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Is there an age limit to become an Entrepreneur or start a business? I would say a big NO! I keep seeing ads and posts of "We invest in young people" or "We are looking for college students to join our cohorts". Hello? The world population is not made up of young people or college students only. The rest of the people also have #therighttostart a #business. A 65-year-old lady could be your town's next best flower shop owner or bakery GM. Being young is great but nothing can replace Life Experiences and those are best acquired with time... It is time for #startup #accelerators and #incubators to start supporting and #investing in people of all age groups. #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #techstartups #ruraleconomy #EconDev

One thing entrepreneurial #incubators and #accelerators have in common is that their entrepreneurial curriculum and cohort materials do not offer the so essentially needed #entrepreneurial #softskills. Most #startup accelerators are focusing on turning ideas into profitable services and products and finding the proper #funding. However, they do not focus on #leadership, #communication, #selfawareness, #psychology behind running a business and a team or selling, and #discipline, and #consistency. Being a #businessowner means owning and running a product/service, building a team, leading a team, growing the team, finding people to buy, retaining buyers, finding more buyers, expanding into new markets, improving, improving, improving...How can you keep improving something if you don't improve yourself first? How can you lead if you don't have enough resources in you to do that? I am all about #strategicthinking and economic perspectives when starting a new #business. I like to predict and write down all possible scenarios from A to Z as soon as I start. Usually, I focus on the worst-case scenarios, and then map out possible solutions to each one. If you are prepared for the worst the rest will be a piece of cake. To be able to solve any of these possible scenarios as an #entrepreneur you will need a rich personal bank of soft skills and mental strength. This is where an entrepreneurial #ecosystem should start: building and creating #founders! #ruraleconomy #smallbusiness #EconDev

In the movie "The Mask of Zoro", Alejandro (Antonio Banderas) is a thief, homeless, drunk, and most other things people of his rank were at the time. Zoro (Anthony Hopkins) sees an internal flame in Alejdanro and decides to teach him how to become the next Zoro. He said: "I will teach you how to think, how to act, how to move...". This type of training, plus consistency, determination, and patience, turned the thief Alejandro into the hero Zoro. It is the same with #entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs must be leaders, no exception! Not all of us are born leaders but leadership can be taught and it can be learned. It is essential for entrepreneurs to be able to think on their feet, to posses critical and analytical thinking, to be able to prioritize tasks, to be good listeners, to have patience and empathy, to be good decision makers, and great problem-solvers. I personally think that a good entrepreneur or a #businessowner is the person practicing daily the above soft skills, then the great idea converted into a #startup. For me, building an excellent #entrepreneurial #ecosystem starts with first building the people willing to lead it! #leadership #ruraleconomy #EconDev #smallbusiness

I'm happy to support the Right to Start coalitions in #Indiana and #Arkansas! What excites me the most is connecting with other like-minded #entrepreneurial individuals who know and believe that #everyone deserves the right and opportunity to start a business and live his dream life! Everyone deserves the chance to earn the income he/she wants and deserves. Successful #smallbusinesses lead to stronger communities #economy. Small businesses have the advantage of setting their policies and practices. They have flexibility! They can build united and determined teams where everyone learns to be a leader. The world needs dedicated, empathetic, and strong leaders who think about the common good, and not just themselves. We all see the world we are living in today! To a big extent the misfortunes, wars, and #poverty have been caused by long-term doings and wrong policies of #corporations, and greedy politicians. A free word of advice: if you currently own and operate a small business, i.e., earning less than a million dollars per year in revenue don't sell it to a "sheep in a wolf's skin". The corporations looking to buy out small businesses with the sweet and irresistible promise that they will treat it, love it, and grow it as you do ... They never do! #entrepreneurship #startups #ruraleconomy #EconDev #EntrepreneurialEducation

I find it interesting when they say "Entrepreneurship is for everyone" but people end up having their #startup ideas, #solutions, identified #marketneeds, and #pitchdecks stolen by experienced #investors or serial #entrepreneurs under the reason "unfortunately, we had too many qualified applicants". Then, 1-3 years later you see your own startup being live under someone else's ownership 🤷♀️ If #entrepreneurship is for everyone, then #everyone should be accepted into an #incubator or #accelerator! If the candidate has covered certain requirements, i.e., check boxes - he/she should be accepted into a cohort and allowed to further work on that #startup to receive funding. The way to control influx of applicants is to be absolutely transparent how many people are allowed into a #startupcohort and keep that count updated daily so new website visitors are aware. Also, be transparent of how much funding each qualified startup could 'win' and how many 'awards' are available. Integrity, as strongly emphasized from enetrepreneurial accelerators and incubators, starts with themselves first‼

Building an efficient #entrepreneurial #ecosystem is vital for the growth and prosperity of any #ruralarea #worldwide. There is an abundance of online and physical resources that could be used to build one! Onboarding the right mentors to guide and assist your area's entrepreneurs is essential. Focus on a variety of industries and backgrounds. #entrepreneurship #startups #accelerators #grants #incubators #womeninbusiness #womenentrepreneurs #smalltowns #EconDev #economicdevelopment

One of the things I always teach my mentees and share generously with clients is the beauty of having a consistent Thought Process. If you are an #entrepreneur you will not know what's coming in the future exactly but you can prepare for it by building a good #thoughtprocess. Here is an example: Imagine you have started a #business as a #solopreneur and now you are ready to open a #LLC and hire two full-time employees. Who are you going to hire and how will you decide who is a good fit? Tips: - Always keep in mind that whatever you teach these people can quickly convert into your primary #competition a few years later. - Do yourself a favor and jot down a psychological map of your ideal #coworker or #employee - who? what personality? traits? habits? learning methods? life experiences? age? gender? - Working with people comes down to three things: psychology, people skills, and emotional intelligence. If you, as an employer, excel in all three of these but your employees don't, chances are you will hire #robots, not people, so might as well just rely on #AI. The right thought process of hiring your first employees could look like this: - I am going to hire XYZ because...-> XYZ has this type of personality --> XYZ has this professional background --> XYZ already knows and understands...--> XYZ is interested and willing to learn...-->I like that XYZ ...--> I don't like that XYZ (always be prepared for that and be honest with yourself).... --> XYZ could contribute to my business in .....ways --> XYZ has this type of working style, which will.....--> etc...the Thought Process and the future #employee psychological analysis could go for as long as you want. #hiring #employment #jobs #employers #workers #businessstrategies #startups #entrepreneurship #womeninbusiness #incubators #accelerators

As I follow some of the biggest VC companies and #startup #accelerators, I see a trend: investing in multiple identical #techstartups. The three most common ones are #digitalhealth #finntech #educationtech and the new Kid in the neighborhood is #circulareconomy. The result: money going in circle in almost identical Tech Startups, offering competition to each other at the moment, wide consumer choise of services, being bought out for millions in 5 to 7 years by the already existing #Fortune500 companies, and significantly lowering the final prices of services afterwards due to even more competition in numbers on the #market and over-consumption. They just all have an expiration date. The highlight here: the circulation of #startup funding from the same investors into similar styles of startups. My opinion: I am a huge supporter on #smallbusiness entrepreneurship and non-tech investments. We can't and should not live in a 100% Tech World, regardless of #AI. #entrepreneurship #VC #venturecapitalism #smallbusiness #nontechstartup

The small print to read? Yes! A post made for those who really stop to read a post and don't just scroll down. :-) It's 2024 and our society has more problems today than any of our ancestors have experienced! Aside from the issues listed on the graph, here are a few more: ✅ If you live in the #UnitedStates you are losing 25%-37% out of your paycheck into taxes. And yet, you don't get free or discounted Health Care, unless your employer provides it for you. Translated into human language: no job, no healthcare, regardless of the taxes you've paid and continue to pay. Minimum government-provided pension upon retirement. Without private investments, you are already dead on the day of your #retirement. ✅ If you live in the #UnitedStates you are losing 25%-37% out of your paycheck into taxes. And yet, you don't get free education! You need to have assistance from family or third-party sponsors to cover your educational costs, perhaps a scholarship. Of course, you always have the option to borrow student loans, which could be equal to or greater than buying a fancy car or middle-sized house. The interest rate on #studentloans is higher than #mortgage or car #loans. ✅ The U.S. government is sending money out into the world supporting wars and building weapons (the biggest industry in America) instead of spending money on #education, #healthcare, or #maternity. Three months of maternity provided by your employer is not enough to raise a child. ✅ ☑ Wherever it is that you are living, you rely on Apps and #technology for most of your daily duties. Pay attention to how many times per day you use an App for something. Food ordering, #banking, emailing, messaging, locking your house, controlling the heat at your place, etc. What's the usage percentage? ☑ If you live in Europe 30%-45% of your salary goes into taxes. You don't get a tax refund at the end of the year. But you do get free and immediately available health care and free education. ☑ If you live in Europe 30%-45% of your salary goes into taxes. You get a government-controlled #pension #fund that will be released to you at the age of 62-67 (depending on years worked and #gender). The monthly pension you will receive is usually sufficient for a middle-class life, taking into consideration you continue to get free healthcare and discounted #medications. ☑ If you live in Europe, #SouthAmerica, and most places in #Asia you are used to 'hang out'. You have the town center, walking paths, and parks, you walk to work, you bike to work, and you sit at an outdoor coffee shop or restaurant. ✅ ☑ Wherever is it that you are living, you are eating artificially grown foods under '#Bio' and '#Organic' labels. I grew up in a post-communist country. I grew up with free #healthcare until the age of 19; an excellent, free and intensive #education system; a few clothing shopping options; and lots of time spent playing outside. I grew up with real friends, real #fruits and #veggies that were #naturally produced.

I would appreciate YOUR ASSISTANCE! I need to collect 100 surveys from #cardiologists or other medical staff working in cardio departments, interventional medicine, etc. I also need to collect 100 surveys from patients. Even if you are not or haven't experienced heart-related issues, the probabilities are that somewhere down your life path you will. Feel free to share with your friends and family and ask them to fill out the questionnaires. There is one designed for "Patients" and one for "Cardiologists". IMPORTANT: You need to reside in the #UnitedStates to complete the survey! Thank you in advance and don't hesitate to send me a DM if you have any questions! Link to #surveys: http://miakardia.tech/ #startup #healthtechstartup #entrepreneurship #launching #healthtechapp #cardiology #cardiologists #heartissues #medicine #hospitals #heartclinics #digitalhealth #heartattack #heartdisease #cardiacarrest