Entrepreneurship 101, Parts 3 and 4

Part 3 of the Entrepreneurship 101 series took us into the world of licensing a new business. I still haven't gotten over the panic-inducing class on economic feasibility, so I had some reluctance about continuing the series.

It turns out that getting your business license appears to be super easy.  All you have to do is go to http://filinginoregon.com/ , click on "Register a Business" and away you go!  It's $50 for a 2 year license to set up a sole proprietorship, and $100 per year to set up a limited liability corporation.  Easy peasy, if you have the money.

But of course, before you do this you need to know what your business name is going to be.  I've been racking my brains for the ~perfect~ name for quite awhile.   I evaluate the perfection of a name by how I imagine it looks on a label inside a gorgeous pair of handmade pumps (like these, perhaps):

I have a few ideas that are good, but not perfect yet.

Anyway... back on topic... So the first thing to do is check the state registry to find out if your business name is taken.   Good news!  The name that's in the lead for my business is available.

We also got all kinds of information about tricks for filing (select all counties), the basics of LLCs version sole proprietorships, and how to check if your business idea is going to require a special license or permit.

We were advised to check with your city about any special fees/taxes/coding requirements that are sometimes locally required.  Funny thing about that.  My city directs me to a special website called "Clackamas County Tools for Business".  Yeah, the link is broken.  Way to go Clackamas County.

Part 4 of the Entrepreneurship 101 series was the last class.  I was a little worried going into it because of the topic- Financing and Loans.  Augh!  Not another financial class!

Okay, this class was not that bad.  We spent most of the time going over the pros and cons of different funding options:  grants, friends & family, personal money (ie savings), retirement accounts, credit cards, investors, lines of credit, home equity loans, business loans, and SBA-guaranteed loans.

At the end of the class we talked about the idea of a strategic start-up, which sounds exactly like a business model I can handle.  She gave us a great example to illustrate the idea:  a woman going through our class had big ideas and dreams to open a restaurant.  Restaurants are EXPENSIVE to open and very risky.  Opening the restaurant of her dreams was beyond what her finances could take, so she opted instead to start smaller.  She broke her dream into smaller pieces and looked into opening a food cart.  When even that proved outside her financial ability, she pared back even more.  She certified her home kitchen and started making sandwiches.  Today she drives around to several businesses selling homemade sandwiches from her car.  She's making money like crazy and has saved enough to buy her food cart.

Final thoughts on the Entrepreneurship 101 series.  I left this class with three general thoughts about starting my own business.  1)  I'm not ready yet.  I still need to do some serious work researching and learning about my own finances as well as the monetary needs my business would have.  2)  I need to figure out what I want to do.  If I were to start a business, what would it be?  I know it would be making something because people who ooze awesomeness make things.  I've dreamt of making shoes- but what kind?  How would I sell them?  Who would be my customer?  3)  Whatever idea I come up with for a business I need to pair it back into a simpler model for my strategic start-up.  Would this be making moccasins?  Selling the headbands I've been making out of my fabric scraps?  How would those things relate to the "ideal shoe" I see with my label in it?

For now... I hear Columbia is hiring...

The Power of Networking

Networking is an important part of any job search.  That's why we're all on LinkedIn, isn't it?  As an introvert (INFP through and through), I never believed that I was good at networking.  I thought that proper networking meant giving your job seeker's elevator speech to each and every person who you happen to run into during your day-to-day life.  Note to self- I really do need to work on my elevator speech.  I thought you had to be like a life insurance salesman, contacting every single person you know on a daily basis to check in and see if they've heard of any leads. 

With this idea of proper networking in my mind, I was glad to read this article, where I found myself identifying much more with the tortoise than the hare.  And so I present to you two recent instances where being a networking tortoise brought success:

I scratch your back, you scratch my back

During my the Entrepreneurship 101 class on economic feasibility, one of my classmates mentioned that he didn't know where to go for product development and sample sewing. He's starting a business that will sell travel and performance clothing and accessories. Off the top of my head I could think of three different companies that may be able to assist him. Besides that, I've studied product development at the Art Institute of Portland. It's exactly the kind of work I'm trying to get into.

When the class ended, I approached my classmate and shared with him the name of the companies that I knew. He was very glad for the information.

The next week, I again approached my classmate when the class ended. I asked him if he had researched the companies I told him about, and how it was going. We talked a bit about his business idea, where he is in the process of starting his business, and how his designs were coming along. I mentioned my studies at the Art Institute. At the end of our conversation, he asked me if I would be interested in freelancing the development of his line. Of course!  Networking Success #1!

Networking with good networkers

One of my instructors at the Art Institute impressed upon us the importance of networking. You could tell that she was very good at it. Her network is vast and she knows how to keep in casual contact with everyone. She was the kind of instructor who cared very much about the success of her students.

After I graduated, I thought it would be a good idea to contact her to see if she could help with my job search. I was right! We met for lunch and she came prepared with a list of people she knew in the industry who she was willing to introduce me to for informational interviews.

Since then she's become a friend and a valuable member of my job search support network.

Recently, a friend of hers sent out an email asking for names of people who might be interested in an Assistant Patternmaker position at a company that I would love to work for. My former instructor instantly thought of me. After I gave my approval, she sent an email with an introduction and reference to the hiring manager. As a result, I got an interview!

This is the first time I have ever been able to access a job in the hidden job market. This job is not advertised anywhere. Networking Success #2!

Entrepreneurship 101- Part 2

I did attend the second class in the Entrepreneurship 101 series.  I haven't written about it yet because, frankly, I'm still overwhelmed.  I was so overwhelmed leaving this class that I couldn't even figure out how to respond to the end-of-class survey. 

Here's my problem-  When I see dollar signs, my eyes glaze over; the subject of this class was "economic feasibility." Why, you may ask?  I blame my father (sorry, dad, I know you're reading this).  My dad is a very accomplished small business owner.  He's a CPA.  You did not talk about money in our house because money matters were something that was kept confidential.  I remember one of the most serious talkings-to I ever received was when I asked my mom in a public place how much our house cost.  My dad lives by the concept of a client/professional confidentiality and takes it to such a level that anything involving money was kept secret and hush-hush in our house.  You could say that I was sheltered from economics.

I've tried to get better at this- I took accounting as my business class, I tracked all our bills for a period of time, I've tracked our purchases over the course of a month.  But it still comes down to dollar signs and in the end my eyes glaze over and I lose interest.

Therefore, what I learned in the second class in the Entrepreneurship series is this:  I have no business being a small business owner.  Not unless I spend SERIOUS amounts of time and energy to learn how to become financially competent and economically lingual. 

The class was focused on The Three Numbers You Need to Know Before Starting a Business:

1. Your Personal Needs- how much money do you need to bring in every month to cover your own personal expenses?
2. Your Business Needs- how much money does your business need to survive every month?
3. Your Start-Up Costs

Embarrassingly, I know none of these things.  Heavy sigh.  I have a lot of work to do.

In the meantime- I networked with one of my Entrepreneurship 101 classmates (which could lead to some freelancing), I've been freelancing on some custom embroidery work (job found from the Craigslist Gigs section) and I have an interview coming up next week!  So once again I can say, "if I don't get this job, that's it!  I'm going into business myself!"  We'll see if I come out of the next Entrepreneurship class feeling like I can do it myself.

Entrepreneurship 101- part 1

Since I can't seem to get a job to save my life, I keep coming back to the idea of starting my own business.  But really, the seeds for this idea started before I was laid off from my last job.  It all started with a pair of Fluevogs...

Last February Portland got its very own John Fluevog store. If you don't know what I'm talking about, stop right now and go to their website.   Now that you're back and you've wiped the drool off your computer...  I bought my first pair of Fluevogs the day the store opened.  I was also the first person in the door when they had the official store opening party.  My goal was to meet John Fluevog- and I did.  I gushed all over him.  It was embarrassing.  I told him, "Meeting you is like meeting a rock star." He signed my shoes (now my most prized possessions).  The next day I described him to others as someone who "oozes awesomeness."

This idea of oozing awesomeness stuck in my head.  I decided I wanted to be someone who oozes awesomeness.  I started thinking about other people who fit that description and what they have in common.  In my mind, a lot of people who ooze awesomeness are people who make things or design things. And so I came up with the idea that I wanted to make shoes.

Making shoes is hard.  And so is starting a business.  That's two big hurdles.

I've told many people about my idea to make shoes.  Everyone has been supportive.  I've said over and over, "that's it!  If I don't get such-and-such job then I'm done with the job hunting thing and I'm going into business myself!"  And people have nodded their heads to that idea.  I've done tons of research and informational interviews and everyone I've talked to has been very nice and helpful.  But so far no one has been able to help me get over the fear of putting all my faith into a business venture of my own.

The only thing I could think of to get over this paranoia is to do what any over-educated individual would do; I signed up for a class. 

Yesterday I became a student at the Chemeketa Community College Small Business Development Center.  The Chemeketa Center for Business & Industry is part of a statewide program offering assistance to small business owners.  There are also SBDCs at Portland Community College and Clackamas Community College.  I chose Chemeketa because they priced the class series right (Free! versus much much more than free at PCC and CCC).

There were a few key points I took from the class yesterday.

1. Of the three roles of a successful entrepreneur, I seem to be stuck in the Visionary role.  I've got all kinds of grand ideas about making shoes, playing a role in a more local-based economy, all that good touchy feely stuff.  This means I'm going to have to get assistance with the other two roles: the Deck Swabber and the Manager. 
2. Since I don't know exactly what I want to do with the idea of "making shoes" I may need some one-on-one business advising.
3. I need to use my library for more research.
4. Book recommendation- E-myth by Gerber. 

I left the class with a small list of "Practical Steps I Can Do to Move Forward".  Next week I'll share my progress.  Maybe I'll turn into an entrepreneur after all...  Or even better, someone who oozes aweomeness.