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Choose the sections you need, or read the whole thing
from beginning to end. Print out pdfs of the files you want for reference.
We've designed this guide to meet your needs, and made it as usable as
possible. Let
us know if there's information you need and can't find here, and we'll
do our best to add it to the guide, or direct you to other quality resources.
As the title suggests, this guide should help you "get
started" as an entrepreneur. We’ve collected ideas from staff of
the National Collegiate
Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and the UMass
Five Colleges Entreclub, as well as students and professional in the
fields of innovation and entrepreneurship. We've enriched the text with
links from important online entrepreneurial resources, such as links to
Entreworld.org
(the web resource of the Ewing
Marion Kauffmann Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership)
and articles from Fast
Company, Entrepreneur,
Inc. Magazine,
and others. Each chapter touches on an important
theme of entrepreneurship. You can read the guide straight through, or
pull out individual sections for reference.
This resource is targeted to beginning student entrepreneurs.
If you’re an entrepreneur with some or a lot of experience, you may find
parts of it helpful, but your experience may already put you ahead of
the material in this guide. We intend for this resource to serve as a
jumping-off point that can lead you to other resources, including your
own inner resources, and send you on your way.
We’ve written this manual to help you as a student entrepreneur, or a
student with entrepreneurial dreams, get your business off the ground.
Although the content is aimed mainly toward high-growth or technology
entrepreneurship, we do use a few examples from lifestyle-type businesses,
and believe that they share some common traits with technology businesses.
Even within our own ranks we don't always agree about
exactly what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. One of the thrills
of entrepreneurship is that you’ll develop your business in the way that
best suits you and your customers, and you’ll think of ways to tailor
your products or services that no one has thought of before.
While it sounds handy to have a step-by-step
description of how to build a business at your fingertips, it doesn’t
work that way. Entrepreneurship is not a linear process that starts at
point A and ends at point Z. Think of your business as a story with a
plot and characters that evolve as you go. You’ll encounter lots of surprises
along the way. It’s the mystery unfolding that holds fascination for many
entrepreneurs. You can’t count on any one road to success. Your successes
and failures will build into the big story of your enterprise.
Maybe you already know the answer to this question.
Or maybe it’s something you’re still learning about yourself. To rephrase,
what kind of an opportunity are you looking for? Is it your invention
or idea itself that excites you? Or is it the notion of turning an idea
into a business and taking it to commercial success? Your dreams might
fall somewhere between these two extremes. Take a little time to assess
where your ambitions lie--focusing your thoughts will help you get more
out of this guide and start your enterprise right. Knowing your own desires
and limitations will also help you hook up with suitable business partners.
People toss around the phrase “entrepreneurial
spirit” like it’s something in the water. Those who have struggled and
made it as entrepreneurs understand the level of sacrifice required, and
acknowledge the intense energy they’ve found within themselves to make
those sacrifices. Entrepreneurs describe themselves as hard-nosed and
aggressive. They accept no obstacles to their success, but get up after
each fall and carry on. They are consummate optimists and problem-solvers,
who temper their enthusiasm with bucketsful of common sense.
The entrepreneurial mindset (audio
file)
Effective entrepreneurs don’t use their energy and ambition exclusively
for making money and killing the competition. Many use entrepreneurship
as an outlet for creativity, and a means of challenging themselves and
developing specialized skills. And if your entrepreneurial activities
lead you to new ventures that meet essential needs of other people in
the world, your efforts will be worthwhile not only to you, but to society
as a whole.
Key motives for self-employment (audio
version) (pdf
transcript)
Why be an entrepreneur? (audio
version) (pdf
transcript)
Guiding principles for entrepreneurship (audio
version) (pdf
transcript)
Taking control of the situation (audio
version) (pdf
transcript)
The coming entrepreneurial century (audio
version) (pdf
transcript)
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