On January 14, the Deerfield Men of Color Alliance (DMOC) and the Entrepreneurship Club organized a three hour long session as in an introduction to entrepreneurship through a lecture with Professor Max Miller. Professor Miller who is the associate Professor of Business and Entrepreneurship and director of Entrepreneurship Studies at Washington & Jefferson College. He is also athe college friend of Sscience tTeacher Mr. Perry, and reached out to Mr. Perry and leaders of DMOC and Entrepreneurship Cclub to make this event possible.
In the ever-changing dynamic between global and domestic economies and the competition that drives economies forward, the study of entrepreneurship at a young age has become even more crucial as the United States economy has become even more competitive and run by large-cap companies such as the Magnificent 7 and other Fortune 500 sector leaders. Because of this, getting an education in entrepreneurship as early as possible has also become important to give individuals advantages over others. And although the access to these opportunities are limited, according to Professor Millers, events “such as the lecture [he gave] are great for high schoolers to gain exposure and crucial knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship.”
Another way Professor Miller said to help gain an entrepreneurial mindset is just performing well in school and receiving proper “education and opportunities.” Although Professor Miller started off in law school, which is where he got to know Mr. Perry, the fundamentals of entrepreneurship were already in his tool case simply because of the importance stress he always placed on education. The habits that students acquire by being efficient, productive, and having a fantastic work ethic will later give them an edge against other entrepreneurs later in their career. Entrepreneurs deal with “all kinds of challenges, at every moment” said Professor Miller and by taking up the challenge of becoming an entrepreneur, you are committing yourself to a life of no guarantee. There is no consistent income, no confirmed future stability, and no constant drive to push entrepreneurs to keep on continuing on their journey. The lows will be hurtful, but staying dedicated to achieve something bigger than yourself is what makes the “appeal of entrepreneurship and being an entrepreneur worth it.”
Lastly, Professor Miller centered his talk around the biggest asset an entrepreneur can have in order to achieve success, which is immersion. Being an entrepreneur, especially a novice entrepreneur, like which are most high school, college, and graduate students, there is much that one doesn’t know about the economy, about how receptive the market will be for their service or product, if it will truly be a winner or a bust. And without a survivor’s bias, sadly most entrepreneurs never achieve what they were truly working towards, because of a lack of experience, innovation, and other market factors. Or simply many times they are just unlucky. As an entrepreneur there are always many factors stacked against you, some of which you can’t avoid, but many that you actually can. And the best way to avoid those factors is by immersing yourself in your respective sector. Professor Miller explains that “through immersion” you get to know a lot more about sector leaders, their alpha, what it takes to break into the market and be successful, and how to model your own business for it to attract consumers. And although “immersion is at many times, difficult and stressful,”, Professor Miller stresses that immersion is truly “the best thing an entrepreneur can experience” on their way to success.
Overall, the lecture that Professor Miller gave was considered a huge success, and the twenty plus people who attended attended on their own volition because they care about knowing what it takes to be an entrepreneur in today’s economic climate. Mr. Perry and Mr. Miller also enjoyed it, and Mr. Miller hopes for more opportunities like this to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.