Garage Entrepreneurs

The holiday season is a great time for young entrepreneurs. It’s a time to brush up your skills, take some time to think about the upcoming year, and who knows, maybe even relax a bit. Here are our top ten suggestions for young entrepreneurs this holiday season: 10. Ask for a magazine subscription. Although blogs are great resources, a magazine that you can throw on your desk or at your bedside makes for a great gift. Try Inc. Magazine or Fast […] Continue Reading Ten Tips for Young Entrepreneurs for the Holidays

In my experience, I’ve observed two very different “types” of entrepreneurs.  Let’s call them Generals and Explorers. The Generals start with a given set of means (military training, political power) and seek to identify the best way to arrive at their goal.  The entrepreneurial Generals begin with a set of means: their abilities, their education/experience, and their networks (who they know) and use this set of means to come up with new ideas/solutions to problems.  They start with a goal (to […] Continue Reading Are You an Explorer or a General?

When I was a second-year student at the University of Western Ontario, I and four other individuals completed a for-credit project where we had to come up with a full business plan, complete with executive summary, projected statements, a five-year plan…the works. The idea was great. We put a ton of work into it over the year, had a great working relationship with key individuals who could provide us with the resources to bring this plan to fruition. From day one, […] Continue Reading I Love Young Entrepreneurs

For young entrepreneurs, it’s difficult to take that first step – but it doesn’t have to be. That first step doesn’t necessarily mean assembling a business plan, and it doesn’t even have to mean committing to an idea. In fact, the first step for some (and perhaps most) could be getting in the entrepreneurial mindset and staying on top of current trends. But where do you find entrepreneurial resources? There are a number of resources that we use on a daily […] Continue Reading Resources for Young Entrepreneurs

If you’ve been following the Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series, we’ve taken you through generating an idea, assessing good ideas, and validating your idea – now it’s time to get operational. The majority of businesses never raise capital from a venture capitalist or angel investor – in fact, VC’s and angels fund less than 1% of businesses. However, this does not mean that you have to be in this 1% in order to become successful. From the INC. 500 list […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 4 (Prove and Get Operational)

“I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” ~Warren Buffett Dreams happen one step at a time. It’s a simple concept that is hard for a lot of entrepreneurs because most of the entrepreneurs we know are always thinking about the bigger picture and what their business could be. The little steps we take every day are the most important ones. Have a plan. We talk a lot about planning […] Continue Reading Daily Action Plan for Your Business

About a year ago I had the opportunity to teach an entrepreneurship class in Togliati, Russia.  I taught a group of first year university students, as well as a night class of local entrepreneurs.  One of my lectures was an interactive lesson on how to give a great pitch.  Throughout the week they had been working on a business plan, and near the end of the week I invited the students up to the front of the class one at a […] Continue Reading The Art of the Pitch