20.07.2009
blog
I have been working for several months now on a conference for young entrepreneurs. The first challenge was picking a word. Many people said that “CEO” is a dirty word these days, and I was sure that there are many out there who don’t identify with the word “entrepreneur”. I have a friend who is a very successful artist, and has very successful businesses. But she calls herself an artist, not an entrepreneur.
So, for now I’m going with that word for lack of a better one, but in order to find one, or determine if there is a better one, I wanted to first explore it and get some feedback.
So,what does “Entrepreneur” mean?
According to Wikipedia:
“…first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon.
Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon herself or himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome”
According to Google:
“The earliest definition we found was from the 13th century, where we learn the words root. The origin of the English word entrepreneur comes from the French word entreprendre, which can be translated to mean to do something? or to undertake.”
MY definition of entrepreneurship is ” creating an entity from nothing, with the intent of providing something of value to the world, and the assuming the risk and responsibility for it’s outcome. ”
I define it this way because entrepreneurship (in my opinion) is primarily about creativity and being willing to take a risk. Many people think about “business, making money, etc” but the reality is that we all have different perceptions about all of that!
Many people don’t think of “non-profits” as making money (ha!), others think of business as “corporations” and not restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, etc. So I believe that this definition more clearly defines today’s “sense” of the word.
I recently asked “what one word best describe the characteristic most necessary to be an entrepreneur” and received only a few, but nonetheless interesting responses.
I posed the question on twitter and all of the answers were the same word, sort of…
Those who are employees said “risky”
Those who are entrepreneurs all said “Risk”
Hmmm…interesting, since the words sort of are the same, but the meaning and interpretation is quite different!
The “risky” response reflected a more negative view of that word, and that being an entrepreneur is somehow “scary”.
The “risk” response, upon further questioning was viewed as a fact, but not a negative one. Being “willing to take a risk” was viewed by the entrepreneurs as a “positive thing”. The point was also further made that lots of people like to think that they are entrepreneurial, but they aren’t because they don’t take risks.
This made me think of a blog post that I recently read on entrepreneurship. The writer commented at the end that she “goes to work every day, and then is an entrepreneur at night”.
(I’m not here to say that she isn’t an entrepreneur, but can bet that many would!)
I do agree that risk in a vital component. (I also believe that in most cases in life “rewards are directly proportional to the risk taken” but we’ll talk about that another time!).
I have asked others about this word, and will share their thoughts as I receive responses. I also welcome yours!
07.07.2009
blog
I hesitate to tell this story sometimes because it sounds sort of “woo woo” , but it is what it is and I don’t know any other way than to “tell it like it is” (always been that way, ask my mom!:)
In April of this year, I attended the “Extreme Business Makeover” conference in Orlando. I found out about the event through meeting Bob Burg and Thom Scott via Twitter. I have attended a lot of conferences over the years as a Real Estate Broker. I have always believed in the power of knowledge and education. But this time was different.
As I tried to explain to my mother prior to going, I just “knew that I had to go”. You know, that deep in your gut kind of feeling. And this time it wasn’t about “what I would learn”. I HAD to go because there were connections there, that had to happen. People that I HAD to meet.
So, I went and met some of the most amazing people that I have ever met! While I was there, I met a young girl named Danielle Herb. Danielle is an amazing 15yo who has created a business helping those who suffer from ADD/ADHD/Autism through horses. When I overheard her talking about this, I thought of a local girl who recently wrote a book about horses, 13yo Dakota Lee. I was struck by the similarities and couldn’t get them out of my head. As the weekend progressed I was struck with the idea that there must be many more like them (statistically must be true!). I couldn’t help but think “do they feel isolated at times? who do they talk to? We have a network of people in business, conferences like this to attend, etc. What about them?”
On the way home I was overwhelmed by this feeling that I was supposed to create a conference for them (and others like them). In a word, I was “called”. Now, a lot of people throw that word around, but I don’t. There is no other way to describe it though! I was absolutely, undeniably “supposed to” do this. During the 10 hour drive I kept questioning “why? why me?”. You see I have always wanted to somehow “teach” people that they can create their own future by creating their own business. I have always wanted to empower people to have a better life by not being locked into the job that they could get or be limited by their education or circumstances. But, I never really focused on this age group, and had no “network” or connections in this area.
In any case, I knew…I knew that I just had to do it. I knew that I had to believe that I wouldn’t have been giving the inspiration, without being given the way.
So, the journey began…
Napoleon Hill, and countless others have said “focus on your why, and the how will come..” and so I am…
12.06.2009
news
2009 Young Entrepreneurs Success Seminar, Orlando Fla.
- When: September 25-27, 2009
- Where: The Caribe Royale, Orlando Florida
- Who: Young entrepreneurs aged 9 and up and their parents/guardians/mentors
- Web: http://www.yesseminar.com
The purpose of this event is to inspire, empower and educate young entrepreneurs and their parents to embrace their natural creativity, learn to find and leverage their resources, and grow their businesses and ventures. Most importantly, this event will CONNECT young entrepreneurs and their parents with other like-minded people! This alone will provide powerful inspiration and empowerment that will live on long beyond the event! These connections will continue to grow within the community that will be created here.
This will be a “conference” unlike any other! Speakers will include best-selling authors such as Bob Burg, author of “The Go-Giver” and “Endless Referrals”, as well as teen entrepreneurs, and experts in fields related to publishing, marketing, social media and more. Breakout sessions will provide parents and teens to receive information specific to them, and will include fun, interactive and highly educational and powerful workshops and activities designed to inspire creativity and innovation, teach team building skills, marketing techniques, public speaking, networking and more! There will also be panel discussions and the opportunity for attendees to talk to speakers and experts one-on-one. Entertainment and time to meet and interact with one another will be an integral part as well.
How Can You Participate?
Attend! We have gone to great lengths to make this event affordable AND incredibly valuable! Ticket prices are $199 for parent AND teen, or $299 for 2 parents and teens. See our website for early bird special at $177. Register online at http://www.yesseminar.com .
Sponsor! Your support can make this event even better, and accessible to even more people.
Sponsor a teen: We would love to offer sponsorships to the many amazing young people who would like to attend, but will be unable to due to finances. Feel free to sponsor an entire family, or simply provide a fixed donation to be applied toward their attendance costs.
Sponsor a portion of the event: We will also gladly promote anyone who would like to sponsor a specific portion of the event (ie. AV equipment provided by______), or a specific activity such as a cookout or workshop.
Sponsor a Speaker: We have young speakers who would be great for our event! Feel free to help them to attend by donating to their travel costs.
Sponsor with your Product: We would love to have products as prizes for our contests and activities! Donations can be gift cards, mp3 players, computers or anything you’d like! If you are a t-shirt designer, or promotional products provider and would like to donate products for our attendees, please contact us.
PROMOTE! Please support us by helping us promote this event! Please share our information, web address, etc with anyone that might be interested in attending, sponsoring, or who may know someone else who would!
Please feel free to contact us at http://www.yesseminar.com or call us by phone at 919-427-7770.
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23.05.2009
news
We’ve been working on the Young Entrepreneur’s Success Seminar for many months now and already have 1. A Great Panel of Speakers, 2. A Great Location, and 3. A Great Action Plan for You!
As we continue to put things in place, we will be updating the site with specifics. We just started the website, so things are coming together and we already know a lot more than we are putting here – but it will all be here in the next few weeks – we just wanted to get the site up and start getting information to you as soon as we could!
If you are interested in attending, you will definitely want to subscribe for the RSS feed by clicking on the image below so you won’t miss any information!
