Students of Enterprise
When they weren't studying, these students made the smart choice to pursue franchise ownership--and learned that a college education is about more than what goes on in the classroom.
College has long been a time to drink in knowledge, grow
personally and begin exploring career options. It's still that,
but something about the college experience is shifting. With the
astonishing business successes and media exposure of their peers,
many college students are realizing they don't have to walk
down the job search road. Today, some form of entrepreneurship
training is available at more than 1,500 colleges and universities
nationwide, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. And
the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization, a Chicago-based
organization that supports college students who want to start
businesses, has grown from zero to 14,000 members since its
inception five years ago, with entrepreneurship clubs on 120
university campuses nationwide. College students are purchasing
franchises, too-and while some feel students might be too "wet
behind the ears" to helm franchises, college franchisees are
finding that ambition and effort, not candles on a birthday cake,
determine success. While practically everyone has heard of Subway, not many people
know that its founder, Fred DeLuca, started the sandwich juggernaut
as a 17-year-old college student in 1965. Nearly 40 years later,
he's inspiring other young people to choose their own
destinies. Working at the local Subway has become almost a rite of
passage for teenagers, as it was for Jeff Smith back in 1994. He,
like DeLuca, was 17 when he began his relationship with
Subway-Smith worked there part time during high school and college
before graduating to the next level at Subway: ownership. Smith isn't the only early achiever looking beyond the
corporate path. Brandon Gough, president of Juice It Up! Franchise
Corp., notes a recent increase in younger applicants interested in
the smoothie franchise. Gough says that while just "a
handful" of the existing franchisees are college-aged, Juice
It Up! is very receptive to taking on more youthful franchisees.
"College students who don't have the business background
to be successful on an independent level are able to take advantage
of the opportunity that a franchise provides," he says. Content Continues Below
For two years, Smith dedicated himself to sub sandwich artistry
at the Subway in Cypress, California, before moving to the nearby
Garden Grove location while attending college. But Smith realized a
degree wasn't what he wanted. He was ready to start a
career. Idle chitchat with the Garden Grove franchisee led to bigger
things when Smith said he was interested in purchasing a Subway.
When that owner found out the Cypress franchisees wanted to sell
their location, he told them of Smith's interest. "I was
looking [for an opportunity], and this was the only job I had had
in my life," says Smith, now 27. "It all just came
together at that point."
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