Struggling Entreprenuer

[display_podcast]

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we go farther into the topic of our previous episode #61–especially into the area of coworking and social media. In the last episode, we delivered the presentation during the session of the meetup for the Social Media Club, with the leader of the discussion, John Erik Metcalf of the firm Conjunctured.

We now go into a “deeper dive” into the Entrepreneurial themes that drove John Erik Metcalf into starting what is a successful business — and without having to  contribute a single penny of his own money (or the other three founders of Conjunctured).

What is remarkable is that social empathy and  the power of giving to other people and driving positive accomplishments through the use of technology and  social media applications could drive the energy of young people who want to create start-up firms into creating a successful business that delivers coworking space for entrepreneurs and free-lancers. The sense of community is the value proposition that this firm delivers to its customers–and one example is the skills-transfer session called the “half-hour hack.”

[Note: we have received email notes from our subscribers asking if the gentleman in the right of the photo,  above, is Bill Gates. The  answer is NO-- as this is not an advertisement with Jerry Seinfeld).

This episode was recorded onsite, in the facility that is used as a coworking space, which is the firm Conjunctured. We apologize for the echo, but since this home was built in 1918, it is not optimal for audio recordings (with the large room and high ceilings). It has been refurbished into  multiple rooms that provide an open-air "coffee house" environment for synergy.

After taking a tour of the facility, we sat down with John Erik Metcalf and recorded our conversation, which is this podcast episode.

As was noted in both this episode and the previous episode 61 of this podcast series, the objective of the 4 founders of Conjunctured is to succeed in the creation of the incubation zone which is referred to as the "Startup District."

As you will hear from this podcast, it is admirable to feel the energy and drive of young college graduates who form their own startup firms to deliver value to other entrepreneurs in the creation of coworking spaces, thus driving synergies and building a sharing community for those who previously had to work from their laptops out of coffee houses all day long.

[And, yes, their firm now has a brand new copier/printer.]

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[display_podcast]

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we have a recorded discussion led by John Erik Metcalf, who is a co-founder of the firm Conjunctured, which is located in the Austin, Texas, area.

This new LLC is a start-up that is driving other start-up firms to gather together in a location in the East side of Austin, so that they may call it a START-UP DISTRICT.

For new firms that want to be in a community-intensive area where they can “hang out” with other firms that are working on similar or related or complimentary projects, there is an attraction for synergy.

At present, the driving force for this movement to create a StartUp District is being fueled by social media, and the individuals who are the vanguards  are currently involved in high-tech for the web–that is, programmers, developers, designers, coders, etc. But we feel that this will soon change as the scope of coworking locations will enlarge to include all other types of entrepreneurs and small business owners that are very involved in social media.

Thus, creativity and community and cooperation in the concept of coworking locations. Since Conjunctured specializes in the “non-traditional,” John is now promoting this concept with the local city, county and state political leaders, there just may be a STARTUP DISTRICT on the East side of Austin.

Also, John describes his trips to San Francisco and New York and for his comparison of the coworking locations in those cities. This sounds like a fact-finding mission that can lead to understanding the best practices for growing a Coworking environment or startup district  into successful ventures.

This discussion was held at the September, 2008, meeting of the Austin Social Media Club in downtown Austin, Texas.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[display_podcast]

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we interview Jackie Huba (who was also featured as the speaker in a discussion she led in episode 58 of this series). However, we look at Jackie’s success as a full-time entrepreneur, all the way from her days in corporate America and in start-up firms–in which she gained valuable experience.

Jackie is a successful speaker, author and consultant in the Social Media Space. She has also started her own Social Media Niche Network called the SWOM (Society for the Word of Mouth).

She is also the co-author of 2 books that are both available on Amazon.com.

Jackie’s strategy included using the social media tools such as blogs. She started her blog in 2003, which has grown to become an outstanding tool in helping her to grow her business.

At this point of her successful entrepreneurial venture, Jackie will keep focusing on her live conferences and speaking engagements. However, she is also leveraging the power of the Internet, for she will now have subscription-based training programs, where she will allow her passion of speaking to her audiences be realized, while at the same time gaining the revenue streams and providing value to her raving fans.

This is truly an example of how corporate experience has helped Jackie in setting up and growing her business–especially in the areas where one would not even consider (such as HR).

And now, with Jackie’s first annual conference, the SWOMfest, the strategy for engaging with her audiences in a true word-of-mouth promotion will be stronger than ever.

And we wish Jackie the best of success with her SWOM conferences.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[display_podcast]

In this episode of the Struggling Entrepreneur, we continue to bring you information on products and services from the announcements in the exhibit hall on the show floor of the New Media Expo.

Here, syndication is a tactic that an Entrepreneur will need to include in the firm’s marketing mix. How this differs from what the large enterprises and corporations do in their marketing is highlighted in the area of video content and creation for marketing your own brand.

In our earlier episode number 53 of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we interviewed Brett Wilson, the co-founder and CEO of TubeMogul– but the focus was on his own personal challenges in launching his latest entrepreneurial venture and his future for the firm. Here, we now focus on TubeMogul itself–and what a free account for video syndication can mean for the small business owner. We cover this in an interview with Mark Rotblat, who is the VP of Marketing and Business Development, with TubeMogul.

The free account that is available from TubeMogul can be attractive for the small business owner that wants to include video content as part of the marketing plan and to take advantage of extending the brand’s reach.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[display_podcast]

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we bring you an excerpt from the live discussion and presentation by Jackie Huba, who is a noted author, speaker and consultant in the area of Small Business and Entrepreneurs with an emphasis on New Media and Social Media networks.

 Jackie Huba’s background includes experience in Marketing from the corporate environment, as she spent over 12 years at IBM in the Software Group Division (that’s a $17-Billion business) within the Integrated Marketing Communications team that worked on Lead generation and Demand Generation campaigns, as well as Advertising.

Along with Ben McConnell, Jackie co-authored the book called Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message:

 In this discussion (which took place at an Austin, Texas, coffee house within an informal setting), over 27 Social Media “titans” and members of the Social Media Club and other complementary interest groups listened to the themes and topics of how to leverage social media tools, applications and web-based environments to promote their own small businesses and move to the next level in the Marketing environment’s success.

What was interesting in the discussion was the importance of moving away from the “old” paradigm of just publishing a one-way directed marketing message to an audience and moving towards the conversation or active engagement with a participative audience– be they either what are called “lurkers” or “suspects,” and bring them into the “conversation” as potential customers. However, there are different entry points, different interest points, different requirement points, and different roles– such as evangelist, promoter, listener, referral, buyer and repeat, loyal customer.

The social media niche networks help the Small Business owner and Entrepreneur achieve the relevant and engaged dialogue  with this active customer–but on the customer’s terms, not the traditional business owner’s terms.

We look forward to a one-on-one interview with Jackie later on, so that we can understand her own path to becoming a successful Entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and author.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[display_podcast]

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we speak over the Skype network with John Lovett, who is a Podcaster, Military Technical Advisor and ScreenWriter.

He currently has a free podcast series on TalkShoe and also listed in iTunes called The Military and the Media; and he also has another podcast that teaches the Southern California community about the basics and rewriting of being a Screenwriter.

A veteran of the U.S. Army for over 20 years, and a college graduate with a degree in history, John is on his way to forming his LLC and starting a business that will monetize his podcast on Screenwriting, and then build his brand as a Technical Advisor, Podcaster and Military consultant that will put him on his path to becoming a Producer in the Entertainment Industry.

What is interesting in this audio episode is that John also tries to assist the military veteran who wishes to pursue a career in the entertainment industry–whether as talent (e.g., actor or voice-over, etc.) or in the area of production.

So whether it is doing research in his Fullerton, Calfornia, home or preparing for his Screenwriting course that he delivers via the podcast channel, or whether it is getting the accuracy and authenticity for a movie such as Saving Private Ryan or Pearl Harbor (in which he did work on both), John pursues his passion of consulting for military themes in the Entertainment Industry–but is well on his way to becoming an entrepreneur and driving it with podcasting.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[display_podcast]

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we have an interview with Lynell LaMountain, who is starting a venture of his own type of ministry–which we refer to as a “spiritual ministry without the sermonizing.” The web site of his ministry environment is LifeIgnited.com.

In the world of spirituality and ministries, Lynell finds himself as a true entrepreneur, as he is going to run his ministry like a business–especially in the area of donations and monetization of his podcasts and teleseminars.

This interview provides a different angle from the perspective of a “dreamer” who is determined to take the plunge and run his venture like an Entrepreneur.

As you will discover from the audio episode, Lynell’s determination, professionalism, education and training are all paying off for him as he takes his ministry venture to the next level. We know he will be successful.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download