IU Southeast’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and Business Transition Initiative has received a $40,000 grant.
Indiana University Southeast has recently become the recipient of a $40,000 Community Collaboration Fund grant for its Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (or ETA) and Business Transition Initiative.
The grant comes from a partnership with a number of organizations from around the region, such as the Chamber of Commerce of Harrison County, the Indiana Small Business Development Center, and the Jeffersonville Township Public Library. The money will allow IU Southeast and IU Innovates to grow its entrepreneurship outreach and education throughout the region by working to increase the awareness of ETA as a useful means of becoming a business owner. The initiative will expand awareness through partnerships with community organizations, hosting and attending regional events, and providing education programming. These activities will connect current business owners planning for succession with aspiring entrepreneurs, and work to strengthen the regional economy, retain jobs, and preserve locally owned businesses.
Some of the grant money will also be set aside so that community members, faculty, and students will have the opportunity to work alongside business buyers and sellers and industry experts as they gain the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct their own business transitions and acquisitions.
Another portion of the grant money will go toward a full day event hosted by IU Southeast which will work to introduce the major concepts to both prospective sellers and buyers. The event will be held in November, as a precursor to the Global Entrepreneurship Week activities. There will then be another set of educational sessions the following January and May, which will go over topics designed in one session for buyers, and in the other for sellers. There will be a second event held next May which will work to continue the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and Business Transition conversation, working to promote the community’s retention of economic power.
Funding for the grant comes from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. This is the first time that IU Southeast has either applied for or received the award. The spending of grant funds will be overseen by Dr. Aycan Kara, IU Southeast Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, who wrote the grant proposal and will act as program manager. Dr. Kara was supported in the grant writing process by IU Innovates and the administration of IU Southeast. Dr. Kara is also planning to work with OneSland Main Street organizations to help increase the initiative’s impact.
In an article posted on Indiana University Southeast’s website, Dr. Kara was quoted about the grant, saying, “At IU Southeast, as in many entrepreneurship programs throughout the region, the focus is often on startups.Our students and other attendees will learn about various aspects of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, connect with individuals who have bought or sold businesses, and engage with experts in the field.”
This past March, the Indiana Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation published a report that showed that more than half of Indiana business owners (nearly 44,000 businesses) are at least 55 years old, a number that represents more than $200 billion in yearly business revenue.
Dr. Kara has noted that she is looking forward to bringing IU’s educational programming to the local community and the entire service region. She said, “It is only natural that many Baby Boomer business owners will seek to retire over the next decade. The challenge before us is to retain these businesses in our communities by ensuring that these owners have viable succession and transition plans.”
National research has shown that nearly all small businesses close rather than sell or transfer to new ownership when the original entrepreneur retires. In the state of Indiana, around $57 billion in revenue from businesses owned by people 55 years or older could be transferred to a new generation of entrepreneurs through acquisition. This is especially possible for businesses that could sell for between $1 and $15 million.
Dr. Kara talked more about how the grant will help create more acquisitions: “This grant will allow us to educate the next generation of potential entrepreneurs to see Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition as a viable career path. It will also allow us to educate current business owners on how transitioning their businesses to family members, key operators, or aspiring owner-operators can help the community thrive, allow the owner to retire with dignity, and preserve the jobs, services, and economic value these businesses provide to our region.”
Chancellor Debbie Ford talked about how the grant shows that there is interest in investing in the future of the Kentuckiana region, primarily through assisting aspiring entrepreneurs find opportunities they might not have initially thought about. She said, “By connecting education with real-world opportunity through the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and Business Transition Initiative, we’re strengthening our regional economy, supporting job creation, and ensuring that valuable businesses and the knowledge behind them remain part of our communities for generations to come.”
More information about Indiana University Southeast can be found at the school’s website.