North Carolina Library System - Entrepreneurial Mindset Training Course
Learn how to think like an entrepreneur
Learning how to think like an entrepreneur can change your life.
Whether you want to build a business, transform your organization, or reinvent your career, an entrepreneurial mindset provides a new perspective; one that will expose new opportunities, ignite your ambition and cultivate the confidence and the creativity, the self-reliance and the resourcefulness that are essential for anyone to adapt and thrive in today’s rapidly changing world.
Welcome to the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program.
Inspired by the life-story of Pulitzer nominee Clifton Taulbert and the life-changing influence of an “unlikely” entrepreneur, the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program exposes the underlying logic, the methods, and processes that enable everyday entrepreneurs - those who may not have big ideas, access to wealthy investors, or advanced degrees - to succeed.
“As an MBA, I have learned more in three weeks of this course about entrepreneurship than I did in 6.5 years of school.”
- Sheena Thompson, MBA, Ice House Graduate
Learn directly from real-world entrepreneurs.
Rather than focusing on Silicon Valley high-growth entrepreneurs, the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program enables you to learn directly from first-hand wisdom and insights gathered from everyday entrepreneurs - those who started with little or nothing yet managed to succeed.
For example, you will learn from entrepreneurs like 1-800-GOT-JUNK founder Brian Scudamore who will describe how with little more than a used pickup truck and a few hundred dollars, he transformed a simple idea into a global brand.
"I think that's a myth of entrepreneurship, people think you need a college education, you need an MBA, it's got to be from Harvard, you need to know a bunch of V.C.s, you need to have a bunch of money in your jeans...it's not the way.
"There are plenty of people out there who have done it in a simple, Ice House sort of way."
- Brian Scudamore, Founder and CEO, 1-800-GOT-JUNK
This course is unique.
Instead of focusing on traditional business planning the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program distills the collective wisdom and insight from hundreds of everyday entrepreneurs into 8 core concepts that anyone can embrace. Each lesson contains video case studies featuring a variety of real-world “unlikely” entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges by embracing the core concepts of an entrepreneurial mindset.
The result is a revolutionary new learning experience that reveals the underlying logic and the methods that will empower you to think (and act) like an entrepreneur.
In this course you will learn how to:
- Recognize opportunities that others overlook. Drawing from best practices in design thinking, you will learn how to discover opportunities that are hiding in plain sight.
- Master the art of bootstrapping. You will learn how cash-strapped entrepreneurs manage to identify, evaluate, and transform their ideas into a sustainable success.
- Develop a success network that will enable you to avoid costly mistakes, reduce the learning curve, and accelerate your growth,
- Identify and overcome the self-imposed limitations that may be holding you back.
- Tap into a mindset that will inspire and empower you to create a path toward a more meaningful and prosperous life regardless of where you start.
"The cool thing about the Ice House Program...is that you don't have to start a business to take this program and have it benefit you in your life...This is some of the most impactful, exciting curriculum that I've ever taught."
- Tom Darling, Entrepreneurship Faculty, Central NM Community College
This is not a "get rich quick" program.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to make money, this course is probably not for you.
The Ice House Program is designed help you understand the underlying beliefs and behaviors that empower ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. This course offers a shift in perspective that can be fundamentally life-changing. Rather than promising overnight success, this course exposes the mindset and the methods that will ignite your ambition, activate your imagination and cultivate the confidence, the creativity, and the resourcefulness that will put you on a path towards a more meaningful and prosperous life.
What you get:
The Ice House Entrepreneurship Program includes:
- Approximately ten hours of narrated “chalkboard” lectures that include interview segments with real-world “Ice House” Entrepreneurs
- Access to the Ice House Opportunity Discovery Process designed to enable you to identify, evaluate, and bring new ideas to life
- Action Items that enable you to immediately apply what you are learning in the real world
- Points to Ponder reflection assignments designed to encourage self-reflection and analysis,
- Additional Resources to encourage further exploration of the core concepts
- Printable certificate of completion
- If you would like a copy of the companion text Who Owns the Ice House?: Eight Life Lessons From an Unlikely Entrepreneur, please check with your local library for a copy.
Course Curriculum
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StartCourse Introduction (4:09)
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PreviewChapter 1 - What You Will Learn (1:48)
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StartChapter 2 - Introduction to Ice House Entrepreneurs (14:42)
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StartChapter 3 - Unraveling the Mystery (5:20)
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StartChapter 4 - Mindset Defined (8:35)
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StartSummary (1:04)
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PreviewPoints to Ponder - What Makes a Mindset?
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StartIntroduction Comments
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StartIntroduction (3:09)
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StartChapter 1 - Influence (14:24)
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StartChapter 2 - React vs. Respond (8:24)
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StartChapter 3 - Locus of Control (6:56)
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StartChapter 4 - Vision: The Power to Choose (13:11)
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StartSummary (1:14)
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StartAction Item - The Power of Personal Vision
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StartPoints to Ponder - Reflecting on the Past and Reframing
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StartAdditional Resources
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StartModule 1 Comments
What people are saying...
"Having live, real people share their journey is amazing. The entrepreneurs gave of themselves from such a real place, it couldn’t help but impact my thought process and how I was thinking."
- Darleen Daniels, Ice House Graduate
"The Ice House Entrepreneurship Program ‘method’ is wicked awesome. It turns the age-old misconceptions about entrepreneurism upside down and destroys the paradigm.”
- Gina L. Kinchlow, MBA
“The Ice House Entrepreneurship Program is redefining entrepreneurship education in classrooms and communities around the world.”
- Thom Ruhe, VP of Entrepreneurship, Kauffman Foundation
“The Ice House program is all about understanding the mindset of successful small business owners and entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether you are an established business or a prospective business, or even someone looking at ways to be a better employee, mindset makes a huge difference.”
- Mike O'Donnell, Executive Director, Colorado Lending Source
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Frequently Asked Questions
Thanks to the NC IDEA Foundation for providing the funding for this course across the North Carolina Public Library System. NC IDEA is an independent private, 501(c)(3) foundation whose vision is to help North Carolinians achieve their entrepreneurial ambition to start and grow high potential companies. NC IDEA fosters sustainable economic development with competitive grants and programs for entrepreneurs and funding to strengthen the North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem. NC IDEA offers grant funding and support on the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). If you'd like to find out more about their work you can go to https://ncidea.org/.