The truth is, I’ve learned I don’t want to be an entrepreneur. What I’ve learned I’ve come to realize that I’m not willing to devote my life to running a business. I like my 9 to 5 job that lets me come home to my husband at the end of the day. And while I… Continue reading Lessons Learned: Entrepreneurship Without Being an ‘Entrepreneur’
Betty Young started her own company, bsYOUNG & associates ltd, 30 years ago. During that time, her business has evolved from an advertising firm and publishers’ representative firm to a publisher in her own right. As an advertiser, she began working in the masonry industry and quickly learned the industry’s language and needs. Today, she… Continue reading Who’d Have Thought? 30 Years of Pivoting Leads to a National Masonry Magazine
Meeting Shanley Pearl over lunch, I can’t help but associate her with the Perrier carbonated water she chose. It’s become part of my perception of her. Like Perrier, she’s bubbly, she appeals to those with fine taste, and she’s got a bit of a sarcastic bite to her. Shanley spoke to our class during our… Continue reading Shanley Pearl’s Refreshing Definition of Success in Entrepreneurship
So it turns out that the emotional rollercoaster that “the PMARCA Guide to Startups” warned us about isn’t the only roller coaster entrepreneurs ride. Of course that’s the one you think of first, “Tears,” where you experience your highest highs and lowest lows. Then there’s “Ride or Die,” the roller coaster serial entrepreneurs favor, alternating… Continue reading Riding the Minimum Viable Product Roller Coaster
How do you avoid oblivion? This question has plagued me this semester as we’ve learned how to be a disrupter, how to innovate and how to be successful as a startup. I recognize that, as a startup, you have to worry much more about the present than some distant, uncertain future. But it’s bothered me.… Continue reading The Antidote to Oblivion? Continuous Innovation
“If it’s free, you’re what they’re selling.” That’s what our professor tells us. And I don’t like to be sold. In today’s media there’s really two business models. One: you are the customer and you pay for the product you use. Two: you are no longer the customer but the commodity. Companies sell ad space… Continue reading News Media: Stop Selling Consumers, Start Selling to Them
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Michigan, eat like Michiganders do. Michigan, while not a culinary metropolis, takes a lot of pride in its coney dogs. We visited four coney island restaurants — that’s a coney to you and me — in the Lansing area: Sparty’s Coney Island Restaurant, T &… Continue reading And the Best Coney Island in East Lansing is…
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. So the saying goes. Reading Jeff Haden’s article on competitive analyses for Inc., I was struck at just how important this is in business. Replace “enemies” with “competitors” and you’ve got a new mantra. I call making the T-shirts. Keep competitors closer Seriously though, Haden explains that if… Continue reading Diligence and Character: Keys to Remaining Competitive
Why don’t people read the news anymore? I mean replace “read” with “watch” or “listen to” and it still holds true. Many people don’t pay that much attention to the news. I mean, I’m a journalism student, and if I’m being honest, I don’t read much news during a typical week. It begs the question,… Continue reading Fixing the Problems with News
So, startups are even harder to build than I imagined. Last week, Paul Graham advised us in his article to find an audience “who wants this [your product] so much that they’ll use it even when it’s a crappy version, one made by a two-person startup they’ve never heard of.” Okay. I can do that.… Continue reading Being Practical and Passionate About Startups
Spartans Innovate 