In an earlier episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we talked about the different organizations that assist aspiring entrepreneurs at the local level to launch their businesses–mainly the City and County levels.

However, there are other organizations with names very similar–but their mission, coverage of clients and funding are different.

In this audio interview, we speak to Joe Lam, the Associate Director of another organization called the Small Business Development Center — which is a federally funded group that is implemented at the State level to help entrepreneurs with programs and resources.

Joe On Lam is a Senior Certified Business Advisor based in Austin, Texas, for the Small Business Development Center (or SBDC). As you will hear in this audio episode, we investigate what the SBDC is, and how it is different than other entrepreneur-resource assistance organizations.  We also see how Joe On Lam’s group provides benefits to the Texas entrepreneurs to help them become successful–both during startup, as well as in growth stages.

What seems to be significant is the ROI for the services delivered by the SBDC. As Joe mentioned during the interview, for each dollar spent, there is a return of over six dollars that is delivered back to the local economy. This specific Texas SBDC region describes this in their annual report from a published study.

 As Joe Lam stated in our discussion, the mission of the SBDC is not to duplicate what other organizations are doing to provide services to the entrepreneurs in starting or launching their business. They also have a critical mission to help the entrepreneurs that have existing businesses and to provide support so that they can continue their success and maintain profitability.

The SBDC model is based on a partnership with the regional Universities to link sponsors and other resources to the entrepreneur. In addition to Texas State University (the Austin area of coverage), the University of Texas at San Antonio is another partner in the regional area.

 The recommendation is for entrepreneurs to visit the SBDC office and see what type of assistance and resources are available to them. As we said in this audio episode, since these Centers are funded with tax dollars,  we have paid for them as an existing asset in our entrepreneur toolbox.

Copyright (c) 2012, Matrix Solutions Corporation and the Small Business Development Center.  All rights reserved.

Small business owners have been flooded by a wealth of new titles, as different types of entrepreneurs are gaining specific meanings for their environment or their qualifications.

In the past, we have seen the following:

- Solo-preneur

- Necessity-preneur

- stage-two entrepreneur

and so forth, as there are many specifics growing every year.And now, as the conflicts where the military (in the form of the volunteer armed forces)  in the Middle East are winding down and the requirement for the citizen-soldier deployments are decreasing, we see the surge of the individual Armed Forces veteran that wants to start a wholly-owned business.

Welcome the VETREPRENEUR.

And this type of entrepreneur now has a myriad of resources, complete in some cases with a support structure. Of these, the most notable are a separate magazine for the Vetrepreneur.

For the background of this magazine, here are the links to see:

- the overview of Vetrepreneur Magazine;

- the cover of Vetrepreneur Magazine;

There are even new organizations to support the Vetrepreneur– some of them agencies of different levels of government, some non-profit, and some commercial.

Case-in-point: here is a web page for the association known as NaVOBA:

There are many other resources for the Vetrepreneur that include funding, networking, hiring, growing the business and assistance with aspiring entrepreneurs. Here is the link for the details from the panel discussion of Vetrepreneur resources from the Texas Veterans Commission 2012 Summit in Austin, Texas:

http://bit.ly/xAeae3

In addition, campaigns for awareness and action are also supporting the Vetrepreneur. Specifically, the “BUY VETERAN” slogan and recommendation is spearheading the campaign to encourage customers to buy their goods and services from Veteran-owned small businesses. This campaign is targeting federal, state and local governments and having them focus on awarding contracts to Vetrepreneurs who are submitting bids.

In one of the Veterans Commission conferences, I saw that the bumper stickers are now available that recommend “Buy Veteran.”

This campaign has a web site at www.buyveteran.com.

The statistics estimate that over 2 million veterans will be returning to civilian life starting this year. Of those, it is estimated that over 24 per cent will be veterans who will want to start their own small business and become the VETREPRENEURS.

We shall move deeper into this topic, as we plan to have interviews with aspiring and successful Vetrepreneurs in the near future — as well as dialogue with the organizations that will provide resources for the success of these small business owners.

Copyright (c) 2012, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.

We’ve all heard the story of the solo-preneur who was so excited at the start of the business that it seemed that the passion would never end. Working 90 hour weeks or 18 hour days was nothing compared to the excitement of “being your own boss” and seeing your entrepreneurial firm and venture grow and succeed.

But what happens when the passion is no longer there? or when it starts to decline? or, as they say, when “the thrill is gone”?

This episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur takes into account the scenarios that many entrepreneurs (especially solo-preneurs) describe at certain milestones of running their businesses when they discover that they are either “burned out” or that the “passion” that once drove them is no longer there.

This episode goes into the questions that each solo-preneur must ask concerning:

- the entrepreneurial venture (e.g., a service offered for a targeted market or audience)  and the entrepreneur’s firm  (i.e., the individual’s company);

- the product or service at the stage of its life cycle or success with its customer set or audience;

- the business model used by the entrepreneur and its validity at the moment and for the future (i.e., has it exhausted itself for this market or customer set?);

- the health of the entrepreneur (especially when medical problems or burn-out may be symptoms of problems that may interfere with running the business);

- the IMPORTANCE of passion in the criteria for the entrepreneur in the future of pursuing a business by this individual, as compared with the revenue and success of the business that is now successful; and

- the FUTURE of the entrepreneur by re-injecting the THRILL in the life of this individual. This could be by returning to Industry for a job; or  it could be by pursuing a direction with non-profit groups or contributing service to the community; or by being a serial entrepreneur and starting a new firm and new ventures.

We have a case-in-point from an individual who left his day-job several years ago and created his own podcasting business with his own network. The podcast episode is over an hour’s length. Yes, it could have been said in 15 minutes, but the style of this individual is repetitive stream-of-consciousness monologue.

However, this individual goes into the state of mind that he shares now that the passion has gone for some of his products, as well as the new directions that he is taking in the future (along with some new objectives).

You can listen to his story and the struggle he went through in realizing that “the thrill is gone” and how he made decisions to go in a new direction by not quitting.

Here is the link to this audio episode:

http://bit.ly/y4B1k3

The end of this audio episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur presents the process that we have followed, the questions we asked ourselves and the results for the new directions to which you may want to take your own business.

Copyright (c) 2012, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.

2011 was filled with changing themes, changing technologies and challenging roads for Entrepreneurs.

In this episode, we review all the podcasts and posts for 2011, with the title and a short description of each (in case you wish to go back to the archives and consume them).

As you will hear in this audio episode, 2011 was different than prior years because of the apprehension of individuals who hesitated or declined to be interviewed–either from what could be a previous negative experience in an interview or because of the tough year for small business owners who decided to spend more time on their business to increase revenue in a financially challenging year.

Fewer interviews were recorded because of the screening process in which we declined those individuals who asked to be interviewed only to promote their business, their brand, their book or their offering. We did not want to make this podcast series an infomercial. Instead, we wanted to provide the value of the entrepreneurs’ stories, their challenges and how they overcame them to reach their success.

Here is the list of the episodes and titles in 2011:

Episode 141- “NEVER GET A REAL JOB” - what it means to the Entrepreneur.

Episode 142- “Naming your Startup: Settle down, it’s cool!” - What to call your company.

Episode 143- Questions from an aspiring Entrepreneur - is this RIGHT for you?

Episode 140 - Small Business Development Program - help for the Entrepreneur.

Episode 144- Five themes for success for Small Business Owners.

Episode 145 - STARTUP FROM THE GROUND UP - A book review.

Episode 146- Successful Marketing for the Solo-preneur — with Jay Ehret.

Episode 147- Should an Entrepreneur hire Small Business Execs?

Episode 148- How Entrepreneurs can avoid the most common legal mistakes.

Episode 148A- 60 Great Books for Entrepreneurs.

Episode 149A- Successful exit strategy for “Stage-2″ Entrepreneur - Barry Curlee.

Episode 150- When you want to quit - because it’s just not worth it.

Episode 151- Entrepreneur James Weddle- a NETWORK offering and a LEAN community.

Episode 152- “DOs and DON’Ts” for Entrepreneurs of finding investors.

Episode 153-New Entrepreneur delivers CAREER DESIGN- Marc Miller.

Episode 153A- BURN RATE - what it is and what it means.

Episode 154- Enhancing Entrepreneurship by being a published author: DAVID JACKSON.

Episode 155- 20 Biographies every Entrepreneur should read.

Episode 156- Young Entrepreneur builds online promotion business: Tyler Ross.

Episode 157- Valuing your company for sale - From SMART BEAR.

Episode 158- Part-time Entrepreneur- from consultant to digital magazine: RAY ORTEGA.

Episode 158A- Professional Networker starts profitable business.

Episode 159- A hidden challenge for the Solo-preneur- and how to address it.

Episode 160- Ten Smart Phone apps for Startups and CFOs.

Episode 161- Approaching customers at the Startup stage.

Episode 162- Creating Entrepreneur revenue streams online.

Episode 163- Investment scams and how to avoid them.

Episode 163A- Entrepreneur Steve Jobs had STIGMA as a Startup.

Episode 164- Is Venture Capital funding needed for your firm?

Episode 164A- Reality Show helps Entrepreneurs to plan and launch- SB LIVE!

164B- Online learning for Entrepreneur Success- Jay Ehret.

164C- Entrepreneur “enables abilities to appear” - Darrell Hyatt.

165- Which investor is best for your Startup?

166 - The “3 ms” to attract investors

and this audio podcast episode,

167- Year in Review - 2011: A look at the episodes.

We thank you for your support of this show and we will return in 2012, where we will keep delivering to you more content where you can learn from those who succeeded as Entrepreneurs, as well as learn about resources to help you succeed.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.

We repurpose and deliver to you a brief podcast episode from Chris Benjamin, the Rogue CFO, from his Podomatic series titled ‘The Rogue CFO’s Expert Guide to Launch a Startup.’

In this Episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, the theme of the discussion are what Chris calls the “3 Ms” to find investors for your firm.

These 3 items are real issues for planning to obtain funding from investors to your small business:  Money, Marketing and Management.

A lot of issues turn into questions that investors expect you to have thought through in an excellent manner. Some of the presumed avenues will be challenged by the investors that expect the plan to match your business.

And Chris finally gives you some tips for structuring a management team that the investors will find solid.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Chris Benjamin Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.

This is a repurposed audio episode from the Podomatic podcast series from Chris Benjamin titled The Rogue CFO’s Expert Guide to Launching a Startup.

The question for this discussion is: which investor is best for your Entrepreneurial venture?

At a certain stage of your startup, you may want to consider the type of investor that would be best for your Business. As an entrepreneur, you should explore the 3 major types of investment for funding your entrepreneurial venture.

As you will hear in this audio episode,  Chris Benjamin explores the issues that you should examine when you are trying to decide which type of investor is best for your startup at the specific stage of your Small Business.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Chris Benjamin Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.

Attending business conferences allows you to meet new colleagues within your industry, business environment or niche. They also allow you to socialize with those who may end up being your close partners, suppliers, peers — and sometimes customers, as well.

While at BlogWorld and New Media Expo in Los Angeles recently, I happened to meet a small business owner who is both a blogger and podcaster. Although he was wheelchair-ridden, he was a very interesting entrepreneur who had been struggling to grow his business.

So this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur now brings you the story of Darrell Hyatt of the firm enablingabilities.com . It marks the struggles of an entrepreneur who is trying to get awareness, exposure and recognition by his target audiences–the senior users and those with disabilities.

 Although we may have what is referred to as a “premium ticket” to attend all the sessions, lectures, panels, presentations, etc., of the conference, sometimes the biggest value for us is to meet our peers and colleagues informally and learn from the dialogue and conversation that results with an exchange of information or learning about resources available to our niche that may give us a competitive differential advantage.

So it was with Darrell Hyatt.

As you will hear in this very short audio episode, Darrell finds more value in sharing tips and resources during the informal “networking” areas and sessions than in the actual scheduled premium presentations.

Originally from Canada, Darrell is trying to expand his base of subscribers to the U.S. and assist those with disabilities by providing value in the tech field with skills-transfer in the use of various electronic tools.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.

This new era of the online consumption of content can be a big help for the Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner that wants to improve the chances for business success. Thus, Entrepreneur Tools Online and Struggling Entrepreneur podcast series are delivering to you an interview with Jay Ehret, a small business marketing specialist.

Jay Ehret (who is known as @themarketingguy on twitter) is also himself an entrepreneur, and he is celebrating 10 years in running his own firm that helps entrepreneurs with their marketing–by means of consulting, training, instruction via webinars, blogging, education and live workshops. However, Jay is now venturing into what is affectionately called the “dial-a-webinar” model, in which he is providing an a-la-carte selection of his recorded webinars from his back catalog (but they are “evergreen”).

And Jay is now venturing into the model of delivering both education and training, as well as initial consultation, in a program that is called the ENTREPRENEUR’S EDGE.

Having known Jay, and having done co-presentations with him in events such as ProductCamp, I cannot wait to see the high quality of what he will deliver and the value it will bring to the entrepreneur.

As you will hear in this audio episode,  we discuss Jay’s vision for the online tools that entrepreneurs will be consuming to gain the skills they need and the knowledge that is necessary to plan for success–and avoid the “shotgun approach” (which he calls “tactic lust” in marketing).

By the way, Jay is also providing a 25 percent discount for any of his products in his online store at www.themarketingspot.com.

Jay has provided a discount code for any of his products in his online store.

The discount code is the following:  Fred25.

Our thanks to Jay and our best wishes for success in this second decade of being an entrepreneur, and now adapting the business model to online tools, online education and knowledge, and online consultation.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and The Marketing Spot. All Rights Reserved.

With his own podcast on iTunes called A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks, successful Entrepreneur Jason Cohen has provided a live question/answer format for startups, aspiring entrepreneurs and other small business owners to assist them in the pursuit of a successful venture.

In the late summer of 2011, Jason had over 70 live attendees in the main room at co-working location Cospace in Austin to  listen to those who wished to submit a question to the 3-person panel about any topic that dealt with startups — from marketing to ideas to launches to concepts to funding and capitalization, etc.

In this audio episode, you will hear several aspiring entrepreneurs seek advice from those three panelists who have a track record of successfully building and selling their entrepreneurial firms.

The podcast series A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks has also delivered episodes that dealt with topics like fringe benefits, as well as “the one important thing” for startups, etc. However, his SB Live! show episodes seem to be live call-in shows–which is what Jason really intended as his favorite format.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Jason Cohen at http:/blog.asmartbear.com. All rights reserved.

This is a repurposed audio episode from the Podomatic podcast series from Chris Benjamin titled The Rogue CFO’s Expert Guide to Launching a Startup.

The question addressed to Entrepreneurs: Is Venture Capital funding necessary?

And what do you do when it is not available? What other alternatives do you have, and how do you go about implementing them?

Chis Benjamin has had years of experience in dealing with Startups and securing funding for them through various means–including Venture Capital and Angel Investors.

If these are not necessary, then what can be a road to financing for the startup?

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Chris Benjamin Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.