MSN:
Scott Smigler, 22, is one young entrepreneur who has learned some important lessons from his pursuit of entrepreneurship. Smigler started Exclusive Concepts Inc., a company that provides professional Web design and online marketing solutions to growing businesses, when he was only a freshman in high school. Smigler ran the company by himself at first, slowly building a reputation with his clients and gaining more business through word of mouth. As he put himself through college, he ran the business out of his dorm room until May 2002. Now, he has offices in Burlington, Massachusetts, and a staff of five, and expects to bring in sales of $300,000 in 2003. Between working full-time on his business, maintaining a 3.7 GPA as a finance major at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, and running the Entrepreneurship Society he co-founded at his school, Smigler took some time out of his 90-hour week to offer entrepreneurs of any age some advice: ten of the most important lessons he’s learned from starting and running his own business.
- It’s all about perseverance.
- Understand the value of mentorship and teamwork.
- Stick to your niche.
- Stay on top of news that affects your clients.
- Communication is key.
- Capitalization is crucial.
- Communicate unwavering honesty and integrity.
- Stay on top of the curve.
- Take ownership in your clients’ success.
- Never stop marketing.
Tim Schindlbeck on September 1st, 2004 at 7:23 am
Being an entrepreneur is actually not as easy as most make it to sound. Just because you are an incredibly intelligent individual does not mean you can just start a successful company. You must first find a market nitch. Of course you can try to use an idea already out there, but most entrepreneurs want their own spot in the business world. Something they can say “they” created. Also, you must have the capital in order to do so. Not everyone has parents that will hand them $10,000 to start a business.