 |
|
       |
|
America’s New Microenterprise EconomyAugust 2nd, 2009The world economy depends on a healthy US economy. A United States operating at a sustainable state; socially, economically, and environmentally. We need to provide the necessary infrastructure to promote sustainable business concepts at localized levels utilizing microenterprises. VIDEO COMING SOON!!! STAY TUNED!!! Hot Air BalloonJune 8th, 2009Last spring I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a mom and her three-year-old daughter. The little girl was holding on to a string that was attached to a helium balloon. All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl. I braced myself for some screaming and crying.
But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, “Wow!”
I didn’t realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me something.
Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with “Oh no, what should we do?” But remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, “Wow, that’s interesting! How can I help you?”
One thing’s for sure — life’s always going to keep you off balance with its unexpected problems. That’s a given. What’s not preordained is your response. You can choose to be frustrated or fascinated.
No matter what the situation, a fascinated “Wow!” will always beat a frustrated “Oh, no.”
So the next time you experience one of life’s unexpected gusts, remember that little girl and make it a “Wow!” experience. The “Wow!” response always works.
Written by Rob Gilbert Editor of “Bits & Pieces”
This piece was submitted by: Frank Lopo Premier Credit Management, LLC. Shovel-Ready Economic UpdateMay 11th, 2009Finally, confidence is returning to the markets. The DOW was up 4.5% last week. Is the worst really behind us? Is “confidence” the fuel we need? Is that all we need to leverage our stimulus dollars? Forget the billions being shuffled between Washington and Wall Street, and focus on the more important resource…People. American Workers. Jobs produced from innovative opportunities are going to be the catalyst to drive our economy. Join together with people in your community. Collaboration will help us re-build the economy from the bottom-up; the correct way! Club Entrepreneur Offers Zero TuitionMay 8th, 2009(TEMPE, AZ) - Arizona residents can now earn a fully accredited college degree at no cost by joining Club Entrepreneur, a free online community for emerging entrepreneurs. Prospective students who sign up are eligible have their tuition waived at Andrew Jackson University (AJU), a nationally accredited online institution with eleven degree programs. Additional enrollment fees, books and materials costs, and other qualified expenses can be fully offset by the recently passed American Opportunity Tax Credit, effectively bringing the net cost of a college education to zero.
“Our sponsored tuition program will strengthen Arizona’s economic future by unlocking the gates to higher education for thousands of residents who are being shut out by the recent wave of fee increases at colleges and universities throughout the state,” remarked Club Entrepreneur founder Peter J. Burns, III.
Club Entrepreneur is the latest addition to AJU’s growing list of business and organizational sponsors who want to offer educational opportunities to their employees or members. Interested students must join the sponsor’s e-mail list or online network in order to qualify for the tuition waiver. There is no cost to the sponsor or the student to participate.
“Traditional educational institutions find applicants by paying hefty fees to educational websites which collect and sell personal information of interested students,” explains AJU President Don Kassner. “We eliminate this costly middle man by partnering with groups that are trying to reach the same population we are,” he adds.
Students are under no obligation to maintain a relationship with their sponsoring organization and will continue to have their tuition waived even if they sever ties with their sponsor. “It’s really up to the individual sponsor to maintain a good relationship with the student,” according to Kassner. Sponsors are prohibited from selling or sharing the personal information of their sponsored students.
Participating students can choose from a variety of Associate, Bachelor and Master degree programs in business, communication, health care administration and other fields. Courses and assignments are administered “anytime anywhere” on AJU’s secure, user-friendly online platform. For more information on the sponsored tuition program, visit Club Entrepreneur at http://www.clubefactory.com/ A Look at Co-WorkingMay 5th, 2009With the eFactory getting ready to open 2 fully-operating facilities, it’s important to understand the benefit others have experienced with this shared-office model. Start Up Now TestimonialApril 28th, 2009Play To Your Own “Genius”April 26th, 2009As a “pureblood” entrepreneur, I’m often asked how do I put complicated deals together so quickly(?) when others look at the same line-up of components and facts and don’t recognize any discernible pattern…let alone see the opportunity to profit. The simple answer is that I play to my “genius,” that is I do what comes naturally, which happens to be recognizing patterns, putting disparate pieces together and monetizing that effort.
We all have our God-given talents, be it in the creative zone of developing graphically beautiful web sites, figuring out how to organize members of an entrepreneurial team (equivalent to herding cats) or developing tech solutions and financial models for any kind of business. Entrepreneurs, being the “lone wolves” that they often are, sometimes forget the importance of collaborating with a team with complimentary skills sets, often making the effort of moving forward, stronger, quicker and better.
Doing business well is all about how one gets along with other people. If one can respect another’s talents and work together to achieve a common goal, both win. When a team of like-minded entrepreneurs learns to successfully delegate responsibilities and creates a system of accountability and measurement towards reaching that common goal…magic happens.
The trick is to not only “play to your own genius,” but allow others to do the same.
Recently, the creators of our successful StartUp Now workshops, Jim and Sonia Graham and I had a meeting to see how we might improve upon what we had started with the workshops. Out of the four sessions to date, there were four new businesses started, which is wonderful. However, only a handful of each of the four groups decided to participate in each new business launch, leaving most of each group on their own.
I offered to use my “genius” of recognizing opportunity in a free 45 minute session with any of the StartUp Now group members that wanted to explore the possibilities of starting their own new business, outside of their group, or perhaps move into one of our eFactory business opportunities. I reasoned that given a focused session one-on-one with the erstwhile entrepreneur, I could recognize that individual’s passion and motivations, fashioning an opportunity for them on the spot. At least that’s the plan and if members from the upcoming April 30th StartUp Now workshop take me up on it…we’ll end up having more than one business started from each workshop from now on.
Here’s another tip…not everything works the first time you try it. Practice does make perfect and we learn more from what doesn’t work than what does and continue to improve with each lesson learned. Now, I don’t know how many, if at all, members of our upcoming StartUp Now workshops will take me up on my offer to fast track them into self-employment but I’m a big believer in “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” so if you happen to be in our April 30th or subsequent StartUp Now workshops and don’t want to join the group business effort…take a shot and schedule a talk with me. You never know what can result from one simple conversation and maybe you’ll find your own “genius” too.
Best regards,
Peter J. Burns, III Founder Club Entrepreneur www.clubenetwork.com Institute for Entrepreneurship www.clubefactoryedu.com eFactory www.clubefactory.com Day Care for Single Mother EntrepreneursApril 19th, 2009Every session of the “StartUp Now” workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com) brings new people and new innovations. Friday’s event was no exception. In this mix of a dozen or more participants and observers was a public service employee exploring her options in the event of yet another budget cut that will end her employment, a 19 year old entering business for the first time and a single mother of three who yearns to become a self-reliant business owner. Other attendees included a longtime retailer who recently lost his home furnishings store and sought a new start, a strategy coach, an attorney/entrepreneur and a provider of human resources for small businesses, which was “on the cloud” - meaning available through the power of the Net on an open source platform.
Over this 6 hour session, this group of former strangers became a cohesive group that drilled down from a half a dozen business start-up possibilities to one very powerful and timely concept. The single mother championed a day care facility for entrepreneurially-minded mothers and our Tempe-based eFactory will become the beta test site for this terrific idea. Specifically, stay-at-home mothers of small children aren’t able to go to regular jobs or start anything but a home-based business because of the extreme cost and unreliability of child care for their little ones. Start-up entrepreneurs from the single mother demographic is one of the fasting growing segments and until now, these women were compelled to remain at home.
With the advent of a “child friendly” environment that caters to the office needs and collaboration of like-minded entrepreneurs, these women can become productive and self-supporting entrepreneurs. The eFactory (www.clubefactory.com) will spearhead this effort by developing a child care facility within its structure, which will allow single mother entrepreneurs to come and work on a 24 hour basis, knowing their children are safe in the same work environment in which they are operating their new businesses.
This one single business idea can have a remarkable ripple effect on our economy. Imagine the power of releasing the collective creativity of America’s greatest multi-taskers - the single mother - by providing a safe environment for their children combined with a resource like the eFactory to foster their entrepreneurial efforts?
This is Just one more success story unfolding at the StartUp Now workshops at the eFactory. Learn more by visiting www.startupnowworkshops.com and send your friends that are out of work this invaluable and free resource. Lives are being changed for the better at StartUp Now. Please join us in our efforts.
Best regards,
Peter J. Burns, III Founder Club Entrepreneur (www.clubenetwork.com) eFactory (www.clubefactory.com) College of Entrepreneurship (www.clubefactoryedu.com) Start Up Now 3April 2nd, 2009Expertly led by Sonia and Jim Graham once again, the event was attended by over a dozen diverse and engaged individuals. The attendants and observers ranged from a materials engineer with a Phd. to a former non-profit head, from an 18 year old Youth Advocate for Foster Care to a celebrated National Television Network Weather Anchor from Chicago. Smile & MoveApril 2nd, 2009 |
|