ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION IN THE INNER CITIES

Published on Saturday, 29 October 2011 04:00 Written by Jack Finkelstein Hits: 713

Submitted by Jack Finkelstein

ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION FOR YOUNG ADULS IN THE INNER CITIES

This is an overview of why young adults in the inner cities need an entrepreneurial education.

Problem: TEC Entrepreneurial Program helps young adults with a high school or GED degree in inner cities learn the basics of starting and running a business. These individuals represent the highest unemployment rate (approx.: 19%) and 1/3 of the U.S. Population (over 100 million people). TEC teaches them how to approach business and the responsibility of becoming an entrepreneur. They need jobs, but they live in places where there are very few jobs available.

Solution: TEC is in the process of purchasing a nationally accredited Title IV vocational school that will qualify our target market for Federal Student Loans and grants. This is the key revenue source for our tuition of $15,000. Every student will be pre-qualified and approved for funding before they start class. Education is a high priority for Congress as expenditures total over $100 billion dollars each year. In addition, we are creating jobs for all TEC graduates – a goal they highly support.

Market Summary: TEC target market primarily represents young adults in the inner cities. Approximately 20 million people require our program and an additional 2 million young adults enter our market every year. We can reach our target market by promoting our program in high schools and GED classes. It is important to note that approximately 50% of those attending college also drop out. They are also included in our target market. We differentiate ourselves by uniquely offering a guaranteed job to every one of our graduates. Business & Revenue Model: The TEC Center Program is needed in every city across the country. We will first concentrate our efforts in NY, NJ, and PA starting 2 schools in each state with 150 students in each school. We will receive $15,000 per student from government funding for each 9 month Entrepreneurial course realizing $2.2 Million in revenues from each school. We receive 1/3 of the revenues at the start of semester and an additional 1/3 every 3 months. Profitability begins the day classes start. Since our overhead is 20% and we are only looking for an investment of $400,000, the return on investment can be realized by the end of the first year. By the end of the first year we anticipate to expand to other regions within the U.S. Progress: Up to now we are self-funded with approximately $50,000 in available funds. We have formed a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation for donations and grants and a for-profit corporation for the startups. We have identified over 20 businesses and positions for our graduates (store front, sales, and working for TEC). We have identified 3 nationally accredited schools with Title IV abilities that are candidates for acquisition. We are currently looking for space in Harlem for our first school.

Needs and Next Steps: We are looking for a nationally accredited school with Title IV abilities. Accreditation has to allow us to add our Entrepreneurial Program.  Accreditations like NACCAS do not allow this. Would prefer to spend as little as possible since we would like to add our Entrepreneurial Program to the curriculum. We are self funded and are looking for additional funds to buy the school. 

This is not just about a great business venture - it is about a movement that can provide jobs, partnerships, and opportunities to individuals who can not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Jack Finkelstein

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