JCC opens Entrepreneurship Center

Each year, Cheryl R. Ditch, an associate business professor at Jefferson Community College, asks her first-year students how many of them would like to start their own businesses. Typically, more than half will raise their hands.

Until this fall, Mrs. Ditch could only offer the business-minded students her own ideas or direct them to another professor.

Recognizing a need on campus for a locus of direction and advice, this fall the college launched the new John Foster Dulles Building, also known as the Dulles Business Division Building, on the JCC campus.

"There are a lot of creative students here, a lot of creative ideas," Mrs. Ditch said. "I think we're going to see some fabulous things come out of here."

The center — a 2,000-square-foot room with a row of computers, a dishwasher-sized color printer, a conference table and the offices of Mrs. Ditch and assistant business professor Brian H. Murray — opened two weeks ago.

Open to students, alumni and participants in college workshops, the center will help new entrepreneurs develop business plans, create marketing materials, design brochures and file legal documents such as trademarks, among other services.

"We'll take them from a seedling, just an idea, and help them along, show them what it takes," said Janet Wells, the new entrepreneurship coordinator.

An adjunct business instructor and Jefferson's Table visiting chef, Ms. Wells said she knows what kind of hurdles students face in starting their own businesses. In 2003, she started a catering company, The Farm House Kitchen.

"I've been there. I know the importance of seeking out information from those who know," she said. "This is a place where you can voice ideas and get help with the next step."

Students already have approached her about starting their own cheese business, pet- care operation and in-home day-care services, she said. Among her culinary students, 15 to 18 are actively pursuing their own business ventures, Ms. Wells said.

"It's a very fertile environment for students," she said. "You don't just have to be a business student to have dreams of owning your own business."

Vicki B. Quigley, dean of the Business Division, said the creation of the Entrepreneurship Center was a five-year process that culminated in JCC officials recommending the formation of such a space in the college's strategic plan.

Ms. Quigley, who agreed to her new position as dean six months ago after hearing about plans for the center, said she hoped the new program would serve as a springboard for ideas.

Ms. Quigley said she hopes the center eventually will reach beyond the college's business students. Photography students could take pictures of products, music students might write theme music and accounting students could sort out the financials of a new business venture, she said, which would add to the portfolios of all involved.

Ms. Quigley plans to work with the college to find ways for students to test-market their products on campus. She said she hopes eventually to set up a small suite of offices with dedicated phone lines next to the center, to serve as an incubator space for emerging ventures.

"Once they are in contact with other people in the community, entrepreneurs could take the ball and run with it," she said. Such a model could turn the community into a fertile ground for new ventures and help retain young graduates in the area.

Jaci L. McGraw, a student with the college's Hospitality and Tourism program, applauds the idea of the Entrepreneurship Center.

Ms. McGraw was the winner of the college's business concept competition, held during the annual Entrepreneurship Day in November.

She used the $1,000 top prize to start a Web site for her business, Antoinettes Creations, which sells bundles of gifts that have been shaped to look like cakes.

On Wednesday, Ms. McGraw came into the center to talk about the next steps for her budding business. The conversation started off with Ms. Wells suggesting that Antoinettes Creations put up a poster in the center.

Ms. McGraw asked about targeting her audiences and suddenly both women were throwing ideas back and forth, becoming more animated as they considered marketing by word-of-mouth, targeting local stores and the merits of trade shows.

When Ms. Wells suggested adding a sample item to the campus bookstore, Ms. McGraw offered to make a cake with a JCC theme.

"I love that idea! Oh my gosh, start thinking about how you would design it," Ms. Well said. "That could be your first retail outlet!"