I don’t know about what the rest of the world is doing, but at my business school, everyone is either (a) psyched that they have summer jobs or (b) or kind of freakin out about now with no job and no leads.
So, I’ve been asking these friends, “have you thought of starting your own business?” Litterally ONE person said, “yes”.
Disappointing? Maybe.
Surprising? No.
Interesting? No. I mean, yes.
I had a chance to talk to Avi Pollock, the Head of Applied Innovation at Rbc; he was inspiring. I mean, this guy just confirmed in me that this is so doable (and not that risky – look what happened to Facebook) . For me I just didn’t think I had what it took; the skills, the know-how. The fact of the matter is that I do – and so does everyone.
Avi gave me some WILD insight into starting a business. This guy’s intense. I think I could write a blog on “The Life of Avi” to inspire you all. He said that if you’re going to start a business now is the time to do it – right now.
As in… now.
Go.
There’s nothing holding you back. I’m going to put that question out there; What’s holding you back from starting a business?
Here’s what he mentioned (I don’t do them justice). I’ll hash them out in later weeks. So I present to you:
Avi’s Advice Condensed by Nathan into 4 Gs
- Get a partner – this is especially key if you’re going to run your business while your in school. So, if you have an assignment or a date with a cute girl you’re covered. (be careful though; pick a good business partner – they may not be your best friend, brother or sister)
- Get some cash – if come summertime you don’t have enough money to live and support a business, then the business is going to suffer. If you’re worrying about if you have enough cash to operate the business, then you aren’t focusing on the core function of the business. There are a TON of grants and whatnot out there (I’ll let you know about those).
- Get a mentor and learn to learn - you better be ready to learn lessons and learn them quick. You’ll make mistakes; you may even fail – it’s the people that get up and keep going that are going to be successful. Invest in and improve yourself; you kind of are the business…
- Get Plan – I could go on forever on this one.
Step 1: just consider it. Please. That’s all I ask… Consider the thought of starting a company of your own this summer. It’d be your baby; you’d get to take it in ANY direction!
Step 2: what the deuce kind of freakin’ business should I start?
Comments (9)
Get a partner? Cash? A mentor? Get a plan? ROFL... I could get this advice by scanning any introductory book about starting a business. What's the inspiring part? Where's the WILD insight? Facebook? For every Facebook, there are 10,000 failed businesses. Here's another "G" for your list: Get real.
Hey Hamed,
While I can appreciate that you might already know these things or could find them easily, there are many students - actually, people in general - who really see entrepreneurship as very daunting. As Nathan said himself, he just quickly summarized the points and will "hash them out in later weeks". The conversation itself may have been about much more.
What we're trying to do with RBCp2p is get questions or at least constructive comments to help us improve and help dive deeper into topics to help students out.
Having worked for the Centre of Entrepreneurship Education and Development here in Halifax, I delved into all the details of starting, growing and continuing businesses. For someone who is not really considering self-employment as an option or is in the very first stages, something like this blog might be all they can digest. Getting more specific is sometimes enough to freak a person out.
Using your logic about Facebook, nobody should ever open a restaurant, because they have a very high rate of failure. Sure, plenty of ideas fail, but some stick and become huge. RBCp2p started out as an idea, and here it is!
Becoming an entrepreneur is scary and it’s a big risk, well suited to certain types of people, so Hamed do you have it in you?
Nick
So I have an idea for a business that I want to try but I am so concerned that its not going to be "unique" enough that I find my self often giving up on the idea before I have even tried it. How important is innovation in a new business and how can one ensure that one has it?
When I was in high school and inter my first few years of university, I used to sell golf balls in the summer. I'd go swimming in the water hazards of my local golf course and pick up the lost balls with my feet. The next day I'd clean them (the golf balls, my feet I would clean immediately upon arrival), package them in egg cartons which I received from a local restaurant, and sell the dozen balls for $6.
Not the most glamorous of jobs, but I was my own boss, I didn't need a huge amount of money to start off, and I made quite a bit of extra money.
Hey Hamed,
true, true, this is a bit high level eh? I'm glad that you're ahead of the game... I'm just getting into it and anything helps me at this point. Failed businesses are minor setbacks - look at the states where risk aversion is the least of their concerns. The typical successful entrepreneur only attained success (measured using a number of different metrics, financial and otherwise) after seven tries on average. Maybe you're right, i should get real... maybe I'll start a business this summer.
I mean, I should walk the talk, right?
and ps. to cory: did they ever run you off the course, or did you go in the dark of night?
I'd either go at night or when it was raining. My best catch was 1200 golf balls in one night. At $0.50/ ball that's $600!! There are lots of good, cheap ideas out there, it just takes guts (and a bit of imagination).
Hey Nathan,
I must partially agree with you; however, I think I started my business for different reasons than you state. I started a Sole-Proprietorship almost 2 years ago because I am a professional Illusionist wanting to showcase my art to the world (I guess this also relates to your self worth blog).
You see, as a Schulich student, you have the business background (or at least more than most) to be able to run a small business, but you lack the plan. I have the plan and motivation (because it's what I love to do), but have very little knowledge of operations, marketing and finances.
Starting a business is a difficult, yet rewarding venture if you have all the necessary tools.
I guess, after this long rant, I have come to realize that if you cannot perform ALL of the duties of operating a successful business, find someone who can help.
Hey Nathan, you like Magic?
Rob "Revel" Testa
http://www.revelmagic.com
I found this blog to be very interesting, and a great pre-cursor of things to come. I enjoyed the fact that it was smaller, because something such as starting your own business just seems very daunting at this point in my life (what with school work and a permanent part time job as it is).
I feel Rob made a very general (and incorrect) statement/assumption when he said "as a Schulich student, you have the business background (or at least more than most) to be able to run a small business, but you lack the plan. I have the plan and motivation" that seems like a very personal thing to say and assumption to make. I feel that would be comparable to someone saying that a student who did not attend a business school lacks a plan based on the fact that they don't understand operations management. Further to that, a lot of Schulich students are motivated and passionate about starting their own business in the future--that is why they attend Schulich, because that is part of their plan and how they become motivated in the first place. I just wanted to point out that just because someone attends a business school does not mean that they only possess the business skills portion of starting their own company.
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