Entrepreneur Paul C. Brunson, and previous host of Black Enterprise‘s TV show, Our World, will be joining USA Today as a business columnist and the host of their first featured digital show, Uncommon Drive.
According to a release, Brunson will be identifying entrepreneurs who have achieved truly extraordinary feats, i.e. generating millions in sales without venture funding, creating a service that saves lives, or inventing a product that disrupts an entire industry.
USA Today is the biggest newspaper in the United States, reaching over 7 million people daily in print and online. Through this massive platform, Brunson will be given the opportunity to teach, inform, and spread his entrepreneurial journey and message.
Brunson has a couple of tips to share with new entrepreneurs. “Don’t start a business without asking yourself, if you have a profitable idea,” he says. He recommends you read Eric Reis’ The Lean Startup. From there, create a Minimum Viable Product, a scaled-back version of your product, and test the market to see if anyone is willing to purchase. By way of demand, you will find out if your business is a profitable idea or if you should go back to the drawing board.
He also has advice on pitching your business using video—don’t be scripted. “The key to a great video is to be well-versed. Break your video down into five different segments and assign a short sentence for each one of those segments. Regurgitate the first sentence of each segment and rely on your subject matter expertise for the rest,” says Brunson.
Separate from the show, Brunson will also be running his personal mastermind classes that focus on new business launches, growing an existing business, or building a thought leadership personal brand.