Sophomores who are aspiring entrepreneurs can apply for scholarships from the Kehoe Family Initiative for Entrepreneurial Excellence, a program that gives them the tools to grow their business. Admittance to the program includes a scholarship, according to Jennifer Lutz, career placement associate and director of the Kehoe fellowship. The application is available on Handshake.
Lutz asked students what business they would build with unlimited time and money. Answers ranged from equestrian photography to high-end fashion for female shooters.
Through networking and skill workshops, students have the opportunity to build the relationships that will help their business grow, according to Lutz.
“We bring in attorneys, we bring in accountants, we bring in members of the board of trustees, and they all own a business, so they can speak to the entrepreneurial journey,” Lutz said. “They give advice from ‘do you need an LLC or an S Corp’ to ‘what do I do about taxes?’ These are the pertinent things that young business owners should know.”
Senior Nathan Rastovac joined the Kehoe fellowship as a sophomore with the goal of giving students who live far from campus a safe way to store their belongings over breaks. He found that the businesses that often dominate his market only contract with schools that have more than 10,000 students. Rastovac seized a wide-open market in Hillsdale. He said Kehoe helped him find a niche for his business.
“The connections I made from the very beginning and the confidence I’ve gained and the support has been phenomenal. I went from just a handful of clients my first summer to now more than 30 students using Stores for Students,” Rastovac said.
Junior Luke Burmeister runs a business called Atlas Yard & Home Maintenance that provides services such as landscaping, junk removal, and general home and yard improvements. Burmeister said he has seen growth in himself and his business since he joined Kehoe.
“The Kehoe fellowship has helped me to build my business from scratch, even with no prior business experience, by providing direction and guidance through the examples of successful entrepreneurs,” Burmeister said. “Kehoe has strengthened my entrepreneurial abilities significantly in terms of practical business knowledge and the ability to take consistent action.”
Rastovac also said the hands-on approach of the Kehoe fellowship has been a driver of the improvements he has seen in himself and in his business.
“Other colleges are mainly academic. We are mainly experience-based,” Rastovac said. “Rather than reading from a textbook, you’re throwing yourself into the fire making connections, building on an idea, and ultimately filling a market need to make lives better.”
