Struggling Entreprenuer

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In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we interview an individual who has launched his business as the gateway to a new life. Hollis Wieruscheske has had over 30 years of corporate experience, with great skills in sales, marketing, finance, pricing and negotiations.

It is this wealth of experience that he brings to the table in creating his new venture, Hollis Lewis and Associates, L.L.C.

However, as you will hear in this audio episode, the main determinants for success in the new world of entrepreneurship do not come from either technical skills or the ability to make profit alone. The key success  factors are:1.  Integrity that values relationships and lifestyle;

2.  Being a Problem-Solver, not a “technician” or “quick-fixer”; and

3.   Adaptation and learning, negotiation skills and planning.

This is more than just a business to bring in revenue and profit for him. Hollis also sees this as an exciting time that will provide him the rewards of autonomy, challenge and lifestyle upon which he thrives–and this, in spite of a setback due to a health condition that impacted him during his last year in corporate America.

Can the formula for success be merely product+ experience + skills? Or can it be even more than that? Can it be also the anticipation of a future filled with reaching personal goals and seeing financial accomplishment, while being his own boss? And what would be the key ingredients for what Hollis considers “real success”?

In this audio episode, Hollis shares with us his planned exit strategy, how he finally left corporate America and how he became a full-time entrepreneur–while never sacrificing the personal values that allowed him to succeed during his 30 years at IBM.  And these same values are now reaping the rewards of financial success in his new Small Business.

Hollis Wieruscheske can be reached via email:

hollisw [at] mac.com   (to prevent spamming)

Copyright (C) 2009, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we have a chance to catch up with Tim Bourquin for an update on his progress as a successful entrepreneur.

Why do we use the term successful?

Well, for one reason, success in Entrepreneurship has been measured by the creation and subsequent profitable sale of a business (or–in Tim’s case–sales of multiple businesses for profit). In addition, as you will hear in this audio episode, the entrepreneurial spirit has Tim once again in another venture.

As you will hear in this audio episode, Tim has successfully sold several businesses that he has started after his 10-year stint as a law enforcement officer with the L.A. Police Dept.  Among those which he profitably sold as part of his exit execution were Endurance Planet (podcast) and the New Media Expo (conference/event business for podcasting and new media).

He currently has several new initiatives, as his main web site displays on IdeasForDownload.com.

As he mentions, his current focus of his time is the securities trading industry with the premium content delivered in TraderInterviews.com.

However, he also provides assistance to small business owners and entrepreneurs in the creation of membership and community resources and sites with MemberCon.com.

As you will hear, Tim does not hold back in the new methods and practices that he introduces in his podcasts and businesses. Some have become “best practices” for some of the pundits and luminaries within the new media and social media space.

And there are a few surprises that will make the traditional entrepreneur coaches cringe–especially those who stress the importance on business plans and feasibility plans as a critical  lever for success.

In addition, the main challenge that faces Tim is focusing on the main business at hand amidst all the entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities which surround him. But his “intuitive gut feel” that drives his spontaneity and direction has also been a key skill that has helped Tim to reach success as an entrepreneur who can create–and then sell for a profit–great businesses.

Copyright (c) 2009, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we bring you a bonus episode that highlights the value of an event for the Entrepreneur–the “unconference” called ProductCamp.

As you may know, we have had episodes about PodCamps and FreelanceCamps, as well as mentions about BarCamps. This is the first time we explore the ProductCamp.

This event took place in Austin. And during this audio podcast,  we describe all the sessions in the 4 tracks that were available. We also go into the assembly of a “dynamic agenda” that was used. We feel that you shouldl find this of great interest.

In  addition, we interviewed the following people at the event:

- Paul Young (a Product Manager with Dell, Inc.) –Paul is the founder of the Austin ProductCamp event.

- David Daniels of Pragmatic Marketing (whose blog is www.launchclinic.com) — David is a sponsor of the event, as well as a participant and speaker;

- Kristen Carney, Research Analyst at Cubit Planning — Kristin was a volunteer, as well as participant at the event. She is also an entrepreneur.

- Brad Sherman of Polycom. Brad was a corporate participant at the event.

- Ross Hobbie, Product Manager at Dell, Inc. – Ross is only a participant whose objective was to learn from entrepreneurs in the methods and practices of creating and marketing products.

In addition, Fred Castaneda from Matrix Solutions Corporation did present a session titled “Podcasting means Business–and Additional Revenue Streams.”

The ProductCamps are a growing trend, with different cities hosting events (from the Bay Area in San Francisco to Atlanta, Georgia–and beyond).

In summary, for the Entrepreneur, it is a worthwhile event that provides a SHARING of skills, Best Practices and experiences with those who want to add value (no sales pitches allowed) to help others, regardless of industry. In addition, the networking opportunities were of great value.

If you want to see if a ProductCamp is scheduled near your location, you can look for the ProductCamp section or link at the wiki located at:

http://www.barcamp.org.

Copyright (c) 2009, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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