I work with creative, talented and successful women entrepreneurs. As a rule, the ideas come to them a mile a minute, but there’s inevitably the frustration of implementation. What do you do with all those brainstorms and bright ideas?

At my mastermind meeting last night the subject of hiring interns came up. There’s no time like the present to grab the talent that’s out there. With so few jobs available, the prospect of working for a woman-owned creative business simply for the experience is an opportunity whose time has come. It’s a buyer’s market.

When I was running my art business, I approached the Chair of the Art Department at nearby Norwalk High School to see if she could help me find students to work a couple of afternoons a week. What resulted was a long-term friendship with Mary Quinlan (now retired from that position and painting full-time) and a stream of highly motivated and gifted student interns who allowed me to focus on generating new ideas which they could implement for me.

So much has changed since those days, but the premise of having someone color in between the lines you’ve drawn remains. I think that tapping relationships for referrals is your best tool for finding quality help, but now there’s also facebook, craigslist and blogging to get the word out about the gap you want to fill.

My advice to the group last night was to offer credit (where applicable) rather than money when appropriate. What small business owner isn’t cash-strapped and what student wouldn’t want to be in the field learning from experience? But even paying $100 per week for 10 hours of labor seemed manageable and exciting to the women I coach. The goal to hire an intern was set. I offer it to you as well.