When Nichole Johnson was attending Caze Elementary School, she dreamed of being a CEO of her own company. Today, the senior at the University of Southern Indiana is one step closer to realizing her dream.
Taking a class in entrepreneurship and subsequently entering and winning second place in the Second Annual Business Idea Competition sponsored by the University made her see that her childhood dream is not that far out of reach. Her idea was a practical one, with no bells or whistles. “It is so easy and simple, it would be easy to overlook,” she said.
Johnson’s idea is to supply a variety of feminine hygiene products in a pouch that could be purchased from coin operated machines. “Women are busy,” said Johnson. We are busy taking care of other people. And sometimes we neglect to take care of ourselves and it is easy to forget those personal necessities.”
Johnson juggles two part-time jobs and goes to school full time. She credits her family’s own entrepreneurial spirit to inspiring her to enter the contest. Her grandfather, Calvin Cheaney, owned a neighborhood pool hall. Her father, Joseph Johnson, was a route sales- man for PepsiAmericas. As a route salesman, he was his own boss. One of his stops was USI. As young children, Johnson fondly remembers she and her sisters getting up early in the morning and watching their father shave and get ready for work. She recalls being impressed by his work ethic. “He had such a strong work ethic. I wanted to be just like him. I was probably the son he never had,” Johnson joked. She considers her mother, Janet Johnson, the CEO of the family. “She is so efficient. The whole family relies on her to operate smoothly.”
Johnson attended a workshop for entrepreneurs with the other winners of Business Idea Competition. “To get an idea designed and produced takes work and research. I learned so much about the process.”
For now, she works on her final class project that puts to practice all that she has learned as a business management student. “I am working with a group of students consulting for a member of the business community. We are working on developing marketing ideas and a Web site. This is good hands-on experience for all of us.”
Commencement is around the corner for Johnson and she considers all the options available to her. “There is so much I want to do,” she said. “Graduate school is an option I want to consider a little further down the road. I think getting an additional nursing or health services degree would be a good match along side my current major.”
“Now I would like to get into my career. I think working at Google would be really exciting. I would love to get into construction. Whatever I do, I want to see all aspects and work my way up. After all, I am still dreaming of being a CEO.”
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