Wednesday, February 28 by David Askaripour in School | 26 Comments
I’m writing this article to share the experiences that I encountered in college while running a startup. Though I have completed college and now hold a degree in English, my latter years of college were quite interesting.
Ok, so my first 2 years of college — in terms of academics and having the school spirit — were great. I had a whole different state of mind then. Determined to become a history Ph. D, Computer Engineer and/or Naturopathic Doctor.
I was the typical over-achiever, straight A, teacher’s pet, student who wanted nothing more than to get the good grades and sail off to that dream job of mine. But everything change starting my 3rd year of college when I rekindled my love affair with entrepreneurship and started to focus more and more on creating a startup and less on my studies.
It all happened so abruptly: one day my life was revolving around my school work and another day my life was deep into the world of entrepreneurship. Everything was changing and my energies were now focused on my business.
Instead of maintaining a strict attendance in my classes, I skipped to attend business meetings. Instead of reading the assignments, I spent time creating business plans and writing down ideas. Instead of studying, I found myself spending most of my time overseeing the development of my online Internet venture.
After a full year of running my business and simultaneously taking 18 credits per semester, I began developing a hatred for school. School was becoming a weight on my shoulders and I felt that it was holding me back from really pushing forward with my venture.
Sure, I stilled loved the social aspect of college as I always have, but the thought of spending 3 hours studying for a test on British Literature instead of running my company became so depressing. At one point, It got so bad that I even considered leaving school.
But I don’t think that would have been the smartest move since I was almost done with my degree. However, that same school spirit and desire to excel academically was quickly fading as I got deeper and deeper into my startup.
My straight A’s started to turn into B’s, C’s and a few A’s here and there. It wasn’t that the work was hard – quite the opposite. It’s just that everything became so trivial to me and I would continue to ask myself “how in the world is this going to help me become a successful entrepreneur?”
I started to see that 90% of the things that I learned from school couldn’t really help me become a successful entrepreneur in any way, shape, or form. My professors would constantly speak about “getting jobs” but never once mentioning anything about self-employment.
As a student, I was being groomed to become a hard working “employee” who would be destined to take orders for the rest of my life. And, of course, that didn’t sit well with me at all.
I knew that my college career would never be the same for the remaining time that I had until graduation. There was no looking back for me and though I did successfully complete college – and with decent grades, btw – my last 2 years were awfully painful and I was in a constant state of anxiety trying to graduate as soon as possible by taking the maximum amount of credits allowed per semester/summer classes.
This article was written to make young entrepreneurs hate college or want to stop doing their school work to focus more on their business. I simply wanted to share my experiences.
So the question is: have any of you young entrepreneurs that are still in college going through a similar experience? If so, how are you coping with it?
Tuesday, February 27 by David Askaripour in Life | 2 Comments
Stop feeding your cat for a week and just watch how opportunistic he’ll become. Before you know it, your cat will have started hunting and killing birds. He’ll start clawing through your garbage. And basically find all sorts of creative ways to stay alive.
By the way, that was just an example and I would never starve my cat. What type of young entrepreneur do you think I am?! Hehe… Ok, so back to the cat analogy that I was creating.
Now, just like how the starving cat creating opportunities to stay alive after you forget feed it, you, the entrepreneur, have to become opportunistic when things go wrong. In fact, you should be in a constant state of opportunity-seeking alertness.
A few months ago at a New Year’s Eve party, some jerk spilled an entire drink on my only computer and fried it – completely destroyed. Since then, I have yet to purchase a new computer, but that hasn’t stopped me from getting online.
Sure, it was a pretty hard blow since I was so used to being online 10+ hours a day and using all my own customized tools, software, and browser settings. But, I became opportunistic and did what I had to do to remain online.
So what did I do? I borrowed computers from my friends every time they weren’t using them. I traveled back home on occasion – 60 miles – to use the family computer, I used my former college’s computer lab, visited internet cafes, and found libraries with free internet access.
To this day, I am still using these methods to remain online until I am able to purchase a new computer. You see, you always have to remain opportunistic because you never know when something is going to happen.
The worst things always seem to happen when you least expect it – and you can go from having a wonderful day with the birds singing in your ears to absolute chaos raining down on you.
Don’t wait to become opportunistic, try to remain that way at all time. When you do that, fewer mistakes happen. Fewer accidents occur. You become more efficient. And your recovery time from inevitable mishaps speeds up.
Tuesday, February 27 by Brian Lash in Life | 2 Comments
Before tonight I didn’t think I had much in common with your typical athlete. I’m lanky. I have flat feet. I break a sweat on 10-minute walks. I’m less coordinated than a badger on a typewriter. And I don’t like to hit others who can strike back without fear of legal recourse.
So you can imagine my surprise when I realized that athletes (albeit toward different ends) perform a number of the same functions as we entrepreneurs:
- They keep themselves mentally fit
- They discipline themselves – “Early to bed, early to rise…”
- They play for more than money
- They plan and test, and they monitor themselves and their competitors
- They execute rapidly – A coach names a play (tactical) in terms of a greater plan (the long-term strategy). Players execute moments later.
- They adjust constantly – They execute, sure, but not before updating their tactics in light of new information.
- They delicately manage public images – Think “Tiger Woods”
- They channel their anger / focus their aggression
The final insight is that which motivated this article. Consider the last time you were really, really mad. Perhaps a colleague undermined your authority. Or maybe a relative broke a promise s/he made. Or a computer problem tested the limits of your sanity.
At any rate, I bet that you:
- Got mad, and
- Got to work.
I know because I do the same.
As entrepreneurs, we’re predisposed to turn our anger toward our work. This has both positive and negative outcomes, but I emphasize the favorable elements here.
With exception to fear, nothing makes us work harder, faster, or more deliberately than the seeds of anger. And there is no more productive way to channel the adrenaline those seeds deliver than to focus it in the form of a renewed vitality toward our occupations.
The lesson: When applied appropriately, anger can allow us to get lost in our work, and to remove ourselves from that which troubled us in the first place.
That’s why it’s is such a tremendous tool for the entrepreneur – because it’s both invigorating and remedial. And because it increases our productivity by maximizing our inputs and optimizing our outputs.
“Anger” and “adrenaline.” “Inputs” and “optimization.” Notice how these terms – applied to the new venture - bear undertones from the world of sports?
In the words of the successful athlete, “I love this game.”
Brian Lash is founder of The Tipping Blog and writes about the entrepreneurial experience at BrianLash.com.
Monday, February 26 by David Askaripour in MP News | 11 Comments
Why is this new version called “Cheetah”? Simple. The Cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. It’s one of the most opportunistic, innovative, and curious animals in the animal kingdom. Young entrepreneurs have been moving at such a rapid rate with innovative startups, creating new business models, and disrupting the status quo, that we have become the new Cheetahs of the Entrepreneurship Kingdom.
As we continue to carve out niches, create new business environments, and push forward with our dreams, we have become a force that can’t be ignored. In that light, as one of the main upgrades in Cheetah version, we have opened up Mind Petals to the entire community of young entrepreneurs who have stories, insights, lessons, and experiences to share with the world.
You can become a part of the community by submitting an article and if we feel that it can help young entrepreneurs in some capacity or another, then we’ll publish it and include a short one sentence bio (w/ 1 link) on the footer of your article.
Though anyone can contribute an article, it “must” stay true to the spirit of Mind Petals and remain focused on “Young Entrepreneurs.” Young Entrepreneurs, from the beginning, have always been the focus of Mind Petals and it was always remain that way – forever.
We know that many Young Entrepreneurs have been active members of the community by visiting the site everyday to read new content and get new ideas/information to apply to your own business.
Well, with Cheetah version, you can now better connect with the entire Mind Petals community members with our forum, MP Nation. We kept is nice and simple with the forum, focusing on categories that we thought young entrepreneurs are most likely to relate to their ventures – bootstrapping, marketing, funding, questions, startups, life, mp garage (open forum to relax and discuss random ideas/thoughts), and a forum to discuss our first book, “Young and Hungry: The New Entrepreneur.”
We hope that you take the time to register to MP Nation and become more involved with the community. We know Young Entrepreneurs have a lot of ideas, insights, and experiences to share with the world, so head on over to MP Nation and unleash yourself!
And, of course, the book! Over the past couple of months Mind Petals Contributor, William Quisenberry, and I, David Askaripour, have been working on an e-book that dives into many of the issues that we’ve faced as Young Entrepreneurs running startups. The book has been appropriately named, “Young and Hungry: The New Entrepreneur.”
We wanted to deviate from the traditional entrepreneur-focused books out there that have flooded the market with theoretical BS, technical mumbo-jumbo, and all sorts of unnecessary information that really doesn’t relate to Young Entrepreneurs in any way.
The focus of the book was to stay true to real events and experiences that Young Entrepreneurs are likely to face sometime throughout their journey. Things like, talking to your parents about becoming an entrepreneur, building a team, getting your site developed, networking, working with people much older than you, bouncing back from failures, how to manage your time, making time for family and friends, and overcoming your fears. This book will be a great read and we hope that you find it helpful.
So there you have it, Cheetah has been unleashed into the World Wide Web of Young Entrepreneurs and we’d greatly appreciate any feedback on the upgrade. Ideas, found bugs, issues, comments, anything that you’d like to share with us. Indeed, there are some bugs that we’re in the process of squashing (so please be patient). What you have to say is important to the growth of Mind Petals and will help shape the future of our beloved community.
Rock on!
Monday, February 26 by Brian Lash in Start-Ups | 2 Comments
Ben and Jerry. Goldman and Sachs. Page and Brin. Ogilvy and Mather. And those guys working in a garage at the end of your street.
History provides plenty of examples of wildly successful entrepreneur-partners. And each example provides a case for the collaborative effort. Perhaps that’s why so many of us consider the process of finding a partner a mission-critical component in the creation of new ventures.
Remember the “How to build a bulletproof startup” article from the May 2006 issue of Business 2.0? Writers Michael Copeland and Om Malik itemized a 16-step route to startup success, and “Build your founding team” landed at step 2. “The ideal founding team is a triumvirate,” they wrote, “that includes an ace technologist, a big strategic thinker, and a dealmaker who focuses on sales and marketing.”
To be sure, partners can introduce plenty of benefits to a project: Fresh ideas and new perspectives. Specialized industry knowledge. Uncommon skills. Useful contacts. Increased productivity. And they can give new ventures tons of credibility, because the ability to find someone who will not only stand by your ideas, but who will also “put her money where her mouths is” by investing time into their development speaks volumes to outsiders about the venture’s potential viability.
But those benefits make partnering remarkably seductive. So much so, in fact, that we often abuse it.
I mean that we entrepreneurs abandon our costs-versus-benefits instincts in the face of promising partnership arrangements. The outcome? A series of mismatches between founders’ personal and financial goals. Between their work ethics. Between their personal interests and inter-personal expectations. And between their levels of dedication to the new venture.
Consider the words of Seth Godin, who writes in The Bootstrapper’s Bible, “It’s almost impossible to find a situation in which two people contribute equal amounts, have equal needs, have mutually consistent expectations, and will stay in the business the same amount of time.”
The lesson: Be open to partnering, but never to the exclusion of moving forward independently. Because while collaborating with other talented entrepreneurs can pay off handsomely, it can also impose unnecessary burdens on a new venture during its most critical development stages.
Review the benefits of partnering in light of its potential costs.
And don’t be afraid to go it alone.
Brian Lash is founder of TheTippingBlog.com and writes about the entrepreneurial experience at BrianLash.com.
Friday, February 23 by Brian Armstrong in Health | 4 Comments
Is your corporate job keeping you overweight? When I started my first company back in 2001, I never thought that it would help me get in better shape. Many people are surprised to hear this but it really has had a profound effect on my life. It was one of those totally unexpected ‘bonuses’ that came as a result of quitting my job and becoming my own boss. How does quitting your job improve your health? Here are a few ways:
1. You Actually Get Enough Sleep
If you’re like most Americans, you don’t get enough sleep. Many factors contribute to this, such as the long hours many companies require, rush hour traffic requiring you to leave earlier and earlier, and all those great programs on late night television (just kidding!). In all seriousness though, sleep deprivation is a big problem. As a result, many employees ending up drinking many cups of coffee or drinking caffeinated soda every morning to try and stay awake. It usually doesn’t work and can take its toll on your body.
While caffeine can make it difficult to fall asleep, it sure doesn’t make it fun (or productive) to be awake. The National Commission on Sleep Disorders estimates that sleep deprivation costs U.S. companies $16 Billion each year. Terrible disasters such as the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown and the Exxon Valdez oil spill were both linked to extremely sleep deprived workers.
When working for myself, do you think I feel guilty about taking a nap in the afternoon? Of course not! I’m my own boss and I know what’s best for own body. It’s been a long time since I worked for someone, but being in a constant state of sleep deprivation is one thing I certainly won’t miss.
2. Exercise
Most people who I see enter high stress jobs (such as investment banking, consulting, and those in the medical field) end up gaining quite a bit of weight in their first year. I’m always amazed when I see overweight paramedics driving around.
They of all people should know to be healthy! Employees gain weight partially because of stress, but it’s also because they can’t find time to exercise. I can remember coming home from a long day at the office back when I had a “real job”. After making it through rush hour and arriving home, I would make a beeline for the couch and collapse.
About the last thing in the world I wanted to do at that point was drag myself to the gym. I was just too exhausted. But now that I work for myself, I exercise four or five times a week! My favorite time to exercise is before lunch (10 or 11am) when I have lots of energy and an empty stomach. Since I’m my own boss I can schedule my workouts for whenever I’d like, and when you exercise in the morning the gym is less crowded. If you go to a yoga, cycling, or martial arts class, for example, you’ll get more one on one time with the instructor. Everyone else has to exercise in the evening (the busiest time) which creates psychological barrier to working out.
3. Eating Right
The final way that being self-employed improves your health is by making it easier to eat right. When I worked in the corporate world, we were always on the run. I’d rush out of the house each morning, being lucky to grab a burnt piece of toast as I was headed out the door. Inevitably, by lunch time I’d be starving and we’d run down to a local restaurant or the food court where the meal options weren’t quite ideal.
I was always famished by lunch, and would gorge myself, leading to a very sleepy afternoon. Finally, I’d make it home in the evening and often stop to grab some fast food. You see, I was using food to relieve stress (also known as self-medicating). After a tough day, it was far too easy to cheat and eat something unhealthy because it had been a hard day and “I deserved it”.
Fast forward to today where I no longer use food to make myself feel better. My days are more enjoyable and less stressful so I simply use food to get more energy and stay productive. I do this by eating small meals throughout the day. Many health professionals recommend this as the healthiest way to eat.
Eating small meals has the advantage that (1) you are never hungry and (2) you never get sleepy after eating. Whenever I’d eat a big lunch at work, my eyelids were feeling pretty heavy in the afternoon. Now I have high energy and higher productivity by snacking as I work during the day. Since I have time to go to the grocery store now and cook, I spend less money on food, eat healthier, and haven’t been to a fast food restaurant in more than a year!
Brian Armstrong is the author of Breaking Free: Fire Your Boss, Toss Your Alarm Clock, and Double Your Income With an Easy Transition Into Self-Employment.
Thursday, February 22 by David Askaripour in Life | 9 Comments
Sounds weird, right? I mean, why would any entrepreneur be scared to make money. Making money is a good thing. It’s something that is supposed to make you happy. It’s something that gives you power and more options in your life, as well as your business.
Now call me weird, but I am beginning to notice a correlation between making more money and increased responsibilities with my business. Don’t get me wrong, I love to make money. Though I’m not making a ton of money now, I can clearly see that the more I make on a month-to-month basis translates into more work to maintain the business.
The point I’m trying to stress here is: I believe that some young entrepreneurs can fall apart as they being to make more money if they aren’t careful – this is something that I am currently finding out as a young entrepreneur, myself.
Ask yourself this question: what do you do when you start to increase your bottom line and earn more money? For many entrepreneurs, the answers to that question will vary dramatically.
Here are some typical situations that I have noticed:
Entrepreneur A:
“ When I make more cash, I start investing even more money back into the business. I start to take on bigger projects that will increase the value of my company. I become even more creative with my ideas because I know that I now have the money to make them a reality.”
Entrepreneur B:
“ Sure, I start investing a bit more money back into the business, but I mainly spend the money on new toys, gadgets, and luxury items. I like to pretend that I’m rich and go on shopping sprees and live above my means – it’s fun! “
Entrepreneur C:
“ Wow, now that I am making cash from this business it’s time to fall back and hire someone else to manage it so I can spend my time spending my money on toys, clubs, and luxury items. I made it! I’m a successful entrepreneur! YAY!!”
If you are “Entrepreneur A,” then you can relate to the increased responsibilities when you start to make more money. This is the time when the pressure is on for you to perform. This is the time to say the following to yourself after you close a big deal: “okay, now it’s time to put this money to good use and add-on to my business” not “let’s go on a shopping spree.”
If you are a dedicated entrepreneur, then you shouldn’t only feel “happy” when you are making more cash… you should feel the “pressure.” This is the sort of pressure that is going to push you to succeed. Push you further than your expectations. Push your ambitions to new heights!
Entrepreneurship isn’t all fun and games, and a level of seriousness is needed if you really want to go far with your business. It’s okay to treat yourself and have some fun with the money that you make… but there must be limits.
Without limits and becoming “Entrepreneur C, ” you are setting yourself up for failure. Be smart. Be intelligent enough to spend the money that you are fortunate enough to make from your clients and customers to increase their experience with your service…that should be paramount – always.
What about you: do you feel the pressure as you start to make more money? What are your priorities with the money that your company earns?
Wednesday, February 21 by David Askaripour in Life | 3 Comments
If you’ve been following the news, I’m sure that you heard something about the recent Jet Blue Airline debacle. If you haven’t, here’s a quick recap: Last week passengers were stranded on a Jet Blue flight in JFK Airport for 11 hours. The week to follow, roughly 1000 flights were cancelled, customers luggage were lost and misplaced, and, of course, thousands of people were left stranded away from their loved ones.
So did Jet Blue run and hide and deny everything like so many other companies would have done? No, quite the opposite. Jet Blue quickly addressed the issue and launched a significant apology campaign.
CEO and founder, David Neeleman, was the one who spearheaded the slew apologies and openly accepted blame for the incident. There was absolutely no denying of the issue or lame excuses offered to try and mask the severity of the situation.
Throughout newspapers, magazines, blogs, and new channels, Jet Blue released several apologies and continued to remedy the incident by promising to “never let it happen again.”
Additionally, Jet Blue has offered millions in refunds and flight vouchers to customers. Since starting the company, Neeleman has always been in the corner of the customers and this has never been more apparent than now, when crises such as these arise.
Young entrepreneurs can learn a lot from the Jet Blue reaction and how Neeleman quickly responded. Things are bound to fall apart at some time throughout running your company and that’s okay. We aren’t perfect and mistakes do happen from time to time.
But, it’s all about how you handle the mistake – how you deal with the incident after it occurs. When something goes wrong and your clients suffer as a result of that mishap, you have to respond quickly and be as open about the situation as possible.
Don’t run and hide and try to deny everything. If you go that route, you are bound to lose customers and, more importantly, respect. Be open and admit to your customers what has happened.
Never keep the customer in the dark. Show that you aren’t scared to admit that your company messed up. Show that you are doing everything in your power to remedy the situation. Show that you are taking measures to prevent such a mistake from happening in the future.
When customers see that you are sincerely sorry and that you are taking immediate action, then respect is preserved and your company is in good standings to retain customers that were affected by the situation.
As the founder of a company always remember that you will be held responsible when something goes awry, so takes steps now to plan for how you will respond when a situation arises and customers are left without service.
Pose hypothetical situations about things that may happen with your company and how you would respond. Say, for instance, you owned a hosting company:
Q: What if all of my severs went down for a week, what would I do?
A: I would quickly notify all my clients via email and the company message forum about the situation and credit their accounts with 2 months of free hosting.
By taking the time to pose such questions and answering them, you will be well prepared for future incidences. If you constantly think about the customer experience and build your company around providing excellent service and fast responses to mistakes, you will separate yourself from the pack.
Wednesday, February 21 by William Quisenberry in Innovation | 2 Comments
As a startup entrepreneur, the beginning stages obviously requires many young professionals to wear many hats due to the lack of capital and also the lack of clients and customers. However as time continues to progress and you start to take on more and more projects, you may find yourself becoming a bit overwhelmed and strapped for time.
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!
Tuesday, February 20 by David Askaripour in Innovation | 4 Comments
Ah… the company name. Your company name. Coming up with a distinct, powerful, unique, and memorable names isn’t always a walk in the park. The process of developing a name for your venture shouldn’t be taken lightly. Your name is everything. Your name is the company. Your name represents everything that your company is about.
For some, coming up with a name may be a 1minute process. For me, I usually like to give it a solid month or so when coming up with a name for a new idea. Taking the time to really think, consider, think, and re-consider is vital when you’re seeking to come up with a powerful name.
This is the time to muster all of your creative energy and unleash it. I like to think of developing a name as an artistic process. You, the entrepreneur, are the artist and the minds of the world is your canvass. It’s time to create your masterpiece.
Absorb Everything >> Start by taking in everything from your environment. Read books, look up words in the dictionary, look at colors and shapes, go to the museum, go for a walk in the park (excuse the contradiction, heh…), go to the museum, review magazines, newspapers, and journals. The idea here is to flood your mind with a slew of information.
Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that you are inserting into your mind – that’s the whole point. You see, the mind has a special gift for working things out, organizing information, and putting the pieces together (assuming that you have a clear objective: coming up with a great company name).
Just keep on absorbing and let the ideas marinate for days, weeks, months… however long it may take. If you keep at it everyday, it’ll just come to you – probably when you least expect it.
Be Weird >> I’m not kidding; you should try to think weirdly when coming up with a name. Embrace weird. Weird is good. Weird sells. Don’t follow your friends, the status quo, or what you see other companies doing – just do your own thing.
And in order to “do your own thing” you have to think outside the box (don’t you just love that cliché?). It’s true, you have to step outside of the “normal” way of thinking. You have to become radical. You have to swim upstream when everyone is swimming downstream with the current.
Don’t be scared to take big risks with your company name. People are much more likely to remember a “weird” name than a boring typical name that doesn’t really look or sound that much different from the next.
Time Factor >> Ok, ok, weird is good…. But make sure that your name will last the test of time. Don’t fall into the trap of developing a name around a current market trend, ahem… web 2.0. Com’on guys, how many companies started adding the little “r” at the end of their names after flickr launched? So many.
Don’t base your name of temporary market temperatures. Sure, web2.0 is hot right now but it doesn’t mean that your name should reflect that. Come up with a name that is going to be just as unique 20 years from now as it is today.
Sure, easier said that done and of course we can’t pretend to predict the future…but it’s best to at least try and construct a name that will achieve that goal. Sometimes coming up with a solid simple name will do the trick.
You’re young. You are at the peak of your creative energy. So take the steps “now” to come up with the right name. Remember, it’s us young entrepreneurs that are going to set the tone for the future of business, so keep that in mind while you brainstorm. Make history my fellow entrepreneurs!
Friday, February 16 by David Askaripour in Funding | 6 Comments
A few days ago I was fortunate enough to sit down with a VC (venture capitalist) to chat for a few minutes about my projects. Nothing formal or anything like that. Just a chat. I was introduced to this VC from a mutual friend that thought it would make sense for us to meet and get to know one another.
It was an interesting meeting. Of course he was interested in learning about Mind Petals and how it got started n’ such. I was glad to share the story of Mind Petals and how it got started, where we are going, and what’s happening with the community.
We both went into the meeting knowing that there would be no investment offer, but, nonetheless, he was still very interested in the “popularity” of the network.
One question that he continued to ask was “how do you measure your traction?” I figure that this is a typical question that VCs ask. He narrowed his questions further by asking for metrics such as: visitors, page impressions, unique visitors, etc… You know, the usual traffic questions.
As he asked these questions, I couldn’t help but think about the questions that he “wasn’t” asking. Such as… what’s the potential of the network, how does it help young entrepreneurs, what sort of influence do you have, what type of businesses are your members involved in, etc…
I think that these type of questions would have given him a better idea of the community and what we are really up to. But I guess VCs take the SAT approach to determine whether or not they are interested in your company or not.
What’s the SAT approach? Well it’s something that I just made up. This approach can best be explained when you think about what colleges look for when accepting students.
Think about it, the number one determinant of getting into a good college is your SAT scores. You can be brilliant, creative, and extremely intelligent and still have low SAT scores. SAT scores mean nothing in the larger scheme of things and they cannot measure innate intelligence.
Colleges accepting students into their schools based on their SAT scores is akin to VCs investing in companies based solely on their metrics (for websites) and revenues.
Just as colleges so easily dismiss students from entering their school because of a number, VCs blindly throw away opportunities because they can’t see the true potential; because they are blinded by not seeing a site with tons of traffic or millions in revenue.
Young entrepreneurs such as us are shaking up the entire industry. We are creating business models never before seen. These old metrics and checklists to see if we are capable of receiving funding or not simply just won’t work anymore.
We are playing on a new field and I guess it’s going to take time for VCs to have a better vision of what has potential or not. By that time, it’ll probably be too late and the tides will have turned as they begin to “chase us.” Then I guess we can dismiss them, eh? I predict that this will be the case for more and more young entrepreneurs as our ventures mature.
I’ll leave you with this saying: “People fear what they don’t understand.”
Thursday, February 15 by Darius Askaripour in Start-Ups | 6 Comments
It’s so difficult these days to find a platform in which a person can convey their thoughts without ridicule or chastisement. You see my fellow entrepreneurs, I spent countless hours scouring the Internet for a place in which I could house my weekly article; an article that would address the concerns of my clients, peers, and the general public.
Many of the websites I came across lacked creativity or the ability inspire the reader. Other sites held off on innovation or sincerity, like these aspects weren’t a necessity. It wasn’t until my brother, David, sent me an update for Mindpetals, did I truly take the time to fully absorb the literature and concepts of this cutting edge phenomenon…young people, entrepreneurship, and cooperation. This site was alive…MindPetals…infinite ideas to bloom. This is the place I could call home.
Please excuse me, for not informally introducing myself. My name is Darius Askaripour, but please call me Dari; think of me as a neighbor. I own a company called Vitruvian Lending, which is a home finance and credit repair firm. We fight for the little guy, the oppressed, and the ones who dare to dream but just need a little helping hand.
Some time ago, and it truly seems like decades, I worked for a small finance firm, which was owned by two misguided men. The company was very small, only about 10 employees, which soon turned to just one. There was no support system, organization, or direction, which drove all hopeful loan officers right out the same door they walked in through. Yes, I was the last man standing. Yes, I was new to the finance field and naïve. I was swollen with hopes of success and motivated by the possibility of what could be.
There were so many clients looking to do business with me that I had to work 12 hour days. The funny thing is though, all of these deals were dieing before they closed because I was inexperienced and the men responsible for my finance education were lacking themselves.
After months of relying on the owners for guidance I realized that they knew less than I did, so I taught myself everything. I began to capitalize on my errors. Everyday was trial by fire. I learned from every mistake I made, from every moment of doubt I found success, from my defeats came triumphs. The first 4 months were painful because I drove 50 minutes to work in rush hour traffic, each way, and never made a penny! Can you believe that I was actually in debt, from going to work?!
Months passed by and as winter began to give way to spring; I began to feel like a few of my deals were going to sprout. I remember my mother used to say, “You sow what you reap”. Well I was sowing so much and reaping so little I began to question her sanity. Things were so rough that I actually went to my employer to ask for a $300 advance so I could make ends meet. Luckily I was fresh out of college and still living at home or else I would have been out on the street.
Around the 4th month a miracle happened and I actually closed a very small deal. There was $900 coming into the company and my split was 33%…I was going to get $300!!! Or so I thought, I remembered that I borrowed $300 and was actually not going to get a penny. I worked so hard on that file and even though I didn’t walk away with anything at that moment I received confirmation from the powers that be, that I actually could make money in this business.
Throughout the next few months I began to close deals and my paychecks were beginning to increase and become more frequent. Things were looking up but to no avail, the owners of the company made some huge mistakes. You see they hired without any regard for quality control; all they cared about was quantity. Any and everyone that came to the office looking for a job was hired on the spot. The place was a mad house and the leads I was getting began to dwindle. The bosses lost control of employees; there were no set hours so people were coming and going as they pleased.
After doing some extensive research I learned that the only way to truly surpass mediocrity in this business was to have officers below me. So, I approached my bosses and asked them if I could recruit employees myself, train them, and obviously retain a small percentage of what they brought into the company. Well the bosses, who lacked foresight, and were bleeding thousands of dollars a month, said I wasn’t ready for something like this. Oh how wrong they were!
Within 3 weeks I left the company, started my own, and took 2 of their employees with me. They were left with just one loan officer two weeks after I was gone. That was some time ago and it feels like centuries have passed since that day I walked out those doors. No more splits, no misdirection, and no more shackles and unmotivated confused higher ups.
It’s funny because one of the bosses contacted me last week and told me that their company was failing, that they were in desperate need of loan officers and deals. This man who once led me astray actually asked me if I could throw him some business…like it was going to benefit me in some way. It was a sorry sight to see. He still didn’t have a clue how to market, or how to truly educate a client. They were still unorganized. I would have thought that something would have clicked by now. I guess when you in a room full of darkness, it’s impossible to find the light switch.
Since the inception of my company, I have gone through many different phases. The initial vision I had has been altered along the way. In the beginning I had aspirations of having an office with hundreds of loan officers. I now will never have more than 20 employees at any of my offices. This is done so that each loan officer and processor is given enough support to do their job correctly, overhead is at a minimum, and this creates a family environment where we all strive for the same goals.
I thought I would cover every corner of this market, but I soon realized that spreading yourself too thin can be destructive, so I stuck to my niche, and I rarely leave it. I am a specialist and work primarily with clients who have “disrupted credit”, bankruptcies, divorcees, or serious debt issues. I am also a marketing consultant for loan officers and brokers within the industry.
You see at my old company, I experimented and spent months perfecting a formula that could raise credit scores rapidly, so previous clients that were constantly being turned down, now were given an opportunity to own a home. I guess starting out the way I did I was forced to learn more than the average mortgage broker. I had the luxury or misfortune to see how not to do things.
Today’s market is spiraling out of control and my company has actually thrived because we are small, mobile, manageable, and the quiet eye in the storm. We can do business in 38 states, are organized, efficient, and educate our clients about every aspect of their very personalized deal. In a world where honesty seems like a rare commodity, we not only do what we say, but we prove it to you. A client never gets lost in the vanity or pompous nature of large companies with us. It’s about the long term, ongoing relationship. It’s about making a dream or desire come in fruition.
So there you have it. That’s my story…my informal introduction to my readers. Every week I will post and address a question asked by one of my clients, a peer, employee, mortgage broker, loan officer, or Mind Petaler (you) interested in the loan/mortgage business. I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one where we can both learn from each other.
Darius Askaripour is the founder of mortgage company, Vitruvian Lending.
Thursday, February 15 by David Askaripour in Video | Leave a Comment
According to Elon successful entrepreneur come in all sizes, shapes and flavors! Some things that are important are an obsessive nature with respect to the quality of the product, and really liking what you do.
Please visit the Stanford Technology Venture Program’s Educator’s Corner for more clips.
Thursday, February 15 by David Askaripour in Bootstrapping | 13 Comments
If you’ve been following the financial situation of the United States lately, then you are well aware of the high rise of outsourcing going on. Countries such as India, China, and Europe are playing a crucial role in providing well-qualified workers for companies right here in America – heck, around the world!
Want to hear something shocking? Here in the United States we are producing roughly 60,000 engineers a year and overseas – most notably, India – close to 800,000 engineers are being produced per year. So what’s happening?
Well, top companies that heavily rely on the services of engineers, who hire around 1000 – 2000 of them per year are now aggressively increasing their outsourcing campaigns to find the talent that they need.
As a young entrepreneur running a startup for the past 3.5 years, I, too, have went the outsourcing route multiple times and still do from time to time. Let’s face it, when you are looking for quality programmers and top designers here in the states, your only bet is to go after that small niche of designers who have built names for themselves. And in order to attract those diamonds in the rough, you better have the dollars to pay them.
They are the type of engineers, programmers, and designers who always say: “I can afford not to take on your job.” You know, the type who have built large followings around their work and have tons of people sending them request for proposals all night and day.
Sure, when you have the money I’d say hunt these individuals down and try to get them a part of your project, but the harsh reality is that most of us young entrepreneurs don’t have buckets of cash and we rely on bootstrapping to get things done.
So this brings us back to the premise of the article – Outsourcing. Outsourcing can be a lifesaver of a killer for entrepreneurs depending on your experiences with the people you are working with.
My first Internet project that I started 3 years ago was 100% outsourced and it was one of the worst experiences of my entire life. So many factors threw the project awry: language barriers, time difference, and an overall misunderstanding of what needed to be done. It was absolutely horrible and I told myself “never again.”
But now, years later, I have given another look at outsourcing as a viable way to get what you need done without spending a ton. As these niche and tight groups of designers/programmers/engineers continue to work together and simultaneously raise their prices, us young entrepreneurs are forced to seek talent elsewhere.
If you do your research, put in the time, and really spend the hours looking for the right person/company to outsource work to, then you’d be surprised to see how much talent you can find outside of your own country. Sure, it won’t be easy but it’s doable.
There are always people out there who are talented and hungry for work; people who charge reasonable prices and are more than capable of communicating with you on a level that both parties can understand.
The bootstrapping entrepreneur cannot ignore the benefits of outsourcing – even if you had a horrible experience such as myself. Outsourcing can be the difference between moving forward with your dreams or become stagnant and/or caught in a bind of paying tons of cash unnecessarily.
It most cases, the saying is true: “you get what you pay for.” So if you aren’t fully confident that the person you are outsourcing to is competent and right for the job, then forget about it. Move on. Keep on searching. But if you have the dollars, then pay up and go with the people who you (and the rest of the world) already know are talented. Only you can decide.
Have any outsourcing experiences to share? Any situations that worked out? Any advice for young entrepreneurs thinking about outsourcing?
Tuesday, February 13 by William Quisenberry in Innovation | 7 Comments
There have been numerous accounts and testimonials that I’ve heard and read about successful entrepreneurs that were relentless in their pursuits for greatness and also in their efforts to create a successful venture.
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.
Monday, February 12 by David Askaripour in Life | 6 Comments
How many of you young entrepreneurs out there who have friends who “just don’t get it?” You know what I mean: the friends who think that you are rich because you own a company, the friends who think you have life so easy because you aren’t working a typical 9 to 5 corporate America gig, the friends who think that you are lazy because you are able to set your own schedule and wake up at 9AM if you’d like, and the friends who think that you are “better than them” because you are some big shot who owns a company.
Com’on Mind Petalers, let’s set the record straight here:
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We don’t have it easy because we don’t work a typical 9 to 5. In fact, in many cases we have it harder and work longer hours. You can find us working 3AM in the morning to the crack of sunlight.
- We aren’t rich and famous (well, not all of us). Most of us are just starting off with our ventures and are busting our asses to turn a profit.
- Sure, many of us may appear to be arrogant, but don’t confuse arrogance with confidence. An entrepreneur who isn’t confident is an entrepreneur who isn’t going to succeed. The only people who change this world are the ones who are truly crazy enough to believe that they can – and that takes confidence!
I’m reaching out to the Mind Petals community to add to this list and help dispel some of the myths that our friends may believe about the lives of young entrepreneurs.
Personally, when I was working a 9 to 5 like the rest of my friends over a year ago, my life was much easier. I had a stable income, I didn’t have to come up with anything creative, my insurance was covered, and I didn’t have to take my work home with me.
Since becoming a full time entrepreneur, my life has been filled with the most stress that I have ever encountered. The most problems, fear, and headaches as well. BUT…. It has also been filled with the most JOY and feelings of accomplishment.
I would never trade my life as an entrepreneur for a 9 to 5 — never. And, guess what, I’m not sorry about that. We shouldn’t have to apologize for taking risks and going down the path that our friends only dreamed about going down but never did.
Remain confident, focused, and keep pushing forward with your dreams. And if your friends still can’t understand that you’re an entrepreneur for life… then, are they really your friends?
Monday, February 12 by David Askaripour in MP News | Leave a Comment
Michael Simmons, a fellow member of Mind Petals and author of the Young Entrepreneur Journey blog, is launching a 50-college entrepreneurship tour in 2007-2008. At each half-day event, one of the country’s top young entrepreneurs will deliver a keynote.
The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, the first ever collegiate entrepreneurship road tour, is launching a 50 school tour during the 2007-2008 academic year. They are looking for the country’s top young entrepreneurs to be keynotes and local entrepreneurs to sit on their panels. This can be a great opportunity for all you Mind Petalers who are interested in sharing your story with the world on stage and in front of plenty of aspiring young entrepreneurs. To learn more about this opportunity, visit here.
Matt Lauzon, another Mind Petals member, has become a finalist in the Campus CEO business plan contest. Matt is the founder of the innovative jewelry startup, Paragon Lake. Please visit the Campus CEO contest page and give your support the entrepreneur that you see the most promising.
Good luck, Matt!
Friday, February 9 by David Askaripour in Life | 3 Comments
I once heard a saying that went something like this: “the most successful people on this Earth also suffered the most.” I guess that statement will mean different things for different entrepreneurs. Success will always remain in the eyes of the beholder and it can come in many different shapes, forms, and sizes.
To say that there was only one type of success would be to say that Bill Gates and Gandhi are one in the same. Each triumphed with different forms of success. The two can’t even be compared (re: their journeys to success).
But in order to show the correlation between success and sacrifice, we can take a look at men of great success and see how sacrifice was an integral part of their feats — their glory.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, sacrificed the chance to obtain a degree from the top Ivy League university in the world. He was attending Harvard University before leaving to devote all his time to building Microsoft.
Gates, knowing that his time would be better spent focusing on building his dream company, took a leave of absence never to return, and pushed forward with his ambitions.
His sacrifice lead to building the number one software company in the world, subsequently becomes the world’s richest man.
Mahatma Gandhi, liberator of India, spiritual leader, and leader of Indian National Congress, lived a life fighting to protect the rights, freedom, and happiness of the people of India.
Upon returning home after campaigning against South Africa’s racist ideals and helping to bring about change in the region, he returned home to India and devoted the remainder of his life to fighting poverty, instilling pride and happiness in the hearts of all India’s inhabitants (regardless of race or religion), and most notably, attaining autonomy from the British Empire.
Throughout Gandhi’s life, he was imprisoned for many years, beaten, and eventually murdered. Through is non-violent and non-confrontation movements, he made the ultimate sacrifice by showing the world that he didn’t have to physically fight in order to bring about change.
His journey to success embodies a life of selflessness, devotion to his people, and a rare determination of immense courage and persistence. His ultimate sacrifice was perhaps his greatest — his life.
And lastly, Roman Emperor Augustus, formerly known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Gaius Octavius. Upon the brutal murder of his uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Octavian had a decision to make: to try and live a life of peace and renounce his inheritance from his uncle to become Emperor and protector of Rome or to challenge his enemies who sought to neutralize his position and keep him off the road of politics — essentially, stopping him from accepting his uncles will.
So in 44 BC at the age of 19 years old he decided to raise an army of roughly 10,000 strong to fight his enemy Mark Anthony in Gaul (France). His victory over Marc Anthony led to several more critical wins during a time of unrest and civil war in Rome.
His decision to sacrifice a life of placation and probably personal peace and wealth, lead him to push forward with his political ambitions. His decision was greatly rewarded and led to Augustus becoming the most powerful and respected Roman Empire to ever live.
His contributions brought about 250 years of peace, something never before done in history. His name will on forever.
As you can see, all of these men gave up something — many things — in their pursuit of success. From modern time Bill Gates all the way back to Ancient Rome during Augustus’ time.
While on your journey to success, always remember that it’s going to take something to gain something. Nothing will ever simply be given to you. If you want something badly enough, then get it. Take it. Fight for it. And accept the fact that sacrifices will inevitably have to be made in the process.
Friday, February 9 by William Quisenberry in Innovation | Leave a Comment
When it comes to getting materials in writing with contracts and agreements, it’s imperative for an entrepreneur to know “what” to actually get in writing.
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.
Thursday, February 8 by David Askaripour in Operations | 2 Comments
Did you ever feel like you were spreading yourself apart with having to do a million things — all by yourself — to keep your business running? If you’re running a business by yourself, I’m sure that you know what it feels like to be overextended. The pressure of having to do everything yourself can be pretty overwhelming and stressful, to say the least.
Nowadays, young entrepreneurs are always talking about teams… teams… teams… Sure, having a team can be a great thing and for some businesses it’s almost necessary to have a team. But, I don’t think that having a team correlates to success in all cases.
If you have the determination, the vision, and the burning desire to succeed, then things like not having a teams isn’t going to hold you back. You’re going to make it happen! In this day and age, anyone can start and build a company without the need of partners and employees.
Think about it, things continue to get cheaper and cheaper as time goes by. Take a look at the Internet entrepreneur who can hire a great designer, find a solid coder, dish out a few bucks for hosting, and having a fully functional business up and running in a matter of a week by spending only a fraction of the price that you would have paid years ago.
And of course let’s not forget about the large supply of creative, innovative, and hard working freelancers out there who are constantly looking for work. These are the people that make running your own business — without a team — possible.
But who am I kidding? Indeed, you can start and run a business without a team and attain successes — but at what cost? As your business begins to grow and the responsibilities start adding up, you’ll soon find yourself itching to either hire someone or take on a partner to balance the load.
As a founder of a business it’s great to be involved in every facet of your organization. You, more than anyone, should know your business inside out. But as you grow, things don’t stay the same.
When you find yourself having to spend more time responding to customers, media inquiries, and things of that nature, when you can be working on closing deals and going on important meeting, and steering the company in the right direction, then you know that you have a problem.
There comes a time where you have to draw the line and concede to the fact that you are only one man. And when you come to that realization, the next step is think about duplicating yourself.
Image you had someone who knew just about your business as you did. They knew how to respond to customers, update the website, send out the newsletters, and even close some of the deals. Such a person would free up your time to start focusing all your energy on steering the company in the right direction. And in may instances, you may have to make a few duplicates of yourself.
For instance, if you find yourself spending countless hour on building and updating your websites, then find a coder. If you find yourself spending all your time doing customer support, then find someone to help answer the phones and respond to emails. If you find yourself spending all your time responding to media inquiries, then find someone who can help with the responses.
I’m a firm believer that the founding entrepreneur should be devoting most of their time to things such as innovating, overseeing projects, being the creative director on new developments, coming up with major ideas, and the person who goes out there and meets the people who can help grow the business.
When you spread yourself thin by continuing to run every little element of your company by yourself, then you being to render your own abilities useless. A mind that is caught up doing a million things at once is a mind that is destined to fall apart. Decentralize your business now, not later when it may be too late.
What do you think. When is it time to start duplicating yourself and take on employees/partners to spread the workload? What are the signs that tell you when its time to start giving up some responsibility? Employees, contractors, or partners?
Thursday, February 8 by William Quisenberry in Innovation | 1 Comment
So many times I hear “want-to-be” or aspiring entrepreneurs say things like, “I just don’t have the money or time to start a venture right now, even though I do want to.”
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.
Wednesday, February 7 by David Askaripour in Operations | 2 Comments
Remember that toy store called KB? I used to love begging my parents to take me there to get candy and toys when I was a little kid. Oh boy, that was great! Well, this article isn’t about the KB toy store but I’d thought that I’d mention a childhood experience because those are always fun, right? This article is about a different type of KB, the one known as a “Knowledge Base.”
Most companies use KB’s to document various elements of their organization. You’ll find that hosting companies use KB’s for documenting system installs such as software upgrades, server tutorials, and how-to’s on running certain scripts on your server.
Knowledge Bases can be used for anything, really. However, as a young entrepreneur — as any entrepreneur — I strongly urge you to start documenting your entire company in a KB. Save yourself a lot of time and trouble and do this now — little by little — rather than later.
What should you document? Everything!
- When, why, and where you started your company. Include the mission statement, company profile, and original members of the organization.
- Create profiles of each partner and include all of their contributions to the organization. Include when they started, their equity stake, why they are beneficial to the team, etc…
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Talk about every single process that it takes to run and keep your business operating. Guidelines for sending out company memos (emails, for us internet entrepreneurs), how to send out company newsletters, how to sign onto the company server, how to greet clients, how to use the company wordpress blog system, how to moderate the company’s forum, how to send out an invoice, how to do the accounting, get the idea….
- Build a library of all of the company contacts such as the lawyer, accountant, associates, affiliate partners, doctors, employees contact information, etc…
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Create a database of all the company’s former problems and provide the solutions on how to easily correct the problem if it should ever happen again. For instance, if you run a series of blogs and your system has crashed in the past, create a tutorial explaining how to quickly restore the server in the case of another error down the line.
So I think you see where I am going here, right? If you start building a KB for your company now and have all of your employees constantly add to it, revise, and edit the system, you’ll be building up a very powerful resource that will grow with your company. As your company grows and changes, you’ll be able to update the KB at anytime.
For instance, when you hire employees you can give them access to your KB system and advise them to first seek the assistance of the KB before coming calling to you about every little issue that they may be having a problem with. Having a KB for your company will improve operations, increase efficiency, and overall allow your company to run smoother.
Mind Petals Advisor, Anthony, recently told me that he uses MediaWiki as his KB for his marketing and web development firm. He told me how much time that it has saved him and how it really helped employees to become well-educated on the company’s operations.
After doing some homework, it looks like I will be going with MediaWiki as well. But remember, the KB should not be open to the world if you plan on having sensitive information in it. I would suggest password protecting your KB and only giving access to your employees and partners. However, you may devote a certain section to clients as well.
Do you have any experiences with Knowledge Bases? If so, share them with Mind Petals.
Tuesday, February 6 by David Askaripour in MP News | 11 Comments
Last night I visited my local bookstore and picked up a copy of the newly released “Campus CEO” written by The Apprentice 4 winner, Randal Pinkett.
After reading the first few pages of this book, I already like the direction that Randal is headed in. It looks like it’s going to be a good read for young entrepreneurs across the world. Having gotten a taste of Randall’s new book, I can’t help but remember what it was like running a business while in college.
I can’t think about any other time is your life that would be a better time to start a business than in college. It’s really the perfect environment. With access to tons of resources such as computers, Internet, library, business professors, and a army of business savvy students, you have the world at your fingertips.
I’ve always been a believer that the true benefits from college come from the gained experiences, the parties, the networking, the speeches that you give in classes, the conversations that you have with your professors after class, and the overall great feeling of being a part of a community.
Through those experiences in college, and not necessarily to actually “classes” that you sit in on, your entire life can be shaped, especially if you undertake the challenge of starting a business while in school.
I implore all young entrepreneurs to start building a business while in school. This is the time to set the foundation for your continued growth upon graduating school. This is the time to lay the seeds of your company that will enable you to skip the 9 to 5 job after your 4 years. This is the time to give it all you got, dump your entire heart into something, and make your dreams a reality.
Take advantage of your youth. Embrace your youth. Youth = Power. The earlier you being your entrepreneurial journey, the farther ahead of the pack that you’ll be. Time is your greatest advantage, so don’t waste it.
Now your parents may look at college and say to you “go to class, get good grades, and don’t party too much.” Well, that’s all good and well, but young entrepreneurs needs to think just as much about growing a business in college as getting good grades.
Sure, get good grades (if that’s what you want), but also make sure to get out and have fun, go meet other students, attend events, pick your professors’ brains after class, give presentations on subjects that interest you — do whatever you have to do to leverage your business by meeting as many people as possible.
College is more about socializing and finding out who you are than simply “getting good grades.” In fact, if your grades drop as a result of running a business, then that’s okay. If it’s your plan to push forward with your business after graduating and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it, then in the larger scheme of things, that C you received on your history exam is inconsequential.
Read Campus CEO and learn about how successful entrepreneurs started their ventures in college and the experiences and lessons that they gained.
Oh, and great news: Mind Petals was mentioned a few times in the book. Our community is starting to get noticed and thanks to all of our members, contributors, and readers, we are becoming the symbol for young entrepreneurs across the globe. Thank you all for your continued support of Mind Petals. We are all going to do big things!
(source: pg 211)
Monday, February 5 by David Askaripour in MP News | 3 Comments
For the next few Mondays Mind Petals will be hosting various contests on different topics each week. The winner for each week will receive a brand new copy of the new book “Kiss Theory Good Bye” by Bob Prosen. The book has been personally signed by Bob, and includes a nice folder filled with information on the book, press releases, and plenty of information on Bob.
I think we’ll kick off this first contest by having Mind Petalers (you) each submit a business “theory” or wacky business saying that you have encountered in school, reading, people, etc… That absolutely makes no sense or is totally weak and provide a counter to it. Show us why is doesn’t make sense are offer real examples to prove what you say.
For example:
- Theory: To be a successful entrepreneur or businessperson, you have to get an MBA.
- Why that theory is bullshit (counter theory): Most of the worlds most successful businessmen and entrepreneurs never completed college and furthermore, never got an MBA. Bill Gates, Sam Walton, and Howard Hughes are all examples of such entrepreneurs.
The person who can provide us with one of these weak business theories and offer a practical solution or “better way of thinking” to counter such a theory will be this week’s winner.
At the end of the week, Friday morning, we’ll have a vote from the top ten theories/solutions chosen from the Mind Petals Advisory Board members.
This will be an ongoing contest, so I’ll need your help. If you have an idea for a contest, then let me know. Any contest idea used that comes from you, your name/website will be mentioned on each article as a “contest contributor” (some nice free advertising).
Okay guys and gals, young entrepreneurs of the world, let’s get this contest rolling! Please submit your theory and counter in the comment box below and make sure to provide your full name.
Rock on!
Saturday, February 3 by David Askaripour in Video | Leave a Comment
PayPal is a perfect case of viral marketing where one customer acts as a sales person by sending money to a friend and hence recruiting another customer. By the end of year 2 PayPal had a million customers with no sales force and no advertising budget.
Please visit the Stanford Technology Venture Program’s Educator’s Corner for more clips.
Friday, February 2 by David Askaripour in Life | 8 Comments
Do you remember the moment when you started your first company? The spark that got you started. What about the day that you had a vision to start creating something? When did you know that you were an entrepreneur? When did you know that you would devote your life to becoming a successful entrepreneur who will change the world?
These are the questions that all entrepreneurs should be asking themselves. It’s important to always remember how you got started. I’ll never forget the day when I got started. It was in 6th grade and I started a candy selling business. I sold candy to my classmates for 25 cents a piece and within a few weeks I was making roughly $10 in profit per week. Not bad for a kid only making a buck per week in allowance.
When you take the time to think about when you started, it helps you stay focused and determined on where you are going. We’ve all started from somewhere.
Some of us had parents who were businessmen who influenced us to start our own companies. Some of us were forced into entrepreneurship to raise necessary capital for a healthy quality of life. And some have simply woke up one day and decided to give something a shot – something that was once a mere thought that has turned into a way of life.
The spark that ignited your entrepreneurial flames is what started everything. It was the thought that has turned into everything that you now have and everything that is to follow. Never forget that spark. Your spark.
You need to hold onto it. Cherish it. Because when times get bad and things go wrong – as they always do – remembering that spark is going to keep you going. It’s going to keep those flames soaring high. It’s going to keep your dreams alive.
Let’s keep this flame going and share your spark with us. What was the moment, thing, instance, or person that started you on your entrepreneurial journey?
Thursday, February 1 by David Askaripour in Life | 6 Comments
I don’t know, you tell me. Do you think that money is the best motivator that pushes us as young entrepreneurs to succeed? Does the thrill of riches help push you along your entrepreneurial journey? Do it make you work harder than ever before?
Ok, I lied. Yes, money is a great motivator for me. I think that money motivates most of us young entrepreneurs to work our hardest, make things happen, and do every thing in our powers to succeed in building an empire.
Howard Hughes, one of Americas most successful entrepreneurs and first billionaires once said that “he wanted to be the richest person in the world” as a young boy. As an adult, that dream came true as he was, at one point, the richest person in America.
I even recall Bill Gates’ desire for mass riches and vast wealth in one of his early biographies that I read a few years ago. And I think we all know what happened with Bill Gates.
These brilliant entrepreneurs did indeed have money on their minds. Heck, even Warren Buffet had dollar signs floating across his eyes as he began investing at the mere age of 11. All of these innovators not only went on to becoming the richest individuals in the world, but they have contributed to society immensely!
Their contributions have truly changed the world and made it a better place. I have no doubt that the desire to make lives easier, solves problems, and bring about positive change was on their minds when building their empires…but, the desire for money also played a crucial role in their feats as successful entrepreneurs.
Let’s face it, money is power. And those with power have the ability to do big things: good things, bad things, weird things, etc…
So what am I saying here? I’m saying, don’t feel bad if money is your motivator when building your business. That’s okay. This issue shouldn’t be about using money as your motivation to succeed; what’s most important is what exactly “you do” to bring about that wealth. If you are doing great things for people, then that’s all that matters.
Here’s a quote from Louise Erdrich:
Money helps, though not as much as you think when you don’t have it.
What do you think, is money one of the best motivators or not?
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