experience has been invaluable.
"I think [the program] is crucial for early-on, real life experience. It can only broaden student's horizons and it's a challenge, but there are opportunities within the program itself," Diaz said, "The prospect of entrepreneurship and being an entrepreneur has a lot of potential but also it's a lot of dedication."
Professor Joe Erba, a Bryan School lecturer, founded the Campus Entrepreneur class two years ago. According to Erba, students in the class develop a business plan then apply for an operating license and micro loan from the university to start that business. Currently four such students run businesses licensed on campus, including Diaz's, with several more seeking approval.
Erba is working with Welsh on the Entrepreneurship Center and said expanding the entrepreneurial programs are part of the Bryan Business School's community outreach.
"We work with local companies all the time through our classes, not only my class but in the Business school. We want to be able to give back and take some of the knowledge we have on campus about this area and share it with the community," he said.
Both Erba and Welsh hope the Entrepreneur Center will be a bridge to larger prospects, including the Nussbaum Center in Greensboro.
The Nussbaum Center is a larger small business incubator and according to Welsh, one of the most successful in the nation. Welsh said students can start their business in UNCG's Entrepreneur Center and expand to the larger Nussbaum facilities at a negotiated student rate. According to their website, the Nussbaum Center is dedicated to enhancing economic development in Greensboro, a large portion of which is small businesses.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses with under 20 employees accounted for 21 million jobs generating over 700 million dollars in payroll in 2006, over 600 thousand of those jobs in North Carolina.
With the current state of the national economy, UNCG's Entrepreneurship Center could not come at a better time according to Erba.
"As we go through these economic cycles what pulls corporations out of problems is innovation and innovation is part of the entrepreneurial mindset. A lot of students have seen their parents or friends work for corporations over the years and they've seen a lot of the downsides. They're more inclined to take a risk so they can be the ones making the rules for themselves," Erba said.
For more information please visit the Bryan School online at uncg.edu/bae.
According to Welsh the Center will open in September of this year and function like a small business incubator, providing approved student entrepreneurs a communal office space with little or no overhead in which to operate and grow their fledgling companies.
The Center will be temporarily located on the fourth floor of the Bryan Building, but Welsh hopes to find a more visible location within a year. According to Welsh the Center will expand on the Building Entrepreneurial Learning for Life initiative, (BELL), started in 2007.
"What the center is trying to do is give students the skill set to start their own business and then the space for free to do it," Welsh said. She said the Center will partner with local businesses to also offer internships and franchising opportunities to students.
Along with the Entrepreneurship Center, Welsh is working to expand the seven Entrepreneurship minor concentrations within the Bryan School and has submitted a proposed Entrepreneurship major to the UNC General Administration for approval. She hopes the major will be approved for the coming Fall semester.
The Entrepreneurship minor concentrations are open to students of any major concentration and the classes are designed to be progressive with students developing a business plan step by step. Welsh said students of any concentration could graduate college not only ready to start their own business but prepared to manage a successful small business.
"The chances of students being successful in their business after graduating [an entrepreneurial program] are very very high. It's a lot safer now depending on yourself rather than big companies because they're going away. The more options you give yourself in life the better off you'll be," Welsh said.
UNCG junior Pablo Diaz agrees with Welsh. At 19 Diaz developed a business proposal through the Campus Entrepreneur class and was awarded a $1,000 micro loan to fund his multimedia presentation company Idiaz last fall. Stepping out of his physics and economics major, Diaz said the experience has been invaluable.
"I think [the program] is crucial for early-on, real life experience. It can only broaden student's horizons and it's a challenge, but there are opportunities within the program itself," Diaz said, "The prospect of entrepreneurship and being an entrepreneur has a lot of potential but also it's a lot of dedication."
Professor Joe Erba, a Bryan School lecturer, founded the Campus Entrepreneur class two years ago. According to Erba, students in the class develop a business plan then apply for an operating license and micro loan from the university to start that business. Currently four such students run businesses licensed on campus, including Diaz's, with several more seeking approval.
Erba is working with Welsh on the Entrepreneurship Center and said expanding the entrepreneurial programs are part of the Bryan Business School's community outreach.
"We work with local companies all the time through our classes, not only my class but in the Business school. We want to be able to give back and take some of the knowledge we have on campus about this area and share it with the community," he said.
Both Erba and Welsh hope the Entrepreneur Center will be a bridge to larger prospects, including the Nussbaum Center in Greensboro.
The Nussbaum Center is a larger small business incubator and according to Welsh, one of the most successful in the nation. Welsh said students can start their business in UNCG's Entrepreneur Center and expand to the larger Nussbaum facilities at a negotiated student rate. According to their website, the Nussbaum Center is dedicated to enhancing economic development in Greensboro, a large portion of which is small businesses.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses with under 20 employees accounted for 21 million jobs generating over 700 million dollars in payroll in 2006, over 600 thousand of those jobs in North Carolina.
With the current state of the national economy, UNCG's Entrepreneurship Center could not come at a better time according to Erba.
"As we go through these economic cycles what pulls corporations out of problems is innovation and innovation is part of the entrepreneurial mindset. A lot of students have seen their parents or friends work for corporations over the years and they've seen a lot of the downsides. They're more inclined to take a risk so they can be the ones making the rules for themselves," Erba said.
For more information please visit the Bryan School online at uncg.edu/bae.
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posted 2/02/10 @ 9:58 AM EST
Thanks for great campus news!
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