Pass to Ask: A Guide for Minorities Who Want to Start and Grow a Business

By Felix Eshesimua

If you want your dreams to come true, you need to do two things: plan for success and take action!
This is particularly true for minorities who need to work harder than most to achieve their goals. In this business guide, Felix Eshesimua (an exchange student in college who went on to start and manage multiple businesses), helps you build a business enterprise. Learn how to:

• brainstorm practical business ideas;
• assemble a team poised to succeed;
• build and manage operating capital; and
• market your business to acquire customers.

The guidance in this book will help you start a business and make money with limited capital—and in a limited amount of time. Moreover, you’ll learn how to make your business scalable so it grows along with you.
Whether you’re in college, working at a job you hate, or simply seeking to escape the routine, you’ll be convinced that it’s never too early or too late to strike out on your own with the wisdom in Pass to Ask.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532071652

Felix Eshesimua

Felix Eshesimua is a mentor and coach for international students and a sales/business development consultant for minority-owned businesses. He has started and managed several businesses, including Itoto Global Foundation and Itoto House Organization. He is also the author of Focus to Pass: Success Guide for International Students. He currently lives in Washington.

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Copyright © 2019 Felix Eshesimua.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7166-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7165-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019904019

iUniverse rev. date:  08/13/2019

CONTENTS

Introduction

Plan

The Service or Product Idea

How To Come Up with Business Ideas

Action

Developing A Business Plan

Small Business Funding for Students and Minorities

Your Strategy

Execution

Why Your Team Is Crucial

Operating Capital is Essential

The Importance of Marketing

Acquiring Customers

The Sales Process

Success

Profit and Staying Profitable

Growth and Stability

Avoid Burnout

Ask

Always Seek Knowledge

Final Words

INTRODUCTION

As an international student. I had a lot of challenges and struggles adjusting to a new environment and culture. But today I have my own business and I am a Mentor and Coach for international students also the author of the book Focus to Pass: A success guide for international students.

I decided to write my second book because my clients and customers always asked me questions on how to start and grow a business in college and after college. Majority of my clients are minority. They tend to ask how can they start a business without a degree or financial help. All these and many other questions prompted me to write my second book Pass to Ask

Perhaps you are wondering what Pass to Ask is. Pass to Ask is an acronym Plan Action Strategy Success to Always Seek Knowledge

College students and new college graduates are not always equipped with information on real life aspects and tools that will prove beneficial, not only during the college years but after graduation.

We understand the importance of having access to resources that assist students in preparing for the future. Additionally, we are aware of the limited resources sometimes available to students studying abroad, so we’ve compiled the information within these pages as a guide.

Enjoy!

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PLAN

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It is never too early to begin creating a plan of action. Regardless of where you are in life, know that you can begin making money on your own. With proper research on the service or product idea that you have, along with detailed planning, you’ll be well on your way.

Perhaps you’re in college and feel that you must wait to begin earning extra money, stop that way of thinking right now! The best time to start is now and later on you’ll be able to scale for growth as you move forward. There are over twenty million small businesses in the United States alone. Starting a business is easier than ever because of the versatility of the internet. Businesses are not strictly bound to having a brick and mortar presence any longer thanks to the eCommerce availability. However, the key to starting and being successful begins in the planning.

One of the most common mistakes is failure to do proper research and planning, so here we will provide you with tips on how to get started in planning for that business you want to create.

THE SERVICE OR PRODUCT IDEA

Selecting a service