Well maybe this just isn’t always the case. My older brother is also an entrepreneur who has owned and managed several small businesses for about five years. In fact this summer he’s actually leaving his full-time job as a Math Teacher to become a full-time entrepreneur, because business is so good.

Well anyway my older brother is very gifted; he can take a great idea and turn it into some great profit very quickly. Recently while visiting another city he noticed that at a festival, there was a huge row of about 30 “Port-a-Potties,” with absolutely no sinks or water in sight.

He thought to himself, “Yuk! That’s sick;” all these people are using the restroom, but have nowhere to wash their hands. Then that’s when the light bulb went off, and he got the idea to sell hand sanitizer along this area of portable restrooms. He soon realized that in just two weeks there was going to be the largest crowd of the year converging on this particular city’s streets, for a HUGE festival.

There would be an extra 600,000 people in town attending this event, but he only had a few weeks to get this project up off the ground and set up in time to meet the huge demand and opportunity. I mentioned that maybe he should just wait to the next year, so he could do proper research, but he didn’t agree.

So he quickly did some market research, wrote a detailed business plan, and contacted wholesalers and manufacturers/ distributors of hand sanitizer products. Then he came up with his price points, his expense reports, his break-even points, and profit margins.

Once he had his detailed report, he went to his elite group of private investors that he has consistently used over the years. He has access to about five investors, all who are very wealthy and successful, and have learned to trust in my brother’s ventures and projects.

After getting his investment capital, he struck an awesome deal with a manufacturer with a great wholesale price. Then he got all his licensing work done, received his permit to set up a vending booth at the festival, purchased his supplies, and hired individuals to help run the booth, and do foot marketing/sales.

After this, he simply tied up other loose ends and managed the whole project. Because he was able to strike an awesome deal with the manufacturer, he had a HUGE profit margin. So the project was an instant hit and he later made a great profit, even after paying his sales team, his investors and all the fees.

So judging by this example, maybe it isn’t always fitting to wait for things to work themselves out and maybe “time” is overrated. Or maybe this example is just an exception to the rule and my brother lucked out.

I’m not really sure. One thing that I do know is that you better make sure that you have a strong idea and plan in place. Also when you do get that magical idea, you must follow your gut when making decisions.

You never know what you could be embarking upon! There are no set rules in entrepreneurship and business; I think that’s what’s so cool about it! So remain true to yourself and be smart, I think you can’t go wrong with that combo.

You would want a clear idea as to just how deep that water was, because if it’s too deep, you’re going to keep your butt on shore.

So if this simple idea is easily understood, why do so many young entrepreneurs jump into the deep end when it comes to creating business ventures, without having the ability to swim, and without any knowledge about just how deep the “commerce waters” are that they are diving into?

In essence these young entrepreneurs are really just jumping in, “hoping” that the waters are not too deep, and praying that they don’t drown to death and go belly up.

I’ve been in this position; I created my first venture without proper knowledge about the operation, the market for my service, my targeted demographic, or the geographic market that I was hoping to operate in.

Some research efforts can become extremely complex, and there are many large marketing research firms that make billions of dollars a year in revenue by providing in-depth marketing analysis reports for large firms.

Obviously you might not be in a position to seek professional consultations from marketing research analysts, especially as a young start-up; so like everything else you may find yourself having to wear the hat of a research analyst.

The main thing to remember is just to touch on the basics, the most important aspects of what you need to know to make a decision as to whether you should enter a particular market, how you should enter that market, and what you plan to bring to the market.

These questions are definitely awesome starting points. With the advances of the Internet, researching markets and performing analysis has never been easier, because most of the information that you need will almost always be somewhere on the “Net.”

Also remember to use large firms to your benefit. If you are planning on entering a market selling sneakers online, why not study the buying habits of Nike’s customers, Reebok and all the others.

Even though you may plan to take a totally different approach, you still may be able to pick up on some very important knowledge by studying others who are in much larger markets.

These types of reports and case studies are usually available online with many different journals, and if you’re a college student these research journals are usually free through your campus library.

Just remember when you’re on the verge of creating a new venture or even expanding your current firm, always do your background checks and research to make sure you’re making the best decisions.

One easy and simple way to free up a lot of time is to hire a personal assistant to take care of smaller task, thus freeing up your time and attention for more detailed matters that require your undivided attention or focus.

Many times a personal assistant can almost fill the role of several employees because they can field your calls, take messages, run errands, type up reports, memos, letters, perform research, send and answer e-mails and the list just goes on and on.

By hiring a trustworthy personal assistant that is intelligent, hardworking and extremely competent, you may find that your job gets much easier and also that your work improves because you won’t have to focus on doing so many administrative functions.

Many times you can find college students, maybe friends or acquaintances that are willing to perform these duties for you part-time at a very small hourly wage. You can advertise in your campus newspaper or also through other media print ads in free journals or newsletters and specify that you’re looking for a competent individual to work part-time, and also be sure to specify that they will receive resume experience and you would be glad to write a letter of recommendation for them in the future.

Also another alternative is to use Virtual Office Assistants. This is something fairly new that is taking the business community by storm with the progression of the internet. Basically virtual office assistants work from their home office and can be almost anywhere in the United States, but they will use technological features to handle your workload.

I’ve never used a virtual office assistant, but one individual that I had contact with in the past while brokering deals was a VP at one of the nations largest Equipment Financing firms in the U.S. His office was in California and he had an administrative assistant who was located in Florida, and he claimed that it was the best personal assistant he ever had.

His assistant had her own 800 number with the firm, her own email address ending with the firms credentials, and they even had special phone lines set up where she could field your calls and transfer you to her boss’s office or voicemail in California.

Having a system like this would require a lot of technological assistance, a ton of communication to stay up-to-date on business matters, a very trustworthy assistant and also I would think some of the equipment could become fairly expensive as well.

Despite what you choose to do concerning your personal assistant, just make sure that you choose wisely. You can even use the help of a family member who is looking to earn a little extra cash. Making this small and simple addition to your venture could end up making a world of difference, and I’m sure the extra expenses of paying an assistant will be well worth it in the end!

Many of these accounts make reference to these entrepreneurs continually trying to break into a certain industry through a specific contact or by another successful connection.

I’m making strides to go into real estate investing and I’m trying to enter into my first property deal. I’ve worked deals as a consultant and also as a finder/ locator where I would become a middleman for real estate purchases on behalf of other investors, however I’ve never performed my own investment personally.

I was able to acquire a great networking connection through my father, who had a friend who was a successful real estate investor and also mortgage broker. I received his contact info and gave him a call to introduce myself and tell him a little bit about my background, tell him about some of my current projects and my future goals.

After we talked I tried to arrange a lunch meeting or some type of way to get together and rub shoulders, to which he refused, because of his busy schedule, but we exchanged info and decided to get together again at a later date.

However each time I’ve reached out to this individual, tried to arrange a meeting or tried to get further insight about real estate investing over the phone, he seems to blow me off and seems as though he doesn’t want anything to do with me.

Finally I took what I felt was definitely a hint and decided that I didn’t need his connection and I could easily accumulate another contact elsewhere. I spoke to my father about the incident and he insisted that I needed to continue to make strides to get through to this individual, because that shows persistence and drive.

I feel that there is a thin line between persistence and nagging/ begging, to which I want absolutely nothing to do with the latter.

I’m not cocky by any means, I try my best to carry a humble mindset and personality, but I think every person needs to have some level of self-respect and I refuse to continually reach out to an individual who doesn’t want to reach back; regardless of how successful they are and how lucrative and beneficial their connection could be.

Who knows maybe he is too busy, I mean there is only a certain amount of time in the day and many people are overwhelmed with projects. Maybe he feels that I would be wasting his time and don’t really have anything I can bring to the table that would be beneficial to him.

Maybe he feels that I want to sneak in, accumulate some of his knowledge and tips, then run off and ultimately become one of his competitors. Regardless of what is driving his continual blowing off method, I’ve come to a point where I’m fairly frustrated with the situation and feel that it may be time to put an end to the whole process.

So I’m turning to my fellow young entrepreneurs here at the network for some true advice. What do you guys think I should do concerning this situation, should I continue to push forward relentlessly until this individual hears me out and gives me a shot, or should I take his hints, take my pride and move on? Thanks for any and all comments.

Now we all know how important it is to use lawyers and just how beneficial they are to a young business professional. However on the flip side anybody that’s ever actually used a lawyer or C.P.A.’s services also knows that they can sometimes get rather expensive.

So if you don’t have the proper funds to acquire the services of these professional advisors and consultants, should you avoid entrepreneurship?

Some rather conservative individuals would probably answer yes to that question, however I say that you can’t always sit around waiting for the perfect opportunity to make things happen, I think you should go in and attack full force and let misfortunes straighten themselves out in the process.

So if you don’t have the money for a lawyer, how are you going to properly get contracts drafted? Simple, you’re going to do them yourself! I know this may seem overwhelming, especially at first, but truly drafting contracts isn’t that big of a deal, especially if you’re working small, minor projects as a start-up business owner.

Sometimes contracts can be overrated, I say this because some people make them much more than they actually are or more than what they have to be. A contract doesn’t have to include tons of legal jargon and fancy articles, by-laws, addendums, sections and codes. That stuff is for the professionals; the attorney’s that actually have the proper educational and industry training.

The main thing for you to remember when you’re drafting a contract is simply to protect yourself. Be sure to include everything in your contract that will ensure that you receive proper payment, be sure to spell out all the terms of the agreement and make sure you offer yourself some type of opportunity to exit or a backup plan if things get ugly during the business deal.

If you can just always be sure that you protect yourself and put everything in the contract that you feel is important, then it’s a good contract. It doesn’t matter what size the contract is! If it takes you 50 pages to explain all the important highlights of the deal from your perspective and to remain confident that you’re protected, then make it 50 pages.

If it only takes one simple sentence to wrap everything up and ensure your safety, then make it one sentence. Remember it doesn’t matter the length and it doesn’t have to sound like it was written by an expert from Harvard Law School, just make sure to cover your rear-end and you should be alright.

Once you start acquiring more business and your deals start to get more complicated, then you can hire the assistance of professional advisors and consultants to draft documents. However until that time comes, be sure to try and get it in writing and to protect yourself as much as possible.

Its comments like this that hinders a large proportion of the youth in our society from ever running and tackling their dreams for success.

You see in our culture we come from the “microwave generation,” we want everything correct and done in just a few seconds.

However anything worth a red cent isn’t going to come overnight, but it’s going to come through hard work as many of you guys already know. Another issue plaguing young ‘prenuers is also the fact that they place too much emphasis on their current situation or what they perceive as a negative or unstable foundation.

However if you can grasp the concept that your foundation or current situation means absolutely nothing at all, then you will have that extra determination needed to go after your goals full force without the negative mental perceptions of your current state of affairs.

Forget about the fact that your time is limited, who cares that your parents and other family/friends don’t support your ventures and believe that you will fail.

Who cares that money is tight and you’re barely making ends meet and covering business expenses.

Who cares that you have a hard time finding loyal and trustworthy business partners, forget about the fact that your venture is currently small and fairly limited.

Don’t stress over the countless waking hours you’re pouring into your business without the immediate gratification.

You know why you don’t have to stress over all these topics, issues, and conflicts that you’re facing, it’s because none of it truly matters, because it’s not where you start that matters and it’s not even where you’re currently at that’s important.

The only thing that matters is where you’re going!

Keep going forward and don’t dare look back.

I had an interesting conversation with one of my mentors/ friends / business associates last night. He’s an executive with a large financial institution in New York and he has an extensive background in business.

He’s actually much older than me; in fact at the age of 52 he’s old enough to be my father, that’s why I always pay close attention to his advice, because he has many years of wisdom.

Anyway, while we were speaking and catching up (I haven’t talked with him in a couple of months now) I told him that I took on a part-time job working on the weekends in order to gain additional capital and help offset expenses that I was experiencing with my businesses.

As soon as I told him that he immediately said, “You need to quit.”

I paused for a second not really sure where he was going with his statement and responded, “Well it’s a temporary sacrifice I plan on leaving within the next couple of months or so around graduation.”

He responded saying, “No it’s too big a sacrifice. Not only are you sacrificing your time, but you’re sacrificing your social life, which is far more important for a young man like you because you’re at a stage in your life where you should be constantly socializing, networking and meeting people. That little money you’re making on the weekends is nothing compared to the long-term connections you could end up making”

I thought about it for a second and what he was saying did make sense. I’m sacrificing my weekends for a position that really isn’t that rewarding financially, I mean it does help a little, but it’s not truly worth the time.

This concept relates to “Opportunity Cost” that is often covered in Economics courses. Basically Opportunity Cost is the cost or expense of time.

In other words I’m making money by working a weekend position, but the opportunity cost is that I’m losing important networking and deal making time, which truly far outweighs the money that I receive by working.

So let me ask my fellow entrepreneurs and preneurs to be here at Mind Petals, which do you feel is more important: Immediate income towards your firm or the potential long run income/ success from networking?

Having the guidance of an experienced entrepreneur can not only teach you many important aspects relating to your venture, but also they can offer advice, encouragement, professional insight and become great networking avenues as well.

I was once shy about asking other entrepreneurs to take me under their wing, especially if they were very successful and highly busy. I felt like I was a little baby and I was intruding into their time for selfish reasons.

However I was quite surprised at how many successful entrepreneurs were willing to offer insight into the world of business and also allow me to even tag along on business projects or meetings to gain hands on experience.

You may even know an individual that fits this mold, but you don�t refer to them as necessarily a mentor, you might just see them as a business contact or a friend, but still that person is somebody you can gain knowledge and receive valuable insight from.

I�ve had and continue to have many different business mentors in my life, all who are equally valuable in their own way offering great advice and also awesome networking abilities.

I have a mentor who owns a Landscaping Business that is extremely successful; actual it�s one of the best firms of its kind in my community. This individual is the very first person to introduce me to entrepreneurship, that�s because this same person was also my high school counselor.

Then I have another mentor who introduced me to the sales and marketing field. He also owned a Travel Agency, which he sold in order to take an executive position with a large financial institution in Albany, NY.

Now he�s the head regional manager over ten states. Until this day he offers extremely important insight into the world of business and finance, and he�s also a very connected individual in Kentucky. When I told him I created a business venture he immediately started to put me into contact with other businesses in our community and contacts that he thought I should know.

Then I also have two more mentors, one who owns a multi-million dollar firm at the age of 31 and was a college dropout. He has always told me important facts about entrepreneurship and he always invites me up to his huge mansion and allows me to kick back and get a taste of the good life that I one day hope to experience myself.

My other mentor is the Vice President of Community Reinvestments at a very large and well known banking firm. He�s not an entrepreneur, but since I want to go into banking and finance he has already introduced me to some very awesome contacts and he has even let me meet him at lunch when he�s meeting with other banker friends so I can get to know others in the industry.

These mentors have opened up doors I could have never imagined, taught me about entrepreneurship, allowed me to experience their lifestyles, let me listen in on conference calls, sit in on meetings and the list just continues to go on and on.

If I didn�t have these mentors I would have been in a world of trouble in certain instances and made some bad decisions due to the lack of professional insight. Many times these opportunities are all around you, because surely you have family members, friends of friends, or business contacts that are successful.

So instead of just looking at them as somebody you know, see if it�s possible to extend that relationship further and become their “reality student.” I promise you the results and outcomes won�t be disappointing.

Also I’m sure you’ve heard people explain to always acquire the professional help of a tax consultant or C.P.A. for all of your financial advising and tax counsel.

All this information is awesome and great. It is important to seek professional assistance and have everything in writing when working with vendors, consultants, contractors, clients, subcontracting, performing freelance work or whatever other type of arrangements or deal making you’re performing.

However, what in the world do you do with all these documents, graphical information, financial statements, contracts, agreements, bill of sales, receipts, and so on?

Do you just toss them in the trash? Are you supposed to use them for toilet paper? Okay maybe you’re suppose to throw them all over your house and office so it’s close to impossible to find them later on right?

Of course not, the whole objective of having all these documents is so that you can have them in the future if a situation arises where there is a question about the original agreement, or maybe you will just need these documents for record keeping and general maintenance, like checking inventory or performing mid-year analysis.

Regardless of the reason, don’t just get contracts and documentation just to do it, or because people tell you that it is the proper way to conduct business. After you have these important assets, you need to make certain that you arrange a proper filing system, where the files are easily accessible when needed.

Another key area relating to deal making is the internet, since we live in such a high tech age. It’s not uncommon to discuss important information—even in a casual manner—over the internet using instant messenger, email or other related electronic communication tools.

Always keep track of this information, because emails are automatically stamped with times and dates, and they make for excellent reference tools, or worst case scenario, these emails usually will hold up in court very well.

So the next time you exchange emails with a business partner or client, keep up with that email and place it in a certain electronic folder. Also stop looking at contracts and other business documentation as something that just goes in the trash, and be sure to file these items; because you truly never really know when you may need them!

This article isn’t meant to be geared towards the focus of emotional expressions and how they may differ according to genders. However regardless if you notice it or not, or rather you’re willing to admit it emotions do play a vital role in our everyday life, including when we own and operate business ventures.

That’s right emotions aren’t only relevant to the Oprah or Dr. Phil show, but they can have a very dramatic and direct impact on the success level of your firm.

Life takes us for very drastic rollercoaster rides, a track full of up and down scenarios. When negative things happen in our business life, sometimes we can become so distraught that our mind begins to wonder off, we become overwhelmed emotionally and ultimately we may begin to react out of emotion instead of using our greatest asset, which is our brain.

Some of the most successful individuals we have seen in this world regardless of their position or career focus, have been those that were able to manage their emotions and remain calm through all the turbulent situations of life.

Now this doesn’t only include managing negative emotions, but also you must manage positive ones as well. For instance sometimes young entrepreneurs will set goals and daily fight hard to reach those goals while facing a whole host of tribulations.

Then after all the hard work including the long nights up in the office, through the times of working two jobs and also trying to run a business, or attempting to be a student/entrepreneur, they finally hit their goal and start operating a successful business.

So now with the success, notoriety, and of course the money that comes with a successful venture, sometimes young entrepreneurs will allow their emotions of success to take over, and they lose their drive and begin to slack off thinking that they have made it to the promise land.

We all know what happens when this type of mentality and attitude sneaks into the equation; things quickly begin to fall apart and before you know it you will be back to square one, wondering where in the world did things go wrong!

So regardless of what is going on within your life, both personal and professional, regardless of what is going on around you with friends, family, politics or whatever else, when you get to the point where you’re staying rooted and grounded and always maintaining your emotions at a stable and constant level, your reactions and decisions won’t suffer and fluctuate like the situations in life do.