YoungEntrepreneur.com Forum is a forum that you will find me hanging out, answering questions that entrepreneurs have, as well as learning new stuffs and networking with like-minded people.
This week, I am proud to have Matthew Toren and Adam Toren, co-founders of YoungEntrepreneur.com on Entrepreneur Interviews. Apart from creating such a great community for entrepreneurs, they themselves are also serial entrepreneurs.
In this interview, Matthew and Adam talked about YoungEntrepreneur.com, their previous ventures, upcoming YoungEntrepreneur.com revamp and they also have some tips in store for young aspiring entrepreneurs out there reading this interview.
Interview with Matthew Toren and Adam Toren
Wayne: Hey there, Matthew Toren and Adam Toren (Brothers and founders of http://www.YoungEntrepreneur.com). I’m so glad to have both of you on Wayne Liew Dot Com Entrepreneurs Interview today. Thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me.
Matthew: Its our pleasure Wayne, thanks for the opportunity!
Wayne: Before we dive into the questions that I have for both of you today, can you guys take some time to talk about your background, how you got the entrepreneurship bite and what are the ventures that you guys are working on at the moment?
Adam: Definitely! We grew up learning the "Entrepreneurial Lifestyle" from our grandfather Joe! He actually set us up on our first Entrepreneurial venture selling these little stunt airplanes called Dipper-Do’s at a local folk festival. He taught us the proper way to use the stunt plane to really ‘WOW’ the audience and we sold out of them before the folk festival was over. What a great feeling for a couple of kids 7 & 8 years old! So it began, the entrepreneurial bug had taken its ‘bite!’
Adam: We then went from mini-venture to mini-venture throughout our schooling years. From importing stereo equipment to magic kits from Hong Kong, we learned a lot and made some money along the way! Then, as soon as we graduated from High School we took the money we earned and bought a struggling billiard hall in an up and coming part of our town. This is where we learned the saying that you hear so often from entrepreneurs "poured our blood, sweat and tears in that business."
Adam: Lots of long hours, huge rebranding, creative promotion for the venue, and expanded the venue into a place where you can enjoy a game of pool/billiards, a nice glass of wine while listening to a live Jazz band on stage. With our hard work, dedication and creative marketing ideas, we soon became the place-to-be on a Thursday-Friday-Saturday night with line-ups every night.
Adam: The buzz continued building and we then started doing some private parties for the movie industry as we had the ideal location and the space was big enough to accommodate large groups! Before we ended our 12th month in business, we had received an offer to sell. It didn’t take long for us to realize that the long nights of sleeping on the couches of our venue had paid off.
Adam: We took the deal and then moved on to our next ‘adventure.’ This time it was a totally different industry that we knew nothing about: Printing & Graphics. We found this struggling downtown printing/graphics company and we used the same philosophies and ethics to overhaul and brand this small printing and graphics company. Success! We sold it on our 11th month in business for a nice profit.
Adam: We took our graphic team with us and started a publishing/media company which has been one of our main focuses for the past 5 years now. We own niche market, luxury lifestyle publications, with a combined readership of over 500,000 per issue.
Adam: We realize that some things have definitely stayed the same since our first business venture: our dedication, work ethic, determination and our passion to help others start, manage and grow successful business ventures.
Wayne: We’ll get started with YoungEntrepreneur.com, which is a great resource and discussion place for entrepreneurs, young and old, from all around the world. What was the idea behind the creation of YoungEntrepreneur.com?
Matthew: During the time while we were working hard on some of our first business ventures out of high school, we were written up in several media outlets. We were asked by the Junior Achievement Association if we would be willing to go into the Grade 11 & 12 marketing & entrepreneurship classes in local high schools to speak about our experiences.
Matthew: We were thrilled to share our stories and we regularly dedicated a few days every month to visit community high schools and talk about the real-world entrepreneurship stories that we had experienced. It was a nice break from what the text-books had been trying to teach them as its always powerful to hear real stories from people actually ‘doing it!’
Matthew: This was a very rewarding experience for my brother and I which drove us to wanting to help as many entrepreneurs as possible. In 1999, we set out to do just that and started building what has now become one of the largest social networking forums for entrepreneurs in the world.
Wayne: Who should visit YoungEntrepreneur.com and how they can benefit from the site?
Adam: http://www.YoungEntrepreneur.com is for anyone and everyone who is an aspiring entrepreneur looking to learn from the more seasoned entrepreneurs who visit YoungEntrepreneur.com to assist their fellow up and coming entrepreneurial peers! The site is truly for like-minded Entrepreneurs from all over the world.
Adam: With over 50,000 members, we have been receiving some awesome success story testimonials from our members. These are truly rewarding to read. We have read testimonials from people thanking us for the opportunity to be a member of the site as they had met their business partner through the site and now run a successful business.
Adam: We also have received several notes from people letting us know that they found other members who believed in their business and helped them out by investing in their business. These are great to read and we are very happy that we have been able to create an active community where so many great friendships and business partnerships begin!
Wayne: As an entrepreneur myself, I am a firm believer of networking with fellow entrepreneurs. Why is it important for an entrepreneur, especially a young one, to interact with other like-minded people through a platform like YoungEntrepreneur.com?
Matthew: As Adam just mentioned in the previous answer, your fellow like-minded entrepreneurs help give you that energy or that drive to stay motivated to build your business venture because they understand what you are going through. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy title to maintain.
Matthew: In the beginning of your business there is no such things as "Auto-Pilot Entrepreneur". It’s more like "how many hats can I wear Entrepreneur" because as a business owner, you do a lot! This is why it is important to surround yourself with others that ‘get it.’ These are the people that can help you stay focused and driven to take your business to the next level!
Matthew: Plus, they can help you answer a lot of the things that you may be wondering about as its very likely that someone on YoungEntrepreneur.com has gone through something very similar in the past and can help you avoid any costly mistakes.
Wayne: What are some of the problems that you guys encountered during the starting phase of the site or was it smooth sailing?
Adam: In 1998, as we were getting our first design of YE completed, we learned very quickly that you need to have a solid agreement in place before engaging in any big projects.
Adam: The company that we hired to design the first version of YoungEntrepreneur.com had asked for a big deposit and unfortunately, never followed through with their promises. We were out several thousands of dollars but learned very quickly to get everything in writing!
Wayne: There are a lot of resource sites and communities on the Internet that are targeting entrepreneurs. What makes YoungEntrepreneur.com special?
Matthew: The fact that we have created a very user friendly, active & FREE platform for Entrepreneurs has set us apart. If you have a question, it is very likely that it will get answered within a few minutes by one of the other members. We have thousands of pages of user generated content that is all searchable as well, so if you have a question, someone may have already asked it and you will find your answer within seconds.
Wayne: Adam, you told me that YE is going to experience a big revamp this Summer. Can you give me and my readers the exclusive insight on what the revamp is going to be all about and why is it taking place?
Adam: Yes, this ‘YE Overhaul’ has been in the works for quite some time now and will launch this summer and is much anticipated by all. We have included several new tools, tutorials, entrepreneurial videos, "how-to" editorial, answers to many of the common questions, much more support, a panel of seasoned experts on hand to assist, a premium membership with some extra abilities for members and a whole new look! Everything was created with these important factors in mind: Will this help a member start, manage and grow their business venture? If the answer is yes, it is most likely to be included in the re-launch!
Wayne: Now, YE is definitely a good platform for young entrepreneurs to obtain a lot of information about starting and running a business as well as interacting with fellow entrepreneurs from around the globe. Can each of you give three important tips to young aspiring entrepreneurs who are reading this interview?
Matthew: 1) Surround yourself with quality people that you can learn from. 2) Find a Mentor that can help guide you along the way. 3) Don’t give up!
Adam: 1) Start now! "Procrastination is the thief of fortune!" 2) Come up with a plan to stay organized and focused. 3) Keep your overhead LOW and don’t try and micro-manage your business as you grow.
Wayne: As entrepreneurs yourselves, who or which entrepreneur story inspires you guys the most?
Matthew: Both Adam & I have always been inspired by Sir Richard Branson and his entrepreneurial story. He has truly overcome several trials and tribulations, some typical of being an entrepreneur and some that are not so typical. His unorthodox marketing and promotion style speaks very confidently and yields some outstanding results.
Matthew: His newest book: Business Stripped Bare covers his "adventures of a global entrepreneur" which Adam & I really enjoyed. His quote on the back of his book really sums it up: "The Brave may not live forever—but the cautious do not live at all!" Learn more about the book at: www.BusinessStrippedBare.com
(Editor Note: You can purchase Business Stripped Bare by by Sir Richard Branson from Amazon.)
Wayne: Let us project a little bit into the future. Where do both of you see yourselves in 5 years time?
Adam: Continuing our brave journey of entrepreneurship and continuing to empower entrepreneurs of the world. We hope to create our own Entrepreneurial Fund to infuse start-up companies with monetary investment along with additional tools and assistance they need to catapult their businesses to the next level! We plan on growing YoungEntrepreneur.com to become the largest and most helpful social networking site for entrepreneurs!
Adam: We are starting to do many more speaking engagements and this summer our book called: KIDPRENEURS will be available throughout North America and online at http://www.Kidpreneurs.biz.
Adam: We were inspired to write this book as my brother’s kids turned 6 & 7 years old and they started asking "What do you and daddy do as an entrepreneur?" I set off to the local book stores to try and find a ‘kid-friendly’ book on entrepreneurship and the basics of starting and growing a business.
Adam: After searching both in the stores and online, I hadn’t found anything which we thought was accurate nor fun for the kids to read and learn from. After a year of writing, tweaks and design, we are excited to present this book (which we wished we had as kids!) called KIDPRENEURS! We encourage your readers to check out the website in June of 2009 when it goes live!
Adam: We have already pre-sold several thousands of books to schools, libraries and organizations throughout North America and we are still taking pre-orders. Email us if you are interested at: kidpreneursbook@gmail.com or follow Kidpreneurs on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/kidpreneurs
Adam: This past January we also acquired http://www.Blogtrepreneur.com which is a great blog on building successful online business ventures!
Wayne: Matthew and Adam, both of you have definitely shared some great information and tips for entrepreneurs. How can my readers get in touch with you guys?
Adam and Matthew: We’d love for your readers to get in touch with us! Our facebook fan page was just launched last week: YoungEntrepreneur.com Facebook Fan Page. Follow us on: http://Twitter.com/thebizguy or email us at: forum@YoungEntrepreneur.com.
Wayne: Another great interview! Matthew and Adam Toren, co-founders of YoungEntrepreneur.com. Thanks again.
Adam: Thank you for the great questions Wayne, its always nice reminiscing from the past and looking forward to the future! Keep up the great work on your site!
Interview with Matthew Toren and Adam Toren Afterthoughts
Although I am quite active on the YoungEntrepreneur.com Forum and their blog in terms of comments, I didn’t really know Adam and Matthew until I got this idea of interviewing them last week.
As serial entrepreneurs, they know their stuffs when it comes the nitty gritty bits on how start and run a successful business. Also, I like how the brothers are able to work so well with each other, progressing from one successful venture to another.
My personal recommendation will be to check out what the Toren brothers are up to and follow every tips and advice that they give out. I am sure that you will learn a lot and make a lot of progress as an entrepreneur by doing so.
Are You on YoungEntrepreneur.com?
Are you a member of YoungEntrepreneur.com? If yes, do link up with me over there via my YoungEntrepreneur.com Forum profile. Also, what are some of the improvements that you think YoungEntrepreneur.com should have in their upcoming revamp?
Most important question of all, what have you learned from this interview?
Share your thoughts using the comment form below. Hearing from you is priceless.
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