A few people have asked me to post a video from one of the episodes I was on. I hope you find some value in the thoughts shared (plus my blatant self promotion).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAhDPGSh3Dc&feature=related
There are a few other episodes I was on that I will share down the road.
Showing posts with label first business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first business. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Awesome Blog for College Entrepreneurs
When it comes to blogging I have found one of the best sources for collegiate entrepreneurs. It has regular fresh content, insightful information and inspiring stories. It is a great place to check out... http://www.college-startup.com/
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Write A Book!
I am writing my first book and am committed to having it printed by April. It is a lot of hard work, but even if I don't sell a single copy it has been the most rewarding experience of my life. As a result of writing my book, which is all about my entrepreneurial beliefs, I have already experienced the following:
1. I have met amazing, extraordinary people.
2. I have learned more about myself during this time than any other time in my life.
3. I have eaten more Clif Bars in one day, than a tri-athlete does in one month. I don't know if this is a good thing, but its a funny thing.
4. Have the courage to pursue self publishing. The more expensive, but potentially way more rewarding route.
5. I have learned and researched more than I did in four years of college.
6. I have grown. I have grown in so many ways, it is immeasurable.
I encourage you to do the same. And who's knows maybe you'll become famous and make money at it! OK, enough reading... go start writing.
1. I have met amazing, extraordinary people.
2. I have learned more about myself during this time than any other time in my life.
3. I have eaten more Clif Bars in one day, than a tri-athlete does in one month. I don't know if this is a good thing, but its a funny thing.
4. Have the courage to pursue self publishing. The more expensive, but potentially way more rewarding route.
5. I have learned and researched more than I did in four years of college.
6. I have grown. I have grown in so many ways, it is immeasurable.
I encourage you to do the same. And who's knows maybe you'll become famous and make money at it! OK, enough reading... go start writing.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
College Startup - Graduate with a Profit
If there was anything I got out of college it was a hangover. I never thought about what the next stage of life would be, besides getting a 9 to 5 job. When reality slapped me in the face, I found that working for the man stinks. So... I left to start a company. If only I had tried that earlier, I would be farther along today.
Reflecting back it is clear to me the best time to start a business is while you are in school. You don't have to work a full time insane work schedule, and keep the grads up. But you can slowly ramp a business and learn as you go. And the distractions of school work (and parties) will force you to have a business, that to some degree, runs itself.
If you are in college and you have the entrepreneurial bug, don't wait. Do it now. Trust me... I have been there, and I didn't do that.
Reflecting back it is clear to me the best time to start a business is while you are in school. You don't have to work a full time insane work schedule, and keep the grads up. But you can slowly ramp a business and learn as you go. And the distractions of school work (and parties) will force you to have a business, that to some degree, runs itself.
If you are in college and you have the entrepreneurial bug, don't wait. Do it now. Trust me... I have been there, and I didn't do that.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Ivy Schools to County Colleges - It Just Doesn't Matter
I don't care how smart you are or how talented your are or what college you went to. When it comes to launching a company that stuff just doesn't matter. What does matter is how smart you BELIEVE you are, how talented you BELIEVE you are, how driven you are, how focused you are and how persistent you are.
I have come to realize we achieve what we believe. It doesn't matter what your background is or your education is, what matters is what you believe you can or can't do. Yes, you background and experience has a great influence on your beliefs. But once you realize you have the right and you have the ability to change your beliefs, you can acheive what you want.
So if you are a County College grad, don't feel that you can't achieve what an Ivy Leaguer does. Just follow you passion, be persistent and truly, truly believe in yourself. Then again if you are an Ivy grad... you too need to be passionate, persistent and truly, truly believe in yourself.
College is over... and we are all on common footing. The ones that believe are much more likely to achieve.
I have come to realize we achieve what we believe. It doesn't matter what your background is or your education is, what matters is what you believe you can or can't do. Yes, you background and experience has a great influence on your beliefs. But once you realize you have the right and you have the ability to change your beliefs, you can acheive what you want.
So if you are a County College grad, don't feel that you can't achieve what an Ivy Leaguer does. Just follow you passion, be persistent and truly, truly believe in yourself. Then again if you are an Ivy grad... you too need to be passionate, persistent and truly, truly believe in yourself.
College is over... and we are all on common footing. The ones that believe are much more likely to achieve.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Blood Money - A "401K" Savings Method for Your Business
I recently received a notice congratulating me on donating a gallon of blood. I quickly did some research on Wikipedia and learned that the human body has slightly over a gallon of blood pumping through it. Clearly, if I gave a gallon of blood in one sitting I would be a goner. Shoot, even if I only donated one third of my blood (approximately 3 pints) in one sitting I might suffer some tough consequences. But since I donate one pint of blood at a time, my body hardly misses it and I can donate as frequently as seven times a year without missing a heartbeat (pun intended). My blood donations have quickly piled up and in a very short time I have given a gallon.
We’ve all heard that cash is the lifeblood of our business. I think it’s hard to argue otherwise. Shouldn’t we treat our money like our business’s blood? Just like a medical emergency, a business in need of fiscal attention often requires an infusion of capital.
Medical needs sometimes can be predicted and sometimes can’t. Regardless of the timing, with a pool of easily accessible blood reserves the chance for survival dramatically increases. Sometimes our business problems are predictable and other times they blindside the living crud out of us. Regardless of the timing, with a pool of easily accessible cash the chance for business survival dramatically increases.
That’s why you need to regularly “donate” business cash flow to your reserves. The best method is by taking your profit first. What do I mean by this? Every time money comes into the business, and I mean every time, a percentage is automatically transferred into a separate account. Just like a pint of blood, a healthy business will hardly feel it being withdrawn. I like to call this reserve the Profit Distribution Account (PDA).
How much money can be transferred to the PDA without threatening the health of the business? Most stable companies should be able to post a profit of 10% to 25% after all expenses. So trying starting with a low threshold, maybe 5% of every inbound dollar goes to the PDA. Over time slowly increase the percentage and monitor closely to see if your business gets woozy. Once you have consciously (more often subconsciously) adjusted expenses and cash outflow to sustain your PDA withdrawals, you will quickly accumulate a tremendous cash reserve. Be cognizant not to stow away too much money too quickly. Just like donating blood, the rapid drain of cash exiting from business operations will cripple or kill your organization.
Should tough times come upon your company, and they often do, you now have a source of funds that you’ve built up. The PDA’s dinero reserve will see you through these times. On the bright side, as these funds grow they will ultimately be in excess of any imaginable rainy day needs. At that point you should take portions as an equity distribution. Trust me, it’s a real nice way to reward yourself for running a healthy business. There is a nifty little process I recommend on how to do this, but I’ll save that for another article.
If you’ve never given blood, I strongly encourage you to do it. There’s no question it saves lives. If you don’t currently donate to your company’s PDA account, I strongly encourage you to start. There’s no question it saves companies.
Start a PDA for your company...and you are on your path to a successful launch!
We’ve all heard that cash is the lifeblood of our business. I think it’s hard to argue otherwise. Shouldn’t we treat our money like our business’s blood? Just like a medical emergency, a business in need of fiscal attention often requires an infusion of capital.
Medical needs sometimes can be predicted and sometimes can’t. Regardless of the timing, with a pool of easily accessible blood reserves the chance for survival dramatically increases. Sometimes our business problems are predictable and other times they blindside the living crud out of us. Regardless of the timing, with a pool of easily accessible cash the chance for business survival dramatically increases.
That’s why you need to regularly “donate” business cash flow to your reserves. The best method is by taking your profit first. What do I mean by this? Every time money comes into the business, and I mean every time, a percentage is automatically transferred into a separate account. Just like a pint of blood, a healthy business will hardly feel it being withdrawn. I like to call this reserve the Profit Distribution Account (PDA).
How much money can be transferred to the PDA without threatening the health of the business? Most stable companies should be able to post a profit of 10% to 25% after all expenses. So trying starting with a low threshold, maybe 5% of every inbound dollar goes to the PDA. Over time slowly increase the percentage and monitor closely to see if your business gets woozy. Once you have consciously (more often subconsciously) adjusted expenses and cash outflow to sustain your PDA withdrawals, you will quickly accumulate a tremendous cash reserve. Be cognizant not to stow away too much money too quickly. Just like donating blood, the rapid drain of cash exiting from business operations will cripple or kill your organization.
Should tough times come upon your company, and they often do, you now have a source of funds that you’ve built up. The PDA’s dinero reserve will see you through these times. On the bright side, as these funds grow they will ultimately be in excess of any imaginable rainy day needs. At that point you should take portions as an equity distribution. Trust me, it’s a real nice way to reward yourself for running a healthy business. There is a nifty little process I recommend on how to do this, but I’ll save that for another article.
If you’ve never given blood, I strongly encourage you to do it. There’s no question it saves lives. If you don’t currently donate to your company’s PDA account, I strongly encourage you to start. There’s no question it saves companies.
Start a PDA for your company...and you are on your path to a successful launch!
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