Remember those summer days you spent building neighborhood lemonade stands? You dreamed big and put all of your efforts into creating the biggest and best stand out there. Wouldn’t the ultimate dream job be the one that you built, like the stand, from the ground up? From your own idea to setting your own work hours?
Syracuse University’s Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp, a training program led by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship in the Whitman School of Management, inspires participants to spark their entrepreneurial and creative spirit in a way similar to the excitement experienced when building lemonade stands as a kid. Through a series of sessions, the bootcamp assists current and aspiring entrepreneurs in developing the skills necessary to take their idea or existing venture to the next level.
Now in its ninth year, the bootcamp runs for six consecutive Saturdays beginning Oct. 8 and concludes with a graduation ceremony Nov. 12. The program is designed for new business owners, or those with a dream or idea.
“The bootcamp was a life-changing experience for me,” says 2010 participant Leah Cahill, founder of TogaLu Designs. “The program helped me build the foundation and confidence that I needed to take the next steps in developing my business and played a pivotal role in strengthening my position as an entrepreneur.”
Bootcamp classes are taught by a team of award-winning SU professors and feature guest entrepreneurs sharing stories of challenges and triumphs along their entrepreneurial journey. Topics covered include business plans, marketing on a shoestring budget, financing a startup, operations and logistics and legal issues. Since the program’s inception, more than 450 local entrepreneurs have been trained, many of whom are operating successful businesses today.
The Syracuse Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp will be held at the Whitman School building, 721 University Ave. Tuition for the six-week program is $650, with a limited number of $200 scholarships available to qualified applicants. Sessions take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Click here to register or contact Lindsay Wickham, Falcone Center events and communications manager, at (315) 443-3550 or lwickham@syr.edu.
The Syracuse Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp is made possible by the support of the Whitman School and the Central New York Business Journal.
