Jared Isaacman knew in his teens that he wanted to launch a business. In fact, he was in such a hurry to get started that he took the General Educational Development, or GED, exam and left school at 16. Six months later, after a stint at a credit-card processing company, he launched his own business in the same industry, United Bank Card Inc.

At 30, Isaacman continues to lead the company he started from his parents' basement in New Jersey. Except today, it's a bit bigger. United Bank Card, which is based in Allentown, Pa., now goes by the name Harbortouch and processes nearly $12 billion in payments annually for more than 100,000 U.S. merchants.

Isaacman also started a second company called Draken International out of Lakeland, Fla. That aviation company consists of what he calls the world's largest air force, with more than 50 jet fighters, and offers simulated threats for training exercises for one of its clients, the U.S. Department of Defense. Isaacman developed an affinity for aircraft early on and trained to be a jet pilot, an acrobatic flyer and certified flight instructor.

                                                                                                  

Jared Isaacman left school at 16 to go on to launch a thriving credit-card processing company.

He also broke a speed record for flying around the world in a light jet while raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2009. 

While few people know as clearly what they want to do with their lives as Isaacman, but his experience -- from an ambitious teen to high-flying CEO -- may provide insight and inspiration for other young entrepreneurs.

"It all starts with opportunity," he says. "You can have the smartest person that works tirelessly day and night on a business venture but if there's no opportunity behind it, it's going to be a pretty big, uphill battle."

You may wonder how a teenager even got to the point of finding his opportunity in such a close-knit industry as business-to-business credit card processing? Here's how it went for Isaacman.

After leaving school at 16 with that GED, Isaacman went to work for a credit card processing company called MSI Merchant Services Inc.

"They were and remain a great company. I learned quite a bit from their management team and principally Mario Parisi. He is one of the partners at the company and has been a great friend and mentor. In fact, Mario Parisi and my father are probably the two most inspirational figures when it comes to my growth as a company leader," Isaacman says.

Despite his admiration for Parisi, he paid attention. After all, Isaacman was looking for his chance to start up. After a short stint at the company, it hit him: Credit card processing companies were missing out on a key revenue driver, as he saw it.

Credit card processing consists of two sides: card issuing, a massive business that the major banks dominate, and card acquiring, which involves enabling businesses to accept customers' credit cards, Isaacman says. When he started United Bank Card/Harbortouch in 1999, the card acquiring business was considered a backwater of the business. "It was a necessary but undesirable component of credit card processing," he says.

Banks were mostly interested in further developing their card issuing business, so the card-acquiring end of the business was receiving little to no attention in the form of technological or operational improvements, Isaacman adds.

"The companies that handled card-acquiring services were outsourcing like crazy, there was no personal service for the business owners and the paperwork process to begin the service was tantamount to signing up for a mortgage. It was a neglected market with all the focus on issuing more credit cards," Isaacman says.

So, when Isaacman left MSI to start United Bank Card out of his parents' basement, that's what he would focus on disrupting. Seeing the potential, Isaacman's father and Brendan Lauber, who is now the company's chief technology officer, joined the business within a few months.

"We brought the entire process in-house, literally," says Isaacman. He handled the sales, account underwriting, risk management, deployment and all of the customer service and technical support. "The result was a small basement startup that was faster, more efficient and provided better service than the larger players that were ignoring the potential of the credit card processing industry," he explains.

And not wanting to lay fallow for long, just about two years ago, Harbortouch introduced yet another new feature that Isaacman believes has transformed the company. He launched a free, integrated, touch-screen point-of-sale system. Other companies may charge $10,000 for a POS system, according to Isaacman, who compares the free-equipment deal to mobile phone contracts that offer free or low-cost phones when customers sign up for service.

 "It has been a very successful strategy," he says. "In our 14 years in business we have never launched a program that changed the face and direction of the company more significantly than our free POS initiative."

When running a business, it may seem like there are never enough hours in the day. Tapping into the power of mornings, a time of day when there are less demands, might be the key to increasing your productivity.

For 15 years, Starbucks President Michelle Gaas has set her alarm for 4:30 a.m. to go running. Gretchen Ruben, popular author of The Happiness Project (Harper Perennial, 2011) wakes up at 6 a.m. and works for an hour before her family rises. Time-management expert Laura Vanderkam highlights what makes mornings special and how we can use them more efficiently in her book What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (Portfolio Trade, 2013). Here are a few benefits to getting out of bed earlier. 

You are less likely to get distracted in the morning. An entrepreneur's day fills up fast. If you wait until the afternoon or evening to do something meaningful for yourself such as exercising or reading, you’re likely to push it off the to-do list altogether. “There are going to be reasons why you can't tackle a personal priority at 4 p.m. -- things have a lot less likelihood of coming up at 6 a.m.," says Vanderkam.

You have more willpower early in the day. Even if you aren't a morning person, you may have more willpower in the early hours than later in the day. "Willpower is like a muscle [that] becomes fatigued with over-use," says Vanderkam. During the course of the day as you're dealing with difficult people, making decisions and battling traffic, you use up your willpower, leaving you feeling depleted toward the end of the day.

Mornings give you the opportunity to set a positive tone for the day. If you've ever slept in past your alarm clock or forgotten your kids' lunches on the counter, you know that starting off the day with a failure can bring down your mood and affect your productivity at work. Vanderkam says waking up earlier allows you to start the day with a victory and set the tone for a happier and more productive day.

If the thought of waking up at sunrise makes you cringe, Vanderkam recommends these four steps to transform even a habitual night owl into a morning person.

1. Keep a time journal. Vanderkam says one of the reasons people say they don't like mornings is that they stay up too late. She recommends keeping a time journal for a week to show where you may be using your time inefficiently. Vanderkam finds when many self-professed night owls look at their time journals, they often find they aren't spending their evening hours productively or doing anything particularly enjoyable.

2. Imagine your perfect morning. Imagine what you would do if you had an extra hour in the day. Would you exercise? Read the newspaper rather than simply skimming the headlines? "[Getting up earlier] isn't about punishing yourself. You will not get out of bed if you don’t have a good reason to do it," says Vanderkam.

3. Plan your morning. Once you have decided what you want to do with your extra time, plan how to execute it, and set as much up as possible the night before. For example, if you want to exercise in the morning, lay out your clothes the night before, or gather the ingredients for your breakfast.

4. Build the habit slowly. Vanderkam says you will likely hit the snooze button and sleep in if you try to switch your habits drastically. So instead of setting your alarm for 5 a.m. when you normally get up at 7: 30 a.m. set the alarm for 10 minutes earlier each day. To make sure you don't lose sleep, go to bed 10 minutes earlier each night. If you have trouble hitting the sack on time, set a bedtime alarm.

courtesy: www.entrepreneur.com

Alexandria, Virginia, USA (8 July 2013)

On 1 July 2013, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) welcomed Rosemary Tan as the organization’s new Chairman of the Global Board of Directors. A member of EO’s Malaysia chapter since 1996, Rosemary has been actively involved in the organization’s leadership for many years, both at the chapter and global levels of the organization. Her tenure as Global Chairman in FY2013/2014 will focus on personal and professional engagement; the year’s “Engage the World” call to action will drive the organization’s initiatives and the leading entrepreneurs it supports to pursue new measures of growth in business and beyond.
“EO has always been about engagement. Since 1987, we’ve engaged our chapters, businesses, families and communities, and we’ve engaged other organizations to help facilitate entrepreneurship around the globe,” said Rosemary. “This year, we’re capitalizing on our commitment to engagement by giving today’s entrepreneurs more opportunities to expand their perspectives, pursue their passions, build on their strengths and contribute to the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

Rosemary was the president of EO Malaysia in 2001, held various leadership roles for the Asia-Pacific region and has been a certified EO Forum and Moderator trainer for more than 10 years. In 2003, she was awarded the “EO Volunteer of the Year” award for her dedication in helping the organization achieve new levels of excellence. In July 2010, Rosemary was awarded “Most Passionate EO Member” by her local chapter for her long-term contributions to EO Malaysia.
Rosemary is the creative director of Palam Mesra Sdn. Bhd., a niche residential property development company she founded with her husband. In 2008, the company made The Edge Malaysia’s “Top 30 Property Developers” list for creativity and innovation. Rosemary’s community involvement has included volunteering on the Board Trustee for Worldwide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF Malaysia), serving as a distinguished lieutenant governor for Kiwanis Malaysia and as president for the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur. Rosemary was awarded the Governor’s Medal for her outstanding service to the District of Kiwanis Malaysia in 2001, and in 2004, she received an EO Kauffman Community Award for her efforts in supporting the Kiwanis Down Syndrome National Centre, Malaysia.
Rosemary has been married for more than 24 years to her husband, Stephen Chia, who is also an entrepreneur in the IT and wireless broadband industry, based in Malaysia and Cambodia. In addition to Rosemary’s tenure as Global Chairman of the Global Board beginning, the EO Global Board also welcomes four newly elected Directors: Adrienne Cornelsen of EO Dallas, Lance Lai of EO Sydney, Gilberto Crombe of EO Monterrey and Yoon Li Yong of EO Malaysia.

About the Entrepreneurs’ Organization

The Entrepreneurs' Organization is a global business network of more than 9,500 business owners in 131 chapters and 40 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO enables small and large business owners to learn from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. The organization’s vision is to build the world's most influential community of entrepreneurs, which aligns with its mission of supporting entrepreneurial education and engaging entrepreneurs to learn and grow.

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization also operates the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), the premier award program for high school, undergraduate and graduate students that own and run businesses while attending college or university; and Accelerator, a series of quarterly, high-impact learning events designed to provide top business owners with the tools, knowledge and skills they need to grow their businesses to more than US$1 million in annual revenue.

As an entrepreneur, the most lucrative way to spark immediate business is to tap into your power base. Your power base is all the people you know and are connected to. "Oh," you say, "I don't want to bother my friends and family." That is ridiculous. If you have a great product or service, you have an obligation to tell your network first and keep telling them.

When I first got into sales, I spent all my time trying to sell people I didn't know. Then one day, my uncle told me he had purchased the same product I sold from a competitor. When I asked why he didn't buy it from me he said, "I didn't know you sold the product." I swore to myself I would never let this happen again. Leverage your power base -- your family and friends -- first. This is much more effective than working with strangers.

Make a list of every person you know, starting with the people closest to you. Start with your spouse or partner, then keep going outward to other family, friends, associates, teachers and every person you have ever made contact with. Make your list now and worry about how you will reach them later.

You know the saying, "It takes money to make money," but this is not true. It takes contacts to make contracts and those contracts will grow your business.

Be a politician. Your everyday routine is a way to capitalize and grow your base. Today I had a meeting with the bank in downtown Miami to talk about refinancing some real estate for me. I shared business cards with everyone I came in contact with, from the guy who parked my car to the receptionist to the president of the bank to the folks at the nearby sandwich shop. I said the same thing to each of them: "If I can ever do anything for you, please give me a call."

You have to operate like a politician running for office. Make a commitment to be out there shaking hands, handing out cards, making friends, kissing babies and taking interest in everyone you meet.

Become an online socialite. Every day I use social media to get attention, pay attention, ask questions and find people who may be interested in what I am doing. Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn have changed the game. It is now possible for entrepreneurs with no money but a lot of desire and creativity, to not only create a power base, but to become celebrities.

Today I tweeted over 20 times, posted on three different Facebook pages for a total of a dozen posts, responded to a couple dozen comments, wrote two blogs and posted two videos on You Tube.

I keep my eye on trending topics. For example, today when I saw #WhatBrokePeopleSay trending on Twitter, I started banging out related tweets such as: "Money doesn't make people happy." It took maybe 30 seconds. Then, about every 15 minutes, I posted new tweets on the topic while working on a book. In a very short period of time, with no cost other than my creativity, I got attention for my brand, engaged with followers, and added new followers to my power base. It's how I have been able to amass close to 250,000 followers and 226,000 likes on my Facebook page in the last four years. But it takes a willingness to be engaged. In that time, I've posted more than 33,000 tweets.

Never quit working your power base. Once you initiate interest and connect or reconnect, don't quit. I have a prospect who wasn't quite ready to do business. I had to figure out very creative ways over a period of eight months to stay in contact with him. One month I sent him a report that I thought would interest him, then I sent a video for his staff's sales meeting, another month I checked in with a text, and also asked if he would contribute to my blog. The next time I called him, I asked: "When are we going to do business? You know I won't quit until we do." I still haven't gotten his business, but I am growing my power base and I won't quit until he's a customer.

Light up your power base and keep it lit by turning those you know and meet into screaming fans. Be exceptional in building and growing your power base and you will never be without opportunity.

courtesy: www.entrepreneur.com

(Alexandria, Virginia, USA) 1 July 2013 – Fourteen American entrepreneurs returned from Moscow as delegates of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (YEA) Summit. Held from June 15-17, 2013, the Summit highlighted how entrepreneurs are addressing the global economy’s most significant economic challenges. The Official Communiqué of the Moscow 2013 G20 YEA Summit is the voice of more than 1 million business owners who are recommending youth entrepreneurship as a dominating force for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, the central subject of the G20 Leaders’ Summit to be held in St. Petersburg in September 2013. The recommendations summarized in a final Summit communiqué were presented to the B20, and on to Russian President Putin, primarily focus on the following: Need to develop digital infrastructure. Young entrepreneurs are the most active group in terms of both starting up businesses and using the latest digital technology to help run the business and optimize business processes; Importance of developing educational programs for entrepreneurs.Advancing the entrepreneurial culture, and streamlining government funding for “green” technology studies; Need to ease the tax burden. In the fields of scientific-technical programs and social entrepreneurship, namely the taxes imposed on employers and employee income tax; Access to funding for start-ups and emerging companies. Ensuring funding on easy terms, changing banking requirements, developing rules for new forms of funding, including cross border online platforms, investors’ and entrepreneurs’ networks. At the Summit, more than 400 dedicated and influential entrepreneurs identified how government and business communities can best harness the potential of young entrepreneurs as drivers of job creation, innovation, economic growth and competitiveness. In addition, in-depth research reports from Ernst & Young andAccenture were revealed, providing new data and thought leadership on the state of entrepreneurship around the globe and recommendations for G20 governments to support entrepreneurs. The US delegates included the winners of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) from around the country as well as leading American entrepreneurs who were selected to participate in this fourth annual Summit of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance. The American delegates included: Kevin Langley, Ellis Construction [President] Gene Lim, Mav12 [Sherpa] Ben Biron, Alcohoot Tammy Camp, Action Factory Mark Delgado, Koyr Engineering Sarah Endline, Sweetriot Daniel Fine, The Fine Companies BreAnna Fisher, DoDrinks Harman Johar, World Entomophagy Michele Kehrer, LifeStyle Physical Therapy Susan Lindner, Emerging Media Mikhail Naumov, Global Renewable Energy Education Network Brent Skoda, Ahkeo Ventures Chelsea Sloan, Uptown Cheapskate “These inspiring young American entrepreneurs are already changing the world and creating jobs,” said Kevin Langley, president of the US Delegation and former global chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. “Their innovation, entrepreneurial leadership and experience will advance youth entrepreneurship in the US and beyond.” For more information about the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit, please visit www.g20yeasummit.com. Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)  The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a dynamic global network of more than 8,700 business owners in 35 countries. EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. Membership in one of EO’s 124 chapters is by invitation only; the average member is 41 years old whose companies average annual revenues of US $18.3 million. For more information on EO visitwww.eonetwork.org or call +1.703.519.6700. G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit, Russia The G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit in Moscow, Russia, is a gathering of young entrepreneurs (age 18-40) and entrepreneurship-focused organizations from the G20 countries. Hosted by The Centre for Entrepreneurship (CFE) it provides valuable input to government leaders to assist in driving sustainable global economic growth, exchange ideas, and to foster international partnerships and collaboration. The G20 YEA Summit is an official program of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance. For more information, visit www.g20yeasummit.com or www.cfe.ru.en. G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (G20 YEA) The G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance is a collective of leading entrepreneurially-minded organizations representing the G20 countries who seek to promote youth entrepreneurship as a powerful driver of economic renewal, job creation, innovation and social change. The Alliance was founded as a movement to engage the G20 leaders in the cause of youth entrepreneurship, share information across borders, affect positive change and create a global network of young entrepreneur advocates, while building a collaborative entrepreneurial environment worldwide. For more information, visit www.g20yea.com.