It's time to apply for the 2011 KDMC News Entrepreneur Boot Camp

Where are you at in your journalism career? Are you worried about your future with an employer, and thinking about starting your own online news site in response? Have you started a site, but need to take it to the next level to make it a financial success for you?

We’ve been talking about entrepreneurial journalism here on OJR for longer than just about anyone else. And not just here on the website – we’ve been showing readers in person how to launch their own news businesses, too. We hosted our first conference, devoted specifically to entrepreneurial journalism, back in 2006. For the past two years, we’ve worked with our new home at the Knight Digital Media Center to create and present the KDMC News Entrepreneur Boot Camp. This week, we open the application process for next May’s camp.

If you’re thinking about starting an online news business, or looking to take your start-up to the next level, trust me, you need to apply for this camp.

As helpful as I hope our articles have been for you, there’s simply no replacement for in-person, one-on-one, personalized instruction. That’s what we offer as part of our boot camp, and it’s a uniquely valuable experience that you don’t find at many of the other industry conferences and gatherings devoted to entrepreneurial journalism.

Here’s what we offer with the camp, and it’s not just one week in Los Angeles. Our camp experience starts nearly two months before you come to LA. You’ll study online with Tom O’Malia, professor and entrepreneurship expert in USC’s Marshall School of Business, who will lead you through a pre-camp curriculum to prepare you for the decisions you’ll be making on your entrepreneurial journey.

You’ll also get to know, and work with, your fellow campers. Success entrepreneurs draw upon their personal network, and we’ll help you build yours through this experience.

Where you arrive on-site in May, you’ll join your fellow campers at the USC Marshall School of Business, where you’ll hear from our camp faculty in morning instructional sessions. After lunch, you’ll have opportunities to meet individually with faculty members for personal coaching. We’ll break down your ideas and help you rebuild them into a feasible business plan.

In the evenings, there’ll be no trips to Hollywood and no tours of downtown LA’s nightlife scene. You’ll work – hard – on completing the tasks we challenge you with each day.

Do you know the difference between audience and customers? Do you know the steps in organizing a community? Do you know how to test the feasibility of business idea?

We’ll show you.

Here’s what we’re seeking:

  • People with journalism experience. (If you’ve not worked in news before, then this isn’t the camp for you. We’re not looking to train entrepreneurs in journalism.)
  • Passion for your community.
  • People who are cool with math and technology.
  • People who get energized, not drained, by work.

Does that sound like you? If so, please, consider applying today.

Don’t listen to the skeptics. You can do this. People are making money online. You can be one of those who are, but you need the training, the techniques and the support that success entrepreneurs possess. Let us help you get there.

About Robert Niles

Robert Niles is the former editor of OJR, and no longer associated with the site. You may find him now at http://www.sensibletalk.com.