Courtesy Photo-Michigan State Senior Kurt Kussurelis is excited about Entrepreneurship
Aspiring entrepreneur Kurt Kussurelis, a senior at Michigan State University, is taking on the opportunity of a lifetime running his own business with Young Entrepreneurs Across America (YEAA) and Student Painters this summer. Kussurelis is excited for this opportunity to grow his skills and learn the fundamentals of running his own business. “I am learning a lot and I am looking forward to improving my leadership skills when I start hiring employees,” Kussurelis said. “I am hoping to gain experience in leadership and learn how to motivate a team to accomplish a task.” Young Entrepreneurs Across America is a student development coaching company with headquarters in Shelby Township, Michigan, and has been around since 1987. The company works to develop college students into young leaders of the future.
Kussurelis, 21, attends Michigan State University while studying chemistry with a minor in entrepreneurship. He intends on starting his own business upon graduation which is what lead him to get this foot in the door with YEAA. “I think this is a good opportunity to get the experience of running a business without all the risks involved,” Kussurelis said. Interns run their own branch of a painting company out of their city over the summer. This includes marketing their own business, selling all of their own work, recruiting, interviewing, hiring employees, learning payroll, and producing jobs. “My goals for this summer are to complete at least 50 jobs and produce at least $100,000 in revenue,” Kussurelis said. “I would also like to minimize the number of repaints I have to do, and I want to buy materials as efficiently as possible.” Michigan executive manager Michael Acorn is mentoring Kussurelis and hired him because he is self-disciplined, coachable, and has a “no excuse” attitude, which leads him to accept all challenges. “From initially interviewing him I knew he had the passion to do something big,” Acorn said. “I knew he had the potential to run an effective business as long as he put his mind to it and used that work ethic that he talked about from previous experiences.”
Kussurelis is ahead of the game and has already started preparing for the 2022 season before he attends the entrepreneurship training seminar in February. “I have already mapped out where I will be marketing and I have dedicated time in my upcoming schedule to go out and market. I have also started to learn about what types of houses I will be painting and what materials are easiest and hardest to paint on,” Kussurelis said. Acorn believes that Kussurelis has great potential, and he is already starting to prove himself. “My favorite thing [about Kussurelis] is that he has performed every task that has been asked of him on quick notice and exactly as it needs to be,” Acorn said. “He’s one of those people that many organizations would want, and he has a chance to show it through this internship.” For more information or anyone looking to get exterior painting work done, contact Kussurelis at 734-395-2164.
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