College Students Find Business Ownership a Viable Option in Down Economy
Carol Hammond
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Anouncements
South Portland - Participation has quadrupled in the business incubator program at Southern Maine Community College's Entrepreneurial Center this year. Normally the Entrepreneurial Center services two or three students in the business incubator program but this year the program has enrolled 11 students and more will be interviewed later this month.
The business incubator allows students to build a solid foundation for their businesses while attending classes. Students in the incubator program receive rent-free office space in the Entrepreneurial Center, professional advisors, and use of office equipment including a computer and a dedicated business phone.
Michelle Neujahr, Director of The Entrepreneurial Center, says the growth of the program is due to many students losing their jobs and looking to their own businesses as a way to protect themselves in the future. "Students are also finding that being an entrepreneur with the skills they learn at SMCC can be more financially lucrative than going to work for someone else," says Neujahr. "Students today are also no longer willing to give up their lives - the things that are most important to them in order to make money. We are witnessing students choosing entrepreneurship because they want to create a lifestyle where things such as family and friends can still be number one."
The incubator program currently has businesses in the following industries: photography, fishing, landscaping, software development, entertainment, retail and service.
The business incubator allows students to build a solid foundation for their businesses while attending classes. Students in the incubator program receive rent-free office space in the Entrepreneurial Center, professional advisors, and use of office equipment including a computer and a dedicated business phone.
Michelle Neujahr, Director of The Entrepreneurial Center, says the growth of the program is due to many students losing their jobs and looking to their own businesses as a way to protect themselves in the future. "Students are also finding that being an entrepreneur with the skills they learn at SMCC can be more financially lucrative than going to work for someone else," says Neujahr. "Students today are also no longer willing to give up their lives - the things that are most important to them in order to make money. We are witnessing students choosing entrepreneurship because they want to create a lifestyle where things such as family and friends can still be number one."
The incubator program currently has businesses in the following industries: photography, fishing, landscaping, software development, entertainment, retail and service.
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