An Interesting Discussion

Blogger Ben Casnocha put a thought provoking post up today regarding the need, or lack there of, to have a degree or certification when entering the business world. The gist of his post is this:

Can you imagine if there was a law requiring all wannabe businesspeople to have MBAs (or some other degree)? It would be pure madness.

Why, then, is there a law requiring someone who wants to be a lawyer to have a JD? Why is there a law requiring someone who wants to be a public school teacher to have an education certificate? Why is there a law requiring someone who wants to be a doctor to have an MD?

Why wouldn't we just let the market self-sort itself like we do in the business world? Some people get MBAs, some don't. Some people value MBAs more highly, some don't.

Obviously it hit a nerve as it has sparked quite a discussion on Ben's blog. As I've written in the discussion over there, I feel the major reason is that the consequences of a failed business are far less than the consequences of a failed court case or failed education. It is interesting then, now that the discussion has begun to focus on the free market, that two reasonably educated people can come to incredibly different conclusions regarding the same subject. My opinion is that Reflexivity plays too large a role in the market in the short term for society to be able to weather the ups and downs without at least a little market regulation. What do you think? Join in the discussion.

Shred-It, An Interesting Case of Finding a Need and Serving It

I was walking down the street today and by chance I saw an incredible work of entrepreneurship. Out in front of one of the small businesses along the street I live on was a big white truck with a logo on it that said "shred-it". Upon closer inspection I found this truck to be an apparatus which pulls up in front of a building and handles the document destruction for the company that contracts it; a giant mobile shredder of sorts. When I got home I did some further research and found Shred-It to be a Toronto-based company with branches all over the world.

It got me thinking about how some of the best business ideas are the simplest and the one's that you'd normally overlook. I don't know about you, but I can't say I would have thought to create a company like Shred-It. Up until now I would venture that most people took document disposal for granted. When you look at it though, this company follows a very typical model for a thriving business. I believe it is the Heinz Company who's motto is "To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success."

In a world of increasing specialization it is important to seek out under-served niches. Shred-it has successfully done this by creating a simple solution to an ever-pressing problem. They chose to satisfy a common need and that provides them with a large market. When Shred-it's service combined with new found fears of identity and data theft, you end up with a blossoming company. In looking to Shred-it as an example I think the major points a young entrepreneur should take away are:

1. Find a common need and specialize (at least initially)
2. Develop an uncommon solution
3. Make it cost effective for the companies you serve

In the future, by following this model, I believe business service contractors like Shred-it will take up an increasing portion of the market as companies look to gain efficiency by farming out non-central tasks to specialists. If you're looking for further information on how it all works, check out Shredit.com or for another example of a company doing the same type of thing check out AccounTemps.com; a California firm that provides accounting services for companies not yet large enough to worry about the hassle of it all on their own and larger companies who would like extra piece of mind through transparency.

Reconciling The Real World

Coming out of college, today's students are faced with some distinct realities. More and more students are struggling with the balance between what they want to do and what they need to do to stay afloat and increasing numbers are simply refusing to settle for the latter. Much has been written about this balance but a few standout. As someone who has been contemplating this a lot lately here are some of the things I have found most helpful.

The Brazen Careerist

Penelope Trunk is a former corporate worker who has done extensive thinking into the subject of a balanced life and is one of the few out there who are actively, consciously, and thoughtfully taking steps to do something about it. Her blog should be required reading for anyone but especially those just starting out into the world after graduation.

IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com

The tongue in cheek title of this blog should not take away from the content that's provided within. In the absence of a real life mentor Mr. Sethi would be a good online starting point. Ramit takes the time to logically organize and disperse tips on how to face the difficult battle between finance and enjoyment in the real world while producing some sound financial advice and providing some great tips for entrepreneurs at the same time.

Feld Thoughts

For the entrepreneur, Feld gives interesting insights into the world of venture capital and high tech entrepreneurship along with some poignant writings on business and life as well. If you're looking for inspiration check this blog out its always good to see how the mind works of someone who's already "been there and done that."

In the vein of inspirational blogs that everyone should read, Ben Casnocha's might take the take. Ben has done more than most and hasn't even entered college yet. His blog possess a personal and conversational tone and is a great look into the mind of one of America's most fascinating young entrepreneurial minds.

Life of Meaning

Steven Tomlinson's Blog may be quite different from what you expect out of a blog but it definitely shouldn't be overlooked. The blog consists of one post; one very long post that should be read over and over again. Tomlinson's discussion of the balance between passion and career comes from a high school commencement address given in 2002 and while this may seem interesting and trivial, readers should be slow to dismiss these words coming from one of the instructors at what is arguably the worlds most innovative and rigorous entrepreneurially focused business school; The Acton School of Business in Austin.

Thinking Socially, Acting Entrepreneurially

I suppose, with yesterday's pontificating about a younger perspective on entrepreneurship, that I should talk a little about the project I spent time working on towards the end of my college career (one I'm still working on) and social entrepreneurship in general. College is a great laboratory for entrepreneurs to experiment and the timing has never been better to experiment in the newly coined field of social entrepreneurship.

In college I got heavily into sailing and was on the university's team. After spending some time in the sailing community, my friends and I began to realize an opportunity to do something good. What we realized was that racing sailors create a lot of waste when it comes to sails; a sail is still usable long after it is fast and new enough to race with. These discarded or unwanted sails were going to become our "product". Initially we realized that there were outlets for these sails where they were far more important to life and community than to trivial sailboat racing. Our first idea was to aide the fisherman living in the developing coastal communities of the Caribbean. These fishermen were using patchwork sails to power the boats that feed their families and villages. Anything we could give them was going to be more effective than the sails they were currently using. Yes, we were acting charitably but we were thinking like entrepreneurs who were out to do some good. Rudimentary as it may seem this is social entrepreneurship in its most basic form.

Moving on from finding the impetus to start a nor-for-profit organization based around something we loved doing, we needed to gain some organizational structure if we were going to be acting efficiently to channel the goodwill we were dealing in. With a position in the South Florida Sailing Community, collection of old sails was not going to be an issue. Our issue was going to be finding outlets to funnel the donations to and the places where they would do the most good. Through some former contacts we found some peace corps individuals who were willing to help with the cause. They would serve as intermediaries between South Florida and the coastal villages and act as distributors when the shipments arrived. The idea had gained support and we were now able to fund the deliveries with donations as well as cover most of our operating expenses. In pondering our next move we began to realize that if sustainability for these communities was to be our goal, then we needed to take some steps to aid these communities in the transition from subsistence to sustainability. It was then that realized that our "product" was not sails necessarily but the durable and strong cloth that they were made out of. This brings us to our current status of designing and developing products that can be produced out of the cloth, like fashionable bags and other textile goods. The production will occur within these developing communities and the goal is that the production process and its associated factors will be a boon to the development of sustainable economies in these areas.

It is important to note that this is not necessarily the profit minded model that is talked about in the press. At least its not profit minded for ourselves, the initial entrepreneurs. Hopefully we have correctly aimed our desires for profit at making the villages and towns into viable economies and creating a new population of entrepreneurs of the periphery like the ones being developed by organizations such as Kiva.org. I think the main thing that a person should take away from the story of Sails for Sustenance is that it is the unlikely places where the opportunity may arise to act as an entrepreneur to benefit others and how easily the skills you use in the business world can transition to social causes. Charitable acts are no longer stale and bureaucratic, they have moved into the dynamic world of entrepreneurship.

Sails for Sustenance is currently looking at expanding its collection efforts to other sailing communities in the United States. If you would like more information or would like to help or offer advice in some way, please contact us by visiting www.sailsforsustenance.org

College and the Young Entrepreneur

There's a panoply of information out there on the new developments in the field of education in regards to the budding the entrepreneur. Schools and Institutes have sprung up within colleges and universities and success stories abound. Few, if any, now argue college is not an essential element in the educational path of a person and college and graduate school are great incubators for entrepreneurs. What strikes me as I read these pieces is that few of them come from the people involved; those in college or those who have just completed it. Thus, since I feel that its important to gather different insights I'm going to lay out a road map of sorts based on what I have recently experienced. Hopefully I will be able to provide some interesting pointers for those going through it or contemplating going through it. Here Goes:

College Is Not a Four Year Vacation (At Least It Shouldn't Be)

Coming into College as an athlete, dealing with injury, and then no longer being an athlete made for an atypical college process. However, I can honestly say that I believe these difficult beginnings were the catalyst to learning some life lessons far more quickly than a typical student. After the initial period of realizing I was at school to learn and advance myself I took to finding what this college thing was all about. College is definitely a time to explore and develop. College is also a time to make mistakes, but college definitely serves the self-aware. As an entrepreneur you possess a built in advantage. I've met several confused entrepreneurs but rarely have I encountered one without some semblance of an idea or plan as to where they ultimately want to go.

College is a Great Incubator for the Calculating and Confident

Knowing that it's good to have a loose plan, I would also argue that it is relatively harmful to have a definite one. The loose plan enables the latitude to learn and explore, the definite one constrains and sometimes traps you if other avenues or interests begin to appear. An interesting debate occurs when it comes to the idea of a broad-based Liberal Arts education versus a highly-focused Technical Skill based education. In my opinion, having experienced both ends of the spectrum at times, the adaptability of a liberal arts degree holds great advantage over a technical degree; at least at the undergraduate level. As I see it the technical skill is the lens through which the broad based education and ability to think should be focused. Both should be developed but it should be a calculated process. This progression from well rounded to focused and specialized seems to serve the general entrepreneurial population quite well and, yes, I'm aware there are exceptions. Again they are the exceptions and not the rule. Specialization doesn't necessarily prepare you to lead and develop.

Learning to Learn is Important

The one thing most students are not taught in high school amongst the endless memorization and college admissions frenzy is perhaps the most important thing they'll need in their lives. The knowledge of how to learn gets imparted in college and that, if nothing else, is an excellent reason to go and to do well. Advanced college coursework forces you to refocus in a way that shows you how to learn new material rather just memorize it and repeat it on a test. Yes, it is possible to skate by while running a company or doing other things but if that's your goal then maybe you need to consider why you're paying so much to do so.

College Truly is What You Make of It

Realize that college is a wonderful time (best four years of your life? hopefully not). It is often dismissed as clicheed when the advice that "it is what you make of it" is doled out. When it comes right down to it, choosing a college is an act of consumerism and you can definitely take steps to maximize the value of your purchase. No other place that people typically encounter has the resources both in knowledge and skill of the collegiate setting. For the entrepreneur ,college is a gold mine of information, a laboratory, and contained marketplace all rolled into one. It's often said that one shouldn't let their schooling interfere with their education. Perhaps in the case of the young entrepreneur one should look to balance the two simultaneously. Hopefully its the first in a long line of successful balancing acts.

People and Ideas

Ideas are a complex concept in today's entrepreneurial world. Many daydreamers find that the idea is the stumbling block that prevents the process from ever beginning. To get an idea of how heralded the big idea is in the country a simple Google search of the term reveals institutes, essays, and scholarly works that have sprouted in tribute to this huge concept in American Entrepreneurship. If you need further evidence, look to the name of the nightly show hosted by Donny Deustch on CNBC. Others however, like Ramit Sethy at iwillteachyoutoberich .com believe that the big idea is not a necessity and in fact the exception to the rule. What they believe is that the greatest impediment to startup success is not the lack of a good idea but instead the lack of ever doing anything at all. They believe that the idea is used as the scapegoat and a cover for procrastination.

Personally, I agree that the idea is not a necessity. Throughout the history of business the examples of company metamorphosis are plentiful; from Virgin Brands getting its beginnings Richard Branson's student newsletter to the Land's End catalog company beginning as a catalog that sold nothing but boat parts. What's not necessarily always noted is that the reason these companies were able to successfully change is that they started with a viable idea and when the true idea for their business did arrive they had already formed a community around their business that would not only accept the change in the product but facilitate the change in the company as well. Branson sold album's cheaply to students and Land's changed to sell clothing to boater's. Essentially their first idea hit their market but it just took them time to find the product that best fit their business and the community it had created. The rapid expansion of the companies came from relatively simple lateral expansion that occurred after that cash had already begun to flow in, even if only slowly.

It seems that while the initial idea is not that important the ability of the company to carve out a niche or draw an audience does matter. Where the list of bad business ideas must be checked at the door then is when it comes to the idea of just jumping in and starting for the sake of doing. Leaping blindly is invariably a bad move in anything but especially in business. If you think you're going to start the next Facebook or Myspace you're going to be leaping into the wrong venture. Unfortunately, in that case your niche is already taken and the communities have already been formed. Often times people may argue that they're really passionate and dedicated and they don't care what anyone says. Those people, would be well advised to take another look at what they're doing. I'm not saying that one shouldn't be dedicated and passionate but perhaps one should steer that drive and tenacity to the place where it intersects with a path of less resistance. In the previous examples, those business and websites have become successful because they got in at the front end of the trend. They didn't try to emulate and compete against large and well established enterprises in their field, the either created the field or served it differently.

Typically businesses are formed on some kind of idea. More often than not, though, that idea is not a new product but an understanding or an insight relating to a community that is in need of a product or service and may or may not know it. These companies succeed by convincing or showing these customers what they need or linking all these would be customers together. Once the community is determined, then the company can go about expanding, growing, and bringing new products to the market (the known content of the daydreams of starry-eyed, procrastinating, would-be entrepreneurs). In the end, it is likely more important to know the community that you want to serve than it is to have an idea of how to serve them. Knowing the needs of the community lets necessity take its rightful place as the mother of invention. In business practice and in business culture people have proven in most cases to be more important than product in determining the success of a company.

Welcome!

If you've found this blog you likely have an interest in business and entrepreneurship. Being that this is a new blog, it is probably a good idea to start you off with a little primer. The writing and conversation here will stem mainly from my journey as an entrepreneur and newbie in the "real world" that occurs when college ends. Posts will revolve around the questions, concepts, and barriers that arrive and form tangentially to the things I encounter in the process of forming a new company as a newly-minted college graduate. I welcome all feedback and suggestions. I am constantly looking to improve what goes on here in order to be of better service to everyone involved. I've found that writing helps me to sort my ideas out and keep track of what works and what doesn't. Hopefully, publishing it will inspire others to entertain the idea of think like an entrepreneur in their own lives even if they never intend to start a company.