This is a guest post from Virgilia and Danielle who are working on an awesome new project called GenJuice.
One of the most misunderstood notions that will keep you from seeing success as a future entrepreneur is the belief that you need to have an idea before leaving your corporate job and pursuing your passions. However, the truth is you really don’t know what you’re looking for until you’ve gone out, evaluated different possibilities and chatted with both new and tenured entrepreneurs.
We’ve organized meetups and events meant to help young people do this very thing. Below are four ways we’ve seen people who attend GenJuice events become entrepreneurs without having their own business idea first.
1. Attend events designed for aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs.
I attended Women 2.0 Startup Weekend in San Francisco in Fall 2009, equipped with nothing more than a half-baked idea and desire to meet new people. During the weekend, I heard talks from amazing first-time entrepreneurs. I participated in workshops that helped me refine my venture idea and pitch, and I had the opportunity to weigh-in on other attendees’ ideas. The attendees who had no idea of their own joined already existing teams and contributed according to their strengths. It was a win-win event for those with and without an idea; the only requirement was a will to work with others! Your homework: Look up and attend entrepreneurial groups and events in your area and business plan competitions at local colleges. One of the best ways for me to get inspired is hearing about what other early stage entrepreneurs are working on. The best networking is done face to face and on a personal basis — think of it as dating. You’ll soon realize what kind of projects are out there and you never know, maybe you’ll even decide to join a startup and learn what you want to do based on your experiences.You never know– they may want you to join their team or help you curate your own venture idea!
2. Read blogs discussing the latest trends in your field of interest.
Do you stay up to date with the latest trends in your field of interest? What are the hottest companies in online publishing, B-to-B technology, dog walking, or whatever makes you hot? If you don’t know the answer to this, then you should get reading! As an aspiring entrepreneur, you should know the current business models in your field that are getting the most traction and attention. Keep these models in mind when you’re refining your own venture idea. Homework time! Subscribe to 3 blogs in your field of interest (i.e. TechCrunch, Inside Social Games, Inc., etc.) and/or set up Google Alerts for keywords related to your interests (i.e. startup funding, online retail website, group discount startup, etc.). If you’re feeling daring, then you get bonus points for starting your own blog! If you do, send us a line and we’ll be happy to let our GenJuice network know about it!
3. Stalk entrepreneurs on Twitter and land a coffee or lunch date.
You’re on Twitter, right? If not, then get on there and start lurking ASAP. If you want to be an entrepreneur, who better to speak with than an already thriving one? Here’s your homework: Go on WeFollow.com, Twitter Directory Awesomeness, and find the top Tweeters in categories that interest you and in your city. Follow them on Twitter. Read the articles that they tweet about, and respond/comment using ‘@’ or by ‘RT’-ing their post. After about 15-30 days, DM or ‘@’ them with a proposal for a chat. Try: “Hey Mike, love the articles about online publishing you’ve been tweeting about. Have time to chat this week?” Let us know how fast you land a coffee or lunch date!
4. Understand Your Strengths
Grab a piece of paper and literally write down your strengths. It’s empowering to see what you come up with, and will help create your overall personal brand. For instance, if my strengths are strategy, business development and emerging markets then my personal brand may be: “Strategist by trade who’s passionate about taking products and services into the latest emerging markets.” This will not only help you understand yourself, but will help pair you up with potential future partners who may be looking for someone with your similar strengths.
Finding the perfect idea is difficult. You have to be open to meeting different kinds of people, learning about different kinds of ideas and understanding your own strengths. This is all a part of the process of making your projects or ventures as successful as you’d like them to be. If you’d like to attend an event where you get to have practice runs with several individuals who could potentially be your co-founders or teammates, feel free to check out a GenJuice Tour event in your city.
Virgilia’s Bio:
Virgilia Singh is in love with the concepts of innovation and sustainability and has founded and managed a variety of projects. She collected experiences in the corporate world while working for Booz Allen Hamilton, building a product innovation strategy for Intel, and advising a UN Ambassador on how to empower women economically worldwide. Virgilia recently left her stable full-time position in DC to co-found GenJuice, a tour launching this summer that is geared towards connecting and highlighting young innovators and entrepreneurs across the nation. You can get in touch with her at virgilia@genjuice.com.
Danielle’s Bio:
Danielle Leslie left her Sales and Business Development role at social gaming startup RockYou to take a risk on a fast-moving project called GenJuice. Danielle will be evangelizing innovation and youth entrepreneurship in Summer 2010 during The GenJuice Tour. Danielle loves discussing marketing and new business models and believes that with the right marketing strategy, anything can become a home run venture. You can get in touch with her at danielle@genjuice.com.
Photo Credit: Robert S. Donovan
