From CNN:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — In Detroit, a city with rampant unemployment, big crowds in the middle of the day may mean someone is giving out freebies. But on a recent workday, over 450 people packed an auditorium downtown. They weren’t looking for a hand out, sympathy or even a job application. They were looking to start their own business.
Helping them to do that was the thinking behind a recent day-long workshop, the last in a series of events this summer meant to foster innovation in the struggling city.
These would-be entrepreneurs flocked to an auditorium on Wayne State University’s campus with ideas big and small.
The day featured a motivational speech by Chris Gardner, the formerly-homeless-father-turned-Wall-Street-wiz who was the basis for the Will Smith movie “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
Attendees also took part in a variety of workshops including ones on how to raise money, how to save on shipping costs and how to run a service or lifestyle businesses. Each attendee got a chance to meet one-on-one with a business counselor and the opportunity to sign up for more free classes.
Some proposals focused on technical businesses – a former Ford manufacturing expert wants to start a consulting firm advising companies on how to make their manufacturing processes more efficient, while a former software engineer had started a company that makes Web-based system that hosts emergency contact and other medical information for children.
Others had more mainstream ideas. One woman was angling to expand her beauty salon to a full service spa; a man wanted to open a wine shop. “I taste bad wines so you don’t have to” was his motto.
“It’s an unbelievable experience,” said Darlene Tate, an administrative assistant who just signed up to take a two-year course offered by the organizers of the event that she hopes will help her start her own staffing agency. “Being here lets you know that you’re actually on your way to doing something you want to do.”
Over 1,500 people in total attended the three workshops offered this summer, far more than expected.
“I think they had to turn people away,” said Joy Torchia, a spokeswoman for the Kauffman Foundation, an organization promoting entrepreneurship nationwide and a partner at the Detroit event. “The scale they are doing this on is really quite unique.”
Attendees could sign up for additional free classes that are part of Kauffman’s FastTrac entrepreneur program, which are similar to a college course and generally run three hours a week for 10 weeks. Due to the huge amount of people out of work — unemployment in Detroit is running close to 25% — Kauffman is running an accelerated program in Detroit and a handful of other cities where students run through all the material in three weeks.
Post a Comment