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Five Tips for Succeeding As a Young Entrepreneur | |
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SoHo NEWS & TIPS
Helping You Make the Most of Your Small Office/Home Office
SoHoTIPS.com
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Greetings,
Before you get to today's important issue on how to succeed
as a young entrepreneur, I wanted to tell you about a great
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When you no longer need it, simply remove, twist and fold
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Best,
Mandi
Be sure to visit the SoHo News and Tips blog!
SoHo News & Tips Blog
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NEWS & TIDBITS
- Apple announces it will pull its software
development and support ops out of India...
- L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. Chief Executive
Frank Lanza died unexpectedly, leaving the firm
vulnerable...
- Dotster is sued by Needless Markup and Bergdorf
Goodman in a massive cybersquatting lawsuit...
- Continental Airlines Inc. ordered 34 Boeing Co.
jets valued at as much as $3.4 billion to help
support international growth...
- Shareholders of General Motors have approved
two proposals aimed at giving them more influence
over the way directors are elected...
- Northwest Airlines Corp. sues its flight
attendants' union to prevent it from striking...
- Bank of America Corp. said it will offer $3,000
rebates to thousands of employees who buy hybrid
vehicles...
- Terry Semel, the chief executive of Yahoo! paid
$60 million for a 10% stake in the South Korean
e-commerce provider GMarket...
- Bellevue online adware provider 180solutions has
acquired New York-based Hotbar and changed the
combined company's name to Zango...
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Five Tips for Succeeding As a Young Entrepreneur
By JAMES CAVERLY
If you've got a business idea you can't stop talk-
ing about, why wait to flex your entrepreneurial
muscles? Here are five tips to get an idea out of
your head and into the marketplace.
* Take a calculated risk.
While Michael Neustel was an undergrad at North
Dakota State University he began a lawn-sprinkler
business. It folded because he could not devote
enough time away from school. Now a patent attorney
and founder and president of PatentWizard LLC, a
software company in Fargo, N.D., Mr. Neustel says
the experience taught him the importance of
researching the market and workload. "Young people
can fail without losing time or hurting their life,
then try again," he says.
A young person's flexibility is an opportunity for
success, says Mr. Neustel. Most are single, have
few financial responsibilities and often can live
on a relatively little money, he says. "It's tough
to focus on a business while paying the bills and
working a full-time job," he says. The entrepre-
neurial leap for a college student may be as simple
as taking a semester off from school or enrolling
part time. This stage of life is also a time for a
young business-minded individual to evaluate
whether the risky lifestyle of an entrepreneur is
a healthy fit. "Look inside yourself toward where
you are in life and ask, 'Am I willing to take a
risk?' " says Mr. Neustel.
* Overcome early hurdles.
During his freshman year at Princeton University
in 2001, Tom Szaky, 24 years old, began working on
a project to create organic plant food made
entirely from organic food waste and packaged in
recycled soda bottles. The company, called
TerraCycle, now located in Trenton, N.J., began to
grow, and by the middle of his sophomore year, Mr.
Szaky went on sabbatical. Due to his age, investor
interest was slow.
"In the beginning, investors totally blew us off,"
he says. Knowing his age was the primary deterrent,
Mr. Szaky remained patient and persistent. Event-
ually, a radio interview led to an investment of
a couple thousand dollars by a caller, and from
there TerraCycle grew one investor at a time.
Today, some of TerraCycle's 15 products are found
at Wal-Mart and Home Depot, and he expects revenues
this year to be around $1.5 million. "Believing in
the idea is critical, especially for a young person,
because you have to get passed those first hurtles."
* Make the most of your school's resources.
Matt Stucke, a 2004 graduate of the University of
Mary in Bismarck, N.D, received first-place honors
at UM's 2003 annual Emerging Leaders Academy
Entrepreneurship Fair for his invention of an
athletic shoe cleat guard. With help from his
school's entrepreneurial organization, the Harold
Schafer Leadership Center, Mr. Stucke created a
board of directors consisting of faculty and local
business owners. "The directors were investors
with the mindset of supporting me," he says.
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Mr. Stucke, who now runs an Edward Jones Invest-
ments office as an investment representative in
Fargo, N.D., called the product SafeSole. With
the board's help, he acquired a U.S. patent and
entered national trade shows that led to relation-
ships with manufacturers.
Be proactive in finding entrepreneurial resources
at your school, says Mr. Stucke. This will be the
beginning of your network and will give you
experience to decide if you want to become an
entrepreneur. Many universities have entrepreneur
centers that connect students with industry
professionals to explore hands-on business ideas.
Also, take advantage of your university's career
services and alumni association.
* Experienced professionals can help.
"Mentors are vital," says Mr. Stucke, who can call
his mentor for advice any time of day. Mr. Stucke
was connected with his mentor, an entrepreneur and
business owner, while an undergrad through his
school's entrepreneurial organization. Approach
an experienced professional for one-on-one advice
through your alumni association, while networking
at a trade show, entrepreneur fair or any
professional setting that seems appropriate.
"The smart kids are the ones who get business
cards and hound professionals to talk during
lunch," says Wes Moss, an entrepreneur advocate
and former contestant on Donald Trump's "The
Apprentice" television show. However, you must do
your research. "People are flattered when asked
for advice," he says. But be well-informed about
the person you are speaking to and know specific-
ally what you want to talk about.
* Adopt a learner's mindset.
"People have great ideas in their head all the
time, but it's the people who get it in a business
plan who succeed," says Mr. Moss. Learning small
business while digging your hands in it may slow
your progress, but don't rush, says Mr. Neustel.
If you are stuck, write down the reasons you
aren't carrying out your idea, then solve them
one by one, says Mr. Szaky. "People get stuck in
thinking about the process, but you have to start
somewhere," he says.
DID YOU KNOW?
Define your customer by getting to know everything you
possibly can about him or her. Think carefully about your
product or service. Exactly who would want to purchase it?
How old is this person? What is his/her marital status?
Where does he/she live? How does he/she like to spend his/
her spare time? What are his/her hobbies? What other
products does he/she buy? Where does he/she go on vacation?
You need to develop your target market as specifically as
possible if you're going to market your product or service
effectively.
So what did you think about this issue? Drop me a line and let
me know at mailto:mandi@gophercentral.com
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