New Network for Young Entrepreneurs

Today’s youth are emerging as entrepreneurial powerhouses, and more and more are putting new ideas into action. These entrepreneurs refuse to accept things for the way they are. They’re relentlessly trying to push new concepts and practices into the world. They’re young, motivated, and unparalleled given today’s vast amount of available technology and resources.

Under30CEO.com is the birth child of this “young entrepreneur” paradigm. A new social network geared primarily towards young entrepreneurs has emerged and is pushing the boundaries of social networking and interaction. My inherent first question was, “do we really need another social network?” I was sure I knew the answer to my somewhat rhetorical question. There’s so many networks out there all playing tug of war for users. It became clear soon after joining that even in its infancy, the guys at Under30 had asked themselves the very same question and vowed to make it clear that there is still plenty of space in the social network world.

“I remember when we first thought about this,” said co-founder Matt Wilson. “We all had finance, accounting, and business degrees, and graduation was coming up quick. Companies like KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers were recruiting from our class, but a few of us had this realization that the corporate job and lifestyle just wasn’t for us. We started thinking of a way to connect young entrepreneurs like us together to brainstorm and share resources.”

Under30CEO launched at the 2008 Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization in Chicago, IL. The site is utilizing a wide range of media to build a library of essential resources for young people looking to start a business.

“Whenever people start these things, they’re thinking, OK, how can we drive as much traffic to the site as possible. That’s the wrong mindset. We want the type of users who keep coming back and want to contribute to the site. If we build a great user base, and the mindset is kept on producing valuable content the rest will fall into place,” Wilson said.

You can check out Under30 at www.under30ceo.com. For more information on Under30, or to explore sponsorship opportunities, contact Matt Wilson.

www.grantdeken.com

So You Want to Sell Advertising

Many people start sites with the preconceived notion that they can make tons of money by selling advertising. Don't be fooled, the road to riches is more detailed and complex than you know. For those of you moving forward, here are some tips for getting started.

What you need prior to selling anything is a detailed breakdown of your traffic. Understanding the types of visitors and members you have is going to be essential to successfully finding advertisers. You want a user base that is targeted, but not so targeted that you are limiting advertising prospects.

You need to know that in addition to users being interested in your site's primary focus, they are also within 'x' age range, 'x' income level, gender, etc. You absolutely need to understand figures such as bounce rates, the average time spent on your site, where the majority of traffic is coming from and the rate of growth/month.

Being that the economy is presumably slower than it was in the ad boom we saw about a year ago, you can be pretty sure that budgets for advertising are somewhat smaller. The rate of spending is still increasing, but at a slower rate than before. Because advertisers are a bit more cautious, a Pay Per Click (PPC) package may be more attractive, since the ROI is much more tangible.

CPM advertising (cost per thousand impressions) is the other alternative. Advertisers looking to maximize exposure in a specific market will likely flock to this option. Again though, the ROI is less tangible, and MOST companies, in my humble opinion, are looking at PPC options.

When you structure deals you want to emphasize the uniqueness of your audience and understand who your key prospective advertisers are going to be. Offer all encompassing advertising packages in addition to a single banner, like what you see on sites such as break.com, where a company gets the banner, in-video ad, and perhaps a "free offer" opportunity from the advertiser. Sponsorship is a great word to use and paradigm to embrace since it feels less "advertisy" to consumers.

Traffic: this will be a tough barrier to overcome given that you probably don't have start up capital to spend on advertising yourself. My suggestion is to structure a vigorous grass roots campaign Which is often much better for long term results and for generating a consistent user base.

Blogs are a great first step in spreading the word and building natural traffic. Submit value based content to article databases as well. Original videos are also an emerging tactic that can build viral traffic to your site. My suggestion is keep it somewhat short, and very funny. Humor is key. Submit releases to other websites that may have an interest in your site. Offer to write stories on other companies in order to get them to post your story on their blogs.

Be creative. The more creative you can be as far as distribution methods the better.

Be patient! Don't expect your traffic and page rank to skyrocket over night. But also know that the harder you work and the more time you put in, the faster you will see results.

Visit Grantdeken.com to get more ideas and information on how to boost your company's marketing efforts!

Jacksonville University Creating CEO's

The Davis College of Business is out to make a name for itself and this past weekend was no different. The College of Business, along with the JU entrepreneurship club, sent three students to the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization’s annual conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Roughly 1,400 students, faculty, and entrepreneurs gathered together for three days of networking, workshops, and keynotes by some of today’s most prominent business leaders. “It was a rewarding experience to be surrounded by a group of people who have many of the same goals as you, that think the way you do,” said Grant Deken, a senior economics major and founder of a small marketing firm, Tangent Initiatives, LLC. “We came out of the conference with a different paradigm. The three of us feel energized and confident we can take our businesses and our organization to the next level.

The conference featured more than twenty workshops from basic concepts to more advanced subjects such as venture financing and search engine optimization. Veteran attendees competed in business plan and elevator pitch competitions for large cash prizes. “The workshops and keynotes were amazing,” Said JU Entrepreneurship Club president Chris Salley, “but the opportunity to network with peers and business leaders was truly invaluable. We are really thankful to have the support of Dr. Rossiter, Dean McCann, and the whole College of Business.”

The JU Entrepreneurship Club currently meets once a month and focuses on bringing in local entrepreneurs to discuss different aspects of starting and running a business. “We have big plans for our organization this year. We want to continue to bring in speakers, but also move towards bigger things, like competitions, more conference opportunities, and social entrepreneurship within the city,” Salley said. “Our organization encourages anyone interested in starting their own business to attend our events and meetings.”

If you would like more information about this topic or to schedule and interview with Grant Deken, please call him at 904.254.5768 or e-mail at Gdeken@jacksonville.edu

Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization 2008 – Chicago, IL

It was like a breath of fresh air, being surrounded by 1,400 young, motivated, big thinking, wealth aspiring entrepreneurs. This year the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization hosted its annual conference in the heart of the windy city and between the speakers, the company, and the city, it did not disappoint.

Speakers like Robert Kiyosaki inspired and motivated us with stories of triumph and failure and most importantly, overcoming failures to go on to triumphs. As first time attendees to the conference, the experience was an unforgettable one. Advanced workshops gave insight into specific issues like venture capital, internet marketing, and understanding the importance of bootstrapping (and how to do it effectively). It was a hub of unbelievable resources for anyone aspiring to start a business or take theirs to the next level.

Now back in Jacksonville, I’m more ready than ever to continue with my plans to create a multi-million dollar enterprise. But it’s not all about the money, and that was a point of emphasis that CEO illustrated. The success of business allows us to think bigger, change the status quo faster, and access the needed resources to solve the world’s problems. It’s our responsibility to create jobs, find better sources of energy, and end the disease and hunger that millions of humans face every day.

So here’s my challenge to you. Stop what you’re doing and just think for a minute. Where do you want to be in five years? Do you want to be a millionaire? Do you want to help people? Even better, would you like to be a millionaire helping people? The questions are a bit rhetorical, but I sincerely hope you consider that entrepreneurship is the key that can open the door into a new world of thought and freedom. Can you work hard enough to obtain that? Do you want to?