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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As an EIT (Entrepreneur-in-Training), you need to realize that a great business idea will never just ‘fall into your lap’.  In my experience, and from speaking to successful young entrepreneurs, you must actively partake in an ideation process.

There are many places that you can look for a good idea, but some of my favorites have been included in a past post that I wrote on Entrepreneurial Resources.  Among those are:

Twitter: Following like-minded entrepreneurs who dedicate their time to reviewing and sharing entrepreneurial resources is very worthwhile.

Google Reader: It’s difficult to follow all the great entrepreneurial blogs out there but Google Reader helps me keep up to date.  It shows all new blog posts and will mark them as ‘unread’ until I read through them – great system.  Ben Yoskovitz mentions a few great ones in his recent post Check Out These Startup Blogs.

Newsletters: Check out Trendwatching and Springwise – enough said.

Magazines: Although I do a lot of online reading, I still enjoy sitting down to read a good old fashioned magazine every once in a while.  I subscribe to Inc., Fast Company, and Canadian Business.

Free E-Books: We have many free e-books in our Resources section, but there are many more available on DocStoc.com as well as Google Books.

After you’ve been inspired, there are a few options for figuring out when you should become an entrepreneur.

First, you could put some time into researching and (using some suggested entrepreneurial resources to find an idea now) plan to pursue an idea as soon as you are able.  You could use the above resources and, either individually, or as a team, review new start-up ideas periodically.  In fact, you could start finding an entrepreneurial-minded team today on Garage Entrepreneurs!

You may also keep your eyes open as you pursue other career options.  Many ideas stem from observations that entrepreneurs make in their immediate world.  Entrepreneurs build companies to exploit opportunities or fix problems that get noticed in our own lives and you will be more likely to encounter opportunities when you have a hands-on approach.

Expand your horizons and place yourself in the “idea flow” of new business ideas.  Websites like Springwise and KillerStartups review a large volume of new start-ups every week.  Get a group together and review some of these ideas today!

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.

In our experience, you can learn basic entrepreneurial skills, just not from “typical” teachers. We’ve come to realize that the only people who can teach you to be an entrepreneur, are the ones who have started their own ventures – and typically, not the ones who have become instant millionaires. The best ones to learn from are rarely the ones who started a company, and sold it for $200 million in one year. Rather, the entrepreneur who can teach you the most is the one who has struggled with a venture for years and tried everything to turn it into a success.

The best entrepreneurs to learn from aren’t the ones who did everything right. The best ones to teach you how to start your own business are the ones who busted their butts for years tweaking their business models, sourcing new partners, and re-working strategies to become successful entrepreneurs.