With the freedom of web communications and low-cost web publishing, thousands of entrepreneurs are turning to self made websites and blogging away to launch their entrepreneurial ventures. The virtual business is no longer a dream; we’re in the era where a laptop in your backpack and setting up shop at the local café are all you need to call it a day’ at the office’.
Online startups can easily be run virtually, generating revenue faster than any brick-and-mortar counterpart. Could you be the next virtual business success story? Here are few quick tips on getting your niche idea onto the ‘on ramp’ for launch:
Develop and define—really define—your marketing strategy.
Every business needs a launch strategy, and your web business shouldn’t be any different. Outline exactly who you’re going to target, and where they may already be. Start social networking, join discussion forums, and just get social! Today’s Web 2.0-based networks are filled with opportunities to help you find out where your customers are. Identifying your niche market’s tastes, preferences, and even goals is easier than ever!
Do your SEO homework.
Even if you’ve outsourced your website creative and content writing, it’s a good idea to learn how to develop your site so that it is easily picked up by the search engines. Counting on an attractive Flash-based site, for example, may help you entertain your audience, but will limit your ability to be seen by search engine crawlers. Learn the ins and outs of search engine optimization and you’ll be off to a great start.
Think in the long-term.
The dot-bomb cycle need not be repeated, and the success of your business will require some long range planning. Build a business that can grow on itself, and develop at least three to four fundamental strategies that will help sustain your business for at least two years.
Power up with a blog.
More and more businesses are using blogs as a complement to their website, or simply as the online business itself. Get comfortable with using blog platforms such as SquareSpace and WordPress, and you’ll quickly see the potential of reaching out to today’s blog-savvy audience.
Create and stick with your mission statement.
Mission and purpose statements aren’t just for brick and mortar startups, they can really help you business succeed on the web as well. Developing a brand is a great way to make sure you stand out from other businesses in the competitive online world, and the more focused and purposeful your mission statement is, the easier it will be to make decisions and grow with your central purpose—consider it a ‘compass’ as you grow.
A healthy diet and regular exercise are essential for long term health, but many people forget the role that specific foods and balanced nutrition have in boosting that brain! The brain needs a wide range of nourishing and wholesome foods on a daily basis; in addition to stocking up on omega 3 fatty acids and quality protein, boosting your brain power might be as simple as snacking on a few almonds.
Here are just a few brain foods that might give you the extra nutrients you need to kick your intelligence into high gear:
Oily fish:
Pick up some salmon, sardines, or fatty tuna for dinner and you’ll be loading up on important omega-3 fatty acids. These can help improve your memory skills and even accelerate learning.
Soy milk:
Soy protein isolate is found in many supplements and nutrition bars, but soy milk can give you the essentials for enhanced mental functioning.
Blueberries:
Filled with antioxidants, blueberries can help protect the delicate blood vessels in the brain, and may even improve memory and motor skills.
Leafy greens:
Popeye was onto something with all that spinach; not only will green vegetables give you the iron and fiber you need to stay healthy, but also pack a punch for mental performance.
Almonds and walnuts:
Just a few ounces per week can help with memory and cognitive enhancement.
Brown rice:
Enriched with vitamin B6, this whole grain is very valuable for cognitive health.
Olive oil:
Add it to salads or just switch to an extra-virgin variety in your cooking. Olive oil is filled with antioxidants that can protect your body from damage and preserve that valuable brain tissue.
Garlic:
Not only can this powerful herb reduce stress and clear up congestion, but some studies suggest it has a positive effect on brain power and concentration. Consider taking a garlic supplement if you want to avoid any cases of bad breath.
Stock up on lean meat:
Eating lean cuts of red meat, at least once or twice per week, can give you iron and B vitamins needed for a healthy brain.
Eggs:
Packed with choline, eggs prepared any way you like will give you the nutrients you need for healthy brain cells; keep your diet low in fat by eating whole eggs just once or twice per week.
Hectic schedules, rapid learning, and a never ending to-do list can take their toll on your mind and body. If you’ve been feeling a little blue lately, or simply need some motivation, consider changing up your diet with some of nature’s best resources for brain food.
Every company has a culture. When you think about Apple, you think: creative, fun, hip, art, family, and quality. When you think about Microsoft, you think: nerdy, technical, proprietary, monopoly, serious, mathematics. Your company has a culture brewing whether you know it or not. Sadly, most young entrepreneurs never take to time to really think about their company culture; whether it’s positive, negative, in-between, etc.
Take out a sheet of paper and make a list of words that come to mind when you think about your company
Here’s my company culture keyword list:
Fun
Determined
Entrepreneurial
Freedom to create
Innovative
Confidence
Fair
Honest
Ambitious
Positive
After you’ve compiled your company culture list, take some time to think about what’s really going on at your company – how people are feeling, the flow of work, the level of confidence within your organization, etc.
Are people determined to succeed no matter what?
Are people happy and joyful?
Are my partners holding their weight or slacking off?
What sort of feedback are we receiving from clients / customers?
Are my employees working to their abilities or taking naps on the job?
Am I, the founder, instilling confidence in everyone?
Is there respect?
Do people laugh or dead serious all the time?
Are people being passive aggressive?
Is there a lot of shouting and yelling?
Are feelings getting hurt?
Are we meeting our goals?
Are we lazy?
Are we playful?
Are we nerdy?
Are we sexist?
Are we racist?
Once you have you list of company culture keywords and a set of questions about those keywords and how the relate to your company, then spend some time with your entire team evaluating the company culture. Sometimes things are going wrong and you don’t even know why. Maybe those “wrong” things have been engrained in your company culture and have been affecting the entire organization from the start and growing through new employees / partners — enculturation!
“It’s really easy for the culture of a startup to go sideways”
– Marc Andreessen
Understanding your company culture is absolutely essential to success. Figure it out, evaluate it, and make adjustments — add to the good practices and remove the bad. Remember, you’re building an empire and you’ll need a positive company culture to ensure that your company lives on…and on… and on…
I was in the backseat of the car yesterday while on a trip with my Dad and Uncle. My Dad was speaking to my Uncle about his position as an Executive at a major stationary company and his experiences from the job. Little did my Dad know that I was getting a very valuable business lesson as I sat back and chimed in on their conversation. The premise of my Dad’s conversation was: “In business you have to be willing to work with people and wait things out. You give a little and get a little; over time, that ‘little’ will turn into a lot.”
Here are a few points that he brought up:
The Smart Sacrifice
In business you have to be willing to take a “smart sacrifice” sometimes. Say, for instance, you get a new client who only wants to pay you $25 per hour and you usually charge $50 per hour. The project is extremely interesting and you know that if you take the job that it’ll lay the foundation for plenty of work to come. If you are smart, you’ll take a small cut in pay, and do the job. Once your prove yourself to the client and show him that your skills are absolutely valuable to their organization, you’ll have them locked in. Once someone is locked in, you can bump up your price. Be smart and know when to strategically cut the price in your service.
Never Hide Your Value
If you know that the things that only “YOU” do produce certain awesome results then don’t — never — hide that. Never. Being humble is great and we should practice that, but there comes a time when you have to let your organization know (whether you’re an employee, partner, or founder) just how great of a job you’re doing. My Dad says: “if you don’t stand out, then you’re replaceable.” When my Dad crashed his car a few years back, he had no problem asking the founder of his company to purchase him a new car — on the company’s dollar — because he knew his value at the company. If “YOU” don’t know your own value at your company, then don’t expect anyone else to.
It’s Okay to Keep Secrets
As a Shipping Executive, it’s my Dad’s job to ship roughly $300,000 in products per day, everyday. For years he’s been able to do what other Shipping Executives have tried to do and failed. My Dad has perfected the method — mathematically and strategically — on how to accomplish this feat day after day. His founder always jokes and says “I’m going to hire a detective to find out how you’re doing this.” The point is, don’t feel that you always have to share every breakthrough with everyone else. Many people feel that if they’ve perfected a business technique, then they should write a blog post on it and give it away to the world. I say: ah… uhmm… no! Why do that? By sharing such a technique, you’ll be rendering it obsolete. You’ll no longer have an advantage. It’s no mystery that companies keep secrets — it’s a must. A great way to share company secrets across the entire organization is to create a Knowledge Base (KB).
Experience just launched their Entrepreneurship Guide that has been in the making for many months now. Various young entrepreneurs from around the world will be sharing their insights, lessons, successes, failures, and practicable tips with the entrepreneurship community.
One of the profiled entrepreneurs John Earle, founder of Johnny Cupcakes, has an amazing product with an even better marketing strategy. From his location in Boston, John mixed the cupcake world with the apparel world. Something so weird, out-of-the-box, and interesting that you can’t help but want to learn more about his clothing line.
“Evil, evil, evil,” said one potential buyer, lured in by a frosting craving and finding only cotton. But a few grumpy sweet-teeth notwithstanding, eighty percent of hungry customers end up leaving with something to wear. And even if designer clothing - or “unique, limited, wearable art” - isn’t your cup of tea, if you live in Boston you either know who Johnny is or think you do. His name is just that catchy, his clothes are just that fun, and his word-of-mouth advertising scheme is just that ingenious.
I’m standing on the terrace of my beautiful house overlooking the amazing reflection of the sun on the water. The cool summer morning breeze gracefully dampens my face and I’m totally at peace. I nod my head as my two sons and daughter are producing the most calming and soothing music with their cello, violin, and piano. The sun. The beach. My children. The enchanting music. Being in the present moment. Peace. Happiness. I’m hungry. Veggie burger? Oh, the terrace and my amazing children. Yes, one of them will definitely play the cello. That’s my favorite instrument. I haven’t played a good game of chess in a while. Actually, I played one last week and I lost to my brother. I never lose to my brother. That annoyed me. There is a 15 foot energy field around the human body that’s nested in a hierarchy of larger energy fields.
Oh, sorry, I was just “thoughting.” I like to thought all the time. It’s fun. It’s creative. I like to thought about my business A LOT. But what do I mean by “thoughting” ? Don’t I mean “thinking”?
No, I mean “thoughting.” It’s not a dictionary word, but who cares. I like it. Thoughting is all about surfing along with the myriad of thoughts that are constantly flowing in and out of your mind all day long, 24/7.
Thoughting about our futures, our companies, our relationships, our families, food, money, websites, friends, etc.. Thoughting is all about not being for or against anything that enters your mind, just going with the flow and letting things be as they are.
Thoughting is opening the floodgates to every concept, idea, philosophy, whatever it may be, to effortlessly enter your consciousness and allowing it to take whatever shape it wants, produce whatever feeling it may, and letting those thoughts be at peace within you.
When you thought, you are allowing your psyche act as a sponge to absorb everything. Ever hear the saying “everything is connected”? It’s true, we’re all connected. All minds. All thoughts. All feelings. Spirituality aside, even from a physics standpoint it’s evident that we’re all connected — if you break anything in this world down to it’s simplest, rawest form, what do you get? You get one thing: ENERGY! Everything in this world is the same thing: ENERGY. Thoughting allows us to better connect to energy; allowing us to be brilliant, amazing, creative, and think on new levels.
So what about “thinking”? Well thinking is the next step. When you “think,” you freeze a moment of “thought.” Thinking is like reaching out your hand and snatching a thought, holding onto it, and staying with it in that present moment. You are no longer in the past or the future, you are in the present. You are thinking.
Being able to understand the dynamics of thoughting and thinking about your business can prove to be an extremely powerful level of understanding.
If you can recognize when your mind is thoughting (absorbing everything and surfing with all thoughts) and then be able to intelligently lock in and grab a particular thought that you can use to make advancements / breakthroughs with your business (now you are thinking), then you are now dangerous! With that level of control of thinking, you can do anything!
Spend some time everyday freezing particular moments of thought. And think about those thoughts in the present moment. You’re an entrepreneur, so thoughting about your business for most of the day will be natural. But don’t discard those non-entrepreneurial thoughts that enter your mind, they count too! They’re important. Everything is related and connected, remember? It’s okay to wander off, just let it flow. And when you’re ready, start thinking and focusing in on selected ideas that you have.
In July a dozen or so 7-Eleven shops were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts to generate buzz for the new Simpsons Movie. Each store, literally, was changed around to look just like the store on the hit television series.
This sort of marketing is definitely thinking outside of the box — the sort that really gets people engaged. People, when shopping at their typical 7-Eleven store actually feel a part of the movie, a part of the Simpsons show.
Providing that sort of internal value for customers is priceless. It’s not only good for 7-Eleven sales, but, of course, for ticket sales.
A spokesman for Fox Broadcasting, Gregg Brilliant, said the promotion had surpassed expectations: “Anytime you make something that appeals directly to a fan base, in a limited quantity, for a limited amount of time, naturally you are going to have a collectible value.”
Since the mock Kwik-E-Marts would only be around for a limited time, the value of the experience was increased exponentially. In marketing, this is sometimes referred to “scarcity marketing.”
This tactic Scarcity Marketing is used to tell people that:
They can only have a certain number of an item
There’s only a limited supply available
Something’s only available at that price for a limited time
Try and think on this sort of marketing level with your own business. What scheme can you pull off — maybe with just your business or by collaborating with other businesses in a coordinated effort — to spark a ton of buzz about your product or service? And, if possible, to use scarcity tactics to increase the value of the marketing campaign.
Who knows, maybe it’ll be a stunt, practicable joke, or an outright way to “punk” your clients one day. Something to produce some sort of unordinary and out-of-the-blue emotions from your clients.
Some ideas may include:
Offering a new product or service that you are capable of providing but never did since it was out of your niche. Just offer it for a month (and make it cheap)
Totally redesigning your site with a funky CSS style sheet that you can turn on for a day or two
Going to the park with 1000 balloons with your URL printed on them and handing them out to people
Create a video of you and all of your employees making a mock music video of your favorite band and playing the video on your homepage
Offering a 25% discount on all of your services for an entire month
Creating a fun contest to stir up buzz about a new project… but instead of giving the prize to the winner, give it to everyone that participated!
As Apu, owner of Kwik-E-Mart, would say: “Thanks you, come again.” But come back to Mind Petals — or maybe we should design Mind Petals as an online Kwik-E-Mindpetals.
The community must come first.Yogi Bhajan, who was the leader of the Kundalini Yoga movement in the United States and founder of over 27 companies, knew this simple, but unrecognized, fact a long time ago. Today, after more than 30 years of tirelessly expanding his teachings and philosophy unto countless students and followers, yoga and meditation have gained widespread acceptance in the West and continue to affect endless lives throughout the world.
Yogi Bhajan’s main aim wasn’t to build companies (Sikh Dharma, Akal Security, 3HO Foundation, Golden Temple, The Amar Infinity Foundation, Peace Cereal, etc.), most notably Yogi Tea Company, but to spread awareness of yoga and meditation and how these tools, if used correctly, can bring about happiness and peace. He focused, with all his might, to build a community of followers and practitioners who could gain — spiritually, mentally, and physically — from his teachings and even “surpass him” one day.
Once the community was in place, secure, and in auto-drive, you can essentially serve up anything (of value) into that community and it’ll flourish. Yogi’s tea company, Yogi Tea Company, was first introduced when Yogi began serving it to his students after class. From there, he began selling it through various vegetarian restaurants, now it is sold worldwide in thousands of health food stores. He needed the community. Without the community, there would have been no channel for the product.
A co-founder to one of Yogi’s companies stated: “there is no stigma in being financially successful,” Mr. Khalsa added. “Prosperity does not take away from spiritual net worth. You can have both.”
“The whole point of all these ventures is not for an individual to get rich, but to perpetuate the mission of the community,” said Avtar Hari Singh Khalsa, CEO of Yogi’s 3HO Foundation.
When you build a community that fosters and promotes positive change and peace, you are laying the foundation for explosive growth. Any community that seeks to bring about positive changes will find that constituents seem to popup all over the place — almost magically. It’s simple: people want to be a part of something good.
Look at Tom’s Shoes. This great company donates a pair of shoes to someone — usually in a developing country — who is without a pair of shoes. Every time you purchase a pair, someone gets a pair for free. The positive reaction that Blake Mycoskie, founder, receives for his contributions to society are overwhelming.
Oprah knows this all too well. Oprah built an amazing community of followers through her immensely powerful and influential show, Oprah. Through her donations, selfless contributions to starving nation such as Africa, and her ongoing efforts to spread awareness of life-altering topics, Oprah has amassed a large following.
Now through that following, she is able to offer her widely successful magazine, O, The Oprah Book Club, and even produce hit plays and movies. Without her community, she would not of have the channel to distribute. Her positive contributions paved the way for her successful businesses.
Most of us know of Mike Arrington, the most popular voice of “Web 2.0.” His empire began by building a loyal community of tech readers interested in getting the lasted updates on their favorite Web 2.0 companies. This is how he built his following. Now look at Tech Crunch: it’s has branched out with a series of sites, conferences, and events. And it all began with a tech blog that did everything it could to provide excellent information, almost 24/7, to its readers.
The most successful and widely acclaimed businesses will not be the ones with the strongest ideas, but the ones that think of the business as an afterthought. I know… I know… how can I be saying to think of your business as an afterthought? Blasphemy! I must be crazy!
Well, no, it’s not crazy. When you strive to build a community around your idea and make that your priority, the business aspect will basically build itself, in time. The business will harness the accumulated power, influence, and hunger from the community. But without a strong foundation — a strong following — there will be no support beams for your business, no channels.
So, you know you’re better at what you do than your competition – or you shouldn’t be in business. But, how far will you go to display your expertise over their incompetence?
You must know your competitors like you know your own business, that’s for sure. You must have a working knowledge of who they serve, how they advertise, what they charge and how they’ve progressed over time.
But, if you’re not running for political office, what’s the use of publicly dissing your rival?
Well, chances are that as soon as they discover the new start-up on the block, they’ll have some methods of their own for bringing YOU down.
Don’t outwardly discount their service – instead rev yours up with proof of why it works better. The battle can be won with happy customers and real life examples.
Business brochures and commercials that ridicule their competition, insult customer intelligence. I don’t want to buy a car from a guy who tells me why everyone else in his field is unworthy of my patronage. I do want to support companies who state examples of why their “unique” strategies work better. We’re not stupid consumers. We don’t expect companies to endorse their competition. So, as entrepreneurs, we need to advertise as consumers.
If there’s something you don’t like about what your competition does – set yourself apart by showing how your system exceeds their quality. Nothing portrays this better than testimonials from satisfied clientele. Your customers are more apt to believe in your product if they see results from their peers.
Post testimonials on your site and brochures. Beat your competition without spitting a negative word their way. New businesses successfully beat the veterans all the time. Just remember that how you choose to run your company now – sets the tone for your permanent professional image.
Below is a contributed article from Jeff Williams, informing you — Mindpetalers! — how his company can help your startup. Seedco and NYC Business Solutions are not sponsors of Mind Petals.
Let me begin by acknowledging that if three years ago I had I been aware of New York’s Business Solutions Centers, right at the time when I was experiencing the terrible difficulties and cold loneliness of running a business in the world’s fastest-paced city, most, if not all, of my problems would have gone away.
Just like that—gone away. I was unsure how to structure my business for optimal performance within its industry, and often felt like I was playing trial-by-error, day in and out; I had a hard time appropriately connecting with the emerging digital world; I had no clue that someone with my credit score still had funding options for my business’ growth; I had no idea how extensive NYC’s resources were for small business support, guidance, benefits and incentives—a list which, now, seems inexhaustible. Bottom line, my business could have been saved from failure long before failure occurred. Now, I work with the Business Solutions Center to help many of NY’s small businesses avoid these and many other issues that plague their operational health.
After playing an integral role in the post-9/11 re-structuring of the business community in Lower Manhattan, Seedco, a non-profit economic development organization, was contracted by the NYC Department of Small Business Services to offer assistance to community entrepreneurs and small businesses city-wide through the Business Solutions Centers.
Now, dreamers can turn into start-up companies, and young businesses looking to expand or grow have a support system to help them operate effectively at the next level. With a Business Solutions Center in every borough, and two in Manhattan (Upper and Lower), thousands of small business owners have taken advantage of the one-on-one, pro-bono technical assistance, below-market-rate financing options, and business development professionals on staff.
As a former business owner, I know how much time, effort and money can be exhausted getting legal advice, putting together the dreaded financial plan and outlook, hiring employees, searching for permits, licenses and regulations relevant to your industry, and trying to find money to build or develop your business to match what you have envisioned. Well, I am here to spread the wealth, figuratively and literally.
My colleagues and I are each dedicated to the small businesses of New York. We have a constantly updating series of workshops: Starting a Business; How and Where to Get Financing; Restaurant Owners and Managers BootCamp; Marketing for Small Businesses; Business@Home, and more—much more. I
f you are looking to recruit new employees, the Workforce1 program with Seedco pre-screens jobseekers per your needs, and the EarnBenefits program can provide them with free benefits, including healthcare and life insurance. If your company needs start-up money, needs to move to a new location, has to purchase new equipment, or just needs funds for working capital, we most likely can provide you with the wampum you seek or, at the least, help you find where the wampum is.
For my fellow Mindpetalers, please feel free to call or email and set up an appointment, or find a Business Solution Center in your area and stop in. As a one-stop shop, we’re here for you—all you have to do is come.
Visit online at www.nyc.gov/smallbiz to find the Business Solution Center near you. Jeff Williams is an ArtBusiness Account Executive at the Lower Manhattan Business Solution Center, operated by Seedco. He can be contacted at 212.618.8820, or jjwilliams@seedco.org
You no longer need to feel compelled to make and learn from your mistakes. I have had plenty of life experience that can help guide you away from unnecessary stress and financial despair.
I got married at 24, with no money, no fancy ring and quickly signed a lease on the cheapest studio apartment in the most expensive area of the city. In order to “efficiently” run our start up – my husband and I invested in some second-hand computers and office equipment (that we’re still using, four years later) Back then, our living room quadrupled as an office, bedroom, meeting place and all night diner for hungry friends.
Because neither of us is particularly attractive to corporate or well paying employers, we refused to give up our entrepreneurial dream. In fact, we never saw traditional careers as an option. But, after our son was born, we got a sense that a more stable paycheck might make us a more stable family. I spent an entire season sending out resumes and attending interviews for jobs that I knew I was qualified for. I finally settled for a call center position that sucked the life out of me. I stayed there for two years and continued to run our business and family at the same time.
My entrepreneurial endeavors didn’t kick off until I decided that I would NEVER work for the man again. But, that doesn’t mean that money just started spilling out of the sky. I made a decision to leave my phone answering job in order to make it possible for money to come my way. Because there’s only 24 hours in a day – I needed to let go of some stability in order to get more in the future.
People would like you to believe that you need to work in order to pay the bills and be a useful member of this society. I was barely making bills with my day job. And, although I may have more control over my career now – I work on a broken computer and have slow speed internet. My toddler sits on my lap as I write and I have to do laundry and brainstorm at the same time. My desk chair is a bar stool that we found in the alley, I sleep on a futon, and creditors don’t like me very much.
Looking back – I know that I have paved a more difficult route for myself. I know that the home we purchased 2 years ago was a money pit and waste of time. I know that the only person I can truly trust to make my life decisions is myself. Work is harder for me now because of my past decisions.
You can’t have a weak bone in your body if you decide to take on your dreams of independence. But, you can put lots of thought into life choices that might make your road less stressful. Know that if you decide to get married or have a child – your family needs to come first or your family will not work. My husband and I have both been the cause of each other’s delays in work success. But, we’ve also supported one another tremendously.
I just signed up for Entrepreneur’s new tool, Entrepreneur Assist. Some of the features are pretty cool, actually. There is a “Documents” section that allows you to create slide presentations, notes, and tags. You can also create standard documents and spreadsheets. Think of Google Documents and that pretty much sums up their Document functionality. I think that the interface is actually cleaner that Google Docs. Their document software is provided by ZOHO.
There’s a bookmarking feature that allows you to save your favorite sites. This is a neat feature, especially for someone looking to specifically store entrepreneurship-related sites. I like netvibes bookmarking tool for this, but this works just as well.
The Forms and Templates area of the service is definitely the gold mine. This section allows you to add templates to your account and modify them to suit your needs. Business plans, marketing plan, customer satisfaction forms, etc., they have what you need. I think that this is extremely useful for young entrepreneurs. Being able to study a mock business plan or proposal is priceless. These forms and plans make for an excellent examples and, depending on the complexity of your business, it’ll be better than starting from scratch. There are hundreds of templates available.
Oh, and let’s not forget the library section. They are currently offering 11 business books that you can download (PDF) and read for free. They are: Project Management made Easy, 202 Ways to Supplement Your Retirement Income, Smart Negotiating, Advertising Without an Agency Made Easy, Six Sigma for Small Business, Mad Scam, Online Shopper’s Survival Guide, Millionaire Homeowner, This is Not Your, Parents’ Retirement, Niche and Get Rich, and The Entrepreneur Diet.
Overall, I think that this is a powerful tool for entrepreneurs to use. Sure, most of the features area already being offered by other services, but now you can have them all in one place and keep your entrepreneurial information stored with one site. Some of the links are still a bit buggy, but I’m sure that they’re being worked out. If anything, just signup for access to the free books.
My job as a Internet Media Sales executive entitles me the responsibility to scour the internet for online publishers who may need the services that my company Operative offers, which by the way is ad serving technology and outsourced ad trafficking While I am doing this, I am always thinking of my Mindpetals community members and what could potentially be a good resource for them in their quests to become successful entrepreneurs. I happened to come across a new startup that could enable the young, aspiring entrepreneur to get his/her word out to the right people, particularly those that have money and the capacity to share a vision.
The site is called Vator.tv, which is short for “innovator” or “elevator” (as in “elevator pitch”). It began as a little garage project that was started last year to help the owner of the site, Bambi Francisco, vet startups’ pitches and to give exposure to those she would invariably overlook as a columnist at MarketWatch.com. She then convinced Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, to invest some capital into her idea. Bambi says this in her last column that she wrote while employed at MarketWatch, the company she ended up leaving to work on Vator.tv full time, “I’m going to try my hand as an entrepreneur. I think I’m making the right decision. If I didn’t make this decision, I would always regret not trying” and isn’t that what drives every entrepreneur?
Essentially, it’s a unique video-centric environment for entrepreneurs to meet potential financial backers, strategic partners and vendors. Users have the ability to reach an audience that they typically would not reach. Like Youtube, all it takes is a video camera and internet connection and you can have your idea, concept, strategy, or business model in front of someone who might be able to take you and your idea to the next level. However, video pitches aren’t limited to just startups, investors explaining what they’re looking for in addition to individuals promoting their own skill-sets. Videos can then be commented, rated, and viewed by anyone, so make sure that you have that patent pending.
I feel that the biggest obstacle many entrepreneurs face is that they don’t have the platform for their ideas to be heard. This site allows them to reach their target audience quickly and easily. My last name in Italian translates to the word “bridge”, so if I can help be the “bridge” for someone who is on their way to realizing their dream one day, then its worth it to me.
David Ponte is a freelance writer who also works for Operative in NYC and recently founded www.nysportspace.com (for all you New York sports fans). He can be reached at dponte@operative.com
There are just some things that you can do as an entrepreneur and can’t do as an employee. It sucks, I know. But that’s life.
When you lose a client as an entrepreneur you learn from your mistakes, tweak your methods, and get better. When you lose enough clients as an employee, you get fired.
When you crash the server as an entrepreneur, you find out what caused the problem, take preventative measures for it not to happen again, and you survive. When you crash the server as an employee, your boss stands behind you breathing firing down your back, screaming at the top of his lungs.
When you feel that something you are doing is wrong and inefficient as an entrepreneur, you work out a more efficient solution. When you feel that something is being done improperly as an employee, you are told to shut up and get back to work (doing it the same old way.)
When you want to take an hour break to chill and clear your head as an entrepreneur, you are free to go outside for a walk and do whatever you have to do to relax. As an employee, you are kept on a tight leash and usually have to wait for permission to take a break.
When you are angry at one of your partners as an entrepreneur, you can freely speak your mind and come to a resolution. When you are angry at your boss for something, you must censor your words and bite your tongue.
When you have a gut feeling or epiphany about something and want to implement it right away as an entrepreneur, you can do that! As an employee, you have to climb the bureaucratic ladder and get approval from a million people in order to proceed.
When you want to stare out of the window for some inspiration as an entrepreneur you are free to do that. As an employee, the only thing that you’re starting at is the cubicle wall 2 feet in front of you.
When you want to try and fix your relationship with your girlfriend who dumped you last night by speaking to her on the phone for a few hours, you can do that as an entrepreneur. As an employee — sorry… — no time to chat on the phone and get her back. She’s gone off with some other dude!
When you want to take a 20-minute nap because you were up all night working on your business as an entrepreneur, you can go right ahead. As an employee, there is no such thing as a sleep break.
When you want to break your partnership with your partner because he’s been slacking and slowing you down, you can do that as an entrepreneur. When you want to get rid of your co-worker, well, I guess you’ll just have to take him out (wink..wink… if you know what I mean) after work, because he’s not going anywhere!
*** If you’re an employee and you can do everything listed above — then power to you! (where do you work..? hehe…)
Everyone has “something” that they want to hear. Find out what it is by listening to the way they react to what you are saying. If you notice something you said appealing to them, then exploit that and start focusing your pitch around that particular “something.” Stay sharp and look for those clues, e.g., a smile, smirk, raised eyebrows, a laugh, etc.
2. WIIFT? (What’s In It for Them?):
The only way you have a chance of convincing someone is by openly stating how they are going to benefit from whatever you are offering. Don’t make the mistake by focusing the conversation on “you.” Take yourself out of the equation and focus on “them.” Let them know what they’ll get: money, equity, fame, and increased sales, whatever it may be. Just let them know.
3. You need to be a ball of energy:
When selling an idea to someone, you need to be extremely, extremely enthusiastic. You don’t have to be bouncing off of walls, but energy should be pouring out of you. Passion! Determination! Confidence! You need to project your voice, use inflection, and really sound super positive. This energy will be absorbed by whomever you’re speaking to.
4. Paint a picture:
A lot of convincing comes down to how well you can tell a story and paint a mental picture for someone. Bring people on a journey of your vision. Start with an attention-grabbing opening that immediately pulls them into this story and keep it alive with appealing to their senses. Make them imagine that it’s 5 years down the line and that you’re both on top of the world.
5. Be Charming:
Being polite and respectful are definitely prerequisites for convincing. Let the other person know that you’re not just here to convince, but to also build a lasting relationship. Smile a lot. Give them genuine compliments. Let them know how much you value their time for listing to what you have to say. And even if you aren’t able to convince then, keep in contact — who knows, there still may be future potential.
It seems a bad thing and detrimental to the creative work of the mind if Reason makes too close an examination of the ideas as they come pouring in—at the very gateway, as it were. Looked at in isolation, a thought may seem very trivial or very fantastic; but it may be made important by another thought that comes after it, and, in conjunction with other thoughts that may seem equally absurd, it may turn out to form a most effective link.
–Sigmund Freud
Why are we so quick to kill our thoughts? Why are we afraid to think about things that “don’t make sense” or seem “trivial”? I think it’s because we’ve become so conditioned — especially as business-oriented people — to think about the immediate cause and effect of our thoughts. Something like:
“This idea won’t work because it won’t bring in X amount of dollars.”
“This idea is no good because it may upset a few customers.”
“This idea is just too radical and absurd — it’ll only hurt my company”
“This idea makes absolutely no sense — there’s no way I’m going to even attempt it!”
“This idea is so avant-garde that the world isn’t ready for it.”
Banish that thought! You need to learn how to accept all of your ideas. So what if you don’t implement them — you still need to let them flow and properly register in your mind. Let them do some connecting behind the scene. That’s were true creativity is formed.
As Freud states, we shouldn’t try to apply reason to our ideas — we shouldn’t attempt to examine them too closely. Because when you do that, you are disrupting their formation.
From physics we know that the mere act of observing something will change and affect it. For instance, for one to actually see a proton or electron you have to interact with it first. And when you interact with it, you change it’s path and course of action.
I theorize that people are changing the path of their ideas by spending too much time trying to examine and interact with them — trying to make them make sense and apply tangible, real-life outcomes / applications with their ideas.
And when we do that, the idea isn’t allowed to fully form, gain structure, and gain complexity (deep in the mind). It’s like the idea never gets there because we put up our own roadblocks that say: “STOP — BAD IDEA!”
I say no…no…no… to that! Let the ideas. Let ‘em GO! Don’t restrict. Never push them away. No matter how weird and crazy they are, just let ‘em be! Let them marinate. Let them be free. That, my friends, is the true essence of entrepreneurship.
10. You are unemployable. You can’t hold a job. You don’t want to hold a job. And you react to getting a job the same way a cat reacts when you try to give it a bath.
9. You are anti-authoritarian. You can’t fathom the thought of being anything less than Boss, President, Chairman, Don, and/or Emperor.
8. You have the uncanny ability to get other people to do all the work.
7. You are always looking for and/or seeing economic opportunity everywhere and in everything. While at a concert, you occupy yourself by estimating the evening’s take and its gross margins instead of listening to the music.
6. You spend more time and energy looking for easier, faster, cheaper, more effective ways of accomplishing something than if you just did the task outright.
5. You would enthusiastically trade a life-time pass to Disneyland for one ride in the Vomit Comet. In other words, you would give up a secure, even-keeled, bland existence for a life that whipsaws uncontrollably between exhilaration and terror.
4. You don’t see lack of money, lack of knowledge, and lack of experience as barriers to entry. You are also not deterred by the existence of formidable competition.
3. You favor multiplication over addition and you lull yourself to sleep by calculating price-earnings ratios.
2. You would happily invest your home’s equity and your life savings (and your mother’s life savings) in your start-up.
And the Number One sign you are made to be an entrepreneur . . .
1. When you project future earnings, your spread sheet shows that by Year 5, you can buy Argentina and sell it to Brazil.
“Our desires always increase with our possessions; the knowledge that something remains yet unenjoyed, impairs our enjoyment of the good before us.”
— Samuel Johnson
We all have desires in life. Desires to become rich. Desires to generate $500,000 in sales this year. Desires to become a famous entrepreneur. Desires to want to be the best. Desires to create change in the world. Desires. Desires. Desires.
Over the years of chasing my dream to become a successful entrepreneur, my desires have been manifold. So many, at times, that it’s hard to keep track of them. But it always surprises me when I fulfill desires that I believe will bring about true happiness, really don’t.
Will making a million dollars tomorrow make you the happiest person in the world? Will closing that huge deal wash away all of your problems? Will being mentioned in a book or magazine make you jump up for joy?
Ahh… yeah! Those things will probably bring about happiness. Let’s keep it real: money, fame, and being able to close huge deals makes us feel good. Damn good! Our egos grow, our wallets get fatter, and more people in the world know about us. Rock on!
But is that it? After the money, the cars, the fame, the mansions, the TV appearances, the whatever… what else? Will those things be enough to sustain your well-being — to bring you everlasting happiness? Once you fulfill your desires, what will you do? Will you dream up some more desires? Will you set new goals in order to get back that rush of chasing something?
What am I getting at here? I am trying to make you think about how your desires affect who you are as a person and whether or not they will truly bring about peace and happiness.
Not too long ago I had an epiphany about my future and my desires. Sure, I desire to become extremely wealthy and well known. But will those things be the answer? Will they define me? Will I be remembered for the person who made money and was well known? I truly hope not.
Those things — wealth, notability, and material possessions — are fun and convenient. And, yes, I do want them. I do desire them. But at the same time I am fully aware that they will not bring me happiness. Those desires give no meaning to my life. In the larger scheme of things, they mean absolutely nothing to me.
They are a means to an end. That end being able to give back to the world. That’s what’ll bring true happiness. Knowing that what I am creating is helping put food in mouths of hungry children, combating global warming, fighting cancer and AIDS, and giving back to my family which have invested love, money, guidance, and unwavering support for what I am doing.
The purpose of this article was to spark your mind on what “desires” really mean to you. Spend some time reflecting and meditating on that question. Think about what will “really” bring you sustained and true happiness in life. Imagine you had everything in the world… all the money, all the fame, all homes, all the EVERYTHING…. Now ask yourself: now what?
If I were to describe this book in one word, it would be: Awesome! The Radical Leap is a fascinating story of a person who goes on a leadership journey to find himself, help other people, and change the world.
As an entrepreneur, you must find the leader within. Leaders are people who help others bring out the best within themselves. Someone who brings people together and creates an environment where success can be achieved.
Author, Steve Farber, offers us this gem of a book to help coax the leader that resides inside of you — allowing it to surface and affect your employees, your partners, and, most importantly, the world!
I highly recommend reading this book. It’ll open your eyes to new ways of looking at the world and at yourself as a leader.
One of the biggest problems that partners face when starting a company are the “expectations” that each person has for the company. Your partner may expect the company to be making $500,000 in revenue the first year. And you may expect the company to do $25,000 the first year.
Expectations come in many forms when you’re starting a company. Expectations for revenue, expectations for how the workload will be split, expectations on the products and services, and the list goes on….
You each have your own definition of what “success” means. The problem arises when you and your partner don’t “understand” each other’s expectations. So what happens? You fight a lot. You argue all the time. And most of all — TIME IS WASTED!
It’s normal that you and your partner to have different expectations, but the key to a successful partnership is for both of you to fully understand your partner’s expectations. And that can only happen when you each write down your own expectations on a piece of paper and actually sit down and discuss them with your partner. You need to hash everything out during this critical meeting.
You each have to be on the same page. Most young entrepreneurs make the mistake of having this necessary “expectations meeting” after the company / partnership was formed.
No, not cool. You have to do is “before” you form the partnership and push forward with starting a company. Would you marry someone before dating them? Would you say that someone’s pasta was amazing without tasting it? No, you wouldn’t.
So don’t form a partnership with someone without fully understanding their expectations and without them fully understanding yours. Please, save yourself the headaches, expenses, and drama.
If you’ve been following the heated headlines of News Corporations capitan, Rupert Murdoch, and his pursuit to capture the Bancroft family’s flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, then you’ll know how much opposition Murdoch was facing.
Just 4 months ago when the Bancroft’s, who have a 64% voting share in the journal, were approached with the idea of selling, the majority of the family vehemently opposed such a sale. In fact, the deal looked impossible to close.
However, just yesterday, all of the critics of Murdoch’s acquisition were silenced when a “definitive merger agreement” was finally signed, closing the fate of the widely respected Wall Street Journal.
The New York Times’s David Carr describes Mr. Murdoch’s success as “a reminder that the unthinkable is often doable, given the loot and the will.”
I admire Murdoch’s will to stay in the game and never give up. He was determined to purchase the journal and he didn’t let anything or anyone get in his way.
If you want something in life, then get out there and take it! No matter how difficult or impossible it may appear to be, you can attain your goals if you are persistent and unwavering.
Ever been in one of those nasty storms? Trees falling, hail blowing, wind taking down everything in its path, and lighting bolts coming down like no tomorrow. Storms are scary. Storms are horrible. But we have no control over them. They come unexpectedly and strike with no remorse. They’re horrible!
Entrepreneurs face storms as well. Ask any successful entrepreneur about the storms of business and he/she will have a whole book of the times when things just outright sucked! When everything felt like it was falling a part. And when they felt like giving up because nothing was falling into place.
Here are 10 ways to weather the storm of entrepreneurship. A storm that will inevitably hit your business and produce massive destruction (if you let it). Only the determined will be able to survive.
1. Focus on the present (not the past or the future):
Everybody likes to look into the past when things go wrong for some reason. But when things go wrong you need to focus on the “now” and the “present.” Don’t think about yesterday. Don’t think about tomorrow. Think about today. Think about the actions that you need to take immediately and remain in the present. Thinking about other periods of time will serve to distract you.
2. Embrace the problem — don’t fight it:
Conventional wisdom tells us that we need to “destroy” our problems in order to get rid of them. I beg to differ. We need to hug and kiss our problems. Why? Because they are a part of us; a part of our lives. Don’t fight them, just acknowledge them. Say “hello crashed server I acknowledge you and I’m going to work with you to make things better, not destroy you.” Work with your problems, not against them. If you show your problems some love, you’ll be able to flow with them and pull yourself out of a bad situation much easier. If you fight your problems, you’ll cloud your ability to get through them. Think about that.
3. Breathe:
Never underestimate the power of the breath. When things go wrong, practice mindful breathing for a few minutes and watch how quickly things can normalize. Breathe in slowly. Recognize the air entering your body. Then exhale slowly. Remain aware of your breath as in enters and exists your body. Try not to think about anything else other than you breathing, right now.
4. Don’t be caught by the Karma Police:
Always remain aware of the good times. The times when your business is running smoothly. And, remain aware of the times when things went wrong. Say that you had a flood in your office and your computers were ruined. You had no idea how you were going to get by without your computers. Then all of a sudden someone lent you a few computers until that insurance check came in and you were able to purchase new computers. A year later, you encounter someone who also had a flood in their office and their computers were destroyed. Now, think back to the time when someone lent you computers during a hard time. It’s time for you to extend that same compassion to someone else. If you don’t, then don’t wonder why no one helps you out the next time you run into a bad situation. Bottom line: karma is real so continue to help as many people as you can and don’t expect anything in return. The universe will take care of you, trust me.
5. Construct a plan:
One of the best ways to get through bad times is to take some time to plan out a sequence of actions to remedy the situation. It’s great to put things down on paper and work through each situation, one by one. For example:
Problem >> Need to close 2 deals in order to pay the company bills Solutions >> Contact past clients and offer them a discount for continued business. Spend and extra 2 hours searching on Craigslist for additional clients.
The idea is to actually write out what needs to get done, then start listing out possible solutions.
6. Reach out to your friends / family:
When times are bad something as simple as a phone conversation with someone that you respect and love can really make your day and put a smile on your face. Don’t bottle up your problems; share them with people who are willing to listen. You’ll feel much better.
7. Anticipate problems:
Spend time thinking about the “what ifs” of your business. What if my server crashed? What if my computer broke? What of my partner left the business? What if I got sick and had to leave for a week? I know this is hard, but try and work out solutions to problems that don’t exist. If you do this, you’ll be prepared from anything to come. Preparation is key.
8. Stop Blaming The World:
What’s the first thing that we do when something goes wrong? We blame someone else. Guess what? That’s totally wrong. The first thing that you need to do is look “within.” People work so hard on fixing their material and external worlds that they completely forget about the internal world. Take care of your mind, body, and soul. Look deeply into your mind when things go wrong and begin from there. The “last” thing that you should do is blame / attack someone.
9. Retain your composure and equanimity:
When you feel angry, upset, confused, etc… don’t let those emotions control you. If you are angry about something that’s happening with your business, then remain calm and do everything in your power to see through those emotions, without exploding. Remember, “you” are in control — not your emotions. If your emotions are controlling you, then you aren’t free. You are a slave. Practice remaining calm and cool when things go wrong. Over time, you’ll develop your skills to think clearly and remain in control of the situation no matter how heated you become.
10. Take care of your Mind and Body:
I bet you thought that the mind and body were separate, eh? They aren’t. They’re one. If your body is suffering, your mind will be affected. If your mind is suffering, your body will be affected. Practice yoga, meditate, or continue going to your respective church. Do whatever you have to do to explore your true nature. You have to find yourself. You have to not only build physical strength, but mental strength as well. These two go hand in hand. When you are able to find your true self, you become a powerful person. That’s true power. And with understanding, you can get through any obstacles in your path.
A few months ago I went to the local mall and purchased what is commonly known as a “Money Tree” for about $15. Immediately after purchasing the tree and placing it in my office, I closed a $20,000 deal. I couldn’t believe that the tree actually worked! It was amazing, really.
Ok, I kid… I kid… I didn’t close a $20,000 deal. That would have been nice. But, business has been picking up ever since I purchased the tree. That’s probably just because business typically tends to pick up as time goes by, not because of a plant in your office. Nonetheless, it’s cool having the money tree around in my office. Who knows, maybe the legend is right and it does help one amass wealth and success.
Either way, I have nothing to lose and it’s an awesome little tree that brings a lot of life to my workspace.
The legend of the money tree is about a poor, hard working farmer who came across a weird looking plant one day as he was tending to his plot of land. He never saw such a plant and was amazed by it. He decided to take the plant and bring it home to care for it there. At home, the farmer studied the plant and noticed that it was able to survive long periods of time without being watered. The plant was extremely resilient and tough. He was inspired by the plant’s ability to survive without water and thought that he’d try to live his life in a similar fashion — pushing forward no matter how hard things got or how poor he currently was. The poor farmer soon became a prosperous farmer and great entrepreneur. The five braided stems of the money tree create a cage — that cage symbolizes the protection of your money.
So the next time you’re out shopping, pick yourself up a money tree. You can find one at any mall. It’ll help you stay focused on your goals every time you look at it. It adds to the aesthetics of your office. And, if you’re lucky, it’ll bring you massive wealth.
"Young and Hungry: The New Entrepreneur" will take you on a journey of two young entrepreneurs who share their thoughts, experiences, and lessoned learned while in the process to finding success. Everything from discussing entrepreneurship with your parents to building a business team -- it's covered in this book. Read now »
One of the profiled entrepreneurs John Earle, founder of 
The community must come first. 
Oprah knows this all too well. Oprah built an amazing community of followers through her immensely powerful and influential show, Oprah. Through her donations, selfless contributions to starving nation such as Africa, and her ongoing efforts to spread awareness of life-altering topics, Oprah has amassed a large following. 
Most of us know of Mike Arrington, the most popular voice of “Web 2.0.” His empire began by building a loyal community of tech readers interested in getting the lasted updates on their favorite Web 2.0 companies. This is how he built his following. Now look at 
While I am doing this, I am always thinking of my Mindpetals community members and what could potentially be a good resource for them in their quests to become successful entrepreneurs. I happened to come across a new startup that could enable the young, aspiring entrepreneur to get his/her word out to the right people, particularly those that have money and the capacity to share a vision.
It seems a bad thing and detrimental to the creative work of the mind if Reason makes too close an examination of the ideas as they come pouring in—at the very gateway, as it were. Looked at in isolation, a thought may seem very trivial or very fantastic; but it may be made important by another thought that comes after it, and, in conjunction with other thoughts that may seem equally absurd, it may turn out to form a most effective link.
And when we do that, the idea isn’t allowed to fully form, gain structure, and gain complexity (deep in the mind). It’s like the idea never gets there because we put up our own roadblocks that say: “STOP — BAD IDEA!”
I say no…no…no… to that! Let the ideas. Let ‘em GO! Don’t restrict. Never push them away. No matter how weird and crazy they are, just let ‘em be! Let them marinate. Let them be free. That, my friends, is the true essence of entrepreneurship. 
But is that it? After the money, the cars, the fame, the mansions, the TV appearances, the whatever… what else? Will those things be enough to sustain your well-being — to bring you everlasting happiness? Once you fulfill your desires, what will you do? Will you dream up some more desires? Will you set new goals in order to get back that rush of chasing something?
They are a means to an end. That end being able to give back to the world. That’s what’ll bring true happiness. Knowing that what I am creating is helping put food in mouths of hungry children, combating global warming, fighting cancer and AIDS, and giving back to my family which have invested love, money, guidance, and unwavering support for what I am doing.
If I were to describe this book in one word, it would be: Awesome! 
If you’ve been following the heated headlines of News Corporations capitan, Rupert Murdoch, and his pursuit to capture the Bancroft family’s flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, then you’ll know how much opposition Murdoch was facing.
A few months ago I went to the local mall and purchased what is commonly known as a “
