How to Transform Your Passion into a Successful Business

Starting your own business is like jumping on an emotional rollercoaster with the highest of highs and lowest of lows -- all the while, wondering if the ride will come to a screeching halt. Anyone can start a business but it’s infinitely harder to grow and sustain it. When a company faces challenges and falls on hard times (and it always does), it’s your passion and commitment that ultimately get the business through to the other side. If you don’t have a true passion for your business, everyone can sense it: your customers, team, advisors and investors.
That's why focusing on your mission is of the utmost importance. This will enable you to make faster decisions and help you manage through the rollercoaster ride.
Here are three steps to help transform your passion into a successful business:
Do you know enough? If not, start asking. You have a passion and want to start a business! Do you know enough about the industry? With industry background and know-how, you’ll be ahead of the curve and can hit the ground running -- producing products, building a customer base and forging your company vision.
If you have a great idea, but aren’t familiar enough with the field to get started, use your network, speak with people who’ve started businesses in your industry to help you get up to speed quickly. This is like building an informal advisory board of people who’ve gone through a journey similar to the one you’re embarking upon.
When I started NatureBox with my college buddy, Ken Chen, food was a passion of ours, but we honestly didn’t know much about running a food business. We began networking and discussing our idea with seasoned industry innovators to glean insights and learn strategies, tips and tricks for successfully running a food company. Our big breakthrough came when we attended a food tradeshow and met a few suppliers who were willing to work with us. Until then, we didn’t know how to find manufacturing partners.
Jump in. There’s really no better way to start than diving in head-first. In the beginning, you may not have your exact plan mapped out, and you’ll likely make significant changes to your model. But the benefit of starting a business around a passion is that you know why you’re doing it and can more easily overcome barriers that come up along the way. It’s this deep-rooted drive and enthusiasm that will keep you motivated and engaged with the product you’re selling.
Ken and I held other full-time jobs when we built the first NatureBox website. We used product photos taken on our cell phones. We were testing whether there was a market for people who wanted nutritious snacks delivered to their door and immediately saw opportunity -- more than 100 people signed up in a weekend. Now we had to decide if we were going to send our first orders or simply refund the customers, writing this off as a successful first-run test. This is where taking the plunge, is so important. There really is no better time than now to just go for it.
Surround yourself with others who share your vision. It’s no coincidence that everyone at NatureBox has an interesting story about how food shaped their lives -- whether it’s a personal weight loss journey like myself, food experience from a previous professional career, or a background growing up in an agricultural environment. We hire based on these shared experiences because they help shape the business.
Because you can expect long work hours and hard days in the beginning, personal drive and shared similar values with your colleagues will see you through this time. This enthusiasm translates to a positive customer experience. And that's what will build your business.
Turning your passion into a successful business not only allows you to be profitable while doing something you love, it helps set you up for lasting success. Most importantly, passion is central to making decisions that are in the long-term interest of the customer and the company, which will help you establish sustainability and longevity for your brand.

What a Light Packer Packs in His Carry-On

In this monthly Travel Checklist column, we ask entrepreneurs to open up their carry-ons and share the items they can't leave home without.
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229774#ixzz2lXBnFoVL

Trekking halfway across the globe on a regular basis can lend itself to a frenetic lifestyle, even for veteran business travelers. But for Andrew Chrisomalis, the chief executive officer of TY KU Sake & Spirits, touching down in Japan, as he does several times a year, always brings renewed clarity and calm. “The minute you land, you see it and feel it, the peacefulness, even at the airport,” he says. “When you take the subway, it’s crowded but incredibly quiet. The streets are incredibly clean. It’s almost unnerving -- there’s something off, in a good way, about a metropolis with tons of tall buildings and millions of people being so peaceful. The culture relaxes you and soothes you. It’s unique in the world.”
Chrisomalis clocks about 150,000 miles a year (and roughly 2 million total thus far) -- much of them spent traveling between the company’s New York headquarters and its brewing facilities in Nara, Yamagata, and Kyushu, Japan. All that time in the air, he says, gives him a chance to focus on the “big picture” for his brand, which is now available in nearly 10,000 bars, restaurants, and clubs in the United States and abroad, and to embrace different culinary traditions. “I find it so interesting to experience different cultures, both domestically and internationally,” he says. “Everywhere you go, from Dallas to Tokyo, Shanghai to Hong Kong, cities and countries all have their own local customs and traditions -- not to mention local food and wine. I will never say no to trying a new cuisine.”

Despite his love of travel, Chrisomalis has perfected the art of getting in and getting out of a city -- especially when it comes to packing. “I pride myself on being able to pack up and leave a hotel room in under two minutes flat,” he says. “When I unpack my suitcase, I keep everything in one location. If you don’t sprawl your things out around the room, you can pack it up again quickly and depart.”
With that packing prowess in mind, we recently asked Chrisomalis to unpack his efficient carry-on -- and share some of the travel tools of his trade.
1. Uniqlo tote bag
“I bought this tote on a trip to Japan several years ago and it has become one of the most important things that I bring with me. It's my briefcase and stores all of my necessities in its various compartments. It keeps me organized and my travel items completely accessible. I find tote bags great for airplanes. They’re lightweight and so easy to open and close and access your laptop, papers, whatever -- more so than a briefcase or over-the-shoulder bag.”
2. 1880 Gold Coin and 1881 Silver Dollar
“I have Greek heritage, and in Greek tradition, it is good luck to carry a gold coin with you, so I always have these on me. And why the silver? You can never go wrong with both. The silver one is fun to play with because it’s bigger and you can spin it on a table.”

3. Pleased But Not Satisfied and an article on Sir Alex Ferguson
“I like to have at least one key book and one print article to read for takeoffs and landings, when you [are asked] to shut down your electrical devices. The book is one that I’ve read many times and read a couple times a year to remind me about the most important principles in business. The article [from Harvard Business Review] is on Sir Alex Ferguson, the most winning coach of any soccer team in the world, and I was interested in reading about his success and management ethos.”

4. Clif Bar
“It is like a mini meal on the go, when time is of the essence.”

5. Ziploc bags
“I store all of my personal toiletries, plugs, cords, and connectors in [separate] clear Ziploc bags. I know exactly what I have when I need it and don’t have to rummage through a caddy to find my toothbrush.”

6. TY KU branded materials
“TY KU tote bags (for gifts), TY KU hat (for the gym), TY KU business cards, TY KU bottle caps (to test bottles on the company’s bottling lines) – I am almost always traveling for business, so these are some of the essentials that I need whether I am going to a board meeting or overseeing factory operations.”

7. Chopsticks
“In Japan, many people have their own chopsticks -- it’s customary to bring your own. I am constantly eating sushi and Asian fare, so I bought my own special pair.”

8. Purell
“You are touching so many things in an airport, I always keep Purell with me – especially now that I have a newborn!
9. Advil
“Being in the spirits business, I always carry Advil in case of emergency.”

10. Klipsch Headphones
“These headphones are great noise reducers when you’re working, to tune things out. Just having them on my head, even if nothing is coming through them, it allows you to think clearly.”

11. Japanese/English phrasebook and dictionary
“I don’t speak Japanese, but I’m in the process of learning. Most of my international travels are to Japan, so I need to be able to speak to locals and business associates. The more words I know, the better.”

12. Book on Japanese cuisine and Sake
“When traveling to Japan, I take this with me. It tells you what you are eating -- by picture and translation. Until I become fluent in Japanese, helpful to have for sure!”
13. Timex Ironman digital watch
“I never take this watch off. I can set three different alarms, set different time zones, and even work out in it.”

14. Black Nike fleece
Chrisomalis wears this along with black track pants (folded beneath the fleece). “This outfit has become my go-to ‘office attire’ for overnight or long flights -- my 'flight suit.'”

15. Global Entry Card and Passport
“The Global Entry Card is a lifesaver -- it makes traveling so easy without the hassle of immigration lines.”

What's the Next Kale? How Business Owners Can Capitalize on Food Trends

In foodspeak, using the word “kalelicious” to celebrate 2013’s ostensible year of kale seems right on the money. That’s exactly what Dee Ann Bauer thought when she coined that descriptive as the flavor of her veggie-centric popsicle.
Bauer’s green-hued icy treat – a frozen, blended fruit-and-vegetable smoothie pop produced by her 20-month-old company Green Wave Smoothies – boasts kale as a major ingredient, along with banana, mangos and oranges.
Bauer seems to have acted at the right time. “Just about everyone who stopped by our booth at this summer’s Fancy Food Show in New York, where we debuted our popsicle, told me, ‘What a great idea,’” she says. She's currently in negotiations with top-tier natural food and grocery chains and standalone stores in the U.S. and Canada who want to carry her products.

Kale, like the acai berry and avocado before it, is the latest food to capture the nation's collective appetite. Touted for its nutritious value, the leafy green seems to be finding its way into all kinds of concoctions – and will likely do so until the next big food trend sweeps through.
For business owners, the kale craze is an important lesson on how to sense trends and capitalize on them.
Sniffing Out a Trend
Bauer started out by test-marketing her popsicle formula, via freshly blended green smoothies, at farmers’ markets. She then sampled the frozen pops at a fitness club whose premises housed a certified kitchen where she made them. She never hired a consultant. She simply engaged in a bit of DIY market research by picking the brains of everyone who tasted her offerings and then tweaking her recipe.
“I knew kale was starting to become a big buzz word because of its nutrient density, and many people were already associating ‘green smoothies,’ with health,” she says. “And [I knew] that this could be a product consumers might want to enjoy, but not have access to unless they made it themselves.”

Audrey L. Darrow, co-founder and president of , a manufacturer of certified organic raw chocolate products, based in San Diego, California, also relied on practical strategies to help focus her entrepreneurial goals.
A former high-end deli owner, Darrow was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness in 2003. During her recovery, she overhauled her diet and later took a job at a local health food store to take advantage of the employee discount. “I was on the floor, and so I watched where customers congregated and how they studied food labels,” she says. “The raw-foods area was where everyone seemed to be, and I picked the brains of those customers during every break I had.”
Darrow also did a lot of research on what mattered to consumers. The raw-food movement, sustainability, and company transparency were all topics high on the list. “Ultimately, I believe that researching what consumer health issues are can help entrepreneurs determine future food trends, such as the increased interest in organic, refined-sugar-free, and gluten-free products,” she says.
Her initial product, launched in 2007, was a raw food bar. The following year, she released her Righteously Raw chocolate bar, which is now carried in Whole Foods and other natural foods and grocery stores in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, and later this year, in South America. “Raw chocolate may be a niche market, but it’s an extremely fast-growing niche,” says Darrow, who now produces 10 raw-chocolate products and projects $1.5 million in sales for 2013.
Discovering the 'Next Kale'
For those looking to pounce on the next trendy food item, the best advice may be to keep your eyes open and ear to the ground. “What many entrepreneurs don’t realize is we experts often conduct the same research they do to identify the next big food trend,” says Lynn Dornblaser, new products expert at Mintel, a market research company.
Dornblaser says watching for new ingredients that keep popping up on restaurant menus, new category items on grocery shelves and even talking to friends can provide a goldmine of information. “It’s all about paying attention but, at some point, you have to take a leap of faith,” she says.

On her watch list for the “next kale” are watercress – “it’s a nutrient powerhouse,” she says – and watermelon flavoring. She’s also paying close attention to the speculoos, a crisp cookie popular in northern Europe with a cinnamon-and-brown-sugar flavor profile. “Trader Joe’s already sells a popular Speculoos Cookie Butter,” she says.
Specialty-foods marketing consultant Stephen Farrelly Hall believes the next big food tsunami could be kimchi (kimchee), the traditional, spicy and often cabbage-based side dish from Korea which is also used as an ingredient in other dishes.“There has been an increased interest in Korean and Korean-styled food, and a noticeable proliferation of Korean restaurants, through which more consumers will be introduced to kimchi,” he says, adding that Korean perilla, a plant whose mint-scented leaves and seeds are used in cooking, may also figure into upcoming food trends.
However, Hall, author of Sell Your Specialty Food, says it’s not enough for entrepreneurs to simply land on the “next kale.” The entrepreneurial effort is all about innovation, he says. “The year after you bring a product to market, retailers and consumers will be asking you, ‘So, what’s new?’” he says. “So it’s necessary to always put a new twist on the original