NYC Office Space & Entrepreneurs Stories
This morning I had the immense pleasure of speaking on a panel of Entrepreneurs under 30 to a business management class.
Here’s some of the questions that the panel was asked. I’ll do my best to summarize the responses by the panel under each.
What is a normal workday like for you, as an entrepreneur? Do you work primarily independently or do you have many employees? How does this compare to other working experience you may have had?
The answer to this question was best answered and summarized by Russ Marshalek’s response. With a look of confusion he questioned “what’s normal?” He proceeded to explain how every day in the life of an entrepreneur is an entirely unique experience. Other panelists reflected on similar beliefs that every day is guaranteed to be different than the one before it. Of course, this could be for better or worse.
How have you dealt with risk in your business and what are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business? How important has the business plan been in dealing with risk and growing your business?
Most members of the panel had started their businesses at very young ages alongside school. The reasoning behind this being if the venture doesn’t work out, school will still be there. This notion of minimizing risk and ensuring a back up plan is in place stayed with these entrepreneurs to date and they still apply this methodology in their businesses.
What do you think are the greatest opportunities today for students starting out to become entrepreneurs? In the fast paced world that we live in today, how important has technology and the internet been in assisting your business?
All of the panelists businesses had some focus on utilizing technology and the internet to accomplish a goal. The panelists emphasized how the technology is so rapidly advancing that applying it in new and creative ways can help build businesses. At the same time they noted that the internet can tremendously help networking efforts which are so crucial to helping businesses grow.
What 3 pieces of advice do you think are most important for entrepreneurs starting out today?
Responses included:
Surround yourself with an extremely wide array of people from all walks of life and different educational backgrounds to get all different perspectives on a situation. You never know when one of these resources may come in handy. Of course, surrounding yourself with other individuals from different business backgrounds can be a vital resource to any small business and would be suggested. (This is why so many companies who find shared office space in NY can succeed.)
If entrepreneurship isn’t working out at first, but you’re determined to make it work, just be patient. There’s no shortage of hardships you will endure as an entrepreneur, especially one that’s just starting out. Truthfully, if you can’t manage sticking out difficulties like start-up growing pains, being an entrepreneur probably won’t work out overall since the hardships don’t disappear any time after the initial start-up ones.
The panel was an absolute blast and the students were tremendously grateful.
Is there ONE part of your business holding you back from the success that you’re working so hard for?
Now you have the opportunity to build your business smarter and faster than ever before!
Announcing FREE consulting support from MBA students and faculty!
Sunshine Suites has forged a new partnership program with Baruch College that can benefit your business in a big way.
We are seeking 40 to 50 Shiners to receive 30 days of FREE intensive, hands-on consulting from a carefully chosen team of MBA students at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. All work will be supervised by faculty members of the college.
The students, many of whom are working towards a Masters Degree in entrepreneurship, are currently employed by or have held positions at top-tier financial services and technology companies. They have expertise in areas ranging from finance and accounting to sales, marketing, business development, IT, operations and logistics.
To participate, you will have to pinpoint an area of your business that needs improvement. While you will not have to divulge financial records or anything you consider proprietary, you will have to specify the area in which your company has a defined problem or a distinct opportunity. Students will select companies based upon their area of interest and aptitude.
You will need to prepare a brief for the students with an overview of your company and a description of the area in which you need consulting support. When you enroll in the program, we will provide you with a form you can fill-in and submit.
The students will zero-in on your company’s particular issues. They will evaluate and analyze the challenges you described and propose solutions to your unique business issues. The final deliverable will be a detailed plan to directly attack the issues you have identified.
Shiners and students will have certain obligations to one another. Keep in mind that your time, your candor and your best efforts will make this mutually beneficial. Here’s what is expected of participants:
SHINERS:
>Prepare a brief, describing an area in which your business needs to improve
>Meet each week at a specified time with your team of students
>Be completely candid about your business, your strategy and what you want to achieve
>Provide detailed feedback and direction at each session; criticism should be instructive and well thought out
STUDENTS:
>Bring an outside perspective and working experience from other industries
>Provide focused consulting and added brainpower to your business
>Have a direct academic/financial incentive to do their best for you
You will have one week to apply. Deadline for entry is Tues. February 15. Participants will be selected by Baruch college students and their advisors in accordance with course objectives and program requirements.
This is a pilot program. If it is successful, we will offer it again next semester.
To enroll, please contact Russ in the Sunshine Suites office for an application form.
Email: Russ@sunshineny.com
An Inside Look at the Sunshine / Baruch Partnership
As previously announced, Sunshine Suites and Baruch College have joined forces to provide tremendous benefits to members of both communities. Some of these benefits include:
For Baruch Students:
- The opportunity to be mentored by entrepreneurs from Sunshine Suites (the “Shiners”) in the Invitational Entrepreneurship Contest.
- The goal of this contest initiative is to reward excellent brilliant business ideas with the opportunity to succeed.
- Student teams will put together a business plan for a company that they feel can succeed in executing and scaling.
- Students have the opportunity to not only win prize money, but also to earn seed funding if the competition judges believe in the business plan being proposed.
- Additionally, contest winners and finalists will be awarded free or deeply discounted office space in a Sunshine Suites location while they attempt to get their venture off the ground.
- For the duration of the contests, student teams will be assigned a Baruch mentor and an outside mentor (from Sunshine.) The teams are highly encouraged to use their mentors as resources and contact them with any questions or concerns they have along the way. The mentors are also responsible to ensure that the team is progressing on time by means of milestones. The real value of the opportunity is to empower the teams to leverage real existing entrepreneurs and tap into their experiences.
For Shiners:
- Shiners will have access to guidance and workshops offered by Baruch at no additional cost.
- Shiners will be encouraged to take on interns and employ Baruch students through this partnership.
Who’s Involved: The following shiners have stepped up to take part in mentoring the Baruch teams.
This partnership truly takes business education to the next level by providing these student teams everything they need to succeed in starting a business. The chance to leverage the priceless experience of entrepreneurs who have already been through the difficulties of running a business is going to be tremendous for these ambitious students.
We will be making use of the Sunshine Blog to keep the community abreast of the the latest developments from the mentors, teams or Baruch in general!
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