MAB: Thanks for sharing the backstory! Have any of your students been in business before? What kinds of things do your participants learn, and how has the course prepared them for an entrepreneurial experience?
BB: All of our students have had work experience, and about half have tried to start a business, or wanted to start a business. So the interest was there. They just needed someone to mentor them. Starting a business isn't complex, you can start small and learn as you go. Many people do. Our students learn the basics, how to come up with an idea, do some marketing, along with promotion and financial skills.
DD: We offered field trips to businesses so our students could meet and talk with entrepreneurs, and we also had numerous community, entrepreneurial and business leaders come in and talk to our group. Speakers also included local government people in tax and licensing and all the not-so-fun but important-to-know stuff, in addition to the event you attended, with Dr. Jerry Teplitz. Students had to develop an idea, create an "elevator" pitch for it, and write a one-page business plan in order to graduate. Eight weeks is not enough really, but it was enough to lay the groundwork for continuing and for giving us some ideas on how best to support them over the next 6 -- 12 months of follow-up work.
Darryl Rojas (center) gets advice at Les Fabriques in Charlottesville for a prototype for his backpack.
(Image by Becky Blanton) Details DMCA
MAB: That's great, what have been your results so far?
BB: It's not reasonable to expect anyone to start and succeed in a business in 8-weeks, but we did get all our students off to a great start -- with business plans, bank accounts and Paypal accounts. And one veteran has become employed and housed while working with us - his part-time job allowed him to get an apartment and a business space.
MAB: That's wonderful!
DD: One of our students is working on a backpack/pup tent idea developed from his experiences of homelessness, and is working on a prototype.
MAB: Wow, taking his actual experiences of homelessness and turning that into a business, that is certainly making lemonade from lemons!
DD: Yes, and another student is working on a plant nursery idea for hard-to-find plants. Other students are working on an online affiliate business, and a t-shirt printing business. Another is a homesteader living in a makeshift tent and wants to teach others the skills he developed as a result. He has also started a coalition to help the homeless along with selling Amway products. Another sells products on the Charlottesville mall and has gone on to enroll in an entrepreneurial training program at our local community college.
MAB: These stories are inspiring! The segment of the course that I sat in on featured Dr. Teplitz' Switched-On Startup Entrepreneur seminar. It was very exciting and valuable, and also very different from the typical business training seminar. I know that both of you participated in it-- what benefits have you noticed either for yourselves or others as a result of his seminar?
DD: Our one female student was especially impressed -- I believe WOW was the word she used in describing it.
The main difference in my mind, in terms of results or effectiveness of Jerry's training versus typical business trainings is this: information alone won't necessarily create the changes in a person's life. Great ideas are a dime a dozen. For real change to take place, a person has to feel different in order to do different, or to take advantage of valuable information and ideas.
Thoughts and feelings are connected. When we think differently, we feel differently (and vice versa) and then act differently. Jerry's work with the brain offers us access to the core area where the thoughts and feelings can be influenced. We have the opportunity to really and truly "be" someone different. We can then begin to define ourselves differently and with this new life view, what was once perhaps out of our reach can now be grasped. The people we work with need this type of experience in order to no longer define themselves as "homeless" and all the negative and limiting implications that come with that.
MAB: Thanks for sharing, Becky and David, you two are offering a wonderful service.
Initially an attorney, Dr. Jerry V. Teplitz obtained a Ph.D. in Holistic Health Sciences and is now a renowned expert in brain performance. Dr. Teplitz is the author of several books including the best-sellers, Switched-On Selling and Switched-On Networking.
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