Seminars Started

Seminars officially started Thursday, June 7. It was a success... minus the technical difficulties. I would like to thank everyone who spoke and attended and invite all those who may want to learn more about starting a small business. They are free to all those who are looking to start a small business in the area (See http://www.chinookchallenge.com/Participant%20documents/Chinook2007Handbook/index14.html to see if you are in the CEC area).

These seminars are invaluable, and FREE. We have lined up excellent speakers and seasoned entrepreneurs to give advice and guidance. We also have a mentor program that teams up participants in the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge to business people in the community. They are their for support and guidance during the business plan writing stage. If you would like a mentor please let me know during the next seminar, June 14.

Some food for thought....

I read a post today on FoundRead.com. It is an amazingly insightful blog site where seasoned entrepreneurs of the very fast paced web industry in Silicon Valley post their thoughts and ideas. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, in the web industry or not, I strongly encourage you to read the articles.

Outcomes vs. Activities by Chris Michel struck my interest. He said that it is critical for founders to know the difference between activities, the means to an outcome, and outcomes. The reason for this is that people, especially founders, should ensure the essential outcomes of your business are complete and stay focused on those outcomes. He states, and everyone can attest to this, that it is easy to get sidetracked and waste a day or two, or more, on activities that are not as important. In other words, it is easy to stay busy, but stay busy doing the things that matter most to your business.

Entrepreneurs especially need to keep this in mind because there are so many things pulling them in so many directions that it is easy to lose focus. For the full story go to: http://www.foundread.com/view/outcomes-vs-activity.

These are some of the things that our instructor, a local business owner himself, talked about during our first session. Next week we will learn about analyzing your business and its opportunities. I hope to see you there.