CEO Knights

Jerry Ross Notes

2010-01-22T13:19:00.001-08:00

Jerry Ross
Executive Director of Disney Entrepreneurship Center

Think like an entrepreneur

What is the benefit in what I provide?

Started out at AT&T
Easy, had monopoly

Switched to a software company

"People don't care about you, they care about what you do for them."

Sold $100 million dollars

"I didn't know alot about lighting, I knew who to benefit"

"You have to say what I do for you."

Who will buy it?

Light business started out in entertainment.
Who is going to buy it?
Those that are qualified or interested.

Who has money?
after targeting
Have you planned for this in the budget
What are they charging?

Find out the professional associations.
Ask them about your market.

No matter who it is, there is an association for it.

Business Information Resources Book (found at library) has
all companies in category
all conferences
all associations

Use library researchers

Keep your ears and eyes open
Watch for needs all the time, every where.
Always watch for the demand, no matter how subtle

Reality
Needs bread
Want steak
Demand hamburger

You have to hit the streets
You have to get outside of your circle

All about business plan and research
but you have to be tactical

What will they pay?

Don't spend the money unless you have a client.

This is about profit, if you can't sell it, you have an expensive hobby.

negotitiaon
Price & terms
talk price with terms
talks terms with price

I need a lamp

1,000 for 3 days
800 for 2 days

If they go for 2 days then you just got 66$ more per day

on new years I have a limited supply of lights
1,000 a night on new years

Very High Demand, set up a very high price

Know about your competitors.
Every market I entered I had competition.

Know your price. Know everything about your competitors.
Sell value don't sell price.

We were always the most expensive.

Got to know price and cost.

Put competitors out of biz by using their competitiveness against them, by claiming to give people things at extremely low prices. Thus resulting in them operating at a loss to compete with you, even though you are charging more. Destabilize your competition.

Don't lower your price you sell value.
Know what you are really selling and how you benefit the people you are selling to.
Overhead will kill you, you dont need new desks and chairs.

Entrepreneurs forage, to profit the most. Overhead and going through your start up capital WILL KILL YOU.

Everything we do is about profit, the "net net".
How much money are we making at the end of the day?
You have to know when you are going to make money and when you are not.

Usually small business owners don't know when they are profiting from what they are selling, thus resulting in a lot of businesses have high sales, but making not money.

People will take advantage of you because you are new.
Know price
Know Value
Know who is going to buy
Believe in your business
Make money

Where do I find them?

you go where they go
where they live
where they shop
and you go to them.

Zip code demographics, look up any zip code and it will tell you the demographic.

scc.gov

SCC is very valiable, knowledge is power in this world
see all there quarterly reports
easy to find in for business research

reference USA
Info USA

Business Journal book of lists, once you get someone, you get the people they hangout with
We always hang out with people like us.

Everyone will try to steal your idea. Build trust overtime. If you have a good idea people will be right behind you.

Non-Disclosure agreement
People don't want to sign things.
"If i have to sign a document, I dont want to give my time for free"

Just describe the benfits, who cares how it works. No one knows how software worked that I sold them, but they knew how it benefited them.

Determine how much you give and also the profitability. Risk taking versus needs: I know this is going to be close, but it is important and we need to do it to get to the next level.

Business people know when they are making money. alot of small businesses just don't know when they are not losing money.

Fall semester-

2009-06-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hello,

We are currently in the process of planning for the fall semester. We have a lot of great things planned including speakers, field trips, workshops and social events. If you would like to be kept up to date with what we are doing and become a member in the fall, send an e-mail to ceoknights@gmail.com

SoSocial Event

2009-06-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday, June 3rd, SoSocial will be holding a business connection luncheon. If you would like to attend (admission for college students is free) or help setup, contact Ricardo Kendrick @ (407)967-7997. For more information, check out http://www.sosocial.com/.

Meeting This Thursday

2009-03-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Next Thursday, March 26th at 5:30 in the CEI, Gary Slavin will be conducting a one hour workshop on running meetings. You will find this information invaluable in your future. Check out the summary.

Learning institutions, businesses, associations and governments all consist of groups of men, women and children. Regardless of their purpose, members of these groups must get together in order to function. Anytime three or more people work together at the same time, whether face-to-face or using technology, we call this a meeting.

This session, designed for college students preparing to enter the job market, will explain how being able to properly prepare for and conduct a group, project or any type of meeting can accelerate their career and help them reach their potential in today’s business environment.

They will learn how to prepare for and conduct themselves in one-on-one and group meetings. They will find out how to utilize meetings to solve problems, obtain needed data, make major decisions and be able to complete their tasks more efficiently.

In addition, students will learn about:

· Six types of meetings

· The five steps for conducting a successful meeting

· Identifying when to have and not have a meeting

· Preparing and presenting a meeting agenda

· Handling difficult people in meetings

· Using technology for meetings

For more information on Gary Slavin, check out www.garyslavin.com

Elections

2009-02-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, elections are coming up! We are looking for dedicated people with new ideas to fill our exec board. Becoming an active member in CEO Knights can help you develop your entrepreneurial skills, boost your resume and if you put in enough time and effort, chances are you will be able to attend the 2009 CEO National Conference in Chicago. Elections will be in middle April. For more information send an e-mail to ceoknights@gmail.com

Networking Event This Wednesday

2009-02-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday, February 18th we will be attending SoSocial's Business Connection Wednesday @ Sheraton Orlando North. If you are looking to build your network and meet business professionals in Orlando, this is what you are looking for. Bring plenty of business cards. It is free for students to attend. For more information, visit http://sosocial.com/index.cfm?p=7&eid=308. We will be meeting at 5:15 P.M. in the CEI.

CEO Knights

2009-02-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to the CEO Knights blog. We are in the middle of a busy semester right now. If you are interested in becoming a part of our club OR would like to be added to the mailing list to be kept up to date about our upcoming events, please send an e-mail to ceoknights@gmail.com