For Marianne Szymanski, Professor of Entrepreneurship, the inspiration for teaching business administration lies in the fact that business skills are inextricably linked to so many disciplines, regardless of area of interest.
She teaches “Introduction to Business Administration for Non-Majors,” a course open to all undergraduate students that explores the fundamentals of business administration while engaging students in project proposal challenges that connect them with experts in the field .
“At the end of the day, when you write a book, when you become something like an expert in your field, when you become a doctor — then you are a brand, and a lot of students are going to work for themselves,” Szymanski said. “Everyone is their own personal brand.”
Daily headlines, straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest developments around USC.
At 23, Szymanski was a young entrepreneur with her company, Toy Tips, which conducts qualitative research on children’s toys to develop toys that promote children’s skill development. Within the company, she has also launched a magazine and a baby clothing line.
Stone Zashin, a senior majoring in real estate development, is currently taking the course and said the course offers students a path to enter many areas of business.
“It’s very nice to have a course that takes you through all the little things and kind of shows you the way to be an entrepreneur in the future,” Zashin said.
The course “Introduction to Business Administration for Non-Majors” was first introduced in 2014 and is taught by several professors. Szymanski said she loves it because the course brings together students from different schools and areas of interest.
“It’s really interesting to see what other students are like [doing] on campus and how their majors and life paths can inform the world of business and entrepreneurship,” Szymanski said.
One class assignment is the “E-Challenge,” which gives students one week to create a profitable business plan. When students make a profit with their idea, that money is donated to the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship organization, a company that aims to promote entrepreneurship among younger generations.
Previous E-Challenge companies include a group of five baseball players who set out to paint students’ nails. Although they didn’t necessarily have the skills to paint nails, the appeal was that it wasn’t common practice to have your nails done by a student-athlete. Other students chose to do face painting before football games.
These students were tasked with learning about customer acquisition and reaching out to people themselves to find customers. Szymanski said this assignment allows students to learn the basics of accounting, sales and presenting their ideas.
“We want them to pivot and fail because then they can change it and fix it and feel how a company really works day in and day out,” Szymanski said.
Another assignment, “Fly on the Wall,” requires students to research people in business by following their LinkedIn, keeping up with the news, and finding other sources to learn more about them. You then need to reach out to them via email, phone calls, or even a fax machine – anything to get their attention.
After contacting the person, they arrange an interview with them. Grading will be based on their interview questions and how well they integrate the information they learned into their own personal projects. After the interview, some people stay in touch with the students and even become their mentors.
Guest speakers are a central aspect of the course. Course participants will have the opportunity to hear from professionals across multiple disciplines, including artificial intelligence, cosmetics and food, and learn about business strategies such as financial management and investing, as well as hear speakers’ personal stories about their journey into entrepreneurship.
Zashin and Szymanski said Oliver Luckett — a technology entrepreneur who founded and contributed to companies like theAudience, DigiSynd and Revver, among others — was a notable speaker who addressed the class this semester. Zashin said that during the session he learned about the concept of serendipity in business and that as long as one has a good attitude when approaching business, good things will come out of it.
Szymanski said she brings in guest speakers through personal connections with faculty at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. She said people are often willing to have the opportunity to speak at USC. These speakers sometimes offer internships or jobs to USC students, Szymanski said.
Gavin Murillo, a graduate who took the course in fall 2023, said the ability to socialize and work with the football team was among the greatest things he did during his time at USC.
“We wanted to create fake companies, and one of my ideas was to create an app for athletes,” Murillo said. “With tasks like this, it was a challenge for me to think about things that I would like to do or implement in my own company.”
After graduating, Murillo expanded the idea further and launched MPOWER in spring 2024. The app helps developers use social media to build athletes’ brands both “on and off the field.”
Murillo said there are obstacles and significant challenges when starting a business. Murillo emphasized the importance of putting yourself in uncomfortable situations because it forces you to grow and learn.
“[The class] showed me that it is possible to start a business no matter what your background, no matter how big or small the idea you had. [something] You can really do it if you just put your mind to it,” Murillo said.
Szymanski said she has all types of students in her class, from freshmen to seniors and film students to medical students. She encourages students to take this course regardless of their field of interest as the skills taught in the course can be useful no matter what career field they are in.
“That’s something Professor [Szymanski] somehow ensures that we all understand at all times that all of these different skills can be applied to all different aspects of business, whether you’re a business owner working for a large corporation or working in a parent company. And pop shop, everything has a way of relating to itself,” Zashin said.
