Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`ve never referred to myself as a small business owner. My business card says "President, CEO and Dippiest Chick".

Ha!  Me too!  My husband came home from a college investing class in 1987 and said, "Honey, I think we should take out a student loan and invest $2000 into a company that is going public next week.  We studied it in class today and it looks really good.  It`s called Microsoft..."  Did we do it?  Nope... Do I regret it? Yup... (I DID remind him that it was illegal to get a student loan for anything other than student needs.  Let`s see, $2000 invested in MS at the beginning would be worth.... oh, too many zeros to count

~Kim

Why would I want to do this all over again! Ay carumba. It was hard enough the first time.

Seriously, this is a great question and often when I speak to live audiences I tell them the my story that I`ve really gone full circle. When I graduated college, my first "job" was selling personal improvement workshops. After I freaked at the enormity of 100% sales commission (I was only 24 at the time), and got a "real job" I realized 10 years later that I`m truly an entrepreneur.

So here I am again, with tons more experience, as an expert in the field of getting entrepreneurs to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can get more done (AKA professional development.)

I related to what many said -- I couldn`t be where I am today if I hadn`t followed the path I did. I too had no early role models -- except what NOT to do -- and had to make a lot of mistakes and go it alone. But if I could go back, I would do a couple of things different.

1. I`d invest early. I was so caught up in actually having my own $$ at a young age that I spent it all. Woops.
2. I`d have gotten funding sources lined up for my business BEFORE I left my stable corporate job. I didn`t realize how hard it is to get a loan without a J.O.B.
3. I`d have mentored with a business building expert in my first year -- rather than waiting until I spent thousands of dollars on wasted advertising and I was broke, client-less and overwhelmed.

Oh, and if I could wave the magic wand to go back 10 years...I`d keep my San Diego house I bought when I moved to L.A. Talk about a good real estate investment.

Great topic! Thanks.

If I could do it differently, I would have learned entrepreneurial skills at an early age and started businesses instead of working for someone else.  I`ve always been fortunate, never had trouble finding a job, but didn`t realize that MY dreams weren`t going to come true that way.  In addition to my cooking classes, I want to start businesses in the fields of media production, horse training, real estate investing, and a million other things.  One thing at a time!

What other businesses would YOU start?

I would have taken an accounting class in college. I think financial accounting should be a requirement in highschool.

I had to learn accounting on the job, as I was responsible for financial reports for the accounts I managed. I literally sat side by side with my former employers accountant and learned all that she did, so that I could be successful with the promotion I had just earned. 

I am thankful I got the chance to work in a company that knew my skillset and would arrange the development of the missing pieces to my education by partnering me up with mentors