In this time of economic crisis, the Entrepreneurship Club at Luther College continues its support of students who create their own jobs by starting their own businesses.

“We provide tools and incentives to students who have started their own business or are thinking about doing so,” Deji Ojo (‘09), president of E-Club, said. “In the present economic crisis the country is facing, an entrepreneur is one of the best jobs to have — you are your own boss ... You don’t need to worry about being laid off.”

Professor of Management Rich Leake, who helped found E-Club in 1994, is the club’s faculty advisor. Leake agreed that entrepreneurs play a huge role in the current U.S. economy.

“Eighty percent of the new jobs created in our economy in the last 25 years have been in small businesses,” Leake said.

The club is open to all members of the Luther community and meets once a month or more under the leadership of Ojo and other members who serve on the executive board.

“Although commonly thought to be a ‘business majors’ organization, the reality is that for many years more than half of the E-Club students have come from other majors,” Leake said. “All students are welcome as long as they have an interest in entrepreneurship and are willing to work on club projects.”

Fittingly, E-Club runs its own business to support its activities. Members participate in a refrigerator rental business at the beginning of the year and the apparel sale for the Economics and Business Departments. According to Leake, E-Club does not receive money directly from Luther’s student activities fund; it relies on its own income. It also applie for and has received grants set up for entrepreneurs through the Estrem Endowment for Entrepreneurial Studies, for which any student can apply.

E-Club also performs outreach activities to area schools by providing educational projects for local students. It also attends regional and national conferences, as well as organizes paid internships with local businesses for its members.

Currently, E-Club is doing consulting, including market research, for the Spectrum Network in downtown Decorah. Spectrum offers a broad range of services to people with disabilities to help these men and women live and work independently in the community.

“The E-Club is providing Spectrum with a consulting service project,” Ojo said. “We decided to undertake this project because we believed it was a great opportunity for members of the club to have an experience with business consulting and market research.”

Another entrepreneurial opportunity for students on campus is the Entrepreneurial Showcase. While not an E-Club project, the annual event, run by the Economics and Business Departments, recognizes students’ entrepreneurial achievements. Finalists are chosen by community and college personnel and are awarded prize money and scholarships. E-Club participates by serving as hosts and helping with the showcase, as well as a supplying a number of winners over the years, though it is not a designed connection.

As a student organization, E-Club’s primary goal is to support student entrepreneurs and the principles of free enterprise at Luther and in the surrounding communities.

“It’s a club that can serve as a support group for business owners,” Leake said. “In the business world, you talk to other business owners. As a student that’s harder to do.”

Leake said more students are running their own businesses than most realize, and some students don’t even realize that they are entrepreneurs.

Karishma Sushilkumar (‘10), vice president of public relations for E-Club, is pleased with Luther’s club for entrepreneurs.

“Free enterprise is the first and foremost human action that galvanizes societal progress and development,” Sushilkumar said. “An art museum, a doctor’s clinic, a hairdresser’s salon, a bed-and-breakfast, a student group fundraising effort are examples that can all be boiled down to one person’s vision to create something of value. To encourage such work translates into equipping students with realizing agency in free enterprise. E-club is meant to be a support group for those seeking that.”