A Kauffman Foundation report, “The Grass is Indeed Greener in India and China for Returnee Entrepreneurs,” concludes that Indian and Chinese students in America are more likely to return home to pursue their career goals as those economies improve. “Most returnees now say the entrepreneurial advantages are better in their home countries, where they can benefit from lower operating costs, heightened professional recognition, greater access to local markets and a better quality of life than they could attain in the United States,” the report states. While this “reverse brain drain” will impact entrepreneurship in America, as many entrepreneurs are Chinese and Indian immigrants, most returnees still maintain their American contacts, which could create more international business opportunities.
McGill Original Films, a local video production company, created a short video about the recent Extreme Entrepreneurship event at Rock Valley College. CEE’s Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Hicks, was on a discussion panel at the event, and makes an appearance in the video below.
In a humorous and inspiring piece in The Wall Street Journal, Scott Adams (creator of the popular Dilbert comic strip) writes that most college students should learn the skills needed to run a business, which will prepare them for post-graduate life. Mr. Adams touches on several of his clever entrepreneurial ideas as a student that allowed him to master “the strange art of transforming nothing into something,” and he gives some excellent advice to burgeoning entrepreneurs.
Jack Stack is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of SRC Holdings Corporation, an award-winning, employee-owned organization based in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation and its 22 subsidiaries provide a wide range of products and services, including engine remanufacturing, packing and distribution, business consulting and banking. SRC employs 1,600 people and generates annual revenues of about $400 million.
Kaizen: Where did you grow up?
Stack: I was born in Chicago in 1948. My father bought a house in Elmhurst, Illinois, and I lived in Elmhurst from the time that I was about three years old to about 30. Then I was transferred to Springfield, Missouri, where I’ve spent the last 31 years of my life.
Kaizen: It sounds like you were a wild card as a youth—you were kicked out of college and seminary and fired from a job at General Motors?
On Friday, April 15 Rock Valley College will host the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, which takes place from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Student Center Atrium. The RVC website states: “The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour – the first ever collegiate entrepreneur tour – includes keynotes, exhibits, workshops, and question-and-answer sessions with young entrepreneurs. Students will brainstorm with business professionals and meet like-minded students through networking events.” CEE’s Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Hicks, will be a panelist at the event.
Professor Donna Matias of the University of San Diego School of Law describes some of the regulatory obstacles that entrepreneurs — especially those with low income —face:
Also featured in Kaizen are student essay contest winners Sarah Boykin, Shelly Wenzel, and Bethany Borgmann, and guest speakers Michael Strong and Magatte Wade.
A PDF version of Kaizen is available here. We will soon post separately the full interview with Mr. Stack.
If you would like to receive a complimentary issue of the print version of Kaizen, please email your name and postal address to CEE [at] Rockford.edu.
Vedran Vuk, writing for Not PC, lists five common problems with business school students. Ironically, at the top of his list is “Lack of Entrepreneurship.”
We’ve all felt at times that we are not doing what we are meant to do for a living, that we are just punching the clock. When we seek guidance, people tell us to “follow your passion.” Dan Pink challenges the helpfulness of this advice and suggests that by looking at what we do in our spare time we might find a new, more fulfilling career.
A Kauffman Foundation report, “The Grass is Indeed Greener in India and China for Returnee Entrepreneurs,” concludes that Indian and Chinese students in America are more likely to return home to pursue their career goals as those economies improve. “Most returnees now say the entrepreneurial advantages are better in their home countries, where they can benefit from lower operating costs, heightened professional recognition, greater access to local markets and a better quality of life than they could attain in the United States,” the report states. While this “reverse brain drain” will impact entrepreneurship in America, as many entrepreneurs are Chinese and Indian immigrants, most returnees still maintain their American contacts, which could create more international business opportunities.
