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2009-11-05T07:02:14-08:00

My last year in middle school, my friend and I were faced with a idea from or Future Problem Solving adviser. She brought it to our attention that the year before the organization's annual Luau Dance had only made a small amount of profit because of the extravagant cost of Disc Jockey services. Knowing I was a true techy at heart she asked my friend and I if we would be willing to DJ, all we had to do was find the equipment. I said okay and that night started my search on Ebay and at local rental places. Driven by the thought that I would be a better DJ anyways I spent hours educating myself on everything there is to know about Professional Audio Reinforcement, watts, amps, ohms, etc, all terms that were previously completely foreign to me. Meanwhile I kept my Internet-deprived friend informed about what I was finding, how cheap it would be to get a DJ setup. About a month later we had to make the decision, two thirteen year old kids were about to go into a partnership investment of close to $1000.00, a large junk of change for any normal 8th grader.My first ever sales pitch was to my parents and my friends parents . In our kitchen we broke it all down, figured out how fast we would have our investment back, if all went well, and that night my friend, now unofficial business partner, wrote me a check for his half and I started buying equipment that night. As the event came closer we did a few trial runs and worked the kinks out of our system. This would be MJ DJ Services first school dance. We bought speakers, and lights, and a Mic, and music, and an amp, and scrounged around our houses for electrical cords and whatever else we needed. I already had the two Apple Ipods we needed to use with our mixer and we already had most of the music needed so we were ready to go. The dance went off with out a hitch, we got payed, and found we loved it. What better job is there, save for the odd hours, that you can play music for three hours and get $250 cash put in your hand. WE loved it and over our freshman year in high school, we made back our investment plus some. Our biggest accomplishment in the summer that year was to get a website up using Microsoft Office Live Small Business, got business cards through Vista Print along with postcards to send out to area schools. Never deceived any feedback, which was discouraging, but with our connections at our middle school we got every dance there for the whole year. Business dropped with the market, but is thriving again d-e8zNYHSr3QjyacfA8pyY

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2009-11-05T07:02:17-08:00

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DJ's From the 8th Grade

2009-11-06T12:41:19-08:00

bh4CH5YHGr3QjyacfA8pyY

DJRaffi

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-10-28T16:22:37-07:00

For the second time in four years, I have started a magazine devoted to a very niche market of women and girls. Called "PCOS Magazine," this publication is produced digitally and in hard-copy (print on demand) for women and girls of childbearing age who have polycystic ovarian syndrome. The digital and POD option allows for very little overhead, but is also a hinderance trying to get advertisers. b02QKYXbCr3QjyacfA8pyY

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true

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2009-10-28T16:22:37-07:00

true

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How to grow?

2009-11-07T14:11:19-08:00

aPHKdnXbCr3QjyacfA8pyY

LindaMissouri

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false

2009-10-15T22:01:33-07:00

Hi, my name is Corey Jones and i'm a young man from Decatur, Georgia with a dream to be successful in the music business. I know that sounds familar with alot of people with the same dream in a hard business to get into but, I feel like this is what im born to do. Im the average dude who has recently made some goals and plans to achieve them. I've been out of high school for five years now and I have been from job to job. Falling down on hard times still living with my mom, I decided to get up and do something about it. I can't wait on a job to come around to finance myself like I want and I can't keep being out in the streets forever so I took my dream and my passion and went to school for what I love, Music. Earlier this year I enrolled into Omnitech Institute for audio engineering. Audio engineering has a wide variety of jobs but music is my passion, but in the meantime of me trying to find employment in this field, im in the process of starting my publishing company to offer my services as a mixing/recording engineer. Im also certified with computers and I do that on the side when I can find work, but I really want to be able to put myself out there as an producer/beatmaker. I have plans on promotion and marketing like business cards, going out networking with artist and the Internet because this is the new age of computers. My only problem is funding for equipment to make my music and continue to get better at it. While at school, I learned about software and hardware and what it is going to take to start off with a basic production setup to start making and promoting my music. That is what is holding me back at this time, it is a expensive industry but I know im going to make it because I have the knowledge and plan on what im going to do and how its going to be done. Im welling to take donations of old equipment or work to make the money that is takes to do what I love. Once I get up a little money to invest in my business, with hard work and dedication, it will work. Im going to keep striving for the best and for anybody that reads this story all I ask for is to at least pray for me. Thank You, i'll see you at the top. cLi7ukUG8r3QjyacfA8pyY

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2009-10-15T22:01:36-07:00

true

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A Dream To Come True

2009-11-06T12:41:29-08:00

cZlF5IUG8r3QjyacfA8pyY

cj09

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-10-15T16:33:02-07:00

I love t-shirts. Who doesn't love t-shirts? Since I have a passion for cool but simple t-shirt designs, I decided to start my company. The name of my company is PervasiveArmor and we have a website PervasiveArmor.com. The website came first, then the advertising campaigns. Forget keyword searches, and adword, google this or ebay that. When you begin, focus on your product, make it great! then turn toward marketing locally. Once word of mouth picks up then tackle larger areas. My story is a rocky one. I bought 220 t-shirts and had 6 designs which it turns out are really popular so we are just trying to sell out of these before printing round two of 6 other designs. with the 220 shirts I printed up my cool designs then sat in my living room with a cold coke and stared at them all on hangers, feeling very proud. This is when the trouble started. I passed out the flyers for my website and company with cool colors and designs across it's glossy surface. I didn't sell a single shirt for 2 months! When I made my first sale my heart skipped a beat and I though, "this is it! my millions are coming now!"  it took another month for my seconds sale. I was ready to lay on the free-way at this point as I had bills racking up! I setup, out of desperation, a meeting with a tradeshow manager. This was a local community farmer's market type thing where crafts were sold. I setup my booth and laid out the display shirts. I sat nervously in my camping chair with a cash box I bought from Wal-Mart 45 minutes earlier. A young man approached, felt one of the shirts, smiled, picked it up and nodded his head. I made that sale and after that it's really what everyone wants to hear. . . I started to succeed! I sold out all 50 shirts I'd brought and scheduled another tradeshow booth for the following week.  I sold out all 75 shirts I took up there. Now my website sees much more traffic and people aren't worried about buying from me cause they know me now. My website it simple and perhaps not the best but my products are awesome and remember that that is what truly matters. So to recap:     1. HAVE AN AWESOME PRODUCT (ask friends and strangers to view your stuff and give opinions)       2.  FOCUS ON LOCAL SHOWS GET YOUR FACE OUT THERE c_CKqWUEir3QjyacfA8pyY

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2009-10-15T16:33:04-07:00

true

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Starting up my t-shirt company while a sophmore in college

2009-11-06T12:41:34-08:00

b9vGe6UD4r3QjyacfA8pyY

Benshirtguy

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-10-08T18:42:41-07:00

I started Billionaire Girls Club in April 2006.  I was fresh out of highschool and had a burning desire to achieve the seemingly unsurmountable. During my senior year of  high school, I realized that the real world would be calling soon and I'd have to be there to answer. Growing up as the middle child I was content with my rebellious ways and "out of the box" thinking ability. College seemed like a great idea where I could meet new friends and learn more about a career in fashion but the desire to run my own business and become an entrepreneur at an early age outweighed  all the external pressures to meet my FINAL deadline for financial aid. FAFSA form  aside,  I chose the road less traveled. I called in my two best friends to assist me in executing my plan to start the hottest t-shirt and women's apparel clothing line backed by a giving  based business model. Sooner than later, BGC became the most sought after clothing line in our local community.  My idea was to first build rapport with my target audience and create  anticipation for the upcoming collection. We began hosting events to market our products and engage our consumers in community events to support BGC's global initiative. The popularity surrounded around our brand was immense.  Months into our vastly growing empire, I began to notice a shift in business structure  and work ethic in my "friends".  Meetings were being missed and task soon abandoned. "My friends" who both held VP titles of the company were displaying a lack of motivation and ambition for the world of entrepreneurship.  Ironically, they were never late to a photoshoot, event or the opportunity to present their image to the public. I soon realized, that this was not the ideal situation I thought I had created.  Handing my friends and "easy pass" was not in the best interest  of BGC but for that of my own. At the time, the need to please others, blinded my business sense.   a0OIDIThqr3QjyacfA8pyY

false

true

false

2009-10-08T18:42:43-07:00

true

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Buddy-ing into Business: Buddypass business partners

2009-11-07T05:33:05-08:00

bXJvKWThqr3QjyacfA8pyY

bgcceov

100

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-09-19T09:01:18-07:00

I thought that I was the smartest person around. I saved my money and lived well below my means to ensure a growing capitol for my investments. When I was 35 I dumped all of my money into an annuity with a reputable company and was guaranteed payments for life. In June of 2008 I retired at the ripe old age of 35. September of the same year, AIG (my reputable company) went under along with my stocks. October came and the fund that I rolled it (late) into lost 60% of its value. Needless to say, I needed a plan and fast. I decided to dust off one of my older ideas and create a safe, educational environment online for kids. I started studying how to start a business and pulled on my writing skills to write a lot of my own business paperwork. I got together with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Small Business Administration (SBA) and S.C.O.R.E. to get help in every way that I could. I attended every free seminar that I could (after all I had nothing but time) that had to do with starting a business. Then to make money I started selling my services and my new found knowledge to other start-up wannabes that did not have time to do what I did or the writing skills that I possessed. This gave me lots of practice writing business plans and taught me about a lot of the stupid things that I was doing with my own. With the evolution of my own business plan and marketing plan, with help from the various agencies, I started putting the idea out and made a simple informational website that I could show people across the US. I started contacting agencies across the nation that would be interested in my business and asking them if I could take 5 minutes to ask them a few questions for a survey and study of their industry. I promised that they would have access to the results when my research was done and it might show best practices of businesses like theirs nationwide. Most of them liked the idea so I took their information, asked them questions related to how they do business and asked what a business like mine could offer or do differently that would help them out. I compiled a comprehensive report that had really helpful information and best practices (having nothing to do with me) for their businesses and emailed the entire package to all of the participants. I then followed up with a phone call thanking them, answering basic questions they had and leaving my contact information with the idea that we would be starting a business to do what they needed done. Several asked me to contact them when I was up and running. I am now on the verge of launching a national corporation with several national accounts. I just got my paperwork filed to start the corporation. I have angels who want to invest in my program but I may not even need the funding if I can start fast enough. I still work with the SBA, SBDC and Score and love utilizing their free services. Hopefully by this time next year I will be a millionaire well on my way to retiring at 40 with a lot more than I had before.   cb7yLwPtur3RjjacfA8pyY

false

true

false

2009-09-19T09:01:19-07:00

true

false

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Multi-million dollar national corporation for pennies

2009-11-07T14:12:03-08:00

cRo3W8Ptar3RjjacfA8pyY

AAverage

144

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-09-03T15:28:15-07:00

I live in Hawaii and while it is paradise for us, we have some challenges.  The most significant challenge is food availability in an event of a disaster (shipping strike, storm, earth quake, tsunami, etc.).  The island of Oahu (Honolulu) has 1.2 million population and only 3-4 days of food stored on island.  With this fact I decided what is called for is a backyard gardening system to allow as many people as possible to start gardening for self sustainability and for healthy food as well.  I designed the "garden-to-fo" gardening in a box system for ease of use and to allow us to garden in small spaces. The average house lot on Oahu is now under 5,000 sq. ft. so few have much space to garden and the soil is lousy for gardening. Our system is self contained, self watering, protected from birds, chickens, etc. and all at waist level for ease of us. I teach gardeners to use organic methods to produce food of highest quality.  We teach our gardeners to use sustainable practices like worm composting to create their own organic soil amendments.  We are creating more sustainable communities here, "one garden at a time"  while we create better neighborhoods and healthier lifestyles. d1fqLkMnGr3PKzacfA8pyY

false

true

false

2009-09-03T15:28:15-07:00

true

false

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Organic Backyard Gardening in a Box

2009-11-07T13:22:59-08:00

d92ZjUMnur3PKzacfA8pyY

gardenstogo

147

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-09-02T09:04:38-07:00

I founded Lifetime Reel after sitting down with his grandfather and re-living old stories. He pulled out the video camera and began recording his whole life-story on film. I felt the value of this product and knew that he wanted to let others experience what his family was able to share. Soon after sitting down and recording the story of his grandfathers’ life – my grandfather passed away and now his story is preserved for generations to come. The business I've started is based off of this model. We document the stories of a persons life for our clients. agtrCwL9Or3PKzacfA8pyY

false

true

false

2009-09-02T09:04:39-07:00

true

false

false 1

Lifetime Reel

2009-11-07T03:32:13-08:00

dgvhfEL9Kr3PKzacfA8pyY

kjlkjli

136

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-08-31T04:02:40-07:00

HI MY NAME IS EMMANUEL KALIL I'M STARTING MY SMALL BUSINESS COMPANY IN THE TRANSPORTATION,LOGISTICS AREA, ITS REALLY A CHALLENGE WHEN YOU ALMOST HAVE NO DEGREE WHATSOEVER BUT STILL MANAGING EVERY AREA AS MUCH AS I CAN TO EXPAND AND GROW THIS BUSINESS,THIS IDEA CAME TO ME WHEN I USED TO WORK FOR A WAREHOUSE IN THE AIRPORT OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,FL AS WELL WHEN I WAS WORKING AT UPS.I'M STILL AT SCHOOL AT MIAMI DADE COMMUNITY COLLEGE WHERE I'M STUDYING CISCO CERTIFIED NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR,BESIDES THAT I WANTED TO STUDY BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ,BUT I DID NOT HAVE THE TIME OR SCHEDULE TO DO TWO THINGS AT THE SAME TIME,THEN A FAMILY MEMEBER DECIDED TO HELP MAKE MY DREAM COME REALITY AND WELL UP TO NOW IS GOING GREAT AND HOPE TO EXPAND IT TO BECOME A CORPORATION,LIKE MY FATHER SAYS ALWAYS THINKING BIG ,AND I GO YES ALL THE TIME SO I CAN HAVE THE SKILLS OF MANAGING A BUSINESS AT MY YOUNG AGE OF 23 IS DEFINETLY A BIG STEP FOR ME SPECIALLY WITH NO DEGREE IN RUNING A BUSINESS AND I HOPE THAT EVERYTHING GOES WELL AND SOON I WILL FINISH MY CAREER IN NETWORK MANAGEMENT,NOW ONE OF THE BEST THING OF OWNING A BUSINESS IS THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHO'S GOING TO PAY YOU BY SALARY YOU ARE BASED ON YOUR GAINS AND LOSSES OF THE COMPANY ,SO YOU ARE ALWAYS ON TOP THAT ,YOU ALWAYS WILL HANDLE THE EMPLOYEE'S NEEDS AND HELP THEM THE BEST YOU CAN ,AND LASTLY NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS IS TOUGH ROAD BUT IT HAS IT'S REWARDS ONCE YOU'RE ON IT. dmV0bkLH0r3PKzacfA8pyY

false

true

false

2009-09-28T19:50:48-07:00

true

false

true

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FROM DREAM TO REALITY

2009-11-07T12:43:31-08:00

cB-kR2LHCr3PKzacfA8pyY

blackberry8100

154

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw

false

2009-08-26T13:39:22-07:00

My name is Eddie Robinson III, and I am an aspiring Fashion Designer.  i've always wanted to be a household name since I can remember.  I came up with this concept of wanting to go "off the Grid" but still remain true t o myself and my own beliefs and morals and values.The NEW BLAK, started as an Idea when i was at  work with a co-worker and we were cracking jokes about Pop Culture and Hollywood, and how everything that was surrounding us was the New Black.  It started out as a joke with me printing a couple of T-Shirts with some sayings and I would wear them around and about and my friends and some folks and family were asking me where did I buy my tee shirts at and that's how I knew I was on to something.      Months on in I started Restructuing the whole Concept adnd came up with a line of T-shirts that are cool and Chic but are Eco-Friendly and Some Organic and I haven't looked back since.  I got the name of my Line Registered and I own all the rights to everything and I started asking some of my friends and family to help out with ideas and now I have a small team put together to help come up with fresh and young Ideas that are suitable for all ages.  I am hoping to launch locally and become the Brand that I have always Dreamed of being and More, This is my Story Thank You for letting me share with you all. cfy7BwKOar3PKzacfA8pyY

false

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2009-08-26T13:39:22-07:00

true

false

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THE NEW BLAK

2009-11-06T22:00:10-08:00

caynsyw3Sr3PKzacfA8pyY

eddiefrank05

149

dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw