First Ever Northern MN Entrepreneur Academy Comes To BSU

The next big businessperson could be studying at Bemidji State University this week.

The first ever Northern Minnesota Entrepreneur Academy is being held on campus. It’s designed for students aged 14 to 18 and is meant to give them a basic understanding of entrepreneurship and owning a small business. The director of the academy says he hopes the students start thinking of entrepreneurship as a serious career.

Ryan Zemek, the Headwaters Regional Development Commission Economic Director and the director of the Northern Minnesota Entrepreneur Academy, says, “They’re going to be able to better understand how business works in general which is going to make them better employees. They’re going to be more financially literate and they’re going to be better community members but for some of them, they’re going to go on and be entrepreneurs and small business owners in our communities, and the skills we provide them with are basic financial business understanding, marketing skills, understanding how to reach a target market, who their target market is and then taking advantage of those opportunities they identify.”

The academy was organized by the Headwaters Regional Development Commission. Registration for next year’s camp will open in September.