The Alternative Press

MAPLEWOOD, NJ – More than 20 people graduated from the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership’s Quick Start program Thursday morning at a ceremony in Maplewood.

Karen Pisciotta, manager for administration, marketing and media relations, said, however, this graduation was more of a beginning than an end, as the graduates are about to embark on a new life path: opening a small business.

IFEL’s Quick Start is a six-week intensive business training program that covers how to be an entrepreneur.

Some of the topics taught included writing a business plan, staffing, marketing, financing, human resources and insurance, according to Pisciotta. Basically, it’s a crash-course in what a small-business owner needs to know to operate in New Jersey.

Additionally, Pisciotta said, the Quick Start program provides six months of one-on-one mentoring following the completion of the course.

In New Jersey, the Quick Start course is funded through a grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Pisciotta said.

All of the people who completed the program are unemployed, Pisciotta said. “(Quick Start) is helping them get back to work by creating their own job,” she said.

Quick Start was offered in a few locations in New Jersey, including Irvington, Plainfield and Maplewood. The course was also offered online.

At the graduation ceremony Thursday, each student gave a three-minute presentation on his or her final business plan. Business ideas ranged from dog nutrition and grooming to social media consulting. Some other business plans included an open public records service for government officials, a video production company and a cupcake bakery.

Some of the graduates had already launched their businesses, while others were still looking for capital to purchase materials or a storefront.

Latifa Johnson, whose baking business, S’More than Cupcakes, will serve the Essex County area, had just heard back from a catering company in South Orange about a partnership.

“IFEL has given me a better business sense,” Johnson said, “They taught me what I need to know financially about running a business.”

Johnson said she also liked that IFEL provided a mentor after the course’s completion “to better ourselves and our businesses.” She said she also enjoyed getting to know the other students, and oftentimes they were able to help each other out with plans and networking, especially when they were interested in a similar business venture.

A year from now, Johnson said, she hoped to have her own storefront and staff to help expand her cupcake business.

IFEL CEO Jill Johnson, who founded the company in 2002 with her father, was present at the event and told graduates to pursue their dreams. “You really have to feel (what you want) in your spirit,” Johnson said to the graduates, adding that when she and her father began IFEL, many naysayers insisted that the company was unnecessary.

Maplewood Mayor Victor DeLuca also stopped by the ceremony and spoke about the opportunities for small business in the town.

“Small business is what makes America great,” DeLuca said, adding that it was “folks like you with the entrepreneurial spirit” that helped to keep the country running.

Caitlin Carroll is participating in a hyperlocal journalism partnership between The Alternative Press and Seton Hall University's Department of Communication & The Arts designed to give students real-world experience.