And I would have to say that the higher tuitions at places like the University of Chicago, Stanford and Wharton do indeed include benefits that you would be wise to consider when making your choice.

To begin with, the more expensive schools are much more likely to have renowned faculty.  And the ratio between teachers and students is likely to be lower — something you can take it from Nicholas Yates is much to the average student’s benefit as he or she attempts to navigate through the finer points of accounting or economics.  You will also likely have more opportunities to witness up-close and personal the operations of major corporations in the case of top business schools like Stanford — located as it is near Silicon Valley and its famous technology firms.

Also, the corporate officers of many of the major corporations are themselves graduates of top schools, and therefore even more likely to welcome students from their Alma Mater for educational purposes.

Consider, finally, that leading business schools consistently place more of their graduates into positions.  And in the Nick Yates list of priorities — landing that first quality job has to be the very best outcome of any quality MBA program.  Especially in an economy like the present one, which promises a much rougher ride for even MBA graduates!

You will of have to weigh carefully how each school measures up to your needs, resources and academic qualifications.  But ultimately — furthering your business education will pay rich dividends which will make almost any investment of time or money worthwhile.

Raising capital for a business startup is one of the most difficult business tasks you’ll experience and it requires every ounce of entrepreneurialism and skill to convince others to part with their money. Entrepreneurialism aside, raising finance requires a sound business understanding and an ability to think laterally as to the available sources of finance open. Remember that business startup requires finance to get things off the ground but also to keep you personally above water, thus the costs necessary to start off can be quite significant. However by drawing on your entrepreneurialism and the strength of your business model, it is nevertheless possible to raise the funding you need without having to go to any extreme lengths.

Entrepreneurialism is all about taking calculated risks, and this is never more obvious than during the startup period. But entrepreneurialism alone doesn’t make a business – without finance, the most inspirational business plan won’t get off the paper. When most people think of funding their business they think initially of booking an appointment with the local bank manager to go in and discuss possible options. But there are ways of raising finance before this stage that will also help make you look like a more credible investment opportunity, and when combined with that spirit of entrepreneurialism you’re capable of displaying you can get together the money you need to take things to the next level.

The first stage of raising capital is to exhaust your personal resources. This might sound drastic, but when you consider that you’re also costing in your personal salary into your startup capital, it isn’t. Entrepreneurialism without finance is worthless, but by using the resources open to you, you can really make a difference. That means savings, personal credit cards and personal loans where possible to contribute towards your grand total. A prospective business owner that has already exhausted all possible means of raising money will seem more committed and will be in a better position to ask for further funding from the bank.

Asking family and friends is often touted as being a possible way of raising startup capital, but it’s probably not wise to go down this road. Family members are all too quick to draw on the negative sides of doing business, and will be overly cautious when it comes to lending you money. That doesn’t matter if you make a success of things, but most small business ventures fail, and all the entrepreneurialism in the world won’t rebuild damaged family relationships. If you can raise the money elsewhere, do so. Don’t bring in family members where it isn’t necessary to do so, and explore all other avenues of raising business capital before heading down this road.

Raising business finance is often seen as a difficult task, but with careful financial management this needn’t be the case. By all means approach your local bank for help, but don’t treat this as the first source of raising money for your venture where you have access to personal funds and savings.

Taking an idea to a viable business is the heart and soul of an entrepreneur, but the path is full of failure points and blind alleys. Some 90% or more fail in the first three years. A major help is to follow a proven process with experienced advice that can lead to success in the best possible manner. There are many books on start-ups and much discussion, but what most people need is a good starting place. While this is a list, the exact sequence is not as important as covering all the points in this initial process. There are many ways to entrepreneurial success and the CEO Space LLC process has a proven track record in helping many in this process, and has excellent material even non-members can benefit from.

The focal point for a new business is the business plan and the investor presentation. This is true in every stage of business all the way from start-up to every day in the life of a growing organization. In reality both are evolving documents that change as the business progresses. A good CEO will tailor them both as the business needs change and to the needs of each different investor and investor group.

A great place to start is with a vision or advisory team who can help define your concept and how to make money with it. These should be people who are already experienced in businesses related to your idea, and who also have general business experience. Limit the number of people who are your friends but have little practical business experience; one or two is more than plenty. Require everyone to sign a non-disclosure agreement. While you are working with your vision team begin organizing yourself to start your business. Here are two beginning approaches with a demonstrated track record to accelerate your total growth. While no means complete, both have enough detail to get you going.

Here is the first:

1. Get and study the “Super Rush Seed Capital” and “The Magic Folder” CD sets from CEO Space In 2008 the cost is about $150 for both in a set.

2. Get a business plan software package, whatever you can find at your local office supply store, for around $140. Find one that you like and work with it.

3. Get a disc with all kinds of business forms at the same place, around $30. This will have at least one non disclosure agreement to use with the Vision Team and others as appropriate.

4. Start writing your business plan. Do not hire this out, force yourself to do it. Hire advice to help you, but you do it. In a crunch with investors or in making a key decision, if you are weak here, you will make wrong statements and limiting decisions. You must know your limits and get someone with strength to be in charge if you cannot do this, but you can do more than you ever thought possible as you work on it.

a. You can hire an accountant for around $3-500/day to either input your cost data or review it for adequacy. This will help establish your financial model. As you refine this you will get a great education on your business model, and the total cost should be no more than round $1500.

b. You can hire business plan writers for a fee. The range can go from $1500 to well over $40,000. For a start-up company in the seed round this is typically not needed as it costs the new CEO money and deprives them of the critical understanding needed to answer questions of investors and lenders. Better is to develop the business plan with the financial model first and then have it reviewed with comments by the plan writer. This can cost a lot less and still help the new CEO learn the business of their business.

c. Use the same process for any expert you hire. Get smart on the subject. Then look for a document already close to what you want, edit it and have the expert review it rather than have the expert make it from scratch. 90% of the time this will save you lots of money and time.

5. Pick a name that works for you and form a corporation. Get advice from an accountant or corporate lawyer for your concept and the appropriate structure, S, C or LLC. LLC can be changed to a C if you get bigger. Cost to incorporate typically ranges from $200 to about $1,000. If you spend more, go back and listen to the CDs in step 1.

6. Look for a web name that matches your idea and reserve it, but do not put up a web site at this time. Once you start your marketing-branding study, you will also want to reserve other names, but that is later.

7. In a business you will live and die by your customers, so know them well always. Do an in-depth marketing study of who are your target customers, what they want and why they will spend money on your products and services. You can never know too much about your customers. Meeting their needs and wants gives you a business.

8. In a business you will live and die by your competitors, know them well and always. Do an in-depth competitor study of who else is offering products or services that people are using, and look for what or how you can be different. One of the key elements of any investor presentation is a detailed listing of all competitors and how you stack up against them. Leave this out and your credibility will suffer. Your competitors include all the reasons why customers are not knocking on your door right now to pay you money for your goods and services. You can never know too much about your competitors. Meeting your customer’s needs and wants better than your competitors keeps you in business.

9. Get yourself a version of QuickBooks that works for you and keep track of all expenses and expenditures in it. Make an absolute rule all money goes through your accounting system. That includes any self funding you do to get going.

10. Once you get a handle on this start talking to your friends about venture investing. NO PRESSURE, just tell the stories of what you have seen at CEO Space and in magazines such as Inc or Red Herring. I have been told that some 97% of investors keep their money in non/low-performing stocks/mutual funds thinking they are being “safe.” Portfolio investing in ventures is a much more effective way to grow your assets. High return, high risk seed investors talk in terms of 5, 10 and 50 times returns and not 5-17%. So to help them overcome their fears, talk about private placement venture investing in a non-threatening and friendly manner with no requests to fund your project. This may take 3 months to several years to get them to be comfortable with different kinds of investing. Start this yesterday and do it every day. Do this right and you will be known as a key contact for anyone wanting to participate in private venture investing, and investors will come looking for you. If you are in a state that allows finder’s fees, you will enjoy the additional income.

11. As you work through this process interview all the professionals for not only their services but who they know that might be interested in your project and in private venture investing. Take a copy of your business plan and meet with them whenever possible. Just show them you have a plan you are working on and that soon you will need their services and want networking recommendations as part of the interview process. Do not ask them to read it. The idea is to interview every bank, lawyer and accountant in town, not just one. Ask other business people for professionals they would recommend. Let everyone know you are starting a business and that you may soon have an exciting investment opportunity for those qualified. Network and cultivate the venture investing attitude everywhere you go and with everyone you can.

12. Once you have done all the above, start talking to people about your dream and as the conversation leads, ask them to become part of your capital team to help make your dream come true per the CDs of item one above.

13. Start refining your advisory team, who is your vision team after your idea has some “money-meat” on it. You may need to add new members or change out those who no longer can add value to the process.

14. Working with your advisory board identify any unique intellectual property, and if you have not do so before, file the appropriate patent or trademark applications

15. Look for at least one board member to show investors you will accept some control.

16. Find a lawyer who is experienced in start-ups raising early stage capital. You do not want one who only does IPOs or worse yet, has never done any stock offerings. They will advise you on the best kind of capital offering for your project.

17. Build a preliminary web site to support your funding process. All you need is a basic site, nothing fancy. It should include elements of your refined pitch and perhaps the executive summary. Have your lawyer review your site to make sure you stay compliant to state and federal laws.

18. Raise all the money using the process in item 1, and then solidify the rest of your team. You will be very glad you did steps 10 through 12 above.

19. Once the money is raised, then perform a more detailed strategy retreat to refine your execution plan.

20. Also start a marketing-branding study which will include marketing channels for positioning and names. Then go back and reserve web domain names that fit the brand. Now you can start designing your web site.

21. If you get stuck anywhere in the process, call a CEO Space friend, go to a local CEO Space meeting and get back to a Forum in LA.

Another way: Read The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Work on your pitch, when you get it right start writing your business plan. Meanwhile do the above 21 steps anyway.

Both ways work. Other paths work also, but these have proven track records; your choice.

The focal point for the start-up is the business plan and the investor pitch. Many agonize over which is more important. The answer is both are critical and as one is refined, so is the other. Both are living documents and change as the organization grows. So start on one and use it to develop the other.

All opinions and views expressed concerning any product or organization are solely of the author.

Many entrepreneurs get that itch to start a new business, either because they are fed up being “wage slaves” or they like the freedom that working for yourself can bring. Some even think that they will be richer or have more spare time. Many are not sure what kind of business they want.

First of all - never start a new business because you want more money or more time. Starting a new business takes both lots of time and most, if not all, of your money.

Secondly don’t fall into the trap of starting a business just for the sake of it. Make sure that someone wants what you are aiming to sell! Your fruit cakes, tattoos or begonias may be the best in the area but if no one wants them - then you are going to be going bust very soon.

So how do you find out what kind of things you are going to sell?

1) Look at the type of area that you want to set up your business. A majority of aged clients is not going to be keen to have tattoos but might love your cakes!

2) Look at the other businesses selling in your area. Whilst it is sometimes good to group some businesses together such as car sales - make sure there is enough people left who may buy from you. Similarly if there is a successful company that is not coping - maybe you can inherit some of their clients?

3) Look for gaps in the market. Are their complimentary businesses close by who you can join in with to share customers? Is the market just crying out for a particular product of service.

4) Most importantly go and ask people. Give talks at clubs about your subject and see what kind of reception you get. Hold a competition for the best ideas etc.

Good luck in obtaining a firm foundation for your new business.

Life has a way of throwing curve balls at you. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something new comes along and knocks you off your feet! They’ll be a time in your life where you have something happen and it seems like the most horrible thing in the world, that is until something new and more devastating comes along and takes it’s place.

Remember the tragic events of September 11th? Not too long ago I was watching a couple of documentaries on what took place and even though it’s been just a little while, it seems as if it happened so very long ago. At the time the attacks took place, people said we will never forget but years later have we really forgotten about it? Even though I was not there or even able to watch it unfold as it played out on television, when I came home that evening and saw all of the devastation that took place it was unbelievable… yet I knew that it had really happened. It is often said that what does not kill you only makes you stronger. You would think that a tragedy of this magnitude would all make us take a serious look at ourselves and make a change to have a better life. The reality is I don’t think that happened for most people.

One of the shows I watched was about a group of 14 people who survived in a stairwell in one of the towers that had crumbled to the ground. One of them, a fireman, mentioned that once the building started to come down around him he thought to himself “he was only 33 years old, was married and had kids but all he could remember was working all the time.” He asked himself “Is this it for me? Is this all I have done with my life? Is there nothing else left for me?”

Well maybe you’re not trapped in a stairwell, perhaps it’s a job you hate or a relationship you don’t want to be in that’s holding you back. There are so many people who wine and complain about their situation. How they are so unhappy and want to make change in their life. Whatever it is that’s preventing you from living your life to the fullest - why are you letting it stop you?

On September 11th, 2001- thousands of people lost their life and were unable to fulfill their dreams. They lost the freedom to make a decision about their destiny. That decision, without their consent, was made on their behalf. The choice to be free and happy lies in your hands. Unlike the victims of 9/11, no one is taking away your right to be happy or succeed in life. That is a choice that has been and will always be up to you. What do you plan to do about it?

Becoming successful in anything, professional or personal requires the same thing - a personal decision to make a change. My motto - “change your attitude - change your life - change the world” is a true testament to what can be done if someone decides to change. Everyone wants to become an “entrepreneur” because to them, entrepreneurship is some right of passage. Something that is given to you not something that is earned. As you are reading this I want you to know that my wish for you is to realize that you still have time, it is not too late and that change can happen only once you take action. Becoming a successful entrepreneur is something that can be achieved by anyone who is willing to make the choice to change. It’s time to make that decision. I hope you make the right one!