“Although it was a terrible drawing, it was a powerful visual image that people in Lansing grew up with and drive by every day,” said Forquer, an MSU graduate student.

With that simple idea, a $1,000 investment and some extra space in his basement, his new business — 517 Shirts — was born.

Forquer is one of many individuals throughout Michigan with a vision to reinvent and rebuild the state through innovation and new business.

Changing tides
In the past, when Barb Fails, MSU associate professor of rural entrepreneurship was a student, most people went to college, earned a degree and landed a job they would then work at for 25-30 years, she said.

“Michigan did very well economically. We had an enormous amount of success as a manufacturing state, especially with the auto industry,” Fails said. “But that’s not the case anymore ­— students are looking for alternative pathways.”

The state now is in a global economy, in which people continuously are expected to move around in the job market and create new opportunities, she said.

“Entrepreneurship has always been important, but it’s becoming more so as of lately,” Fails said. “Students are looking at creating their own jobs and becoming their own bosses.”

MSU Provost Kim Wilcox said entrepreneurship is what made Michigan great.

“It was the great leaders of the 20th century, such as Henry Ford, that built our foundation,” Wilcox said. “We need the same type of activity in the 21st century.”

After struggling through the economic recession and losing many of the manufacturing businesses the state was known for, Michigan has to become more diverse when thinking about new business, said Charles Hasemann, executive director of MSU Business Connect.

“The state doesn’t have a very high entrepreneurial culture,” Hasemann said. “We need to start supporting small business in order to provide that diversity.”

Forquer said most people aren’t out just to make a secure living with a mediocre job anymore.

“People are not content with just making a living,” he said. “They want to enjoy what they do.”

If they don’t enjoy what they’re doing, they will move on or create opportunities for themselves, he said.

Now, statewide economic officials are looking to get Michigan back to a state of prosperity.

Paula Sorrell, managing director of entrepreneurial services for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, or MEDC, said the state has many strengths to grow off.

“Right now, there is an opportunity and need to diversify the state’s revenue base,” Sorrell said.

With the help of universities and research institutions throughout the state, Sorrell said Michigan is in the process of creating different types of services to create next level jobs and revenue.

“Just like the auto industry grew up to be a key component, we will see new groups of companies doing the same thing,” she said.

Blooming businesses
Throughout the past few years, MSU has worked to grow and expand the university’s entrepreneurial community through various support groups and instructional programs to help restructure the state’s economy, Wilcox said.

“A lot of students are interested in this area,” he said. “We want to help them pursue their dreams.”

The MSU Entrepreneurship Network, or msuENet, was created in the summer of 2010 by a group of MSU students and faculty members in hopes of connecting entrepreneurs through networking and cross-disciplinary education, said Jordan Skole, a msuENet new economy consultant.

The network, which offers students and other community members entrepreneurial curriculum both for credit and not for credit, awards a certificate in entrepreneurship, showing that person is serious about the commitment, Skole said.

“It’s a way to provide extra education in entrepreneurship,” Skole said.

Approximately 45 students currently are going through the 18-month program. About 20 MSU students are taking the courses online, and some individuals are participating from locations in Saudi Arabia and West Africa, he said.

Participants work with a team of faculty and community members to develop a plan and lay out future goals, Skole said.

“The last step is tackling that goal,” he said.

Skole said in entrepreneurship, support is necessary.

“When I was at MSU, there weren’t a lot of resources available to students,” he said. “Letting them know that there’s people out there who not only believe in them but are also willing to help makes a huge difference — that family is invaluable.”

Created this past spring, The Hatch, 325 E. Grand River Ave., is another resource available to students working on entrepreneurial projects, said student director and economics senior Jake L’Ecuyer.

The incubator is a “co-working” space in which students can grow and thrive through collaboration, he said.

“If a student wants to launch a business, they need a nurturing environment to do so,” L’Ecuyer said. “It’s a great place to come if you don’t know where to go.”

With a monthly $75 membership fee, students have 24-hour access to the office space, which includes a work area and conference center.

“Enterprise opportunities resources like this are essential to building an entrepreneur community,” L’Ecuyer said. “If we create a culture of new ideas in Michigan, it will create jobs and prosperity.”

Although graduate student Barbara Hawkins didn’t use any services available in the area, she came up with an idea that had potential on her own.

Sparked by her own need for a temporary laptop replacement, Hawkins, along with a close friend, decided to create a website where people could rent consumer electronics, such as laptops and iPads, at a low cost. After much planning and discussion, they decided to call the online company Zoink!

“It comes from the idea that you should try it before you buy it,” Hawkins said. “There’s no company that really does this at an affordable price.”

Hawkins didn’t receive a formal education in business or entrepreneurship.

Instead, she used the internet as her main source of information and contacted businesses, such as Chegg textbook rentals, for guidance.

“I feel that we’ve gotten everything we needed through people in the community,” she said.

Start-up success
For many young business owners, failure can be discouraging.
It’s the will to pick yourself up and try again that sets you apart from the rest of the pack, Skole said.

As an MSU alumnus as well as young business owner, Skole said he understands the struggles that many students and young entrepreneurs are faced with on a day-to-day basis.

After starting his first business at 18, which later fell through, Skole realized that success is something that doesn’t come easy. With a few more tries, he came up with an idea that stuck.

Skole launched a small online marketing company called Robot Couture that teaches small business owners how to leverage the Internet and expand their reach through website and social media use.

“It’s nothing like I planned on doing, but I saw the opportunity for success and went for it,” he said.

After helping someone else start up a business, MSU alumna Michelle Gross realized that she also had the necessary skills to create her own.

“I had a boost of confidence,” Gross said. “I couldn’t stop brainstorming.”

With a push from her friends and family and a love for fashion, Gross founded Jeanologie, 303 M.A.C. Ave, a small clothing boutique that opened July 2010.

“I would have never guessed I would be running my own business,” she said. “The hard part was realizing that I was capable and gaining the confidence to take the risk.”

Although Gross said a college degree is not necessary to start up a successful business, she said it was extremely helpful for her in the process.

“Having a degree from MSU has helped create a stronger bond with the community and gain credibility,” she said. “The community has been incredibly welcoming and supportive of young entrepreneurs.”

Gross said she would recommend that students or young business owners who are looking to start up their own businesses be involved in their community and take advantages of opportunities targeted at young entrepreneurs.

Taking a risk
Forquer, who currently is studying music, said he has always wanted to start his own business, but he didn’t have any entrepreneurial experience prior to 517 Shirts’ official launch Sept. 31.

“This is completely new to me,” he said. “I’m learning everything as I go.”

After doing a lot of research and going through the long process of starting up his business — which included applying to be a limited liability corporation through the state, setting aside finances, creating a website, making the designs and discovering a way to actually print and distribute the shirts — Forquer said it has been a fun experience and an overall success.

“It’s definitely a risk, but I have a lot of faith in these designs,” he said. “People are really excited about them.”