Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Located in the Haworth College of Business, this center brings together community members, faculty, business experts and students to provide a setting where students can develop and commercialize their ventures.
Are you a creative, driven individual interested in building or managing your own business? The entrepreneurship minor at Western Michigan University may be right for you! The minor in entrepreneurship is designed to combine in-class education with hands-on experiential learning. You’ll learn to:
- Identify entrepreneurial opportunities
- Build a viable business
- Develop capabilities in idea generation, opportunity recognition, resource acquisition and financial management
Entrepreneurial opportunities at WMU
Small business training and workshops
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation serves students and community members alike! The center is focused on helping small to mid-sized companies navigate their next phase of growth by providing training on important topics.
Fall 2024 programming
Communications expert Jennifer Lentner will conduct three workshops to give you the tools you need to develop communication strategies and skills to advance your business. Each workshop is held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Haymarket Building in downtown Kalamazoo.
Communicating effectively through times of change
Wednesday, October 16
In this session, executives, functional leaders, managers and communicators will learn:
- How effective communication contributes to the success of change initiatives.
- How to build a communication strategy that will address all stakeholder groups.
- How to help employees understand and adapt to change and reduce fatigue.
- How to engage employees in change so they will be invested in the outcome.
Communicating business strategy, goals and results
Wednesday, October 23
In this session, executives and leaders will learn:
- How to introduce a new strategic plan and the priorities that will help achieve it.
- How to connect employees' work to company strategy and goals.
- How to communicate progress and success.
- How to drive engagement through success stories.
Giving managers the tools to be confident and effective messengers
Wednesday, October 30
In this session, executives, leaders and communicators will learn:
- Why the message cascade often fails.
- How to meet managers where they are on the change curve.
- How to drive accountability for communication by including managers in the process.
- What tools will help managers feel equipped to deliver all types of messages.