The Call of the Entrepreneur Blog

Entrepreneurialism in the news:

• Maryland: 25-year-old entrepreneur hits target as owner of business
• India: Gaining financial independence via entrepreneurship
• A good elevator pitch is essential for an entrepreneur
• Vancouver: Turning a potential $100,000 loss into a business opportunity
• We may be facing a shortage of entrepreneurs

Some more stories of entrepreneurship from around the world:

• Pakistan: Micro loans turn cart pusher into entrepreneur
• Discover an untapped market and go for it: Entrepreneur saw the big picture, started giant-screen rental business
• Turning the management of other people’s “minor details” into a career
• 19 year old entrepreneur launches her own jewelry line
• 11 year old entrepreneur launches his own skateboard line
• Entrepreneurship offers options for autistic adults
• The story of Clay Mathile and Iams Pet Food

It’s been a while since we’ve posted some entrepreneur stories, so without further ado…

• “‘2 guys, 2 garages, 1 dog’: An entrepreneur’s dream” - A small bicycle parts supplier is born in Fort Worth, Texas
• “Do great work, because it’s good for you. The quality of today’s work determines tomorrow’s opportunities.”
• You can learn entrepreneur-ship by starting a lemonade stand
• “She worked to the end because she just loved it,” her daughter said. An inspiring obituary of an entrepreneur
• Chocolate maker learns how to best manage his growing enterprise
• Entrepreneurs are everywhere - even in kazakhstan

Some links…

• They say necessity is the mother of invention, and that’s a good thing, because we are facing a whole heap of necessity right about now. We need some invention, mama. So first thing we’re going to invent are a few reasons why the coming decade will see a shift away from Corporatocracy and back to the entrepreneur.
• Top 10 Reasons to Date an Entrepreneur
• Working in a corporate environment had its perks.

  …But ultimately, I couldn’t stay. I finally figured this out on a trip to Arizona after stopping at Frank Lloyd Wright’s school, Taliesin West. After the tour, after an hour of hearing all of the creative ideas that came out of the school, I wanted to cry. All I could think about was going back to my corporate job, where I did just about the same thing, day after day.

Today: A quick jaunt around the web, looking for stories of entrepreneurship from around the world.
Ireland:

…we have found that whilst entrepreneurs come from widely varying backgrounds, they all share some common attributes. These include an instinct for a market opportunity, an eye for innovation, tremendous persistence, singular self belief and a fantastic ability to bounce back in the face of adversity.”

India:

But as globalisation brought several modern business practices into the country, companies were increasingly looking for unique ideas to incentivise their employees. It is here that Sushil Wadhwa saw an opportunity in 2002.

Connecticut, USA:

Mark Albino stumbled on his true calling at an early age.

As a preteen, Albino would earn spending money by cleaning out basements, attics and garages in his neighborhood. And in every attic or basement, interspersed among all the legitimate garbage, he’d find one or two hidden little treasures.

“I’d go into these attics and I’d find all this neat, old stuff that people just couldn’t wait to get rid of,” he recalled recently. “There was a lot of great stuff that people were willing, even anxious, to just throw out. That always amazed me.”

So instead of hauling the small treasures off to the rubbish heap, he would ask the owners what they thought a fair selling price would be. After buying the items, he’d take them to local antique dealers, flea markets or auction houses and try to sell them for more than what he had just paid.

We’re happy you’ve taken the time to check out our new blog, where we’ll be highlighting a variety of entrepreneurial stories in the coming weeks and months.

To kick things off, here’s a story of a young entrepreneur who took a good idea and turned it into a business that he is using to help his family recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina:

Looking off into the distance with a face full of remembrance, senior accounting major Ryan Mitchell recalls the day Hurricane Katrina destroyed his family’s home in New Orleans. 

“When it first happened, I was depressed,” he said. “Both of my parents lost their jobs and their cars. Our house was filled with water, and everything was damaged.” But Mitchell, who was in D.C. when the storm hit, was equally concerned about his parents’ finances. Rather than waiting for things to get better, he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

“I’m not the type of person to just sit back when there’s something I can do about a situation,” Mitchell said. “It was something I had to do. I had to make money and help my family.” 

Mitchell founded R&R Enterprises, a vending business that caters to the Howard community. The idea for his venture was inspired by a trip he made back home after the hurricane…

…”So far, Reggie and I have sent about $10,000 back home to our families,” Mitchell said. “The business has done better that I ever thought it would. It’s taken stress [away from] me and my parents.”