So how young is too young to start your entrepreneurial endeavors?

Certainly you can sell lemonade on the sidewalk or bake homemade cookies and sell them on the street, but that’s just kid’s stuff, right? They’re not “real” businesses.

You’d think, but that is not what one little girl thought.
Now let this little girl inspire your big dreams.

Dee grew up in a Catholic working-class family in Oakland, California. Her father was a welder and her mother raised Dee and her sisters to become good wives and mothers. As Dee grew up she held a burning desire to be special, to do something different.

Dee

was a mediocre student, but she learned to work hard. Dee graduated from high school and then worked at various jobs before fulfilling her mom’s vision for her by marrying at 19 years old.

For about a year as a new wife, Dee tried to fit into her husband’s world as a dutiful spouse. She hosted visitors and made polite conversation. But she was out of her element. Pretending to be someone else made her decide  read more »

Who is the most important person involved in staging a global economic comeback?

• The current President of the United States?
• Whoever the next President is?
• The Fed Chairman?
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• The U.S. Treasury Secretary?

No.

The most important person for the future of the United States and global economy is YOU—the entrepreneur.

You have heard the statistics before, but they are worth repeating as it shows you the tremendous power and burden YOU have for making an economic recovery possible.

U.S. Small Business Administration reports that, small businesses are responsible for 58% of all jobs and half of the total GDP. 64% of all new jobs were created solely by small businesses over the past 19 years.

Small businesses:
• Represent 99.7% of all employer

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firms
• Employ more than 50% the private-sector employees
• Pay 44% of the total U.S. private payroll
• Have generated more than 64% of all new jobs during the past 15 years
• And create more than 50% the private gross domestic product
*statistics from U.S. Small Business Administration

Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation says this, “Entrepreneurs, people who now create more than half the new jobs in America,are defining the new economy, not just here, but around the world. We could call the current era the age of entrepreneurial capitalism.”

This new era is changing the face of what we think of as the entrepreneur as well.

Entrepreneurs over the next decade will be far more diverse than their predecessors in age, origin and gender.

If you are in the business of recruiting or selling to entrepreneurs this is very important information for you.

Traditionally entrepreneurs came predominantly out of the read more »

The special Entrepreneurship Issue of SUCCESS with Kenneth Cole on the cover hits newsstands today!

Every issue of SUCCESS magazine is designed to support, instruct and uplift the entrepreneur. But this issue we’re focusing specifically on your needs as a business owner.

We know you’re the type of person who wants more out of life; your career isn’t about a paycheck, it’s about creating your best possible life and becoming your best possible self. That’s why, even though we pride ourselves on offering you meaningful content every issue, I believe this edition is one of the most important issues we offer all year.

Entrepreneurialism is the heart of our economic system. In a time when everyone is claiming there’s no work to be had, entrepreneurs are out there creating jobs. In fact, an entrepreneur pursuing his or her passion is the greatest stimulus package there is.

Today, according to stats from the Small Business Administration, small businesses:
• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms
• Employ more than half the private-sector employees
• Pay 44 percent of the total U.S. private payroll
• Have generated more than 64 percent of all new jobs during the past 15 years
• And create more than half the private gross domestic product

Entrepreneurialism is also the heart of the American dream. Taking control of our dreams, pursuing our passions and following through on that wild idea not only makes life more enjoyable—it pays well! Eighty percent of self-made millionaires became millionaires because read more »

It’s said you will only be remembered for one of two things: the problems you solve or the ones you create.

Abraham Lincoln made a difference that changed the world forever, but so did Hitler. Both men are equally remembered, but for which problems do you want to be remembered? The ones you solved or the ones you created?

In our November issue of SUCCESS (on newsstands now!), we are discussing the theme Making a Difference. You don’t have to make a global impact in order to be remembered for making a difference. I also don’t believe making a difference is something you do only when you reach the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid, or when you volunteer at the local soup kitchen or write your check to public television.

I believe you are always making a difference, every day and in every moment. As soon as you walk out your front door, you become the cause of a series of ripple effects that will forever affect the direction and experience of much of the rest of the world. And your impact will be problem-solving or problem-creating.

Think about a former boss, colleague, college roommate, old neighbor, past love relationship, childhood friend, previous business partner, high-school math teacher, etc. Each person either solved problems or created them for you. They either helped you and improved you or caused you grief and brought you down. Now get on the other side of that list: How does each of these people remember you? For the problems you solved for them or the ones you created?

With every door you hold open, car you allow to merge, smile you flash, encouragement you offer, you are making a deposit into someone’s life. The best part of this read more »

The Perfect Storm: A Trifecta of Opportunity

The new issue of SUCCESS hits newsstand today! This issue features our cover story with Richard Branson on Going for Bold. July is one of our most important issues. This is the month we focus on entrepreneurship, and it couldn’t be at a better time.

While it might look like a tough time for the national or global economy, we are actually in the middle of the perfect storm for entrepreneurship. In fact, it is my prediction that 20 to 30 years from now we will look back longingly at these times and call this the greatest window of entrepreneurial opportunity of our lifetime. It is over the next 12-18 months that the wildly successful companies of tomorrow will be born or make their bold move.

Candidly, this is no great prophecy. Did you know that 16 of the Dow 30 companies were started in a recession or depression? It’s true; these are companies like Procter & Gamble, Disney, McDonald’s, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson and others—once entrepreneurial startups, now the behemoths of industry. read more »