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In weak economy, city trains entrepreneurs
When Michael Bloomberg was laid off from his Wall Street job 30 years ago, he started a company that eventually made him the richest man in New York.
And while that goal may not be realistic for the average small business owner, a group of aspiring entrepreneurs got a pep talk Monday from the billionaire mayor at a city-sponsored training program for start-ups.
“Out-work the other guy,” Bloomberg told the 28 students. “Be lucky. But that comes out of hard work.”The six-session course, which is free and began Monday, includes workshops on marketing a new business, assembling a work force and budgeting. The students were selected from about 200 applicants based on their business plans.
Another class will be offered next month for current business owners looking to adapt to the changing economic landscape.
Lynn Gray, 59, of Manhattan, lost her job at Lehman Brothers in October and hopes to start a recruiting firm targeting college students.
“It’s phenomenal,” she said of the class. “We’re learning from each other and it creates a networking platform.”
City officials predict about 1,000 people this year will enroll in the courses, which are run by the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes entrepreneurship.
Two-thirds of the current class once worked in the financial sector.
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