Building Your Business Muscles

It is often said that some entrepreneurs are born, while others are made. No matter which category you may fall under, it helps to have as much information as possible when getting started.

BizGym agrees. Much like a traditional gym where you would be required to exercise, their website forces you to flex your entrepreneurial skills. Whether you’re a student, small business owner, inventor, or running a non-profit, the resources they offer can help you grow the muscles you need to succeed. Best of all, their startup and business growth system is free. Could it get any better than that?

I recently asked Steve Sue, the founder and CTG (Chief Towel Guy, of course), a few questions about his website and the resources within.

Tell us a little about BizGym.

BizGym.com is a free business planning and pitch development application that anyone can use to grow a business. With BizGym, users can avoid common pitfalls of business development and make their sales pitches rock. For businesses seeking funding, BizGym is the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to generate an investment-grade business plan as well as 5-year financial projections. Best of all, BizGym is entirely plain-English with step-by-step Tips & Examples along the way so you don’t have to have business experience, an MBA education or fancy writing skills. All you need are great ideas and the will to succeed.

What inspired it?

BizGym grew out of author Steve Sue’s experience as a business visionary in the fields of themed real estate development, corporate branding and live entertainment production. Much of Steve’s career was working on think-tank teams where he noticed that most participants tended toward either left-brain or right-brain considerations but few had equal appreciation for both hemispheres. BizGym is therefore designed as a comprehensive & holistic business tool that converges both the “hard” and “soft” sides of business visioning.

BizGym is also a passionate run at helping re-build our failing economy. Entrepreneurship is what made America great and is what’s likely to drive future markets. BizGym is therefore committed to helping all-comers, regardless of background access the tools of freedom and the American Dream.

What are some of the resources you offer?

BizGym.com features 14 free business-building templates including:

– Free Mission Statement Template
– Free Business Plan Template
– Free Elevator Pitch Template
– Free Tips & Examples along the way
– 9 Free Business-Building Tutorials
– And an upgrade 5-year Financial Modeler

Who should sign up?

BizGym is designed for anyone with a business idea including:

– Entrepreneurs & Inventors
– Startups & Small Businesses
– Growth-Oriented Enterprises (for-profit & non-profit)
– Students (anyone old enough to read & enter content on a computer)

What separates you from other available business resources?

BizGym is a unique sound-bite based approach to business visioning. It’s a first of its kind knowledge management application for business that guides a user through very specific short dialogue question and answer formats to glean key language on they myriad of ideas that make up a business vision. BizGym templates all share sound-bite dialogue so as a user works any template, all others grow at the same time. It’s like a “MadLib” on steroids or a “Twitterized” version of a business plan.

Most importantly, BizGym’s sound-bite management approach converts the traditional static business plan into a “living document” that makes key idea bites easily and quickly accessible from even small format devices like cell phones. Imagine evolving your business vision from anywhere, anytime. It’s a sure way simultaneously minimize risk yet expedite growth.

Do you have any plans to monetize BizGym at some point? Will your website always be free for entrepreneurs?

Yes & Yes. BizGym.com currently offers upgrade plans for fancy stuff (as little as $4.95/mo.) like download to print formats, multiple projects per account and our super-easy Financial Modeler. Also, a Certified Coaching booking engine will soon be introduced which will provide specialty coaching by the hour. BizGym however remains committed to keeping all BizGym templates and tutorials free for all to use.

What are some goals that you’d like to accomplish in the next year or so?

BizGym Beta Version was launched just 4 weeks ago and has enjoyed early success by being adopted as official business curriculum and as a business plan competition submission device for the State of Hawaii, Department of Education (state-wide high schools), The University of Hawaii, Shilder College of Business and the Minnesota technology accelerator (Project Skyway). We never expected such a warm reception from educational institutions but we’re happy for them and are looking for additional educational partners that we can donate upgrade memberships for classroom use and offer partners an affiliate marketing commission for bringing paying users to the system (via website links). We’re also opening partnerships with several “kidpreneur” websites with affiliate commissions for paying members.

Other partnering verticals we’re interested in include banks and startup equity funders. BizGym offers a financing partner program whereby such partner can garner affiliate marketing commissions and use BizGym as an official submission device for loan and equity financing submissions.

Finally, we see a great need for entrepreneurial curriculum in business industry (chamber of commerces) and government-sponsored accelerators, incubators, accelerators and small business support groups. If anyone has any leads to get us into President Obama’s Startup America Partnership, PLEASE help us get connected so we can start affecting positive change as soon as possible.

Partnerships with educational, lending, financing, government, business support groups are what we’re all about this first year, so please hook us up with any potential partners.

What are some lessons your business has taught you?

Building Internet apps requires a lot more grinding than you might anticipate, so be prepared for significant time and cost overruns. Be fiscally conservative and have a backup plan. But, if you work hard and have an open mind to other’s ideas, you stand a great chance at getting off the ground into a ridiculously fun life.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

At BizGym, we’re a “double bottom-line company” which means that we’re a for profit enterprise, but maintain a higher view of how we also contribute and make the world a better place. This doesn’t mean you have to give away all your profits, it actually means remaining audience-focused and doing the “right” thing, whatever you deem that to be. That’s what true business vision is about. To validate the quality of your business vision, see our free Tombstone Test.

If you could sum up all of your business advice for new entrepreneurs into one sentence, what would you say?

Dream big and start gathering and brainstorming the myriad of ideas that make up a feasible vision. Record your evolving ideas (in BizGym.com of course!) and tap anyone who will agree to mentor you or contribute ideas to your business concept. Anyone can have great ideas: friends, relatives, co-workers, kids… you just have to listen, gather and structure all their big ideas. And anyone can be the entrepreneur, you just have to have the desire to get off the couch and into action.

Entrepreneurship is the great equalizer. Particularly now with BizGym, you don’t have to be of any socio-economic background, race, gender, age or educational background. The playing field of entrepreneurship is flat and opportunity is afforded to all. With entrepreneurship, you control your own destiny, grow at your own pace, reap the rewards of your hard work and it’s the vehicle to create a lasting legacy and positive impact upon the world. So get off the couch and into action! A beautiful future awaits you. Good luck!

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