Have you ever felt like you have reached your limits? Whether it shows in your writing, business creation or time management – you are not alone! Below, learn how to develop strategies that will make you feel more productive, take your adventure to the next level and keep you in line – we’ll even tackle the stuff that keeps you up at night. Let Karen Post and the Oddpodz team lead the way.

1 – Does branding countries, government programs and leaders really matter? 3 part series that includes insight, strategy and recommendations.
2 – How to quickly sway opinion, sell product & make a point – with wordplay Metaphors can make a difference.
3 – Energize your entrepreneurial engine. Attend 3-day conference in Tampa. Engage in networking opportunities with students from all over the country as well as business professionals.
4 – Entrepreneur essentials – Bandwidth limits, saying no and time off. There are only so many hours in a day, what will you do with them?

For last weeks wrap up, click here.

Also, don’t forget to check out:
Slimy scam, smart business model or insightful day?
3 smart chicks, 10 ideas to breed more loyal blog readers
Greenwashing and other recycled business sins

Southeast Entrepreneurship Conference, April 1-3 at University of Tampa.
Join over 200 other entrepreneurs and business experts for three days of ideas, energy and insight.

The University of Tampa Entrepreneurship Center presents its premier spring entrepreneurship conference at the University of Tampa in Tampa FL.

The 2011 Southeast Entrepreneurship Conference (SEEC 2011) is a three-day conference that will allow students to engage in networking opportunities with students from all over the country as well as business professionals. The main event of SEEC 2011 is the Spartan Pitch and Plan Competition.  Students will have 90 seconds to pitch their innovative business idea to a panel of judges and will competing for $1,500 to kick-start their venture.  The conference also includes meals and an optional kayaking trip.

The UT Entrepreneur organization recruited over 20 expert speakers from all over the country. They will be addressing hot entrepreneurial topics ranging from: branding and marketing to fund raising, to business operations and professional development. There will be keynotes and breakout sessions.

Some of the featured speakers include:
Joe Keeley
College Nannies and Tutors
“Severe Danger of Getting a Job” (Keynote)

Sidd Pagidipati
Chamber.com, MealDeal.com, Freedom Health
“What to Do With a Start-up Addiction” (Keynote)

Karen Post
Brain Tattoo Branding and Oddpodz
“The Art of Branding” (Keynote)

Ian Spector
Mobiquitous, LLC, www.4Q.cc, and Others
“Mixing Comedy, Literature, and Business” (Entrepreneurship in the Arts)

The event is sponsored by partners like: The Coleman Foundation and the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization,
along with

Delta/REP
Grasshopper, the entrepreneur’s phone system Solben
College Nannies and Tutors
Self employment for the arts

SEEC is open to all college majors and community business partners. This is a great opportunity for networking and learning if you are exploring entrepreneurship, are an emerging entrepreneur, or for those who are already have businesses up and running.

To learn more about SEEC 2011 and how to register log onto www.seectampa.org

If you live in Florida and are an entrepreneur, don’t miss this event! If you can’t make it, do check back on Friday, I will be posting my branding presentation and other event highlights.

Being introduced to new experiences can change your perspective on life. They can also change your perspective on how to run your business. Karen Post and the Oddpodz team experienced many new things this past week and we’re sure you’ll enjoy the take-away.

1 – Miracle Whip and Cate Blanchett. What do these two have in common? Differentiating you brand will help you succeed in the long run.
2 – Making history in Saudi and 5 lessons from the experience. Being introduced to global challenges can be very rewarding.
3 – Size can matter. 4 ideas to help your brand impact measure up. Increase your brand memory with objects bigger than life.
4 – Waiting patiently. An oxymoron and opportunity. Don’t wait for your competitors to measure up to you, start creating a masterpiece now.
5 – Have an AT&T iphone? Don’t expect service in NYC. You’ll be disappointed. How some technology can’t always keep up to speed.

If you missed last weeks wrap up, click here.

Also, be sure to check out:
What Jimmy Fallon taught me about marketing.
5 promotional ideas to earn serious visibility for your venture.
Facebook, I’m just not that into you.

This week, Oddpodz took advantage of the simpler things in life and learned how fulfilling they really are. Here are some ways you can look at your business half full too:

1 – Fox TV calls for a 30-minute live interview. Will you be ready? Learn how to interview like a pro, here.
2 – How reincarnating an old idea can be a BORN AGAIN HIT. Check out word-smithing at its best.
3 – Birthdays, gifts and marketing – an interesting trio. Do you have a way to remember your customers’ special days?
4 – Can being happier change your entrepreneurial success? It’s true! Identify the small things in life and make them happen.
5 – Don’t forget to Celebrate loving being an entrepreneur everyday. And start making your own life choices.

If you missed last weeks wrap up, click here.

For more ways to fulfill your life, check out these posts:
Why creatures of habit are champions in sports, business and life.
Work less, accomplish more!
Money, money, money!

Every day I hear people complaining about their jobs. They don’t like what they do. They don’t like their boss. They don’t like the hours and schedules required of them and they don’t think they are paid enough.

Sure leaving this faux sense of security of being employed can seem scary. And oh yeah, being responsible and accountable for all your actions is a serious and sometimes not easy commitment.

Most of us live in America. The land of the free. No one has a gun next tot your head, who says you have to be employed. We can all make choices to break away from the employment muck zone to being an enterprising entrepreneur where you control your destiny.

If you hate your job or you know someone who does, there is one person to blame. YOU or THEM!!

Monday is Valentines Day. A holiday of celebrating love, admiration and passion. These are all available when you are an entrepreneur. If you are not entrepreneur yet, join us. If you are, then celebrate everyday the greatest place to be in the world.

21 reasons why I love being an entrepreneur!

1. My actions ans choices decide my paycheck
2. I can play tennis at 2PM
3. Or work until midnight
4. Or start at 9AM
5. I can wear sweats and tennis clothes everyday
6. I can’t get fired
7. I can try crazy ideas
8. I can invest in lifetime learning or anything for that matter
9. I can pick my support team
10. I can fire my support team
11. I can break rules
12. I can make rules
13. I can go to the movies at 4
14. I an eat pizza at 10 AM at my desk
15. I can give my self a raise
16. I can buy a new company car
17. I can change my mind
18. I can pick my clients
19. I can take vacations when I want
20. I can start a new business
21. I can work hard, or I can hardly work

View our set up your new business ta-do list to establish the best business structure for you!

Starting this week, we are providing a weekly wrap up email from Karen Post’s Oddpodz blogs on marketing, branding and entrepreneurial matters. In case your week went flying by, here is what you’ve missed from:

1 – 2nd chance. 2nd book cover. 2nd wind. When something does not work the first time, don’t give up – just give it another shot.

2 – If you have ever tried calling internationally, then you will relate to Global phone mess – a lesson in assumption and learn why you should always plan ahead.

3 – Can a good tease convert, engage and conquer customers? We think so. Learn how to get attention from your market, before you give them all the goods.

4 – In 5 Super Bowlicious marketing practices for any size business, discover the trends and how to apply big game marketing strategies to your own business.

5 – In How to make achievements a national holiday, learn 5 ways to turn your achievements into a holiday and why it’s important to celebrate them.

6 – Don’t even think about calling me a senior or reminding me that I’m over 40 is a reminder that marketing towards the young boomers has changed.

7 – Have you learned How to juggle multiple projects and keep your cool? If not, here are two approaches that can help.

Too much email, but still want easy access to the content for from Oddpodz the place for creative-minded entrepreneurs? Then, sign up for the RSS feed and read via a feeder or in your web browser.

And thanks for your continued interest and support!

Yesterday I attended a planning meeting at the University of Tampa. I serve on the advisory board for The Entrepreneur Center. Lead by Dr. Rebecca White, the goal of The Entrepreneur Center is to be a nationally recognized program for students seeking an education and experience so that they can be a happy and successful entrepreneur, and to have the needed skills and resources to start and grow sustainable, fruitful and rewarding businesses.

Yesterday was unique. We were brain storming and planning a new initiative, an accelerator program for students and alumni to learn, leverage resources and fuel the local Tampa entrepreneur scene and economy. Our group was a mix of experienced entrepreneurs, academics and UT students and Alumni.

Many excellent ideas were generated and the planning session was a success. But the coolest takeaway for me was collaborating with three young, emerging entrepreneurs from the campus. They included: a recent graduate of UT, Jess English who leads a babysitting referral company called Simply Sitters, Bobby Soroory, an MBA student at UT who is a principle with Legacy Development Company and Arthur Linares Jr.,  a current student of UT’s entrepreneurial studies and co-founder of Greenskies, a renewable energy venture.

Their insight, energy and entrepreneurial spirit was contagious and inspiring. It made me reflect on my start when I was 22, and how it felt being a business newbie, an outsider to the real game of commerce with limited resources. And most importantly how critical it was and still is to have a network of trusted advisors and mentors.

I left the meeting with a renewed appreciation for the program and a commitment to stay connected and help the next generation of entrepreneurs.

No matter how busy you are as an entrepreneur, if you’ve got skills and experience under your belt, share them. Reach out to the local entrepreneurial program in your community, get involved or take a young, emerging entrepreneur to lunch every quarter. You will both walk away with new juice and simulation.

If you are a seasoned entrepreneur in Tampa and want to get involved with this program, contact me.

For more on student learning, view: How to connect with the campus consumer.