News on Monday reported that a 17-year-old entrepreneur in the UK sold his startup to Yahoo for an estimated $30 million. Just days before, a New Jersey bodega owner originally from the Dominican Republic won the $338 million Powerball. And almost exactly one year ago, the country was similarly abuzz about the chances of winning big. If there’s something in the water this time of year, it’s certainly treating business folks well. I’m no gambler, but just by looking at recent headlines, I can’t say it’s a bad time to hope for the best business-wise. So tell us: how is March treating your business efforts so far?

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It’s a pretty wild idea, but becoming more and more real as businesses such as MakerBot continue to tweak and improve upon initial prototypes. Here’s a time lapsed video of one of MakerBot’s printers creating a 3D bust of Pettis:

Back at SXSW, Pettis provided a few examples: one replicating fun little monster figurines, and the other where a girl receives a replacement part for a prosthetic limb after it’s replicated with a 3D printer. Manufacturing, design, creating and recreating parts for machines or people…this has entrepreneurship written all over it.

While you can buy a printer right now on MakerBot’s website or from its retail store in New York City, you may want to wait it out, at least for a little while. Small Business Labs sees mainstream 3D printing use still some years away, as updates are frequent and obsolete printer parts require constant swapping. While it may not be on your list of items to purchase anytime soon, its a promising technology to keep an eye out for in the future.

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Gary Vaynerchuk chatted with Entrepreneur this summer about the importance of making lifelong relationships with customers, the art of storytelling, the value of failure in business, and his entrepreneurial goals. With his own social media brand consultancy, wine retail store, video blog, uber-popular Twitter account, and best-selling books, Vaynerchuk certainly knows a thing or two about getting ideas off the ground and seeing them to success. Plus, his enthusiasm for business is both widely apparent and contagious – enough to inspire us all to push through these last few weeks of the year.

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We’re celebrating by marking the official launch of our new and improved site, which you may have noticed if you’ve perused BuildMyBiz lately. In the likeness of Small Business Saturday, we want to continue supporting the small-business community, so we’ve added more  tools and resources to BuildMyBiz with small-business owners and entrepreneurs in mind. Some new features:

• Biz Services – a marketplace for entrepreneurs that connects them with discounts on printing solutions, credit reports, online business software, and more.

• Social Sign-In – What you do: Log into the site by signing in through your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google account. What you get: Access to participate in the BuildMyBiz community as well as here on the blog, read comments, and share your small-business story.

• Small Biz News – Read up on the latest small-business news on topics that matter to you.

Check out the rest of the spiffier new BuildMyBiz and remember to think small this coming Saturday!

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The organization has a network of more than 13,000 volunteers in 264 chapters around the U.S., all with real-world business experience. Along with professional mentors, SCORE maximizes support for small-business hopefuls through:

• Business tools, templates, and tips
• Interactive workshops
• Webinars on a range of business topics

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For instance:

• Small businesses employ 50 million Americans
• Small businesses generate over $11 trillion in receipts per year
• 90% of entrepreneurs donate money to charitable causes
• Small businesses produce 13 times more patents per employee than large firms

In honor of the impacts small businesses have made, BuildMyBiz invites you to celebrate your business, and the difference it makes, by telling your own story. We’ll help spread the word about what your small business has accomplished by sharing your story with the nation. Fellow small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country, not to mention the folks here at BuildMyBiz, are ready to be inspired!

The post Share Your Small Business Success Story with America appeared first on BuildMyBiz.

Recent data squashes the stereotype of an older workforce set in its ways and showing little interest in emerging technologies or ideas. They are, in fact, the ones starting businesses right alongside younger self-starters. Take for instance that in 2003, the 65+ demographic had a self-employment rate of 26.9 percent, compared to just 7.2 percent among the 25-34 year-old folks. And every year from 1996 to 2007, entrepreneurial activity was one-third larger for Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 than those aged 20-34, according to a study from the Kauffman Foundation.

Older entrepreneurs have the advantages of deep industry knowledge and experience, plus years of building professional networks that give them an edge over their younger counterparts. Because of these trends, the U.S. very well could be “on a cusp of an entrepreneurship boom – not in spite of an aging population, but because of it.”

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Marks recently spoke with Gene Simmons, the famed lead singer of KISS and, more recently, a successful entrepreneur. His latest business endeavor is a restaurant chain that gives diners the feeling that they’re hanging out backstage at a concert. The first location just opened in Los Angeles and Simmons expects to branch out into both domestic and global markets. It isn’t Simmons’ first foray into entrepreneurship; in fact, he’s enjoyed many business successes that have nothing to do with KISS. So what has he learned along the way, both in and out of costume?

Surround yourself with trusted business partners.

Marks makes clear in his interview that “no one creates a successful business by themselves.” Simmons makes sure to surround himself with trusted colleagues that bring different forms of expertise to the table in order to generate new business ideas.

Delegate.

Simmons is the first to admit that he’s looking at the big picture, not spending time worrying over smaller-scale decisions. As long as he has the final approval and the company is effectively using its time and resources, he’s happy to give employees the tools they need to do their job successfully.

Don’t worry about being the first.

Simmons is one of many people who have delved into the restaurant business, which can be a largely unsuccessful venture.  But that’s what attracts Simmons to that type of industry and drives his ambitions. His goal is to prove successful, not be the first to venture into a new business.

Stay fresh.

Aside from his restaurant business, Simmons is also an investor in a wealth management services firm and backs a language translator application for smartphones. Whether it’s shedding the KISS makeup or expanding business ventures and interests, Simmons constantly looks to avoid being yesterday’s news.

Simmons sees KISS more successful as a business rather than a rock band, with continuous tours, albums, and merchandising. The group has embraced opportunities to change and adapt in order to remain successful over time. And according to Marks, that’s what smart business people do.

The post How to (Literally) Rock at Entrepreneurship appeared first on BuildMyBiz.

Is it the cookie-selling sass that jump starts young women to make it big in the business world? Selling the beloved boxes of goodies does have something to do with it, but the Girl Scouts also value certain qualities that mirror those found in budding American business owners and entrepreneurs.

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