By Austin Light
CHARLOTTE — Chuck Bamford, professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at Queens University’s McColl School of Business, wants to take things “beyond the classroom” with the new Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. To do that, he enlisted the help of two successful entrepreneurs.
Joan Zimmerman is the founder of Southern Shows Inc., which runs 21 major exhibit shows in 11 markets, while Louis Foreman is the founder and CEO of Enventys, a product development firm. Foreman also created the Emmy Award-winning PBS show “Everyday Edisons.”
Each has dedicated three to four hours each week to be on-site at the McColl School and available to students, Bamford said.
“The students will hear the same kind of things from them that they would in a classroom, but it’s different when you hear it from the people going through it,” he said.
Zimmerman said she joined the center, which opened Sept. 10, because it would create the time needed to teach true entrepreneurial skills.
“I have spoken several times to the McColl MBA classes, and the major interest from students was always, how do I start my own business? How do I grow my fledgling business?” Zimmerman said. “There was just never enough time, in a classroom setting, to give the kind of advice each individual needed. So, when the CEL became a reality and I was asked to be Entrepreneur in Residence, I had to say yes.”
Foreman had similar reasons for getting involved.
“This is something brand-new to the community. When they decided to open it up, what they really needed was someone to provide guidance to the students and community, and I was honored to be asked to do that,” he said.
In addition to one-on-one advice, the entrepreneurs will offer two seminars a month. Zimmerman said the school’s past seminars have given her a positive impression of future entrepreneurs.
“I’ve learned there are some very smart young people out there. They do more research than we did when we started our business. They are not afraid of asking for help and not afraid of work,” she said. “I always leave a class feeling I learned more from the students than they learned from me.”
“What encourages me is that these individuals come at it with a sense of fresh perspective,” Foreman said. “Most importantly, the eternal optimism is refreshing to see.”
Despite the fact that the center is less than 10 days old, Bamford said the response has been “huge.”
“I’m not sure [Zimmerman and Foreman] know how much interest there is — we’re trying to shield them a bit, because we don’t want to overwhelm them — the students are pouring in, we have sold out courses, and a waiting list to get in,” Bamford said.
Plans for the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership have been underway for a few years now. Bamford came to Queens in 2005 with the goal of increasing entrepreneurship efforts at the McColl School of Business, and at first that meant getting courses started.
“We were teaching just one course in entrepreneurship. Now we have a minor in entrepreneurship for all undergrads and extensive entrepreneur courses in the executive MBA program,” Bamford said. “Now we have momentum. Now we can take it to the next level.”
Bamford, who has big plans for the center, said that if things continue to develop at this speed, it might not be long before the community starts to benefit.
“My goal with this would be that over some period of time, hopefully sooner rather than later, we could have a center director, and we could be sending teams to compete in competitions, possibly do micro funds for students and entrepreneurs, and hold seminars for the general public,” Bamford said.
Foreman and Zimmerman are on the same page, both saying they hope to see Charlotte become an entrepreneurial hub.
“I see us as the ‘innovation center’…the ‘go to’ place when businesses, small and large, have ideas, questions or challenges about which they’d like objective discussion,” Zimmerman said.
This fall, the center will host a half-day seminar called “Innovate Out of the Recession.”
“The McColl School and the CEL are in the right place at the right time to make a major impact and keep our region rich in creative entrepreneurship,” Zimmerman said. “I will definitely stay involved so long as I can provide a useful service.”
1 Comment
11/22/2009 at 12:10 AM
I am interested in learning more and staying on the distribution list of the Center of Entrepreneurship Leadership. I am an EMBA alumni, class of 1996.
Thank you.