Madison Who’s Who Blog

Today’s entrepreneur can employ global networking to promote their business or service with an ease and facility not known in prior generations. The resulting influx of entrepreneurs and the growing sophistication of B2B networking throughout the global marketplace may result in some blurring of the lines that have always separated the maverick upstart from their staid CEO counterparts.

“A generation of thrusting young entrepreneurs from emerging economies are snapping at the heels of today’s stuffy Western business leaders – who are in danger of getting left behind.

That’s the stark (for Western managers anyway) conclusion of research carried out by business consultancy McKinney Rogers, which is arguing that many new leaders are now embracing a more entrepreneurial approach to business.

Half the managers and business leaders in younger, emerging markets were ready to embrace entrepreneurship, even when working in large organisations, compared to just over a quarter in Europe and the UK.”

Though entrepreneurs and corporate leaders share many like qualities;vision,leadership,ingenuity and flexibility, those essential qualities need to imbue more of the corporate posture, providing an openness to new markets technology and the maverick spirit personified by entrepreneurs

“For older, more established markets to continue to flourish, they need to keep pace and this means adopting what is called ‘intrapreneurship’ – injecting some of the core qualities of an entrepreneur into a large business and adapting the culture to allow this to sit comfortably,” he added.

Damian McKinney, chief executive at McKinney Rogers continued: “These results clearly highlight a real understanding across industry that entrepreneurship has an increasingly important part to play in driving a successful business.”(source)
H/T:Business Opportunities Weblog

Effective global networking is accelerated everyday as new and better software applications, web tools and networking options are introduced. It is impossible to keep track of all the promising ideas and opportunities that exist.

Especially of interest to the entrepreneur is any opportunity that would put his idea or service in front of an investor. Plan Heaven seeks to expedite that exposure.

“Plan Heaven helps to solve two major problems faced by entrepreneurs: properly communicating the investment opportunity and accessing the right investors. At the monthly angel group session an entrepreneur can properly convey all aspects of their business and the investment opportunity in a 10-minute presentation. That’s fine for the 10 - 20 investors that show up for that month’s session, but what about the other 50 to 100 angel investors in the group that didn’t show up? What about the huge ,untapped network of angel investors that are friends with those members of the angel group? How do they all learn about all the nuances and exciting details of the entrepreneur’s investment opportunity?”

Video. The advances in online video and the ease of making a video presentation make this a no-brainer.

“Plan Heaven has resources that can assist entrepreneurs in preparing a video presentation so that investors can absorb the pitch in its entirety, all online. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then what does a video do at 30 frames per second? Which experience is more memorable and conveys more information: a billboard or a 30-second professional television commercial? The difference is everything.

“…Angel investors can search start-up companies seeking funding, view presentations they missed at their monthly angel group session, or receive custom email alerts announcing any new investment opportunities in a specific industry or region.”

(Source)
(H/T: MindPetals)

Who’s who in entrepreneurial education -or does that seem counter-intuitive? Entrepreneurship, in the past, has been the role of the maverick. Indeed, many entrepreneurs achieved phenomenal success without a high school degree, let alone a college degree - and pride themselves in having done so.

The idea that the by-the-seat-of-your-pants instincts associated with independent wealth making can be neatly packaged into a degree might even offend some entrepreneurs. None the less,Entrepreneur.com has researched the top 10 grad schools to find the best programs available.

Two such stand outs are Northwestern University and Temple University. Explore all of the selections at the link above.

Northwestern University
Kellogg School of Management, Larry & Carol Levy Institute for Entrepreneurship, Evanston, IL

“One thing that sets Northwestern’s entrepreneurship program apart is its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, which brings experienced entrepreneurs and investors to campus for five to eight weeks. Students can meet with these entrepreneurs one-on-one and ask questions about entrepreneurship in a confidential setting. The school also has a Private Equity Internship Program, which gives students a greater understanding and first-hand experience in the sometimes hard-to-understand private-equity field.”

Temple University
The Fox School of Business, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, Philadelphia, PA

“The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute isn’t stuck in the business school at Temple University–it extends to all 17 schools and colleges on campus. The program emphasizes hands-on learning and brings together students, entrepreneurs, mentors, alumni, faculty and business advisors from diverse backgrounds to work on real-time projects. Another great student resource is an innovation lab that provides support and space for student startups and features workrooms, staff and access to entrepreneurs who are always ready to give advice.”

If you are an entrepreneur or a freelancer than you are a “brand”, and as any brand requires, you need to have a marketing strategy. Peer to peer networking groups are the perfect place to polish and shine your brand.

Donald Trump, Lee Iaccoca, and Jack Welch have personal brands that radiate confidence, success and authority. Britney Spears has almost irreparably destroyed her personal brand and Paris Hilton has a brand that has no legitimacy at all.

What are your strengths? How are you unique? Why should anyone bother to know you? The answers to those questions should be evident in your brand. Consider those individuals whose brand obviously magnetizes and distinguish what qualities their brand evokes and how is that accomplished.

Dan Schawbel at Jibber Jobber offers sound counsel:

“Remember that, it all comes down to how others perceive you, so you need to make a lasting impression. The only true way to do this is to have some of the qualities listed above and to understand who you are. Your audience can see right through you if you’re being phony or fail to project the “real you.” That’s not to say that you can evolve your brand over time to match other qualifications, but at the root of it, you must be yourself to be respected.”

Very often the case is that the entrepreneur has not started their business with a business degree behind them. That in no way indicates a diminished appetite for learning but often is a result of having no patience to attend college, lack of funds to do so or no time to include education with their business pursuits.

An interesting site I ran into offers the entrepreneur an avenue to acquire the knowledge that they seek for free. Silent Partner Consulting has three objectives:

• Develop talented and experienced leaders into independent consultants assisting small businesses
• Help small and start-up businesses facilitate best available techniques in management, finance, and communications
• Apply excess funds to charitable, special need opportunities

One of the ways they seek to implement these goals is through the creation of Bastiat Free University. Bastiat was ” founded by Silent Partner Consulting to offer university level distance learning courses. The goal of BFU is to help business people that lack a degree find the knowledge they seek.”

As the global networking grows and redefines the marketplace, it also is redefining every aspect of knowledge acquisition. There will always be the independent spirit who will chafe at the notion of ivy league college and prestigious job titles. SPC definitely cater to that independent spirt.

“The new social order may well revert to old tribal ways, a cohort of small trusting groups, mobile and opportunistic. The future looks toward a network society based on reputation, accomplishment, and knowledge. The current school system is archaic, processing students into social machine parts for a prior age. Those that succeed as the new Netcohort will be knowledgeable and flexible; and they will continue learning their entire lives. Renaissance education, diverse knowledge combined with accomplishment, will be necessary to prepare for the networking society. This style of learning can be a pleasure as you study what you want and need to know. Prepare yourself for societal transformation. We are crossing a bridge to great opportunity.”
(Source)

1. Don’t quit your day job.
2. Don’t incorporate.
3. Don’t get a bank account.
4. Don’t rent an office. Work from home.
5. Don’t hire an attorney.
6. Don’t hire an accountant.
7. Don’t get a loan.
8. Don’t hire anyone.
9. Don’t get a business license.
10. Don’t try to patent anything.
11. Don’t design a logo.
12. Don’t waste time picking a business name.
13. Don’t advertise. A
14. Don’t buy office supplies.
15. Don’t buy any equipment.
16. Don’t try to find a partner
17. Don’t join the Chamber of Commerce.
18. Don’t tell all of your friends about the business that you’re going to start someday soon.
19. Don’t write a business plan.
20. Don’t get a business telephone number or mailing address.

At first glance the above list of start-up advice seems counter-intuitive. Before becoming an entrepreneur at play in the global network, some very basic and unglamorous labor is needed first. Yet a pitfall many entrepreneurs fall into is spending an excessive amount of time and precious capital structuring for a would-be business launch without having thoroughly explored or tested the market for their product or service.

The author contends that more often than not, a product or service as first conceived ends up falling flat. The natural enthusiasm an entrepreneur feels for his own innovation is usually not tested beyond a small circle of uncritical friends or supporters.

“Nine times out of ten, what you originally thought was going to be a big hit in the marketplace is a dud, and you have to go back and rework your product. If you spend all of your savings establishing your corporate presence, you won’t have any money left to pay yourself when you have to go back to the drawing board.”
(Source)

“Living in a foreign country is in itself an adventure and it takes a certain type of person to be able to do it with ease and grace.”

For the executive who has undertaken an international assignment or for the entrepreneur who makes his home deep within the many expat interstices available within the global network, the above statement rings emphatically true.

An interesting piece comes from an expat in Turkey who comments on the predilections of expats regarding their housing decisions when moving to their host country.

Expats who expect a sojourn of short duration will opt to live primarily amongst other expats. In the Istanbul the author writes from, that is often in a walled compound where one might never hear the native tongue.

“For them, living in a semi-isolated environment buffers them from having to learn the language and customs of yet another country. They don’t feel the need to learn about life here since it is yet just another city, another country.”

A good portion of the expats live in the ubiquitous high rises,typically working for Turkish companies and often married to or living with a Turk.

A rare few expats, like the author, live entirely within a Turkish neighborhood.

“Language fluency is not always a deciding factor in this decision, although a certain level of self-assuredness is needed to manage in an area where they may be the only non-Turk around. Friends living in predominately Turkish neighborhoods generally seem to participate more in local life, be it shopping at the local pazar, having neighbors over for tea and gossip or having their children enrolled in a local school.”

Whether living with “ease and grace” or trauma and confusion, an international assignment will be an exacting yet enriching experience on many levels.

• If you don’t like what you’re hearing, respond with a question, even if it’s no more than “Why are you saying that?” - Mark McCormack
• Successful negotiations are 70% preparation, 20% implementation, and 10% acting. - Robert Olson
• Email is a communications medium, not a collaboration medium. When confused as a collaboration tool, efficiency plummets. - Ben Casnocha
• In dealing with community groups, you must allow the groups to have a pound of flesh in the first meeting (let them shit all over you). Once they have voiced their anger they’ll be more trusting. - Kirk Hanson
• Stratify suppliers into those that: a) must be paid currently, b) accept late payment occassionally, c) take late payment as a matter of informal policy. - James Wicker
• An entrepreneur is somebody who steals office supplies from home and brings them into work. - Auren Hoffman
• Before going into a partnership with someone, spend time with them in three different kinds of situations: a relaxing one, a competitive one, and an intellectually stimulating one. - Joan Kelly

Rudimentary. A maxim, the basics, or “rules of thumb”. Little nuggets of wisdom that can serve as a guide. Can you think of any? Did your father or grandparents pass some ‘rules of thumb’ down to you that you have found valuable for navigating in business and life?

Now you have a place where you can pass your precious gems of wisdom on to your network of peers in the new “Business Rules of Thumb Wiki“, a project by entrepreneur Ben Casnocha. The above quotes are a sampling from the site,