Brian Shields started IncubateNYC, an educational community and incubation program for entrepreneurs, with co-founder Marcus Mayo in January 2012. “We designed our incubation program specifically to help aspiring entrepreneurs get started the right way and to continue to make progress. We accomplish this through the power of community,” reads the group’s website. The organization currently has 60 alumni who have gone through the incubation program, and is planning to expand more in 2013.

Shields spoke to Madame Noire about diversity within the technology industry and among entrepreneurs, advice for starting a business, and his personal journey with IncubateNYC.

Madame Noire: Tell us more about IncubateNYC and your role there.

Brian Shields: IncubateNYC is an entrepreneurial education organization that provides people curriculum and content through experiences. We’re really big on learning by doing and everything we do is tailored adult education that helps people learn in the most effective way. To learn sales, we make them pitch, which is obvious. Or to teach market research fundamentals, we make participants go out and talk to people. We make people learn things by executing it and we provide content around it.

Marcus and I have known each other for 10 years and tried to start a bunch of businesses, but we weren’t super passionate about any of them. We’ve been angel investing for a long time and decided that, because we’ve seen so many great things through entrepreneurs, learned a ton from working with and advising them, and funding them and seeing great exits, we decided to create an academy that provided people the education they needed to be successful.

MN: What are the goals for Incubate?

BS: From a business standpoint, this year is really about rocking out with the companies that we have. We’ve had about 60 founders come through so far in our six months of existence. So it is about enriching the alumni program and continued incubation.

And for next year, our goal is to roll out a la carte classes for people in three areas: business, product development, and industry expertise. One of the most important things is you have to know the industry you’re in and people who are entrepreneurial really thirst for learning more from people. We bring in new people once a month to talk about different industries. We’re going to be doing music in January.

MN: You said there are 60 alumni so far. What are some of the success stories from IncubateNYC?

BS: One example is a company called The Women’s Age, which is a media business for women to have a conversation about their ages and aging gracefully. This is a woman who is about 33 but most of the people in her family have died really young. She’s created this platform to celebrate women aging gracefully, through a combination of written media and a ton of guest bloggers and video content, like talk shows and interviews.

When she first came to the program she had a business idea that she wasn’t totally connected to, but [the experiential learning] eventually got her to this. She’s been doing this for two months, taught herself HTML and CSS, and started her own website.

MN: What is the percentage of blacks and women in your program?

BS: Our program is about 70 percent minorities, meaning not white males. It’s not by design. We are open to everybody and aren’t minority focused, but it is partially because Marcus and I are minorities and people gravitate to people they know. There are great programs like NewME, which are specifically minority focused. But we have the belief that the best want to work with the best, so we hope to attract the best.

MN: What can be done overall to get more minorities into technology and digital fields? How can the industry attract African Americans?

BS: You have to make tech cool. “Cool” is a relative term and “cool” is different for people who have grown up with two parents or parents who were doctors or teachers or bankers. They understand the fundamentals of business or math and science, and where that can take your career. But for a lot of minorities, in particular African Americans, our culture isn’t defined totally by that, [particularly] if there is a separation in the family foundation.

It would be great to elevate role models who people can relate to. That’s a big part of it. If I were to rewind the clock, I don’t know if I would relate to Mark Zuckerberg. Think about the impact that Barack Obama’s election had on people’s vision of what’s possible in this country, race-agnostic, and I think that can be applied to a business industry that is meritocratic in and of itself.

MN: What about diversity within investors? Is that something that is changing or on the rise?

BS: It’s changing. It’s the chicken or the egg thing when you are trying to get people in. It’s the same thing with women. Do you need more women investors or do you need more women entrepreneurs? Can you have one without the other?

If you look at the way the VC market is going now; it’s going more heavily operational. Entrepreneurs want to work with a funder or investor who understands what they are dealing with and who can help them think through questions, not just somebody who is about money. Entrepreneurs want to work with somebody who understands them and you can cut that down any segment or line: women, minorities.

MN: What is your advice for people who are starting out with their own business and how to jump in?

BS: My general advice is, look, it’s going to be hard and you aren’t going to make the right decisions. There’s a lot of research that says 2/3 of business decisions, either in new business or corporate, is going to be wrong. So just go do it; you’re not going to be right. But being wrong is the fastest teacher and you’ll learn the right answer sooner. And just stick with it. The hardest thing we find is getting started and then sticking with it. We tried to start like eight businesses, but we couldn’t stick with it because we weren’t passionate about it. So find that thing that really matters.

Quote that inspires you: “Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man; But sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.” – Walter D. Wintle, “The Man Who Thinks He Can”
Favorite Website: LinkedIn’s News Section
Current Read: The Start-Up of You, by Reid Hoffman
Who Inspires You and Why: My Mom. Whenever I think about where I am today and the viewpoints I have on life, I have always appreciated my mom for that.
Website: IncubateNYC.com
Twitter: @IncubateNYC
Facebook: IncubateNYC

These days, with innovative technology at our fingertips, the challenges of becoming an entrepreneur aren’t nearly as difficult as they used to be. Saavy Sugar offers a list of six helpful web tools that can be used to get your business up and running. For those of you who’ve already established a business but feel it could use a bit more work, these tools would be good for you as well.

The first tool on the list is BookFresh. This online scheduling website will allow your customers to make appointments and payments online, which is much easier for you and them. With BookFresh you will also be able to keep records of client history, sync your calendar and create customized client emails.

Next on the list is FreshBooks. Although the name may sound similar to the first tool, its function is completely different. Freshbooks will assist you with invoices and record-keeping. This will allow you to efficiently organize and manage as well as create professional invoices.

For orders that aren’t made online, get Square. This is a great little tool that is much lighter than the traditional credit card processing machine. You plug a small attachment into your phone and you are able to charge your customers’ credit cards. Plus you won’t have to worry about paper receipts.

With your scheduling and invoices in order, you’ll also want to pass out some great business cards to your satisfied customers. Moo allows you to create unique business cards for your unique business, and you can even use a different image for each card in your order.

Let Dropbox take care of your multimedia needs. This web tool will allow you to store photos, videos and documents online and saves you space on your computer. It also makes it easier to share files and is accessibility worldwide even when you’re not online.

The last tool in the list is SurveyMonkey. Once you’ve completed a service it’s good to get a little bit of feedback on how you did, and SurveyMoney is a great tool to do so.

More on Madame Noire Business!

• The Career Freshman: Five Benefits of Being in an Entry-Level Position
• African Fashion Designers Are Breaking Away From The Traditional
• Crisis Management Lessons: Handle Scandal Like Your Name Is Kerry Washington
• Behind the Click: Susan Nicholas, Founder & CEO of DocPons Inc.
• Entrepreneur Spotlight: A Sister-Run Business Brings High-End Tea Stateside

http://www.flickr.com/photos/salforduniversity/4011208734/

According to Inc.com, critics argue that business school wastes time, money and creativity. Business school stifles entrepreneurship, they say. After all the top entrepreneurs in the business world don’t even have college degrees. But if you decide to ignore the naysayer, it is possible to live out your MBA and entrepreneurial dreams. Although Jay Bhatti, the co-founder of spock.com generally agrees that business school gets in the way of entrepreneurs, he does believe that there are ways to do both. Here are his pointers:

His first tip: only get an MBA from a top 5 school. Bhatti asserts that as expensive and time-consuming as business school is, unless you’re learning from the top professors, students and alumni, it’s just not worth it. That being said, aim for Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, MIT or Columbia. As a possible sixth option, Babson solely focuses on entrepreneurship.

If you’re already deep in classes at a school not on this list or really don’t want to go to any of these schools, Bhatti suggests you embark on as many “tech treks” as you can. A tech trek is a winter or summer break trip to the hot-spots in the tech world such as Silicon Valley and New York. These will allow you to interact and network with top entrepreneurs.

Next, tailor all of your electives and classes to fit a startup idea or theses. Don’t waste your credits in classes you know won’t relate to what you hope to do. Each course you take should push you towards your specific dream company. For instance, if you know you don’t want to start a finance company, stop taking finance courses!

The third and final tip: save all the money you can during school because when you begin to launch your company, you’re going to need it. Don’t live extravagantly, waste money on luxury apartments or take lavish vacations. Stay focused on your entrepreneurial dream; don’t get sidetracked into working at a secure job just to pay off loans. After graduation, you should either immediately delve into construction your own company or join another start-up business that would act as a learning experience for your own start up.

More on Madame Noire Business!

• 5 Ways To Get Excited About Saving Money
• Crisis Management Lessons: Handle Scandal Like Your Name Is Kerry Washington
• Behind the Music: Top Black Women Music Industry Executives
• Entrepreneur Spotlight: A Sister-Run Business Brings High-End Tea Stateside
• Your Hair Has A Role In Your Career Success

http://www.faithintheworkplace.org

To get your entrepreneurial dreams up and running, it’s important that you surround yourself with the people and network that will assist you as you grow. The Daily Muse details that there are five types of people you need to have in your corner to help guarantee success. Pick a few people from each of these categories to help you move forward with your professional ambitions.

Thought Leaders. These are people that will help you gain a new perspective on your business ideas. They can be based in any field or industry as long as they are able to inspire you with tough questions and out of the box ideas. These are the people that will challenge you to keep moving forward and help steer you in the right direction.

Informants. Informants are people that are experts at just about everything. Ever met someone that seems to have knowledge on any concept or topic? These are the kinds of people you need in your network. Ask them questions often. Take them to lunch and see what interesting tidbits of information you can glean from them that will help you along the way.

Trailblazers. It’s important to see the people who established a business similar to what you hope to establish as mentors and not as competition. They are people who can share with you what they learned along the way and give you insights on the do’s and don’ts of the business.

Role Models. The difference between trailblazers and role models is that your role model choices do not have to be in your same industry. It’s more important that you pick people that will be available and willing to offer invaluable leadership and learning tips. Find people you admire in various industries and see what you can learn from them. Figure out how their techniques can be applied to your own business ambitions.

Cheerleaders. Everybody needs a few positive people that are always ready to support you and cheer you on. Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy and you’ll need the support through each stage of your business development. When you’re in doubt, they’re there to provide you encouragement. When you’re feeling great, they’re there to celebrate with you.

More on Madame Noire Business!

• Behind the Click: DeAnna Davidson, President and CEO of Tracen Technologies
• Non-MJBs: Popular Songstresses Who Don’t Exploit Their Fame To Push Products
• 8 Unexpected Things You Can Write Off Come Tax Time
• Pursuing A Passion and A Business: How Dancer and Entrepreneur Consuela Buckley Does It
• Will OWN’s Struggles Reflect On Diddy & Magic’s Success?

Michelle Thornhill is the Senior Vice President and African American Segment Manager at Wells Fargo/Wachovia. Michelle has over 15 years of experience developing consumer initiatives for diverse audiences in the financial services and non-profit sector. Michelle earned a Bachelor of Science from Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University, a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Michelle resides in Charlotte, N.C. with her husband and two sons.

Michelle Thornhill will provide personal finance tips to get you and your family on the right track when it comes to money management. This financial tip is sponsored by Wells Fargo.  Here’s Michelle Thornhill.

When planning to start your own business, your personal finances play a big part in its launch.  Most new businesses need seed money to get off the ground which is typically done with loans.  In order to get a loan, your personal finances come into play as proof of your personal guarantee.  In order to increase your chances of obtaining a loan, check your credit score.  If it can be improved, work on improving it before you pitch your business idea to a bank.  Further, once you get your business started, open up a business checking and savings account so that you’re not using personal finances for your business.  Wells Fargo offers business banking with features and solutions that help keep track of your cash flow and meet your financial needs.

For more tips and information, visit wellsfargobusinessinsights.com.

Michelle Thornhill is the Senior Vice President and African American Segment Manager at Wells Fargo/Wachovia. Michelle has over 15 years of experience developing consumer initiatives for diverse audiences in the financial services and non-profit sector. Michelle earned a Bachelor of Science from Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University, a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Michelle resides in Charlotte, N.C. with her husband and two sons.

Michelle Thornhill will provide personal finance tips to get you and your family on the right track when it comes to money management. This financial tip is sponsored by Wells Fargo.  Here’s Michelle Thornhill.

Getting a start in the world of entrepreneurship can be risky, but those risks can garner great rewards.

One of the first things you should prepare is a business plan. The Small Business Administration or your local Small Business Development center
can help you create one. Your plan should include the overall business concept with your priority goals and strategies for success clearly defined, as well as a vision statement describing the business you want to create, the services you will be providing, the customers you plan to cater to, and an analysis of your industry and the competition.

Even when the economy is strong, it is good practice to have a plan in case there is a downturn. Having a solid plan, strong work-ethic, and positive outlook greatly increases your chances of entrepreneurial success.

For more tips and information, visit wellsfargobusinessinsights.com.