Startup Spark

100 Entrepreneur Stories in 30 Days

by Ben Yoskovitz on February 20th, 2007

Carolynn Duncan is a budding entrepreneurs with a great site called the hundred dollar business. Every so often they attempt to start up a business with $100 in 30 days. It’s a great way to laser-focus and enjoy the true spirit of entrepreneurship - creating something, iterating quickly and getting to market.

Their current project is called “The Entrepreneur Story”. They’re hoping to collect 100 stories from entrepreneurs and micro-business owners (app. 600 words in length) and publish them in a book. All in 30 days for $100. And they’re hoping for 100 customers.

Adding to the challenge, they’re hoping for at least 1 story from each US State and each continent, so they’re aiming for a very diverse market. Looks like they’re at 62 profiles/stories at this very moment.

Getting published in a book is a great way of generating some buzz. Plus, it’s a great way of making contacts. All 100 of the entrepreneurs featured (once the book is launched) will forever be tied together and I can easily see a network forming around them.

If you’re interested in submitting to the book or buying it when it comes out, please check out the hundred dollar business and lend them your support by promoting the project.

For people interested in submitting, here are some writing guidelines from them (taking from an email I received):

Guidelines To Help You In Writing The Profile

The first portion of the book will describe the Hundred Dollar Business concept and our experiences with it. The second part is all about entrepreneurs like you!

Please don’t worry about your writing skills or style. We’re not looking for the next Hemingway or J.K. Rowling, we just want your most heartfelt story. The most important thing is for you to explain why you love entrepreneurship & how you got started, so that the book will be capture your experience vibrantly.

A so-so example: I started my business in 1997. I have two employees. We make cheese that is easy to digest. We like making it, I guess. (Not bad, but not exciting.)

A great example: When Ethan began to show signs that he was ready to crawl, I worried that the tile floors would be too rough on his knees. Sewing had always been a hobby, so I made him a pair of pants with built-in foam padding in the knees and shins. They were so useful that I made him several pairs. If he wasn’t sleeping, he was wearing those pants. Moms in my neighborhood fell in love with them, and it didn’t take long before I had more orders than I had time to make. I had finally found my business calling. (This is from Marina Westerdahl’s story, and really speaks of her motivation & experience– the full version will be available once “The Entrepreneur Story” is published.)

Some Questions to Consider:

• What happened to make you start a business?
• What kind of business did you create?
• How much capital did it take to start?
• Have you had a nausea-inducing crisis or mistake that you’d tell us about?
• Did you have a mentor or mentors?
• How long did it take to become profitable?
• What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?
• What would you do differently now?
• What is the hardest part about being an entrepreneur?
• Can you think of one sentence of advice you’d offer someone who’s got an idea and wants to start a business?

Please respond in roughly 600 words.

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POSTED IN: Entrepreneurship, Passion, Starting a Business