BEST PEOPLE TO ANSWER 1. Those who have bootstrapped their own business without any support from family, friends, investors (especially those who come from a challenging background) 2. Those who have worked with low-income entrepreneurs who are pursuing "Main Street" businesses ... restaurants, car repair, home repair, courier services, shoe shining, etc. BACKGROUND ON WHO WE ARE For the past ten years, the Prison Entrepreneurship Program has offered "entrepreneurship boot camps" in prison, coached incarcerated participants through writing a full business plan and then helped them to refine their plans through "Shark Tank"-style pitch events to executive volunteers who visit them inside a Texas prison. Our graduates now earn a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business. We then continue to support these graduates after release from prison, providing them with housing, job placement and start-up support. We have had 150 of our graduates start their own businesses, including two that are now generating over $1MM in annual sales. While we are proud of these results, we want to do even more in the future. Your advice could be very beneficial to us as we expand our post-release support for small business development. (Learn more about us at http://www.PEP.org)
Have you considered speaking with people involved in helping veterans through their military-to-civilian transitions? Re-entering the civilian work force after 6, 10, or 20 years in the disciplined, insulated environment of the armed forces is a bit like getting out of jail. Not that I regard my own Navy background as a prison sentence, by any means! Quite the contrary! Only it's a disorienting readjustment that poses career and personal challenges very similar to what former prisoners must be facing.
It may be worthwhile to compare notes with programs that assist veterans with job placement, career retraining, franchises, and startups. Perhaps some veterans would themselves be able to share tips. Most people, when they get out of the military, plug themselves into a salaried position in another established organization. But quite a few do try their hand at startups. Since their network outside the military is often minimal, many veterans have a tough road too and will probably sympathize with what your program is doing.
Incidentally, if your program (or a sister program) needs a name, I've been holding onto this one for just such an endeavor:
OffParole.com
Answered 10 years ago
Access 20,000+ Startup Experts, 650+ masterclass videos, 1,000+ in-depth guides, and all the software tools you need to launch and grow quickly.
Already a member? Sign in