For students with an idea for a business, knowing where to start can be one of the biggest challenges. At Northern Essex Community College, the Entrepreneurship Hub is helping aspiring entrepreneurs move from inspiration to action with practical guidance, business resources, and connections to experienced professionals.
Launched in fall 2025, the Entrepreneurship Hub is a partnership between NECC and the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Created by Business and Accounting Department Chair Sheila Muller and Associate Professor Julie Pierce, the Hub connects students and community members with resources for developing, planning, and funding small businesses. SBDC Senior Advisor, Awilda Irizarry, hosts open office hours every Thursday at NECC, when students can ask questions and seek advice. She is also available virtually on any day of the week. The service is open to students across all academic programs, not just those studying business.
Julie Pierce, Awilda Irizarry, and Sheila Muller
“Many of them know what they’re doing and know the industry,” Irizarry said of aspiring entrepreneurs. “It’s just the financing that can become a barrier.”
Marketing and the confidence to promote a business can also be challenges. Pierce, who teaches entrepreneurship and marketing, said students sometimes hesitate to talk about their businesses because they worry about appearing boastful or feel they aren’t ready.
“Marketing is how people find out about you,” Pierce tells her students. “If you believe you have value, then you need to share it so that people can find you.”
The Hub helps students work through those barriers by connecting them with resources and offering practical advice on next steps. Irizarry also works directly with students in Pierce’s classes, sharing business resources and offering feedback as students develop business plans and present their ideas.
For Irizarry and Pierce, the work extends beyond helping individual students launch businesses. Supporting entrepreneurs can strengthen the communities where students live, work, and study by encouraging business development, creating jobs, and keeping talent and investment in the Merrimack Valley.
“When people grow up here, come here, and then grow a company or lead a company, it’s really great to have the return on that investment be here,” Irizarry said.
The Entrepreneurship Hub hosts workshops and special panels throughout the year. Just recently, they held a workshop on understanding the importance of credit and credit scores for small business owners.
Northern Essex currently offers six associate degree business programs, including the new Entrepreneurial Business Associate Degree, as well as several non-credit business certifications. The Alpha Beta Gamma Business Honor Society is also available to all business students enrolled in a degree program who have earned 12 college credits and have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0. Learn more by visiting the webpage or contacting Business and Accounting Department Chair Sheila Muller.
