Start Something, Columbia!

Link to the show notes.

Get the show notes at the Start Something, Columbia! blog: https://startsomethingcolumbia.blog/2019/01/21/jan15-storytelling-with-hasani-x/

Get the show notes from the Start Something, Columbia! blog: https://startsomethingcolumbia.blog/2019/03/19/march-19-key-relationships-1/

Here's the link to the shownotes: https://startsomethingcolumbia.blog/2018/10/09/oct-9-i-got-19-channels-and-video-aint-1/

Link to the show notes: https://startsomethingcolumbia.blog/2018/10/02/oct-2-lessons-from-failure/

Complete show notes on the Start Something, Columbia! blog https://wordpress.com/post/startsomethingcolumbia.blog/105

Complete show notes: https://wordpress.com/post/startsomethingcolumbia.blog/99

Complete show notes: https://startsomethingcolumbia.blog/2018/09/22/july-31-web-mobile-marketing/

Small Business Week Preview episode: Kasie Whitener, Clemson Road Consulting and Larry Jennings, Capsure Studios Theme for the day: It’s Small Business Week! Lots of events to preview, articles to share, and political promises to make. Agenda review: What we’re going to do today: Today we’ve got music from Mark Rapp, Freeway Music instructor and South Carolina’s Jazz Ambassador, as named by the legislature on February 8th, not kidding; learn more about hims at markrapp.com. He’ll be playing at First Thursday this week, we’ll talk more about that later. We’ll hear from Ashleigh Edwards of Iconic Sports Performance, the Midlands only basketball-focused athletic training facility. We’ll hear from Tia Bethea, a representative of the Grow with Google event, it’s taking place all day Wednesday at 701 Whaley Street, networking, live demonstrations of Google tools, and workshops all free to the Columbia business community. Savannah Wilburn of the SC SBA will call in and talk about the importance of the week and preview some of their events. Full Show Notes: https://www.clemsonroad.com/single-post/2018/05/01/Small-Business-Week-First-Thursday-and-more

Start Something, Columbia! took on a Small Business Week re-cap today. Here are the show notes: Kasie Whitener, Clemson Road Consulting and Larry Jennings, Capsure Studios Theme for the day: Last week was Small Business Week! Lots of events to review, articles to share, and political changes to discuss. Agenda review: What we’re going to do today: Today we’ve got music from Mark Rapp, Freeway Music instructor and South Carolina’s Jazz Ambassador, as named by the legislature on February 8th, not kidding; learn more about him at markrapp.com. This week’s 1MC is a panel about last week’s Small Business Week events, so we’re going to be recapping everything that happened (that we can remember) and welcome your calls to give us feedback on last week’s celebration of small businesses. Some big news last week, looking forward to sharing that with you. And some special guests from last week who covered a lot of great topics. So we’ll get that to you, too. Full Show Notes: https://www.clemsonroad.com/single-post/2018/05/08/Small-Business-Week---What-You-Missed

Theme for the day: Artist Entrepreneurs Agenda review: What we’re going to do today: First, we’re speaking with Jarrod Haning, recovering freelance musician and current performance coach; Then we’ll hear from Shennice Cleckley, serial entrepreneur and self-published author; Last, we’ll get a preview of tomorrow’s 1MC with Nick Hayden, outgoing President of the University of South Carolina’s entrepreneurship club. A very full day! Segment 1: Music as an entrepreneurial venture Last week we talked Gig Economy, some refresh stats: “an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.” Intuit predicts that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors; $2.7 trillion; things driving this shift: mobility, digitization of work, companies learned contractors are cheaper, and millennials are more fluid and transitory. This week: Artists, creatives, and those Gig Economy people who are working their passion jobs as their “real” jobs. Musicians are another category and we have a recommended interview now from our friend Bill Grant, himself a creative, he’s a videographer, a film professional. He said if you’re talking musician freelancers, you have to talk to Jarrod Haning, our first guest. Full Show Notes: https://www.clemsonroad.com/single-post/2018/04/24/The-Gig-Economy-Part-II

Tuesday's "Start Something, Columbia!" radio broadcast featured entrepreneurs in the nonprofit space. We talked about 6 Ways Nonprofit Entrepreneurs are Distinct from Traditional Entrepreneurs 60% of social entrepreneurs are women, while only 41% of traditional entrepreneurs are women Survival rates are higher for nonprofits -- 84% survive the first 5 years vs. 50% of regular businesses The average age of nonprofit founders is higher (53) than traditional founders (40) Education level -- 89% of nonprofit founders have a bachelor’s degree, while only 31% of traditional entrepreneurs have a college degree. Full show notes here: https://www.clemsonroad.com/single-post/2018/04/11/Passion-Driven-Entrepreneurship

Larry Jennings of Capsure Studios and Dr. Kasie Whitener of Clemson Road Consulting Theme for the day: What problem are you solving? This week at 1 MC -- Orvel Ronk of Ronk Security solutions. They provide security assessments and crisis planning for organizations. They also provide active shooter trainings for schools, businesses, and community organizations. Orvel’s business is security but it’s peace of mind he’s selling. Topic of the week -- What Problem are you Solving? From Hobbyist to Entrepreneur: the workshop I teach at Richland Library, we talk about hobbyist businesses; you might have one of those. Here are some examples: Example hobbyist businesses: Matt’s Cornhole Boards – customized, regulation size, fine craftsmanship Heather’s Matilda Jane resale business – high-end children’s clothing sold via consignment Sarah’s String Art – custom designs in team colors, interests like super heroes, displays like medal hangings Lisa’s Palmetto Timesavers courier service – carrying items like medical records, contracts, etc. across the state Mike’s western novels – creating, typing, revising/editing, finding a publisher/printer But if you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to be solving a problem. This comes directly from the Lean Canvas -- a business planning tool. The very first question is “What problem am I solving?” Examples of businesses that solve a problem: Google solves internet search Uber solves taxi availability Article on LifeHacker.com “The things people around you complain about can be the biggest key to identifying where your time is best spent.” Think about the problems around you every day and try to work on fixing them. “Don’t just start a business, solve a problem.” Focus on building a MUST HAVE, not a ‘nice to have’ product Solve real, painful problems Your business should be your passion --- but good businesses are equal parts passion and planning; when it gets tough, you have to be passionate enough about it to keep going; still, it needs to be a viable idea, right? So plan your way into a successful execution. How can you find a problem to solve? A great article on Inc.com: Start with a brainstorm list: what are you passionate about? What is this town missing? What does society need? Some hot segments to focus on: clean energy, robotics, cybersecurity, transportation and artificial intelligence. The article suggests a Venn diagram, those things you’re interested in and the things that need solving, looking for overlaps. Next, define the problem. Narrow that Venn diagram or brainstorm list to the thing you really want to attack. Then, research. Are there people/businesses out there that have tried to solve this problem? How did they do it? Did they succeed? Why or why not? Last, write your solution story. Use that Problem, Others tried, But we… structure to tell people what you do, why and for whom. Other Lean Canvas questions: Unique value proposition, Customer segments, Unfair advantage, Early adopters, Existing alternatives, Key metrics, Cost structure, Revenue streams