Business Interns Provide Valuable Assistance to Small Businesses

Back when I was in my MBA program in Cleveland, Ohio, I found that the program required all students to be an intern/counselor to several small businesses in the area. It was an interesting and informative process for me. I learned, for example, that you can't finance a business from sales taxes - the state will come after you to collect this money! I also learned that family businesses are sometimes great and sometimes painful.

I also believe that my internship was helpful to the small businesses where I worked. Following the family tradition, my daughter was an intern in her undergraduate business program, and this experience got her a job with the company.

I recently discovered that these internship programs are still very popular. In Iowa, for example, a small business can request a student intern from a community college or state school, through the Targeted Business program. Many universities have MBA Internship Opportunities. And you might want to talk to the people at your local business school to see if they have programs to send young undergraduates out to work as interns. Getting an intern can give you a "breath of fresh air," and you might learn something about new business systems.