An idea by itself with no action and no revenue model isn’t worth much. When you share your business idea with the world you can engage future business partners, financiers and customers.

Like a fisherman who casts multiple lines into the ocean waiting for fish to bit, I encourage you to cast your ideas out to the world. To do this I’ve quickly created a Twitter-style business idea sharing service. So register, share your ideas and connect with people who have ideas you’d like to help develop.

1.What important problem can you solve?

2.How valuable is your venture to the customer?

3.How painful is the problem for the customer?
Remember, you need to change somebody’s behavior to buy your product or to use    your service.

4.How many customers are there who are willing to buy from you?

5.How many customers are there? (Market size)

6.How many will buy from you? (Market share)

7.Who will be your first customer (besides your Mum)?

8.Who will be your 100th?

9.Why can only you provide the solution?

10.How are you unique?

11.What do you provide that nobody else can?

12.How can you defend against others?

A business survey published by MYOB this month revealed that young Australian entrepreneurs are more optimistic about economic recovery. The report revealed that:

55% of 18‐39 year old business owners expect a revenue increase in the next 12 months, compared with 42% of business owners aged 40 or more years.

As well as being more optimistic, the MYOB report identifies young Australian entrepreneurs as the key to economic recovery. MYOB CEO Tim Reed stated:

“After facing one of the most significant economic crises in recent times, it’s fantastic to see young Australian business owners emerging as a force in business and helping lead the way to economic recovery”

If you are interested in reading more about the sentiments of young Australian entrepreneurs and other Australian business people, download the full report here.

For the last five years I have been involved in delivering training to young entrepreneurs. This has involved conferences, seminars, societies,  and training sessions. To reach more people and meet the needs of busy young entrepreneurs, we are now moving into eLearning.

These eLearning modules will be ready for eager young entrepreneurs to try over summer (that’s southern hemisphere summer). If you’re interested in taking part in the beta testing group, your course will be free as long as you provide some basic feedback.

If a flexible way to learn about marketing and business management sounds good to you, fill in your details below to secure one of 15 free places in the testing program.

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For more information on Hire Marks eLearning, check out:

www.eLearningDesign.com.au

Both Inc magazine and Business Week have recently posted some great lists of successful young entrepreneurs in the US. There are some interesting stories here and they are presented in slide show formats which are good to look at and quick to skim through. The two lists, which you can access below, are named the 25 under 25 (BusinessWeek) and the 30 under 30 (Inc)  -really original I know.

25 Under 25: 2009 Finalists in America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs

30 Under 30: America’s Coolest Young Entrepreneurs

On a Sydney ferry yesterday I was surprised to see a poster listing the ferry company’s key performance indicators (KPI). This poster compared the current performance of Sydney Ferries in terms of complaints, late ferries, patronage growth and service reliability.

The poster shown here was placed where any ferry rider can read it and next to the bridge so the captain sees it each day. This public display of customer service performance is a powerful way to hold all staff accountable. I wonder whether Sydney Ferries would publish KPIs if they get worse next year. But I bet these results will get better as Sydney ferrymen strive to make next year’s results something to be proud of.

Can you use public KPIs to motivate yourself and your staff?

Are you interested in entrepreneurship and studying at ANU?

You could be part of the founding team of the next Asia-Pacific Student Entrepreneurship Society (ASES). To find out more, check out this flyer or to apply please email me with the following information.

Name:

Year at ANU:

Which clubs are you currently involved in?:

What to you love about entrepreneurship?:

This week I have had 3 ridiculous deadlines which I was only able to meet because I have exceptional suppliers. Too often we choose suppliers based on who is the cheapest for the quality of the work but price is a dangerous criterion. What it is really about for me is loyalty, turnaround time, consistency and flexibility. Price is still extremely important but only as a necessary factor but not a sufficient factor for selection of a supplier.

To my awesome suppliers, I thank you here publicly especially:

• Graphic Designers – Impress Design
• Printers and Couriers – MBE
• Flash website templates – Wix.com
• Outstanding website hosts – DreamHost

I am not an affiliate of any of these companies but just love to spread the word about how much easier my working life is because of them. I’d also love to share my list of worst suppliers but don’t want to be sued for defamation (please ask me for my private list!).

I am fed up with the lack of ethics and morals in some businesses. The fact of the matter is though, misleading and deceptive conduct is not only unethical, it is completely illegal. Misleading and deceptive conduct is defined clearly by this ACCC site and some cases have led to fines from $200,000-$800,000 to each person involved and each company director (i.e. your own personal finances).

I don’t have much to say about this because I am not qualified to offer you legal advice but I would like to share this common saying in business:

Don’t fu*k with the Trade Practices Act unless you want to lose your house.