A Must-Attend Event: 2010 Las Vegas Business Summit

Anyone reading the Blogtrepreneur site is most likely either an entrepreneur or wants to be an entrepreneur.  In either case, you’ll definitely want to attend the Perfect Business Summit 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, October 7^th and 8^th.  This incredible event is packed with influential keynote speakers and information-loaded breakout sessions to provide you with the information and contacts you need to build the business you’ve always wanted.  This is the nation’s largest entrepreneur summit, so whether you’re looking for financing in the form of VC, Angel, or bank capital, hoping to make connections critical to your success, or seeking advice for taking your business to the next level, this event will provide what you need.

The speakers

Who knows better how to make it big as an entrepreneur than those who have made it happen?  So if you want the same, you need to listen to masters.  The Perfect Business Summit 2010 delivers with some of the biggest names in entrepreneurship.  Here are just a few of the speakers you can expect to see in Vegas:

John Paul DeJoria - Founder of Paul Mitchell and Patron Tequila

Gavin Maloof - Owner of Palms Casino and the Sacramento Kings

Tony Hsieh - CEO of Zappos

Isaac Tigrett - Founder of Hard Rock Cafe and House of Blues

Brad Huntstable - Founder & President of Ustream.tv

The list goes on and on. In fact, there are over 30 speakers lined up for this year’s event, including founders, authors, media personalities, and much more!

As if that wasn’t enough…

How would you like a chance to get your business funded?  If you’re seeking capital or business partners for a new business, you’ll be interested in “the event within the event,” called The Perfect Pitch 2010. Perfect Pitch gives you the chance to introduce your business to hundreds of accredited investors and entrepreneurs representing more than $10 BILLION in capital.  This is your ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME opportunity to pitch your business idea to more than 100 angel and venture capital investors and a conference full of more than 2,000 entrepreneurs and business leaders.  The deadline for Perfect Pitch is August 26, 2010 though, so you have to get on it now!  Just click on the ‘Pitch’ link at the website for all the details.

Still want more?

How about a discount on attendance?  Because our YoungEntrepreneur.com site is an event sponsor, our readers get a $20 discount off entrance to the event!  Not only that, but if you aren’t able to make it to Las Vegas, you can still catch the live streaming event at a discounted rate of just $87.  Just click the ‘Live Streaming’ link on the website, and you’ll not just get to watch live, but you’ll have access to the recorded event for a full year!  That’s truly an unbelievable deal! So, just use any link in this post to access the website, and your discount will be automatic. (In the unlikely event the discount does not show up, simply type “YE” in the ‘Gift Code’ field.)

The bottom line: If you only attend one business event in 2010, this should be the one. Make the pilgrimage to Las Vegas, and meet the people who can transform your business.  My brother, Matthew, and I will be at the event, and we’d love to meet as many Entrepreneurs as possible.  So do what you need to do to make it happen, and we’ll see you there!

20 Amazing Women Entrepreneurs

These days, it seems successful entrepreneurs are popping up everywhere.  And some of the most impressive entrepreneurial success stories are those of women who have accomplished amazing things in every area of business imaginable.  From IT to retail, and from marketing to inventions, women have shown they are a force to be reckoned with.  So we’ve put together a list of 20 of these amazing women to pay tribute to their accomplishments and recognize their contributions to the entrepreneurial world.  They are truly an inspiration to us all.

	Sarah Prevette - Sprouter.com An entrepreneur long immersed in the startup community, Sarah has a firsthand familiarity with the common pitfalls of early stage startups and a grasp of the tips and tools that foster success.  Sarah is the founder of Sprouter.com, and the Twestival Organizer for Toronto.
	Mari Smith - MariSmith.com Dubbed “the pied piper of the online world” by Fast Company Magazine, Mari Smith is a relationship marketing specialist and social media keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant. Mari believes that “there’s no such thing as competition, most definitely for the small business owner and certainly for the solopreneur, because there’s only one ‘you’.”
	Gabrielle Bernstein - Gabrielle Bernstein Inc. In her book, “Add more ~ing to Your Life,” Gabrielle Bernstein says, “My mission in this lifetime is to help guide my generation to shift their search for happiness from the outside to the inside.” Gabrielle is also the founder of Women’s Entrepreneurial Network, a non-profit professional organization that connects female entrepreneurs, and HerFuture.com, which connects women with mentors.
	Genevieve Thiers - SitterCity.com Genevieve Thiers is the founder of SitterCity.com, the $5 million Inc. 500 company that matches service providers with service seekers in the areas of babysitting, housekeeping, tutoring, and more.  Based in Chicago, the site hosts over a million profiles and provides services coast to coast.
	Maxine Clark - Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Maxine Clark served as the President and Chief Merchandising Officer at Payless Shoesource, Inc. prior to starting Build-A-Bear Workshop.  The company has over 340 stores all over the world and has annual revenues of over $120 million.
	Robin Koval - Kaplan Thaler Group, Ltd As co-founder of the Kaplan Thaler Group, Robin Koval is a marketing strategist and new products expert.  Her marketing ideas include, the “Yes, Yes, Yes” Herbal Essences campaign as well as the famous AFLAC duck quack.  Robin is also the best selling author of several books on marketing.
	Nancy Evans - iVillage.com Nancy Evans is co-founder of iVillage.com: The Women’s Network. The company, begun in 1995, provides effective solutions to everyday challenges facing women in their many roles as professionals, parents, friends and partners.  iVillage was acquired by NBC Universal, Inc. in 2006.
	Ann Moore - Inventor of The Snugli A pediatric nurse by trade, Ann Moore invented the Snugli, a baby-carrying sling, while on a Peace Corps mission in the 1960s.  To this day, Snugli is the most popular on-body baby carrier in the world, and is now owned by Evenflo.
	Linda Mason - Bright Horizons Family Solutions Founded by Linda Mason in 1986, Bright Horizons is the world’s leading provider of employer-sponsored child care, back-up care, early education, and work/life solutions.  Linda Mason is also the author of The Working Mother’s Guide to Life: Strategies, Secrets, and Solutions.
	Lisa Druxman - Stroller Strides Stroller Strides, Lisa Druxman’s brainchild, was started out of a need for Lisa to stay fit right after having her first child.  She started the business from her home in San Diego, and now the company boasts over 300 franchises nationwide.
	Carrie Wilkerson - Barefoot Marketing Group Carrie Wilkerson, known as The Barefoot Executive, is the founder of Barefoot Marketing Group, where Carrie and her network of experts have quickly become the definitive resource for work at home professionals. (Check out our interview with Carrie - here.)
	Gina Bianchini - Ning.com After Harmonic Communications, a company she co-founded, was acquired by Dentsu, Gina Bianchini co-founded Ning, an online platform for people to create their own social networks. Ning was launched in 2005 and has since raised over $104 million in capital and has become a top 100 global website and one of the world’s most valuable start-ups.
	Juliette Brindak - MissOandFriends.com One of the most inspiring stories on our list, Juliette Bindak founded her company, Miss O and Friends, at the age of 10.  By the time she was 19, just last year, the company had a value of more than $15 million.  She also published her first book at the age of 16, which has sold over 120,000 copies.
	Ali Brown - Ali International Recognized on the 2009 Inc 500 list and recipient of the 2010 Enterprising Women of the Year award, Ali Brown is a true entrepreneur.  She quit her job in 1998 and was down to less than $20 when she wrote an e-book, and everything changed. She has since become a foremost authority in driving sales and marketing via e-mail publishing, and even publishes her own magazine, Ali.
	Loral Langemeier - LiveOutLoud.com After reaching a net worth of $1 million, Loral Langemeier decided she would start Live Out Loud, a coaching and seminar company to help others reach this same level of success. The company started small with one office in 2002 and within 5 years grew to a $19 million dollar company.  She is also the resident money expert on the Dr. Phil Show.
	Sara Blakely - Spanx 2002 Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner Sara Blakely says on her Spanx website, “With $5,000 in savings out of the back of my apartment, a whole lot of internet research, patent writing, cold-calling, less-than-shy demonstrations for buyers, and a call from Oprah…Spanx was born!”  Sara has also formed the Sara Blakely Foundation, which focuses on supporting and empowering women around the world.
	Amilya Antonetti - Lucky Napkin Because of a severe allergic reaction her newborn son had to synthetic cleaning products, Amilya Antonetti founded Soap Works, a company that produced natural cleaning products.  After selling the company, Amilya started Lucky Napkin, a company that assists people in taking their ideas “from mind to market.”
	Susan Handley - Beijo Bags Susan Handley first started designing handbags when she was ten years old.  Now, Beijo Bags provides opportunities for over 1000 independent sales reps all over the US and Canada to have fun and make money, selling top quality handbags and accessories.  The company currently produces over $25 million in annual sales.
	Kate Everett Thorp - Divine Caroline (Real Girls Media) Named one of the Top 25 Women to Watch by Advertising Age, Kate Everett Thorp has masterminded a media network for women, called Real Girls Media.   She has received numerous accolades, including Real Girls Media being named in OnMedia’s Top 100 Companies list.
	Janet Rickstrew - Tomboy Tools After attending a Pampered Chef party 2000, Janet Rickstrew saw an opportunity for a similar concept with tools designed just for women, and Tomboy Tools was born.  The company started with less than 1,000 square feet of warehouse space and now operates a 13,000 square-foot distribution facility on Denver’s West Side.  Their Hammer Out Breast Cancer campaign has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Please join us in congratulating these amazing entrepreneurial women on their inspiring successes. And if you’re an amazing woman entrepreneur, be sure to share you story with us!

Success Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe

Why are some people wildly successful in business, while others just don’t seem to ever get anything going?  Sometimes the reasons are obvious.  Someone who’s lazy, unpleasant to be around, overly negative, or just plain dumb, for instance, doesn’t have much chance of being a business success.  They might win the lottery or something like that, but they won’t be able to successfully build a sustainable business.  It’s not always as clear why someone is successful though, and many people who haven’t yet seen success resort to believing and repeating common myths to explain it.

The danger in buying into these myths is that they rob power from those who believe them.  If you believe people are only successful if luck is on their side, for example, you’re saying success is out of your control.  So look over this list of myths and realities and endeavor to eliminate these beliefs from your mind.  Your business and your life will be better for it.

The Family History Myth: Some people are successful because they were born into a rich or entrepreneurial family.

Reality: As with most myths, there can be a piece of truth in this one.  If a person’s family has the resources to support their entrepreneurial dreams, or if they grew up learning about business, they can be said to have some degree of advantage.  Stories abound, however, of people who inherited the family business only to run it into the ground and end up broke.  There are also plenty of stories about people who were handed family fortunes and squandered them away.  The reality is that even though it can be helpful to have the advantage of a family history of success, a person with such a heritage still has to do what’s necessary to be successful with those advantages.  The reality is, even with an advantageous family history, you still have to work for your success.

The R.P.R.T. Myth: Successful people make it because they’re in the right place at the right time.

Reality: It does help to be in the right place at the right time.  Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to this.  But that’s not the whole story.  First, any successful entrepreneur who was in the right place at the right time, had to be the right person in the right place, at the right time.  In other words, just being clued in on a trend, discovering an innovation, or getting a hot tip isn’t enough.  In fact there are opportunities coming at us - all of us - all the time.  We’ve all been in the right place at the right time at some point, and we will be again and again.  It’s those who recognize those opportunities and act upon them who reap the rewards.  Have you ever had a brilliant idea that you didn’t act on and then saw the same idea come to fruition for someone else years later?  You were in the right place at the right time for the idea to come to you, and so was the person who made it happen.  The reality is that “R.P.R.T.” can’t make it happen.  Taking the opportunity given to you in the right place at the right time and making it successful takes work, dedication and focus, not luck.

The Who You Know Myth: People are only successful if they’re lucky enough to know the right people.

Reality: Many stories of success can be attributed to the saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know.”  In fact no true success story happens with someone doing it all on their own with no support from anyone else.  Knowing the “right” people can indeed contribute to your success in many ways.  What this myth fails to take into consideration is how successful people go about getting to know the right people.  Successful entrepreneurs are networkers.  They attend conferences, workshops, business fairs, and anything else they can find where they’ll have the chance to mix and mingle with like-minded business people.  It isn’t luck that they know the right people, it’s their dedication to learn and grow through those relationships that has led them to the right people.  Is it lucky that they happened to be at a conference with the one person who could help them take their business to new heights?  Maybe you could say that, but they had to meet that person, talk to them, and do whatever it took to get them involved.  No luck involved there.

The Timing Myth: Many successful people just so happen to launch their businesses at just the right time.

Reality: “The right time” is when there’s a need, and the most successful companies become successful because there is a need for their product or service.  That’s kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it?  But this rarely has to do with chance.  Entrepreneurs watch trends.  They stay tuned into the market and the needs of their customers and consumers in general.  Most importantly, they take that information and act on it.  Successful people don’t let fear stand in the way of their dreams.  They take risks, and often those risks pay off.  This myth doesn’t take into account that most entrepreneurs have started several businesses during their entrepreneurial life.  Some might have been successful, and many might have failed.  The key is that they keep going.  They keep trying until they make it happen.

The Background Myth: People who build successful businesses have the right education, training, work experience, friends, family, and mentors.

Reality: This myth combines several of the other myths and says that the only way to be successful is to be “lucky” enough to have outside factors working in your favor.  The reality is that, almost without exception, successful entrepreneurs have realized their accomplishments because of what’s inside themselves, not because of their circumstances.  Indeed, many have realized success in spite of their circumstances.  We hear often about high achieving people with no formal training, little to no formal education, and very few if any advantages over “average” people.  The truth is, success comes not so much from where you’ve been as from where you know in your heart you’re headed.

Successful people define luck as when preparedness meets opportunity.  Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you that matters”?  Maybe we can consider the “what happens to you” part as luck.  Often we have little control over what happens, so maybe that’s called luck - good or bad.  But when it comes to success, the luck piece of the equation won’t take you far.  It’s what you do with your luck that determines your success.  So if you’re counting on luck to make you a successful entrepreneur, good luck with that!

Avoid Becoming a Statistic - 5 Startup Hazards to Avoid

Statistics about startup failures are widely known by entrepreneurs as well as those thinking about starting their own businesses.  The SBA says that only 44% of new business startups can expect to still be doing business just four years after inception.  Even if businesses that were closed by choice, or due to retirement, the owner moving on to something else, or another planned exit strategy are ignored, and if we ignore non-traditional “business opportunity” type businesses, where commitment levels are infamously low, the statistic is still discouraging.  To those not sturdy of heart, numbers like these could be more than enough reason to want to throw in the towel before even beginning down the entrepreneurial path.  But don’t give up just yet.  While there are certainly no guarantees of success, planning for likely difficulties can considerably lessen your chances of becoming part of the bleak stats.

5 Common Startup Hazards

Be aware of these ten common pitfalls and keys to overcome them:

1. Family Ties. Starting a business is going to affect your family.  Whether you’re shifting around the family finances to cover startup costs, taking time away from home to tend the store, or converting an extra bedroom into your office, your family will likely need to make some adjustments to accommodate your new venture.  Success key: Get them involved.  Even if your new business isn’t the type where the kids can help in daily operations, just keeping everyone in the loop will go a long way toward mutual support.  From the beginning, let your family know what you’re doing and what sacrifices you’ll be asking of them.  Listen to their concerns, and even their advice.  Remember, they aren’t likely to be as excited about your new venture as you are, so they might just add some needed impartiality.  Talk about the changes you’re making, and avoid family matters deflating your ambitions.

2. Isolation. By nature, entrepreneurs tend to be independent people.  We love the idea of being “self-made.”  Be careful not to isolate yourself though.  Particularly in the beginning stages of business, we can easily get caught up in all that needs to be done and forget the importance of staying connected.  Success Key: Network, network, network.  The old saying is true: what you know isn’t as important as who you know.  Don’t try to go it alone.  In between your other activities, make time to network within your community of business people.  You’ll find valuable contacts to help you with everything from advice on your marketing and website, to the best ways to find suppliers and clients.  And once your business is going strong, don’t give up networking.  You’ll benefit from learning new marketing strategies, staying current on business trends, and building lasting relationships that can be priceless as you grow.  To find local groups that meet regularly, check out Meetup.com.

3. Overload. Any entrepreneur has a lot on his/her plate no matter what.  But one thing that will take the wind out of your sails and kill your startup before it ever really gets off the ground is becoming overwhelmed with all you have to do and not having a plan to deal with it.  Even if you’ve gone through all the proper planning and you’ve thought your business through backwards and forwards, it’s unlikely you thought of everything.  So although it looks like you can handle everything on paper as a one-person show, it doesn’t take many unexpected fires before you can start to feel like you’re in over your head.  Success Key: Delegate the stuff you hate. For all of us there are tasks we’d rather give to someone else.  They’re the ones that are boring, tedious, or take you longer than anything else, because they just aren’t what motivates you.  Another way to look at it is to identify those tasks that are not directly contributing to building your business.  For example, accounting is absolutely necessary, but if accounting isn’t your business, someone else should be doing it.  If employees aren’t in the cards, consider a virtual assistant for those tasks that are distracting you from your core responsibilities.  Whatever you do, don’t let overload kill your business.

4. Productivity Drainers. It’s 2 o’clock on a warm, sunny day, and your friend calls you up to invite you to have a couple of beers on the patio at your favorite restaurant.  You remember point number 2 above, and think, “Well, I don’t want to isolate myself, and hey, I’m my own boss, so why not!”  Hold on a minute.  There will be a time, if you do what it takes to make your business successful, when you can take it easy and goof off for the afternoon.  While you’re in startup mode is not that time.  Success Key: Create and stick to a schedule.  Especially when you’re first starting out in a new venture, making the best use of your time is critical.  Don’t let diversions pull you away from what’s important to you.  Also, you’ll want to be sure to organize your work area, use prioritized to-do lists, and implement a scheduling system to keep track of appointments and contacts.  Even if it’s just Outlook or the calendar in your Blackberry, putting your to-dos and appointments in something other than your head frees your mind to focus on your business and keeping headed in the right direction.

5. Money Issues. Just as starting a business is going to affect your family; it’s also going to affect your finances.  Hopefully, it’s a positive effect, but not usually for a while.  If you’re expecting to make a killing right off the bat, you have to know that’s not typical.  That’s not to say it can’t happen, but it would be foolish to count on it.  And nothing will kill your business and your enthusiasm for it faster than the worry and strife that comes with running out of money.  Success Key: Expect the best, and prepare for the worst.  Speaking of statistics… The number one reason startups fail is lack of capitalization.  The key is to balance your optimism about the success of your business with the reality that there are likely to be ups and downs.  Even in best case scenarios, business is cyclical, so simply plan for those cycles.  Make sure that you have enough reserve to get you through the lean times, and don’t spend like a drunken sailor during the good times.  Plan ahead, save, and spend wisely, and you’ll get to party like it’s 1999 soon enough!

Share your startup story, in the comments below.  What are or were your biggest obstacles?   What have you done to get past them and avoid the statisticians?

Viral Video Winner and New Contest Announcement!

One thing is for sure: If you’re going to be a successful entrepreneur, you’d have creative abilities.  Not that you have to be artistic.  Creativity comes in many forms.  Whether we’re devising new solutions to old problems, creating blog or marketing copy or designing more streamlined business processes, we entrepreneurs use creativity all the time.  Because we know that creativity is so important to entrepreneurship - and because we like to have a lot of fun, our other site, YoungEntrepreneur.com, recently ran a viral video contest.  After collecting a ton of video submissions from young entrepreneurs who we challenged to come up with a Young Entrepreneur-themed video with viral potential, we came up with a winner, to whom we awarded a $500 cash prize!

Here’s our winner!

What made this video a winner?  First of all, we think it’s hilarious!  Next, the editing is super creative, and the skit itself shows a lot of creativity.  The message in the video is actually pretty clever too.  As an entrepreneur, have you ever had to deal with someone who just didn’t get “the whole Internet thing” or how social media or other tools vital to your business worked?  We all have to some extent, even if it was a family member or friend asking when we’re going to “get a real job”!

Nick Scheidies and Josh Stevens of Next Level Ink are the two guys who put this video together.  These two personify what entrepreneurs are all about.  They’ve each founded and managed several ventures, and while still involved in other projects, they head up Next Level Ink, a Longmont, Colorado-based creative media agency, specializing in audio and video.  They’re passionate about taking each of their clients’ brands to the next level with unique, personalized, and professional media. And because they’re just getting on their feet, they’re able to do it for less.  Also, they are both self-taught when it comes to audio and video production.

Announcing a monthly Viral Video Contest!

Want to get in on the chance to win $500 cash?  We’re excited to announce that we’re kicking off an ongoing Viral Video Contest.  Each month we’ll sort through video entries to find a single winner who will win a $500 cash prize and some great exposure in an article like this one!  Here are the details:

- Create a video - Create a video with a young entrepreneur theme and upload it to YouTube.com.

- Include our logo - Include this image within your video.

-  Submit your entry - Use our contact form to submit your entry.  Just fill out all the fields, typing “Viral Video
Contest” in the Subject box, and a link to your video in the Message box.

-  Rules -

• Entry deadline is the last day of the month, with the first deadline occurring 8/31/2010.  Winner will be notified by the 15^th of the month following entry.
• We will accept one entry per contestant per month.  If you submit more than one video in a calendar month without prior approval, only the first entry will be considered.
• To be considered, your video must be young-entrepreneur-themed and must include the YoungEntrepreneur.com logo within the video.
• This contest is open to everyone, and the prize will be paid in US dollars via prepaid Visa debit card or PayPal at the winners choosing.
• It is acknowledged that judging is 100% subjective, and the decisions of the judges (us) are final.

So that’s all there is to it.  Start shooting, and get your first video to us by August 31, 2010.  You could have $500 in your hands and your business in front of thousands of readers shortly thereafter!

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