This is an interview i did with dave scotford, A young entrepreneur and founder of a record label called Red Monster Records. A very informative interview about running a record label, and also he is still at the university.

Enjoy the interview and let me know your thoughts..

Hey Dave, how is it going? Thanks for doing this interview with me.

Hey! Not a problem!

Can you kindly give us some background information about yourself? What you do?

I’m a 19 year old first year university student at Birmingham City University and I’m currently running a independent record label alongside university work, Red Monster Records.

Tell me about your company: Red Monster Records – tell us how the company formed?

The company was formed pretty basically originally, a simple sole trader and I was the only staff member. Basically my friends were in a band and were looking to put on a few gigs so I got involved and it’s gone from there and taken off at an unbelievable rate. We’ve never looked back from the start really.

To start with we were just a promotions business putting on a small local music show each month, things went pretty well and we started to sell out a couple of venues and started working with bigger bands. Then we kind of, almost accidentally fell into being a record label. We financed a few records and we kept doing it, so we decided to officially become a label. Although we still put on show-case and our own gigs and events in and around the Midlands.

How did you finance your business?

All of the money used in the running and start up of the business was my own investment. That’s not saying I was loaded, not at all. I literally started off setting up a website myself to save money and printed all the flyers at University. So everything was bootstrapping really, as cheaply as possible but still good quality.

Can you share some of the biggest lessons you have learned personally and as a business as things have grown? If you were to start again, what might you do differently?

Things have grown pretty rapidly here at the label. Maybe we expended too quickly too early, trying to pull in too many acts too early on in life as a record label. But I suppose we’ve learnt from that and pulled back to bring quality rather than quantity is the most important thing. Now we’ll spend months and months watching an act play live, listening to their recorded stuff and getting feedback from people they’ve worked with in the past before we consider signing them rather than a couple of weeks.

Seems an obvious mistake really, but many companies go through rapid growth and struggle a bit. But we’ve adapted pretty well and come out stronger the other side.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Now we’re a bit more stable with the growth then we’ve just done anything we can to market ourselves and as more and more people have heard of us then more and more people are wanting to work with us, and more music fans are buying the music we’re releasing. Lots of people say they’ll do ‘anything’ for their business to succeed, but we really, really will. We’re passionate about the music we release and so we won’t stop until we’re one of the most well known record labels and our acts are doing really well.

Do you have any suggestions for coping with set-backs, dealing with adversity?

For me, the main thing is to keep working. No matter how bad things are, they will get better when you roll the sleeves up and dig in. Things only get worse when the head goes into the sand and the problems are ignored, or worse, run away from.

Sometimes getting other peoples’ advice is the way to go, there are hundreds of business forums out there with members more than willing to offer help where they can. Business Link and the Princes Trust have been great for us, the hours of help and advice, information sheets and pages on their website they’ve sent me is unbelievable.

How do you keep your business focus – Do you have any suggestions for entrepreneurs who are experiencing challenging times?

I suppose focus comes from what I do. I love music, I love new music, and I’m passionate about it. To be honest I think I’ve got one of the best jobs in the world, to run a record label is fantastic, which means I don’t need to think about ways to ‘make’ me get through the ‘to-do-lists’ – I’ve got a natural drive and ‘want’ to do the work.

What were you doing before you started Red Monster Records?

I did run a small youth football based company, which sold through e-commerce, football and sports accessories, as well as delivering coaching sessions within after-school clubs. Things went pretty well, but as soon as I saw the opportunity to work in the creative industry that I love, I jumped head first into it.

How did you get your label off the ground? Looking back, what was the single best decision you made when setting up your business?

The single best decision I’ve made is to actually get the label off the ground. It’s as simple as that; Life since the start up has been fantastic and because I spent a lot of my time at gigs, festivals or watching bands play, then it’s been good fun to. Sure, some of the work’s a bit dry – lets be honest, going to bed at 5am after a label showcase gig and then up at 7am to do the accounts can be a bit hard sometimes!

Similarly, what is the single worst choice you made when getting the label going? What one thing would you tell other to never do?

Like I mentioned earlier, We took on too many bands too quickly; But even having said that, we learnt from the mistake and have developed a better label by learning from it.

Is the business profitable?

Money wise or life experience? It’s a yes on both counts!

At a small label, budgeting is always important. How do you prioritize your promotional budget? If you could only spend money on one thing – say, a radio promotion company, a print media promotion company or advertising, what would you choose? Why?

As a label it is really important to budget, especially at the size and stage we are. We don’t prioritize the budget for a release because it’s all important. It’s like making a cake, if you miss one ingredient out then the cake won’t come out right.

Everything relies on each other, if people don’t hear the track on the radio they won’t get to know about the artist, won’t come to the gig, so won’t buy the EP. In the same way, we can spend the budget on radio, but
what about people who don’t listen to the radio too much?
We do pretty much everything in house; we’ve built the links with DJs so that cuts out having to use other companies.

How important do you think it is for bands to promote themselves on the internet? Do you think things like MySpace; YouTube can take the place of more traditional promotion routes?

In a word, yes. It’s really important bands promote themselves; otherwise people won’t get to hear the new music so you could have the best music in the world but without anyone hearing it, then time has been wasted recording it.

I think MySpace and FaceBook and YouTube are growing and becoming a really important tool in the arsenal that bands and artists can use. I think that more ‘traditional’ methods are still really important, like hitting the gig and circuit, and you need to keep a balance between the traditional and the new wave of social networking.

Although we have seen a brilliant little innovation over recent years now that internet connection speeds and becoming quicker and quicker. We’ve worked with venues that stream the gig live over the internet which is pretty amazing.

What should a small label look for in an artist? Are there any financial arrangements small labels should avoid making with artists – and of course, if so, what are they?

Really that would depend on the label. From Red Monster Records point of view we’re always on the lookout for someone willing to work hard, have fun, try anything and just enjoy the ride. Obviously we’re looking for great music to!

Financially I think that labels and bands need to be on the level with each other all the time, if everyone understands everything then that can help break down a few barriers.

What other projects are you working on at the moment?

We’re working on a massive project at the moment, so hopefully we’ll have it all up and running soon. Obviously I don’t want to say too much, but we’re looking at a way of developing a website which brings bands, labels and promoters all together and help acts ‘Get Recognised’. But my main focus is, and always will be, my label.

With the current economy in a slump, what cost saving tips would you have for a new entrepreneur looking to start their own record label?

The economy is obviously a big issue for lots of businesses in the UK. For us though we’ve been really lucky; people still want to go out for a night and forget the world, enjoy the music and have a blast. We’ve been able to provide this through our gigs and because of the quality of artists that we work with then sales of EP’s and albums have been really encouraging!

Have you any plans (personal or business) that you can share with us about your future plans?

Business wise then we’ll keep developing the label and keep putting out great music. We’re working hard at what we love and hopefully we can keep building on the successes that we’ve seen and keep learning the lessons from the setbacks.

Personally I’d like to finish my degree here at Birmingham City, going for a 1st class, or 2:1, and build my career in the music industry.

Thanks for your time and i wish you the best in the future.

Check out their website and make sure you follow them on twitter and finally become a fan on facebook

Hey Guys, I have an interesting interview with a young entrepreneur currently studying in his 2nd year at Canterbury Christ Church University, Finally met him whilst shooting for the Business dynamics show i told you guys about, anyways we got chatting and i realised what a cool and down-to-earth guy he is, although i spent most of the day stretching my neck to look up to him.

Anyways, Enjoy the interview and let me know your thoughts..

Hey Stephan, How are you doing? Thanks for doing this interview with me.

I’m fine thank you. Just enjoying life and thanking God. Thanks very much for having me.

Before we get into your business and what you do? Can you briefly give us some background information about yourself?

Well I’m currently a 2nd year student at Canterbury Christ Church University. I’m studying theology and Health. I know it’s an unlikely combination, but I had my heart set on going to University to do something I would be interested in. I used to play basketball in Durham and Bristol I have also played in Ghana and France and various camps. I’m a practising Christian and enjoy reading my Bible and going to church, that mostly sums me up.

What inspired you to start the business?

Most of my family are into business. My Dad owns properties, one of my Sisters has to two online businesses and the other one is in the process of starting up her cake business. My main inspiration came from my struggle as a Basketball player.

I was offered two Basketball scholarships last year, one I rejected and the other one fell through due to timing. That experience made me come up with the concept of Get Pro as a beneficial and successful way to help players take that step in the right direction, without having to worry about things such as extensive fees. More importantly, it gives room for more with regards to Schools, Colleges and playing for Professional teams.

Tell us more about your company? What role do you play in your business?

Get Pro is an Online advertisement business, made available to web use on a subscription basis. It aims to establish links between players and coaches.

Our objective is to promote players globally at all levels of Basketball. We aim to achieve this by showcasing players on our website, made accessible for coaches to view 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, further reinforcing our notion of building bridges between the players and the coaches.

We have 2 separate sectors within the company which are also used to further promote the GetPro organisation; GetPro.TV , a production that broadcasts interviews with up and coming basketball players,
and a GetPro Clothing line which will be coming out in the summer.

My role as chairman and director is making all the main decisions in the company and paying close attention to the steps we need to take to reach the objectives of our company.

How many people are involved in the business at the moment?

Aside from myself, there are two other people who are active participants in the business. We are still growing and most likely taking on more staff as we work towards expansion.

A lot of people are looking for investors who believe in their start-ups and you’ve actually managed to get investments from angel dens, how did that come about?

Angels Den is an effective organisation in that they help people find investors through their website and the speed funding event. The event has a host each month across the UK, and in March, I attended one of their sessions.

During the course of the day, we were addressed by Bill morrow the founder of Angels Den. He encouraged me by saying he liked my idea so I thought I’d sign up. I recall a gentleman who also had his idea assessed and was told that his idea wouldn’t work with the Investors, which made me a bit nervous! Thankfully, it all went well in the end .

If you believe you have a good idea I would advise you to check out Angles Den. Just make sure you know your numbers and how your Investor can get a return on his money.

Were you nervous? How was the experience?

At the start of the speed funding event I was nervous because there were 12 tables and 2 Angels den representatives at each table. With the first 4 tables I was a bit nervous but my confidence grew as we progressed and it went well from their! Praise God!

What steps do you think anyone looking for investments and investors should take?

Way out your options. A lot of people say that they don’t want to give up on their company. Look at the benefits of having an Investor; They are allocated to enhance resources such as Contacts, Capital and to add a structure that is easy to adhere to, for your business, a valuable tool given from a person who is more experienced. There are however, alternative financial options such as grants and awards. For myself personally, they weren’t suitable for the route I chose to follow.

With an Investor you have to make sure you know your niche market in and out. How much money you need, what you are going to use the money for, and how the Investor is going to make the money back plus a potential profit within a time frame of 3-5 years.

How important is it for young entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs in generals to have a mentor? What are the benefits?

I believe it’s very important because there is allot of stuff entrepreneurs miss because of the excitement of having a new idea. My mentor Nigel Steward brought me down to earth and set me realistic goals that I could achieve. I went to see him in his office every week without fail always having something new to show him e.g. new business plan, marketing strategy I was very naive and didn’t know allot but he explained the concept of my business. And also tested me to see if I was serious about the idea or just liked the idea but wasn’t really going anywhere with it.

How important is a business plan, in either succeeding as an entrepreneur or getting an investor on board?

My mentors advised me that less is more. Investors will be less than likely to read a 16 page business plan. And that’s what I started off with, so I had to narrow it down to 5 pages the first page of a business plan is the most crucial and then the back which has the cash flow and profit and loss. And I think that is what most Investors will look for if you’re seeing them first time.

When should we be expecting the launch of the website? You said in an earlier interview that the launch for it was supposed to be in February? What’s happening at the moment?

Yes the launch has been delayed due to further work on the content that the website is going to have. At the moment we are on target for ending March early April.

How involved are the angels in the business? What support have you got from them excluding the capital?

I have received a lot of financial advice and also made good contacts with people through my Angel. And I hope many more with the grace of God.

I know you’re in your second year at the university, so how are managing your time between setting your business and university’s exams, coursework?

I don’t really sleep that much, which doesn’t affect me so much surprisingly! I want my business to succeed and these are the kinds of sacrifices you have to make. I would like to finish University as soon as possible in order to focus on my business full –time, but right now it’s not affecting me so much. In University people spend a lot of time procrastinating and only if they spend less time doing that, then can they progress forward to pursue things.

What has been the hardest part of setting up the business?

So far, I haven’t been faced with any challenges and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the lead up to where I am standing now. Its all been a blessing from God so I can’t complain about things. I believe that any good or bad experience is one to get closer to God and your inner man. It makes you stronger so there is only a benefit in it.

What’s the next step for you now?

My next step is to put GetPro on the lips of every basketball player. We have a lot of promotion plans and tournaments to prepare for this year and next. We want to partner up with top basketball brands and just promote this site as much as we can.

What tips would you like to give upcoming entrepreneurs?

The Principle in life that I follow is “Whatever you sow, you reap.” and if you believe in your idea and follow it through it should be a success.

Thanks for your time Stephan.

Check out the website: GetproBasketball

This is a Guest Post

“Hold on just a second! Goal setting and making plans is so important! Everybody knows that!”

You’re right, it is. It is absolutely essential to know where you’re going so that your daily efforts aren’t wasted on inconsequential activities.

But, plans and goals will get you absolutely nowhere by themselves. Nowhere.

Og Mandino said it best,

“Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground. Never has there been a parchment of law, however fair, which prevented one crime… Action, alone, is the tinder which ignites the map, the parchment, this scroll, my dreams, my plans, my goals, into a living force. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.”

Action is the food and drink which will nourish your success.

Say that out loud.

I get chills every time I read those words.

Powerful right? But, unfortunately, there’s always that voice of doubt that says. . .

“But I have to know what action to take before I take it. So, let me study, dust my desk, and organize my pens for the next year, while I learn what do to. Then I’ll act.”

This is a common excuse that comes from fear and it must be overcome before success even looks in your direction.

So, let’s destroy it, shall we?

First of all, the idea that you have to learn the entire picture of a particular subject before taking action is completely absurd because…

1. You won’t retain any of the information that you tried to learn in the process because your brain assimilates knowledge through its application, not just hearing or reading.

2. All knowledge is progressive, meaning that one principle builds on top of another. Therefore, one action builds on another and without carrying out the primary activities, understanding what to do at the end of the road is close to useless.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a test.

Do you remember what you learned in English class during your senior year of high school? Didn’t think so. That’s because you never had the chance or the structure to apply those concepts.

But, how easy is it for you to cook your favorite meal? How easy is it for you to tie your shoes? You can do it like clockwork.

That’s because you have applied that recipe or process repeatedly until it has been committed to your mental and physical memory.

So, in the process of learning, apply each chunk of knowledge that you learn as you learn it. This will not only help you retain that knowledge, but you will actually begin to make progress and build on the results of your actions almost immediately.

“But what if I make mistakes?”

If you’re asking yourself that question, here’s an encouraging fact.

Experience is the most valuable asset to the success of anybody in any field and the amount of experience a person has directly correlates to their success.

And experience is the direct result of action.

Not necessarily the “right” action, but action.

You see, if you take a wrong action action that doesn’t lead you closer to your goal, you’ll learn from the results (or lack thereof), and then adjust accordingly.

There is not one example in the history of mankind of somebody who was perfectly successful in his or her chosen endeavor right off the bat.

Making mistakes and adjustments is an essential part of progress in life and it precedes success. Not only that, you will continue to make mistakes and adjustments even when you’re at a place that you consider successful.

But, what happens when you take no action? You get no experience, no results, and no success.

Action is liberating

Have you ever had a project on your to-do-list that stayed there for months, even years? Then, one day, you just got it together and finished it. How did that feel?

I know that those instances of decisive action are some of the most freeing experiences I have ever had, even if the project itself was insignificant.

Imagine having those experiences on a daily basis!

There is a magic that comes from committing to action and carrying through.

Meet the parents of success

Didn’t know that success has parents? Well she does and you’re going to have to meet them before you’re introduced to her. No exceptions.

Think of it this way.

The father gives the seed of life that is then nourished and developed by the mother.

In the same way, a clear goal is the seed-giving father of your success, but it will never come to life without the nourishment and cultivation of the mother, action.

Please, don’t make success harder than it has to be.

Stop playing your mental fear games and take action today! Commit to one specific thing that you will move a certain area of your life forward!

Sound off!

What do you think? Share your valuable thoughts with us in the comments.

Best of life,

Abhay Khurana

This is supposed to be the place where I plug myself and my website. But, honestly, I just hope that you’ve gotten some value out of what I’ve written for you. If you have and want to connect with me and read more like this, head over to my blog at www.betteryoungentrepreneur.com

ModCloth is an American online retailer, based in Pittsburgh, PA, that specializes in vintage, vintage-inspired and indie clothing, accessories and decor.

ModCloth was launched as a website in 2002 by Susan Gregg-Koger with the help of her then-boyfriend, now-husband Eric Koger

They were able to raise a little over $3 million from angels like StubHub co-founder Jeff Fluhr and venture capital firms First Round Capital and Maples Investments.

The pair continued working on the website while attending Carnegie Mellon University.

Since 2002, the company has grown enormously with annual revenue in excess of $15 million in 2009. As of January 2010, the company has more than 100 employees.

NoteHall is an online marketplace for college students who want to buy and sell class notes launched in 2008 and founded by Sean Conway, Justin Miller, D.J. Stephan, Fadi Chalfoun.

It all started when Sean who had ADHD found it very hard to understand and take notes in a lecture at once, this started the urge and when he realised that other students had the same problems he urged him more to start the business.

“I feel like I’m bright and have a lot of motivation, but I could never comprehend the lecture while simultaneously understanding what the professor was saying,” he said. “It was frustrating,I knew this would be really helpful to ADHD students,” he said.

The company was funded for around $70,000, money from sean’s inheritance and justin’s bar mitzvah money.
The legitimacy of the documents is reviewed before they are posted on the site to ensure what goes online is the students’ class notes, not a reprint of the professor’s actual lecture.

Is selling notes online a bit too far? Could it be considered as cheating, basically paying for someone to do work for you, for example in the U.K where blackboard is used, I Guess that makes note hall can of useless right??

It is same way Blackboard makes students stay at home rather than go to lectures, Their Excuse: I can find the notes on Blackboard, I’m not saying they are selling test answers or anything but is it wrong, let me know your thoughts??

What do university professors and students think about this idea?

Seth launched his first company at 13, although it wasn’t as successful or should i say not successful at all, that did not stop him from hitting the jackpot and starting Scvngr Inc , A company that makes game engines that runs mobile phone-based scavenger hunts.

With over 300 clients using the SCVNGR platform for location-based games and tours, also a popular platform with colleges organising different types of tours and activities.

Clients pay anywhere from $500 a month for a small museum license to a one-time fee of $25,000 to run an intricate corporate event.

He recently took a year out from Princeton University to focus on his start-up.

Priebatsch’s other, earlier company, PostcardTech, makes CD-ROMs — mailed as postcards — that play interactive marketing tours. Using chat, he outsourced the manufacturing of the physical product to a plant in Hong Kong when he was 18.

Chris Hughes, Facebook’s co-founder has launched a new enterprise called Jumo, (jumo.com) which soft launches today.

Jumo–a Yoruba word meaning “together in concert”–is a non-profit that aims to help people find ways to help the world. “We’ll be matching people based on their skills and interests with organizations around the world that need their input,”

Hughes tells Fast Company. “It’s a discovery process that first matches then helps people build relationships then lets people share their resources.”

Chris who was the main man behind the MyBarackObama community organization site.

There is a full report on this at the fastcompany website.

23 years old David Karp decided to drop out of high school at age 15, then deciding to be homeschooled.

At 17, he moved himself to Tokyo for five months where he was the chief technology officer of UrbanBaby, the New York-based message board and e-mail list for overprotective parents with a lot of disposable income and free time on their hands, thank God he decided to start his Japanese classes after he quit high school.

He founded tumblr (a Web platform inspired by the tumblelog, a blog format which enables short-form, mixed-media posts) at age 20, and he did all this without even attending college.

Karp said “he wanted to share his life instantaneously, and without the time commitment required of other blogging platforms. More than that, he wanted others to experience the satisfyingly speedy genesis of tumblelog posts”.

Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows users to post text, images, video, links, quotes, and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users are able to “follow” other users and see their posts together on their dashboard. Users can “like” or “reblog” posts from other blogs on the site.

The site is now averaging 2,000,000 posts and 15,000 new users every day.

The shopping process can be very tiring and boring, especially for guys, I’d rather know what I’m going to get, know the shops i would be buying from and avoid wasting unnecessary time.

Joanna knew that men would rather cut time on shopping or perhaps just skip the whole process altogether.

She decided to create a line of personal shopping outlets, where men could go for personal shopping sessions.

Great right, until her investors decided to pull back after the market crashed in late 2008, after initially agreeing in putting up $500,000 expanding the concept to other locations.

After the initial setback, she decided to start again and look for another source of funding.

Luckily she was approached by an investor who decided to have a chat with her on webcam, at first she dint feel comfortable with the idea, but later realised that men feel more comfortable talking on there and that was it, JACKPOT!

She started trading with the business virtually, using Webcams to meet with clients, assess their needs, and then ship a box of clothing to them. Clients would only pay for items they liked. This also means she dint need any retail stores or investors.

Van Vleck’s 21 style consultants now work with 2,500 customers across the country. The company, Trunk Club, was supposedly set to finish last year with $2 million in sales.

Trunk Club is a men’s clothing service designed to get you great clothes and save you time, check out the website