Business Opportunities Weblog

May 23, 2006 by Dane Carlson | 3 Comments

Startup Journal:

Internships typically are associated with big companies. But small businesses can reap some of the biggest benefits.

Dawn Cherek, who owns a chain of hair salons in the Madison, Wis., area, was having trouble drawing student customers to her newest salon, just blocks from the University of Wisconsin campus. A friend suggested she contact the university to see whether there were any marketing majors who could hammer out a plan to lure those potential customers.

With the help of the university’s career-services center, Ms. Cherek quickly posted a notice on the school’s career-services Web site in March: “Progressive, Upscale Hair Salon Chain Looking For Two (2) Ambitious Marketing Student Partners to Create and Help Execute a Retail Business Marketing Plan.” She labeled it as a “case study, part-time job opportunity” with pay of $8 an hour for four weeks.

Ms. Cherek received two responses within a couple of weeks of posting the notice, and more have come in since. She expects the interns she hires not only to help her find customers on campus, but also to check out the local competition and find ways to burnish the store’s image.

For small-business owners like Ms. Cherek, interns can be a cheap source of talent — and an efficient way to evaluate potential future full-time employees. And while small firms sometimes find it hard to attract interns, it’s getting easier, as many colleges help companies identify students who prefer small firms to larger ones.

Photo by bunchofpants.

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Tags: Employees, Operations