Never take "no" for an answer

This week was full of my attempt to expedite one of my business concepts to launch next week instead of later this year or early next year.  My bright idea was to do it out of my house on a trial basis while I build traction and later take it out into a location more viable for city traffic. I had a written profile of what I wanted for the business but with minimal details and nothing near a comprehensive business plan. Unfortunately, I ran into a stumbling block that may actually be a blessing.

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Connecting With Collaboration Tools

Collaboration tools for the web are really cool since they give the opportunity to have business meetings without actually being in the same room. I have been researching a web solution to start conducting webinars. I have conducted seminars on site before, I know this would be a great addition to what I already offer. Conducting webinars or teleseminars is a solid business opportunity since:

• Geography does not matter - just need computer and phone access 
• No need to reserve a room
• It can be ultra-convenient for participants since they don't have to travel, find parking, find a seat, and repeat that process all over again to gain valuable information that will make their lives easier

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Online Tools To Nurture Your Business Connections

There are many online tools for the beginning entrepreneur to use to warm up your business connections. I am learning about more every day since I am actively seeking ways to build this forum and help others understand how to best grow their firms in ways best for them. Currently I am using using Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and a few more tools I will mention below.  Most of these resources have free versions with the ability to upgrade and take advantage of more features.

One tool that I have used for a while is Survey Gizmo. I love the flexibility it has versus other survey sites I have used in the past. You can create and send out an unlimited amount of surveys (only receive 250 complete responses per month though). Also you can create reports, print them, and have continued access to them for an unlimited amount of time. This is good for staying connected to your current and potential customers.

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October 2009: My Entrepreneurial Journey

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been looking at what to do to increase my income and still harness this drive I have around entrepreneurship. This blog has been very helpful with keeping me motivated to keep it moving (along with having these two babies). I know that I want to develop my business offline - pursuing more paying clients and output. To do that I have:

• attended a couple of business networking meetings as discussed in my blog post The 30 Sec Sell! and have been invited to more
• reached out to my network as suggested in the post Leveraging Your Rolodex... to seek business building opportunities
  
• submitted my first physical ad to run throughout the year in 2010

I am also building my presence online via the following methods:

• updating my website to attract new clients
• continuing to update this blog on a weekly basis, really to help me grow and share information with you as suggested in the post Seth Godin and Tom Peters on Blogging

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Video of the Week: Leveraging Your Rolodex...

So, I've been searching for a video to highlight in relation to this month's theme. As basic as the following piece of advice is, there are so many of us that do not follow it. Calling on your contacts seems so hard to do. Questions like "What do I say?" "Can they really help me?" "What will they think of me if I ask for help?"

Really, people enjoy providing help. Think about how you feel when someone asks you for help...

Entrepreneurship Guru Ingrid Vanderveldt provides a real life example of calling your contacts to pursue a business opportunity.



What she does not mention is the importance of actually contacting those people that you have been given the names of, then following up with those who provided the name(s) to let them know how the initial contact went. This can be challenging but very rewarding and likely worth it for you and your business.

Do not let fear hold you back from taking this advice! Remember, this blog is as much for me as it is for you... I'm preaching to myself...

Create Your Own Community

Today I met with one of my favorite budding entrepreneurs, Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe'. Whenever we have a conversation we each get something out of it - inspiration - which is always good! I love talking to positive, driven entrepreneurs... its along the lines of the August Turak lecture, in which he encouraged surrounding yourself with a community of positive people in order for you to be more successful in your goals.

The theme of posts I will be doing for the month of October will be on building relationships such as through networking. With networking, you can create your own community of positive people which will help your business goals and other goals soar! One of the best methods of entrepreneur support, a community of like-minded people, can help anyone be successful in what they are trying to accomplish.

You can find a community of people with similar interests online and in person. A few online forums that I'm checking out include:

• Young Entrepreneurs - provides good reviews and resources for budding entrepreneurs
  
• Startup Nation - a group that proclaims "for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs"
  
• LinkedIn - there are several groups to connect with people with similar interests. Also, participating in the answers forums could help you identify others that are good to know.

More online networks for entrepreneurs can be found in the article "Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs"

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The Perks of Subcontracting

Last year, I attended a seminar about diversity in contracting. While there, I spoke with an executive of a prime contractor of the U.S. EPA. He stressed for me to share with clients that the best way to start work with the federal government is through subcontracting. It is how they got started and within a few years, they became a prime. Going this route, you learn about the major players, make the right contacts, and show that you do good work.

Subcontracting usually occurs with government and construction contracts but could really be referred to with any project (think "outsourcing"). Subcontracting to Snag Stimulus Dollars, an article from The Wall Street Journal, provides an excellent summary for what this can really do for a business.

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