Moving On To Bigger and Better.....Or So We Hope!

It’s graduation time for many as we approach the holidays. Professors have passed down all of their knowledge, extensive studying has been done, lengthy papers and impossibly difficult exams have been completed, and hours upon hours of sleep have been lost.   All of the time and hard work that’s necessary to finish comes at a tremendous opportunity cost, and all you have to show for it is a pretty piece of paper with your name on it stating that you’re qualified in your chosen career field.  What’s next?  Do you follow the path you originally intended or have your passions shifted in the time you’ve been enrolled?  Do you take some time off to celebrate your accomplishments or immediately start to stress on how you are going to pay back the massive amount of debt that you had to accrue in order to obtain a college education?  Regardless of what the near future may hold, there is one action that everyone not starting his or her own business has to do in order to take the first step into true adulthood.  That step is a job interview.

This can be a complete breeze or the most stressful thing someone can do, and it’s usually at one extreme or the other.  You may thrive in situations where you are grilled face-to-face on how you work and strategize, what your past experiences are, and what you consider to be your individual strengths and weaknesses.  On the other hand, you may absolutely hate being put on the spot, visibly show how nervous you are by fidgeting and sweating, and make it clear that you don’t know how to handle what’s being asked of you.  Lets talk about some best practices that can help both sides of the fence…whether you are the confident one or a nervous wreck.

The first thing worth mentioning seems relatively obvious, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s unreal how many people do not follow this rule.  It is the way you dress.  Unless the person you’re interviewing with says otherwise, dress professionally.  I personally have experience in interviewing candidates for positions, and you can place strike one on yourself by showing up in blue jeans and a t-shirt.  Even if money is tight, most people can still afford to buy one pair of dress pants and a dress shirt.  Whether it’s Armani or it’s Wal-Mart brand, the effort of attempting to look your best shows that you are taking the opportunity seriously.

A second important piece of the puzzle to remember is to know your strengths and weaknesses.  Again, this is pretty simple to understand but some people just don’t get it.  If you’re applying for a job at a financial institution, it’s likely that they are going to want to talk a little about how you handle numbers.  If you’re applying at Best Buy, they most likely want to know what your interests in electronics are.  Be prepared for questions like this.  Nothing frustrates an interviewer more than someone who can’t describe what his or her own abilities are and how they can improve on weaknesses.  One can only assume that you don’t think you’re very good at anything, which can’t be true, right?  Right!

Next, try to prepare if you know you notoriously crash and burn during interviews.  The Internet is a tremendous resource to find typical questions that will be asked during an interview, and there are even websites out there that will give you information on questions that are asked by specific companies.  Glassdoor.com is a great resource to find questions like this.  Then, ask your friends and/or family to interview you with these questions.  Be careful to make sure you ask the right people though.  Grandma usually isn’t the best choice because she most likely will sugar coat your feedback and tell you how amazing you did instead of giving you a real, honest response.  Find a friend or family member that will shoot it to you straight.  It will be worth it in the end.

Ok, so you’re dressed sharp, you know your abilities and areas for improvement, and you’ve practiced like crazy to be pitch perfect.  It’s interview time. What’s the last piece of advice to keep reminding yourself of?  Relax!!!  We all know this part is difficult even if you are good at interviews because a lot can be on the line.  On top of that, the economy isn’t fantastic right now, so getting a job interview may be a victory in itself.  However, you’ve gotten to the interview point, which means you have the potential for employment.  You’ve already gotten past a step that many can’t get past in the first place.  Know that, remind yourself of it, and use it to boost your confidence as you go in to blow your interviewer away.  All of the above steps that we’ve discussed will also build upon your confidence because you’ve made yourself very well prepared.  Combine them all, and you’ll become an interview machine.  Good luck!

Looking in the Mirror

Use your own advice.  This idea is something that is often times missed out on by folks that enjoy helping people out.  People can get so focused on trying to excel others that they completely forget the help they are offering can be just as useful for their own business and/or daily life.  In the same token, one of the most important lessons in giving advice is to make sure you aren’t offering guidance to people that you wouldn’t use yourself.  This is a life lesson that I have always tried to follow.

That being said, I have been working hard on a business plan for almost a year.  The topics that I have covered throughout my journey within this blog will reflect on my interests and goals.  However, it’s coming time to wrap up my degree and the end result is to have a completed executive summary to pitch to an investor.  Specifically, the previous post has been great help as I have worked through the kinks of my ideas this month.  There are pieces that I have taken from both Mark Cuban and Ron Conway that I have since implemented into my own strategies.

One of the primary lessons that I took from doing research on Mark Cuban was his particular interest in content driven businesses.  He made it very clear that he knows consumers will pay for high-end content as long as they are passionate about the product or service that’s being offered.  In my circumstance, my business plan focuses directly on Cuban’s interests in many, many ways.  My plan’s primary focus is content and my consumer base is extremely passionate about the product that I’m offering.  It’s also sports related, which is just another bonus for Cuban.  Another piece to the puzzle that Cuban looks for is volatility within a company.  This is another major function that I have implemented within my own business.  The content my company offers isn’t at all seasonal, and the way that content drives multiple different types of niche consumers throughout the year to my business allows us to maintain a steady revenue stream.  Finally, Cuban looks for potential opportunities with entrepreneurs that have focused just as much on execution as they have the product or service that they want to use to make money.  I have spent a tremendous amount of time on developing my product idea, but I have spent more time creating various strategies that will expose my product to the consumer and keep them engaged in several different ways.  I feel that learning more about Cuban definitely helped my narrow that focus a little more.

The primary emphasis for Ron Conway in forms of a potential business investment is an Internet presence.  My business plan is entirely dependent on the abilities of the Internet, and because of Conway’s outlook I have continued to develop more ways to gain a further market share online.  The second piece of the puzzle that Conway looks for is referrals.  The more people brag about the potential and the entrepreneur from a personality and abilities standpoint, the more likely Conway seems to be to invest.  Throughout the time I have been developing and fine-tuning my plan, I have made sure to connect and network with individuals that would both use my product and serve me well as a referral and/or connection.  I feel confident that everyone I have come in contact with throughout my journey at Full Sail and life in general would have nothing but good things to say about my personality, demeanor, work ethic, and ability to succeed.  The component of networking is something that I have put additional effort into since I initially researched and learned more about what Ron Conway looks for.  However, this is a focus that I have had for some time.  The business side of my networking has, however, been a little more hardcore since I came across Conway’s ideas.

Of all of the pieces and parts of the executive summary, there are a couple that I feel are the most important for investors to look at.  The first section would most definitely be the product description.  The reason I say this is that I have gained a tremendous amount of positive reactions when describing exactly what my business does, and it’s something that isn’t currently offered anywhere.  Because of this, I know that an understanding of what my business offers is the most important piece for me.  The second section I feel is very important is the opportunity for revenue and growth within the financials.  Because of the lack of current competition and the passion of the consumers I will be working with, the plan is low risk and high reward.  Finally, I feel as if it’s important for potential investors to at least take a peek at some marketing strategies that I have developed for the company.  They are highly interactive with the consumer and cost effective, both of which are important for startups working on a budget.

All and all, I have taken away a lot from Cuban and Conway (that sounds like a law firm).  Both gentlemen offer a tremendous amount of experience and opportunity, and give advice that is unparalleled in terms of what I am looking to do as a business owner.  I can only hope that I could somehow get the opportunity to pitch to either one of these individuals.  Particularly Cuban because of his background and what he does currently, but both individuals and investors in general offer budding entrepreneurs something that many people fight for and never get; opportunity.