In my personal experience I can say that two words describing the life of a budding entrepreneur come to mind rather quickly. The first one is “frugality,” and the second one is “discipline.”

There are other words that describe the life of an entrepreneur that may be more pleasant to think about–like “freedom”; however, the word freedom is more indicative of the rewards of frugality and discipline that will come in time.

I remember when I finally decided to take the plunge and start my first business. I was making really good money in the corporate world and I had some stock I could sell that was worth about $10,000 to get started. I knew I had two choices in how I could use that money. One was to use the money to buy materials, tools, and supplies to get the company started; the other was to sit on the money and use it to live on as I built my company and made my first profit.

I remembered watching a friend of mine who had decided to start a trim carpentry business. He had some seed money, he had tools, and he had an older van. I remember that he thought his business would be more successful at the start if he purchased new tools, a new van, news signs on the van, and other (according to him) essentials. He went out and spent his seed money—“betting on the come”–and then spent the next few months chewing his nails to the quick looking for a profit. He had new payments and a large overhead right out of the starting gate. Within a year he was selling his new van and tools and looking for a job. I believe his only mistake was that he started off with too much overhead and too many liabilities.

Now, that is not to say that in some cases upfront expenditures don’t exist or aren’t completely unnecessary, but as a budding entrepreneur you have to be very wise in your initial spending. Yes, it’s an awesome feeling to have a new van, new tools, and a new desk or office, but when the “new” bills start coming in faster than the initial profits—it can steal your momentum and your drive.

I thought through this memory of my friends experience and I decided to see how well I could move forward with what I already had in place. I made it sort of a challenge to myself to see just how frugal I could be as I began my new company. I decided to be as frugal and disciplined as I could with my seed money, and that I would not make any purchase until it became evident that I had to make the purchase to continue moving forward.

What did I do? I started a decorating company out of the back of a 1981 Toyota Hatchback. Yes (laughing) it was ugly. Yes, I was at times embarrassed, but I was able to see a profit rather quickly and I wasn’t chewing my nails to the bone and eating Tums every night before bed. As I landed each new contract, I would buy a new tool or some other supply I needed. Within six months I was able to pay cash for an old ford truck. Eventually, I bought a new truck and had custom signs made for the sides of the truck. Within three years I had installers working for me and all I did was handle sales. During the first six months the $10,000 that I had set aside was a life saver. There were times in the beginning that I had to pay myself a salary from that savings. I had learned a valuable lesson from my friend’s unfortunate demise.

Obviously there are a million scenarios to staring a business that are different from the above example; however, the principles are the same in almost any start-up business. Discipline and frugality are vital principles to live by as a budding entrepreneur.

Most people dream of owning their own business, but only a few really step out and take on the task of creating their dream. There is always one more distraction and one more issue, and they say to themselves– “If I can just get past this or that, I will start my own business.”

The truth is that it will never get easier, the distractions will never go away, and in this economy, it will always be a risk; however, it is doable and you should follow your gut because you only have one life. I remember the headline of an old show—“This is your life.” I think of it often because an old friend of mine who was successful used to tell me that all the time when I had a job and was dreaming of owning my own business. He gave me the same speech over and over again—this is your life, this is not a warm up act, it`s now or never. I had a cushy job with Georgia Power Company in the mid 1990`s but I was so unhappy and unfulfilled. My wife was determined to keep that ball and chain around my foot because she loved the security of that income; however, I had something inside of me that had to be set free. I dreamed of becoming a self-employed, self-made man.

Having said all that, what is the path to entrepreneurship? What is the best way to step out? What are some reasonable and solid first steps? There are a multitude of answers to these questions but I will give you my best advice based on my own experience.

Number One:

Decide what it is that you dream of doing. You may have several ideas but you must focus on only one of them—the others are a distraction. No matter what that may be–there is a way to present it and accomplish it in ways that no one else can but you. You have a unique talent inside of you that no one else has—you must believe that.

Number Two:

Find a mentor. This is a vital step. Even if you have a one-of-a-kind widget that no one else has ever marketed before, someone else has been there. Someone else has had to walk that path. Find a mentor that you can copy, emulate, and look up to for your pathway to the dream. Most successful people are glad to give advice, or, glad to mentor someone who is trying to follow a dream. Dreamers respect other dreamers.

Number Three:

Don`t listen to the other crabs in the bucket. There is an old story about crab fisherman. The story says that they don`t need to put a lid on the bucket they store their crabs in because the other crabs pull each other back into the bucket. Every time a crab starts to climb out of the bucket, the other crabs grab his leg and pull him back into the bucket and stop his escape. This is true of those around you in your life. Most people are afraid to step out of the normal routine in life—a job. If you go around telling others of your plans do not expect a lot of support.

Number Four:

Believe! You have to believe, and you cannot afford to allow anyone or anything to steal your dream!

There are many other stepping stones of advice that one could give, however, these four are the basic foundations that must be set in place if you are to succeed in your new adventure. This is what makes America great—we have the freedom to succeed–or fail, but failure is nothing more than an experience on the way to success for those who never quit!

• A global financial crisis not seen since the 1920′s
• The liberation of several Middle East countries: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lybia
• The assassination of Osama Bin Laden
• The rise of Google and Apple along with the death of Steve Jobs

We could fill a page with recent historical events – many of which are meaningful to the entrepreneurial effort. Clearly the most impactful event to your daily life is that of the global economy. Staying true to the great American spirit, protesters took to the streets (all across the country) in the Occupy Wallstreet movement. These protesters consider themselves the “99 percent” who are not millionaires in the United States. Furthermore, they blame corporate greed and lack of regulations for the financial crisis and current unemployment rate (still about 9%). While BossStart may not fully agree with the Occupy Wallstreet theory, we fully support their right to assemble and speak. This concept is a bedrock in our democratic society.

As the Occupy Wallstreet movement continued, another group became somewhat irritated – not really accepting of the Occupy stance. This group emerged as ‘We Are 53′.  ‘We Are 53′ represents the 53% of Americans who will (as opposed to those who will not) pay federal income taxes this year. Similar to Occupy, ‘We Are 53′ is a grassroots moment – but from the conservative perspective vs. that of the liberal. The ‘We Are 53′ folks share stories of: accountability, being responsible, taking ownership of your future, taking risks, contributing to society and the economy in general. The ‘We Are 53′ crowd is just as frustrated with the economic conditions but don’t look to Washington for the fix – and we couldn’t agree more!

The “fix” is going to come from our readers – and entrepreneurs throughout this country! You are the backbone of this great nation and you will be the solution to the current economic crisis.

One source states the following:

Fully 99 percent of all independent enterprises in the country employ fewer than 500 people. These small enterprises account for 52 percent of all U.S. workers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Some 19.6 million Americans work for companies employing fewer than 20 workers, 18.4 million work for firms employing between 20 and 99 workers, and 14.6 million work for firms with 100 to 499 workers. By contrast, 47.7 million Americans work for firms with 500 or more employees.

Furthermore, entrepreneurs are the primary source of diversity, equality, minority and female-owned small businesses that are currently on the rise. (By the way: All these small business owners – in addition to taking risks – are paying taxes!)

But wait!

Like an infomercial:  THERE’S MORE….

Let’s not forget the entrepreneurial spirit that gave birth to the following organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Toms, McDonalds…. Today, you wouldn’t classify them as a small businesses and the iPhone-toting Occupy group would certainly consider them a part of Wallstreet. But lets acknowledge that these large companies, and countless others, were a result of great entrepreneurialism!!  Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Jeff Bezos - they didn’t sit in a local park and complain about what they’re entitled to – they spent their time creating, designing, taking risks, and building a business!

We are BossStart and We (too) Are 53!

The Road Is Calling

The first thing you need to understand about bicyclists is their passion.

“Cycling customers are very passionate about what they do. They really have a passion for the sport/for riding – whether it’s recreationally, as a commuter, or professionally.”

“Fyxation is a bicycle components brand. We produce products mainly geared towards urban cyclists. Our goal is to bring pioneering components and innovative technology to the urban bicyclists. I started the company in May of 2009. I’ve always been a cyclist, a commuter, and part of the bicycle industry. I saw a great opportunity with all the growth and other people getting on board with commuting, riding the city, and choosing bicycles as everyday transportation.”

“We cater to above average cyclists who really live and breath riding in the city. I came to Fyxation with a long product design background and with extensive experience with both bicycling and motorcycling. Because of our experience, Fyxation is able to offer new technologies and new products very quickly. Another advantage we have in regards to experience, is that I spent several years living overseas in Taiwan and China. We have a really close connection with our manufacturing base over there so we’re able to take our new ideas into production that much faster. I can take new ideas from paper and put it to the computer very quickly. Then we bring it to the manufactures and finally the riders faster than most companies.”

When asked about boot-strapping his business:

“I’ve had a passion for doing things on my own for as long as I can remember. Whether it was cutting grass as a kid, or actually starting my first business about 15 years ago. I was developing websites and different Internet technology for local companies when I was in college; but Fyxation came out of my passion for cycling. I’ve been an average bicyclist, I’ve competed at different levels for the last 15 years, and I’ve been involved in product design for major manufacturing companies. I lived and worked overseas to develop manufacturing for different bicycle companies and I always had it in the back of my mind to do it for myself one day. It was kind of a combination of the skill sets I’ve developed over the years, manufacturing connections I’ve made, and the growth of urban cycling as a segment that pushed me over the edge and led me to launch my own thing.”

“There wasn’t a lot of formal planning, I would have to say. It was something I’ve wanted to do for years and we saw a hole in the market for a particular product. Our first product we launched was our Session 700 Tire and it really filled a niche in the urban cycling segment that no one had filled. We used that as the impetus to start our company. I was at a point in my career where I could jump on it and with very little planning decided to just go for it. It’s really years in the making through my experience though. At the time I started this I was running another business that specialized in helping us customers source product out of Asia, as well as doing contract design, so I was able to self-finance the company.”

Running With Biking

“We do whatever we need to do everyday to get the job done. As a small company, I am personally involved in everything. From answering tech calls, to developing new products, to speaking with our overseas vendors, or running our website – pretty much anything that needs to get done on a daily basis, we get done. We’re really connected to our customer and fan base via Facebook and Twitter. We’re very active on our blog to keep people abreast of what we’re doing as well as what other people are doing in our niche. We use our website as a tool to not only keep our customers informed about what we’re up to but also to inform people of where our market, as a whole, is going.”

“Right now we have 2 full time employees and outside sales reps that help us domestically here in the states. Internationally, in Taiwan, we work very closely with another company that helps us keep an eye on manufacturing. We have warehoused product over there so we have a strategic partner we work with very closely overseas. We only have two employees but we leverage a larger team that way.”

“A challenge for any small business is definitely funding and cash flow. We’re brimming with ideas and possibilities and it seems that whenever we bring a new product to market it’s very well received. So, as most small companies, you’re always looking at ‘what can we do with our current budget and how best can we grow the business?’ The second biggest challenge as a new company is getting your name out. When we started we were just basically a couple guys, and now we’re proud to say that our products are sold and distributed in over 20 countries. We’re well represented in Europe, Asia, Australia, and throughout North America. In a short period of time we’ve been able to really grow awareness about our products and brand, but that’s still a continuing challenge and we’re always looking for continuing means of doing that. Whether it’s using Facebook and Twitter to leverage social media or doing real grass roots sponsorship of events. We’re really trying to reach out to anybody who touches base with us to try to help them out with their local events because we know the people riding and participating on the very local level share our same passion and are the key to our growth and success. Within our cycling midst there’s a lot of real local level events. Anywhere from 10 people to 1000 people, and we’re not afraid to get involved on any level. We’ll get involved in sponsoring events whenever we can. We’ve gotten a good foothold with dealers and distributers worldwide and we’re just going to continue to expand our product line and branch into some new stuff.”

“It’s been an amazing and a quick ride and we really see us continuing on that track.”

Keeping The Gears Of Business Turning

“I think with any business that deals directly with retail customers and bicycle shops there’s always people that will have issues, complaints, or difficulty with the product and we certainly understand that. I’ve personally worked in bicycle stores. I’m a customer myself and I understand that there’s nothing more frustrating than spending a lot of money on something or to have your bike down for any reason. Our philosophy towards customer service is to do whatever we can and bend over backwards to help our customers out. It’s so important as a new company that if anyone takes the time to contact you (whether they’re upset or confused, or whatever the case may be) that they walk away with a great feeling about your business and whoever it was that they contacted.  We’ll always land on the side of taking care of the customer.”

“One thing that comes up over and over with myself, and I’ve seen in not only with my business but working for other businesses, is you that should learn to go with your gut. We launched this company on instinct – but that was based on being in the industry for years and having a feeling about where things are going. As an entrepreneur you have to make decisions everyday, so you have to have a pulse on the industry you’re involved in to be able to make decisions quickly. If you have a really strong passion for an idea or a concept for a company, and there is a way to get it out there and the market is going that way, I think you’d be surprised at how often you could be successful.”

“The most important thing to remember, from an entrepreneur stand point or not, is: enjoy what you do. If you can get involved in something that you’re passionate about it’s going to make you all the more successful.”

To learn more about Fyxation, please visit:

Website: Fyxation.com

Blog: Fyxation.com/blog

Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Fyxation-Gear-for-Urban-Riders/88869311790

Twitter: Twitter.com/#!/fyxation

While some argue that an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur at birth, it is still wise to add some tools to your arsenal as you evolve into a successful entrepreneur. This week we are looking at some of the top colleges to study entrepreneurship. Even though entrepreneurship has been around for a while, Joseph Schumpeter helped gain notoriety for the entrepreneur movement in the 1930′s. Only in the last 5-10 years has entrepreneurship see tremendous growth – enough so it has even been referred to as the ‘current solution to the economic downturn’. This weeks Boss 5 shares 5 Outstanding Entrepreneur Colleges In The US.

Brigham Young University (BYU) Provo, UT

BYU offers an outstanding entrepreneurship and technology program. In 2010 it ranked 4^th in The Princeton Review of 2010 Best Entrepreneurial Colleges. The tuition average cost is $19,960 and boasts a faculty consisting of 100% who are entrepreneurs.

University of Chicago (UC) Chicago, IL

With 63% of faculty being an entrepreneur, the school is still ranked among one of the best in the world for its business program. Six faculty members of the UC Booth School of Business have won Nobel Prizes for their effective approach to business. UC even awards $75,000 yearly for business plan competitions. UC even has several mentorship programs for upcoming entrepreneurs.

University of Arizona (AZU) Tucson, AZ

AZU’s Eller College of Management’s Department of Management Information Systems is ranked #7 overall in the country.Tuition at AZU is from $16,000 to $30,000 a year. Scholarships are available for entrepreneur students. As part of AZU’s entrepreneur concentrated program, there are programs to help aspiring entrepreneurs with writing a business plan and helping startups get funding.

Rice University (RU) Houston, TX

RU’s MBA programs have been recognized for leadership and innovation throughout the world by Business Week, U.S. News and World Report, the Financial Times, the Economist, and Entrepreneur magazine. RU has Mentorships programs, 100% of faculty entrepreneurs and over $400,000 in scholarships monies are available. Tuition is around $40,000.

University of South Florida (USF) Tampa, FL

Not only is USF located in metropolitan Tampa, FL, it boasts a strong entrepreneur program with yearly tuition averaging around $19,500. USF offers mentor programs, scholarships funds, and many entrepreneurial organizations to help grow the community.

Q. Tell our readers about your business, your passion, and what it is that you do? What’s your story? And what sets you apart from other businesses in your particular market?

“The concept and idea behind Wheelmen & Co. began in Ireland in the late 1800′s. Wheelmen & Co. designs and creates classic and timeless American made Accessories and Apparel that are meant for commuting with. The materials we use and the way our products are manufactured are similar to the ways products were made over a century ago. Simply put – we are Classic Tailoring : Modern Function.”

“My Great Grandfather, Thomas Smith was one of the first bicycle mechanics in Ireland in the late 1800′s. As a young child, and even until today, my natural love for biking and commuting never slowed. I always loved design and after schooling, I was hired at a company with deep roots and a strong cultural following in New York City. This company still is the base, which many companies look to for inspiration. There I learned about apparel, production, design and marketing. I later went on to work with many companies in New York City and in Los Angeles. I always wanted to create my own company that accommodated commuting and fashion. For me starting Wheelmen & Co. was like meeting the right person in your life. You are not necessarily looking but when it happens you know it’s the right fit. I needed to be in the right place and time to begin building Wheelmen. This meant knowing the market and a means of producing what I was about to start to build.”

“Wheelmen & Co. designs and produces all of its products in the USA. At one point in my life, while working for other companies, I would travel to Asia every three months to meet with production, design and so on. Later, when building Wheelmen & Co., I realized I wanted a quick turn around and saw the potential to help bring back manufacturing to the USA. The USA is currently a service-based country. In a lot of ways, it’s important to me that we support our own economy and that we realize the potential of producing some of the best quality products in America again. At Wheelmen we don’t look to the outside for inspiration as many fashion and apparel companies do, we don’t ride on trends. We build products that you or I could wear today and our grandchildren can wear in the tomorrow. I am proud to call Wheelmen & Co. a company I helped to create. But I would also thank all the amazing people in my life that supported the foundation of what Wheelmen & Co. has become. Classic Tailoring: Modern Function.”

Q. What inspired you take the steps to becoming your own boss? Is this your first/only business?

“I knew I always wanted to create and design exactly what my vision was. I also realized throughout my experience working with other companies that my vision would change or become distorted in the final stages. This would happen due to marketing, production, cost or just a call from the senior management of the company. “

“Ultimately, I knew in order to be able to release a product exactly the way I intended it to function or look, I needed to own the company that made it. “

“I had started and thought about many companies before I created this one. The only difference was with this company I was fully committed. By that I mean, investment, time, love and sacrifice. Wheelmen is my life, and like a person or love in my life.”

Q. How much planning was involved prior to the start-up of your business? Can you offer some insight into that process?

“To be honest any startup company takes planning. But more then that, when starting a company you need to have some idea on how the business works that you want to start. I have seen companies with huge start up budgets fail. How does this happen? They did not have the inside information on how the industry they got involved with works. They misappropriated the money involved with the business. And most importantly by working in the industry for others before you start your company, you learn what works and what fails. You take that information and apply it to your company when your start it. We will always make mistakes, but you limit your mistakes by seeing how others failed in the same business.”

“If I can give any insight on starting any company: work for a company that is somewhat similar to a company you would love to create. Learn everything that company does to run its business. Absorb all of it, the positives and the negatives. When you start your company, remember what you experienced. Apply what you learned in your own company.”

“Believe 110% in yourself and your company.”

Q. In terms of running your business, what does a typical day look like for you; or is every day different?

“I do some of the same things everyday, like get up and check email first thing. Make a coffee and respond to emails. But on a day-to-day basis, things are always changing. Designing new product, going to photo shoots, in meetings, working on a new collaboration project. Half my day
is spent calling everyone I work with whether in the USA or sales people overseas. In some ways everyday brings new things to do.”

Q. How many employees do you have and what went into hiring on more to your team?

“Our team here is small. But that is for a particular reason. We have very amazing people that work with us and we are able to keep our overhead low by having people that are experienced in more then one field. Currently we have a staff of 5. But we have many distributors that work with us all over the world as well.”

Q. What has been the most challenging part of your entrepreneurial adventure?

“Not having all the answers, making some decisions based on your gut.”

Q. Besides the obvious of being your own boss, what is the most rewarding part about being an independent business owner? What motivates you? What keeps you going each day?

“When you start something that is yours, your vision, your money – it becomes more then a job. It becomes a love, a true passion. Of course there are ups and downs. But the true driving force behind it is you and your team. Watching an idea become a reality is like bringing a child into the world. You only want the best for it; motivation to do your best becomes inherent.”

Q. How do you promote your business (i.e. Advertise, Endorsements, Contests, Social networking)? Or are there any marketing strategies that have helped your business? What about hurt your business?

“In some ways we are conservative on how we use marketing. We have done print ads in certain publications. We use blogs that we feel appropriate for our product and over all look here. We work closely with collaborations to help market not only from our side but also the company we are working with. Some examples are “I Love Dust” from London and Sixpoint Craft Ales in NYC. As for strategies, be careful how you market your brand. Sometimes getting too big too fast will hurt a brand. Steady and consistent growth from marketing insures a brand does not become over exposed and played out.”

Q. What’s next? What are your long term and short-term goals?

“We are currently working on several new products with our company that will be collaborating with other great companies. We are finishing our Fall collection. We just built a new creative space that also serves as our West Coast showroom.”

“Our long-term goal is to continue to create growth with product made in the USA that is classic and timeless. We have no intention of selling the company anytime soon. Short-term goal is to continue what we do here at Wheelmen everyday.”

Q. What advice do you have to those reading www.bossstart.com that you feel is valuable?

“Learn about the industry you want to start a business in. Work for others and learn from their mistakes and their accomplishments. Most importantly, believe in yourself and what you are creating. Be true to yourself and the team you work with. Don’t ever let your ego get involved with any business decision.”

“Employ people that believe in the brand and where it is going. When the business starts to grow, look back and remember when it was small. Never lose track of what it was and what you started building.”

For more information on Wheelmen & Co., please visit:

Website: WheelmenCompany.com

FB: Facebook.com/pages/Wheelmen-Co/155080224541403

Twitter: Twitter.com/#!/WheelmenCompany

Email: sales@wheelmencompay.com

Los Angeles Headquarters / Showroom

440 Seaton St. (Suite 205)

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Genesis Ltd. and the NASC

Bill Bookout is an ‘animal person’. In 1998, when two of his dogs were diagnosed (one with cancer and the other needing a hip replacement), he decided to do something about it.

“At the time I was the Chief Operating Officer for a 135 million dollar division of a 500 million dollar holding company in the medical device and drug business. Being in that particular field when my dogs were diagnosed, I started looking for some options. That was when I came up with the idea for and started Genesis Ltd. (in 1999).”

Through a colleague’s referral to Ihor Basko D.V.M., Bill’s idea was on its way to realization. Basko is recognized as a leader in integrative and complementary medicine for animals.

“I don’t know whether its good fortune, karma, or just dumb luck but through one of his formulas he was able to help my dog, which had previously been given a prognosis of one year or less to live, live 2 and a half years more of a quality life. I was not only very grateful for that myself but I also thought that there was an opportunity to provide products that would help other animals. I think of my animals as members of my family and there are others out there that feels the same way. Dr Basko is now the medical director of Genesis Ltd. He formulates all of our products and provides the clinical expertise and support. I provide the business effort and propellant. Genesis Ltd. provides various health supplements to animals and can help extend the quality and quantity of life to the maximum degree possible for them.”

In any business venture, it is not uncommon to encounter speed bumps – even roadblocks. As Bill found with Genesis, certain areas in industry have a lot of red tape.

“I underestimated the regulatory environment and I found out that there were no legal categories for the products we sold. We had a successful business, but it was being threatened by the lack of a specific legal category in the United States for these types of products. There was a published initiative by the regulatory agency that intended to have many of these products removed from the marketplace. I didn’t think that was right. I thought that it wasn’t the right thing to do for industry, and it certainly wasn’t the right thing to do for animals. If you make certain types of products illegal, or you don’t provide a responsible pathway for these types of products to be purveyed to the marketplace, then essentially you’re going to create a black-market industry. I saw a need and so I founded The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) in response to that.”

“The NASC is a non-profit industry trade association whose objective is to work cooperatively with the regulatory officials like the FDA, Center for Veterinary Medicine, and State Regulatory Agencies – to establish a foundation for the industry which is fair, reasonable, responsible, and nationally consistent. It’s the next step.”

“Most people don’t realize that there’s no legal category in the United States for dietary supplements for animals. If you go down to the grocery store and you see a joint product with glucosamine, chondroitin and msm, or even products that help support a healthy immune system – those products are considered unapproved drugs under current US law.”

“Our objective is basically an educational mission. The NASC, contrary to Genesis, doesn’t sell any products. Our objective is what we believe is in the best interest of the entire industry and that’s why the people who are responsibly participating in this particular business space are supporters of the organization. Industries tend to get painted with a broad brush so anything negative that happens in an industry tends to reflect on the entire industry. It’s really in everybody’s best interest to operate responsibly. None of us want to be thought of as selling snake oil. It’s also important to differentiate the quality players from some of the participants who may be more opportunistically focused and give the industry a bad name. That’s why NASC has a quality audit program on the website. If you click on the members list you can look at the companies that display the NASC quality seal beside their company name. Those companies have passed an independent quality audit similar to an FDA quality audit. If customers choose a product from an NASC company that displays the seal, they know that that company has a quality manual.”

The Supplements of Growth

Growing your business is typically a main goal for any entrepreneur. Achieving that goal almost always comes down to having the proper support of those who share your mission. This can be in the form of employees, volunteers, contractors, and basically anyone else who you surround yourself with. The people and support in your business can often times mean the difference between success and failure. Bill Bookout knows this, and he shares with us his profound way of ensuring the people around him are of the highest quality.

“The NASC is a small organization with only three people but we also have a number of committees that have volunteer members to chair. It’s always hard to hold volunteers accountable so what I personally look for in Genesis or The NASC, in terms of people I surround myself with, would be included in the acronym I call  ‘J-WAVE’. I think these qualities can’t be learned or taught. People can learn anything. I think these things are more important than education and are more important than experience. These are the innate qualities that I look for in an individual. They are:

• J – Judgment: I think people need to have good judgment in decision making. Don’t be afraid to make a decision. Consider the options, think it through, and make a decision. If somebody uses good judgment in their decision-making, I will never fault them.
• W – Work Ethic: I think with work ethic – you either have it or you don’t. People that are successful and succeed as entrepreneurs have good work ethic, and they are willing to make the sacrifices that it takes to breathe the breath of life into the business. It’s not an easy thing to do.
• A – Attitude: Good attitudes are infectious. Bad attitudes are infectious. You should never surround yourself with people who have bad attitudes. Surround yourself with people who have good attitudes and you should have a good attitude yourself.
• V – Values: Honesty and good values are very important.
• E – Enjoyment: People should do what they like and enjoy – what they’re passionate about. If you enjoy doing something you’ll do it better.”

“Nobody succeeds individually. It’s always a team effort. You should strike ‘I’ and  ‘my’ from your vocabulary. It’s ‘we’ and ‘our’. ‘We’ succeed or fail as a team. Surround yourself with people who are better that you. Don’t let your ego stand in the way of your success. You always play a better game by playing with people who are better than you and push you out of your comfort zone. By doing what you’re good at and passionate about, you’ll do the same for those around you.”

To learn more about Bill Bookout, Genesis Ltd., & The NASC, please visit:

Genesis Website: http://www.genesisvets.com/info/homeindex.html

NASC Website: http://nasc.cc/index.php

This week’s Boss 5 focuses on 5 Fantastic Financial Apps & Tools. We are sharing some great tools to help you manage your finances (personally AND professionally), and to hopefully help take the edge off of the stress of keeping your books straight.

Mint.com

Mint.com is a free site and app that makes the stress of managing finances a thing of the past.  It allows you to see all your bills, banking, and investments. Users only need to upload their bank and account information to this very secure site. It can even be used on most smart phones. As a Mint user myself, Mint helps me save money, find a better insurance rate for my car, and it also suggests different banks with higher interest rates so I can save and earn more money.

Indeed.com

This is another great free site for BossStart readers. Indeed.com is a great tool for finding a job. Users can search for jobs and see up-to-the-minute job postings throughout your day while getting coffee in the morning and even in line at the post office while you’re mailing out those resumes. It shows you recent searches and saves the entries. This is another great site that offers users the convenience of usage on most smartphones.

Coupon Sherpa

This exceptionally cool app is downloaded right from your phone. It helps you save money and search for coupons while on the go or in line at the grocery store. Depending on the category, you can save hundreds of dollars. Want to find the location nearest you with that discounted price? It does that too – just scan the barcode! (Currently only available on the Iphone)

Buzzillions

This is a free and easy-to-use app that helps you to compare brands. Who wouldn’t want to know which brand has the best reviews, customer satisfaction ratings, or is most cost effective? This app is used like a search engine on your phone. Just enter in the product you’re searching to see the star rating.

InDinero.com

InDinero.com is a fairly new site. This site helps you manage your money for your business. It offers similar benefits to Mint.com while a lot more user-friendly. It collects data from your bank accounts and organizes all your finances. Plans vary from free, $29.95/month, to $99.95/month, depending on your need. Sign up is quick and easy and they offer both phone and email support.

One such tattoo shop is Inkstop Tattoo NYC. Since they have been around for over 15 years, we wanted to know their story.

The Start for Inkstop

Eric Rignall is the owner/operator of Inkstop Tattoo NYC. He’s also a talented artist.

“This is my second business. I started this with a desire to be able to do artwork and also make money at it. Before I started Inkstop I went through four years of art school. Then I worked for twelve years silk-screening t-shirts. I had a pretty good progression.”

“Personally, I work in fine line and realism. I try to make my work as detailed as possible. As far as the shop goes, we’re always very professional, mindful of quality, and show none of the attitude common in the industry today. We try to make everyone comfortable and I think that sets us apart a bit.”

“I do all my preparing and drawing ahead of time at home and on my time off. I respect people’s decisions to get tattooed, and I appreciate their confidence, so I’m always working to make sure that they walk out happy.”

While preparing his art is a top priority, it came as a surprise that preparation and planning wasn’t as necessary as you’d think to open a tattoo shop.

“Nothing too crazy went into the planning to be honest. It really was just a matter of setting up, getting open, and finding the right people to work together. Also, becoming incorporated. From there it was about the work and spending lots of time on it. It took a bit to set up, but within a few months we were up and running. We started out small and went from there. I didn’t have a business plan. It started out with just my girlfriend (now my wife) and myself and we just figured stuff out as we went along. We figured out ways to do things more efficiently as opportunities presented themselves. I tried to keep the cost as low as possible until we could make some money back from the startup costs. I did have to borrow some, and I also partnered with someone to get started. This helped quite a bit but I had everything paid off in a few years so that I was the sole owner.”

On finding the right people to work with, Eric said:

“The first step is to make sure everybody’s work was going to be good and good for the reputation of the shop. Secondly, I needed to know they were going to be cool people and that they were able to be friendly with customers. You need to know the people working with you are going to be professional in order to keep everything working professional in the shop.”

The Benefits of the Ink Business

“I enjoy being able to call my own time and take time off. It certainly took a while though, before I could take any time off. I’m still putting in quite a few hours but at this point it’s still nice to have the job security of knowing that I’m not going to get fired. I know that what I put into it I’m going to get back.”

“As with any business there’s always something that is going to pop up here and there to make things difficult, but there has never been anything major that would cause second thoughts or major problems with the running of the business. It’s been pretty smooth. It took a few years to get into a pattern and flow of things, but I’ve been here 15 years so it’s pretty much basic by now. Everything has a formula.”

Besides a few difficult customers throughout the years and the time it takes to run your own business, there hasn’t been much in the ways of professional obstacles to Eric getting to make money by making art – even in the midst of economic recession.

“Luckily we’d been around a while so the recession didn’t slow us down too much. There was a degree of people cancelling but we weathered through it because we happened to be in a city with so many people that there’s always somebody looking to get a tattoo.”

With a great location (which is necessary for any ‘brick and mortar’), and a loyal local customer base, Eric’s entrepreneurial endeavors seemed quite the breeze. When asked if there was anything difficult about the tattoo business (besides requiring a certain artistic talent, of course) he only had this to say:

“The only drawback is that I’m actually so busy I haven’t really had time to paint anything in quite a while. My own artistic interests, aside from the shop, are on hold until I partially retire or retire all together. For now though, everything I’m drawing is for work.”

“Maybe I would have liked a little more knowledge on what to do as far as taxes go, and with what you have to do to set up your paperwork. I have an accountant now and that has been worth its weight in gold. To try and figure all that stuff out on your own is going to be pretty hard. Having help in that way is a big thing.”

Final Thoughts:

“I guess the bottom line is blood, sweat, and tears. You just have to put in a lot of time and you have to really work hard, get to know your customer base, and learn what everyone is looking for. There’s no substitute for hard work.”

“You have to be confident in your product. As long as you’re willing to put in the effort (it can take a few years of sacrifice) anyone can do it.”

To learn more about Inkstop Tattoo NYC, please visit:

Website: http://www.inkstoptattoonyc.com/index.html

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/InkstopTattoo

It’s a funny thing – most successful entrepreneurs want to do more than simply ‘make it’ - they want to be GREAT! Do you still have that fire in your belly? Or maybe you are satisfied with just getting by? Oh wait, have you bought in to the mentality that ‘just surviving in these economic times is a success’? At BossStart, we sure hope you maintain that passion for being great and we certainly encourage you to avoid the path that leads to mediocrity.

Here’s some good news: Being ‘great’ doesn’t necessarily mean you’re drastically better than you competitors. Check out these facts:

• Michael Phelps won his 8th Gold Metal in the Men’s 4×100 meter swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a finishing time of 3 minutes and 8.24 seconds. Do you know who came in 2nd? It was France (most of us forgot). Did you know the finishing time for France was 3:08:32!
• Kevin Harvick is currently ranked #1 in Nascar. His best speed is 184.9 and his best time is 29.19. Wonder if you know who’s currently ranked #2? It’s David Ragan. David’s best speed is 183.7 and his best time is 29.39!
• Charl Schwartzel won the 2011 Master’s and surprised the golf world. His final score was -14. Do you know who came in 2nd or 3rd (again, most of us have forgotten)? Jason Day came in 2nd and Adam Scott came in 3rd, both with scores of -12!

Are you seeing the reality here?! Phelps went on to world fame and is recognized as the leading brand in swimming – yet he wasn’t even one second better than France. Look at Kevin Harvick’s best time – it’s incredibly close to David Ragan’s – we’re talking mere tenths of a second difference! How about the Masters Tournament? Schwartzel won by only 2 strokes!!! These aren’t just close scores – these are incredibly tight – it’s intense!

What does that mean for you and your business?

1. Maybe, you’ll be remembered when you come in 2^nd, but don’t look for greatness beyond that. We’d encourage you to explore strategies that could realistically keep you at the top of your game.
2. The race is tight – incredibly tight. You’re competitors aren’t light years behind you! Guess what, you’re not light years ahead. In fact, you can almost feel each other breathe. You can’t take your eye off the ball nor can you assume that errors aren’t costly. Look at these scores again – is there room for error?
3. While it’s an intense race and those who place 2nd and beyond are usually forgotten – you only have to be incrementally better to achieve greatness. Do you see that? The factual difference between forgotten and greatness is rather tiny!
4. What do Phelps, Schwartzel, and Harvick have in common? They’re all MASTERS at their art! They’re in the game because they’re the best of the best. Are you masterful at your art?

Whether we like it or not, whether it’s politically correct or incorrect – only the GREAT ones will be remembered. Will that be you?