Mind Petals

Mind Petals www.mindpetals.com is an awesome site for young entrepreneurs who really want to make things happen. They've got networking, blogs, books, newsletters, conferences, and other various mediums of communication.

Jump Up In2 It!

So this is a pretty cool website for small businesses just starting up and wanting to Jump Into It!
http://jumpup.intuit.com/
There is the usual start up info, but what is good about this site is the tools that are there to use - from business plans, to marketing plans - there is some useful things there.

Australia's entreprenurial activity

Did you know?

"It is not just big business. A 2004 study by Keith Hindle, of the Swinburne University Graduate School of Entrepreneurship Research, found that Australia's total entrepreneurial activity fell from third to 15th place in 2002, the biggest fall of any country in the world."

What do we need to do?

What is now needed is a more comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurialism, including many more dubious forms of the activity and encompassing more constructive and mature variants.

New Biz Lingo: Creative Consumerism

To the consumer, the uniqueness of a product is important. This can be seen in the increased market of creative consumerism, which allows individuals to ‘customise’ their product consumption and also often obtaining new skills along with the product.

Creative consumerism is seen mainly with brewers, winemakers, car and camera manufacturers. Basically, if your product requires ‘skills’ to choose and use- you are using creative consumerism. Examples of this can be seen with Coopers Home-brewing kits for consumers to make pale ale, Mexican cerveza, Canadian Blonde and 16 other styles.

Going Broke: Young People also at Risk

Bankruptcy is usually associated with older people who may have led a professional life at one stage. Recent research however shows that young people are also experiencing bankruptcy.

The total number of bankruptcies in all age groups has increased, but as new figures show, improvement has been made with those people under 25. In 2001-2002, 12% of bankruptcies had occurred to a young person. For 2002-2003, this has declined to 9%, which shows that young people are being cared for in regards to their financial needs. Complacency cannot be practised however, as it is still a problem that looms for many young people.

For more information, check out:
http://www.youthfacts.com.au/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=258&op=page

In the Business of 'Angels'

Everyone who is setting up their business can do with a hand from the people who have been there and done that. The Founders Forum is a not-for-profit organisation, who does exactly this.

They run meetings where four companies are selected out of a pool of applicants to address the Member's of the organisation with a business proposition. What follows is the creation of a relationshipo between the company and entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists and other business professionals, which can only result in benefits for the business.

Throughout the whole process, the applicants are given advice on how to set up their business or how to improve the way they work from the organisations ‘angels’, which includes both community members and professionals.For more information, go to: http://www.foundersforum.com.au/index.cfm

How is your company closing the production cycle and making a difference?

80 tonnes!: The weight of old and unwanted computer equipment that won’t end up as landfill thanks to Dell Australia’s free recycling days.

On the 14th of October, Dell collected 400 unwanted computers, printers and displays in Melbourne. Items that were discarded included an ancient, 1983 Commodore 64! A further recycling day has been held in Perth and other states are expected to follow.

Generation Y: Employment Stats

Some interesting stats about Generation Y and employment.

• 40%: The proportion of Generation Y who will be working within the next five years, according to personnel company Drake.
• 63%: The percentage of Generation Y who stays at one job for less than two years.
• 52%: The proportion of Generation Y employees who assume it will be easy to get another job.

Top 18 Dos and Don’ts for Business Startups

Thanks to Fred Schebesta, a fellow young entrepreneur, for sending through this list he found....quite inspiring!

Do engage big things that can grow your business dramatically.

Do practice uncompromising integrity at all times.

Do live beneath your means, and have six months of business and living expenses in savings.

Do develop a strategic business plan, solidly emphasizing marketing.

Do choose a company name that will still represent you in five, 10 and 20 years.

Do ditch perfectionism; get yourself and your product out there now.

Do hire professionals to help in any area where you’re not an expert, especially for your marketing materials.

Do have a backup plan, not just for your computer, but for every essential system.

Do start building your customer database before you start building your business.

Don’t get distracted by naysayers; trust your vision.

Don’t quit your day job until you’re making real money.

Don’t risk losing your home by getting a home equity loan; explore other financing options instead.

Don’t invest in unnecessary bells and whistles such as expensive office furniture.

Don’t try to do it all yourself; delegate to family members until you can afford to hire your first employee.

Don’t cut corners on image; invest wisely in quality promotional materials and your wardrobe.

Don’t get addicted to time-stealers like e-mail and voice mail.

Don’t wait for the phone to ring; go after your prospects.

Don’t let stress wear you down; make time to take care of yourself.

......We do pretty much all of these all of the time, we are still working on the strategic business plan (seems so formal)!!

New market - Second Life is big bucks!

Have you heard of Second Life? Well, it is a virtual world that has been set up, where millions of people are now 'living, working and making money'. And this second life that people are setting up is starting to pay in the real world as well. Recent reports in BRW suggest that the computer-similuated economy in Second life is worth $US60million, and has been growing at 15% a month this year. This is some serious money.
So - young entrepreneurs who love a good opportunity, and a brand new market..... start investigating Second Life, where all you need to start your business is your internet connection.....and a lot of time!
Start creating :)
http://secondlife.com/