I'm Pierre, I'am 22 year old french student. I'm currently in Chicago to spend 3 months at Columbia University to follow economic and management classes.
During our class of "Doing business in America" we have the chance to meet self-made entrepreneurs which are going to share their keys to success.
For our first class we had the lucky opportunity to meet Marie Vallender, a successful self-made real estate agent in Chicago.
Firstly, we are going to see what are the most important steps for starting a business in the US ; Then I will present to you how my teacher Valerie Beck and Marie Vallender start their own businesses and gain customers.
Starting a business in the US can be successful if you adhere some crucial steps. The first one is to chose a domain you like and where you will enjoy working in order to be involved 100% in your business all the time. Once you get the idea you have to think about the usefulness of your idea, is it going to bring something new, an innovation.
The second step consists of building your business plan. It's one of the most important parts , because it's your roadmap for success.
You have to go through different stages , that is to say :
->market analysis ( essential because you have to know where you are going )
-> describe your company
->organization and managemet ( it's the way you are structuring your business )
->describe the specifications of the product or service you sell
-> marketing and sales ( how you market your product / service , what kind of sales strategies you use , your presence on social network )
->funding request and financial projection ( by yourself , with a loan , with your associates )
The third step consists of choosing a zone in adequacy with your business. Meaning an area where there is not too much competition, a good local labor market. In a nutshell a place which is business friendly, for exemple, for a real estate agent as Marie Vallender Chicago is a friendly business place because you have a lot of people who are looking for an apartment or an house from the smallest to the most expensive as the 2 million dollars condominium we have visited.
The fourth step you have to think about is the way you are going to finance your business. There are various ways such as by yourself, with your partners or to opt for a loan.
The fifth step is to select the structure of your business, so your business can be really efficient and you can earn money ( as Valerie Beck told us , money is in business what blood is for human body, if you don't have money you don't have business , it's essential. )
The last step is to register your business at a federal and state level , so you can obtain permit and license for your business and also you are able to pay the tax to the state and federal level.
Starting a business is taking a risk you don't know if t's going to work, if you are going to succeed or to fail, but if you start from scratch you have nothing to lose you you might reach the top. Also when you are starting your business keep in mind that determination is also very important, it's also a key factor to success.
My teacher Valerie Beck, has a bachelor of arts from the prestigious university of Harvard and also a juris doctor from Harvard. When she was 19 she went to France to study during a semester in la Sorbonne in Paris , it's during this journey that she became passionate for chocolate. After graduation , she worked as a lawyer , but this job wasn't made for her. So one day she decided to do what really fascinated her since her journey in Paris, that is to say chocolate. She decided to become an entrepreneur and to create her own business : Chocolate tour company was born. She was able to use her skills in legal, business and networking to develop her business.
But she started from scratch because nobody knew her or knew her company, so she didn't have any customers. Finally she had an idea and decided to e-mail all the people she knew about her company such as her ex-collegues, her friends, and it was successful, she start gaining clients. But it's not the only things she have done, she also attend some meetings with different alliances in Chicago ( dinner, parties ) when she met new people and start building business relations with them. She also create business cards, a blog, she became visible for her customers and start being recommended by her customers and her credibility has start being know. Networking was for her a key to succeed, because she had built strong relations and she can exploited them.
But networking is also volunteering, by giving her time for charity, she met new people and have strengthened her network.
Her business became really famous. After only few years her business already spread in several cities of the USA and she have diversify her activities by adding chocolate consulting, brokering services.
In the example of Valerie Beck , we can see that networking is one of the most important things when you start a new business, a solid network can be seen as a key success factor.
If you want more informations about Valerie Beck's business : http://chocolateuplift.com
If you know more informations about Valerie Beck : https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriebeck
Marie Vallender has a master in business and administration, when she graduated, she starts working for different marketing companies in Chicago, she reach the post of senior vice president. But during the recession, she was evicted and have to leave this job.
As Valerie Beck, she wants to work in an environment that she like and she finally choose to be a real estate agent. She also start from scratch because it's was not her original job, so she had no contacts, no clients. So she starts networking as Valerie Beck done, but not with the same people , because she was looking for clients able to buy million dollars properties. For her networking is about everything you do , every people you met. You have to take the risk to go to talk to new people , and be able to maintain a connection with them. Moreover, when she gets her first clients, the most important for her was to be recommended because this is how it work, because buying an apartment is a really big investment so you have to be sure to have the most efficient real estate agent. After few sales her credibility was establish and that was the beginning of her success.
If you want to know more about @properties : http://www.atproperties.com
If you want to know more about Marie Vallender : https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mary-vallender/a/128/b67
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| The Legacy's view from 66th floor |
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| The Legacy's view from 66th floor |
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