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Lessons Learned from Successful Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs are a special breed of high achievers. They create things, get things started: businesses, clubs, churches, associations, even nations. Their motivations vary. Not all want to be rich. Not all want to produce a Fortune 500 company. Some are motivated by pleasure or civic pride or the desire for fame. Mary Madden, president of Information America, told me she and Burton Goldstein started their company because it gave them freedom and flexibility. Franchises - Emotional Fulfillment - The Challenge Does A Franchise Meet Your Needs? Everything You Wanted to Know About Public Domain Info, but Were Too Afraid to Ask! What to Look Out For: Part-Time/In-Home Business - Low Expense and Low Risk As a first time entrepreneur, there are a variety of franchises, dealerships, distributorships, and licensing opportunities available for purchase. Many of these you can start by working part-time from your home. In doing so, you save thousands of dollars in start up and operating costs, while at the same time reducing your overall risk. Double Down on Marketing If you want to compete in the world of high growth startups, you better know how to play the marketing game. Marketing has become a big stakes game where companies are betting fortunes on the success of their products. Nowadays if you can't play the big marketing game you may not even get the attention of the customers you need to grow your business. Is Now the Right Time to Become An Entrepreneur? A number of economic changes are magnifying the role of small business and creating the impetus for entrepreneurship. Ten Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs Successful entrepreneurs have many traits in common. Here are ten of those traits that I consider to be very important. Judging Entrepreneurial Ideas Most entrepreneurs constantly come up with new ideas. Whether they are working on another project, driving, or lying in bed, their minds are constantly churning out new products, services and ways of doing things. For these entrepreneurs, the startup challenge shifts from coming up with ideas to choosing which idea to execute. Entrepreneurial Excerpt from a Speech to Small Business Having built a business from a bucket of water and sponge, which started over 25 years ago in a National Franchise chain in 23 states, I feel comfortable discussing entrepreneurship. A Dorm Room With A View As a senior in high school, he paid cash for a BMW with money made by selling newspapers. In 1983, as a college freshman, he sold custom-made PCs and parts out of his dorm room?hiding them behind his roommate's shower curtain whenever Mom and Dad visited. A year later, with just $1,000 in start-up capital, he dropped out of school to focus fully on his expanding business. It took him just eight years to become the youngest CEO ever of a Fortune 500 company. Staying Ahead of the Perils, Excerpt of Entrepreneurial Motivation Speech Running a business is not an easy endeavor, it takes courage, hard work and a strategic mindset. I feel now that I am retired looking back on it all, that it is my duty to provide to new entrepreneurs a few of the secrets of how to get things done. Every year through out our long history spanning over a quarter of a century, The Car Wash Guys Team had been careful to watch changes that affected our business. One year we are watching droughts in the North Western Hemisphere and how the water supply affects our operations. We needed the water to wash cars and our countrymen need it for farming and drinking. Water is life. We also saw heavy El Nino seasons on the Western United States, British Columbia Canada, Mexico, Central America and parts of Western South America; imagine running a car wash business when it rained almost 60 days straight and we are not talking the drizzle like in the North Eastern US each year. Franchisor Sample Grand Opening Launch for New Franchised Outlets It is paramount that all franchising companies work hard in the critical launching of all franchises in their new territories. In this present period most franchisees come into the franchise systems with much personal debt and barely squeak by on their initial capital needed. One major error or mistake and the franchisee will fail due to under capitalization. Below it a sample outline and message to new franchisees; I recommend that you take a look at this and develop a policy and plan to help your new franchisees in the beginning gain ground on their new markets. You should copy this article and make notes on it and then take the outline below modify it to fit your business model and write several paragraphs for each number and lettered item to cement your new franchised outlet marketing plan. While reading this policy and outline below realize that it was written for a mobile car wash business and your plan will be significantly different but this will help you in making a first class strategy to win market share for your newest team members. Why Every Student Should Start a Business With the economic downturn, students in all the major business schools have been dropping out of their entrepreneurship classes and transferring back to classes where they think they have a secure future. Students and professionals who were once planning to start businesses now have decided to go back to their cushy jobs. Everything is going back to normal. Or at least that is how it looks. Below are nine reasons why any student should start a business:You gain experience. Owning and running your own business is an incredible way to gain experience and credentials regardless of whether you decide to stay in business once you graduate. Jaime Gonzalez of Oklahoma State University received the highest job offer in his entire graduating class. Now, there are two kickers: First, he was the founder of an IT consulting company, and second, he had a 2.4 GPA. Hmmm...I wonder if starting a business helps in getting a better job when you graduate? You have nothing to lose. I think it's safe to say that most students dip into their parents' checkbook when it comes time to pay the bills. In general, students aren't paying child support, rent, utilities and many other expenses. The worst thing that could happen if your business fails is that you get a job, have an incredible credential on your resume, and have experience that will increase your chances of success in the future. The best thing that can happen is that you'll become the next Microsoft. I don't know about you, but I think that is better than choosing between no job and jobs that you're in just for the money. Two-thirds of millionaires are entrepreneurs, according to Thomas Stanley and William Dank, authors of The Millionaire Mind. If it's the money you want, then consider entrepreneurship. You receive not only a salary, but also a lot of money if you're lucky enough to sell your company or take it public. Michael Furdyk, a successful young entrepreneur, was able to sell his business, MyDesktop.com, for $1 million when he was 16 years old! You develop networking skills. You've likely heard that your network increases your net worth. Consider the fact that by running a business and constantly being in a business community, you will develop excellent contacts. If you choose to get a job after you graduate, you will have a great pool of people who will be more than happy to hire you or send your resume to somebody who wants to. You increase your value. Put simply, starting a business in college increases the value of "the brand called you" and gives you more options. For example, an entrepreneur with a large brand value can publish a book, star in a documentary movie (i.e., Startup.com), or go straight to the top of another company. I recently met one of the founders of Diversity Planet, a job site for minorities. He spent a year working very hard on the company and has since left to take a reporting job with Dateline NBC at the ripe age of 20! People don't often don't get an opportunity like that until they are much older. Operating a profitable business in the long term is less risky than being an employee in the long term. For example, just look at the recent economic downturn. Tens of thousands of people have been laid off. I can guarantee the owners of profitable businesses are still with the business. They will be the last people to go down with a ship. Business owners can have multiple streams of incomes from different customers. If you're an employee, you only have one stream of income and therefore are bearing more risk. You will learn more about yourself and what they don't teach or prepare you for in school. Furthermore, entrepreneurship is the combination of all the disciplines of business. It includes knowledge of marketing, accounting, management and operations. Already having knowledge of these topics before you take classes on them allows you to see more clearly how everything applies. Also, you will be able to learn early-on what subjects you like so you can make better decisions on what to major in and what industries to target. It is yours. You make the rules, create your own hours, work from wherever you want and choose who you want to work with. You can also pick what interests you the most in the world and then start a business that is related to that topic in some way. If you like art, you can start a design business. If you like marketing, you can create or choose a product and then market it. If you like writing, you can write a book and do your own public relations and marketing. If you like the Internet, you can start a Web development business. You'll grow. I personally have grown a lot from owning a business. I used to be terrified to speak in front of others. Now I look forward to it. Before owning a business, I had probably read a total of five books outside of school, and I only read them because my mom made me. Since starting my business, I've probably read more than 100 books. The business has also allowed me to learn more about myself. I know that I will be an entrepreneur forever in some way, shape or form! Oil Change Guys History; Part II Franchise companies are not born they are made and when studying the history of franchise companies, it is amazing how similar they really are. To continue this story we are in the height of the Dot Com Bubble with money flowing in Silicon Valley and personal services and labor is at a premium indeed; Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles to Discovering Your Gifts What are the unique gifts that differentiate you from other solo entrepreneurs? The path to discovering your gifts may take a lifetime, but you can use the exploration process to begin to use your gifts NOW! Unfortunately, for many different reasons people get sidetracked or never even get started taking the actions that would help them discover their uniqueness. Here are some suggested strategies to help move forward and stay on the path of discovering your gifts. The Use of Common Stock in Venture Capital Transactions When raising capital for a business venture, a company can either raise debt capital, equity capital or a combination of the two. Debt capital is money loaned to the company at an agreed interest rate for a fixed time period. Conversely, equity capital is money invested by owners (shareholders) for use in business operations that need not be repaid. Combinations include convertible securities which may be debt that can be converted into equity at some point in the future. Success Secret - How To Find Million Dollar Opportunities They're really are powerful million dollar opportunites everywhere. Seven Key Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs A recent poll conducted by Forbes magazine shows that majority of its readers would prefer to become a billionaire rather than a Nobel peace prize winner, a great scientist or a famous athlete. There is no secret that most of the average people dream about getting rich albeit very few makes any real effort to become one. The Cockroach Test Let me ask you a question? Imagine I would offer you $10 for eating 10 living cockroaches. Would you do it? Now listen, I raise the ante and offer you $100. How does that feel? If you hear me saying "you get $1000 bucks" does that change something? Here is the ultimate offer 1 million dollars for eating 10 living cockroaches right now. What is your feeling now? An Entrepreneur Is An entrepreneur is an innovator. She sees a need in the marketplace and creates something new to fulfill that need or improves upon an existing mechanism that already fulfills that need.
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