Business Plans Create Student Entrepreneurial Interest, ASU Dean Says

It has been said that it never hurts to have a plan for the future.

For about 165 business students at Arkansas State University, that plan may lead to an idea that makes their future even brighter.

Dr. Shane Hunt, dean of the ASU College of Business, said college officials began working last fall on a plan to teach freshmen the inner workings of a business plan.

“It is such a positive step … we decided to push to an early place in our curriculum and help our students get a step ahead,” Hunt said.

Last fall, the students participated in a business plan competition on campus with prize money awarded. Hunt said the students had to design a business plan that would solve a particular need – the need for the contest was being able to create a product that could help during a disaster.

One plan involved creating a sensor-driven automated irrigation system while another plan would create a device that stops a person from using a smart phone while driving a car.

Hunt said the students – in groups of two or three – learned a lot about entrepreneurship from creating their products.

“It is really a positive thing. The students get to see business in a different lens,” Hunt said. “We even had some kids talk to their parents about what they learned.”

Greyson Fullbright, a freshman business major from Hot Springs, said the program has helped him and other students get a real-life example of how to start a business.

“Especially in college, most things are taught in a book,” Fullbright said. “There is really not a chance (to learn real life experiences). You get a chance to mold and implement.”

Fullbright said he participated in the business plan competition last fall.

His created a local currency that could be used in a disaster.

The goal was to attract investors to a community at a time when people may face hardship with most if not all of the businesses closed, Fullbright said.

The program has also helped students in getting to know other people including upperclassmen, professors and university officials, Fullbright said.

“I have talked to many students. They have said it is the highlight of their business career,” Fullbright said. “At ASU, there is an emphasis for students, especially freshmen, to branch out.”

Fullbright said the disaster preparation theme for the contest helped to do this.

“It is not just about making money. It is about helping people,” Fullbright said.

Hunt said there has been a lot of interest in entrepreneurship due to television shows like “Shark Tank.” The show, which airs on ABC and content partners KATV and KAIT, takes a person with an idea and puts them together with investors like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Hunt said the show “shows the benefit” of putting together a plan and building it.

GOVERNOR’S CUP
ASU’s College of Business will participate in the 2015 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competition in Little Rock this year, Hunt said.

Letters of intent to participate in the cup are due Friday, Jan. 30.

The competition allows undergraduate and graduate students to come up with a business idea and build it all the way through, according to the competition’s website.

“It really does give incentives for students to come up with their own ideas,” Hunt said of the competition. “Many times, it is not about the company that hires 20,000 people. It is about the ones who hire four or five people. Most, if not all (of our students) are involved in the Governor’s Cup. We compete in the undergraduate and graduate level.”

Hunt said competitions like these also help students, especially first year or first semester students, connect with their goals.

“It helps with the maturation process. It shows that you can take a great idea and business knowledge; and you can do pretty much what you want,” Hunt said.