My thoughts on Entrepreneurship

This is the beginning of my professional blog. I am not sure what I really want to say or even how to say it. I am hoping to begin typing and it will come to me as I go. I do know that I will be discussing entrepreneurship and what comes with it in the blogs to come.

I am an inexperienced college student who knows that I do not want to grow within corporate America. I want to run and operate my own business. I want to take pride in what I do. I want to work because I love what I am doing and I believe in it. I am currently reading Tina Seelig's, What I wish I knew when I was 20, and she has a quote from Guy Kawasaki saying to, "make meaning than to make money" (p. 29). I want to make "meaning" out of my life with what I do.

What do I do if I have an idea? Who can I talk to? These are all questions that arise about starting your own business. It doesn't matter if you are a trained business professional or are an inexperienced college student, these questions will come. So where can you go for answers?

Believe it or not, there are many resources available to entrepreneurs. The easiest to find is your own family and friends. Your family and friends may have other network connections to assist you or even have hands-on experience. If you are in college, take advantage of the knowledge that some professors may have. This alone is a priceless resource. All of these people may be able to give you assistance in hammering out your idea. Once you have a solid idea, I would recommend a Small Business Development Center. This is where I started.

Sit down with an adviser and pitch the idea. Remember, these advisers hear many ideas and are open to just about everything. I sat down with Rod Jorgenson in Reno. The best part was he was very approachable and comforting. He was able to help me find answers to some of the questions I had and was also able to shine some light into the dark areas. The best advice is to write out a business plan. They will even be able to give you a guide on writing a business plan.

A business plan covers just about everything. It is a general roadmap of where you want to go. This is the very first step into starting your own business. Take your time and do the research. It will pay off in the end. Even if you find out that an idea may not be marketable, that business plan just saved you time, money, and frustration.

In the blogs to come, I am hoping to show available resources to those of us that want to become entrepreneurs. I am open to discussion about any of my ideas as this is a gray area that I am stepping in.

Thanks for stopping by!