If you are lucky, one day you too will receive a questionnaire in your in-box asking about your company prefaced with the very flattering "one of my group projects is to interview a successful entrepreneur so that we can do a presentation for the class... I have searched you up on the web and found that you are a very successful entrepreneur."

Would you like to be prepared to answer that type of request? One thing that I've noticed in the stories of all the people whose dreams come true is that they prepare themselves by "stepping into" the life they envision for themselves. They imagine what their typical day looks like, who their friends are, what their desk looks like, what kinds of activities they take on in a typical week, where their house is, who they are on stage with, where they perform, what kind of car they drive, how they feel, what types of charities they're involved with, their physical exercise regimen, etc. --- it's all in there, in the very beginnings of their visioning ---- so when the time comes for them to step into that reality, their brain, heart, and mind are already "prepped" to do so with ease and grace.

In the meantime, prepare your responses in advance!

Here are some questions for you to ruminate upon.

1) In just a few sentences, could you describe your business (Name – brief description – product/service/customer)?

2) What have been some of the major challenges you have faced in starting and running your business?

3) What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture or to make significant changes in an existing business? How did the idea for your business come about?

4) What have been some of the greatest rewards from your business?

5) How did you decide on the location for your business?

6) What opportunities do you see for your business in the future?

7) Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?

8) How do you find people to bring into your organization that truly care about the organization the way you do?

9) What type of investors financed your company initially (friends, family, angel investors, venture capitalists)?

10) Did you have a business plan prepared when you started your business?

11) If so, what did your business plan address (i.e. market size and growth, start-up costs, financial projections, exit strategy)?

12) Have you referred to your business plan once you began your firm? If so, how has it helped?

13) Do you update your business plan currently or use it to guide your business growth?

14) What part of your business plan or business functions do you find most valuable (strategic planning, marketing planning, sales forecasting, financial forecasting)?

15) When was your business started?

16) Does everyone in the business have a specific role? Are the roles and responsibilities for every person in the business clearly defined?

17) How many employees does your company have?

18) How do you and your people spend your time? Which activities are leading to profits and which to expenses?

19) What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?

20) How do you balance work with relaxation?

21) Do you really enjoy the business you are in?

22) Are you undergoing any self-improvement education to improve your skills and expertise? Have you done any before?

23) Is your company primarily family owned? If yes, how much control does the family exert over day-to-day operations?

24) What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?

25) What three pieces of advice would you give to college students who want to become entrepreneurs?

26) What is your title?

27) How long have you been with the company?

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/xelcise/4938627915/sizes/m/in/photostream/

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