[52 Weeks - Interviewing Australian Entrepreneurs] The Road Ahead
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Clayton Ford
Oct 27, 2006, 8:41:39 PM10/27/06
to 52w...@googlegroups.com
Setting the Rules of the Game
Now the challenge to myself was set. The rules, I decided, would be as follows. I had to speak to one entrepreneur per week on average. This meant I could cluster several interviews over a few days if I needed to, but I needed to write one chapter per week (one per interview) for each of the 52 weeks.
I just needed to firm up the details and work out some of the logistics. Not only would I need to speak to one entrepreneur per week and write each chapter, I’d need to schedule future appointments and seek opportunities to publish the end result. This was proving to be quite complicated, and it wasn’t even morning teatime yet.
Such an undertaking would require some serious planning. First I started to imagine small local businesses I could approach. As I thought about it more I thought, “Why not see how far you can go?” I had never had any trouble booking my relatively unknown bands into some of the best venues in town, so why should this been any different? I set my sights on the best in the country.
However, I also wanted to talk to some relative newcomers. Those who may have only recently got started and not get had the chance to establish themselves as Australia’s next Jerry Harvey or Sarina Russo.
Earlier this year (2006) I completed a Master of Business Administration at Queensland University of Technology’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business (BGSB). The BGSB prides itself on its entrepreneurship focus. The head of School is one Evan Douglas. I’ve known Evan for several years through doing the MBA so at the first available opportunity I booked a meeting with him, put on my best suit and snuck out of the office for an hour.
As one of the resident experts on entrepreneurship, I wanted to get Evan’s ideas on the concept of the book as well has do some fishing for potential contacts. Evan's a great person to talk to and was very generous with his time. I was able to get some good leads on Brisbane based entrepreneurs that Evan thought would have great stories to tell. Evan did attempt to convince me to turn my concept into a Phd though, but the idea didn’t really stick. After finishing the MBA I told myself “No more study!” so I thanked Evan and headed back out into the big wide world.
A Chance Meeting
Several days after meeting with Evan I chanced upon a news story on the QUT website about a visiting academic named Dr Peter Thomond. Pete is in Brisbane from the UK and is an expert in entrepreneurship and disruptive technology. On the chance that he may be interested in what I was planning I emailed him and explained the concept. Latter that day I was delighted to receive a phone call from, Pete who was very enthusiastic about the idea and keen to catch up.
Over the next couple of weeks Pete and I kicked around the idea and came up with a plan. It seemed that my idea (52 entrepreneurs in 52 weeks) had some significant tie-ins with research and data collection Pete was planing for his time in Australia. Pete is in Australia for 12 months (a nice 52 week coincidence) and hoping to get a perspective on the Australian marketplace.
After some debate and brainstorming Pete and I settled on the following.
I would:
Pete would:
The full research proposal is available from the Brisbane Graduate School of Business (QUT) website here: http://www.bgsb.qut.edu.au/52weeks
The Journey Begins
As the date for the first of the interviews loomed, I was filled with excitement and trepidation. On this journey, what secrets would I uncover about the world of business, the Australian environment and myself? What opportunities would unveil themselves along the way? And importantly, was I up to the challenge ahead?
--
Posted by Clayton Ford to 52 Weeks - Interviewing Australian Entrepreneurs at 10/28/2006 10:13:00 AM
Now the challenge to myself was set. The rules, I decided, would be as follows. I had to speak to one entrepreneur per week on average. This meant I could cluster several interviews over a few days if I needed to, but I needed to write one chapter per week (one per interview) for each of the 52 weeks.
I just needed to firm up the details and work out some of the logistics. Not only would I need to speak to one entrepreneur per week and write each chapter, I’d need to schedule future appointments and seek opportunities to publish the end result. This was proving to be quite complicated, and it wasn’t even morning teatime yet.
Such an undertaking would require some serious planning. First I started to imagine small local businesses I could approach. As I thought about it more I thought, “Why not see how far you can go?” I had never had any trouble booking my relatively unknown bands into some of the best venues in town, so why should this been any different? I set my sights on the best in the country.
However, I also wanted to talk to some relative newcomers. Those who may have only recently got started and not get had the chance to establish themselves as Australia’s next Jerry Harvey or Sarina Russo.
Earlier this year (2006) I completed a Master of Business Administration at Queensland University of Technology’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business (BGSB). The BGSB prides itself on its entrepreneurship focus. The head of School is one Evan Douglas. I’ve known Evan for several years through doing the MBA so at the first available opportunity I booked a meeting with him, put on my best suit and snuck out of the office for an hour.
As one of the resident experts on entrepreneurship, I wanted to get Evan’s ideas on the concept of the book as well has do some fishing for potential contacts. Evan's a great person to talk to and was very generous with his time. I was able to get some good leads on Brisbane based entrepreneurs that Evan thought would have great stories to tell. Evan did attempt to convince me to turn my concept into a Phd though, but the idea didn’t really stick. After finishing the MBA I told myself “No more study!” so I thanked Evan and headed back out into the big wide world.
A Chance Meeting
Several days after meeting with Evan I chanced upon a news story on the QUT website about a visiting academic named Dr Peter Thomond. Pete is in Brisbane from the UK and is an expert in entrepreneurship and disruptive technology. On the chance that he may be interested in what I was planning I emailed him and explained the concept. Latter that day I was delighted to receive a phone call from, Pete who was very enthusiastic about the idea and keen to catch up.
Over the next couple of weeks Pete and I kicked around the idea and came up with a plan. It seemed that my idea (52 entrepreneurs in 52 weeks) had some significant tie-ins with research and data collection Pete was planing for his time in Australia. Pete is in Australia for 12 months (a nice 52 week coincidence) and hoping to get a perspective on the Australian marketplace.
After some debate and brainstorming Pete and I settled on the following.
I would:
- Interview the 52 entrepreneurs
- Publish my findings and personal journey through my weekly blog and a book (or ebook) at the end of the 52 weeks
Pete would:
- Analyse the data collected through qualitative analysis software
- Use the data collected to deliver academic research papers
The full research proposal is available from the Brisbane Graduate School of Business (QUT) website here: http://www.bgsb.qut.edu.au/52weeks
The Journey Begins
As the date for the first of the interviews loomed, I was filled with excitement and trepidation. On this journey, what secrets would I uncover about the world of business, the Australian environment and myself? What opportunities would unveil themselves along the way? And importantly, was I up to the challenge ahead?
--
Posted by Clayton Ford to 52 Weeks - Interviewing Australian Entrepreneurs at 10/28/2006 10:13:00 AM
Clayton Ford
Oct 28, 2006, 4:32:37 AM10/28/06
to 52w...@googlegroups.com
Setting the Rules of the Game
Now the challenge to myself was set. The rules, I decided, would be as follows. I had to speak to one entrepreneur per week on average. This meant I could cluster several interviews over a few days if I needed to, but I needed to write one chapter per week (one per interview) for each of the 52 weeks.
I just needed to firm up the details and work out some of the logistics. Not only would I need to speak to one entrepreneur per week and write each chapter, I’d need to schedule future appointments and seek opportunities to publish the end result. This was proving to be quite complicated, and it wasn’t even morning teatime yet.
Such an undertaking would require some serious planning. First I started to imagine small local businesses I could approach. As I thought about it more I thought, “Why not see how far you can go?” I had never had any trouble booking my relatively unknown bands into some of the best venues in town, so why should this been any different? I set my sights on the best in the country.
However, I also wanted to talk to some relative newcomers. Those who may have only recently got started and not get had the chance to establish themselves as Australia’s next Jerry Harvey or Sarina Russo.
Earlier this year (2006) I completed a Master of Business Administration at Queensland University of Technology’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business (BGSB). The BGSB prides itself on its entrepreneurship focus. The head of School is one Evan Douglas. I’ve known Evan for several years through doing the MBA so at the first available opportunity I booked a meeting with him, put on my best suit and snuck out of the office for an hour.
Now the challenge to myself was set. The rules, I decided, would be as follows. I had to speak to one entrepreneur per week on average. This meant I could cluster several interviews over a few days if I needed to, but I needed to write one chapter per week (one per interview) for each of the 52 weeks.
I just needed to firm up the details and work out some of the logistics. Not only would I need to speak to one entrepreneur per week and write each chapter, I’d need to schedule future appointments and seek opportunities to publish the end result. This was proving to be quite complicated, and it wasn’t even morning teatime yet.
Such an undertaking would require some serious planning. First I started to imagine small local businesses I could approach. As I thought about it more I thought, “Why not see how far you can go?” I had never had any trouble booking my relatively unknown bands into some of the best venues in town, so why should this been any different? I set my sights on the best in the country.
However, I also wanted to talk to some relative newcomers. Those who may have only recently got started and not get had the chance to establish themselves as Australia’s next Jerry Harvey or Sarina Russo.
Earlier this year (2006) I completed a Master of Business Administration at Queensland University of Technology’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business (BGSB). The BGSB prides itself on its entrepreneurship focus. The head of School is one Evan Douglas. I’ve known Evan for several years through doing the MBA so at the first available opportunity I booked a meeting with him, put on my best suit and snuck out of the office for an hour.
As one of the resident experts on entrepreneurship, I wanted to get Evan’s ideas on the concept of the book as well has do some fishing for potential contacts. Evan's a great person to talk to and was very generous with his time. I was able to get some good leads on Brisbane based entrepreneurs that Evan thought would have great stories to tell. Evan did attempt to convince me to turn my concept into a Phd though, but the idea didn’t really stick. After finishing the MBA I told myself “No more study!” so I thanked Evan and headed back out into the big wide world. A Chance Meeting
Several days after meeting with Evan I chanced upon a news story on the QUT website about a visiting academic named Dr Peter Thomond. Pete is in Brisbane from the UK and is an expert in entrepreneurship and disruptive technology. On the chance that he may be interested in what I was planning I emailed him and explained the concept. Latter that day I was delighted to receive a phone call from Pete, he was very enthusiastic about the idea and keen to catch up.
Over the next couple of weeks Pete and I kicked around the idea and came up with a plan. It seemed that my idea (52 entrepreneurs in 52 weeks) had some significant tie-ins with research and data collection Pete was planing for his time in Australia. Pete is in Australia for 12 months (a nice 52 week coincidence) and hoping to get a perspective on the Australian marketplace.
After some debate and brainstorming Pete and I settled on the following.
I would:
- Interview the 52 entrepreneurs
- Publish my findings and personal journey through my weekly blog and a book (or ebook) at the end of the 52 weeks
Pete would:
- Analyse the data collected through qualitative analysis software
- Use the data collected to deliver academic research papers
The full research proposal is available from the Brisbane Graduate School of Business (QUT) website here: http://www.bgsb.qut.edu.au/52weeks
The Journey Begins
--
Posted By Clayton Ford to 52 Weeks - Interviewing Australian Entrepreneurs at 10/28/2006 10:13:00 AM
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