Community. It is so important to us. The world is constantly becoming smaller because we can reach more and more people with a few clicks and an address. The Internet has completely revolutionized the way we live. But, to make the Internet so functional, there is a need for entrepreneurs to create the ideas and the programs to make it happen. It is the ideas in combination with the passion to follow through with them that has made the Internet what it is today. My fellow classmates are an inspiration to me and I’m sure all of the other readers of this blog with plans to change the web environment for the better. I hope that our expressions, reactions to the web, and rantings have worked to lead you in a new train of thought and opened the door to the adjacent possible in the world of Internet entrepreneurship.

Although many people recognize the issue of illegal downloading for music, I have found that movie downloading is equally as much of a problem. I have heard of many students and friends that use this method to watch their favorite shows and movies. Even through the movie industry is not as harshly affected by illegal downloading the way music is, it is still a problem that does not seem to be addressed. I know college can lead to some stressful times and need to relax, or especially if you can’t afford a TV, websites that offer these services can be tempting. But this nonetheless is a violation of property rights and should not be regarded as acceptable. With Netflix and Hulu, more people have been using them out of simplicity to access more films, which has significantly helped the issue. But people need to be wary of any other movie sites on the Internet. Most of the websites will even claim to be legal when the are not, and users should avoid them altogether. Maybe I just prefer the old-fashioned days of going to Blockbuster with my dad to choose my favorite, but nothing can beat the community of sharing the films you own.

Over Christmas break, I got a new Nikon camera for Christmas, and I love working with it. I am far from professional, but I enjoy dabbling in photography and just having fun. With the final days of the year, I had many more opportunities to work with it and test it out. The ViewNX 2 program that comes with the camera is extremely useful for all transfers and editing. Nikon’s website is also very impressive with its features. It includes detailed descriptions for the technology behind the cameras, and all kinds of tips for different kinds of picture taking. You can register for classes to learn how to become a better photographer and get all the support you need for working with their equipment. The Nikon site was one I had just visited recently and admired for how easy it was to navigate. One of the hardest parts of website creation is learning to balance all of the information the viewer needs with the simplicity to keep the site from being overwhelming. This juggling act is one that Nikon, among many other businesses has mastered, and is a lesson that I believe many more sites still need to learn.

So many different people give advice to entrepreneurs, but a few things most commonly come up. Here are three very important things you should know when trying to establish yourself as an entrepreneur:

1. Know where you want to go and why you want to go there.
Your vision is your most important asset. Once you have it and you know where you want to be, motivation is extremely easy compared to when you have somewhat of an idea, but not the whole picture.

2. Businesses don’t run well without revenue, so learn how to sell.
Learning how to sell sounds too broad, but the ability to sell some kind of product to someone is a very versatile knowledge. A good salesman is a good salesman no matter what they are selling. So learn to sell.

3. Sell what people want to buy.
A very easy way to boost your ability to achieve number 2 is to sell stuff people want. Make sure you are trying to adapt your business and product line to offer things people want. If you master the art of adapting to what the masses want, your business will be wildly successful for it.

4. Create cash flow and then profits.
It is extremely tempting once you start making money, to start cashing that money out. The smartest thing to do however, is to resist the urge and keep reinvesting in the business early on. After a little while once the cash flow is established a bit more and you have a bit more consistency, that;s when you can start pulling profits.

A good mentor is hard to find, but invaluable to a business owner or entrepreneur. Here are a few ways to know you have a good one:

1. Have a good rapport with your advisor.
If you do not get along to an extent with your advisor, you clearly can’t have a good working relationship. You don’t need to be best friends but you also should be able to have candid conversations with honest opinions being shared.

2. Your mentor should have done what you are trying to do.
If you are trying to become a marketing advisor, you shouldn’t take too much advice from a petshop owner. You are most successful when your advisor is someone who has done and accomplished what you are setting out to do.

3. Your mentor should hold you accountable for your results. (THIS IS BIG.)
You need someone who will be able to hold you accountable. Not just for your end goals, but the way you go about your business. You may have done a great job and missed your sales mark by 5%. That is not a huge deal if you worked hard and a few breaks just didn’t go your way. If things went great and you hit your sales goal in half the time you thought, but then slacked off when you could have exceeded your goal; that is the type of action your mentor should be able to hold you accountable for.

You may think the name of a business is not a terribly stressful thing for entrepreneurs, but if an entrepreneur is smart, they know how important the name really is. Here are a few tips for picking a name.

1. It should sound good when said out loud.
Whether you use alliteration or rhyming or it just sounds great, your business name should sound good when said aloud.

2. The name should say something.
What does your business do? What benefit do customers get from using your service? Customers should be able to recognize what you do and be drawn to the benefits of using your service.

3. Don’t use initials.
Sure there is IBM and 3M, but those multibillion dollar corporations have been around for a long time. A business just starting out would be wise to avoid the boring use of initials.

4. Test it out in Google Adwords.
One super great tool at anyone’s disposal who was internet access is Google Adwords. Use Adwords to check and see the kind of monthly searches your business’ name is getting, and also to see what kind of competition you might have with a similar name.