I'm not accepting defeat (in some respects)

So a lot happened in the last week – a lot. Since accepting defeat last week, I’ve gone into another endeavour with some friends that is, I would say, a lot more serious. What I find absolutely shocking though, is that I learned something from our last failed attempt. It’s shocking because we never really did anything of substance.

We never actually signed a partnership agreement, registered the business, opened a business bank account, talked to people about the idea, and oddly enough, talked about the actual business plan (our “innovation” so to speak). We had nothing. I’ve thought about it a lot and it comes down to my not taking my own advice – I wasn’t passionate about the idea. It was clever, it could work, I’d use it, but when it comes down to it, I wasn’t passionate about it.

So, I’ve since started working with some new partners on a new project, and we’re 1000 steps ahead of where we were with my last endeavour, but 1 million steps behind where we want to be. In the first day alone we got all of the dry, bureaucratic stuff out of the way:

Opened a business bank account

We decided to do our banking with RBC after chatting to an account manager – they have some great plans for businesses and if you’re going to be in a partnership, I recommend getting a shared business account. The fees for their most basic account are so tiny, its ridiculous, and it will save you a ton of stress and issues down the road.

Fortunately, our business plan doesn’t have too many upfront costs (yet) so we haven’t had to shell out too much cash.

Registered the business

This was 100 times easier than I thought. I didn’t even have to leave the house. If you just Google: “Registering your business, (insert province here)” you’ll be good to go. In Ontario, we went here.

Singed the Partnership Agreements

Not that this should be a huge deal, but when things start to get serious and money starts to come in, partnership agreements will come in handy. It’s best to sign them now when the voice of cash can’t be heard. We went to www.lawdepot.com to get legally binding contracts – the prices are very reasonable (when you compare it to going to a Lawyer) and are absolutely customizable.

What’s more, you can find a ton of other contracts on the site too – it might be advisable to get some NDAs (Nondisclosure Agreements) and non-competition agreements from the site as well. When you’re looking around for business partners and pitching your plan to people in the very early stages, there is very little that sets you apart from where you and any other person are at. These badboys would protect your grand and innovative idea (to a certain degree) from being ripped off.

One last think I noticed about this business plan (or, idea, if you will): I’m really excited about it. In fact, I can hardly keep my mouth shut. Our last business idea, I was afraid to talk about it because I was so unsure of idea (which is an okay feeling to have). But this one, I’m stoked: I’m so confident in it.

But what do you think: can too much confidence help or hinder you?

Being the young, career-oriented woman that I am, I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning my professional future. Which direction to go in, what avenue to pursue next, what accreditations I need, how to get ahead today… But among all of these other concerns that I have for the future, from time to time I am reminded of another: the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling effect refers to an invisible barrier that prevents the professional advancement of a qualified person beyond a certain level of hierarchy (or pay) because of discrimination.

In this blog entry, (and in order to avoid speaking about that which I do not know) I want to address the glass ceiling in the context in which it refers to women specifically. This entry, like many others, is inspired by a flurry of news articles and blog entries that I caught wind of this week. The first, about the “insipid sexism of a male-dominated political culture”, and another about women making more than men on corporate boards.

Despite the views of these authors, I feel as though the ‘glass ceiling’ is a somewhat antiquated notion that referred to a force that once kept women out of the boardroom and positions of management. Today, I think the explanation behind this phenomenon has more to do with the decisions individuals make, and less about a work culture of entitlement.

I probably take this approach for two reasons:

1. I want to
   
2. I have to

Let me elaborate: I want to believe the glass ceiling doesn’t exist because I don’t want to adopt a defeatist approach and accept that there are forces beyond my control that will always prevent me from accomplishing my goals. I’m just starting out in the workplace and don’t want to abandon my mission of climbing the corporate ladder by disempowering myself.

But I have to believe the glass ceiling doesn’t exist or else the notion of its mere existence will become a crutch, an excuse, a reason for my every failure or shortcoming and would ultimately be the demise of my professional career.

At the end of the day, whether the glass ceiling effect is real or not, in my mind I have to feel empowered to move forward and persevere, relinquishing perceived drawbacks that might prevent me from reaching my goals and holding myself 100% accountable for my every failure and success.

I'm in a bit of jam as we're trying to move forward with our business plan and by the looks of things, I think its something we need to put on the backburner for now. It's humbling to admit that at this point we're not ready to take this and make a go of it, but the time we have put into it has been good. I still have confidence in the idea and I'm certain that there's potential in this model, I just need to focus on some other things first. It's been a quite the learning experience. Here's what I've taken away:

Commitment

Obviously, the reason that this isn't moving forward is that I'm not fully committed to it on a number of different levels that all kind of stem from one key factor - time. Its not a matter of me not having enough, because my free time is ample; its where I'm putting that time in. So, while we put together the plan and everything looked to work, taking the time to put in those next steps was not something that I was ready to do. In that respect, its my own fault.

What would have helped - well a mentor for one. Fortunately, I had Michel my boss giving me some tips on how to be a good team player (Wise old Michel). But in terms of an entrepreneurial mentor of sorts, I had nothing. It would have been nice to have had someone say "hey, this is going to work - have you tried this?" Building those networks and those connections can really come in handy and I just didn't have that.

The big goal

What's more, is that my commitment was felt stronger to the idea of be an entrepreneur more than it was to the core of the business. That leaves me in a bad place and I think that's something an aspiring entrepreneur ought to be aware of. I look at someone who has the panache to take a leap and start up their business and I think "wow, that looks glamorous". The fact of the matter is, I don't think its that glamorous. Its a lot of hard work. So if you're more fond of the idea that you'll become a qualified entrepreneur than the plan itself - its tough to stay committed (and probably not healthy)

The Playing Field

Being more interested in being an entrepreneur more than anything else lead me into troubled waters - a business in an area that I'm not familiar with. I talked about doing something that you're passionate about, that you're good at. Something in which you excel - I should take my own advice. It's tough only being in business school and not having that secondary skill set to lay a smack down on. But maybe I need to take a step back and reevaluate my skills. Maybe I do have something to offer.

At any rate, The I have is great, and I can say that with confidence. The execution was lacking because I just didn't have the whit and skills that it required. Its a shame, but I don't think its the end... I may catch a break.

So what Will I do now?

So, I still want to be an entrepreneur - I have the business acumen and work ethic that a startup needs (did that sound cocky...?) I just want a taste of what its all about - so I started emailing startups in the area. I laid it all down for them, told them where I was coming from and what I'm all about. And do you know what, every last one of them got back to me and said they'd like my help (did I mention I offered to do it pro bono?) Money isn't the point for me - it's having that experience, that network and those mentors. At this point, its putting myself in those positions where I can work in that fast paced environment so that when the opportunity arises, I'll be there to meet it.

There's no right way to go about it - for now, probably for the rest of the summer - I'm going to take a step back and get myself ready. I'm really excited about all of the businesses that got back to me and I know that its going to give me a fresh perspective and will help me to learn a ton.

My move to a new frontier

My foray into social media over the past - oh, what has it been now? - month and half, has been quite the adventure. I'm not going to stand here and claim to have grasped it completely. In fact, I don't think its breadth can be grasped. Since being introduced to social networking sites like twitter.com and the buckets of blogs that have been plopped onto my plate, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed. It's unlike anything else and the more I look into it, the more I begin to realize that this where aspiring student entrepreneurs need to be.

The Network, on and offline

It's daunting to initially get into "The Network" as it were, so I best advise you bring a friend or quickly find a friend who knows what it is they're doing. When I first joined Twitter a while ago, I remember thinking dang the concept is sweet - but it would be so much better if there was someone to interact with in all of this (which is, in essence, the objective of social media - interaction). Before I knew it though, I began to follow people who have the same entrepreneurial, interactive bent as me.

What I find most fascinating about Twitter and the social media frenzy that I've been opened up to is this seemingly intertwined network that extends beyond the internet into the real world. Go to any Democamp, Startupcamp or Third Tuesday (all of which take place all over North America and the world) and you'll see a third of those in attendance tweeting from their Blackberries. For a month and-a-half I talked to Malcolm Bastien on Twitter, and the other night I ran into him in person at Third Tuesday in Toronto (which I'll go into later).

Information, on and offline

Man, if I had a buck for every tidbit of learning I've consumed since getting into all of this I'd have at least a thousand bone by now. Whether its through random blogs of interest that you catch through a Tweet or events happening right now or in the future (yea, Twitter's earning a rep as being a first on the scene news force). But again, it doesn't end online - I was at Third Tuesday, which I found out about through Twitter, the other night and got to take in a really great speaker.

So to recap the learning cycle, I'm there on twitter, being fed information a mile a minute. Great. I hear about an event happening in Toronto for PR professionals, tech aficionados and entrepreneurs. Sweet. I check it out and hear a really great discussion and audience engagement. After its over, I get to hang around with all of these cool like minded people. Its a win-win for me.

You need it

I read an article in Profit the other day that heralded social media as the new critical success factor to starting up your business. Its beyond early adoption now and IDC says social media ought to grow 815% by 2009. That would make sense looking at this. But social media is fickle and not just anyone and any company can just jump onboard and say they get it; this is, in every sense, face time with the customers. Social Media Group from Dundas, ONT. says that if you're new to social media, take it easy and just blog.

Joe Thornley at Thornley Fallis (a PR firm in Ottawa) is all about setting up a blog for corporations and has worked with the likes of Visa and Dell. This guy knows what he's doing and I think he's borderline guru. But blogs seem to be the tip of the ice berg.

You'd be one of a few

I noticed this the minute I walked into Third Tuesday a few days ago: everyone is old. Scratch that, most people are older. There were very few students kicking around there, which tells me there's a huge opportunity for students to become versed in and excel in this. Malcolm discussed the role of students and digital media in one of his blog posts.

While there's plenty of students engaging in the online conversation, it seems to me that few are going beyond and taking part in critical thought about the potential that exists for social media as an integral part of growing a business. I recommend checking it out and really considering where your customers are, or will be, and how

On thing I'm learning for sure though, social media takes time, persistence and commitment. Fortunately, sites like Twitter are not time intensive (its a micro blog) and since its open source API, there's a ton of apps you can download in order to make your tweeting easier. I highly recommend checking it out. Now.

Since I started blogging for RBC, I’ve been exposed to a whole new world of social interaction. Relatively new to the blogosphere, I wasn’t really familiar with too many blogs or the impact they can have on your personal and professional network. So, needless to say that when I heard that Bruce Firestone, a master entrepreneur, founder of the Ottawa Senators and professor at the University of Ottawa was telling his students that he wouldn’t hire someone who didn’t blog, I was intrigued.

I followed up with Dr. Firestone to get to the bottom of this story and found out that the reluctance to hire non-bloggers was something that led back to Ryan Anderson, Director of Communications at Fuel Industries – an interactive entertainment business and one of the coolest companies around (be sure to check out the website).

I caught up with Ryan Anderson to ask him more about his hiring strategy… An avid Tweeter and blogger himself, for nearly 4 years, Anderson knows the value of social networking and is a huge advocate of social media sites. “Blogging is a good way of gaining a competitive edge” he encourages students and young careerists to get involved in the community, make connections, expand the student world, connect with pros and benefit from their experience!

When it comes to experience in the blogosphere, Ryan explains that commenting on other peoples’ blogs is great, but in order to really engage with the blogging community you should start up your own blog. While being particularly applicable to the interactive entertainment industry, blogs are also important for med, law, poli sci students and everyone in between! No matter what your field of study, you can almost always find a relevant network of bloggers!

Due to the personal, opinionated and controversial nature of blogs, I asked Ryan about what students should be talking about on their blog. Are any topics too controversial? Should students avoid taking a ‘hard stance’ in their blogs should future employers come across it?

Ryan’s answer: "Don’t be an ass."

Blogging is a personal thing and there are certainly some topics and stances that you should steer clear of, however (I think) most employers look fondly upon bloggers who provide new insights on intellectual subjects. Consistency of topic or theme is important and be sure to create conversation with other bloggers in your online network. When it comes down to it, blogging is about sharing information!

Final advice from Ryan Anderson to new bloggers: Blog about something you’re passionate about. You don’t need to be an expert in the field – curiosity and interest are important and will fuel some great discussion!

Get busy in the blogosphere today! Create your blogs and be sure to drop me the link here! For some tips on blog topics check out 10 Steps to Becoming a More Interesting Blogger.

Good luck!

Side note: Fuel Industries has a great blog, including Ryan Anderson’s. Check it out here.

But only if you have a couple more copies to hand out!

I read an interesting article the other day arguing that business plans are not all that necessary to capture that attention of investors. I think it’s a pretty ballsy argument and while the numbers are surprising, I don’t think they speak for themselves. Here’s some interesting finds from the study, as asked to venture capitalists:

How important are business plans?

70% important, 28% somewhat important, 2% not important

How carefully do you read business plans?

74% read carefully, 26% skim the plans

Do business plans project and accurate assessment of future success?

22% accurate, 71% modest, 7% poor

Finally, 5% of venture capitalists noted that business plans are a relic of the past and should be burned.

Here’s my issue with this sort of study, based on the theme of Burning your Business Plan, and the message that it conveys to young, would-be, go getter entrepreneurs. But first, I’ll concede that business plans are not always necessary for startup capital, thanks to (for example) a serial entrepreneur’s past successes, a loaded network and a million other seemingly non-factors.

Okay, here’s my issue; burning your business plan, or writing it off as unimportant in garnering interest from venture capitalists is an exception to the rule, and should not be mistaken as the rule (like the title suggests). What the study ought to be called is “Burning Your Business Plan and 100 other ways to decrease your chances of earning seed capital by 70%”. There’s an old saying, “Failing to plan is like planning to fail”; I’m not saying that every nitty-gritty detail needs to be hashed out, but if the business doesn’t have a course of action or a direction to roll, then its stagnant.

If you can’t pull your act together enough to put together a thoughtful, organized business plan, then the real world of entrepreneurship is going to eat you up. Don’t let an article like this allow you to start thinking that the business plan should be an afterthought. I think it’s a reflection of commitment, among other things; and regardless of what its been that I’ve done in the past, I’ve quickly realized that the name of the game is commitment.

Research to counter this argument? Look to the Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. They take a very different approach to the topic of garnering seed capital: too many people today ramble on about great ideas, flying in a million different directions. So, the first step is to set those ideas down in a concise and directive manner (a la business plan). Second, they need to put their money where their mouth is.

When it’s your own money on the line and you’ve exposed yourself to risk through investing in the business’ potential, then you have some clout to tout around. If you honestly believe that you have something to run with, why not run with it?

The internet revolution has created a new field of at home workers who go online for their livelihood. The websites that facilitate this form of employment are endless but for some time Elance.com has caught my eye and I’ve been curious about how it functions and whether or not it works.

The Elance idea revolves around its obvious pun with “freelance” and its functionality is built on that same ideal. Users are separated into either providers or buyers and built their identity on the site as such.

Buyers can go to the site and post a job that they need done under a certain category, post a suggested payment range and can invite providers to bid. For example, let's say that you had a business and you wanted to take it online, with Elance you could post a project online under the Web and Programming category and then wait for professionals to bid on your job. Once the bidding is over you can select one of the bids and form a business deal and get the job done considerably easily without ever leaving your house. For more info on the buyers side check out Sramana Mitra's blog.

On the other side of the game the providers go through what the essence of freelance work is really about: competition. After all one of the main selling points of the site is that it offers buyers with choices and choices mean competition. As a provider when you join Elance you have to pick the category(s) that you will be bidding under. For me I picked writing and translation as an experiment to see if the site could benefit me. After doing this I set out to Elance University, which is required if one wants to start bidding on jobs. Elance university is basically a series of tutorial videos on how to use the site followed by multiple choice tests. Now that I had passed the tests and graduated from Elance university I was ready to get bidding!

Just like the real world, however, in the world of Elance, education is simply not enough and I had to work on my profile to prove to my clients that I am deserving of their work. On Elance, the way it’s set up is that you can create a sort of interactive online CV that shows your education, abilities, previous jobs and even a portfolio of your work. I even went so far on mine as to add a short video in my profile that explains my abilities. After working hard on my profile I clicked on the “find work” tab and felt as though I was some sort of online struggling actor.

During the first day I bid on five jobs and I felt extremely good about myself. “That was easy!” I exclaimed! Then I waited...and waited...and waited as I watched the bidding closing date get closer and closer. 8 days...7 days...6 days...the anticipation was killing me. Then, finally the day came that all the bids had ended and I found myself as a struggling actor must feel...rejected. None of my bids had been accepted and all I was left with was five messages that read “buyer choice other bid”. I couldn't understand why I didn’t win any bids. Did I ask for too much money? Was my portfolio not good enough? Did I need more experience?

It was then that I headed to the “water cooler” which is where you can find the Elance Blog. After spending some time at the water cooler and blogging with some fellow “Elanceers” I realized that I wasn't alone and got some tips for how to be more successful on the site. Some of that advice included getting “verified”, which essentially means that you pay Elance to contact your references, your school and your previous employers in order to prove that you have the abilities you do and then it will show up on your profile, or your CV, that you are who you are and have done what you have. The other option is to start bidding and offering very low costs for the jobs and then when you get one you work hard and do it well so that you get good feedback and in the future can place bids at a reasonable price. Check out what out this other non-Elance blog for more tips on how to succeed on Elance. Either way, both of these ideas are investments that are risks that could potential provide a future full of freelance work. So I decided to try again and put these ideas into action and we will just have to wait and see what happens but Im looking forward to seeing if Elance can really work for me.

Some of the things I love about Elance are the fact that you learn about the freelance life as you make proposals and try and sell your abilities. Some of the negative aspects are the system of bidding that Elance uses which means that every bid you make will cost you and that limits how many bids you can place per month. I also found the high price of verification which is $15 dollars US per verification but $25 if it is in Canada! Come on Elance! We aren't that far north and its not as if its going to cost you that much more to call Canada compared to, say, Alaska!

I just heard a lecture by the CEO of eHarmony, Greg Waldorf on his 5 Must Haves of an entrepreneur. Was it ground breaking? Not really. Honestly, I've heard this 100 times before, maybe rephrased a little, but it goes to show that there may be some underlying threads to being an entrepreneur.

Just as an aside: On the average day in America, 200 people get married after having met on eHarmony (100,000 babies born since the company's conception - no pun intended)

ONE

Work with great people. I talked about this a while ago in finding a partner with Avi from Applied Innovation at RBC. Greg spoke on thinking about the best boss you can imagine (I've had a few, actually) and finding someone just like that.

On the topic of mentors, Greg's lecture got thinking: I agree it's great to have a mentor now, but I think it's worth saying that choosing a partner that has the qualities of a mentor (willingness and patience to teach sans arrogance) is pretty key.

TWO

Willing to take risks. Maybe a no-brainer, but think of it this way.:

Don't let your sense of keeping up hold you back.

I trip on this all the time. I just want to start my own thing NOW. Right now, I don't want to wait one second longer. Then I see my friends getting safe jobs with big corporations that already have weight behind their name and I'm tempted (nay, I cave to the temptation) to pursue that course of action.

Entrepreneurship isn't glamorous and it really is risky. But, if you're smart about it, it doesn't have to be as risky as some make it out to be (Find good people, search hard for opportunities, fight status quo, etc.)

THREE

Be willing to adapt. You're not always right, get over it and go down graciously. Seriously, just check your pride at the door and remember you aren't the only one on the team. This is tough, and I'm learning the hard way.

I was talking with Michel the other day, and he gave me some really good advice on how to be... a better person. "No" is never a good answer to a proposition. But there are two good answers that can easily substitute:

1) "Why" (and ask it five times)
2) "(insert a compromising idea here)"

FOUR

Love what you do. Be passionate about it. The more I listen to and talk with entrepreneurs, I'm finding that real entrepreneurs are passionate about business, plain and simple; that, and long hours, hard work, customer pleasing and always trying to be better than before.

FIVE

You have got to put your plan into action NOW. Right this minute. If there's one thing that's easy to put off, it's starting your business up right now or, finding opportunities to get involved with entrepreneurial ventures (being an entrepreneur doesn't mean being the idea guy - startups are 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration... and cash up front).

Go and talk to people, that are involved in a million different things - University is the place to do it. You have everything from design, to engineering to environmental studies. Talk to them about their ideas, their strengths and their futures - and then hit them with a ton of bricks and suggest starting a business.

You’ve done all the work to land a summer job, (searching for the perfect company, cold-calling HR, working on your resume, going to interviews) you’ve finally landed your dream summer job and the hard work is over, right? Not really. The work is actually just starting, but this is the fun part: you’re actually getting paid and you’ll learn tons of new skills, get an insight into a fascinating industry and see if you’ll sink or swim in the workplace. The best part is, you don’t have to do it alone.

Now that you’ve had a few weeks to settle into your new job, it’s a great time to seek out mentors. The workplace is a great place to find these people. They can be co-workers or superiors and typically have more experience than you. Integral to your personal development, mentors should be willing to share their experiences with you and take a genuine interest in your growth and success.

Feeling a little awkward breaking the ice? Here are a couple tips I’ve come across:

• Check to see if your company has a mentoring program
• Talk to people who were hired a few years before you
• Seek out retired executives who might volunteer as mentors
• See if your company sponsors any conferences for opportunities to network
• Working for a small company? Pick up a book! Biographies can also lead you to mentor figures

I’ve been lucky enough to have had several mentors who were kind (and patient) enough to spend some time talking to me about their experiences and sharing their advice in sticky situations. But establishing the first point of contact is not enough! It’s important to maintain relationships with your mentors, they will become a part of your professional network and sounding board. Try to keep in touch with your mentors at least a couple times per year. They’ll be interested to hear about your latest endeavours and you should be interested in theirs!

When seeking out a mentor, my best experiences have been with people who like to talk. Finding people that you respect and think highly of is great, but if they aren’t talkers, you might have a harder time benefiting from their expertise. Also, see if you can talk to your mentors outside of the office, ask them out to coffee or lunch. This might allow them to speak more openly about their experiences, especially their frustrations.

There is some degree of altruism behind mentoring. While the mentor may have a genuine interest in you, they don’t usually ‘get’ anything out of meeting with you and sharing their stories. They usually are genuinely interested in your personal and professional development, but they also care about the success of their company and perceive your growth as fostering that.

Be sure to pass on the torch!

Lastly, once you’ve been through the initiation into a new company, be sure to connect with the mentoring program at your company (especially if you’re a returning co-op or summer intern). You might not have an abundance of experience in the field, but you can help a new hire get oriented and settled into the new work environment by acting as a mentor to incoming students and new hires.

Just heard about this on Twitter a couple of minutes ago and thought I better get it out there. There's a new Startup on the web (surprise, surprise) by the name of Startupindex.ca. Essentially, it's a catalogue of mainly tech startups, and potential investors, in Canada.

It doesn't look like the entire site is solely geared towards tech startups, but it's certainly the predominant industry on the site. At any rate (And Dan, I recommend you take a look at this for your business) it's worth checking out and putting a business on there.
Free publicity and potentially money in the bank (if you're looking for an investor). Expect to see my business on there in the not too distant future! It looks like we've finally nailed down an ownership system - it's a lot tougher with three people than it would have been with two. All that bureaucracy is a real pain in the butt.

We're getting it all out of the way so that we can focus on ideas.

I'm an ideas kind of guy.

I'm sure we'll encounter many more hurdles along the way, so it's good to settle into this sort of thing.

Anyways, check it out - www.startupindex.ca.

Okay, back to the drawing board - not for me, but for some. It's officially my summer, and dang is it nice... the weather is nice, the grass is green, I'm not living in res any more, I have my bike out. Life is good.

In fact I'm sitting on the porch in downtown Toronto and I can hear the ice cream truck.

Anyways, I'm still working on getting together some little details for my endeavor, but I've been thinking that still, so many people don't really know what kind of business they'd really like to start up.

I was at the CYBF Awards gala the other night and there was an entrepreneur there who made these cool little organizational boxes. She probably is and was a really organized person and boom, she's a certified successful business women. It gets me thinking about my little idiosyncrasies and what I've got that could be legitimately made into a business. There's nothing I'm really anal about, so it's tough to bring up ideas.

Remember, when it comes to a business, it's 1% inspiration (the idea) and 99% perspiration (the work). I'm going to lay a bet that it's actually 20% inspiration and 80% perspiration just because the 80-20 rule applies to a lot of garbage out there.

I listened to a lecture about a storming by a guy named Barry Nalebuff. He wrote this book, "Why Not?". I suppose it's his answer to the question "Why?". He has methods to coming up with ideas. Processes, if you will. The one I like best - What would Donald Trump do? Admittedly, a big Donald fan over here (though apparently a controversial statement).

It goes like this - I have problems. My friends have problems . Everyone has problems . I look at all these problems in isolation and I have to ask myself, "What would Donald Trump do?"; if you had all of the money in the world, what would you do is probably the more realistic question when I think about it. Suddenly, a whole world of opportunities exist. Ideas galore, really.

I think that's the easiest way. Look at the problem, find the answer. Of course, when I think of what Donald Trump would do, I can't help but think that I could never afford his solutions, so I have to put them on a plane that's accessible to every Tom, Dick & Sally out there. That's probably the most difficult part of the Donald Trump approach. Bringing it down a few notches so that it can be a legit product - or project.

Barry talks about another way too - start with the solution, an invention for example, and then see how you can apply it. I have this SICK idea for training guys to put down the toilet seat. That's my invention. The problem is self-evident... so I guess that was a bad example (call me if you're interested in having the toilet seat down).

Special thanks to Matt for tips on this one. The city has some great resources to meet and network with entrepreneurs. I love it! Ryerson (famous for startup jobloft.com a la Dragon's Den ) is hosting a competition for startups. You could win 25 000$.

Nice.

There's a small caveat - a Ryerson student has to own 51% of the business; Hey, I'd be willing to go in 49%. I'm going to go check it out - best of luck to Matt; it'd be great to see him get short listed, then I'd encourage everyone to come and support him in the finals.

Also worth noting is Mesh08 coming up May 20, 21, 22. If you're a university student, you get the 469$ tickets for 30$. Unfortunately, they're sold out... I'm trying to justify almost a month's rent and three days of work for the conference, but it looks worth it.

Also, I'm getting in contact with someone from TBDC (Toronto Business Development Centre) on King St. The building looks pretty cool - I'm planning on having a chat with her and I let you know what I dig up.

Does anyone know if you can volunteer at MaRS in Toronto?