Struggling Entreprenuer

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In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we provide an interview with Tim Bourquin, the founder and CEO of TNC New Media (for the New Media Expo), as well as the leading co-host of the Podcast series called The Podcast Brothers.

 As you will hear in this episode, Tim’s constant restlenessness for creativity, independence and “pushing the limit of some things new” drove him from what could have been a satisfying career in law enforcement to the world of being an entrepreneur.

From the early days of Internet-based “day-trading” of securities and the stock market, to the beginnings of podcasting for the Triathlon-bound athletes, and finally to the business of hosting and implementing Events, Business and Conferences — you’ll see the determination and focus of someone who was willing to invest, so that he could get the right offering to the right audience with the best value. And this is what started the Podcast and Portalbe Media Expo, which has now become the New Media Expo.

Making its debut in Las Vegas (August 14-17, 2008) and now it its 4th year, this conference provides education, training and networking value for paid conference attendees. Also, there is a free element of education and exhibits for the beginner or hobbyist (or those just plain interested in Podcasting, video, blogs, Social Media or New Media).  And the multiple free and fee marketing tactics that Tim uses to provide value for the customers show that he can integrate them into his Events Business for the Expo.

You will also learn how Tim had reached the “gold at the end of the rainbow” for Entrepreneurs–by selling one of his businesses for a profit.

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we interview Jay Ehret, who is “theMarketingGuy” on Twitter.

He is a Texas-based Marketing Consultant and a full-time entrepreneur who provides value to small businesses by helping them to BRAND themselves and develop the best Marketing Plan in order to deliver a successful customer experience.  His web site is known as The Marketing Spot, and it is quite creative with the multi-spot model– including a Sweet-Spot, an Idea-Spot, and others that are discussed in the interview.

What is interesting during this discussion is that Jay is a self-made entrepreneur who jumped into the environment without having a detailed plan during the era when he started.

However, as you will hear, his strengths were in his expertise in communications and marketing. And by creating a business around his strengths, he is now progressing toward the position of becoming a successful entrepreneur–especially in the area of New Media and Social Media. This was very appropriate, since I had met Jay in a Podcamp conference in San Antonio (a “user-generated conference”–previously known as an “unconference”–where everyone can participate and share news and expertise with those in a common interest group).

In this interview (which was done over Skype),  Jay emphasizes the importance of perpetual learning in order to keep your competitive differential advantage before your customers, thus demonstrating your value.

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we had the opportunity to interview two individuals at a conference on New Media and Podcasting (i.e., Podcamp San Antonio)– Alysan Delaney-Childs of Buzz for Business and Richard Galvan of Clifford Sound.

While Richard Galvan has a day-job and is employed by a large corporate telecommunications firm, he has started his own firm and is a part-time entrepreneur. Meanwhile, Alysan Delaney-Childs has reached 80 per cent of the way to becoming a full-time entrepreneur. These two individuals are part of a New Media and Podcasting network in the San Antonio, Texas, area and are a great pair for referencing and promoting each other. They do this because of the knowledge and respect that each of them has for the strengths of the other.

What is interesting is that while Richard Galvan is a technically oriented Podcast consultant, Alysan prefers not to be involved with the technical aspects of New Media. Instead, she focuses on her strength–which is promoting a client’s firm and delivering the best message to the market.

In this interview you will discover the early mistakes that entrepreneurs may make in trying to be all things to many clients, instead of specializing their offerings to leverage their strengths.

Also, a key theme that Richard mentions is that of trying to stay ahead as an “early adopter” in the high-tech or New Media space–so that you do not become “obsolete” with your skills, and thus dilute the value you would deliver to your customers.

Since this interview was conducted onsite in the location of the Podcamp San Antonio conference, there is a bit of ambient noise from the hotel audio sound system. However, the lessons learned and the forward thinking of these two individuals for the direction of their small business ventures can provide the aspiring entrepreneur with the ingredients to prepare a recipe for success.

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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