Mike Brown
Business & Product Development, Consulting - Owner/Gen Mgr/Dir. of Project Development

Brown Business Development

• http://www.brown-bd.com

I'm the Owner, Founder, General Manager and Director of Project Development for Brown Business Development --- "Solutions for a Changing World..."--->

As such, I specialize in developing solutions. -- Solutions in the way of innovative new consumer products and services... new business models... new solutions to vexxing social problems... and new solutions for existing business processes that aren't achieving optimum efficiency.

As a developer of new businesses and products : I basically look upon the marketplace like a painter looks upon a canvas, and think to myself... "What can I do today to make the world a better place?" -- I then research the market and pound out feasibility studies. And if the idea still looks viable... I start working my professional networks to find strong business partners capable of helping me turn my business dreams into reality.

As a consultant : I use my 25-years of experience in business management, product development, marketing, and organizational development, to help my clients solve operational problems, take advantage of new opportunities, and take their businesses to the next level.

(If you'd be interested in finding out how I might be of service to your business... shoot me a message detailing your situation, or go to my website at (http://www.brown-bd.com/))

I'm a problem solver. I've developed an innate ability to look at any product, service, social problem, and business process -- and figure out a way that it can be optimized to the fullest extent of the resources available.

--- Besides a vacation? ---

As a Business Developer : Like all entrepreneurs whose visions are usually bigger than their wallets, I need to connect with people and organizations that might be interested in investing a little of their time and money into worthwhile and promising startups.

As a New Player to the Consulting Game : I need a few good clients willing to give me the chance to show them what I've got. -- Along with an easier way to connect with potential clients with projects to offer. (-- Hopefully, Biznik will serve me greatly in these regards.)

As an Entrepreneur : I need the occassional friendly contact of likewise professionally-minded people, to just "shoot the shite" and help keep me sane. (So, please... feel free to shoot me a message if you feel so inclined.)

My intense and ongoing study of "All Things Business, Marketing, and Economics-Related" began in 1982 (at the age of 19) when I first realized my creative bent for product development, and decided my goal was ultimately to be in business for myself.

While I cannot lay claim to such lofty acronyms as PhD, MA, BA, or even AS... I can lay claim to 3 part-time quarters of community college back in 1989-90, in which I found myself not learning anything that I didn't already know, or couldn't learn from my own continued aggressive pursuit of everything I might ever need to learn about "the many business disciplines".

Faced with a cash-crunch while working my full-time factory job (to support my family of 6), and attending college on a part-time basis... I found myself in the precarious position of needing to earn more money. (Imagine that.) I ultimately decided I needed to return to my most successful part-time profession -- music.

From the age of 15 to 22, I had played guitar and sang lead vocals in a number of rock bands, playing hard-driving rock n' roll shows at parties, night clubs, and strip joints throughout Northwest Ohio. But while I was looking to get back into music "for the money", I wasn't looking to do the same thing I had done before, or split the money with 4 other people. -- I was interested in starting a 2-piece acoustic guitar act capable of performing intensely vocally-harmonic tunes in easy-listening settings like lounges, malls, and high-end restaurants. The problem was that after nearly a month of working my existing music contacts, I still had not found a suitable partner.

Then, one day, while working in the factory and contemplating my predicament, I said it: "Man, I just wish there was someone I could go to and say: Hey, this is the kind of person I'm looking for... can you just point me in the right direction?" -- and BANG! That's when it hit me. If there's nobody providing the service, and there's obviously a need for it... I might as well provide it myself! -- And that's when I quit college, and MUSIC-NET was born. -- A side-line business I would run on a shoe-string for 5-years (with moderate success) and expand across 65% of the State of Ohio (working out of my house), before closing it down due to my inability to attract adequate capital for further expansion, or a buyer. Ultimately, after 5 intense years, I chalked it up as a learning experience and moved on. Six months later... I embarked on the next project. -- And 17 years later... I'M STILL GOIN' STRONG!

So, while I cannot lay claim to the long hours of sitting in classrooms... or cramming for exams... or partying with the Greeks -- I can lay claim to living and breathing business in the public domain for 25 long years, as well as countless hours of pouring through college textbooks and other business literature, to learn whatever I needed to know to keep moving forward (I actually read my first 500-page college textbook on Marketing in one 18-hour sitting -- before I ever even went to college). I also lay claim to intently partaking in countless hours of lectures, dissertations, and interviews of business leaders, economists, and expert marketers from all walks of life -- primarily derived from talk shows, books, and the internet. -- But mostly, I lay claim to 25-years of experience, working hard in the trenches... with not one year that I regret because they've all brought me to where I am today. -- In control of a vast amount of real market knowledge, and sitting atop a gold mine of projects just waiting for a little help (participation) and fuel (money) to be added to the mix.

So, while I do not possess any impressive titles or degrees to precede or follow my name... I'd have to say that my knowledge, skills, abilities, and understanding of the business world, are right up there with the best of them when it comes to: business management, strategic planning, business plan writing, business formation, general finance, startups, proposal writing, technical writing, marketing, market research & analysis, feasibility studies, marketing campaign development, advertising design, media & publishing, accounting, cost-accounting, product development, product licensing, intellectual property rights (patents & trademarks), business law, franchising, real estate, production planning, inventory control, lean manufacturing, retail management, organizational development, human resource management, regulatory compliance, management systems design, and (believe it or not) more.

(You'll notice, however, that corporate finance is not on that list. That's because I could definitely use some help in that department.)

But anyway... if after all that's been said here... if one still might find themselves wondering about and questioning the abilities of someone who has never graduated from college... I would suggest that they consider the following list of fellow dropouts and never-wents: Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Steve Wosniak, Kirk Kirkorian, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Dale Carnegie, W. Clement Stone, Benjamin Franklin, and many, many, others -- including... the richest man in the world himself -- Bill Gates.

You must admit... being a member of that club has got to make someone wonder if they might not, just be, on the right track. -- And believe me -- I do... I often wonder. It's one of the things that keeps me going strong.

Did I mention I've got a Certificate in Small Business Management?----- :)

18 Years - Management Experience (in the employ of others) (38 yrs. cumulative) :

• Retail- Store Management (4 yrs.)
• Mfg-Quality Control/Final Inspection (9 yrs.)
• Mfg-Shipping & Finished Inventory Control (9 yrs.)
• Mfg-Purchasing & Inventory Control (5 yrs.)
• Mfg-Process Auditing (7 yrs.) .
• Mfg-Work Team Leading (3 yrs.)
• Mfg-Employee Training (1 yr.)

25 years - Business Development / Product Development / and Administrative Business Management Experience (working for myself) (192 yrs. cumulative):

• Business Administration, Accounting & Bookkeeping, Tax Preparation & Filing, Human Resource Management, Organizational Development, Business Law (25 yrs.)

• Business Planning, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Business Formation (25 yrs.)

• Business Plan Writing, Proposal Writing, Technical Writing (25 yrs.)

• Marketing Management, Plan Development, Market Research & Analysis (25 yrs.) National & International Market Research & Analysis (4 yrs.)

• Direct Sales and Sales Management (9 yrs.) (with an emphasis on Telemarketing Sales (5 yrs.))

• Advertising Design & Layout, Marketing Materials Development and Writing, Tag-line Development, Creative Development of Radio/TV Commercial Concepts (25 yrs.)

• Product Development and Design (25 yrs.)

• Intellectual Property Protection, Patents & Trademarks (25 yrs.)

• Product Licensing and Franchising (4 yrs.)

• Website Design & Development, Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing (2 yrs.)

• Executive-Level Professional Networking & Promotion for Business Development and Capital Procurement (2 yrs.)