Funding Resources

The first website that I discovered when researching funding resources was TheAssociation for Enterprise Opportunity(AEO).  This company provides small micro-business loans for startup companies.  Not only that, but they provide other resources to help with business planning and operations.  According to the company mission “AEO creates economic opportunity for underserved entrepreneurs. AEO supports the development of strong and effective US microbusiness initiatives to assist underserved entrepreneurs in starting, stabilizing, and expanding businesses”. (AEO, 2014).

   The vision of the company is for everyone with an equal opportunity to have access to resources to help create wealth through small business ownership.  In essence the company has helped over 2 million entrepreneurs secure private funding to help create jobs and economic growth.  The major funders that are a part of the organization can be found here.  The programs that the entrepreneur can participate in receiving this funding are for green/ecosystem products/services,  and specifics for woman, veterans, and youth  You are brought to a specific webpage to access for more information.  After more research I found a great number of entreprenuers who received a micro-loan to build their company.  One of my favorties was an artist in NC.  Her success video is posted below:

 http://vimeo.com/11053936

 The next funding resource I glanced at is the National Community Investment Fund.   Their business model states that for every dollar invested into the fund, it becomes $8 to lend to small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals in distressed communities.  They provide new markets tax credit programs helping entrepreneur’s in-underserved communities provide products or services.  It seems the company aspires to help increase societies responsibly priced financial products and services while also providing a successful rate of return for the investment.  This company matches the right mission oriented bank with the entrepreneur and their startup.  One example of how this company has helped communities can be seen here:

Lastly, it appears this company is rather strong and in many regions. There are so many resources available to entrepreneurs looking to seek opportunity.  It’s ensuring that the business model is viable and investible.  According to Guy Kawasaki, not all companies are investible.  This video below is advice provided by him when he first started his companies and not choosing venture capital as a major funding resource.

Resources:

http://www.aeoworks.org/index.php/site/page/category/videos/

http://www.ncif.org/connect/about-ncif/news-and-announcements/visualize-national-nmtc-impact#.UyXk7f3aW5c

Leadership, Pivots, and Investor Readiness

After careful research of Steve Blank, the first lesson that I intend to implement is getting out of the office and listening to the actual customers.  Researching and asking the necessary questions to test my hypothesis will be key to a successful business model.  Although I have completed several pieces of the business plan, now I must test my numbers and go through a series of levels to ensure that I am investor ready.  Steve Blank gives us a demonstration to test one on their investor readiness. 

                                                          

I firmly believe that if a person can demonstrate their capabilities on the metrics that truly work for your business model, investors will bite.  Having a sizable market that demonstrates growth and opportunity is also important.  Investors are going to be looking at how and when they are able to get their money back at a rate that compensable to your growth. 

Steve Blank also discusses how to be smarter than your average investor in one of his blogs in which is done through continuous customer discovery.  We really should be in tune with customer needs, listen, and apply the knowledge.  By demonstrating our insight about the market, and even when the market shifts, it gives us the competitive advantage.

 

Lastly, Steve mentioned the value of pivoting.  When analyzing the top ten companies in the United States, all of them have pivoted at one point to provide customers with the best product and/or service.  Pivoting is one of the key terms Steve Blank uses when determining how to adjust to the customer.  I think the business plan is a great concept, and it gives you your goals in writing.  But what I also believe, is that the business plan for me, will be revised regularly to fit all my necessary pivots in the market.  Being on top of government regulation, and the newest technology in ones field will help to know what’s to come and make adjustments throughout ones business.  Sometimes it takes awhile to get a large company of capacity to get everyone smoothly operating in a different direction.  As a new business owner, I want to be the leader. 

Successful Business Planning

Steve Blank is a well-known serial entrepreneur whom started seven companies, of which 5 went public, two were bought, and one failed.  These statistics are really good.  Steve states that the typical business plans that are required to be written in school as well as for the real world suffer.  Blank (2013) states “A business plan is typically a research exercise written in isolation at a desk before the entrepreneur has even begun to build a product”.  Steve has developed the “lean start-up” strategy that has started to make waves over the past several years.  His theory is that is relevant to get out of the office and ask the customers what they want.  With new information in hand, this allows the entrepreneur to pivot the business model and give the customers exactly what it is they are asking for.   On Steve Blanks website, he discusses his lean launch pad curriculum that many graduates and entrepreneurs have used to build their company. 

            Steve’s business model canvas allows the entrepreneur to build on his or her assumptions, and then tests hypotheses with real customers and in real time.  Lastly, Steve also discourages “business plan competitions” that are held at lucrative schools such as Harvard and Yale University.  MIT is known to have the largest business plan competition in the world.  “Over $350K in prizes are given to aspiring entrepreneurs each year through participation in a series of three contests: the Pitch Contest, the Accelerate Contest, and the Launch Contest.”(MIT, 2014). In a recent article, Blank (2013) states business plans such as this are “Little of it is relevant to the chaos and uncertainty in the life of a startup”.  Although Blank has a lot to say about business plans are the negative aspects of it, he doe not go without offering a solution.  His suggestions are to allow for “Business Model Competitions”.  These measure how well students pivot by getting outside the building and moving according to the changes of time. 

            Another successful and well-known entrepreneur is Tim Berry.  Tim is the “Founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software; entrepreneur, business planner, baby boomer, blogger as well as Co-founder of Eugene Social”(Berry, 2014).  Lastly, he is the business planning coach on Entrprenuer.com.  When it comes to business planning, this man is at the top of the list.  He “Prefers an interactive job, working with you, to develop realistic and credible business planning projections including sales, cost of sales, expenses, profit or loss, balance sheet, and — by far the most important — cash flow projections”(Berry, 2014).  It appears he places a lot of focus on the financials and developing real close projections.  Even with the best projections, if one is not in tune to the customers, a company may not turn out to be a success.

            In my opinion, learning as much from these experts as possible will help guide an entrepreneur through the maze of the business plan.  I seem to lean more towards Steve Blank theories.  He gets to the root of every successful business, and that is giving the customers what they want and pivoting as necessary when new knowledge is brought to attention.  

References

https://archive.harvardbusiness.org/cla/web/pl/product.seam?c=29512&i=29514&cs=72931baa3b05f76aca8090b33db139b0

http://steveblank.com

http://steveblank.com/2010/05/17/no-one-wins-in-business-plan-competitions/

http://www.mit100k.org

http://timberry.com

http://timberry.com/businessplanning

Search Engine Optimization

  It is crucial for companies to have an online presence.  Being up to date on the latest technology for one’s website is also equally important.  Many companies consider how to market properly to get the customers that will drive the revenues for the organization.  Part of that marketing plan may include having a website that allows customers to visibly see what products and services that one’s organization has to offer.  There are a lot of ways that one can optimize the website to the fullest capability which companies don’t often see because it is behind the scenes.  Driving traffic online is important because it helps the brand become more visibly noticed in the market.   

 

  Key words are a critical component of Search Engine Optimization.  To search for keywords that can optimize ones website, one can you Google AdWords.  Signing up for an account is quick and the program is user friendly.  Once signed up, a company can use search engine phrases that relate to the company’s products or services offered to the market.  The program gives related keywords that are searched for every month.  The goal is to use these phrases throughout one’s website to optimize it and drive traffic to that site.  

  SEO is a great tool to help organizations bring more customers to the website.  It can then in turn generate more revenue for the company.  Understanding what customers are looking for and providing them with those items, products, and services, can help ones organization grow and flourish. 

  The key here after driving traffic to ones site is to analyze who is visiting most often.  One can grab specific demographics by using Google Analytics.  This program helps calculate where the online traffic is coming from, the education level of the people visiting, and more detailed information.  This can be helpful especially when trying to understand one’s primary and secondary market. 

  Some great websites and video’s go into more detail about search engine optimization and how organizations can use this data to reach its goals and provide for the needs of the market.  Many large organizations such as universities and entertainment companies can easily utilize over 10,000 keywords to their advantage to drive people to the site. 

Diane Warren

For those involved in the entertainment industry, one may have heard of this inspirational lady.  But for most of the general public, they have not.  Why?  It's because she is behind the scenes creating the inspiration in which we currently hear through our radio, iPod's, and televisions.  You won't find her out on the stage performing, but what you will hear, is her lyrics.

  Diane Warren is the ultimate songwriter of all time and an ultimate woman of dynamics in the entertainment industry in which I truly admire. After careful research I found a list of her most powerful top hit songs over the past several years.  Her website shows the full dynamics of her songs in which many pop, rock, country, and R&B artists actually perform.  According to an interview with People Magazine(Laudadio, 2010) she discussed the meanings behind some of the songs that she wrote.  Warren mentions that she wrote "Because you loved Me" performed by Celion Dion in memory of her father who supported her since she was 11 years old and never gave up.  She had many people turn their back to her and told her she wasn't good enough, but her perseverance pulled her though, and her father never doubted her talent.  Below is an interview of her with Eurovision, a top entertainment company, which influenced my desire to sing and write more.

A great performance that she literally had to beg Beyonce' to perform was "I was Here".  When she wrote it, she knew that Beyonce' was the one to sing it.  Watch this stunning performance at the United Nations World Humanitarian Day.

What can we grasp from such talent?  For one thing, I truly believe that one should find their natural talents and take time to master the skill.  Surrounding oneself with those that truly believe in this talent, and never give up.  I also view this as inspirational because of the impact this one woman has on the entire world with her music.  Many of her songs are about love, yet she mentions she has never been in love herself.  This goes to show that the object of creativity can be found in being faithful to themselves and allowing the rest flow through others.


References:

DeMain, B. (2007). Diane Warren. Performing Songwriter, 15(106), 84-86.

Laudadio, M. (2010). DIANE WARREN. People, 73(22), 61

Creating Positive Memories

One of the greatest gifts in life is the ability to take your experiences and share them with the rest of the world through creative ventures.   Many people get overwhelmed at the thought of writing a book, producing a movie, or writing a song.  Some of the best ways that I have been able to find clarity in projecting my ideas in all of these are to take things step by step.  The internet is one of the greatest tools used to make these ideas come to life.  However useful the tools that we have available to us, we still need the right people in the right place to make your thoughts a reality.

  Breaking down the big picture into small attainable and realistic goals seems to be one of the most helpful ways that I have been able to achieve them.  When I mention having the right people in the right place, I mean allowing the experts that have the expertise in the industry to do their jobs.  We live in an age that has abundant opportunity so that we can do many things ourselves.  Part of being a leader is in knowing and understanding where the best use of your time is.  When it comes to publishing a book there are so many helpful companies out there that will do this at a financial cost to your project, however one must also consider other risks involved such as giving up your copyright.

Authors completing any creative work should always keep in mind their ultimate goals.  If the goal is to reach the mass market and quickly by a set period of time, one would consider weighing their options to find the choice thats most suitable to that need. Another challenge that creative people find is during certain periods of their life, is how to take their company to the next level.  A great book that I found to be extremely helpful is Good to Great by Jim Collins.

We all want and desire for our creative works to become huge successes but we must also consider the risks associated with that.  We must have the drive, passion, and a huge WHY we do what we do.  It is this reason that will bring one through the tides of change for our companies.

Literary Publishing Blog

There are aproximately over 7 billion people in the world, according to the World Population Clock.  In our journey in this life, we meet thousands if not millions of people that we have interacted with, had a short conversation with, or that we have worked with.  There are some that become friends for moments, years, and for our whole life.  Have you wondered how many opportunities that may have been passed up to get to know one so special and dear to us that it was an absolute gift just having them be there?  Scientists are now saying that our life expectancy here on earth is about 69 years.

So in this 69 years on average that we have to live, how can we make the most of it?  The answer to this question resides so deep down that only we can unravel it.  Making the most of it to ME may be completely different to someone else.  If we be sure that where we are today could have been altered by ONE SINGLE life event that changed our course, what if we knew those alternative choices RIGHT AT THE TIME OF the choice?  Lastly, what if we knew that EVERY drop of energy altered waves of energy that changed others lives in a lasting, positive way?  Take a moment to watch this quick video that I found to be so powerful that in just a few short moments, you will look at life differently.

I am here to present to you a new book series called "Ripple".  Award Winning author, Dawn Closson, interviews thousands of people while she travels the nation that all have a story to tell.  We can and have learned a lot from those that become huge successes, such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.  There are billions of others in the world that have a voice and want to share it with you!  If you were chosen to write your story, what would you have to say?  What if the choices that we took were  linked into others path so that you too, could become all that God set out for your life?  Dawn Closson, helps engage others in a therapeutic style to place pieces together and grant access to the largest kind of love in life.  Stories of lost loved ones found again, tragedy, forgiveness, healing, and power all come from the internal depths of our heart.  She uncovers the truth to love, and brings hope as well as light to the beautiful eyes she meets with every story that is told.  What is your story?