Introducing: The Everyday Entrepreneur

I grew up in suburban Detroit, son of a podiatrist and a stay at home mother. Looking back, my parents were both entrepreneurs. My Dad's father owned a small, but relatively successful chain of women's clothing stores and my mother's father was a successful dime store merchant. My parents opened a series of laundromats that all failed; don't forget, most entrepreneurs fail at some point, but my parents were hustlers and used their passion to drive their agendas. They both worked hard and my mother, while raising three kids, owned a vinyl t-shirt business and ran garage sales in our neighborhood twice a year. I remember, helping my Dad's brother collect quarters from the washing machines and practically shadowing my mother until I could help manage all of our inventory, working the cash register, and of course negotiating pricing with our customers.

I took to this "hustling" early on in my life starting a school store at my elementary school and collecting and selling baseball cards in my teens. At sixteen, I began working Mr. Alan's, which was a local shoe and clothing stores. Think Detroit metro area and shoes from $10 bucks to $1000+ custom gators, but it was the first time I learned that even an entrepreneur could be successful in a larger organizations as long as the motivations were in place. At Mr. Alan's we all worked for 100% commission, so for almost ten years, from high school through law school/business school, I was able to get my fill of the hustle while I completed my education.

I earned my MBA in 2001, but unlike most other MBA's students, my major was Entrepreneurship. At this time, entrepreneurship programs were relatively scarce. I think back on our program and was blessed to be taught by some of the early leaders in the entrepreneurial education space, including Sir. Robert D. Hisrich, Ph.D. who actually wrote the book on the subject. He taught us the importance of creating a comprehensive business plan that had a solid "pay back" period and a "breakeven point."

He told us stories of how inventors would get diluted in their equity percentages when they did not engage in the proper behaviors upfront. He taught us the difference between an "inventor" and an "executor" which is synonymous with todays definition of entrepreneur, where I learned "The Greatest Day Of My Life Was When I Realized I Wasn't An Inventor." (Are You An Inventor or an Executor)

Fast forward to today and my partners and I developed COhatch around the hustle mentality. By hustle, I mean providing a welcoming environment for folks with the passion and desire to build businesses, associations, or non-profit organizations alike. Our entrepreneurs come in all walks of life, all backgrounds and all different situation, but they all need to come with the drive to succeed or learn how to become comfortable with the uncomfortableness of being part of a start-up. Most folks are not entrepreneurs, but we could all use some entrepreneurial spirt in our lives.

I have been so fortunate in my life that the hustle lifestyle that I learned from my parents can be shared with so many of our members. By shared I do not necessarily mean, by me, but shared within our communities. My goal in launching "The Everyday Entrepreneur" podcast is to share stories of the 800+ start-up companies, non-profits and associations that call COhatch communities their home. I have worked with some of them closely and some I have just met, but the stories will focus on everyday entrepreneur's that make up the backbone of our great country that I am blessed to call my home!

Everyday Entrepreneur Ep. 1: Chad Porter of CHVD Justin - The Hustle Mentality

I met Chad J. Porter when he was fresh out of OSU ready to take on the world of functional fashion. Hear how this passionate entrepreneur is taking on the world with his WearPack product while simultaneously working with the greater community to help kids learn the fun of starting a businesses.

Everyday Entrepreneur Ep. 2: Mike Nemeth - Successful Exit & The Aftermath

Mike Nemeth doesn't do anything without giving it his 100% effort. Listen to Mike and I discuss the earliest days of COhatch and how he built Emblem Athletic from a start-up to successful exit while growing throughout our communities. We also see what life after exit looks like for an amazing person with so much to give.

Everyday Entrepreneur Ep. 3: Deb Papesh - The Profitable Non-Profit

If you haven't met the institution that is Deb Papesh , you are in for a treat. Deb shows us that not all entrepreneurs work on traditional start-ups, but they happily drive their passion toward building a profitable non-profit. Listen in as Deb and I discuss our "Give" programs and how the same entrepreneurial passion that so many of our members use to build successful startups can be directed toward doing impactful things in our communities.

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Ryan Fogelman, J.D., MBA is a serial entrepreneur that has helped start and grow brands in numerous business models and industries. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2001, earning both a Juris Doctorate and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Business. Ryan's companies have won two Edison Innovation Awards for innovation, two Retailers Choice Awards, numerous Fast50 Awards. Ryan currently has one patent pending for developing a remote fire solution that replaces on-site human fire watch.

Ryan spent two years on the advisory team for the entrepreneurship program at Lake Erie College and spends his time (when not focused on his start-ups Fire Rover and COhatch ) advising entrepreneurs in their start-up journeys.

You can share, comment, or follow/connect with Ryan here or?@ConDevGrp?on Twitter.?Ryan can be reached through direct message on LinkedIn or at ryan(at)COhatch(dot).com

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