BOONE—A third of business majors and one out of six non-business majors at Appalachian State University have seriously considered starting their own business at some point in their career, according to a survey conducted by faculty in the Walker College of Business.

Making that goal a reality is part of the mission of the newly established Center for Entrepreneurship at Appalachian.

Located in the Walker College of Business, the center was created to provide opportunities for business and non-business majors to learn about entrepreneurship. The center helps provide real-world entrepreneurship experiences for students, supports research, and helps expand educational opportunities and interactions with successful entrepreneurs in the region and around the world.

“Public officials at local, state, national and international levels increasingly recognize the need for entrepreneurship as an economic development tool,” says Bryan Toney, director of the center. “It is particularly important in western North Carolina where many traditional industries have declined in recent years. The future economic development of western North Carolina is critically related to the region’s ability to grow from within, rather than rely exclusively on recruitment of relocating and expanding firms.”

Jason Berry, a 2002 graduate of the Walker College of Business, knew from age 12 that he wanted to own his own outdoor outfitters business some day. Thanks to courses in entrepreneurship that he took as part of his management and marketing major, Berry is well on his way. Berry is general manager of Footsloggers in Boone and Blowing Rock and in the second year of a multi-year buyout of the popular store.

“I had known what I wanted to do for a while, so it was in the back of my mind every class I took,” Berry said. He started working at Footsloggers his sophomore year, and by his junior year, Berry had approached the store owner about playing a larger role in the business.

“Developing a business plan as part of an entrepreneurship class helped me think practically and logically about the time frame (for buying) and the seasonality in this type of business,” Berry said. One of Berry’s goals is to open other Footsloggers stores across the region.

Other entrepreneurship activities in the Walker College of Business, and now sponsored by the center, include the annual Carole Moore McLeod Entrepreneur Summit in which business owners from a variety of areas participate in presentations and panel discussions. As part of the summit, students participate in the “Pitch Your Idea in 90 Seconds” during which time they present their business ideas to a panel of entrepreneurs. The winning student or student team receives a $1,000 cash prize.

As seniors at Appalachian, Jon West and Chad Ledford started a business that grew out of a winning pitch in the contest’s Most Likely to Succeed Online category in 2005. Each invested $500 to establish 3tailer.com, a search engine optimization company. In six months, they sold a part of the business for half a million dollars.

The center also sponsors workshops and seminars on entrepreneurship that are open to the general public.

For more information about the center, contact Toney at (828) 262-6196, toneybc@appstate.edu or visit www.entrepreneurship.appstate.edu.

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