NW Missouri Times

Northwest Missouri State University is continuing its collaboration with DocuLock LLC to provide a business opportunity for a student this spring. DocuLock, a company specializing in document management services, offers a franchise opportunity to a student enrolled in the university's business strategy and decision-making course.

Dr. Ben Blackford, director at Northwest, stated, "The generous offer from DocuLock LLC provides our students an incredible opportunity to immediately become a business owner following graduation and start applying everything they have learned and experienced during their undergraduate program, to making their business a success with the support of Paul and his team."

Paul Janicek, owner of DocuLock, continues to extend this opportunity to Northwest students. All students under Dr. Blackford's instruction in the capstone course are eligible for the competition. The winning student will receive assistance from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Northwest to launch their franchise without cost and can choose any location not already occupied by another DocuLock franchise.

This year, DocuLock is waiving its franchise fee of approximately $43,000 and providing essential equipment like a scanner and laptop for the first six months of operation. Rebecca Lobina, director of the SBDC at Northwest, commented on this initiative: "This is such a generous, amazing gift and shows Paul’s confidence in his business model as well as his desire for the student to be successful from the very beginning."

For more information about this partnership or inquiries, contact Rebecca Lobina at 816.364.4105.