SDSU's Ness School of Management and Economics has announced a new outreach location in downtown Sioux Falls.
In partnership with Startup Sioux Falls, the Ness School Downtown Outpost will offer workshops, career fairs, career coaching, and more.
South Dakota State University conducted a ribbon cutting at its new outreach location.
SDSU president Barry Dunn said with one third of the state’s population living in Sioux Falls, the university has a duty to have a presence in the area.
The first program offered in the space was titled "Westside Story" - a story offered by entrepreneur Dillon Kjerstad of Philip, South Dakota. He said all entrepreneurs need a strong work ethic.
“When I got to business school, I was working full-time when I did my MBA for a bank in South Dakota. I was in Madison, South Dakota at the time, kinda started out in Sioux Falls, but this bank had a tuition reimbursement program so, it took me two years but I did my MBA during that time. So, kind of a combination of on campus and online,” said Kjerstad.
Kjerstad attributes a lot of his success to his business background complimenting his wife’s Doctor of Pharmacy degree she received through SDSU. Together they opened Dakota Country Pharmacy in Philip.
The Kjerstads now own and operate eight pharmacies across the state. Dillon said as an entrepreneur you must always look for innovation in the ordinary.
“We use specialized packaging and their called muti-dose packaging where we print these labels after we input all the patients medications, and if your taking like five different medications, for example, in the morning, all your medications for the morning are going to be in one pouch," said Kjerstad. "So instead of them trying to think, ‘oh do I take this bottle, do I take that bottle, do I take this,’ you open up your pouch, you take it, your done.”
Kjerstad’s advice to young entrepreneurs is to "give your God-given abilities your best shot" and to enjoy the ride.
The new Ness School Downtown Outpost will host monthly events with the next event scheduled for Oct. 30.
