Shadrach White started his company CloudPWR back in 2011, and as the name implies it is focused on creating cloud-based solutions. His story about how he got involved creating solutions for the government was an interesting one, and a good lesson in spotting potential opportunities to create and sell a solution to a problem. He got to talking with someone working for the government and discovered that they had to compare proposals related to the legalization of marijuana in Washington. The issue was the time crunch. With only 10 days it would be impossible to get through them all and compare them with the slow way that they were doing it. Shadrach quickly created a small web-based solution for them, using free resources such as Google forms to complete the solution that would aid in rapidly getting through the proposals. By spotting a problem and creating a solution literally overnight, he not only made some quick money but got his foot in the door providing solutions to the governme...
Eric Hanberg had a slightly different story to tell compared to many of our other speakers so far. He has had success writing books, in particular for people that are running small non-profit organizations. He himself ran one and decided to make a guide for others to follow. He explained how he took advantage of Amazon and the internet in general to sell his work without having to go through a traditional publisher. Selling his books through Amazon takes care of that. To bring in customers, he pays for online advertising regularly which has worked out quite well for him. He also discovered through this that his book often sold in small bunches, usually a copy for every member on the board of a non-profit. So he saw that as an opportunity to write another book with that idea in mind, tailoring to what they would be looking for. His wife has also found success in working for herself, I believe doing graphic design commissions if my memory is correct. He also showed us a fantastic quote...
Stephanie runs a coffee shop that I walk by every single day on campus, Metro Coffee. This was a very fun talk to hear for me because there was something different about hearing from someone whose business I have seen prior to this class. It also feels more relatable because it’s a relatively small operation and I honestly don’t see myself trying to run a very large company, at least not any time soon. Stephanie took over the coffee shop when the previous owner unfortunately became unable to run the business due to cancer. She said that much of what she learned was simply from doing the job, rather than from school or elsewhere. She also received financial help from her mother which apparently ended rather poorly and damaged their relationship, which like John Dimmer mentioned can be a side effect of getting financial support for your business from friends and family. One small thing that she mentioned that I found interesting, although expected, was that the business they do through...
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