Develop Your 21st Century Entrepreneurial Mindset: Read The Entrepreneurial

By Tim Zaun

The Entrepreneurial Imperative: How America’s Economic Miracle Will Reshape The World (and change your life) by Carl J. Schramm (HarperCollins, 2006), is a prescient 21st century account of the world’s economic landscape.

Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation since 2002, is a globally renowned proponent of entrepreneurial capitalism. The Economist hails him as “the evangelist of entrepreneurship.”

The Kauffman Foundation, established in the mid 1960’s, is named after the late entrepreneur and philanthropist, Ewing Marion Kauffman. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, it is the 30th largest foundation in the United States. The institute’s vision is to foster ” a society of economically independent individuals, who are engaged citizens contributing to the improvement of their community.”

(more…)

It can be a very daunting task.  Think about all you have to do; recognize an opportunity write the business plan, design the product, create a proof of concept, perform market research…the list goes on and on.

Plus, maybe you haven’t started a business before!

One thing I’ve learned from starting businesses and helping starting businesses start is that you shouldn’t be afraid to get help.  There are a number of resources out there to help you get started, not just the Key Entrepreneur Development Center.

Have you considered joining a technology incubator?  There are a number of incubators across the region.

NEOinc, the Northeast Ohio Incubator Collaborative, provides coordinated services to entrepreneurs desiring to start or grow technology-oriented businesses in the 21 counties of Northeast Ohio. 

Individually each of these incubators provide high quality managerial and facility services to entrepreneurs including business concept assessment and coaching, links to appropriate sources of funding, links to business specialist resources such as attorneys, HR specialists and accountants, low cost office, lab, and manufacturing space, shared offices facilities and equipment, and flexible lease terms. 

Want to learn more?  You’ve got a few options:

• Go to http://neoinc.org/ and read about what they do
• Connect to them through their RSS feed 
• Or contact David Crain at Magnet and he’ll give you a hand: dave.crain@magnetwork.org.

What are you waiting for?  Go make it happen!

../BSK

Ferrazzi illustrates that networking is easier once you’ve defined your personal and professional goals and written down a completion time. He invites readers to identify their “blue flame.” It’s the intersection where their life passion and abilities meet, that, when ignited, is a powerful, directional force.

Building relationships is an incremental process. Ferrazzi says that our network “is an overgrown jungle with an infinite variety of nooks and crannies that are being neglected.” “Creating an enriching circle of trusted relationships requires one to be out there in the mix all the time,” he adds.

Ferrazzi speaks of the “Genius of Audacity,” defined as the ability to ask for what we want. Unnerving at times, it’s imperative to advance in today’s highly competitive marketplace. Self-imposed boundaries, fear, and a low risk tolerance portend limited success.

To overcome these restrictions, Ferrazzi advocates finding role models, mastering public speaking, and getting involved, ultimately taking on leadership roles. His recipe for achievement is “a combination of self-assuredness, dogged persistence, and audacity.”

Ferrazzi suggests befriending a super-connector. These individuals are links to an entire new world of people, ideas, and information. Super-connectors include Restaurateurs, Headhunters, Lobbyists, Fundraisers, Public Relations Professionals, Politicians, and Journalists. You can meet dozens or hundreds of people through your relationship with a key connector.

Today, an individual’s power comes from being indispensable and sharing information instead of withholding it. Celebrating one’s uniqueness and defying expectations by shaking it up is also pivotal. “Expressing your vulnerability,” Ferrazzi says, “is the most underappreciated asset in business today.”

“Market yourself and your business by being interesting, having a unique point of view, and building your brand,” says Ferrazzi. “To move others, you have to speak beyond yourself.”

Ferrazzi believes that building relationships in the 21st century will be the conduit through which individuals, searching for meaning and legacy will discover their purpose.

Read Never Eat Alone and you’ll rethink engaging in habitual, clique-filled, lunchtime jaunts to fast food restaurants, or cubicle-confined brown bag meals. Doing so in today’s highly competitive global market, Ferrazzi reminds us, hinders our personal and professional growth.

Celebrate International Networking Week at the Key Entrepreneur Development Center. Join Tim Zaun and friends, Tuesday February 5th at 7 pm for a lively discussion on Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone. Ferrazzi has provided his exclusive, complementary Never Eat Alone DVD for viewing during the evening’s conversation. Help chronicle the event by posing in pictures to be uploaded to Flickr.com for future viewing. Click here to learn more about the book club.

Anne Hach is the Executive Director of the Key Entrepreneur Development Center and wanted us to know about the 8things that you can do to grow your business now! Here they are:

1. Focus on your core product.  Focus you sales efforts on those products or services that generate the highest return. If these are not your core products consider why not.

2. Update your marketing pitch.  Make sure that your marketing statement fits into a concise 30 second statement that includes, the benefits of your company and its products, an easy way for people to remember you and establishes a reason that they have for contacting you.

3. Make sure that the information you have about your market is current.  Don’t make decisions based on market information from 5 years ago. Know the current trends of your industry and those of your customers.

4. Make sure that you have priced your product correctly.  Raising prices is never fun, but then neither is selling at a loss. Analyze your cost structure, your market position and your competition to make sure that your current prices reflect where you want to be.

5. Incorporate your business plan with your daily to do list.  Many people create a business plan when they start their business but fail to make it part of their day to day operations. Break down each goal that you established in your business plan to specific action steps and make them a part of your weekly to-do list.

6. Offer rewards for word of mouth referrals and make it easy for current customers to pass your name along.  Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising but you need to make it easy for people to refer your name. Offer a reward or at the very least remember to say thank you.

7. Join associations and organizations to network with customers and potential referral sources.  Its not what you know or who you know, its who knows you.

8. Consider forming strategic alliances with related businesses.  Find people who serve the same market but sell different products or services from yours. Talk to each other. Refer each other. Both of your businesses will grow. Remember the best way to get a lead is to give a lead!

Learn more from Anne Hach on Episode 3 of “The eShow”

Last Monday I had the pleasure of speaking at the NCCET Conference in Louisville Kentucky (National Council for Continuing Education and Training). The conference was fantastic, with some incredible speakers like Dr. Denise Reading, president of Corporate College and Global Corporate College.

There were a ton of great breakouts too, and I had the opportunity to speak about ‘eMarketing Techniques for Entrepreneurs’. I had 50 minutes to discuss 4 hours of content, covering topics such as:

• The transition of Web 1.0 -> Web 2.0 and what that means to the business community…specifically entrepreneurs.
• Building websites in a Web 2.0 world
• Specific eMarketing techniques such as:
  • email marketing
  • blogs, rss feeds, and podcasts
  • various FREE google tools
  • search engine optimization
• Awesome Web 2.0 sites you can start using TODAY, such as:
  • www.digg.com
  • www.del.ici.ous.com
  • www.icontact.com
  • www.constantcontact.com
  • www.linkedin.com
  • www.stumbleupon.com
  • www.wikipedia.org
  • www.conduit.com
  • and MANY others

In fact, take a look at my presentation thanks to one of the sites we discussed, www.slideshare.net.

| View | Upload your own

Regards,

../BSK

Are you cut out for the Restaurant Industry? Even for people who have been successful in other industries, opening a restaurant can be one of the most challenging yet fulfilling entrepreneurial ventures one can encounter. Chances of success often hinge upon how well prepared they are to face the challenges. The purpose of this course is to provide some basic knowledge on why people succeed or fail when they open a new restaurant and to provide some realistic benchmarks that you can use to enter into this multi-faceted business. Discussion points will include the importance of a Business Plan in mapping your journey, 12 Elements of Success, 21 Elements of Failure, how to calculate food & labor costs, and tips on financing your first restaurant. If opening a restaurant is your dream business, do it with your eyes wide open!”

Click here to learn more about the course!

Joel Libava, local franchise expert, consultant, and popular industry blogger will be discussing topics such as:

1. Franchise Myths vs. Realities
2. Finance and Legal information
3. Research techniques and much more…

If you would like to learn about franchising, and find out the trends you should be looking at, attend this class!

Watch a 3 minute video from Joel on Key Entrepreneurs Live, then register, here.

Get a head start, and read one of Joel’s posts about “Hot Franchises” on one of his increasingly popular blogs.

 
Featured Blogger Mike Toth from Key Bank

According to the SBA, 99.7% of all businesses in the US are small businesses. More than seven out of ten of these businesses use some type of credit to finance their operations. This represents a significant risk for small business owners, and yet is a critical component of growth.

On October 18th, Michael Toth, head of Business Banking operations for KeyBank in Northeast Ohio and a prior small business owner, will educate small business owners on how banks evaluate small business credit requests, with a particular focus on “The 4C’s of Credit…Credit, Character, Collateral, and Capacity”. Over 75% of small business owners finance their business operations in the first 3 years with personal savings. After 10 years, this drops by nearly ½ as small business owners rely on bank sources of credit. Toth’s presentation will reveal ways that small business owners can increase their likelihood of obtaining bank credit in the early years of the business.

Does your bookkeeper process your payables AND reconcile your monthly bank statements? Do other employees in your office potentially have access to blank checks? If your answer is ‘yes’, you may be exposing yourself to operational risks that can result in financial losses and reduce your personal income. Toth will discuss ways that you can proactively reduce financial risks in your business in order to maximize your small business profits.

Please join Mike Toth on October 18th at the COSE Small Business Conference to hear him talk about these topics and more.

 This past Monday, we had our first session of our eMarketing Techniques Series.  It seemed to go very well, as our 24 participants learned about the vast amount of techniques that can be used to grow our businesses and organizations online.

 Not only did we go over topics like email marketing, SEO, online video, and many more that will be covered in subsequent sessions, but we also took a look at some Web 2.0 sites that can help us out as well.  And they’re all free (well for the most part).

 One of the free services we took a look at was Google Alerts.  This allows you to set up an alert any time a certain search string is updating in Google.  I personally have a “Brad Kleinman” google alert sent to me every time my name hits google.

 Within hours after the class, I received this alert:

Google Blogs Alert for: “brad kleinman”

Brad Kleinman - Practical eMarketing Tips for Entrepreneurs
By Jason L. Colon
Brad Kleinman packed the first two hours full of practical information that could be put to use immediately. The following are a few highlights. 1. Newsletter Marketing - Two online services, Constant Contact and iContact, …
jasonlcolon.com - http://www.jasonlcolon.com

Thanks for the add Jason!  Click here for the link to his entry.

 Regards,

../BSK

As you may know, we often post articles in regards to Web 2.0 and how entrepreneurs can leverage the power of the web to connect to their customers. A GREAT resource for you to check out is: SEOMoz.org’s Best of Web 2.0 article.

So a big part of what we do here at the center is to utilize various eMarketing and Web 2.0 apps on the internet and let you know what we think.

A tool we just tried out is CONDUIT. Now this is cool! This tool allows you to create your own toolbar and have your customers download it into their web browser. Easily integrate your RSS feeds, important info, pretty much anything you want! Check ours out…and download it!We hope you enjoy your FREE toolbar as much as we enjoy ours!

toolbar powered by Conduit

Regards,

../BSK