Extra Helpings of Entrepreneurial Ideas to Start or Grow Your Business
Brief Bits of Advice to Get You Motivated and On the Right Track
Hope your 2023 is off to a great start! 👋👋🏿👋🏽 Looking to break out and start your own business? Here are some fresh tips from entrepreneurs who’ve done it. They’ll share what worked, what didn’t and spark ideas for your startup idea. Check out what they’re saying.
SANDRA SHORTER, Ed.D., FOUNDER & CEO OF THE NAKED CUPCAKE
FAVORITE PODCAST, ESPECIALLY FOR GETTING IDEAS FROM OTHER ENTREPRENEURS:
“So my favorite guilty pleasure podcast for business owners is How I Built This by Guy Ross. It is so good because it helps you see what’s possible and connects you to the stories of others as an entrepreneur.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “I learned from… the people who started Boom Chick a Pop that they gave shares of their business to the people who were there at the beginning who weren’t getting paid much.”
🌴 If you’d like to read more of Sandra Shorter’s advice, just click here for Part One and here for Part Two.
CARLOS PEREZ, FOUNDER & CEO OF PEREZ TECHNOLOGY GROUP
WHY YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR OWN “BOARD OF DIRECTORS” & GATHER THEM ANNUALLY:
“Build your board of directors. And bring [your] board of directors together once a year. And you know, bring in the financial guy. Bring in the marketer. Bring in the… accountant. Bring all these people into a room and come up with a vision for next year. And listen to each and every one of them and pay for their time because it’s well worth it - the value they will bring you.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “If the marketer says, ‘We need do this. It’s going to cost this much.’ Well, the finance guy needs to respond, ‘Hey, this is the budget for next year, so we need to be able to work with this.’”
🌴 Carlos Perez has more tips to share to help you with your entrepreneurial dreams. You can find them in Part One and Part Two.
PEDRO SOSTRE, FOUNDER & CEO OF NAVIGATE ACCELERATOR
THE “OTHER” BENEFIT OF GOING TO COLLEGE
Pedro Sostre thinks college is getting an undeserved bum rap lately. He says people are asking, “Is there really value in… going to school? Do you really make that money back?”
Sostre says, “At the end of the day, college is like anything else. It’s what you make of it. And if you build your network in college, that network goes on to… further your career [and] get you funded. You know, all kinds of benefits. But there is a cost to that… You may get some student debt.”
He says those are the “costs that you have to pay to build that network.”
🌴 Want to learn more from serial entrepreneur, Pedro Sostre? Just click here for Part One and here for Part Two.
JAVIER BERRIOS, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT OF EAGLE EQUIPMENT SERVICE 1, CORP.
ON THE FIRST STEP TO TAKE TO START A BUSINESS:
“The first thing they need to do is to study. Do a business plan. Not just to go out there and just think, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this business.’ No. You really have to do a business plan first. And do it step by step…”
🌴 Did you miss the Generation Si! profile of Javier Berrios? You can catch it here.
HECTOR GARCÍA, CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF INMYTEAM
ON THE TEMPTATION TO START MANY BUSINESSES, ESP. IF YOU HAVE A TECH BACKGROUND:
“Since we can do everything… We can create ads. We can create a website. We can do a lot of stuff. You think that everything is a business… I have seen a lot of people, and I have made that mistake, as well, that they want to found… four [businesses]. And they want to do them at the same time. And that’s impossible. At least for me. If you want to do something well… focus. And you have to do [it] one at a time.”
🌴 Hector García has a lot more advice to share to help you become a small business owner. Read Part One here and Part Two here.
ANIA RODRIGUEZ, FOUNDER & CEO OF KEY LIME INTERACTIVE & CO-FOUNDER OF JOURNEYTRACK
THE WEBINAR FOUNDER SHE RECOMMENDS TECH ENTREPRENEURS LEARN FROM:
Ania Rodriguez recommends you check out webinars from Jared Spool. “He draws a lot of… young starters, if you will…”
Rodriguez says he’s known for “setting up a webinar series that can really teach you some things… I think he does a good job…”
🌴 Interested in finding out Ania Rodriguez’s other tips for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs? Check them out here for Part One and here for Part Two.
JUAN JURADO-BLANCO, CO-FOUNDER & CEO OF CLOCKOUT
BEST ENTREPRENEURIAL RESOURCE IF YOU DON’T HAVE A BUSINESS BACKGROUND:
“If you’re in Florida, I would advise [you] to go up to Refresh Miami. They have a lot of resources on starting up a company, hiring people, how to do market research, how to do surveys, how to get funding, how to try to create an MVP (minimum viable product)…”
🌴 If you missed the Generation Si! profile of Juan Jurado-Blanco, you should check it out right here.
SEBASTIAN GARCIA, FOUNDER OF THE LAPEL PROJECT (WON A DEAL ON THE TV SHOW, SHARK TANK) & FOUNDER OF MY GROOM’S ROOM
WHY YOU SHOULD EDUCATE YOUR CLIENTS ON YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE:
“People don’t like what they don’t know.” That’s why Garcia says you have to educate the client by letting them know, ‘There’s a product out there that’s going to give you what you want. Let me show [you].’”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “My wedding company, My Groom’s Room, grew… a lot faster than the lapels…” Garcia says it was because people didn’t know what to make of the lapels he was selling. They would ask him, “What is this? I’ve never seen this.”
That was until he showed them how the lapels worked.
Note: Garcia’s approach worked with Mark Cuban, who offered him a deal on the hit show, “Shark Tank.”
🌴 Curious about Sebastian Garcia’s entrepreneurial journey? You can read about it here for Part One and here for Part Two.
KATY FERRER, JOURNALIST & SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER BEHIND “KATY ESTILO MAMÁ”
WHY YOU SHOULD THINK OF MONEY IN POSITIVE TERMS:
“I think your relationship with money is fundamental. Also, my father always taught me that money is good. Money helps you help others… I think it’s a mistake that many people grew up believing that money is bad, that money is dirty… Thank God my dad, in that sense, was the opposite. He always showed me that money is an important vehicle for having quality of life and being able to give to others.”
🌴 If you want to know more about how Katy Ferrer transitioned from journalist to social media influencer, you can learn more here in Part One and here in Part Two.
🌴 The next Generation Si! newsletter will be back to featuring a full profile of a Latino entrepreneur sharing their business journey with you.
🌴 In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
🌴 Thank you for your support! Wishing you a productive and happy day. #theskyisNOTthelimit