Blog.

We came into contact with Tomas on Twitter. He owns and runs the Closet Entrepreneur website, a useful website where tips and 'hacks' can be obtained. Simply put, a D.I.Y. source website for entrepreneurs. Tomas is a keen networker and a social media enthusiast and a Closet Entrepreneur.

The video in this blog was seen on Tomas's website and we've thought to share it. Please enjoy the tips from Tomas along with the posted video from Closet Entrepreneur website.

Here's our 'Q and A' session with him:

Promocrats: We've always thought your domain name quite unique: 'The Closet Entrepreneur'. What's the story behind the name?

T.C: I initially wanted to blog about my experience of starting a business while I was working in the corporate world, and when discussing my idea with a friend, they joked that I was in the closet about entrepreneurship and that's when The Closet
Entrepreneur was born.

Promocrats: How do you generate new ideas for your blogs and resources to share
on your website?

T.C: I really don't have a process for generating new ideas - a majority of the blog posts arise through some sort of inspiration that is derived from blogs I follow, or things I come across in my daily activities. The same thing goes for resources, although I tend to share resources and quick links using Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter and reserve my blog for more unique items.

Promocrats: What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?

T.C: First and foremost, I really think that budding entrepreneurs should realize that there is no silver bullet to entrepreneurship. There are many things that you can do to become successful, but most of the time it's not going to happen overnight and it's going to take some elbow grease and hard work. With that said, you need to be an optimist and pragmatist when it comes to approaching your business idea or else you're setting yourself up to become easily discouraged and disappointed. There is also no substitute when it comes to being resourceful and agile. There's a quote along the lines of if you really want to do something, you'll find a way - else you'll find an excuse, and I think it holds true for entrepreneurs. You'll encounter obstacles every step of the way and sometimes it's a matter of making things happen with what you have because not all of us have unlimited time, money, or resources to build a business. The great things is, there are so many tools out there that are free or relatively inexpensive, and figuring out how to leverage or hack them to your benefit is key. The other piece of the puzzle is avoiding "analysis paralysis" which happens to many people (myself included) - sometimes it's impossible to have all the answers and you can either spend all your time planning for every scenario, or you can perform some well thought out beta testing and attempt to find answers to your questions by doing. Last but not least, time is key because the longer you wait, the more likely your business environment will change and you can never predict the future.

Promocrats: What social media platform(s) would you recommend for entrepreneurs?

T.C: There are so many great ones out there, and I've seen a lot of people leverage Facebook, Twitter, Blogging (WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger), and even Flickr to help build their business. Of course, social media platforms are a moot point if your customers aren't online or using the aforementioned services. :)

Promocrats: What are you working on at the moment?

T.C: At the moment, I'm actually transitioning to a new career - I've been in process engineering for many years and now find myself in the wonderful world of web development and social media - it's quite a change and very challenging (in a good way). I also just finished organizing the first TEDxPhoenix event in November, and look forward to contributing to future events. Although blogging and entrepreneurship have taken a back seat at the moment, I'm involved with many related activities and definitely see both as part of my future endeavors.

Promocrats: Thanks for your time, Tomas. Much appreciated.