We asked them: What would be your best advice for a young, passionate entrepreneur or would-be entrepreneur?

Joe Ornato – Founder, Ornato Group

Create a backstage process.  Write down all the steps that it will take to give your customer the ultimate experience.  Natural sales people tend to “do” what they “know” intuitively, without getting into a well-defined process.  Building a process allows for: consistency, duplication, organization (of staff), enhanced service, and quick fixes because you can pinpoint errors.

Ricardo Robles – Founder, Capsity Offices

Focus on building strong relationships and learn how to leverage them.  It doesn’t hurt to know angel investors, venture capitalists, attorney’s, insurance brokers/agents, real estate brokers, etc.  It’s also key to look at building relationships with successful entrepreneurs and have them as mentors.

Laurie Hawkins – Focal Point Coaching

Ensure that you have a “flight plan,” and then execute on that plan.  Leverage all the available resources that are available to you – do not let that EGO have a position on your company!

Karl Allen-Muncey, CuteGecko Design Agency

“Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”  Network, get involved, and follow through!  Networking is about creating relationships and a reputation.  Go to community events, and assist other entrepreneurs where possible.  This process will cultivate your reputation and exposure as a valuable provider.

McKenzie Scott, Young Entrepreneur

As a young entrepreneur, nothing comes easy.  In this stage, persistence is key.  Make sure that you are selling your business in a sense that you actually UNDERSTAND what your customer wants.  Cater your product/service to the customer’s specific needs rather than having a one-size fits all solution.

Ben Yoskovitz – CEO/Co-Founder, Standout Jobs

First, have a mentor (or two, or three).  Find someone that has “been there, done that”.  Once you’ve found them, use them.  Second, get involved in the startup community.  There’s no excuse for not getting involved, participating and networking.

Ashley Bodi – Founder, BusinessBeware.Biz

Never give up!  It’s so easy to feel like you’re defeated when trying to start up a business, but don’t let that stop you.  You’re going to have ups and downs but it’s what you do with the things that get thrown at you that makes you a better entrepreneur.

Ben Walton – Founder, Tiger Networks

Systemize everything FIRST.  Run by the numbers, go faster than everyone else and don’t buy “toys” for your business until you sell up!

Janny Ke – Founder, The NOW Organization

Enjoy the adventure with courage, passion, and perseverance.

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1.  If you’re going to offer ‘on line’ shopping, can you please spell it correctly?

2. This is a picture of a Staples employee carrying a computer chair across an intersection, into a grocery store parking lot for a customer.  Talk about great customer service!

3. While looking for a holiday card for a significant other, I stumbled upon an opportunity for ‘Troubled Relationship’ cards  (They were sold out!)

4. A picture from the window of our office building - the downtown scene was buzzing!

5. There are entrepreneurs everywhere!  I saw a young person climb off this bike and lock it up – must say, I’ve never seen a steering wheel on a bike.

6. Sending mixed signals?  OPEN, ON SALE…then the sign over the door: Closed.

7. I always get a kick out of burned-out signs…this one read: Aki Tical

8. Guiness World Record for the largest wreath?

9. This day I did skip the gym but got a more unconventional workout – wow, that worked up a sweat!

10. Made a big move – decided to become a bit of a real estate entrepreneur.  My first income property!

Hope you had a fantastic holiday season – we’re looking forward to big things for 2010.

Passion: One common characteristic about all entrepreneurs is that they’re passionate about what they’re doing. If you’re a young entrepreneur starting (or thinking about starting) a new business, you need to be able to live it, breathe it, eat it and sleep it, EVERY DAY. Before you start off on your own, make sure you have the passion to follow your business idea through and be able to do it every day consistently.

Persuasiveness: Being passionate about your idea is one thing, being able to properly communicate that idea, and persuade others to buy into what you’re doing is another. In a new business you’ll have to be persuasive when talking to potential customers, or when dealing with suppliers, or when looking for feedback. You should always be ready and able to persuade someone that your business idea is a great one.

Patience: Whether it is waiting to hear back from a customer/client, or waiting for your new website to develop, you need to exercise patience as an entrepreneur. There were many times when I would have loved to pick up the phone and remind a customer that I’m waiting to hear back from her about a potential new deal, but exercising a little bit of patience can go a long way.

Pain Threshold: No matter what your business is, you’re going to experience a certain amount of pain as an entrepreneur. Whether it be waiting for a project to be finished that is three weeks over a deadline, or paying twice as much as you originally anticipated for a prototype, you’re going to have to have a high threshold for pain. Tough it out, it will get better.

The 4 P’s of entrepreneurship seem to come up again and again for entrepreneurs – be prepared for them when starting up your new business!

As an entrepreneur this is going to happen – I can guarantee it. You’re going to make great progress one day, only to realize that the very next you’ve run into a new problem. This is the nature of entrepreneurship. It’s always going to be an uphill battle. Never settle for less. Never admit to an easy defeat. Never sit on your laurels and stay idle while competitors creep up on you. The minute you become idle is the minute you lose your edge, and your edge is what keeps you motivated.

Do you have the entrepreneurial X-factor? Do you have the zeal, the hustle, the dogged determination to make your new idea become the next big thing?

Lean on your business partner.
Fortunately for me, I have a fantastic business partner who has always kept the bigger picture in mind. Before the start of the new year I sat down with my partner for a planning session. In this meeting, we established that I would be very busy during a few key months and I was worried that I would lose track of the big picture. We decided that my partner would be the one to handle the day-to-day operations of the business, and would delegate tasks to me. I would be able to fulfill my end of the commitment by completing tasks that would help achieve our business goals.

Re-igniting the passion.
I am trying my best to stay on top of industry trends, markets changing, new competitors, etc. If I lose touch with the core of my business it will be lost time that I may never make up again. I’ve gained so much domain knowledge over the past six months and it would be a shame to fall behind because of a few months of losing touch. I’m hosting entrepreneurship info sessions with a group of younger entrepreneurs that I mentor, I’m working with Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at my school’s Entrepreneurship Institute, and attending seminars, and lectures and speeches related to entrepreneurship. I’m reading, and writing and staying involved. Being around successful entrepreneurs is inspiring and incredibly motivating.

Planning.
Every week I’m planning out how I’ll fit my business objectives into my personal timetable. Unless I make these actions a priority, they’ll build up and will not get accomplished. If I fall behind, one small step at a time, it will end up pushing my business down my list of priorities, and I may miss out on opportunities. I have created a dual calendar with my business partner on Google including our personal calendars as well as a “Business Calendar”. This way we’re on the same page for meetings, deadlines, etc.

Dream Big.
Remember what you’re in this for. Remember where you started and where you know you’ll one day be. Is it for personal achievement? Do you want to change the way things currently work? Do you want to make pantloads of money? Whatever your motivation is write it down on a sticky note and stick it in your bathroom mirror so that you never forget, and never lose your motivation to move your business forward even when you have difficulty finding time to brush your teeth.

Get up early.
Try getting up an extra half-hour or hour earlier to squeeze more into your day. So many successful entrepreneurs have found time to squeeze in activities that other people do not. Get up, get out of bed, and accomplish something great today.

Stay in shape.
Okay, maybe you think that this doesn’t tie into business success but I would suggest otherwise. Being in great physical condition makes you feel good about yourself, give you confidence, and energizes you. Hammering out an hour in the gym or twenty minutes on the treadmill also allows me the time to forget about everything else. When I’m working out I really am more relaxed than if I were to sit in front of the TV. When I sit on the couch I’m constantly thinking about other things that I should be doing, but when I’m at the gym I forget about everything else – it’s a great release.

Inspire others.
I love talking to other people about our business and what we’re doing. When I land a great new deal, I love talking about it with close friends. By showing them where I’m at, I get a sense of accomplishment and I also get an opportunity to receive feedback from neutral sources. You never know when you might get the feedback that inspires you to take your business to the next level.

There are a number of resources that we use on a daily basis as entrepreneurs. Most are easy-to-use and require a minimal time commitment. Here are some of our favorite resources:

1. Twitter: You all know what Twitter is, but do you know how to use it? Twitter is a great way to hear what other entrepreneurs are talking about. Our favorite entrepreneurs often share links to articles that they think other entrepreneurs might find interesting or helpful. We update Twitter daily with helpful tips, article and blogs for entrepreneurs and you can see our Garagepreneur Twitter page here. You can also see who we follow and add them to your ‘following’ list. In no time you’ll have a list of entrepreneurs who dedicate their time to sharing great entrepreneurial resources.
2. Google Reader: Blogs are fantastic tools, but no one has time to visit their favorite blogs each and every day – that’s why I use Google Reader. Using Google Reader, you can add subscriptions to your favorite blogs which are compiled in one spot. I subscribe to about 15 blogs. If I miss a day or I’m off for a week at the cottage, I can come home and catch up on all my missed reading on Google Reader. Some great blogs to start out with are: Business Opportunities Weblog, Seth Godin’s Blog, and Small Business Trends…and of course the Garage Entrepreneurs Blog (but you’re already here)!
3. Newsletters: Although I don’t like my e-mail inbox cluttered with newsletters, there are a few that I do enjoy. Entrepreneurs get inspiration from a number of different sources but a big source for me is Springwise. Springwise is a leading source of the world’s best new business ideas which sends out a weekly newsletter – great source of inspiration. Trendwatching is another great site which searches the globe for new consumer trends and then publishes exciting reports on the findings. You can sign up for a newsletter highlighting all the newest trends, or download the full reports from their website.
4. Magazines: No, magazines are not dead! Although blogs are fantastic resources for entrepreneurs, sometimes I like to read something on paper either at the office or with breakfast. To keep up with the newest entrepreneurial thoughts and ideas I subscribe to Inc Magazine ‘The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs’, Fast Company Magazine, and Canadian Business Magazine (to stay on top of local trends). These subscriptions cost a little under $30 each for the entire year and are well worth the investment.
5. Market Research Reports: Typically entrepreneurs think about doing market research when they are investigating a new business idea – I often do some light reading as an inspiration for a new idea. These reports, which can cost up to $4000 are free to university students! I recently downloaded four $3,000 reports free of charge! These reports are extremely detailed and provide excellent insight into a specific demographic or industry – I’m currently reading “Active and Fit Consumer Products”. If you’re a university student, check out www.MarketResearch.com – you might have free access!
6. Free E-Books: There are some great free e-books for entrepreneurs out there. Check out DocStoc.com, and Google Books for some great free entrepreneurship e-books. We’ve also been working hard to bring you a new free e-book library in our Entrepreneurial Resources Section. We’re working hard to bring you the best resources for young entrepreneurs.

These are just a few of our favorite entrepreneurial resources, what are your favorites?

To change things up slightly, I’ve included the slide deck that we’ve used to teach this topic as a lecture in the past. This information has traveled as far as Togliatti, Russia in a lecture to local entrepreneurs looking to understand entrepreneurial marketing concepts.

Feel free to send it to a friend or use it in one of your own lectures!

Although Phelps has had some amazing individual accomplishments, he was clearly most proud of his 4 x 100m medley relay with teammates Brendan Hansen, Aaron Piersol, and Jason Lezak when they set a new world record in a come-from-behind victory.

Phelps has become accustomed to winning individual races and his celebrations have become quite mild. However, when the US men’s swim team won the relay, Phelps was ecstatic. He was pounding his chest, hugging his teammates and sharing the victory.

It’s one thing to stand out individually and be recognized for your accomplishments, but there is something to be said about accomplishing great things as a team that makes big victories all the more meaningful. Choose your partners wisely and share your entrepreneurial hopes, dreams and accomplishments with your team.

Please take a moment to watch this brief video comparing Phelps’s individual celebration compared to his team celebration: Phelps Individual vs. Team Win.

Going “off on your own” is incredibly difficult. It’s more motivating than anything in the world, more intense than anything you’ve ever done, and scary as hell. The idea of starting your own business is easy; anyone can do it because all it takes is the ability to recognize a need and a way to capitalize on that need. Thinking about starting your own business is done by hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis – but how many people actually take that leap? How many people actually say “I want to make this business venture my primary source of income” and actually do it? Not nearly as many.

Often entrepreneurship feels like “flying by the seat of your pants.” It is a constant battle to prioritize tasks on a daily basis, sort through the junk and decide what it is that I can do today to move my business forward. It feels like performing open-heart surgery while reading the instruction manual and for some there is the lingering question: “What if I fail?” Entrepreneurs are concerned with personal satisfaction but also with the financial consequences of failure as well as having to explain themselves to family and friends.

While failure may be enough motivation in and of itself, perhaps it is also the greatest tutor for success. The question “What is failure?” is often more important because maybe failure is a path to success. What if we could create a culture that accepts failure as a stepping stone to future rewards? Is that not what venture capitalists do? Venture capitalists are sometimes looking for a return on investment of three to ten times – a calculation which takes into account that a number of their investments will fail.

Entrepreneurs need to assess what the word “failure” means. Failure on a new business venture could mean not reaching sales goals, not achieving the impact that a team was looking for, or complete business closure. For new entrepreneurs, if the business is structured correctly, failure could be and should be a prelude to success. Perhaps the idea was a good one but the entrepreneur did not have the experience required to “bring it to life”.

I was recently reading a blog on social entrepreneurship and came across a few lessons from an entrepreneur’s “failure”:

1) Life is suffering, pain is optional.

Life and business is a constant struggle whether it be for sales, for development, for managing people but stand back and look at your business. Is this not why you wanted to do it in the first place? You are or are close to running your own business. The process of running your own business is not always fun, but it does not have to be painful!

2) It is okay to fail, forgiving yourself is the tough part – do it and get on with your life!

3) Sprinter Ben Johnson once said, “One can go from hero to zero in 9.62 seconds.”

Be aware of this, work hard, do your best, make mistakes, then fix them and have fun!

4) If you’re not failing at least some of the time, you’re probably not challenging yourself enough!

So is this what failure is? A lesson? An inevitability for new entrepreneurs? Not entirely.

Maybe one of the greatest observations about failure that I have read is from social entrepreneur Michael Cant:

Failure comes when we let “the practical” infect “the vision”. It is only when we let all the things that have to get done, all the problems that we have to fix, and all the day-to-day non-business pressures we all deal with overwhelm our passion and belief in our dreams. The ventures that succeed are those that are able to separate and protect the day-to-day practicalities from the end-game of succeeding in delivering the vision. Those that fail suffer from a loss of control of the many things that at the end of the mission are considered noise on the journey.

Failure in its typical sense can only set in when our vision, our hopes and dreams get crushed by the day-to-day grind. Maybe your new business is encountering a ton of problems, maybe your friends are tempting you to come out on a Thursday night when you know you have to complete a project – let me repeat: the ventures that succeed are those that are able to protect the day-to-day practicalities from the end-game of succeeding in delivering the vision. If you have a vision, a dream for your (new) company go for it with everything you’ve got. Hold back absolutely nothing so that if, in the end, it does not work out, you can look back on it and say “You know what, I did absolutely everything I could to make that work.” Then, forgive yourself and move on!

All great businesses start as 'ideas' - it's up to you to make them grow into something great.

All entrepreneurs begin with three “assets”:
Who they are – their character traits, their abilities, their time commitment, their tastes
What they know – their training, expertise, experience; and,
Whom they know – their social and professional networks

These are the starting points for any entrepreneur, and from these points one can begin to brainstorm possible effects that can be created with them. To illustrate this point, I turn to the case of Chip Wilson, CEO and Founder of Lululemon Athletica:

After 20 years in the surf, skate and snowboard business, Wilson took the first commercial yoga class offered in Vancouver and loved it. The post-yoga feeling was so close to surfing and snowboarding that it seemed obvious that yoga was an emerging trend. Cotton clothing was being used for sweaty, stretchy power yoga and seemed inappropriate to Chip, whose passion lay in technical athletic fabrics. From this, a design studio was born that became a yoga studio at night to pay the rent. Clothing was offered for sale and an underground clothing movement was born. Lululemon started in 1998 and is now a national retailing powerhouse valued at more than $225 million.

The message here is that successful entrepreneurs are not necessarily those who have a solid long-term plan or who know what their market will look like in the future. Instead, they look at the resources they have available (abilities, knowledge, contacts) and with that develop an idea into a business. In the case of Lululemon:

Who – Chip was looking for a new challenge and was very motivated and looking for new opportunities.

What – Chip was aready in the athletic apparel business and knew it well.

Whom – Chip had connections in the athletic apparel and yoga areas and was able to pull them together.

Anyone can be an entrepreneur if they have the passion. Future posts will reveal how to turn ideas into business but let’s first narrow down how to think of your next idea. We’ve already covered how to assess your three assets, now you need to take those and determine what idea makes sense in the context of those assets.

For the most part, ideas don’t just happen – the best way to find a good idea is to LOOK for a good idea. Follow these tips to help you out:

Follow Your Gut: Chances are you’ve had some ideas before, some good, some bad. If there is one that stands out in your mind, give it a chance to develop. Write it down, do some serious thinking about it, schedule some time to sit down and hash out some details – but most importantly don’t dismiss it!

Don’t Give Up: Just to re-iterate, most breakthrough ideas are not the result of one defining moment. They have evolved over time, and become better and better. Give your idea the chance to become better – don’t give up on it.

Change It Up: Ideas don’t have to be new, they can be improvements over existing models, or a new combination of old ideas. Think outside of the box and think of new ways to combine old ideas. I just did a phone interview with the CEO of Autohound.ca, the new competitor to AutoTrader. Autohound focuses on the user experience and providing more value to car dealers; not exactly a revolutionary idea, but a marked improvement over the old one!

Dream: Don’t be afraid to let your mind wander. Think of a current problem that you’re facing and come up with the ideal solution withNO LIMITS (Time, Money, Laws of Physics, etc). Is there a way to turn this dream idea into a reality?

Keep an Idea Journal: During a brainstorming session it is critical to write everything down; seemingly good or bad. Some of the best ideas come after struggling, and quitting, and giving it another go. Write down all your ideas, and dream solutions in an idea journal and review them frequently.

Walk Away: You’re not going to get your dream idea by sitting in a locked room for 48-hours straight. Walk away from the idea journal, go for a run, but keep thinking.

Notice Changes: Take note of the way things are, today, and imagine how they will change in 5, 10, 25 years. Here are a few trends off the top of my head: We have an aging population, children are living increasingly more sedentary lifestyles, employers are finding it difficult to hire new employees, more organizations are promoting the reduction of wasteful consumption, more businesses are looking for ways to advertise to the student demographic.

Find New Friends: This year I made a habit of socializing with a different group of people. I learned new things, and definitely got a lot of new ideas. Hang out with people who might challenge your thoughts and put you outside of your comfort zone.

Get Creative: Sometimes you need a helping hand. Read creative thinking books, or use THIS LINK to help you think outside of the box.

Although these steps cannot guarantee that you think of a good idea, they’re a great start. Try some of these techniques and be sure to check out the next post in the series “Screening Your Idea”.

Seth Godin challenged this notion in his recent article, Ignore Your Critics.

What we found interesting was that Seth not only wants us to ignore our critics, but also our fans because, given the choice, they will just demand more and more from us. He also says that the people you should listen to are the people who tell a lot of other people about you and your business. We call these people our cheerleaders. Cheerleaders are extremely important to have and are an invaluable asset in growing your business. Make your cheerleaders feel appreciated and remember to reciprocate favours.

Who do you listen to? Who do you ignore?<p?

In reading about author/entrepreneur Timothy Ferriss’ ‘Low Information Diet’ he says that you need to either use the information that you read right away or you will forget it.  I found that I was taking in a lot of great info on a daily basis but not retaining a ton, so I bought a small 9 x 7″ notebook, and I decided that I would use the notebook to write down cool thoughts/lessons learned and read it over every so often.

I find that as I read articles/blogs, what I’m reading is often not immediately relevant, but may come into play down the road – could be a day, a week, or a year but eventually it will be meaningful.  Start keeping track of the quotes, comments or ideas that really strike a chord with you – you never know when they might be of use to you (or others)!

It plagued me.

The problem was that my answer was never just one thing. One teacher asked me the dreaded question and my answer went something like this: “I want to have my own company, teach people, be an author, help people, etc etc.” I remember her telling me I should pick one thing on that list that I like more than the other things. I tried so hard to narrow down the list but fast forward 13 years and I still don’t have just one thing I want to be. As a twentysomething the question has morphed into the classic cocktail question, “What do you do?” This turns out to be a long and rather interesting conversation.

There was a period in my life when I was envious of the people who love something so much that they want to do that one thing for the rest of their lives. And chances are they will do that one thing very well and be some sort of expert in their field. I’m very passionate about entrepreneurship and I love having my own business. I definitely want to start more businesses throughout my life but I wouldn’t want all those businesses to be in one field. I want to try different things. Many people tell me that’s just because I haven’t found the one thing I truly love to do yet. I don’t think that’s true.

Society puts a lot of pressure on us to find that one “career.” Then I look at surveys like the one conducted by careerbuilder.com which shows that only 39% of American workers under the age of 25 are satisfied with their jobs and I feel like I’m on the right track because I love waking up and getting to work. It has taken me a long time but I’m finally comfortable with the fact that I’m probably never going to only want to do one thing.

I think we put too much pressure on kids to find a precise answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” No wonder there are an alarming number of young people working at jobs they just aren’t passionate about. Right now I’m teaching a high school entrepreneurship course and a lot of the students aren’t quite sure what they want to do following high school. Some of them have started small businesses already or are launching a small business in the summer and many of them feel discouraged by not knowing exactly what they want to be doing in 5 years.

My message is this: Don’t feel bad if you don’t have a single answer to the question or if you can’t answer the question at all. It has been thirteen years since a teacher asked me to name one thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I still wouldn’t be able to give her an answer today.

We challenge you to take an hour out of your week and pick three TED talks to watch.  We honestly believe that some of these videos have the power to change the way we think and challenge why we think what we do.  (For starters we recommend checking out Tony Robbins talk called “Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better” here.)

In the rush of a busy entrepreneur’s life its refreshing to read/view something that really makes you stop and say “Wow”.

This is a great concept and something that entrepreneurs should apply to their lives.  Never-ending improvement is the definition of growth – both personally and professionally.  Try to improve yourself year over year, month over month, and each and every day.  What are you doing now that will make you better than who you were yesterday?

Take a few minutes today and tackle this list:
1. Next year at this time, I’ll be known for (one more thing).

2. My current project is challenging me in the following (two ways).

3. New things I’ve learned in the last 90 days include (two items).

4. My important additions to my Rolodex in the last 90 days include (one or two names).

5. My resume is different from last year’s at this time (in one or two ways).

Each year look to draft a personal annual report to show yourself how you have noticeably improved from last year.  Aim big, try new things – life is lived out on the wire, the rest is just waiting.

Taking responsibility and doing what you can to make the situation right is the most professional thing you can do. It’s always easy to place blame on someone else. It isn’t easy to accept blame though- especially when what you’re accepting blame for isn’t entirely your fault. After you’ve taken the fall, pick yourself back up and don’t miss the chance to learn an important lesson. Remember, “a man may fall many times but he won’t be a failure until he says someone pushed him.”

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In the third grade there was a banner that stretched across the classroom that said, “The journey is the destination.” As a third grade student I didn’t really give it much thought. Now, 13 years later I finally understand and appreciate that banner I looked at every day for 10 months.

The journey is what we’re living for.

Failure’s hard, but success is far more dangerous.  If you’re successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever.

Great coffee.  Great quote.  Great lesson.  Great marketing.