Entrepreneurial advice: Tips from successful businesspeople

Friday, 3 November 2006 @ 11:56pm by Kathleen Bright

I recently nominated myself for the KCL Enterprise committee (position of Webmaster) and one of the things I mentioned in my personal statement is how much I love helping people. Currently, my main areas of interest are in entrepreneurship & related, so that's what I'm focusing on.

With that in mind, here are some excellent resources I've found online; with highlights. (This entry is similar, in type, to my speedlinking posts. However, it has more of my commentary than they tend to).

MIT Entrepreneurship Centre: Collection of Entrepreneurial Wisdom

The harder I work, the luckier I get.
Passion, Passion, Passion! (Christiana Thoda Burgess)
No mystery to success, just passion, determination and perseverance…when everyone else quits. (Ginni Rometty)
Always consider the possibility that what you expect to happen won't and what you don't expect to happen will. (Bob Dalias)
Those who say it can't be done should stay clear of those who are doing it.

Using Technology to Your Advantage

"We live in an era where information is king, and it's a professional businessperson's responsibility to know how to use information and technology to their advantage. This is critically important to internalize because the sooner you use the available technology to your advantage, the sooner you'll beat your competition in growing your business."

If you're not a geek; get one. (I'm available!)

"Hire people to compensate for your weaknesses"

Not particularly relevant for startups, I thought, especially in the early stages. However, I think it includes a vital concept – involving people (somehow) who will compensate for your weakness, more than complementing your skills.

Bonus find: Startup Review

"Startup Review is a blog that profiles successful Internet start-ups in a case study format. The case studies are created through interviews with early employees at the companies profiled and industry experts."

Startup Review, found in Business Week: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know (which wasn't so great, in my opinion)

My personal statement: Vote me on to the committee because…

I love technology, specifically all things Internet-related and I love helping and teaching people how to make the most of computers. I think this is really important as computers are increasingly paramount in all areas of life, especially in business.

I have previous experience teaching people how to make the most of technology. I'm currently working for a business and technology startup (Night Island) as Creative Director, so I have many contacts who provide a variety of computer-related services and who understand many of the needs startups have.

I'm excellent at creating and maintaining websites from scratch (at one point I was running 10 simultaneously!) I'm very dedicated, for example, I regularly and frequently update my entrepreneur website – All Things Bright (inspirewithhope.com) – which I've been running for three months. I love helping people.