The Interns
Working in a start-up environment can be challenging for many reasons. The number one reason for start-up failure is undercapitalization. That is, not enough money. Usually businesses fail not because they had the wrong idea, or even because they had poor management, but because they simply did not have enough money to push them over the hump into the black.
For this post, I will discuss another challenge small business owners face, human resources. I use that term to mean, finding the right people, or people at all. Usually when starting a business without large amounts of funding from loans or venture capital the last thing you have is enough money to pay for the right person. Or at least, enough of them. One solution to this problem that I will discuss with you tonight is internships.
I went to St. Edwards University for my undergraduate degree, and an internship was required for every business major. It is an opportunity for the student to experience business first hand. From the interview process all the way to seeing if their job will "convert" into a line on the budget.
Currently, Im running various small projects and five businesses. I have decided to give back to my University in many ways, and this time in the form of internships. Because of my connections, I was able to land a meeting with the heads of the career planning office of St. Edwards. This was a great opportunity to explain my background, and possible matches I had for the school.
The meeting went very well. It looks like I could have anywhere from 2-4 internships created for various companies Im working with for this coming fall semester. This is an excellent way for me to augment my staff with eager young minds wanting to get their feet wet professionally, and at the same time, a great way to give back to the University. A word of caution though; hiring an intern requires more work than handing them a job description. Typically it requires working with the student more than a typical employee, filling out evaluation forms for them to turn into their school, and dealing with scheduling conflicts not found in a regular employee.
I encourage every business owner to think about internships seriously. Working with young minds with new ideas and uncultured spirits is rewarding in many ways other than financially. I will post these experiences with the interns on the blog as time goes on.
Until next time...
-CR
For this post, I will discuss another challenge small business owners face, human resources. I use that term to mean, finding the right people, or people at all. Usually when starting a business without large amounts of funding from loans or venture capital the last thing you have is enough money to pay for the right person. Or at least, enough of them. One solution to this problem that I will discuss with you tonight is internships.
I went to St. Edwards University for my undergraduate degree, and an internship was required for every business major. It is an opportunity for the student to experience business first hand. From the interview process all the way to seeing if their job will "convert" into a line on the budget.
Currently, Im running various small projects and five businesses. I have decided to give back to my University in many ways, and this time in the form of internships. Because of my connections, I was able to land a meeting with the heads of the career planning office of St. Edwards. This was a great opportunity to explain my background, and possible matches I had for the school.
The meeting went very well. It looks like I could have anywhere from 2-4 internships created for various companies Im working with for this coming fall semester. This is an excellent way for me to augment my staff with eager young minds wanting to get their feet wet professionally, and at the same time, a great way to give back to the University. A word of caution though; hiring an intern requires more work than handing them a job description. Typically it requires working with the student more than a typical employee, filling out evaluation forms for them to turn into their school, and dealing with scheduling conflicts not found in a regular employee.
I encourage every business owner to think about internships seriously. Working with young minds with new ideas and uncultured spirits is rewarding in many ways other than financially. I will post these experiences with the interns on the blog as time goes on.
Until next time...
-CR
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home