Entrepreneur 101

One of the most challenging obstacles that entrepreneurs face is the the unknown (but usually that's one of the most exciting things). Sometimes we wish that there was some type of school that catered to our needs. The Supercool School a.k.a. the Startup School might be the answer to those problems. Started by Bjorn Lasse Herrmann, the school is set up as a cross between a social network and traditional classrooms. Once you sign up, you can request a particular class for your specific interest. There are plenty of options and many more to choose from. It allows entrepreneurs to connect with each other and learn different lessons from each others experiences. Check it out at startup.supercoolschool.com and leave me a comment on what you think. Peace.

Breakthrough!!

Okay people,

For the past few years I have been researching real estate investing, but it has definitely been more intense since I graduated college. For the past few months, I've been trying to figure out what my next move is going to be. I've been trying to find a mentor to help me along the process. So far, no luck. But I think tonight I may have met my match. I don't want to get my hopes up but I think we found a winner. I'll keep you posted!

Spotlight YBE: "Miss Success"

"What's the formula for success? Well I studied for this test." One of my favorite lines from J. Cole's song 'Heartache'. One young woman in particular was given the nickname 'Miss Success', at a very young age. Sakita Holley has been on the path to greatness for a long time. She has always been an independent, innovative thinker, wanting to go outside the box whenever she could.

 

After graduating high school, she attended Howard University. On-campus she was very involved in organizations such as PRSSA and Capstone Communications (serving as President of the student-run firm), internship programs, the Women's Lacrosse team (where she was Captain); among other things. After graduating from HU, Sakita continued to pursue her dreams to be an entrepreneur. She started freelancing under the guise, House of Success in 2006, and has been looking to grow the business ever since.

 

One of most admirable traits that she possesses is her commitment to making sure that the people around her also do well. She has a mission to help people recognize and manifest their potential, and ultimately maximize their success. It is from this that she gets her  gratification. Sakita still lends her excellent PR skills to a multitude of clients and is an active member in many organizations. Don't just take my word for it, because her work speaks for itself.

 

Check her out at sakitaholley.com and www.hos-pr.com , where she's, "Always thinking, Always creating."

CrEaTiVe SpAcE

Now if anybody knows me well, they know how much I love cartoons. They are the one thing that no matter how old I get, I will always watch them. Call it what you want, but it helps me keep my sense of humor going and my imagination. For some of you "mature" people that don't watch cartoons...well, you have to do something to spark and maintain your imagination and creativity. Tonight, I was sitting at my computer and channel surfing, and came across a show on CNBC about the animation giant Pixar. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, created Pixar.

The special that I saw told the story of the how the animators pushed Pixar to be the leader in computer animation. Their sole purpose was to create, and create at will. So in order to stimulate their creative process they had to have favorable conditions. This meant a unique workspace. It's amazing how a relaxed, fun environment can make it possible for people to create masterpieces. Even in the business world, your creativity is one of your most valuable assets. Set the right conditions to cultivate it and the results can be astounding! Here's a snippet of the film and at 1:27 you can get a sneak preview of what I'm talking about. For more on the film, you can go to

http://www.leslieiwerks.co/pixar.htm . and http://www.leslieiwerks.com/ . Enjoy, and try to figure out what your creative space looks like. You never know what can happen when your creative juices are flowing!

So...I'm in a position right now where I'm kind of stuck. I need to come up with a strategy. Planning is one of the most critical parts of doing almost everything in life. People who set out a plan and more importantly, EXECUTE it, usually become very successful. My issue is figuring out a clear,  concise plan. I'm taking one of my friend's advice (someone who is going to be part of "Spotlight YBE" later this week) and "dumping" my ideas out on paper. "Dumping" means writing your ideas down on paper or in a computer, without regard to structure or conscious thought. Just a continuous flow of thought. This process allows you to get your ideas out as raw as they are in your head. It helps you really see what your are thinking and help bridge the gap between the conscious and unconscious mind. When you are able to flow in and out of this conscientiousness at will, you can unlock your potential at an astounding rate. I am trying to make this connection but it is definitely a long process.Once I figure out my plan, then I can follow through and track my progress. In the mean time, I still have to move forward. Still researching, still writing, still creating. Everyday. If you have any suggestions, leave some comments and let me know. I LOVE the feedback! I'll keep you all updated on my status as it changes.Thanks for listening.

"The MisEducation"

I work at a high school in an urban area as a TA(teacher's assistant). I've only been at the school for a few weeks but I have already seen some issues that have rubbed me the wrong way. Outside of the obvious lack of resources, learning curve, and other issues, one sticks out to me in particular. Why is it that children in an urban area, if not in other areas, have entrepreneurship or finance as part of their curriculum? 

For finance, I'm not just talking about learning how just balance a check book or use a credit card (which by the way are important but not the only thing they need to know). I'm talking about cashflow, learning how to read financial statements, and what the different asset classes are and how they can attain them. Why do I pose this question you ask? 

The other day while I was in the school, I passed by a bulletin board that read, in big bold red letters 'GO TO SCHOOL, GET A JOB, AND BE HAPPY'. That really disturbed me. Most school systems are set up to have an academic and a professional(i.e. job training) component to their foundation. The two critical components that they lack are the ones that could eventually help some of these neighborhoods improve dramatically. FINANCIAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION!! These two aspects of the learning process can greatly affect a child's future endeavors. 

Most schools teach children to WORK for a great company. Why not teach them how to OWN a great company that can employ a lot of people? This subject always gets me frustrated because I see what happens when the education of how money can work FOR you gets overlooked...I see that I'm going to have to make this a series when I can give more information...until next time, keep your heads up!

Good Company

There's an old saying that you are the company that you keep. Well if that's the case then I'm definitely going to be successful, a million times over. I just had some great conversations within the past couple of days with people that have some very interesting insight on how they see opportunity in the world. Talking with people who have unique viewpoints gives you a chance to think about things that you may not have considered before. They're against the status quo.

One conversation involved a person who is  in the midst of making a life-changing decision that will either make or break them. They simply said, "If I do this and it doesn't work out, I'm okay with that. As long as I know that I did it I'm okay with the consequences." Now most people wouldn't have been okay with failing at a given task as my friend is. Admittedly, she told me that there are people making more money than she is, enjoying benefits and vacations at her job, but hate coming to work everyday(as does she). Problem is they are content with this mundane lifestyle, as long as they can reap the financial rewards. My friend isn't. She knows that there is something bigger than herself left to accomplish and she is going to at least try if not succeed at it.

Another one of my friends gives me an opportunity to explore my creative side. He is a renaissance man when it comes to the arts. It's his release and avenue of expression. He always tells me to try something out because the reason why other people are going to tell me that I can't do something is they too scared to do it themselves. The things that he has done thus far have amazed me because he makes sure that he creates before criticizes. That way the idea gets out first, then tweaking or perfecting it comes later.

Both of my friends, including countless others all have one thing in common: they help bring out the best in me. 

 1. They help push me

 2. Challenge me

 3. And hold me accountable for the mistakes I make and help me correct them

People like that always add to your overall aura and help manifest the positivity in your life. I'm sure that most of you have some people like this around you. It's the reason why I keep this type of company. You are always learning, always laughing, and always moving forward in the direction to success because your support system is successful and they want to see the same for you. So if you're not going in the direction you want to, aside from checking yourself, look at your company. Maybe you need to make some cuts on your team.