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Membership businesses are not new. However, more and more entrepreneurs are discovering that they can created and run one without setting up a membership site and buying or leasing software. Crowdfunding sites like Patreon have made it easy to build your subscription or membership business. Youtube has created a form of it for creators who have at least 100,000 viewers. With the new YouTube plan, you can also sell items straight from your youtube channel. It's never been easier to start a subscription business.

Business crowdfunding always starts with an idea that the owner is not sure will work. While Crowdfunding can be used to prove that there is a market for the business idea, sometimes even the idea needs a bit of refining before you send it out into the market. Dr. Wright came up with the Idea Challenge as a way to help people better formulate their business idea and get it ready for crowdfunding. The 10-day challenge allows them to formulate it and then put together a basic campaign and ask for money to get some preliminary reactions to their business idea.

Dr. Buckhanan shared the job of bringing seven different professors together and making it work to begin exposing the students to what it takes to be an entrepreneur. His experiences of combining a multi-disciplinary team of professionals to pilot the first course in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship certificate at Andrews University helped formulate the class instruction. He presented lessons learned in going from "the call" to teaching the course in two weeks flat. "I was happy to see how the participants were eager to take what they learned from me back to their colleges. I hope to save them a lot of time as well as trial and error," says Dr. Buckhanan.

In 2017, Crowdfunding raised $87 Billion Dollars in Business Crowdfunding. Dr. Letitia Wright has been teaching crowdfunding to business owners for 6 years and this year she launched the Get Crowdfunded Now Podcast. "I wanted to find a simple way to teach quick and easy crowdfunding lessons while keeping people abreast of the crowdfunding news." says Dr. Wright.

For over 25 years Sharise L. Erby-Castle has defied her self-definition as an introvert, choosing to boldly minister, motivate and inspire women to embrace their unique greatness and empowered destiny. Sharise leverages her messaging through her Phenomenal Woman Empowerment Network, PWEN, started in 2005 as an annual women's conference and expanded into a 501c3 non-profit membership organization in 2013.

Dr. Letitia Wright, America's Crowdfunding Strategist, has been teaching entrepreneurs how to navigate the crowdfunding landscape for the past five years. She has taught for the Los Angeles Small Business Administration, the Las Vegas Administration, California State University at San Bernardino as well as around the country at various conferences. "While Crowdfunding has changed a lot over the year, it still has great potential. It can be a powerful, game changer for the average business owners when used correctly," says Dr. Wright. "I love helping people understand this 87 Billion dollar market and how to take advantage of it."

Being the best-kept secret is not good for any business or professional. With smaller and smaller adverting budgets, it can be hard for a new business owner to outspend more established companies to get in front of potential clients. When you are well known or have business celebrity, it allows you to charge more and get clients who are dedicated to being successful. It makes sales easier and helps your enterprise grow faster.

Crowdfunding has expanded to being a great place to invest money or help new products come to market by pre-purchasing. The Crowdfunding market saw over 87 Billion dollars exchanged in the market in 2016. This market has attracted scammers whose only purpose is to rip off with good hearts. With the Season of Charity upon us, here are a few things you can do to avoid exploitation.

Entrepreneurship has been recognized as the clear path to financial independence. But for those who are employed, there appeared to be very few options to participate in an enterprise. Ivey Stokes, the founder of My Econ formed a company that helps employed people start their own business and work towards financial independence without having to quit their full-time job.

Dr. Letitia Wright from Wright Place TV Show has a Facebook Livestream called Media Mondays. It's an interview show with live audience interaction. The goal is to help the entrepreneurs watching learn how to work with the media for the own brands and be inspired to create their own media. "Years ago, I wrote that products would have their own shows and everyday people would have their own shows." Says Dr. Wright. "I had no idea that it would live stream on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and all the other ways you can have your own show, but I knew it would happen."