S M A L L B U S I N E
By David Leder Growing entrepreneurship program trains independent thinkers who can turn their interests into careers
and build on those ideas,” he said. “You need to be smart at something else first, and then turn it into something bigger based on your expertise.” Jimmy Mulinski is one recent CWU Business graduate who found a way to merge his passion with his work. The 2019 alumnus has always enjoyed working on cars, so he leveraged his love for auto detailing and started Detail Company Seattle during his senior year. Only two years after rolling out his new venture, Mulinski is servicing high-end cars for customers across the Puget Sound area. After overcoming some challenges over the past year due to the pandemic, business has been booming throughout the spring. “At first, I was afraid of what might happen,” he said about March 2020, when the statewide shutdown order went into effect. “But after a couple months, I realized that I could still work on cars without much face-to-face interaction. So, I just kept at it, building up my clientele. Now, I’m booked out for at least a month.” Mulinski said his first entrepreneurship course at CWU helped him decide on a business idea that suited his interests and his background. With help from the faculty and some outside advisors, he developed a business plan in the spring of 2019, and decided to start spreading the word about Detail Company. “I just started putting out some marketing, building a website, and growing my social media presence,” said Mulinski, who would hitch a trailer to his old Subaru Legacy and drive to Seattle for detailing gigs while still taking classes in Ellensburg. “I would stay up until 2 a.m. every night, just grinding it out,” he added. “But I really believed in my idea, and I knew I could hit some new clientele with my marketing efforts. For me, it was just being aware of my situation and knowing what my skills were. Two years later, it has become my full-time job.”
When starting your own business, you can’t rely on hard work alone. Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires more than just blood, sweat, and tears. You must be emotionally invested in your product or service, or you may end up like 20 percent of U.S. businesses that fail after the first year (30 percent after year two). The entrepreneurship program at CWU intends to make sure its students are the exception. Director Bill Provaznik and his colleagues know that developing future small business owners requires more than a couple of years of management and accounting classes. Preparing entrepreneurs for the real world is more about training independent thinkers who can turn their interests into career opportunities. “This program is all about innovation,” said Provaznik, who started the entrepreneurship minor in 2016 with the help of Roy Savoian, former College of Business dean. “We’re looking for people who have a specific interest that they’d like to explore and then turn it into something using their expertise. Being
an entrepreneur is more than just starting a business; you have to be passionate about what you’re selling.” After five successful years of offering the minor, the College of Business will be introducing a new BA in entrepreneurship this fall. Enrollment has been promising so far, with about a dozen
students committed to pursuing the entrepreneurship degree as a second major. That means artists, musicians, and educators will be commingling with scientists, engineers, and accountants—a dynamic that Provaznik is very excited about. “We look forward to working with more students who can take what they’re already interested in
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