MARQUETTE -A group of community members gather in downtown Marquette at the eLoft - they are mix of already business owners, students and simply interested parties - but they are all here to learn about starting a businesses and doing it successfully. The Northern Michigan University Entrepreneurship Academy is a six-week course presented by the NMU College of Business.
Every week, the class hears from a different presenter on a different topic and two weeks in, it was Joel Schultz from the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center. He spoke to the academy on marketing and the application to the small business world.
"What is marketing? It's not black and white, in my opinion," he told the group. "What makes someone successful is a creative way of connecting within that market. You have to be able to adapt and adjust to the market and constantly make those changes."
Schultz also went over developing a marketing plan and applied real-world scenarios to marketing your own small business. Other future class topics include business plan development, financial activities, accounting, legal requirements, and available resources.
The program is the brainchild of Ray Amtmann and Rob Lion from the NMU College of Business. It began when they saw an obvious interest in entrepreneurship in the community, but also a need to help people understand how to start their own business the right way.
"We know that people try to start their own businesses are unsuccessful. We want to narrow that gap. We want more people from this class to be successful," said Lion. "Hopefully a course like this will help people take that next step."
Originally, only one section of the course was scheduled, but a second was opened when the first filled up quickly, said Lion. He is not sure when there might be another session of the Entrepreneurship Academy, but he said there are other community courses that cover related issues, so there is no shortage of resources available.
"There is an obvious need and demand for this...It's a question of how do we continue to nurture those ideas."
One of the students at the academy, Alysa Diebolt, is already an entrepreneur. The 20-year-old NMU student from Rock has been making fused glass art and designs since she was 14 and selling it in art fairs around the state. Last year, she won the New Business Venture Competition at NMU, a contest that helped to provide her with funding to expand her business.
Diebolt is a marketing major and is looking to always build on her current education, both in art and business - which is why she was attracted to the academy in the first place.
"I just wanted to reinforce things and revitalize. I want to establish more concrete goals for my business," she said. "I'm backing up my artistic knowledge with business knowledge...I think it's important as an artist not be a starving artist."
After graduation, Diebolt said she would like to open a gallery to sell her work, as well as the artwork of youth. She has plans to graduate in May 2011, but until then, is getting all the experiences she can, including the Entrepreneurship Academy.
"While I'm in school, I want to be taking advantage of all these great opportunities, before I have to get out there and do it."
Claire Abent can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her e-mail address is cabent@miningjournal.net..
