PULLMAN – Business students at Washington State University will be getting hands-on experience in the world of entrepreneurial ventures this semester. Under the leadership of Joe Harris, business development specialist with the Center of Entrepreneurial Studies in the College of Business, students will work with small-business owners in Washington state’s small communities.
The first project will take Harris and two first-year MBA students, Jeremy Stalberger and Rekha Tokala, to the town of Republic where they will work with Stone Soup, a non-profit artist group whose mission is to assist women and families through individual, organizational and community capacity building projects.
Stone Soup assists artists in the rural community by hosting an online storefront, www.shopthefrontier.com with the hopes that sales from the site will boost the local economy. Stalberger and Tokala will assist the group with marketing efforts and the creation of a marketing plan in the hopes of bringing wider success to the group.
A second project is underway with undergraduate students in Harris’ entrepreneurial studies class who will work with business owners in Garfield. The town, with a population of around 600, is hoping to rebuild their economic base by finding ways to increase outside business sales.
For their part, the students will work in several small groups, partnered with current business owners, to help analyze the business’s strengths and weaknesses. Students will work with business owners to re-invent strategies and make amendments to business and operation plans.
“I think the students and business owners will be able to work together to create a synergy for stimulating economic growth in both of these areas,” said Harris. “The enthusiasm created through these projects will be a great boon to the local areas.”
This is the first year Harris has introduced students to a project like that in Garfield, and he is hopeful that through its success, the class will be repeated for years to come, helping other small communities throughout Whitman County and Washington State.
