Beyond Stereotypes

I noticed it immediately - indeed it was unmistakable: The charged-up energy of entrepreneurship. It hit me like a wave as soon as I arrived at Perfect Pitch 2009, the entrepreneur/investor conference I attended this week.

The level of excitement, stress and pure self-promotion at the conference seemed almost testosterone-fueled. Perhaps that's because the audience - and presenters - were mostly male. Or perhaps it's because there's a mythos that surrounds entrepreneurs, who are usually portrayed as hard-charging, risk-taking extroverts.

But that popular perception, however ubiquitous, may be off the mark. Dr. Candida Brush, an professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College, writes that being a successful entrepreneur is more about what you do than who you are.

Dreaming the American Dream

Lots of wanna-be entrepreneurs looking for advice on going into business for themselves these days. Take this future interior designer.

I've also answered questions recently from an aspiring sports merchandiser and a someday ex-pat jeweler.

Wait, don't let me forget the soon-to-be luggage designer looking for a domestic manufacturer!

It's funny, but I never get tired of investigating these folks' dilemmas and finding good advice for them. The questions are endlessly interesting to me and the information is so readily - and satisfyingly - accessible online.

I hope it is helpful to my readers as well.

Business Boot Camp

I defy you to find a better bargain than the one being offered through the Women In Business program this year at the Women's City Club of Pasadena.

They're putting together a "Dream Business Program" that takes entrepreneurs through all the building blocks of starting, growing and operating a business. It's a 26-week course that will help you write a business plan, come up with an elevator pitch for your business and go through a "fast-pitch" program with a group of your peers.

The cost? $50 to cover materials and the purchase of a textbook. You also have to do your homework and get the best out of the time and work you put into the course.

Can you imagine? You can't afford to miss out on this, if you want to start a business or even if you already have a business and you need to go back and do some foundational work that you may have glossed over during start up.

Donna Chaney is organizing the course, so contact her for more information. She's Donna at ChaneyFinancialServicesInc dot com.