How to start a business in the US- The key to success

Before we start to discuss on business and networking, I would like to describe this astonishing first class that will help you to understand my feelings and why this meeting was so cool: You just arrived from France, where people are very different compared to the US state of mind and in particular about how to make money and to run a business; Suddenly you are on the 66th floor of the Legacy building, in Chicago, where professionals are giving you some tricks to succeed in life. Trust me, for a student studying in a business school, there is nothing else better than admire the view and listen to their advices. As you understand, with my classmates, we learned a lot of things very interesting about how to start a business and to build relationships, and I’m going to share them with you.

Valerie Beck

Thus, our first class started with our Professor’s presentation: Valerie Beck, nicknamed «the Chocolate Queen» thanks to her involvement in the chocolate business; in the US with her company specialized in chocolate and through the world for chocolate fair trade. She tried to make us understand the important steps for starting a business and to gain customers in the US:

• Choose the good partners to deal with. It is very important to have reliable and good partners because they are the essence of your business.
• According to Miss Beck «Every business has a mission» that means to turn your general ideas into a specific idea (What’s the product or service? Who is going to buy it? How will you get paid?) You have to be as specific as possible in order to be efficient.
• Furthermore, you have to develop a marketing campaign to gain customers and be visible. Nowadays, we can do a lot of things on internet like creates a website, a Facebook page, a twitter account, a blog… that allows your business to be known by consumers. So every business needs marketing ideas and clearly identified actions you can take to further develop it. For example, when Valerie Beck launched her Chocolate tours company, she started by emailing to big companies in order to develop her customers base. It worked well in so far as people started to come and now her company offers Tours in many town of the US.

After we had been immersed, we leaved the classroom to meet our Professor’s friend Mary Vallender, a real estate agent responsible of the apartments sales in the Legacy building. When we arrived, she said to take the lift and to go on the 66th floor in order to visit an apartment. At that moment, the dream started !

Mary Vallender

In fact, my classmates and me were completely astonished by this 2 millions dollars apartments (as you can see in the video). We had 20 minutes to completely visit it and then we started to interview her on how she started her business and found customers.
So, before the building has been finished in 2010, she started to networking by creating a website, advertising in the newspaper/magazines in order to be known and be visible by the customers. With this, people knew that they can bought an housing in the Legacy and even had an idea of how it’s looked like with the photos.
In addition, Mary used her network to contact people that can bought the apartment. She told us that business is easier when you know the person you are dealing with because you are credible and so you can trust each other. Thus, when you have to develop your business, you must build relationship with targeted people. She knew it isn’t easy to go to see a bunch of people and to start speaking with them, so she gave us tricks to succeed: For her, «business is like life, it is take risks» so forget your fear and be confortable with people and know how to project yourself. That means you have to know perfectly the image you want to give to your contact. Not just a business card, a professional mentality. Moreover, for Mary to succeed in life, you have to keep in mind these 4 words: wishing, networking, volunteering and mentoring.

                                     
To conclude this post, I would like to quote a sentence from the entrepreneur article that is for me the best summary of our topic: «No matter whom you’re trying to build a relationship with, treating that person as a friend rather than a business contact will take you much further with the relationship».
 To finish, here are some pictures and video of an amazing 2 millions dollars apartment AND his view.

The Business of Beginning

By Jerzzy Amankwah

Integrated to Columbia College I have several academic subjects which one of them is Doing Business in the United State through this academic subject I could show you what are the most important steps for starting a business in US.

Different steps to start a busines 

For my part, I think the most important step to start is Have an idea of product or service that can bring something new in a goal to resolve a problem or help people and obviously Money without money you can't build your business and in long term expand your business.
Then you need to have a Digital presence (create a website, blog) to show your business, start to make herself known now with Internet you can target not only a local or regional location but the entire world.
Finally set up a Marketing Plan/Target Customers the goal of that is to make an idea of which socio-professional category go to benefit about your product. I think add with this step to have a good and strong networking start with some friends, contacts you make when you do volunteering mission, professional contact and step by step but also with word of mouth it can help your business to grow up.

"Money is the blood of business"

My professor Valerie Beck Founder and CEO of Chocolate Upflit her career path is very interesting Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School she went to Paris during one semester. She worked as lawyer but she didn’t appreciated her job and decided to create her own business named Chocolate Tour and become entrepreneur at the beginning, nobody know her business and for that she created a website, few meetings but she stilled unknown.

After wondered how it didn’t work she sent mass mailing to her professional contact that she made during her studies, when she worked in law sector and it worked more and more people came to her business.

After all these efforts Chocolate Tour rising and become famous in Chicago she expended her company across the US and renames her company to Chocolate Uplift over and above she gave some media appearances on chocolate, mentors other entrepreneurs. Professor Beck attracted by the Faire Trade and created Chocolate Freedom Project to enhance of child slave labor on the West African cacao farms.

If you want more information about Professor Valerie Beck and her comany, please see some links:

Valerie Beck's Linkedin
Chocolateuplift

A different way to start a business

During Doing Business in US course, Professor Beck brought the groups to visit the Legacy in East Monroe to hear Mary Vallender a realtor of @properties.
When we are all in the unit Mary Vallender presents us the place is a condominium it means is an apartment building in which each unit is owned separately by the people living in it but also containing shared areas. The unit was at the 66th floor with a beautiful view of Lake Michignan, Millenium Park and Michigan Avenue, 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms for 2.436 square feet estimated at 2 million dollars.

After explain her career path I can tell you is totally different than my Professor Beck.

Mary Vallender studied in Michigan State University and leaved with a Master Business Administration after she worked as Brand Manager for Quaker Oats, then Senior Vice President of Information Resource Inc. was hired at Keller Williams as broker and for finish she’s now at @Properties as realtor.

The Legacy's View

The difference between her and Valerie Beck is Ms. Vallender since the beginning she doesn’t really change is way she stays in the business area of the beginning until now through manager and broker jobs. Regarding to her networking through all her job she could improve her skills of target her customers, for example to sell an unit at The Legacy she have to meet people in Midtown and able to buy it or she can be refer by other realtors of others companies also have on her few business cards that she can give during meetings, private parties or even during volunteering missions.

To have more information about Mary Vallender and @ properties you can go at:

Mary Vallender's Linkedin
Atproperties

In conclusion for this first professional visit, I think the keys of success to build his company and rising in U.S. are to persist, don’t give up and we will be rewarded. Moreover have a big and accurate networking against his job to be refers to a lot of customers and at the same time build a good relationship with them to they fell comfortable and confident with you. And the most important I think put yourself out, to be confident in what we doing, take risks, to dare this is the only way to get an idea of what you matter and to justly increase your networking.

You can see some videos taken of the appartment during the visit:

Welcome! "Doing Business in the US" for French Business Students in Chicago

by Valerie Beck

This blog will be written by my spectacular students, business students who are studying abroad in Chicago from INSEEC, the Institute of Economic Studies, in France. I've created a series of Chicago excursions for our Doing Business in the US class, and the students will share their experiences. 

Our course themes include the importance of 

• networking, 
• volunteering, and 
• mentoring 

in American business.

Join us by following our Chicago INSEEC blog, and get into the conversation on social media with hashtag #chicagoinseec.

Onward and upward!

Valerie Beck, Professor and Entrepreneur