MoneyIsJustAnIdea interviews The Benjamin Bear CEO, Patrick Hill, on his experiences at the MAGIC trade show.

Money Is Just An Idea Interviews The Benjamin Bear from Money Is Just An Idea on Vimeo.

Today’s Maven IG Profile is a great example of what we have been preaching about here at MoneyIsJustAnIdea. Paul along with his business partner Jose started their own business buying and placing ATM’s across the city. They started off with one machine and has now grown to over 80 across Atlanta. Once you have your ATM machine set up, you have very little work to do after that. This really turns into a passive income stream. Read below to see how he got started.

Name: Paul Giaccio
Age: 33
Company Name: JC & Associates
Date Started: 10/13/2004

Q: How long have you wanted to start your own business?
A: I always knew that I wanted work for myself, but wasn’t quite sure the exact business that I wanted to get into.

Q: Why did you choose the business you are in?
A: It was a suggestion from a good friend who wanted to go in with me as business partners. I didn’t know the market that well, but he had family that was doing it successfully which made it an easier decision.

Q: What did you feel was holding you back from starting your business?
A: Time. It’s so easy to get caught up in your daily job and life routine, it’s difficult to break out on your own and create your own path. I had the desire, but didn’t make the time to start doing my own thing.

Q: Who or what was it that gave you that final push to start?
A: I was laid off from my previous employer which forced me to either interview with another company or just go out on my own… The decision was easy.

Q: How did MoneyIsJustAnIdea help you in creating your business?
A: At the time, there was no “moneyisjustanidea.com” website but it certainly could have been helpful if there was. It’s great to know that there are resources like this now.

Q: What resources did you use?
A: The key resource for us was to know people already in the industry who were able to provide some good advice on how to succeed. Financially, after 2 years in business, we were able to qualify for a 50K small business loan which helped fund our growth. This money truly allowed us to grow at an exponential rate. Underfunding is often the cause of failure in many businesses and we didn’t want to just be another statistic. We needed to have sufficient capital to sustain a successful business model.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone out there trying to start their own business?
A: Decide what you want and go for it. Too many people seem to always talk about what they want to do, but never start the process. Write it down, set weekly, monthly & annual realistic goals towards the accomplishment of your long term plan. Stick to it, update your goals regularly and never give up!!

Name: Jessica Carter

Age: 22

Company Name: First-Bite

Date Started: March 1, 2009

Maven IG: How long have you wanted to start your own business? I’ve had other ideas for businesses (that still may come later) for a few years now. The blog idea just came about at the beginning of the year.

Maven IG: Why did you choose the business you are in? It related to my passion—cooking—and it was a fun way I could get others involved

Maven IG: What did you feel was holding you back from starting your business? I didn’t think I was “expert” enough to review restaurants, and didn’t feel that people would care to read my opinion.

Maven IG: Who or what was it that gave you that final push to start? Boredom really. I kept saying I needed a hobby and had this idea for a blog and with some pushing encouragement from Mario, I finally decided to go ahead and get started.

Maven IG: How did MoneyIsJustAnIdea help you in creating your business? The success of their blog showed me that surprisingly, maybe people do care about what I have to say.

Maven IG: What resources did you use? Omari helped me with some technical issues and Mario gave some design input. Godaddy.com and Wordpress.org have great customer service and help forums as well.

Maven IG: What advice would you give to anyone out there trying to start their own business? I could put a lot of clichés here—just do it, grab your dreams, failure is the best teacher, etc, but really, it’s just fun. I love cooking and eating, so at this point it almost doesn’t matter if people read the blog, I really just enjoy doing it. Since it’s something I’m passionate about, there’s no such thing as failure.

Name: Mario L. Taylor Sr.

Age: 45

Company Name: SPOTLESS DETAIL LLC. (Where no spots are left behind)

Date Started: 2005

Maven IG: How long have you wanted to start your own business? I’ve always wanted to start my own business since I was about 10 yrs old.

Maven IG: Why did you choose the business you are in? I chose the car wash business because I love cleaning cars. Cleaning cars relaxes me and I love to see the faces of the owners when they see their vehicle after I’ve cleaned it.

Maven IG: What did you feel was holding you back from starting your business? I think the biggest thing that was holding me back was FEAR! The fear of failure.

Maven IG: Who or what was it that gave you that final push to start? The Word of God says Faith without works is dead! So I started to do what ever it took to achieve my goal as a business owner.

Maven IG: How did MoneyIsJustAnIdea help you in creating your business? MoneyIsJustAnIdea has inspired me to continue to pursue my dreams no matter what it takes to achieve it.

Maven IG: What resources did you use? The tools from the Ventures page on MoneyIsJustAnIdea. My son helped me outline what items I needed to own and operate a legitimate LLC.

Maven IG: What advice would you give to anyone out there trying to start their own business? Never give up on your dreams no matter what, even if no one else believes in you or not.

Name: Jakita O. Thomas

Company Name: Real Talk on Relationships

Date Started: February 14, 2009

Maven IG: How long have you wanted to start your own business? I’ve started several businesses (I co-own an independent record label, used to own a videography company with my father, and own an announcement business with my husband). I’ve wanted to start a brand around relationships for at least the last 8 years or so.

Maven IG: Why did you choose the business you are in? My friends and I always talk about relationships, and many of them come to me for advice. They tell me that I ask the tough questions and really make them think deeply about their motives and rationale. They say I keep it real and they appreciate that and really trust my advice.

Maven IG: What did you feel was holding you back from starting your business? I didn’t think I had the time (what with everything in my life going on (work, a new mother, church, sorority, etc.), and I wasn’t sure that people would really want to hear what I had to say outside of my friends.

Maven IG: Who or what was it that gave you that final push to start? Truthfully, it was Omari. I mentored him while he was in undergrad, and it’s always great to see someone you know doing the damn thing, so he in turn, mentored me.

Maven IG: How did MoneyIsJustAnIdea help you in creating your business? It taught me that now was really the time to do it—this economy is so volatile right now and with companies laying off left and right, if you’ve got a side interest, the best thing to do is to turn that side interest into a viable money maker and work for yourself. Reading the posts on Moneyisjustanidea.com inspired me to buy a couple of books and just do it! I got my blog started two weeks after coming across the site.

Maven IG: What resources did you use? John Chow’s how to make money online, the Huffington Post’s Guide to Blogging, Blogging for dummies, and Omari turned me on to some great resources (including John Chow’s blog).

Maven IG: What advice would you give to anyone out there trying to start their own business? Seriously, just do it. If you’re waiting for the stars to align before you get out and do it, it’ll never get done. I think the best piece of advice I’ve learned is to do something everyday toward making your business vision a reality. Even if it’s just reading an article or researching demographics or whatever, just do something everyday that’s going to bring you a step closer to achieving your goal.

We always like to see others turn good ideas into sources of income.  Below is the story of a good friend who turned an idea into money.  Also, visit his website: Marcus Smith

How I Became Interested in Public Speaking

The first time I heard Carl Liebert speak was during a manager’s meeting in April 2006 at The Home Depot Store Support Center.  For the most part the speakers were all dreadful and boring.  One by one they climbed onto the platform to report on their departments performance, goals, and key initiatives.  About 3 speakers into the meeting I was ready to lay on the floor and take my life.

Just as I was loading the gun to blow my brains out the EVP of stores Carl Liebert took the platform. His tone was inviting, his points were engaging, he gestured, he included members of the audience in his presentation, and best of all he woke me up.  I don’t remember much of what Carl spoke about but I was extremely impressed by his ability to engage everyone in the room while speaking about his business unit. As soon as the meeting concluded I asked my manager where I could improve my public speaking skills.  She advised me to join Toastmasters International.

The very next week I attended the Toastmasters meeting.  I’d never seen anything like it. The environment was friendly and people were speaking on topics of their own choosing.  I jumped right in and began to deliver speeches.  Quickly I began to sprint through the first manual.  My first five speeches were in this order (Project Name, Speech Title, Date):

1.      The Ice Breaker, My Name is Marcus Smith, 4/22/2006
2.      Organize Your Speech, Perceptions and Their Consequences, 5/4/2006
3.      Get to the Point, Emotional Intelligence, 6/1/2006
4.      How to Say It, My Dad is My Hero, 7/13/2006
5.      Your Body Speaks, The Joys Of Moving, 8/17/2006

My speech on the Joys of Moving was very fun for me.  That speech came 2 weeks after the worst relocation in my life.  My roommate and I picked the worst possible day to move.  The temperature never dropped below 100 degrees, the U-haul smelled like a dumpster, I broke my 1 year old bed frame, and I did all the heavy lifting (washer, dryer, furniture) because my roommate was 5’6” 125 lbs.  An ear to ear smile graced my mug for the whole speech.  By my estimation it was flawless and all the pieces came together.

Later on that day a veteran member of the club approached me.  She came up to me and congratulated me on a great speech.  As I was about to leave the break room she stopped me and said “They was a VERY good speech.  Have you ever given any thought to speaking as a professional?  I think you’d be very good at it.  Honestly, you’d be great at it”.

As soon as I got home from work that day I began a steady diet of research and action.  I ordered several books on the topic and scoured the internet for information.  As I researched my excitement grew and action followed. I haven’t looked back since.