Internet Entrepreneurship

**This is the blog post for the 2nd question on the Internet Entrepreneurship final

Grove City College recently started offering “entrepreneurship” as a major. Many people think that entrepreneurs are just people who are fed up with their boss. After graduating from Grove City College, with a BA in Entrepreneurship, I would say that Grove City College does more than just teach knowledge of business fields necessary for any business owner to have. An entrepreneur learns to develop a mindset of entrepreneurship. The major gives the student a true sense of how business can give value to the world. The knowledge of the latest business tactics combined with strong Christian principals help to develop leaders that the world lacks today. The Entrepreneurship program requires bright and self motivated students to innovate the world as we see it today. Grove City College produces students who are capable of changing the world because of the mindset that they teach along with the rigorous curriculum. A degree in Entrepreneurship is a degree be free to change the world. After graduating you can work as an intra-preneur within a business. You can feel free to find a pain that people are feeling and alleviate that pain while putting money in your pockets. Not many people know what they are going to want to do for the rest of their lives. Entrepreneurs are given the vision to a path that will lead to a life that is focused on creating mutually beneficial relationships. Constant learning and adapting to the ever changing environment is a life long quest to change the world, not only as a Christian, but also as a well learned businessman/woman.

Dear prospective students (and interested parents, I presume),

I am writing to you to tell you a little bit about a class offered at Grove City College. I am not an entrepreneurship major – I am a senior, business management major and it is too late for me. There is still time for you though!!! It took me four years, but I am currently in an Entrepreneurship class called Internet Entrepreneurship. Now that the semester is coming to a close I can saw with confidence that I learned more real-life-applicable information than i have in any other class. Now, officially, the course “will explore the foundational principles and essential components for launching a successful entrepreneurial endeavor on the Internet. The course will cover important topics related to Internet Entrepreneurship, including key entrepreneurial models, business concept development, opportunity analysis, advanced search marketing techniques, understanding user behavior, and creating a viable Internet model for Digital Entrepreneurial endeavors. Case studies and existing businesses will be examined in detail. Students will have the opportunity to study the journeys of successful Internet Entrepreneurs, to hear from experts in the field, and to create an original Internet Business Plan in a team with other students.” Sounds cool, right? Like you might want to take the class? You should! We had the opportunity to hear from real-life, successful businesspeople who went out on a limb and started a business and created great things. We used critical thinking in creating our own business idea and pitching it to the class. We were engaged and encouraged to think creatively and integrate our passion with our knowledge of the business world. We learned how to use todays technology to our advantage. We leaned how to how to identify what the consumer wants, create content, and reach those who need the information we are providing.

Entrepreneurship should no longer be this mysterious, obscure, questionable major – Entrepreneurship is real and it is empowering.

Sincerely,

Inspired Student, aka Mattie Hanley

The internet was possibly the greatest invention since the printing press, giving mankind the ability to instantly gather and contribute information and send it worldwide to anyone, anywhere and at anytime. There is no doubt that the business world is a lucrative and rewarding field, both economically but emotionally and spiritually as well. In the hierarchy of business, however, entrepreneurship reigns supreme. It is nice to contribute to the world economic engine by working for a large bank, manufacturing plant, or clothing store. But when all is said and done, there is nothing quite like creating a business with your own hard work and creativity, and subsequently seeing it flourish.

Think for a minute about combining two great things: the power of the World Wide Web along with the power of an entrepreneur. The world is addicted to the internet, and it is never going back. We will continue to utilize the wonders of the information superhighway and those entrepreneurs who can use the internet to their advantage will benefit enormously and surpass their competitors. With a class like Internet Entrepreneurship, students are given the skills they need to tackle the two big challenges they will face upon graduation: starting a business and using the power of the world’s greatest invention to their economic advantage. Subject like ‘content marketing’, ‘mass collaboration’ and ’search engine optimization’ will no longer be technical buzzwords but real life topics that can be relevantly applied to a business setting.

The internet is our greatest tool as the world economy continues to morph and grow, and those entrepreneurs who buck the trend and decide to set off on their own will be the greatest beneficiaries of what the world has to offer. Entrepreneurship is not just raw talent, however. The secrets to success involve real and tangible lessons that can be learned in a classroom, provided the right professors teach the right topics. In a nonconformist school such as Grove City, there is no better place to learn about the great benefits one can gain from striking it on their own while at the same time understanding how the world revolves around the continuing growth of the internet.

Muhammad Yunus a social entrepreneur who is a economist a banker. He recognized a social problem and started a company to help solve the problem. Yunus started the Grameen Bank after he visited a poor village where he found out small loans could help get these people out the poor village and start a life that is less impoverished. His first loan was $27 and was split amongst 42 women. The Grameen bank has issued money to over 7.4 million borrows. The bank uses “solidarity groups” where small groups apply together to encourage the repayment of the loan. All of Yunus’ microfinancing  has led to other trying to produce similar efforts. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The company had about 1.4 billion dollars in Net Income in 2006. This company is a very successful company while making a good impact on the world.

VIkram Akule is a social entrepreneur who is the CEO and founder of SKS Microfinance which offers insurance and microloans to woman in India. Akule said that he “started SKS because I was overwhelmed by the poverty I saw in India and was looking for a way to catalyze rapid economic development for the poor.” This company has to be one of the fastest growing companies in India and gives collateral free loans. By September 2009, SKS had over 5.3 million members and over 1,600 branches.

Almost every time I hear about Twitter it is in conjunction with the name of a popular celebrity. Has Twitter become a platform for the wealthy and influential to proclaim their message? It seems that for the everyday person, Twitter doesn’t allow for much more than quick updates on your day such as “I am going to the grocery store” or “I had a bad day at work” but for actors, athletes and CEO’s it is a forum where they can publish their ideas or thoughts to the millions of people following them. I think that Twitter’s real market is with celebrities and businesses, and not the everyday internet surfer.

Many small companies feel that they are too small or too incapable of developing a website. I know several of my family members are successful entrepreneurs who have not tapped into the resource that is the internet. Convincing small businesses that web-sites are essential to growth and visibility is usually easy but they often claim that they lack the funds or ability. Through this class I have learned that you don’t have to be an expert to create a website. A simple website is fairly easy to create and maintain thanks to the advanced tools now available. Small businesses need to lose the small mindset and get themselves off the ground by getting themselves on the web!

In today’s business world the web is playing an increasingly important role in the H.R. Department. More and more businesses are using online applications and screening questionnaires to sort through the many applicants.

As I have been job searching it has been frustrating that the personal touch has been removed from many job application formats. It is impossible to know someone without talking to them in person!In a business world moving toward technology I think this may be one area where personal interaction is still vitally important.

In our digital citizenship class we each have the ability to create a blog with whatever topic we want. For mine I have decided to give a review of various cities around the United States and the world that I have traveled to, with a ranking for nightlife, safety and cost of living. Check it out at http://ericwuelfing.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/hello-world/

For all of you out there who love discovering new up-and-coming bands, I have the site for you. Woxy.com is an internet radio station that features the best underground artists out there. Their slogan “independent and truly alternative” defines their music very well. They specialize in indie rock and strive to provide listeners with new content that they have yet to hear.

Sites like Woxy provide young artists a valuable chance to be recognized and build a fan base across the across the country.

I strongly suggest that all of you go and check out Woxy. You may be surprised at what you find!