Since the recession began in late 2007, our economy has been plagued with high unemployment rates including estimates as high as 6 million reflecting the total job losses since then. This is substantially greater than previous estimates revealing that not only will finding work in an uncertain job market continue to present itself as an uphill battle, but also challenges reports of a slowly recovering economy that has undoubtedly seen better days. Reports such as this, including the massive job cuts, which have resulted in millions of men and women out of work, are especially discouraging to the ears of young college graduates.
The stress of a recent college graduate is similar to those of their peers in the graduating years before them, since many of which are still without jobs due to our current job market conditions. If finding a job today isn't stressful enough, new graduates have much more difficult obstacles to overcome. They are increasing the size of the labor force while bearing the stress of heightened competition among their classmates.
What some new graduates have decided to do is to continue schooling by pursing graduate degrees, or even studying other majors to kill time and find work in areas of greater demand. However, the glass is not to be seen as half empty and it is important for young college graduates to realize their potential prior to selling themselves short for a minimum wage job. I have seen young students with Bio-Chemical Engineering degrees working the tile department at Home Depot. Whereas some graduates resort to such jobs that weaken their goals and aspirations, there are a handful of others that feel there are alternative actions to be taken. To settle, you are essentially the sole force pushing yourself farther away from achieving your goal. It becomes less of the economy's fault, and more-so your own. It is no surprise then how something could seem so unattainable as you're caught daydreaming from the tile department in Home Depot.
The bottom line being that each person's individual passion must always be in the forefront of every decision. The second it is put up on a shelf to rot away is when you are willingly taking yourself out of the competition, making the job hunt much easier for someone else. It then becomes a question of dedication, willingness to fail, and the drive to succeed. As cliché as it may be, all young graduates to be, including unemployed graduates still searching for work, are all competing for the same positions. Whether it becomes a matter of survival of the fittest, or simply following your passion above all else, it must be understood that nothing is going to be handed to you on a silver platter…especially not in today's economy.
In our time many young adult students, have a part time Job in a
Escort Service. This is how they finance there college and make as many conections in the business world, as they can.
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What you study in college may not necessarily determine your ultimate career path, as proven by Rufus founder April Straten. April Straten studied broadcast journalism, spent five years in London introducing the Nautica brand in Europe, then launched a successful men's shirt company.
Setting out in 2004 to create a brand that spoke to America's "updated traditionalist" male, Straten's boyfriend (now husband) was an instrumental source of encouragement.
Starting a business in a market that she only knew as a consumer was what April found most difficult. "American's are very brand conscious, so trying to launch a new brand with zero brand awareness into the retail community was a challenge." Recent economic downturn has presented some hurdles recently for Rufus as well as learning to balance family and work life. "I try not to be one of those moms pushing their kids on the swings while typing on the blackberry but sometimes I can't help it," says Straten. She makes it a priority to work, live, and enjoy her family all at once.
Despite personal and professional challenges, Rufus has remained a key brand in a very competitive apparel market for the last six years. It is all about approach, and Straten's is based on commitment to impeccable quality, consistent deliveries, and dependable customer service. "Our customer, this mid-tier luxury shopper, expects quality and service and wants something distinctive and unique without paying one of a kind price points," she mentions.
Rufus means RED in Latin: bold, charismatic, undeniable. This compelling hue reflects the company's approach to life, as does Straten's plan to expand her business into the international markets within a few years. Big thinking like April Straten's, combined with ability and confidence, will get you in a position not only to achieve your dreams but to influence others to do the same.
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*This was a guest post on The Mad Grad
Graduation from college carries such ironic emotion: you have spent four years yearning to graduation, but as soon as you do, you spend your remaining days nostalgic about your school days. College is a great time, but with graduation comes reality. You are now armed with all that you need: you are the fuse and your diploma is the match. Let the fireworks begin!
Many leave college and send out applications to tens of corporations looking for a job. But there are others who take a bit more of a risk: they seek entrepreneurial pursuits. Know that what lay behind you and what lay in front of you is trivial compared to what lay within you. Have courage.
If it is entrepreneurship you desire post graduation, there are several thing you must consider.
An entrepreneur needs to be someone who can both visualize and actualize. He needs to be able to visualize something—and once he has that "something", he needs to see exactly how to make it happen. In order to make it happen, there are several steps that you as an entrepreneur must take on your way to entrepreneurial success. Do not just enhance what is, but advance towards what will be: keep the long term in sight.
It is essential that you are able to marry your work and what you love. When in sales, there is no right or wrong way to sell: all you need is passion and enthusiasm for your product. This passion will ignite the minds of your potential client, facilitating connections, and connections between will be made. Your passion and enthusiasm for your product will be what encourages the sale—not the rote duplication of someone else's selling system. It takes courage to grow up, form your own philosophy, and become who you really are. What you do to sell and promote your business has to be a reflection of what you are already willing to stay up late for and get up early for. It has to connect to your "why" and be a part of your own experience.
Second, you must start working your plan, whether you are ready nor not. Know the four good things that you are about to do: first, that your business is going to be built on a great idea; second, that great idea is going to connect you to a market; third, that you will create a plan based on what you learn, on an ongoing basis, about that market; fourth, that you will adjust that plan over time.
After you have visualized your plan, find the right partner… and avoid the wrong one! You will have a significant advantage over one-man businesses if you come together with another person regularly to make important decisions. Find someone with whom you have good chemistry, someone who fills your blind spots. Successful partnerships are based on the idea of taking different perspectives in a discussion and having different talents.
Once the groundwork has been established, set priorities for the absolutely crucial first year. Concentrate on why you are doing something—not how. Your "why" will keep you closely connected to your company and your product. As soon as you lose sight of "why," you will also lose sight of your driving force and your motivation.
Through your first year and beyond, court clients—and keep them coming back! In order that you become a successful entrepreneur, it is essential that you are the person who is willing to pick up the phone and call people to talk about making deals and doing business. When you make this phone call, make sure you are absolutely certain about the product that you are selling. With this certainty, you can use confidence to build up a network of contacts. The network cannot be established overnight—it is going to take a lot of phone calls. You cannot just wave your magic wand over a corporation and change them into a profitable client.
In order to keep your client base, you need a great team to work with. Make sure that your company has shared values, that there are rewards for quality improvements, and that there are strong internal and external relationships. Empower the best, lose the rest!
Inevitably, there will be failure. You must learn from failure: use it as a stepping-stone. Do not forget what mistakes you have made, but do not allow yourself to dwell on them. Take from your failure: take the lesson learned—do not let it take anything from you: not your energy, not your time and not your space.
Finally, in order to keep your company going and keep your clients happy, maintain good relations with your vendors. It is essential that you support the people who support you. If you are making a big commitment to a client, make sure you have a solid relationship with your vendor.
In the end, take energy from taking risks. Live in the spirit of the entrepreneur!
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*This post can be found on the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Blog
The Small Business Administration's latest statistics show that a new startup has about a 50 percent chance of surviving for five years or more. Robert Tuchman is one of the success stories. When he graduated from college in 1993, he entered the stockbroker trainee program at Lehman Brothers but quickly realized his professional path in the rat race would leave him unfulfilled. Armed with one phone, a fax machine and his tiny, one-bedroom apartment, at the age of 25 he funneled his passion for sports and business into his own company, Tuchman Sports Enterprises (TSE). Within two years, TSE was named to the annual Inc. 500 list of America's fastest growing privately held companies and as one of the top 100 promotion agencies by Promo Magazine. TSE, which was started with no money and no investors, sold for millions of dollars to Premiere Global Sports in 2006. Last year, TSE (now known as Premiere Corporate Events) earned more than $70 million dollars in sales.
Tuchman distills his tips for young entrepreneurs in the book Young Guns: The Fearless Entrepreneur's Guide to Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out on Your Own which covers:
How young professionals can start and succeed in their own business.
Examples of many entrepreneurs under the age of 35 ranging from mortgage giants to PR moguls.
Thriving in the face of adversity.
Tuchman's Tips: Below are some of Tuchman's Tips for young entrepreneurs looking for a cost-efficient and successful start to their business:
1. Do business from home. Save money on renting office space by doing business out of your own living space. Install a separate phone line or purchase a cell phone for business use only. Print your own letterhead and business cards. Your clients will never suspect that "Suite 12-B" is really "Apartment 12-B."
2. Try to fund it yourself, or mostly yourself. It pays to go after the least amount of funding that is necessary. When you're starting out, it feels good to say that some venture-capital firm invested millions of dollars in your idea. But a few years down the road, when you're doing well, it will not feel so great to know that you own only 25 percent of your company.
3. Put a positive spin on things. Does the timing of your entrepreneurial project coincide with you having been recently laid off? Don't include that in your pitch to customers or investors. Nobody wants to think they're doing business with someone who's only there because they have to be. Furthermore, the power of spin can get you press – the cheapest form of marketing there is.
4. Build a culture of action and enthusiasm. During your first year, you will face a lot of questions about your experience. The best—and probably only—way to overcome them is to impress clients with your vigor and dynamism. If you want to be perceived as youthful, forward-thinking, and results-oriented, be proactive! Reward your people for taking the initiative. You'll have a huge competitive advantage over established companies. Many clients will pay, and even take a bit of a risk, to get young, energetic minds on their side. It costs nothing, and is an innate talent of the young entrepreneur.
5. Stay balanced. During the first year, and all the years thereafter, you will have to find a way to achieve balance. Basically, this means avoiding the temptation to work eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, without a break. Find an outlet—a hobby, an amateur sport, or an exercise activity—that gets your mind off work and relieves stress. It's essential to maintaining perspective and the energy you need to keep your business thriving. Some entrepreneurs even believe that these "pauses" or breaks help their effiencieny and strategic thinking to stay at the top of their game.
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Michael Kahan became a successful entrepreneur after walking away from a 10-year career on Wall Street.
*This is from Robert's column on Entrepreneur.com
It takes a lot of courage to leave the comfort of a high-paying job to follow your passion, especially when you're newly married and have a child on the way. Michael Kahan left his cushy job on Wall Street to launch Kahan Travel after 10 years in the finance industry.
Kahan started receiving industry airline magazines as a teenager in the New York suburbs. "My dad and grandparents lived in California and Hawaii when I was growing up, so jumping on airplanes became commonplace for me at a very young age," Kahan says. "I was always fascinated with trains, buses, subways and even elevators as a kid. That has carried over to my adult life. Hotels, cruise ships and high-speed rail links as well as airplanes now have my attention."
It took a lot of chutzpah for Kahan to change industries and start his own business. Kahan explained his thinking to me. "I spent 11 years as an equity sales trader on Wall Street and would not trade that experience or change anything," he says. "There was a feeling that told me it was time to move on to a new challenge, working for myself and selling something I was passionate about. Transportation and travel have always been incredibly interesting to me for as long as I can remember. It seemed like the perfect fit."
One thing I think it's important to note: You never start a business from ground zero. Even though Wall Street and the travel business might seem worlds apart, there are still things to learn along the way that help when the time comes to start a business.
"Although there do not seem to be too many stock traders-turned-travel advisors, I think the experience and skill set necessary for success in both careers are very similar," Kahan says. "Most important, I learned attention to detail, the ability to multitask, communication and negotiation skills, and also developed a strong work ethic and competitive spirit."
When Kahan launched his business 18 months ago he realized the travel business had changed a lot while he was working on Wall Street. When asked what the biggest changes have been in the industry since he started reading those airline magazines years ago, Kahan says that by putting prices and availability at the consumer's fingertips, the internet is both a valuable partner and competitive threat.
"The other major change is the decision of most U.S. airlines to cease commission payments to travel agents for domestic flights," Kahan notes. "Most agents and advisors now charge service or research fees to help offset this loss of revenue."
The good news is that Kahan has been extremely successful in his startup venture. His clients say he is honest and has the highest integrity. Others point to his tremendous knowledge of the travel business, and many people say his recommendations and planning are impeccable.
Kahan credits his effort to keep things simple for his successful transition. "My formula is coming to work each day with a good attitude, hard work, building relationships with clients and our supplier partners based on integrity and trust, and always being honest," Kahan says. "The rest will fall into place on its own."
I must admit, the rest usually does fall into place if you're willing to take the leap. There's something about passion that carries so many people to success. It's always great to speak with people like Michael Kahan who was young, fearless and fed up–and who actually did something about it. Are you next?
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Jennifer Walzer was young, fearless and fed up when she launched Backup My Info!
*This is from Robert's column on Entrepreneur.com
Jennifer Walzer was one of more than 90,000 employees and referred to only as a number; never by name. She was feeling overlooked, overworked and underappreciated before starting the successful data storage company Backup My Info! in 2002. Jennifer's entrepreneurial success has even won her a gig as a small-business blogger for The New York Times. Quite an accomplishment for Walzer, who has come a long way since her first job, where she was employee "916982." Walzer decided to take her first leap of faith and launch her first business in 1998. Her idea was to design interactive voice response systems for businesses. At the time this type of product was just about to take off, but Walzer says she was completely bored with it. She had a great idea and great timing; she was just the wrong person. She had no passion for programming. Rather then continue to be miserable, Walzer decided to sell the business and chalked it up as a learning experience out of which later came great success.
Walzer put her entrepreneurial dreams on hold for a few years while working for other businesses until starting Backup My Info! The idea was born of Walzer's experience assisting small businesses and Fortune 1000 companies in backing up their office system files. She understood that as companies moved to virtual documents, they were going to need to protect their data. Walzer thanks her father for the inspiration and passion to start this type of company, as well as working through the good and bad times to make it a success. Her father–a real-life rocket scientist–played a key role in setting the base for her fondness of technology and business. It was the combination of technology and the helping others that made Backup My Info! so interesting to her.
I admire individuals like Walzer, who love something so much and get to wake up every morning excited about getting to work with that thought in the back of their mind saying, "I'm doing the right thing." This is the attitude young, passionate entrepreneurs need to have. As Walzer points out, "I knew if I didn't love what I did, the company would fail."
Focus and determination are so crucial for young entrepreneurs trying to take their ideas to the next level. It's all about finding your niche; businesses consists of millions of niches, so stick with your passion, take it to the next level, and never give up. As Jennifer Walzer's success demonstrates, following your passion is the best way to ensure you won't ever be just a number.
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How many of you dread Sunday nights because you know that the next morning you have to show up for a job you can't stand? How many of you have a boss that you know youre undoubtedly smarter than? I am sure there are many of you out there that feel this way. I felt that way while working at Lehman Brothers in New York City back in the early 1990's.
Fortunately, I decided that life was too short to stick around in a job that just wasn't for me. I decided at the time that I needed to follow my passion and work in sports to really be happy.
In the end, I started a sports marketing company in 1997 called TSE Sports & Entertainment, which I eventually sold to Premiere Global Sports in 2006. I had followed my passion and started my own business doing something I truly loved.
I feel its essential that you are able to marry your work and what you love. This passion will ignite the minds of your potential clients and connections. Your business has to be a reflection of what you are already willing to pour countless hours into. Your passion and enthusiasm for your business has to connect to your why, be a part of your own experience, and is ultimately what will make you successful.
Unfortunately, many young people today don't realize the types of risks they can afford to take. If you don't take risks youll never accomplish most of your goals and youll never know if your dreams could have come true.
Were socialized to believe that the path to success is to graduate from college, take an entry level position with an established company and work our way up the corporate ladder of the American dream. Our generation faces one small problem with this plan: that world does not exist anymore. It's a fantasy to expect anyone or any company to provide a path to riches.
If youre young and hungry, why not go take a chance on launching your business? Most likely, you have limited responsibilities with no kids or mortgage payments and only a deep passion to obtain your dream; all keys for success.
Look at Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook. He started the site as a hobby out of his college dorm room and turned it into the global phenomenon we know it as today. He had an idea and a vision and took a huge risk. Now he's worth billions, all because he went with his gut and didn't worry about what others would think.
How about those three guys from YouTube? Steven Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim were PayPal employees who started a little website in their free time for users to upload their own videos for everyone to see.
Take a look at their timeline of events:
January 2005: The three young friends chat at a dinner party about the need for software that would make it easier to share video files.
February 2005: The YouTube.com domain is registered.
May 2005: The site opens to the public.
Late 2005: They secured funding from Sequoia Capital, which kept servers from going down as people flocked to the site in vast numbers.
June 2006: the site announced that 2.5 billion videos were watched on the site during this month alone.
August 2006: The Wall Street Journal reports the company hosts over 6 million videos and boasts over half a million subscribers.
October 2006: Google completes a deal to acquire the company for $1.65 billion.
Thats an amazing course of events to occur just over a year and a half but it happened for them. Why can't it happen for you?
Ever heard of Rudy Pensa? My guess is unless youre a member of U2, Green Day, Velvet Revolver, or are John Mayer, you probably haven't. On 48th Street in New York City theres a tiny guitar shop called Rudy's Music Stop. As an ambitious, high-energy twenty-something, Rudy set himself apart from the "big guys" in New York's highly competitive, geographically centralized "guitar Mecca".
Pensa did this in three ways: by stocking (and, eventually, creating) higher quality guitars; providing deeply personalized, one-on-one service; and offering a family-style atmosphere that the more traditional (stuffier) guitar outlets would never have dreamed of allowing. Thanks to Rudy's enduring love affair with guitars, his little shop is legendary for finding, building, selling, and servicing electric guitars of the highest quality. Today Rudy's client list includes some of the most prominent names in music.
Don't get the wrong impression, this kind of success doesn't come easy; it involves a tremendous amount of hard work and a fire burning passion to keep you motivated on a daily basis. You have to be willing to take big risks, there are a people who talk about doing it but they just can't seem to take the leap. It really comes down to being ready for a better the quality of life.
If you decide to take the leap, you cant expect everything to go according to plan; just know mistakes are inevitable. You have to keep pushing through, though; dont let one mistake ruin your opportunity for success. Life is full of obstacles and hardships, you need to work through them–by doing this it will better you as a person.
Don't settle for the safe bet, push the limits and expand your horizons. Take a risk, whats the worst that can happen? At least you can tell yourself, you went for it!
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Whether you are a journalist for The Daily News or a copywriter for an ad agency, even a college student guzzling coffee and red bulls the night before your term paper is due, as a writer we have all been under pressure at some point. Handling pressure to meet a deadline can be difficult especially if is needed in the next hour or by the end of the day. There are some key things to remember as you write under the pressure of the clock ticking.
The first and most important things to remember are take a few deep breaths and relax. Chances are if you have been given a quick and abrupt deadline your boss, editor, or publisher even college professor trusts you enough that it will be efficient, detailed piece of writing. So just take a few minutes to settle in and begin writing, your nerves can be used as an advantage.
Next, you should review what you know and conduct some research. Planning is everything, it has been done but writing a term paper the night before its due is a difficult task if you don't have any direction. When you find your direction point, continue with at least three sub-topics that relate to the direction you want the piece of writing to take. Do some brainstorming, research, generate quotes from reliable sources or databases and your writing will unfold and the pressure you felt before will be applied to rapid typing and words becoming sentences and paragraphs in front of you.
Take another second to breathe, your almost there. Conducting and gathering research is nearly as important as knowing your audience. Listen to your professor during class if he or she refers to a Kennedy historian that has a great book surrounding the assassination of JFK, it might be in your best interest to visit the library and skim a few chapters of that book. If you are writing to a predominantly liberal driven magazine it might be in your best interest to think about the vocabulary variety in your piece.
Finally, use your time wisely. Remember now the clock is ticking. Don't waste time focusing on what you are going to eat on your lunch break or what the guy in front of you is working in, stick to the task at hand and you will be able to complete it. Another few key things to keep in mind, stay well hydrated, eat a good breakfast, and if you are still having a difficult time with writing under pressure and losing focus try to take a yoga class, it helps to relax not only your muscles but clear your mind so you can focus on one thing at a time. Right now it's that deadline, and time is running out.
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There are many advantages to having a critique buddy help with your writing. When you are in the revision process before submitting to a publisher you want to make sure that your work is neat, colorful and read by someone who has the same intentions you do; trying to make a break and get published. It may seem that finding a critique buddy is difficult but in fact it is quite simple. The thing to remember is start locally first.
Many local libraries and community centers offer writing classes where you can find groups who critique each other's work and give great feedback. Don't forget local colleges and universities as well, most, which have writing centers that offer critiques from their writing staff. You can also find writing student groups there as well, which you may find helpful.
Use the Internet as a tool to helping you find a buddy as well. If you have your own blog, place it on a post one day and hopeful a reliable blogger who comments on your site will help out. Also look for message boards as well, there are plenty of other writers out there getting together and critiquing. Through message boards it should be fairly easy to find a critiquing buddy in your area who can assist you.
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Everyone has heard the phrase, "If at first you don't succeed then try, try again." Well, that may have worked in grammar and middle school, but rejection as a writer looking for that big break with their best work can be difficult. However there are ways to become more confident in your writing and brush those blues away. As a writer myself, I can say that if I am not passionate about something its not worth it for me to write about, the less you know about a topic the less interesting your piece is going to be.
So my first tip in avoiding the rejection blues is to start with a fresh . Brainstorm ideas about things that you love, it could be a particular sport, gardening, traveling, sailing, running, etc. I find that the best way to write about something is if you already have a great knowledge in that area.
My next piece of advice would be to share your rejection with others. The best way to realize mistakes and holes in your work is to find out from another writer what was missing from the piece. Also share what the rejected comments that the editor may have left on your writing means to someone else. Take them seriously yourself and improve your piece, if you believe in it, stick with it because there is someone out there who wants to read what you're writing about.
Another thing to remember, the most important thing to remember is your grammar and guidelines. Double, and triple check all of your work before it is sent out to an editor, make sure you have edited your writing as well as someone else. Don't misspell words because of the slang and jargon you are used to typing to your friends instant messaging. Good grammar is the key to being a successful writer in any field.
My last piece of advice is to write something new and innovative. This can go for writing short stories, novels, plays, and films. People aren't interested in the same storybook romance where a fair maiden always ends up with prince charming. Or the classic good over evil, where good always prevails. I'm not saying don't write about these ideas but make sure your plot has a completely new twist, grabs the readers attention, and is uniquely your take on these themes. Some of the best writing comes from personal experience so use what has impacted you the most. Human-interest stories are some of the most popular and read stories throughout the world.
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