Think you are an entrepreneur? Join CO.NX on July 28 at 11:00 AM EDT (12:00 PM in Uruguay) for a conversation about entrepreneurship with Marsha McLean. McLean will also discuss an upcoming State Department–sponsored women's entrepreneurship conference scheduled for this fall.

Owner of her own consulting firm, Marsha McLean has worked in the field of organizational change and development for more than 30 years. She currently serves as a Franklin Fellow in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. See her full bio here: http://careers.state.gov/FF/bio/mclean_bio.html.

If you would like to participate in this webchat, please go to http://statedept.connectsolutions.com/americas. No registration is needed. Simply choose "Enter as a Guest," type in your preferred screen name, and join the discussion. We accept questions and comments in advance of, and at any time during, the program.

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CO.NX Chat: Entrepreneurship in the Americas
Webchat Transcript

Guest: Marsha McLean
Date: July 28, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. EDT (15:00 GMT)

Marsha McLean: (10:59) Good morning everyone and thanks for joining us.

I'd like to start by offering a few principles of entrepreneurship and then ask you to contribute your thoughts.

Principle: FIND YOUR PASSION.

Most, if not all, entrepreneurs say that work doesn't feel like work because they are doing what they love.

Principle: CELEBRATE FAUX PAX.

Faux Pas: Mistakes are opportunities to be realized. Entrepreneurs are aware of this and can take advantage of what others would see as a mess.

Principle: REACH OUT. Entrepreneurs know how to connect unusual people and ideas.

Principle: IGNORE NEGATIVE PEOPLE.

Entrepreneurs are positive, forward thinking, they forge ahead with ideas when others say not to.

Over the course of this conversation, I would welcome your thoughts on the qualities of entrepreneurship.

Asha Misra: (11:04) Good afternoon everyone. I work with Vital Voices Global Partnership here in Washington, DC

C Diaz: (11:04) We have 22 CCID participants here at Daytona State college, ready to participate

Marsha McLean: (11:04) We've received some excellent questions already and I'll get started with a few.

CO.NX Moderator (Josh): (11:04) If you're just joining us, please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from!

Marsha McLean: (11:05) Welcome Vital Voices partners. We are glad to have you here. Also welcome to Daytona State College participants.

Question [mercy]: (11:05) i BELIEVE IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BECAME an entrepreneur. What do U think?

Answer [Marsha McLean]: (11:06) I totally agree with you.

Entrepreneurship is a state of mind as well as a list of qualities.

Q [Karla Morales]: (11:06) How can I be more creative during entrepreneurship?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:07) Creativity is an important aspect. There are many ways to engage your creative center. Often, it is good to think of stepping outside, literally. You all know about brainstorming, also consider question storming.

Just received another question I'd like to share with you: Do you think that women from different countries within the Americas can assist each other in becoming successful entrepreneurs? What forms might this assistance take?

Women are great at establishing networks, support networks of like-minded women, who want to achieve, want to give back to their families and communities.

There is a terrific opportunity, starting at the Women Entrepreneur Conference in October to grow and develop a thriving women entrepreneur’s network throughout the Americas. Vital Voices already has a large network in Latin America and want to grow that – we could link up with them. Also, establishing Action Learning Sets is a good way forward.

CO.NX Moderator (Josh): (11:13) If you're just joining us...welcome to the Web chat. Please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from!

Marsha McLean: (11:14) This is a bit more formal and uses the notion that we can learn a lot from each other by actively listening and coaching with our peers.

I'd like to share with you another question I've received: What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs?

First and foremost know yourself. Know what you are capable of, what your skills are, what you can cope with and what you can’t – so know your limitations too.

Trust your intuition and your instincts. Be courageous and always reach out to connect people and ideas that may seem a strange fit to others, but seem a perfect connection to you.

Q [Irene]: (11:16) What effect does the current economic downturn have on the ability of women to find opportunities to prosper as entrepreneurs?

Comment [DESEM Jóvenes Emprendedores]: (11:16) hello we a team from junior achievement from Uruguay

Comment [Eugenia]: (11:16) Hi, I am Eugenia Hernandez, from Mexico City, got a MME in Music Therapy at the University of Kansas. Coming back home, I had to start from scratch a music therapy agency, as this profession is totally unknown in my country. I would say that entrepreneurship includes a good deal of persistence, too!

Comment [Chipo Ngwenya]: (11:16) am a school leaver currently interested in enterprenuership

Comment [keith moono]: (11:16) My name is keith moono and I came from zambia, lusaka to be specific

Comment [Linda Moono]: (11:17) I am Linda Moono and i belong to a women development Association in Zambia.

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:17) Paradoxically it probably helps. In these new economic times, the world needs to look to female entrepreneurs to create new ways of working, investing, and partnering.

I believe that women are actually the key to creating a new world economy.

Fede: (11:18) Hi, we are a group of participants of Youth Ambassadors program from Uruguay.

CO.NX Moderator (Josh): (11:18) Welcome Fede and friends!

Marsha McLean: (11:18) Welcome Uruguay and Zambia!

Q [C Diaz]: (11:18) Any suggestions for new, young ambitious entrepenaur who wants to open services within general business industry?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:19) Okay. First and foremost use your contacts. Remember to reach out and link people and ideas together that make sense to you, even if they don't make sense to others. You will need to overcome your youth with the brilliance of your ideas. Often people pay more attention to age and wisdom.

kings ngulube: (11:19) I am kings ngulube and i come from zambia

Marsha McLean: (11:21) I welcome your ideas about the principles of entrepreneurship, and also your thoughts about social and business entrepreneurs.

Just received another question from a contact: Can you learn to be an entrepreneur?

To some extent yes. There are personality types which are more suited to entrepreneurship than others. For example, entrepreneurs are usually positive and forward thinkers, risk takers, live well with ambiguity, have perseverance and tenacity, can spot trends and opportunities.

So if you already have some or all of those characteristics then further education in entrepreneurial thinking might be helpful.

Q [Irene]: (11:22) Could you explain a little more about what you mean by Action Sets that you mentioned earlier? (This is Irene from the Women's Office at State)

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:23) Irene, Action Learning Sets have been around for a while as a forum to exchange ideas, solve problems amongst peers.

They are often used by leaders in organizations who want to share strategic issues with each other in a safe environment.

Being part of an action learning set means making an ongoing commitment to your own development. It calls on problem solving skills, coaching/mentoring skills, and great listening.

Thomas: (11:24) I undersTand

Q [Mauricio González Nappa]: (11:25) hello, I am also from Uruguay, and I work in an NGO called "Un techo para mi País", young people building a latin america without poverty. So my question is: What about entrepreneurs in situation of extreme poverty?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:25) Go back to the basic principles. They work everywhere regardless of your situation. Also, I have seen the most amazing results come out of the most extremely impoverished areas. It is the power of your ideas that will make a difference.

We are very aware of the successful efforts of Un Techo Para Mi Pais. Look forward to working with you going forward.

keith moono: (11:27) i will do that

Fede: (11:27) Our project consists on working with children at school with recreative activities to create environmental awareness

Q [Chipo Ngwenya]: (11:27) Does entrepreneurship only got to do with setting up your own business or maybe you have to be engaged in some sort of business industry? please clear me on that.

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:28) Not at all. There are many social entrepreneurs in the world who are making a huge difference. They are the social change agents who blow on the embers of innovation.

For example, social entrepreneurs work to benefit humanity in various ways, through NGO's, through local government, through social networks. Sometimes this involves helping youth, helping underprivileged people, supporting women, etc.

Q [Eugenia]: (11:31) About social entrepreneurship, I work with children with disabilities. In my country, this work is often seen as "doing charity". For me, it should be seen as "creating value" for the children AND for the society as the whole. I believe that this change in perception will make parents, sponsors, agencies, goverments, more wiilling to invest in quality assistance for this children. Entrepreneurship is then needed to promote this change. What do you think?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:31) Eugenia, you are absolutely right. Let's work on this together.

Q [Linda Moono]: (11:34) Marsha, your chat is entitled entrepreneurship in the Americas? I would like to know about programmes in the Americas that focus on women and the Youth and how they are doing. We have many entrepreneurship organisations but seem to be making slow change. Where are we going wrong, what are our entreprenuers missing?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:35) The Pathways to Prosperity Program was re-launched by the Secretary of State in late May in El Salvador. It is a platform for promoting free trade across the Pathways countries, and also serves to promote social justice and inclusion. In our Bureau, we have decided to focus on women entrepreneurs in the region as one way of aiding economic development.

Our program, which begins with a conference in October in Washington, D.C., will bring together aspiring entrepreneurs from Latin America with entrepreneurial mentors from both Latin America and the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the mentoring opportunities, the women will be exposed to organizations who want to import new lines of goods and services, logistics companies who can help with exporting needs, brand marketers, financial experts who support small businesses, and leading educators.

After the conference itself, the women will form mentoring relationships which will help them in the continuing development of their businesses and will reach out to other entrepreneurial women in the region. Instead of asking yourselves what you are doing wrong, inquire into the small things that you are getting right. Find examples of progress you and others are making and amplify those, instead of the things you are not doing.

CO.NX Moderator (Josh): (11:38) Thanks to everyone who has joined us. Marsha McLean is reading through and answering your questions. Please be patient; she will answer as many questions as she can!

Marsha McLean: (11:40) As a way to bring in some of the principles mentioned earlier, I am using the "REACH OUT" one to engage private sector partners in our women entrepreneurs conference. So far, Vital Voices, Count Me In and Ernst & Young are actively partnering to help us involve even more women from Latin America.

Comment [keith moono]: (11:41) we have alot of entrepreneurs who can make a difference in africa were are there, coz we are alone here is it theory material to read or for implementation

Marsha McLean: (11:42) There are a lot of courses, both at universities and distance learning that are popping up all over the place. We will get some references for you before we sign off.

Q [Fede]: (11:42) We would like to know about possible international forums of entrepreneurship, is any organization working on that aspect?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:43) There are many. In addition to our conference in October, I believe there is another planned for Jan 2010. Vital Voices also has conferences at various times throughout the year. Perhaps if they are still with us, they can respond to this question.

CO.NX Moderator (Josh): (11:45) Welcome to everyone joining us! If you've just entered the chatroom...please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from!

Asha Misra: (11:47) Vital Voices does carry out various trainings throughout the year, at this point I am not aware of trainings or conferences in addition to the ones previously mentioned

Q [IRC Lusaka]: (11:47) Hi I am Joseph from IRC Lusaka. I think in my country we need mentors that can help young entrepreneurs succeed in their endeavors. Are there organisations or foundations we can turn to in America?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:48) Joseph, we are starting a mentoring program here in the Western Hemisphere and I know that there is interest in rolling this out to other parts of the world. We will share your interest in this with our colleagues in the African Bureau at State.

larry: (11:49) Hi, Larry in Brussels

Q [Chipo Ngwenya]: (11:49) What kind of social activities are involved in enterpreneurship?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:50) Micro financing is a good example, in that it helps people who otherwise wouldn't have the funds to succeed.

Also, creating networks which support social endeavors such as developing communities, helping the environment, habitat, delivering health services, leveraging civic networks. Hope this helps.

Q [kings ngulube]: (11:52) i would like to know more about entrepreneuship and if at all the are specific organisations involved in the united states

CO.NX Moderator (Josh): (11:53) Thanks to everyone joining us. Our guest, Marsha McLean is reviewing and answering your questions! She will answer as many questions as she can before the end of the hour!

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:53) Simply Google entrepreneurship and you will find a plethora or organizations

Q [DESEM Jóvenes Emprendedores]: (11:53) We're intrested to know if there are scholarship oportunities for the october's conference

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:55) A very good question. We are looking for our private sector partners to sponsor some aspiring entrepreneurs. If you are in a Pathways country, get in touch with your embassy. They are collecting nominations for participants.

DESEM Jóvenes Emprendedores: (11:55) we are really interested in the intra entrepreneurship concept, if you can't answer right now, can you send us information?

Marsha McLean: (11:57) As I understand it, entrepreneurship is another name for people inside of organizations, including non profits and government who act as entrepreneurs. They spot trends, the get beyond the red tape and bureaucracy, they import difference into their organizations.

I will be able to post more answers, and you can post more questions on this hub: http://townhall.howcast.com/topics/Entrepreneurship-in-the-Americas

I have time for one more question, anyone?

Q [Chipo Ngwenya]: (11:59) Would one take enterpreneurship as a career?

A [Marsha McLean]: (11:59) Thank you for the last question Chipo. The answer is yes. Even Harvard has a course in entrepreneurship.

In reference to your question about online courses in entrepreneurship—I and several of the interns in my office have done a bit of online research and have found that there are a variety of opportunities available.

Some of the courses offered are free and are more informal, while others require payment. However, the fact remains that the opportunities for online classes in this subject do exist. We encourage you to continue to research these opportunities.

Ezimara Monteiro Barrato - BR: (12:01) Hi! I just want to introduce myself. I am Ezimara from Brazil. I am one of the CCIDs students from Parkland College...

It is a great opportunity to be here and I want to say THANK YOU for all you are doing for us.

Marsha McLean: (12:02) Thank you all very much for actively participating in today’s web chat. I’m so pleased to see how many share the same entrepreneurial spirit!

Q [Chipo Ngwenya]: (12:02) Thank you, so i can study enterpreneurship at Harvard, Right?

A [Marsha McLean]: (12:02) Unfortunately, there is not enough time for me to answer all of your questions, once again, I would like to encourage you all to continue this discussion on our online media hub.

Here you will be able to post questions and make comments for everyone to see into the future. We are also going to post Spanish and Portuguese translations of this chat on this discussion forum.

Eugenia: (12:02) Thank you for sharing so many valuable resources, Dr. McLean!

Marsha McLean: (12:02) Here is the link: http://townhall.howcast.com/topics/Entrepreneurship-in-the-Americas. Thanks again!

Kitty Casiello: (12:04) Thanks Dr. McLean

Linda Moono: (12:04) Even though my questions have not been answered, I thankful for the knowledge acquired today. Keep it up.

Dimas Setyawan: (12:05) Hi Everyone, can i join this chatting?

Marsha McLean: (12:05) Linda, Yes. I've answered a few from you and from Keith Moono. We are hoping to use our women entrepreneurs conference in October as a template for other similar programs throughout the world.

CO.NX Moderator (Mark): (12:05) Thanks everyone for joining. There were many questions coming in, we hope you will understand that Marsha McLean tried to answer as many as possible.

Ezimara Monteiro Barrato - BR: (12:06) Hello Dimas, I would like to know what you think about enterpreunership

Marsha McLean: (12:07) We are out of time, but please continue this discussion on the howcast hub

CO.NX Moderator (Mark): (12:07) http://townhall.howcast.com/topics/Entrepreneurship-in-the-Americas

Dimas Setyawan: (12:07) Enterpreunership is when you have your own bussiness, on the other words, being an independent businessman

CO.NX Moderator (Mark): (12:10) Thanks for joining everyone, please click on the link above to continue the discussion.

(end transcript)