ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

WMU ALUMNI DINNER

Matthew D. Mace

President/CEO

BlueGranite, Inc.

April 14, 2010 – Kalamazoo, Michigan

• Represent more than 99.7% of all employers

• Provide 60% to 80% of the net new jobs

• Pay 44.3% of total U.S. private payroll

• Produce more than 50% of non-farm GDP

• Are 3% franchises

Small BusinessImpact on our Economy

Large Firms (1000+ employees)

8,000

Midsize Firms (100-999 employees)

93,000

Small Businesses (<100 employees)

8.1 million

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Retirement plan

Health insurance

Money earned

Amount of stress

Your job

Chances for promotion

Job security

Relations to co-workers

Proximity to home

Flexibility of hours

Percent Satisfaction with your Job

Self-employed Not self-employed

Source: Pew Research Center

history of BlueGranite (abridged version)

website

development

(1996-1999)

e-commerce

(1999-2001)

custom application

development

(2001-2004)

information

worker solutions

(2004-2006)

business

intelligence

(2006-today)

then now

We partner with Microsoft to create I.T.-based

solutions that help organizations make better use of

the information they collect about their business, in

order to make better, faster decisions – “Business

Intelligence”

We partner with AT&T to create website

solutions that help organizations

market, communicate, and sell their

products & services to a global

community using Internet-based

technologies

it’s decision time

1. Make your own decisions

2. Use your talents & skills

3. Eat what you kill

Why be an

entrepreneur?

being an entrepreneur

As the entrepreneur….

• Seek feedback from team & advisors

• Be creative to find new opportunities

• Believe the customer is always right

• Take risks and learn from failures

• Trust your team, but verify

The Entrepreneur(you)

Partners

Clients

Team Members

AdvisorsVendors

Community

Family

How to balance?

5 Easy Steps to Getting Started

• Pick your idea, something you know and love, and write or draw a one page plan

• Understand the target market & prospects, competitors and partners

• Start selling, spend most of your time here until you have customers ready to go

• Line up any necessary team members, or co-owners if you need to share risk

• Satisfy the customers – will help you overcome all obstacles!

Thank you!