Zero Cost Branding is Myopic

There is a movement in today's advertising world to get immediate results without doing any of the prep work of tradtional advertising.

I was asked to give my opinion about this new movement in an interview with Lisa Weiner from EDUInsight.com.

I am quite passionate about my opinion (in case you can't tell from the title of this blog entry).

To read the interview, click here:

http://www.eduinsight.com/archive/david_mammano.php

YEA!

YEA! Stands for Young Entrepreneurs Academy and it's an incredible program that I teach at the University of Rochester every Tuesday from 4pm - 7pm. It's quite the commitment considering that I run a business and have a young family.

But it's all worth it!

The students are not college students. It is a special program for middle and high school students partly funded by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation. Some of these kids are 12!

The program is intense. From the get-go, we hit the ground running with massive amounts of business planning education infused into their young brains.

Then we brainstorm business ideas and the students choose a business and actually start it. Yes, they get their DBA's, create in-depth business plans, a designer makes them real logos and....... and this is big ... they actually get funding from investors.

That's what we did last night. We got 12 investors to buck up some money. We had a very official event hosted by David Koretz, CEO and Founder of BlueTie (www.BlueTie.com)

Then, in front of the investors and about 200+ family, friends and people from the community, the students pitched their business ideas. Imagine being 12 years old on stage pitching a business idea. Scary!

Well, my students did great! I am a proud papa today. They all got funded. Some got more than they asked for, some less. But the exercise of creating a business from scratch and pitching it live to real investors is an experience that will certainly shape these future business tycoons for the rest of their lives.

So here’s a big YEA! to my students... congrats!

And a big thank you to Gayle Jagel, the YEA! program founder for bringing the academy to Rochester and helping me tremendously every step of the way with this course. Remember, I am an entrepreneur, not a trained teacher. She has expanded the program to SUNY Geneseo and I am going to help her spread this program around the world! If you want to help in someway, contact me or go to http://www.rochester.edu/college/osp/yea.html

I also have to thank Heather Ziarnowski, the program director. She does a ton of the behind the scenes work and the program could not happen without her. She is in the class every Tuesday keeping me on track! Thanks Heather! That's a tough job....

Now ask yourself... "Have you helped a young entrepreneur today?"

America's Two Problems (And Two Opportunities for Entrepreneurs)

In my opinion, America has been focusing too externally the past seven years instead of internally. Don't get me wrong, we do need to be on the lookout for those crazies that want America wiped off the face of the earth. But while we're looking out the door, the inside of our house is on fire.

I write about this, not because I am planning to throw my hat in the upcoming primary, but rather I see two issues specifically as problems that can be solved by entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs always solve problems better than politicians anyway.

Once again, these are just my opinions. So you know they must be right. Here are the two issues that I think entrepreneurs can improve:

Eating Habits
Our eating habits have gone down the tube. Most young Americans rarely cook meals from scratch on a daily, weekly or sometimes even monthly basis. Fast food has become a substitute for fruit and vegetables. Obesity levels are at an all time high. More than 1/3 of our population is now classified as obese. Not good. As a society, we're not eating the right foods and over-eating the wrong foods. Welcome to the world of heart disease and diabetes to name a few of the consequences of being over weight.

The time is ripe for an entrepreneur to develop education programs that teach kids about healthy eating and cooking. One of the most satisfying things to do is to cook a meal from scratch and enjoy it with family and friends. If there were two of me, I would get into this business immediately.

Money Management
The average credit card debt of today's American family is more than $12,000. Not good. What ever happened to that good ol' saying "Live beneath your means." 50 years ago, the average American relied very little on debt to finance their life (besides having a mortgage for their house-which used to be a safe investment!). Today, if we pulled every credit card away from every American, our economy would collapse. So this means that our economy is completely dependent on consumers living beyond their means. Scary!

There is some good education work being done in this area. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John C. Ninfo, II, has started a fantastic program called the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program - http://www.careprogram.us/. He is a full time Judge and does not make money doing this.

Once again, I think entrepreneurs need to come to the rescue and get our country back on track financially.

There are certainly many more problems with America - crime, drugs, erosion of family and more. But I see these two items above as items that can be changed dramatically with some good entrepreneurial passion. And solving these two problems may stop other problems too…

So, any entrepreneur reading this and wants to get something going, let me know how I can help!

My New Year's Resolution

A blog a week! (At least)

Ok, I feel badly. I promised my millions of registered fans (Ok, thousands) that I would write my blog entries (Ok, hundreds) on a regular (Ok, my mom) basis.

I have been less than faithful in 2007 - with my blog entries. Now, because of Christmas break, my sleep is all messed up (along with my digestive system) and I currently have some time to write. And I declare right here and now for everyone (mom) to read, that I will commit to at least a blog entry per week!

I will start with a cheesy shortcut and recap my last 10 entries on how to create a high octane culture. If you like what you read, please subscribe to my blog through email or the other options located on the right hand column of this page.

If you already do subscribe, you can subscribe someone else. It makes a great gift! Your recipient will receive Mr. Miyagi level wisdom (at least once a week!) - guaranteed or your money back.

Now on the best recap of high octane culture tip you've ever read this year.

Top 10 Strategies for a High Octane Work Culture

#1 Employee Recognition
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/07/creating-high-octane-culture-part-1.html

#2 Field Trips Baby!
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/07/creating-high-octane-culture-part-2.html

#3 Performance Review - for the CEO
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/07/creating-high-octane-culture-part-3.html

#4 Eat with the Best
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/07/creating-high-octane-culture-part-4.html

#5 Make new employees feel special from the beginning
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/08/creating-high-octane-culture-part-5.html

#6 Remember the kids
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/08/creating-high-octane-culture-part-6.html

#7 Keep your company aligned
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/09/creating-high-octane-culture-part-7.html

#8 It's all about the birthday
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/10/creating-high-octane-culture-part-8.html

#9 Listening. Really Listening...
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/11/creating-high-octane-culture-part-9.html

#10 Respect
http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/blog/2007/12/creating-high-octane-culture-part-10.html

I hope you enjoyed. If you did, please pass on the love. I want to have a million subscribers by the end of 2008.

Ok, subscribers beyond my extended family.

My next entry will be my thoughts on everything that's wrong with America!