Jeff, you have also spoken about Entrepreneurship at a few events, what do you enjoy the most about inspiring new audiences?
While many people have an idea, most don’t know how to get from Point A to Point B. The process is scary and overwhelming. I think what my speaking engagements do for people is make them realize that, yes, there is a lot to do but it CAN be done and that there is a path from Point A to Point B.
What would you like to see in the Entrepreneurial world over the next few decades?
I’d love to see more entrepreneurial investment funds and incubators to help develop new ideas. Today, private investors and funds stay away from new ideas and start-ups, unless you’re in tech. There are a lot of great ideas and entrepreneurs doing things besides tech.
Now let’s talk about your book ‘You Want To Be an Entrepreneur’. What was the inspiration behind writing the book?
The inspiration came from my own experience consulting with others, seeing what issues they were dealing with and the guidance I was providing. As the subtitle, “Success requires more than just a great idea,” suggests, a great idea is a good start, but you have to be able to execute it. So, my book addresses the real world practical aspects of starting a business. I had seen so many speakers and books and websites telling people “You can do it” when, in reality, many couldn’t – at least, not yet. And that false sense of confidence can lead to a failure that, in some cases, could have been avoided. This goes back to my point about being realistic about one’s own abilities. I wrote the book to give entrepreneurs a realistic perspective of the kinds of things they ought to know or be aware of because so many people, after starting, say “I wish I’d known more about that before I started.” I can’t provide all the answers, but I can alert readers to a lot of the questions.