Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Real soon our class at college is having an entrepreneur come over to rub off on us and answer questions.  I was thinking about this site first thing when the teacher asked us to formulate questions to ask.

Could  you guys help me come up with a list on what questions needs to be asked to a successful entrepreneur?

How about...
What investment opportunities have inspired you to become an entrepreneur? (the point of this question is to learn the market for which he/she is involved)

Then...
Do you get involved with more than one opportunity at a time?

And...
What percentage of return do you expect to get on your investment and how long do you expect it to take? (of course each entrepreneurial opportunity will be different, but the point is to understand what he/she feels are good money making opportunities)


-------------------------

Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Number 1 question: How did you overcome your fear of going out on your own, giving up the safety of working for someone?

Number 2: How long was it before you were earning a decent living from your business? How did you survive in between.

I think from having read SuN posts for awhile now, these are the biggest concerns for people who aren`t yet caught up in the passion of their own business. We`ve got that site "Pursue the Passion," all about people still in the employee lifestyle. They have a dream, but they haven`t yet found the courage to take the plunge.

As a previous professional musician, I think one of the very first important lessons I ever had was to understand what`s an "overnight success." I`d started playing professionally at about 18, trying to earn a living only from music. And of course I was surrounded by musicians.

Without being stupid or naive, I realized immediately that "somehow" I`d bought into the idea that you start a band, play for crowds, get discovered, record an album, and BLAM! you`re a rock star! :-D How did that happen? How did I have such a clueless foundation? The media.

Nobody other than biographers has any interest at all in a business doing nothing. After a person becomes rich, maybe someone writes a biography, say of Bill Gates. But with today`s disinterest in reading, few people actually read the biography.

We hear about the fact that it took 10 years of "struggle" to reach the point of success. But that`s just 1 sentence, lost in a magazine article. "And so Gates and Allen struggled for 5 years trying to build their fledgling software company."

For us, it`s just some words. But for them, it was five whole years! That`s 1,825 actual days where nothing was going right, problems happened, nobody cared, and everyone thought they wouldn`t ever do anything useful in life.

"Then one day they sold the license for DOS to IBM and Microsoft was on its way." :-D Unh-hunh....all in one day?

1. What are some pros and cons of online ventures versus brick and mortor establishments?

2. What industry were you successful in, and why should anyone choose the industry?

Great questions above! *how happy and focused are you with this business? *how do you start the day off? * what keeps them in their business if the times are hard and you`re not selling -the inspiration? -their why? (this is the kicker, you want to know their why-the answer can`t be because they are tired of the concrete floors or pushy bosses....it has to be "WHY"or have they decided what their "WHY" is? For an example: My children are my "why" I choose to be run my home based business....to stay in tune with my girls, of course with all of my business reading I do, I gain great strengths that dribble down to my children as well! Nice circle of education. -is it a vision of where they are going to be, that never gives up or gives in? *does the company offer a residual income? *what is the business plan that is set up for the entreprenuer? *are there conference calls and free mentoring for the business entreprenuer? *who keeps the entreprenuer motivated with in this business? * what is the compensation plan and what do you get out of an auto ship if there is one set up? I would love for you to email me on how they answered these questions!  Please email me theresa@candlemoney4mom.com

-------------------------

theresa-a mommy at home "No Isolation" www.candlemoney4mom.com www.candlemoney4mom.scent-team.com

Actually, it`d be cool to hear the results of the class here as part of the forum topic.

Wow, thank you for the GREAT insightful questions guys!  I will get back to you with the answers.  Keep them coming!