Helping real entrepreneurs succeed because entrepreneurship is for everyone.
Hollywood often casts entrepreneurs as high rollers. Frequently portrayed as men, they have big wads of cash in their pockets, wear bowler-style hats, smoke cigars, and when they emerge from their limousines, walk with a cane dangling over their arm. The cane is not for support, mind you, but to rap someone on the head who might be in their way.
Actor WC Fields practically broke the box office chasing after Mae West in My Little Chickadee. Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy placed bets on whether nature or nurture makes-the-man as upper crust stock brokers Mortimer and Randolph Duke, respectively, in Trading Places. Each of these caricatures represented what it meant to be in business. According to the Silver Screen, entrepreneurs are wealthy benefactors who deign a presence at public functions and sit in the owner’s box at major sporting or cultural events.
The reality of what defines an entrepreneur is far different
The reality of being an entrepreneur lives up to Hollywood’s hype. Entrepreneurs range from sole proprietors to those who employ dozens, if not hundreds of people. No matter the size of their enterprise, they work hard to provide for their loved ones, their community, and with any luck, change world..
It is the reason we created the Washington State Training & Education Center – to be here for you, the entrepreneur, 365 days a year, any time day or night. There are many types of entrepreneurs and you could be any of them. You could be a sole proprietor and hot dog stand owner, as we mentioned in last month’s Start Up Blog, who does a brisk business outside the baseball stadium on game day. At the other end of the small business spectrum, you could own a precision aluminum sand casting foundry in Entiat, Washington, like US Aluminum Castings, supporting the aerospace, military and defense industries, among others.
Whether you are an owner-operator or employ dozens of people and serve as a proud sponsor of local high school sports (go Entiat Tigers), MyStartup365.com exists to help you establish and grow your enterprise. The site serves as a clearinghouse for all the information and resources entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses need to achieve success, including funding sources, training and technical assistance, mentorship, education and information.
November is Global Entrepreneurship Month
This special month is just for you, the entrepreneur. Global Entrepreneurship Month envisions one entrepreneurial ecosystem open to all, from those duking it out daily in urban centers to those that are a bit off the beaten path – from Entiat to Shadle Park, Washington. We will continue to serve as a clearinghouse, this time for events and activities throughout the state, hosted by local event organizers to meet your community needs.
This month, especially, we encourage you to attend webinars, seminars, meet-ups, and business after hours events, all designed to connect you with the resources you need to start and run your enterprise.
Just a sample of those include:
- An Intro to Business webinar hosted by the Thurston County Economic Development Council.
- Small Business Requirements and Resources Workshop – in English and en Español – at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon.
- How-to seminars, ranging from social media content to AI tools and marketing, with StartUp Spokane.
Learn more about these activities and more and tap into a support network that is tailor-made for real life entrepreneurs, just like you. This month, we sharpen our focus that gives entrepreneurs and business owners a competitive advantage on how to start, grow, rebuild or sell online. Whether you’re a serial entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, MyStartup365 contains a lot of lessons learned. Successful business owners from all walks of life share their stories, successes and occasionally, boneheaded mistakes, all with the hope that you can build your business faster and better as a result.
Technology allows people to live and work where they want these days and it is the state’s goal to provide the tools, resources, education, training and support you need, whenever and wherever you need them. Along with our partners across the state, we share with you the secrets to starting and operating a successful business.
Whatever entrepreneurship looks like for you, we’ll help you and your cast of characters to make the most of it. Whether you have a new cafe on Main Street or the next e-commerce juggernaut in mind, we are here to help you succeed. During Global Entrepreneurship Month, we honor the work of people across Washington State to help entrepreneurs nurture and grow a successful business.