Jim Correll
Jim Correll
jcorrell@indycc.edu | Phone: 620-252-5349
“Change the Mindset, Change the World”
Jim Correll just may have figured out the biggest secret to business success, and it didn’t require an advanced business degree to do it. Instead, it’s been a matter of following his instincts, sponging up knowledge from thought leaders, making mistakes and pursuing passions in a wildly diverse 25-year career working in small business, manufacturing, entrepreneurial ventures and post-secondary education. What has he learned? When your mind is open to possibility rather than paralyzed by pessimism, amazing things can happen.
In his work as a business coach, entrepreneur mentor and the director of Fab Lab ICC at Independence (KS) Community College, Jim teaches aspiring entrepreneurs to challenge the archaic models of conventional business thinking and education and explore new paths for solving the world’s problems through innovation, creativity, trial and error. A former professional photographer, Jim encourages his proteges to first look at the world through a wide-angle lens, then focus their efforts where they believe they can make a difference and take the shot. “The environment may not be perfectly composed, you may not have just the right angle on your first try, and you certainly may feel over exposed when you put yourself out there and launch an idea,” he analogizes. “But so often, the raw, candid moments we capture are the most representative of real life, the ones that draw us in, take our breath away and haunt our memory.”
Such are the lessons of entrepreneurship, says Jim. There’s no script, precise formula or lesson plan. Success requires a willingness to try something unconventional and to redefine failure as learning. It’s all about the mindset, and anyone can achieve it.
Jim regularly shares his insights through multiple channels, including regional and national public speaking engagements, local print columns and radio features, classes at the community college, community roundtable discussions and one-on-one consultation. His goal is to build a growing circle of “entrepreneurial thinkers" with a limitless ripple effect.
Jim has served on boards and committees for several local and state economic development and business organizations (highlights below), and his most recent work as the director of the Fab Lab ICC maker space in Independence, Kansas, has garnered multiple accolades. In 2017, he was named among the “50 Kansans You Should Know” by Ingram’s magazine.
“Top 10 Ways Your Maker Space Can Leverage Community Resources” National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), 17th Annual Conference, Newport Beach, CA, October, 2019
“Incorporating Maker Space Learni9ng into Adult Basic Education” National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), 17th Annual Conference, Newport Beach, CA, October, 2019
“Combining Entrepreneurship and Maker Space” Rural and Independent Innovators Conference, Pittsburg, KS, June 2019
“The Collaboration of Fab Lab ICC and Independence Main Street” Main Street Now Conference, Main Street America, Seattle, WA, March, 2019
“Leveraging Your Community College as a Catalyst for Change” National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), 16th Annual Conference, Fort Worth, TX, October, 2018
"Combining Entrepreneurship and Maker Space" Main Street Now Conference, Main Street America, Kansas City, MO, March, 2018
“The Entrepreneurial Mindset: A Competitive Edge for Workforce Development” National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), 15th Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, October, 2017 (Co-presentation with Bree Langemo, president, Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative)
“Rural Opportunity Through Entrepreneurial Mindset and Fab Lab”, WSOS Entrepreneurial Communities Initiative All Community Meeting, Northeast Ohio, August, 2017
“The Surprising Results of a Young Fab Lab Experience”, (NACCE), 14th Annual Conference, Sacramento, CA, October, 2016
Panel member “Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” Kansas Rural Opportunity Conference, Dodge City KS, April 2016
“Top Ten Tips on Building Fab Lab,” USA Fab Lab Network Annual Symposium, Bentonville AR, March 2016
"Building Fab Lab,” National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), 13th Annual Conference, Houston TX, October, 2015
“Building Fab Lab,” 2015 Kansas Innovation Summit, Independence, KS, April, 2015
"Entrepreneurial Mindset and Self Efficacy,” Kansas Association of College Counselors, Manhattan, KS, March, 2014
"Technical Programs Should Produce Entrepreneurial Thinkers, not Just Technicians,” NACCE, 11th Annual Conference, Charlotte, NC, October, 2013
"Top 10 Myths of Business Incubation,” Kansas League of Municipalities, Spring Conference, Wichita KS, May 2012
"Providing Flexibility in Helping New, Growing and Re-Inventing Businesses,” NACCE, 9th Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 2011
"How to Market You! (Your Book),” Kansas Authors Club, State Convention, Coffeyville, KS, October 2011
"Innovation on Main Street,” 2nd Annual SEK Innovation Summit, Independence, KS, September, 2011
"E-Commerce Suppliers Perspective,” Boeing E-Commerce Working Group Conference, Seattle, WA, May 1999
"Keeping Integrity in Your Database,” Epicore Software Corporation, International User Conference, Las Vegas, NV, May 1999