An added perspective on entrepreneurship

Dan Presson is the director of career services and interim vice president for Economic and Workforce Development at Southeast Missouri State University. His passion is helping students transition from academia to workforce, while connecting them with resources that may help them achieve their career and entrepreneurial goals.

(Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer)

Dan Presson is Southeast’s director of career services and interim vice president for Economic and Workforce Development. Presson was asked to reflect on President Vargas’ comments on entrepreneurship.

President Vargas has said that when he was in college, he didn’t think in terms of creating his own job, which is the very definition of entrepreneurship. In your mind, in working with today’s students, how much of a hurdle is it to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs?

PRESSON: The job market today presents more flexibility than in any time in recorded history. You no longer have to be tied to a location or to an office building or to a single employer for your entire income stream. There is flexibility, yes, but there is also getting your foot in the door.

We have one alum who has 2 million followers on YouTube and just creates content. Other students want the office culture environment, where there is continual conversation and the opportunity for mentorship. The structure of an onboarding process helps a student understand what the workforce looks like. You can layer the two approaches on top of one another. That’s possible to do. You may have your traditional employment opportunity but also have your “passion work” or your “side hustle.”

How much did the pandemic drive a renewed move toward entrepreneurism in your mind?

PRESSON: Post-pandemic, I think the world has awakened to the fact that a giant majority of employees in this world are employed by small businesses. A small business starting with two people can grow to 15 and can expand later to 30 and so on. The pandemic showed people what is possible online, but also entities have discovered economic development can be done through small business development.

If you are entrepreneurial in outlook, how do you know you need input from others?

PRESSON: One example. I was working with a SEMO alum who was setting up a company in New Jersey, an incredibly bright individual. I did a quick search and found a number of female entrepreneurship groups and organizations in her part of New Jersey, people she could call and help with financing questions and a whole plethora of other things pertaining to that industry.

Personally, I’m always looking for outside opinions. The other day, I was helping a student write some highly specialized resume bullet points. I pulled together every person in the office and we all stood behind my computer, people with different backgrounds, making sure the points made sense to that diverse group of people.