Category: entrepreneur

Believe it or not, most people don’t start off as entrepreneurs. Starting a venture often co-occurs with working and/or going to school. Although it is possible to save enough money to live off of while starting your own business, few people will find themselves in the circumstances to do so. So, if you have the itch to get a brilliant idea for a product or service off the ground, you will likely find yourself in a balancing act between work or school (or both) and your new venture.

There are only so many hours in the day, so how exactly does one do it? What can you expect? What are the challenges and benefits?

Entrepreneur in Residence Matt Larson has plenty of experience with the juggling act of entrepreneurship and working full time.

“At one point, I was working full time teaching at a community college, and I owned a vending company and a book keeping company all at the same time,” Larson said. “I got through it. You set goals… Just know that it is going be a roller coaster ride. Understand that going into it.”

When you are first starting out as an entrepreneur, you may have limited room in your budget for marketing. Fortunately, you don’t need to have a multi million dollar marketing department to create recognition for your brand. You just need to know how to tell your story.

Dr. Kevin Lehnert has taught marketing at Grand Valley State University for six years.

“There’s no easy tool to create brand recognition, but the best thing to do is to understand your story,” Lehnert says.

The literary market is flush with books that aim to inspire entrepreneurs, tell the story of successful startups and let readers in on the secrets of those who made it big. From the practical to the absurd, there’s a lot out there. We have compiled a short list of highly regarded startup literature that would do any entrepreneur, from the beginner to the seasoned, well to have on their shelf.

There are many factors to consider when starting a venture; feasibility, financing, product to market fit. But what about healthy relationships with your business partners? No matter how earth shattering an idea is, a dysfunctional team can kill a winning start up. If your team is committed to digging their heals in and weathering the difficult times that will inevitably arise, your chances at success are infinitely higher.

Joseph Horak is the Director of the Family Owned Business Institute at the Seidmen College of Business at Grand Valley State University and a licensed psychologist.

“There are a lot of challenges to being an entrepreneur,” Horak says. “There is going to be a whole ecosystem of relationships around you that will also present different challenges.”

Conflict between startup team members can arise from unequal time investment, differing work styles and unmanaged expectations. Whatever the root, it is important to address issues as soon as possible.