I get to talk to quite a few aspiring entrepreneurs as the result of my involvement with a local young professional organization. Some of them already have ideas, some don't. Very few, however, are sure how exactly to go get started.
Entrepreneurship is something that is incredibly difficult to jump right into. Futhermore, every venture is going to be a new experience you can learn from. The important thing is to pick somewhere to start and continue to build on it. Here are a few ideas that should get you moving:
Networking
The entrepreneurial community is a pretty close-knit one. Knowing more people will only increase the chances that you'll be able to find opportunities, experienced partners, funding, and experienced service providers.
1. Have Lunch With a Seasoned Entrepreneur
One of the best things that I've experienced about entrepreneurs is that most of them are genuinely willing to help out other entrepreneurs. They're also pretty approachable and the type of people that appreciate networking. So if there's an experienced entrepreneur in your area, see if you can buy them lunch. Ask how they got started (most love telling you about this too) and ask what their suggestions are for how you might go about it.
2. Join an Entrepreneur Organization
There are incredible number of entrepreneurial groups out there. I was lucky that our local young professional organization had an entrepreneurial arm to it. I've met a ton of people at our networking events and learned a lot from the speakers and peer support groups that we host. Across most of the country there are also Inventor and Entrepreneur Clubs which are a bit more informal but similar in nature. If you're a student, there are a ton of different groups as well, such as CEO, SIFE, SAGE, DECA, and FBLA. Other types of groups are the Small Business Development Centers, Chambers of Commerce, and lots of states have entprenreneurial networks, all of which put on events for entrepreneurs.
3. Start an Entrepreneur Organization/Chapter
Can't find a group in your area? Start one! Not only does it help you gain credibility, but it's an amazing way to meet influential people in your area. I also have a bit of experience here, so I can honestly tell you that it's not that hard. There are a lot of young professional groups out there that don't have entrepreneurial aspects to them (even though we're all in fact supposed to be entrepreneurs). If you are interested in starting an entrepreneurial group for young professionals, get in touch with me, I'll help you out.
There are a lot of other opportunities for starting chapters of existing organizations. Browse what's out there and see what type of support you can get. The UWW-Whitewater CEO club has had a lot of success, for example. Most of these groups have people in your state already, so find out who they are and see why there isn't a chapter in your area. If you can find someone near by, get the national contact. They'll be more than willing to help.
Social Media
It's all the rage. But there are some great ways to use it for entrepreneurship.
4. Social Networks
If you aren't on LinkedIn, start now. I love the Groups feature of LinkedIn. Join the groups for your industry, your school, everything of relevance. I get a daily digest of the discussions happening in those groups and I try to respond when I have something to say. This is a great way of getting to know people that are already in your professional network.
There are also some sites, such as PartnerUp, with the direct aim of linking up entrepreneurs. I'm a member of PartnerUp, but I haven't used it too much. As should always be the case, just make sure you really get to know someone if you're going into business with them.
5. Blog
I can't tell you how important it is to blog, especially if you're a student. People love seeing case studies in entrepreneurship as well. I also use my blog regularly to help solidify my ideas and get additional feedback.
Gaining Experience
One of the most important things you can do if you want to start a company is get some experience. This doesn't mean that you need to actually start a company. There are a lot of ways to learn different aspects of entrepreneurship without going through the whole process.
6. Participate in a Design or Innovation Challenge
This is a category of challenges that generally involve a relatively small time commitment but provide a great opportunity to start thinking in an innovative way. There are quite a few different types of challenges hosted by various organizations, especially if you're a student, but you might have to look for them. Here are a few examples to get you started:
- UW-Madison has a great event called the 100 hour challenge where you get 100 hours to develop a new product from scrap parts.
- Microsoft Phizzpop hosts both local an onlilne web design challenges.
- Just last weekend there was an event called the Global Game Jam that gave participants an opportunity to compete while creating games.
- Popular Science and Core 77 put on different challenges for industrial designers. They have ranged from focusing on products for Speed, to Human Power, to Memory.
The benefit of doing these types of challenges and competitions is that you usually get some great feedback from the judges.
7. Compete In a Business Plan Competition
Granted, you need an idea to do it but this is a great way to flesh out an idea with lots of help along the way. Here in Wisconsin, the Governor's Business Plan Competetion provides an excellent way to get feedback on your ideas. Best of all, you don't have to write a complete business plan to get started. The first phase is just 250 words. Anyone can write 250 words! Just about every state has their own, so go see what you can find.
8. Try out the Elevator Pitch Olympics
I was surprised to find out how many different groups host these events. There is one here during the Early Stage Symposium, but I also found on in New Jersey, one at MIT, and another in at the TieCON conference. I haven't done one of these myself, but I have watched them. You really need to be able to take criticism in a very public environment if you're going to do this, but with the the right attitude you can gain a lot of information directly from the people who might be investing in your company.
9. Start a Side Project
Before we started Sharendipity, I was doing a side project with my brother for a website called MyOutdoors.net. We were never able to take the site to the level we wanted to. But, it's still up, and I can still show people that I did it. Not only is this something that I can use to highlight my own ambition but it taught me and my brother a lot about starting a company. As a result, we both went on to different startups as well. Everyone loves to see that you've tried to do get out on your own before, even if it didn't succeed.
Have some other suggestions? Please let us know in the comments.
Under social networks...Start One! Ning is free and lets you start a social network. This is how I got my start with Under30CEO.com. We weren't sure what we wanted to do but we knew we wanted to bring entrepreneurs together. So we started doing just that and gathering feedback and responses from them on what they need. Now we are in the process of a much bigger project surrounding the network. All of this was free!
Of course if you don't want to start one you can just join various ning networks, there's 1 for just about anything. There can be spam or no activity but if you put some time in there are a lot of great people to meet.
Posted by: Jared O'Toole | February 02, 2009 at 09:18 PM
Thanks Jared! I've played around with Ning but completely forgot about it. Building online communities can be difficult but if you're going to try Ning is a great way to start.
Posted by: Dale Beermann | February 03, 2009 at 06:25 AM