Can each student launch a legal business venture with only their money in two weeks, then by the tenth week of the semester break even and be profitable?  Yes!  is the answer.

I created a course four years ago based on these goals. Approximately ten weeks into the semester all the students in this class must have customers, break even and be profitable. They must be seriously developing an income generating startup venture that will “hire†them upon their graduation. How is this possible, when almost all text books state that a startup will take “one†to “three†to “five†years to break even?

The time line is simple and very demanding, but also very positive and supportive. “Fast failure†and “pivoting†are a given. Conservation of resources and customer acquisition and retention become each student’s daily goal.

One week before the semester starts, I email to every student the Syllabus, the Course Description, a Pre-Startup/ 1^st12 month’s Cash Flow Proforma work sheet and a Questionnaire. The later encourages each student to think and write about their entrepreneurial experiences, if any, their personal strengths, interests, hobbies and their current business ideas. This Questionnaire must be e-mail returned to me before school starts.  This gives me an insight into the drives, desires and skills of each student before I greet them in the first class.

This “Welcome Package†alerts them to the facts that this is a very real-world course where the possibility of failure is losing their own money (not anyone else’s) and not realizing their entrepreneurial dreams. It also shows them that the course goals during this semester are to help them launch a financially viable and sustainable business and to become very self-confident presenters and successful entrepreneurs.

This paper/presentation and workshop are to help educators to learn how to teach their students to be real time financially independent entrepreneurs.