Program makes would-be entrepreneurs think business ideas through

Operation Jump Start seeks to help its students become successful business owners.

Offered by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southeast Missouri State University, the five-week course helps people evaluate their plans before they launch their businesses.

"It's allowed us to see why it's so easy to fail," said Jo Duff of the S. Gregg Gallery in Cape Girardeau, who is enrolled in the course.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, half of all new businesses fail within the first five years.

Operation Jump Start challenges people to think critically about the feasibility of their business plans, said participant Ken Kiefer of Jackson.

He is one of about 20 people taking part in the current Operation Jump Start class. No two individuals want to start the same kind of business, and ideas include a glass-blowing shop, a nightclub, a restaurant and an accounting firm.

The class is offered at no cost to participants as the result of a WIRED Initiative grant through the U.S. Department of Labor. At the end of the course, participants can submit a feasibility plan and compete for business startup grants of up to $5,000.

Classes meet at the center twice a week for five weeks, and students are required to do several hours of homework, including research on their business concepts.

"I thought this was going to be a reinforcement of what I knew, but I found out there was a whole lot that I really should have known that I did not," Kiefer said.

Kiefer started out in the class thinking he wanted to open his own music shop.

"Music is something I love, but I found out the inventory cost is mind-boggling," he said.

He's since decided to draw on his background in the insurance industry and open a brokerage company.

"If I had known these things when I started in the insurance business in 1983, I would have made a lot of changes and adjustments throughout my career that would have been very beneficial," Kiefer said.

The course's curriculum is from the Kauffman Foundation, established by Kansas City, Mo., businessman Ewing M. Kauffman.

"This is not rocket science. It's no more than high school-level stuff, but it's just that people never think about it," said instructor Russell Humphrey.

Topics discussed include market needs, product development, infrastructure, marketing and human resources.

This is the fourth year the center has offered the Operation Jump Start program. Over those four years, more than 700 people have taken part at various Southeast Missouri locations. About 300 new businesses have been created by program participants, said Dr. James Stapleton, director of the Center for Innovation an Entrepreneurship.

$17 million effect

A recent study by the university's Center for Business and Economic Research estimated the total regional economic effect of the new businesses was nearly $17 million, Stapleton said.

Participants are a mix of new business owners and those who are still fine-tuning their concepts before launching their businesses. They're learning from each other as well as from Humphrey.

For Jonathan Fritzler, the group discussions are one of the best parts of the class.

"Everyone is working for a similar goal. That breaks down any competition barriers," said Fritzler, who in partnership with his father is starting a company to offer cell phone tours of area historic sites.

"This class has really taught us how to research. This has given me a lot of ideas. Pages and pages of ideas," said Duff, who has been a silent partner at S. Gregg Gallery and is now looking to take a more active role in the business.

During a recent class, Tim Arbeiter, vice president of community development for the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, and Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape, spoke to students to offer additional resources through their organizations. The two also discussed various locations for businesses in Cape Girardeau.

"Right now is the perfect time to look at downtown as a location for your business," Mills said. Cape Girardeau's recently adopted Downtown Strategic Plan gives direction to development in downtown in a way that hasn't been there before, she said.

"We don't just want to fill storefronts. It's not just getting somebody in the door. It's making sure we get someone in the door that's successful, that's going to complement the businesses around it, that's in the right location and can be part of the downtown community," Mills said.

Arbeiter urged participants to leave their emotions at the door when choosing a location.

"You have to make business decisions where the numbers work for you," he said, urging them to examine traffic counts and building costs carefully.

The next Operation Jump Start class is planned for this summer in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., with funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

920 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO