Matthew Davis, Campus Carrier Reporter
and Jenna Johnson, Campus Carrier Editor
Berry was founded on the principle of students working for their education. Now students have the opportunity to operate their own businesses as a part of their college experiences.
The entrepreneurial program is a series of five classes in the business major that allows students to start their own businesses under the guidance and support of Berry. The program is open to students of all majors, and students can end their businesses after one semester or continue the business after their classes.
In 1999, Paula Englis, professor and department chair of management, joined Berry’s staff and began the entrepreneurial program. She taught students the logistics of starting businesses, but there was no requirement to start one. That changed in 2005 with the Todd Nelson Seed Fund.
“I realized that we were missing what Berry’s all about, and that’s the firsthand experience,” Englis said.
Todd Nelson donated $100 for each student in the class to start their business. Students pay back the start-up as well as 10 percent of their profit while they are in the intro class, but they keep the remaining profit for themselves.
This seed fund continues to be used today. It has generated $89,000 in total revenue. This year, students are projected to break $100,000 in generated revenue for the program.
The program is more than a series of classes. It is also a support system for small business owners. The students are paired with business owners and friends of Berry who have knowledge about specific business fields. Students can also apply to have access to extra funds from the Venture Fund. The students meet with a board of advisers once a semester. The board is made up of business owners from around the community to offer guidance.
Students have many different experiences within the entrepreneurial program. Junior Olivia Mund is taking her first entrepreneurship class this semester. Her business, “Liv” Organized, helps college students organize their lives, either by helping declutter physical spaces or by helping with time management.
Mund stressed the support of Englis and other business professors in the program.
“They’ve done a good job with helping people that are not necessarily business majors to get their own business started,” Mund said.
While Mund is not sure whether she will continue her business after the semester, other students have continued their businesses for many years. Senior and business major Holden Wilbanks has been in the entrepreneurship program since his freshman year.
“They give us a lot of room for interpretation – a lot of freedom and a lot of ownership in our individual jobs,” Wilbanks said.
The business program inspires more than the businesses begun in class. Wilbanks became involved in student enterprises and late in his sophomore year founded Berry Bees.
“We provide honey and beeswax products to Berry’s community as well as the Rome and Floyd County area,” Wilbanks said. “Our main goal has been to try to bring awareness to the problem with bees, that there’s a massive decline in population.”
The Berry entrepreneurship program inspired not only Wilbanks’ love for business, but his desire to help others with their businesses. He hopes to be a part of a future business incubator, a place where people can bring their ideas and receive the help they need to start a business.