Stimulating new business ideas

Now with the garment factories closing and workers losing their jobs, individuals in a position to make decisions that could improve the economic situation are finally taking it seriously—or are they? What’s going on now should not be a surprise to anyone, and the fallout will have a devastating affect on everyone who directly or indirectly depends on the revenue from these factories.

Many have written in this paper about the dire situation with the Retirement Fund, uncontrolled deficit spending, an investor-UNfriendly attitude, and the need to attract new, practical businesses to offset the loss of garment factories and the jobs they provide.

In an effort to generate new business ideas that could encourage economic growth, the Northern Marianas College Business Department and Small Business Development Center are coordinating a business concept competition.

The competition is designed to achieve four objectives: Promote economic development in the CNMI by stimulating viable business ideas; encourage business community mentors to serve as a resource for NMC students pursuing entrepreneurial interests; provide NMC students with hands-on professional experience through which classroom concepts and theories can be applied and tested; and enhance general understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship to the CNMI economy.

Competitions like this can be found on Guam, Hawaii, and many universities in the United States. Some of them are very popular and the entrants often implement their ideas and plans to start successful businesses. It also allows budding entrepreneurs to gain valuable feedback and attract possible investors.

Some of the rules and guidelines for the competition are that each team must have at least two, but not more than five members on it, and at least one of the team members is a currently enrolled NMC student. Each team is encouraged to have a mentor who is a businesses owner or manager in the community. The role of the mentor is to provide advice to improve the concept and encouragement to develop the idea. Having a mentor is encouraged, and if a team would like a mentor the SBDC can assist in that effort.

In addition, an acceptable business concept should be: legal; a for-profit business venture; and a business that could be implemented in the CNMI.

If you have a good idea for a business that you have been mulling around for some time and would like to enter the competition, go to the NMC Small Business Development Center (located next to the CUC water tank) and pick up an application form and the requirements for the competition. The deadline for entry is Friday, April 1. The written report discussing the concept must be in by Friday, April 29.

The NMC Business Department faculty will review the submitted reports and select the top five concepts. On Tuesday, May 17th, the five teams with the best concepts will then have a chance to make a presentation to a group of individuals who regularly evaluate business plans.

The winners will be announced at an awards banquet on Saturday, May 21. All of the five teams will receive a cash prize depending on their placement. First prize is worth $1,500, second is $1,000, and the third place team will receive $500. The other two teams will receive honorable mentions and $250 each.

The emphasis is not so much on writing a full-blown business plan, but instead, presenting a sound business concept and doing the research to determine if it makes sense to start in the CNMI. The application will have the guidelines for the report, and the SBDC plans to conduct some workshops for individuals who would like assistance to develop their idea and write the brief concept report.

It is hoped that this concept competition will become an annual event that will stimulate many new business ideas. Even more desirable is that many of those ideas will move from the planning stage to being fully implemented and providing a good income for its owners and jobs for employees.

If you have any questions or would like to pick up an application, you can call the SBDC at 235-1551 or visit their office on the NMC campus.

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)