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  • Are you a risk taker?

    Do you think of yourself as a risk-taker? Risk-taking behavior is associated with innovators, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs. Elke Weber, a professor of international business at Columbia University and a leading researcher on risk, says, that understanding the roots of risk-taking can guide people in making better decisions. (See, " What Makes a Risk Take r" Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2013). The Wall Street Journal reports, "Most people overestimate the probability of something going wrong" when they venture into unfamiliar turf, says Margie Warrell, a Melbourne, Australia-based authority on risk-taking who has coached many U.S. executives and employers. "They also overestimate the consequences of things going badly," says Ms. Warrell, author of "Stop Playing Safe." With experience, they become more realistic, and learn they can handle the consequences of failure. "The more often we step out of our comfort zone, the more we build our tolerance for risk-taking," she says. As depicted in the graphic below, the five areas where people take gambles are health and safety, ethical, social, recreational, and financial. Answer the questions on the graphic below. When do you take chances? Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324102604578497133593217870.html Take the attached risk assessment. What are your biggest risk areas?

  • The Entrepreneurial Mindset

    Millenials want freedom, and this desire is driving them towards independent (and often entrepreneurial) career paths. M any are planning their escape from corporate jobs. If organizations embraced intrapreneurs, would this help employees stay in organizations?
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  • Bill Gates on Steve Jobs

    In this 60 Minutes interview, Charlie Rose asks Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, about his competitor, the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple. If you aren't familiar with these entrepreneurs, browse the Triumph of the Nerds , a history of the personal computer and the people who helped shaped it. How important is a computer to you? How do you use a computer? How important is the computer to business? Which jobs don't use a computer? Explain.

  • SHARK Acronym

    I received an email from Mari Smith , Leading Social Media Strategist. She reported on Shark Tank's Daymond John' s session at the annual conference , InfusionCon . Daymond John's acronym for SHARK is: S = set goals H = do your homework (research) A = amore (if you love what you do, you'll never have to work a day in your life) R = remember, you are the brand, and must have a 2-5 word brand mantra (like Nike's "Just Do It!" and Daymond's brand FUBU is "For Us, By Us.") K = keep swimming! What is your 2-5 word brand mantra?

  • Philosophy of a Successful Restaruant Entrepreneur

    In this video, entrepreneur Joe Johnston of Joe's Farm Grill, Joe's Real BBQ and Liberty Market (Gilbert, AZ) talks about the "two creations" of planning a restaurant, and how to minimize the risk of starting a restaurant. The video is by Schedulefly , a company that provides Web-based restaurant employee scheduling and communication software for independent restaurants. It is a spin-off project from the book , Restaurant Owners Uncorked: Twenty Owners Share Their Recipes for Success . Do you or someone you know want to start a restaurant? What practical advice for aspiring restaurant owners does Mr. Johnston offer?

  • Employee versus Independent Contractor

    Owning a business or being self-employed is the dream job of many people. One way to be self-employed is to become an independent contractor. In the audio presentation below, Rick Schampers provides information on what the law says in general about what factors and situations indicate a worker should be treated as an employee and which situations indicate workers should be treated as independent contractors. According to the IRS, to determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor under the common law, the relationship of the worker and the business must be examined. In any employee-independent contractor determination, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and the degree of independence must be considered. Facts that provide evidence of the degree of control and independence fall into three categories: (1) behavioral control, (2) financial control, and (3) the type of relationship of the parties. Does thinking about being self-employed as an independent contractor still sound good to you? You'll still have a boss -- your customer! In order to satisfy your customers, you might need to be assess able 24/7. You'll have to sell yourself to build a client base. You'll need to do your own billing and record-keeping. OR have you decided to conduct a job search? How does considering self-employment help you conduct a better job search?

  • The Start-Up of YOU

    The Start-Up of YOU : Rediscovering the Entrepreneurial Spirit in All of Us is a book by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn, and Ben Casnocha, entrepreneur. The authors believe you can take control of your future. Many students graduate from college, but cannot find a job in their field. The authors recommend becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business. Read the book summary below. Start-up of You, Visual Summary from Reid Hoffman What business could you start?
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  • No Excuses

    Most people won't become an entrepreneur or even a manager because of their fear of failure. But, everyone has self-doubt - even successful entrepreneurs and managers. If you have ever struggled to accomplish a goal, Kyle Maynard's story will encourage you. Most of the problems you have faced do not come anywhere near the problems he has faced. Watching this video and reading his book, No Excuses , will inspire you. Kyle faces challenges without "excuses." What goal have you been putting off because of self-doubt? How has Kyle's story motivated you to want to accomplish the goal?

  • I made this!

    Seth Godin 's new book is The Icarus Deception . He says that it is hard for someone to say, "Here, I made this." It is hard to be an entrepreneur. You might fail. People might laugh at you and your creations. But, it is wonderful when you succeed! What have you created?
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  • Squarespace

    Anthony Casalena was a student at the University of Maryland when he started Squarespace , a service that helps people build a website. TIME.com named it one of the 50 best websites . He shares his number one piece of advice for entrepreneurs with Rebecca Jarvis of the Start Up . "I think it's important that people who start companies feel compelled to do it because they think the world should be a certain way, and they feel strongly about changing it. Your company should have a philosophy and a reason for being. Many people confuse ideas with companies, but a company should be more than just solving the mechanics of a problem. It should be built with a group of people that rallies around an idea and works towards a common goal." What are your career goals? Where do you want to work? What is the company's purpose? Do your career goals match the company's goals?
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  • Trip Advisor's Success

    Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year. Steve Kaufer is the founder the world's largest travel website, Trip Advisor . He started the business 12 years ago, after struggling to plan a vacation himself. People get free travel advice from their friends. In this video, Kaufer tells Rebecca Jarvis of the Start Up about the smartest things he did and the biggest mistake he made in starting the company. He says that the smartest thing he did was open the site to let users use the site however they wanted. They write reviews and add photos of what the room really looks like. They ask and answer questions in forums. He says the thing he would have done differently is open the site earlier to global users. Write a short review about the last trip you took. Did you use a brochure? Did the actual trip match the brochure? What would you advise? ly11rpeU0Xg
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  • Sara Blakely on Her Spanx Success

    Sarah Blakely is the founder of Spanx , body-shaping undergarments and clothing. She is the youngest female billionaire in history. The word "failure" was redefined by Blakely. "Instead of failure being the outcome, failure became not trying," she told Anerson Cooper . "It forced me at a young age to want to push myself so much farther out of my comfort zone." Blakely's number one tip for women who are hoping to start their own business is "You've got to trust your gut. I didn't have any background in what I was doing: women have really strong guts." In this video, Blakely shares her inspiration. Who inspires you?
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  • Crowdfunding

    Raising capital is a challenge for any business, but it is especially difficult for new businesses. Instead of asking investors for money, some small businesses and entrepreneurs are using crowdfunding Web sites like Kickstarter , to solicit money. Kickstarter began as a Web site for artists, musicians, and filmmakers to raise money for their creative projects. In this video, Yancy Strickler, co-Founder of KickStarter, tells how people are funding their entrepreneurial endeavors using his website. Backers pledge money for a project in exchange for items produced from the project, such as a music download or an art print. The Crowdfund Act is part of a new law, Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS Act), which allows businesses to raise small amounts of money from small investors online. JOBS was "designed to jumpstart our economy and restore opportunities for America's primary job creators: our small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs" (See attachment). It changes the way small businesses raise capital. In general, the law allows companies to raise up to $1 million a year from small investors in return for part ownership. Whenever you ask people for help, you don't know what they will say. Will they like what you are doing? Will they want what you are offering? How successful do you think small businesses will be in searching for funds on the Web?

  • Entrepreneurs Go to College

    CBS News 60 Minutes ran a segment about a billionaire paying entrepreneurial students $100,000 to drop out of college. The program asked the question, " Is college worth the cost ?" Entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa teaches at Duke and Stanford. In this video , he explains how the social skills gained in college actually help Americans get ahead. Lots of people have ideas, but they aren't able to turn them into inventions, and then into companies. A college education helps entrepreneurs start and run successful businesses. Traits of entrepreneurs include being willing to take risks. They are optimistic.They believe they are going to change the world. They have a grand vision about how they are going to make an impact. They believe in themselves. Entrepreneurs work well with others.They work very hard. Would you take the money to drop out of college to start your own business? Explain.
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  • Where have all the young firms gone?

    "Where Have All the Young Firms Gone?" This is the title of the Kauffman Foundation-Census Bureau study (PDF attached) on U.S. entrepreneurship. The Census Bureau's Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) provides annual business data from 1976 to 2010. (See Figure 3 below.) The briefing was partially funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity measures annual employer and non-employer business creation in the United States. The press release stated the following. "Young firms - those five years old or younger - now comprise fewer than 35 percent of all firms, down from nearly 50 percent in the early 1980s. This decrease is accompanied by a decline in the share of employment accounted for by entrepreneurial firms from 20 percent in the 1980s to 12 percent in 2010. The share of job creation also has fallen, from more than 40 percent in the 1980s to about 30 percent in recent years." The report, "Where Have All the Young Firms Gone?," focuses on the decline in starting new businesses. This is a concern because new businesses create jobs. Yet, Scott Shane , the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University, writes that this report means that "failure rates must've dropped, too." This is the good news. Do you dream of starting a business? If so, what kind of business? What do you think stands in the way of new business formation?
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