Young Entrepreneur Journey: Articles Archives

July 01, 2006

The Time Value of Money: What It Is & Why You Should Know It

Time is the most important asset you have. How you invest it determines the quality of your life and the impact you make. In terms of time given, we're all relatively equal. There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 365 days in a year for everybody. What makes us different is how we invest that time!

Therefore, having a clear understanding of the value of your time is extremely important. Three consistent mistakes that I see among young entrepreneurs (including myself) are:

Not taking into account when you will be paid.
Not taking into account the riskiness of the opportunities you're pursuing.
Either undervaluing or not including time in your cost projections.

Below are the results you can expect if you make the mistakes above:

You may create a business that isn't scalable. Because you don't value your time properly, you undercharge the customer or you go into a business that isn't scalable. As a result, if you're not paying yourself or if your paying yourself less than minimum wage, you will not have enough moeny to pay employees and still be profitable.
You will allocate your time ineffectively. Being someone who is creative, you see new opportunities all the time. If you do not understand the value of your time, you may go after opportunities that aren't worth your time. Understanding the value of your time, will also help you become more focused as it will be a filter for you to qualify new opportunities.

To understand what the time value of money means in your life, download the powerpoint presentation I created.

Disclaimer: I'm not an an expert in this area, so please point out any errors you notice.

Posted at 02:14 PM | Comments (2) | Top

November 21, 2005

You May Want to be a Flight Attendant or Work for An Airline

I write this entry from 30,000 feet in the air, somewhere above Louisiana. I just had a great conversation with a flight attendant from Delta who is getting his masters degree. I had no idea that being a flight attendant had so many perks, and I think it is an incredible opportunity for college students to visit different parts of the country and world. Here are the details:

Free, unlimited flights to anywhere in the world (where Delta & its partners flies) for you, your spouse, and your children. Per year, your parents get 16 fee passes, and your buddies get 8 discounted passes.
40% off “flight attendant” hotels.
$2 raise per hour every six months. After 13 months, he receives $24/hour for ever hour he’s in the plane. He receives $2.50 for every hour he’s not in the plane, but working.
Every once in awhile, he meets celebrities including Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Evander Holyfield, etc.
Every once in awhile, on the negative side his plane experiences severe turbulence.

After traveling around the country this past year, I’m absolutely amazed by different cultures. It is just incredible to see and experience so many different ways of life. The US history and world history that I learned in elementary and high school cover so little. There is so much more to learn. As globalization increases, it seems like it will be more and more of an asset to have a better understanding of the world.

He was kind enough to give me his email address to share with all of you if you have questions. His name is Sean Riviera and his email is cpt757@hotmail.com.

Posted at 01:26 PM | Comments (0) | Top

November 18, 2005

How to Brainwash Yourself

In moments of clarity I'm absolutely astounded by the power of the mind. Think about it. Our worlds aren't that different from each other. We all see, smell, touch, hear, and taste things. However, in the end, a $5 glass of wine isn't really that much different from a $500 one. When you think about it, it is the mind, which adds meaning and signifance to these sensations.

Amazingly, the exact two same sensations could cause depression in one person and motivation in another. It is a beautiful thing that we have the incredible power to actually shape our thoughts. On the other hand, it is tragedy that we don't more often!

Below are the most effective techniques I've found for controlling the mind:

Fake it till you make it. Aren't where you want to be? Pretend you are. How would your role model act? Be the change you want to see!
Affirmations. Keep on repeating empowering phrases to yourself, even when they don't seem true. The subconscious mind accepts what it is given. If you keep on saying, "I'm stupid," soon, you'll think you are. And vice-versa.
Meditation. Often the mind seems to run off by itself, following strings of random thoughts. Meditation helps you permamently build focus and helps you reset the brain. It is one of the strongest techniques, I've ever come across.
Visualization. Research has shown that the way our brain stores our visualizations is similar to how it stores our actual physical experiences. I find that when I can picture something until I know at the core of my being that it will be true, then it becomes true.
Practice. Nothing replaces practice. In my mind, this is by far the most important strategy. Once you've found a method that works, you have to keep on practicing. We aren't always in the mood to do it, but we have to. New things are always exciting at first, but may become boring. It is the champion who persists.

By far, the best book I've ever seen written on this topic is Think and Grow Rich.

Posted at 06:41 PM | Comments (0) | Top

October 31, 2005

Why Every Student Should Think Like an Entrepreneur...

A CENTURY ago, the overwhelming majority of people in developed countries worked with their hands. In the early twenty-first century, it's likely that a quarter to a half of workers in advanced economies are knowledge workers whose primary tasks involve the manipulation of knowledge and information.

I mean, for God's sake, there's actually a person whose job it is to create and choose the colors that Apple uses for its products. You're not going to find that job listed in a book anywhere. Furthermore, your guidance counselors, teachers, and parents wouldn't know about it, and it's not their fault either.

Here's the situation:

Career counselors are trained to be experts in careers. While they may give you advice on "hot jobs" and "hot industries", breaking into those can be very competitive and not build on your strengths and passions. On the other hand, parents will often give you the advice that they think is the safest, which is often the choices that worked for them. While much advice is timeless, other advice has become outdated.

What's the solution? You need to think like an entrepreneur would. You need to proactively find your passions/strengths and match them with opportunities in the marketplace. This DOES NOT mean looking at what's popular and copying it. It means using introspection and market research to find a niche where you can be at the top now or in the future.

Keeping in mind that these labels are generalizations and that are many great parents and counselors, what do you think?

Posted at 05:27 PM | Comments (5) | Top

October 29, 2005

Who is Your Champion?

Having mentors is an incredibly effective way to build your network and to learn important information that will help you make better decisions. However, I've never heard anything mentioned before about finding and building a relationship with a champion (a super-mentor).

I define a champion to be:

Somebody who has almost the exact character, lifestyle, and/or degree of success that you would like to have in the future.
Somebody who is a well-respected, well-networked industry leader.
Somebody who is in an industry that you want to be in right away or in the future.

Why It's Different Than a Mentorship

There is a much larger time commitment. This means potentially meeting at least one time a week or every other week. It also means that having more than one or two champions might be unrealistic.
Larger Commitment to Learning About Them. This means reading everything they've ever written and trying to see them whenever they talk publicly.
Becoming a Right-Hand Person. This means becoming somebody they can trust without a doubt and that they can talk to and throw ideas off of. It even means being proactive in sending them memos that will help them professionally and/or personally.
Realizing You're a Part of Their Legacy. Similar to a relationship with a parent, you growing from their help brings fulfillment.
Often Goes Beyond Lunches. This means becoming part of their family and life outside of business. It also may manifest itself in a friendship, apprenticeship, working as their assistant, and/or shadowing them.

Posted at 06:00 PM | Comments (0) | Top

October 28, 2005

How to Get Into Conferences for Free or Cheap

Conferences that are relevant to your fields of interest are incredibly powerful methods of learning from and networking with key players in specific industries. However, most professional conferences are $500 and above and on the other side of the country. Here's how to lower that cost:

Try to Get a Press Pass. Write an article for your school newspaper. This also gives the opportunity to interview speakers. Or even write an article for your own blog.
Offer to Volunteer. This gives the opportunity to network with conference coordinators and even sometimes escort speakers.
Become a Speaker.Get seen in front of the entire audience.
Get Extra Passes from Sponsors. Sponsors/Exhibitors often receive more than one pass and sometimes don't use them all. If they're being unused they'll probably let you use them.
Play the Student Angle. Ask for a student discount even if one isn't advertised.
Be a Speaker's Guest. Network with speakers before the conference and ask if you can go as a guest
Barter. Offer skills that the conference could use such as transcription, video-recording, audio-recording, web site development, graphic design, etc.
Refer Others. See if they will offer a discount if you successfully refer others to the conference.
Register with Student Advantage. They offer incredible travel discounts for students.
Share a Room. Ask the conference coordinator if they can pair you with another one of the attendees.
Take a Train. These are cheaper and definitely worth experiencing for at least one cross-country trip.
Get a Group Discount. Organize a group of people from your area and take advantage of group discount rates for buses and trains.
Network with Potential Hosts From Many Cities. Build a network of people across the country who will put you up for free when you're in their city.

Posted at 05:42 PM | Comments (0) | Top

October 22, 2005

The Elevator Pitch

Imagine you walk into a lobby elevator in the Empire State Building. You press floor eighty and the other passenger presses seventy-four. Then you glance up, and to your surprise, you see a top venture capitalist that you've been trying to get a meeting with for months. Even better, it's just you two for the next seventy-floor floors.

What would you do? What would you say? Your answer to these questions is called your "elevator pitch" and it's a 30 second introduction of yourself. I've always believed strongly in the importance of the elevator pitch and the "first impression", and in my trip to China, I saw the best example of its potential that I've ever seen.

During the first day of the conference, everybody was standing up and introducing themselves for 30 seconds. The common introduction was, "I'm very happy to be here. This is my first time in China and its beautiful. My name is John Doe, and my business is... I'm looking forward to good business partnerships." This was a very nice introduction...the first time! However, after 100 times, it got old.

The last person to present did something completely different. He first started off by saying, "My name is John Doe, and I keep executives out of jail (he's a executive leadership coach)." Next, he went to the front of the room and positioned a chair so that he could hurdle over it, which is one of his trademarks, even though he's 62 years old. Immediately, the room got excited. People stood up so they could see. Others positioned themselves to take a photo. After one balk, he made the jump and the room erupted in applause.

The next day I learned that he was awarded a huge contract to work on branding for China. Yes, I'm not exaggerating. Countries have to brand themselves too!

So, if you find yourself on an elevator with somebody you've always wanted to meet, what would your pitch be? What would it say about you and why the person should invest their time and/or money with you? How would it make you different from the 100 other pitches your VIP sees every day.

Posted at 08:19 PM | Comments (0) | Top

October 14, 2005

How and Why To Outsource Your Job

In 1998, Cal Newport (my former business partner) and I launched a web development company. We got our first break when a local web development company decided to outsource their projects to us for $25 an hour. At 17 years old, this was very exciting. However, we quickly reached our limit as we only had a few hours a day to work on the company.

That is when we made the major breakthrough of outsourcing our projects to a web development team in India for $15 an hour. Eventually we were able to move the margins from $10 ($25 - $15) to $75 ($100 - $25). This strategy gave us five big benefits:

We had more time to focus on building the company.
We were able to provide higher quality work.
We were able to make a $10 gross profit for every hour the web development team in India worked.
We were able to focus on the stuff we were best at and that we were passionate for.
We learned more about India by communicating with our partners on a daily basis.

While this strategy may not be legal in some companies or possible in certain positions, it can be an extremely powerful method to differentiate yourself from your peers and focusing on your strengths/passions for many!

Imagine the possibilities of a generation of college grads avoiding paying dues by outsourcing the parts of their job they don't like or that they're bad at! Imagine the surprise from your boss when you beg for more work and new projects.

To explore this opportunity, visit elance.com where you can outsource everything from data entry/administrative support to copy writing. I'd also highly recommend Reubro International. They've helped us with web development, programming, and data entry over the past five years!

I think this could be big and I haven't heard it talked about anywhere else.

Posted at 01:04 PM | Comments (2) | Top

October 09, 2005

Self-Interested Reasons for Mentoring Others

I'm a very big believer in mentoring others. At a base level, I feel an obligation to because I've received so much help. However, there are many other reasons. Below are ones that Sheena and I brainstormed:

Build a Better Brand. Just as corporations that get involved in their communities build a positive image of themselves, so to do individuals who go out of their way to help others.
Understand How to Become a Better Mentee. By becoming a mentor, you gain a better understanding of the benefits of mentoring from the mentor's perspective. As such, you will probably be able to build closer relationships with your mentors.
Network with Other Mentors. If you become part of a mentor program, you will be able to network with other mentors. Often times, these are the exact kind of people you want to meet as they have very strong characters and are often trailblazers in their careers.
Build Relationships with Future Change-Agents. I know how difficult going after your dreams can be. At first, it is often hard to find people who understand and believe in what you want to do. As such, you can build a very close relationship with someone by believing in them and supporting them in anyway you can until they build up momentum. These relationships can flower into friendships, partnerships, internships, and more.
Learn the Needs of Your Potential and Existing Clients. If you're an author, speaker, or consultant you create the potential for new business, and you also get a much deeper understanding of the people you're serving.
Feel Good. Making a difference feels good. By mentoring, you not only make a difference in one person, but you also do so at a societal level. I think that something that is important for societies is that the people in them share their lessons learned with each other. What better way to encourage this than by sharing your lessons learned.

What are your thoughts?

Posted at 03:39 PM | Comments (4) | Top