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I would love to own my own business. I'm currently working on a business degree in university and hope to one day be the owner of a business that accomplishes something I am passionate about.
I'm sure that here at Geeks, there are a number of entrepreneurs. People who either own, or have owned there own business as well as those that have created subindustries within the industry they work.
I wish to ask a few things to these people. What made you want to start your own business? How did you go about doing it? What type of business are you? What difficulties have you faced? What pleasure do you derive from it? What qualifications do you have? I'm sure there are a number of other questions I could ask, so if you think of anything more you think I would be interested in, please share.
I'm sure that here at Geeks, there are a number of entrepreneurs. People who either own, or have owned there own business as well as those that have created subindustries within the industry they work.
I wish to ask a few things to these people. What made you want to start your own business? How did you go about doing it? What type of business are you? What difficulties have you faced? What pleasure do you derive from it? What qualifications do you have? I'm sure there are a number of other questions I could ask, so if you think of anything more you think I would be interested in, please share.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Pirillo on -
For me, it was all about... just being independent. Doing what I do and getting paid for it... and it's definitely got its fair share of ups-and-downs. Life is one big experiment for me. :)
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Permalink Reply by AlmosTwo on -
That's true.. "Life is one big experiment"
but i think the key of this is dont have fear of change.
take opportunities and make it grow.
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Permalink Reply by Kissa on -
First, thanks for starting this group. I was going to start a self-employed one but did want to get too many groups going and not keep up.
I started my web design business, for a very targeted market that I kinda fell into, as a side job. When I was fired for "Not being polished enough" I decided to just go full force into it and see where it would take me. That was in 2005 and I am still going strong with my husband working part time with me (and pursuing his tattoo apprenticeship) and a part time assistant. I have turned into a workaholic of sorts but I love what I do so it doesn't feel like it.
I love being my own boss and really don't think that I could ever work for someone else again.
The difficulties that I have faces is that I didn't get a degree of any sort other then my GED. I was 21 when I first started and l totally taught myself everything in the last 3 years. Every 6 months I am amazed by where I have come from, but I know that there is so much more to learn.
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Permalink Reply by AlmosTwo on
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Thanks kissa for share your life.
i want to be independent, is my goal in the future, i want not have fear about the money, your story give me strong to fight for it :)
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Permalink Reply by Trent Harvey on -
Perhaps I can answer some of your questions...
First let me tell you a little bit about me... I'm an 18 year old college freshman with a passion for technology and business and have been that way since I can remember. I started working on computers in 2nd grade and my family is rooted in entrepreneurship / business. I am currently attending a university in pursuit of a degree in Business Admin with a focus in Entrepreneurship and am currently working on my own start-up....
What made me want to start my own business is my passion for business and technology alike along with a desire to impact the world around me and, hopefully, make it better. My current venture isn't my first one. I made my first venture at the age of 12 where I started what I called a small company with some friends to build computers and sell them. We sold a total of 2 computers (both to family members) and then realized maybe we weren't quite ready yet. As I grew older I started my 2nd venture, an Wireless ISP for my hometown.... While in the process of starting it, I came into contact with a major ISP in a nearby major city where we discussed a partnership. I then had two formal meetings with them, after which they cut me off after being too focused on how I wanted to do things and less willing to be flexible. That was at the age 16...
Almost immediately following that I began to work on a design for a video game, an MMO, which I had always dreamed of creating. I again started a company and began to work on a design, began to assemble a programming and art team consisting of volunteers, and even began co-writing a storyline / book to go with the game. After a few months we made great progress. We had a steady flow of artwork being done, the design we nearly perfected (lacking just a few specific details about programming level stuff that I didn't understand and that would need to be filled in by programmers) and we had a growing interested community online. We had a team of programmers, some of which were more than qualified for the task of creating a game. The problem was, they weren't working... the ones who knew what they were doing weren't capable of doing the things that needed to be done before they could do what they needed, and the people who we had to do that task weren't qualified or wanted to be paid a large amount of money we didn't have. In the meantime, we had scheduled a pitch meeting with Microsoft Games. After hearing us out and very impressed by our materials we did have, they turned us down for reasons I cannot disclose. (NDAs and all) The company eventually fell apart with the prospect of a game publisher gone and most people losing their interest in working.
My latest start-up, EDunuity, is much smaller, much more focused and actually being funded by investors. EDunuity is created with Education in mind, "Education Meets Ingenuity." What we do is design and create innovative educational technology products. We're currently working on our very first product which will soon be pitched to Microsoft and other major industry players. I, and my business partner, went about starting this company by first coming up with a very clear and realistic idea of something we wanted to do, something we wanted to create, and for us something that solved a problem we faced. So we came up with an idea that was realistic and at the same time very ambitious and began to talk to some wealthy people we knew. We ended up getting a few on board with us who made some tiny donations (no more than a few grand). While we don't have a lot of capital, it was enough to get things moving. With a small amount of money from friends and family we incorporated and started working on cleaning up our designs and preparing a demo. We're currently moving very quickly towards completing a demo of some software we've designed.
As far as difficulties, being such a young age it has been hard when sitting down in business meetings to convince people that I'm credible. I've tal
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Permalink Reply by Trent Harvey on
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I would like to add, to my lengthy reply above, that the independence concept played a major role in it for me when deciding to go down that path. The idea of controlling where I go myself and hopefully gaining a sense of financial security in an unsecure economy.
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Permalink Reply by AlmosTwo on
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thanks Trent, i learn from your history that every episode of your life no metter if you have been successful or not you learn a lesson and thats the value of work.
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Permalink Reply by Trent Harvey on
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I think some of my lessons learned may have got cut-off (surprise surprise)... but yes, its been a great learning experience and I'm lucky enough to have been able to have them at a young age so that, even if they didn't work out, it can definitely come in handy and help me out in the future... Plus the networking is nice. :)
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Permalink Reply by waltip.com on -
Freedom to do or choose.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Oliver on -
Directed to Trent Harvey -- awesome bro! Keep it up! Keep shooting for those future goals and you will one day make it. You've got a head start on the future, don't slow your pace down.
Directed to Greg -- education is very important, good things are in store for you. Just remember you are being taught the same material as everyone in your class is. When you get out of school, think different and out of the box.
Directed to Kissa -- gosh can I relate. Sleeping in is one of the greatest joys in life. Being able to work at the beach, pool side, in bed, in a bubble bath, etc., has been amazing. Don't ever let someone tell you that you cannot do something and be successful. I just felt I had to say that. I would like to see some of your work and rates :).
For all those building a business now or in a few years. Before you do, look 10 years from now and predict where trend will go. We are in the age of information and where the internet consumes us. Where will YOUR business be in 10 years? So take some time and look towards the future and predict!
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