Sharing Start-Up Advice

Women’s Entrepreneur Event – Sharing Start-Up Advice

At the Entrepreneur Center’s Women’s Coffee Series, I was interviewed by Beth Chase, CEO of C3 Consulting. Women entrepreneurs and those considering starting a business asked some interesting questions during and after the session. Below are my favorites, along with my answers.

Q. The vast majority of start-ups fail in the first five years. As the founder and president of Lovell Communications, when did you feel like you could relax and know your business was going to make it?

A. This is our 25th anniversary, and sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. But at the end of our fifth year, I was so happy to be “over the hump” that I had stood on my desk and had my photo taken. I knew the odds, and it was time to celebrate.



Q. How would you describe your leadership style?

A. Evolving. It’s important to lead by example, but I think it’s really critical for leaders to constantly learn and evolve, because the nature and the needs of the workforce change. Frankly, in my youth I was probably too impatient and fiery. I think I have finally figured out a way to back off a little without “losing my edge.”

Q. What’s your greatest fear?

A. Losing my edge.

Q. What are you most proud of as it relates to the business you started?

A. Many times people have used one word to describe the talent we have at Lovell Communications, and I am most proud of that word. The word is, “smart.” I love that brand.

We had a good time at the meeting sponsored by the Entrepreneur Center; the meetings are monthly and open to anyone. For a schedule of speakers call the EC or review their website. They have some cool stuff over there.

by Paula Lovell 

The Story of an Accidental Young Entrepreneur

The Story of an Accidental Young Entrepreneur

An accidental entrepreneur, that's what I call myself when people ask how I started my own art/craft show and event planning business. Never would I have imagined going into business for myself at the age of 25. What started off as a passionate hobby of crafting, accidentally evolved into a full time job. To fully understand where I'm coming from, maybe I should start from the beginning.



Growing up, I attended a variety of art and craft events with my mother on the weekends. It was definitely a bonding activity we did together for "just the girls," as I grew up in a household with two older brothers. As I got older, I should have noticed my entrepreneurial spirit would end up being my life path. At 10-years-old, I would go around the house trying to sell pencils to my family members for 10 cents. Then, in high school, I would go door-to-door offering to paint addresses on the curbs of the neighbor's homes for $10 per house, a business I inherited from my older brother who just left for college at the time. Later, in high school and college, I held various jobs with sales incentives, and won nearly every sales contest. There was just something about the thrill that made me want to succeed and take on a challenge and lead the way. Funny that at the time I didn't see the entrepreneurial signs. But it was only a matter of time before we crossed paths.



After graduating college in 2008 with a degree in Communications and an emphasis on Public Relations, I worked at a couple of ad agencies specializing in event planning, social media and public relations. On the side, I also began taking cake-decorating classes at a local craft store to feed my creative energy. Upon completing the courses, I came up with the idea to sell my items at local arts and craft shows for fun (again that unknown entrepreneurial drive). Not to mention, being 24 at the time, I could use any extra income I could get living on a Ramen Noodle diet fresh out of college.



As I started to attend these shows, I noticed there was a large generation gap with the products being sold, and what appealed to me vs. the veteran craft scene attendees and crafters. It was only a matter of time before the entrepreneurial wheels in my head began to turn. I began to toy with the idea of starting a new generation of art and craft events, focusing on unconventional, funkier and out-of-the box items. Basically, a show that would wipe away the stereotypical stigma of arts and craft shows being focused on potholders, stockings and doilies. Thus, I launched my first show shortly after my 25th birthday in June of 2011, known as the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. The first event featured 45 eclectic vendors I had found through the power of social media, Etsy and recruiting at local handmade events.



The shows were a hit, featuring items such as: vases made out of recycled light bulbs, hand-grown herbal tea, jewelry from upsycled vintage finds, photography that looked like letters of the alphabet, home décor items, including jewelry holders made out of driftwood and wire, and much more. I quickly found as the show gained momentum, the demand and interest in the Avant-Garde show line grew. What started with 45 vendors quickly has grown to more than 135 per show in less than a year. On top of that, we were receiving anywhere from 500-1,200 customers per show, and my vendor lists grew from about 100 vendors to over 2,000 in this same time period. I quickly began to realize there definitely was a market for this, and I was excited. It was also thrilling to be able to combine my love of the arts with my event planning, social media and public relations background. Because of that, I was able to take these shows and begin to transform the local arts scene in my community.



While the process was exciting, moonlighting as an entrepreneur while working a full-time job during the week was definitely trying. My family would actually joke that I worked two full-time jobs, which actually was pretty true. Eventually something had to give, and in April of 2012 it did. After recently landing the cover of a major local magazine for their arts and entertainment issue, I was brought into the office of my-then advertising job and was told by the owners that they needed someone 100 percent committed to the agency. It was their fear that I wasn't, as my side job was taking off and at times, taking time away from my fulltime job. I was fired on April 24, 2012.



At the time, I was devastated, especially never having been fired from a job, and especially because I wasn't planning on losing my job or going solo for at least few years, if at all. It was that night, after having a good ugly cry (as I like to call it), I decided that I was going to pursue this dream and see where it took me. I figured, I'm in my 20s, I'm not married, I don't have kids, I already have a great thing going, if there is anytime to do this, it's now. So I did.



Looking back on it, losing my job was the push I needed to fly from the nest and spread my wings. Without that, I could have missed one of the greatest life adventures and opportunities I've experienced to date. Who is to say I would have never left my day job, and left behind my dream of truly pursuing a career in what I love? To this day, I may never know, but the opportunity that was handed to me that day -- or rather forced upon me -- has been the best I have ever experienced. I can take something I'm passionate about, designate my own hours, work from my home office, and also help others achieve their own goals of selling their items and launching their own businesses.



I'm still definitely a start-up, officially full time since that fateful day in April, and I still have so much to learn. I'm a one-woman show doing everything from logistics, blogging, social media, public relations, managing my books, coordinating with vendors, recruiting vendors and everything in between. I'm fortunate enough to be able to support myself financially with this new career, and have the privilege to be able to work with amazing talent each day.



In addition, I also have the ability to support local charities and give back to the communities surrounding me. From each event that is held, I donate a portion to local non-profits, to help keep money in local businesses and stimulate the economy. A list of supported charities and funds raised can be found at the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show website.



Overall, my goal is to continue to thrive and grow as a young entrepreneur and evolve my brand. The doors of opportunity that have opened since founding the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows occur each day. I've since launched Rebecca Adele Events, a company that specializes in event planning, social media and public relations. I've also learned that asking for help is okay. I've recently brought on an intern, and have a great group of friends and mentors that I turn to for advice when I can't make up my mind on something, or just need someone to listen.



I've never been a numbers person, so hiring a great accountant to triple check my work has also helped tremendously -- something I recommend to anyone who is starting a business. I've also joined Ladies-who-Launch, a networking organization for female entrepreneurs. This has also been a great learning tool and allows me the opportunity to meet like-minded women entrepreneurs. I also make it a point to regularly read books on female businesses, start-ups and the industries in which I work. Each week, I also make it a priority to set aside an hour to read online articles that are relevant to both of my businesses to stay up-to-date and relevant on industry trends.



It really is amazing how far I've come in even just a little over a year. Prior to being a full-fledged entrepreneur, I always thought that I would continue in my career path working at an advertising agency doing event planning, social media and public relations for someone else. I actually used to say I would never want to work for myself because of the stress and responsibility that comes with running your own business. My tune has definitely changed. While it can be stressful, I've actually come to learn that I do my best in leading and making executive decisions, rather than being told how to do something and working under someone else. Paired with the fact that I get bored in doing the same thing every day, working with different vendors at the art shows, and different clients in my event company, allows me the flexibility to be as creative as I want in my day-to-day job. For that reason alone, pursuing my career as a young entrepreneur is something that I would never change, even if it was an accident!

The Future of Jobs

The Future of Jobs

We need jobs in America, which means we need to unleash our entrepreneurs. Companies less than five years old have accounted for all of the net job growth in our country between 1980 and 2005. Our job creators aren't corporations, or government, or even small businesses. They are the founders of high growth startups. Creating millions of jobs means having thousands and thousands of new entrepreneurs taking risks and persevering past obstacles to create many more successful startups.

The formula seems simple. And yet there's a paradox. The jobs these startups are creating aren't like the jobs they're replacing. The single greatest challenge facing startups across America today is that they cannot find enough talent fast enough to grow to their potential. We have tens of millions of Americans unemployed and underemployed and yet the most vibrant businesses in our economy are starving for people to hire. What is going on?

The entrepreneurs building our high growth startups aren't looking to hire workers. Instead, these entrepreneurs want to build their companies with more entrepreneurs. They need team members who are motivated more by upside than salary, who are continuously learning new skills without being sent to training, who have sophisticated knowledge of the latest technologies, and who identify fuzzy, unstructured problems on their own and then solve them without being told what to do. In short, they need people who can get shit done.

The paradox is this. We need entrepreneurs to create the jobs our country needs. And yet the faster this occurs, the faster we shift from industrial economy jobs to these new entrepreneurial jobs, which many American are unprepared to fill. Whether we like it or not, in some elemental way, we're all going to have to become entrepreneurs.

Or perhaps I should say we're all going to have to become entrepreneurs again. Our revolutionary founding fathers built the greatest startup in the world. The pioneers who conquered the land set out, took risks, and wagered their prosperity and lives on their ability to produce. Entrepreneurship is central to the arc of American history.

For the last six or seven decades though, we've lived through this historical anomaly, where we were all told that we could simply be workers. If we developed a specific expertise, followed the rules, and did what we were told, then corporations and government would insulate us from risk and ensure our prosperity.

Being a country of workers isn't working anymore. I don't believe in that compact and I think more and more Americans are becoming disillusioned as well.

Change is scary, but regardless of what any politician or pundit tells you, we can't go back. The industrial economy is gone, we've already blasted through the knowledge economy, and we're building the networked economy as we speak. And yet we have an education system structured around an agrarian calendar that's teaching industrial era skills. Our children are taught to memorize facts and rewarded for their ability to fill in bubbles on a numbing array of multiple choice exams. What do standardized tests have to do with the skills that our startups are desperately looking for?

Startups need people who are constantly figuring things out on their own, learning from their peers, and reaching out to mentors for guidance rather than rote instruction. It's not about whatthey know, it's how they learn, think, and communicate. And despite what many pundits say, it's not simply about STEM skills. Someone who has learned to code but cannot think is less useful to a startup than an English major who can hustle and make things happen.

As I've shared in this blog, I had a unique education, getting expelled from two public schools before high school, graduating from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology with remarkably bad grades, and then passing up college to build two startups before I was 25. The final element of my formal education as an entrepreneur, however, didn't occur in some super cool technology hub. It occurred at an 800-year-old institution.

After leaving my startup in 2001, then watching America go through 9/11, I had something of a quarter life crisis. I had a deep sense that our country was moving in dangerous directions, but I lacked the tools to explain and defend those positions. I began studying the big ideas of prior generations. While I was surfing the web at 3 a.m. one night, I wandered to the Oxford University website. In September 2002, I packed up and headed to England to study philosophy, politics, and economics at St. Catherine's College, Oxford.

Oxford was an intellectual revelation. There were no classes. Lectures were more a suggestion than a requirement. Each week for the next three years, I'd receive a paradoxical question and a list of books longer than I could ever read in a month. I'd absorb as much as I could and sit around in the pub debating the ideas with my friends. Then I'd show up for a one on one meeting with my tutor with a 2,000 word essay in answer to the question. My tutor would beat the snot out of my argument for an hour and send me off with another question and another list of books.

At Oxford, my tutors were upfront about the fact that they considered it irrelevant what facts I knew when I left. Rather, their job was to teach me how to learn rapidly, how to think critically, and how to communicate effectively -- and then leave me to spend the rest of my life filling my mind with knowledge. I had no meaningful exams until the end of my three years. At that point, I sat with a paper and pencil for eight three-hour essay exams that tested my ability to think in the areas I studied. The irony of Oxford is that by spending less time in the classroom with less exams, I rounded out the skills necessary to excel in the emerging economy. Several weeks after I put my pencil down on my last exam I found out that I finished with a First Class degree.

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gave me a tremendous foundation in technology, but delivered through a numbing array of standardized tests that were the antithesis of critical thinking. Rowing taught me discipline, the endurance of discomfort, and how to lead a team, but it was only a sport. Raising $1 million at 19 and building a startup taught me how to hustle and get shit done, but not how to really impact the world.

It was Oxford, though, which brought it all together and taught me to synthesize, analyze, think in a structured manner, and share the results with others in a compelling way. Of course, there's a reason that Oxford produces more academics than startup founders. The fact that exams still occur with paper and pencil is an indication of how much innovation has pervaded the culture.

To really build a strong foundation for America, it's not about jobs per se. As we unleash our entrepreneurs, we can create plenty of awesome jobs. The real challenge is to educate our children for these jobs. A strong America requires teaching children to challenge authority. It requires making technology central to everything they do. It requires emphasizing the ability to learn, to think, and to communicate rather than regurgitating facts and algorithms on standardized exams. It requires STEM and liberal arts and social sciences and fine arts taught holistically rather than forcing our children into industrial era silos. We need to borrow the best ideas from around the world--from ancient universities to modern charter schools to Khan Academy -- mix them together with strong emphasis on letting students learn by doing and then experiment until we find the models that work for our emerging economy.

We have no time to waste reinventing how we educate our children, but we also have to help those already in the workforce, who are struggling to adapt to the rapid changes in our economy.

Luckily you can already see what the future looks like. The really interesting institutions preparing people for the jobs of the networked economy aren't schools or universities or even community colleges. Instead, entrepreneurs themselves are stepping into the void. If you want to see the future of learning, go to 500 Startups, TechStars, Udemy, General Assembly, Code Academy,Hungry Academy, or the Boston Startup School. None of these existed a few years ago. None of them require you to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And all of them teach you not only skills, but more importantly how to get shit done.

Three Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Three Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Sometimes when you're wondering what to do next in life, good advice can come when you least expect it — like when you're getting your hair cut.

Joan*, the hairstylist giving me a trim, mused aloud about what she was planning to do with her career. Cutting hair was just one part of her livelihood; she was also a professional caregiver as well as the owner of a rig that her husband operated. But her husband was about to retire from the road, and now they were wondering, "What next?"

Over the course of our brief conversation, in no more than the time it took Joan to cut my hair, I picked up on three attributes of her success that are helpful for any entrepreneur:

Practical. Listening to her brainstorm reminded me that successful entrepreneurs know how to keep their feet on the ground. First, they get inspired through personal observation, developing ideas from needs they see in the world around them. Second, they develop a concrete plan. They may work the plan, changing it as they go, but always with an eye towards getting a good return.

Purposeful. People with a practical outlook seek opportunities that add value, as opposed to opportunities that just seem "cool." (It's easy to forget this distinction, especially in well-established organizations.) Their focus is offering products and services that customers need and will pay for. For instance, Joan's second job as a caregiver: that's a service for which there is always a need.

Impatient. Sure, patience is a virtue in some cases. But for an entrepreneur, so is impatience. Joan is eager to make things happen so that she can continue to earn a good living. When it comes time for her husband to leave the trucking business, she will be ready with another venture. Her gumption and ambition make her impatient for success, and that drive increases her chances of getting there.

by John Baldoni

13 Tips for Starting Up in a New Industry

13 Tips for Starting Up in a New Industry

Don't be afraid to explore foreign territory. We asked successful young entrepreneurs for their most poignant pieces of advice for founders starting up in an unfamiliar industry.


The Young Entrepreneur Council asked 13 successful young entrepreneurs for their best tips for starting a new business in an unfamiliar industry. Here are their best answers.

1. Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions

If you're new to an industry, don't cower at networking events or do the "smile-and-nod" when you're speaking to someone with deep industry expertise. Instead, use every interaction as an opportunity to learn. People will be excited to answer your questions--while you may worry that your queries will come off as ignorant, most likely, the other person will interpret them as engaged interest! --Doreen Bloch, Poshly

2. Study Top Direct Response Advertisers

Find the top direct response advertisers--the companies spending money every month--in your industry and study their ad copy. Respond to the ads and document their entire sales process. The top advertisers have already figured out the best method(s) to generate leads and sales and maximize lifetime value, so start with what's working for them.
--Phil Frost, Main Street ROI

3. Find a Mentor

A mentor is pretty much your most powerful asset in any new industry. By finding a mentor willing to work with you, you can learn from their mistakes, accelerate your growth using their knowledge, insight and strategies, and get pre-qualified introductions to big players in your space.
--Travis Steffen, WorkoutBOX

4. Leverage your Fresh Perspective

Get rid of all preconceived notions and fully immerse yourself in every aspect of the industry to gain a true understanding of the market and opportunities. Take advantage of the fact that you're not biased and that you bring a fresh perspective and viewpoint, potentially providing you with a strong competitive advantage. --John Berkowitz, Yodle

5. Talk to Customers and Partners Every day

In any start-up, you don't know what you don't know. This is especially true when you're entering an unfamiliar industry. Get started through research, studying the compeition and talking to mentors. But in order to refine your business and make sure that you are providing great value, you must chat with your customers every day. Figure out their greatest pain points and deliver against them. --Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

6. Presume Ignorance

If you're starting up in an unfamiliar industry, do not presume that you know the answers. In fact, assume the opposite and open yourself up to learning. Talk to as many people in the industry as possible, ask lots of questions, get to know key players and connectors, and marinate in this new knowledge.
--David Ehrenberg, Early Growth Financial Services

7. Reconsider Whether It's the Right Industry

There are pros to tackling an industry you're unfamiliar with (fresh perspective, for example), but mostly, it's cons. Without an understanding of how an industry works, who matters in the space, and what competition already exists, succeeding in entrepreneurship just becomes more impossible (though, hey, don't let that stop you!). --Derek Flanzraich, Greatist

8. Attend a Trade Show...

There is usually a national or international trade show or conference in every industry, where the "who's who" all gather in one place. This is an event that you should be at. You'll have the chance to learn the lay of the land, meet hundreds of people in person and learn about what's new in your industry. It's also a great place to form new partnerships. Bring lots of business cards! --Luke Burgis, ActivPrayer

9...And Meet Your Match There!

Go to a trade show or networking event of the industry and notice who seems to have a strong presence, who knows everyone, and who is everyone talking about. Become friendly and close with that person, if they will let you. You can cut off a lot of trial and error time with the expert guidance!
--Andrew Bachman, Scambook.com

10. Hire a Trustworthy Lawyer

A few years ago I started my first business after over 10 years of working for non-profits. I found myself so lost. I was signing documents and agreeing to things left and right. Because I didn't have my own personal lawyer or legal team advising me, I agreed to some of the dumbest terms in the history of the world and it eventually came back to bite me in the ass. I'll never do that again. --Shaun King, HopeMob

11. The Devil Is in the Details

Make sure that you try and plan as much as you can, but don't let it get you so bogged down that you don't actually do something. Know that there will be something you miss, accept that, and move forward.
--Jordan Guernsey, Molding Box

12. Learn Why Others Have Failed

People naturally want to emulate success by analyzing successful business models, but I think it's more important to learn from companies that failed. There can be thousands of factors that contribute to business success, but when a business fails, it's often easy to pinpoint the the reasons...and avoid making the same mistakes yourself.
--Nick Reese, Elite Health Blends

13. Accept Help from the Experienced

Reach out to your advisors. They want to help you in your new adventure, and it is your responsibility to let them.
--Caroline Ghosn, The Levo League

The Naked Entrepreneur: Does Your Startup Have the Ability to Succeed?

The Naked Entrepreneur: Does Your Startup Have the Ability to Succeed?
by Guest Contributor

David Cohen of TechStars

David Cohen didn’t found TechStars with the intention of being a social entrepreneur, but it’s hard to deny the social change his company has initiated by growing and mentoring countless startups in the United States. TechStars, one of the premier startup accelerators worldwide, leverages connections with VC firms and angel investors to provide members with seed funding and mentorship from some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. Ryerson professor and DMZ mentor Sean Wise interviewed Cohen for The Naked Entrepreneur on his advice for budding entrepreneurs.

Learn from the best
Cohen’s first few startup attempts taught him the value of having an experienced mentor. During the dot-com era of the mid to late 90’s, he founded his first company called Pinpoint, a mobile communication system used for ambulance dispatch systems. Within a couple years, the company valuation was upwards of $50 million. They started speaking with investors and soon got acquired. Five to six years later, the CEO of the acquiring company admitted they had “left half the money on the table,” and could have gotten twice the value of the offer they accepted. This may have been prevented if he had a mentor.

“What is a mentor worth?” Cohen asks. “A five minute phone call could be worth millions of dollars.”

When you are given advice, take it
Cohen also talks about the importance of “closing the loop,” which means actually taking the advice your mentors hand down. Learning is essential, especially among founders. The Startup Genome Report, a 67 page analysis on data collected from 650+ web startups, says “startups that have helpful mentors, track metrics effectively, and learn from startup thought leaders raise seven times more money and have 3.5 times better user growth.”

Work with the right people
“You want to surround yourself with contradicting ideas, people who think differently,” says Cohen. “[What differentiates successful startups] is founders who hired people better than them, enabled them to do their job, chose the right investor, and the right people.”

Robert R. Ackerman, Jr., founder and managing director of VC firm Allegis Capital, believes building the right startup culture is fundamental to success.

“If you’re building that culture in the early days, it’s essential that every new employee that comes in can fit into it,” says Ackerman. “That means the CEO is interviewing every new hire up until a certain threshold.”

Know when to quit
Success stories like Cohen’s are great motivations for aspiring entrepreneurs, but not all ideas are destined for success, which Cohen has experienced first-hand. Knowing when to quit is half the battle, and Cohen says mentors at TechStars never tell an entrepreneur that it is time to quit. According to the Harvard Business School, 30 to 40 per cent of startups end up liquidating their assets, and investors lose most or all of their money. The instability of entrepreneurship can be daunting, and the rewards that are impossible to monetize play a big part in the decision to quit.

“You have to ask yourself, ‘Am I waking up everyday excited about what I’m doing?’” Cohen says. “There will always be bad days, days you don’t want to get out of bed, but if that is happening on a consistent basis, it’s time [to take a hard look at the company].”

Love what you do
After selling his first company, Cohen was on track for an early retirement. While relaxing on a beach at age 30 may seem like a dream to some, Cohen wasn’t done quite yet.

“Staying on a beach is cool, but [entrepreneurship] is what I love to do. It’s stimulating. It’s creative,” he says.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t a conscious decision. It’s just what you do.”