The Entrepreneurial Leadership Center (ELC) is not just for business majors. It’s supposed to be for everyone.
“Not everybody in all majors will be able to get a job working in their field of study,” Dr. Roger Hibbs, department chair of KU’s Business Administration, said on Thursday, Sept. 27 in an interview in his office.
Hibbs has taught in the College of Business for 14 years and has over 20 years of business experience by opening up new divisions for businesses.
As the ELC coordinator, Hibbs is trying to encourage students of all majors to participate in what he feels is a good opportunity for anyone’s future.
“Perhaps the education major doesn’t get a job teaching, they could a part of a group of people who begin the process of opening a charter school, or a criminal justice major could open a security firm,” Hibbs said.
To attract more students to the idea of the competition, Hibbs and the ELC have decided to call it an “Idea Plan Competition” rather than a business plan competition as to attract more students.
The rules of the contest are simply to come up with an idea proposal and submit it to be judged.
“Last year the top prize for the KU idea competition was $1,000 and at the [Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education] contest was $10,000,” Hibbs said.
The prizes this year are still to be determined, but the money for these prizes comes from various donors, which include the PSECU credit union.
Hibbs said that the ideas range from a convenience store to a new line of athletic training equipment.
There have been two organizational meetings and more to come. Every Thursday at DeFrancesco 210, Hibbs hosts a one-hour session on Thursday nights on how to write a business proposal.
“I will go through the component parts of a well written idea plan,” Hibbs said.
Hibbs says he understands that people will have only just heard about the class and the competition, he says that he will start meetings by asking those in attendance who is there for the first time tonight.
“Colleen Boland will take people outside of the class and give them information on the competition to see if it is right for them,” Hibbs said.
After the short introduction, students will be able to jump back into the class and continue with the session.
Hibbs said that students who attend all of the sessions and enter into the idea plan competition will get a certificate of completion that they can use on their resume.
The course will help students take their idea and put it on paper.
“When someone has an idea, it usually comes out in a jumble when you ask them to explain it. They’ll be able to take that idea, refine it, articulate it, commit it to paper and even talk about the financials that would be involved if they decided to take that plan and make it real,” Hibbs said.
Hibbs stated that the ELC is for students of all majors. He said that all students will be able to apply their major to the world of business.
The classes are on Thursdays at DeFrancisco 210 at 8 p.m. where students can enter both the KU Idea Plan competition and the PASSHE idea plan competition.
By Dan Clark