Courtesy of explo
Jeri Ellsworth isn’t a name many entrepreneur enthusiasts may know of the top of their heads, but she is a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word with quite a strong following. Not only is she a computer circuit wiz-kid developing game systems that can fit in the controller alone, but she is also a very savvy small business owner as you will soon find out. For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Jeri Ellsworth in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how she did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn.
Summary:
Name: Jeri Ellsworth
Age: 36
Location: Washington
Claim to fame: C64-DTV (Custom made controller with the Commodore 64 sytem and 30 games built into it.)
Initial cost: <$1000
How She Did It:
Jerri Ellsworth was born and raised in Oregon where she attended her local high school for only a few years. She would drop out to pursue making and selling custom-made dirt race cars, which proved to be quite profitable for the only then teenager. At 21 in 1995, she left that business to start a new business with a friend building and selling custom computers locally in her area. Ellsworth took to a strong fascination with computer circuitry and starting experimenting with computer chip development in her spare time. During this period,Jeri also started college, but would later drop-out due to a mismatch campus lifestyle from what she wanted. In 2004 her computer chip skills paid off in a big way. Ellsworth developed a Commodore 64 chip that could fit inside a old game controller and house 30 playable games all within this controller through a direct connection to a TV set. Ellsworth sold 100,000s of these units. She even sold 70,000 alone in one day through a local QVC special she did. Needless to say, Jeri Ellsworth is one entrepreneur who has done quite well. Since then she continues now as a consultant on various projects for different companies as she so desires continuing her passion for computer circuitry in her spare time.
Lessons Learned:
- While important in many situations, the number of degrees you have does not always define your success (Jeri succeeded through self education in the things that inspired her most)
- One can make a career of small business and entrepreneurship even at just the local level as we saw here.
- Entrepreneurship is not defined in any one way (Ellsworth invented something and owned a few small businesses thus far).
- One of the most important things is that you actually try (Ellsworth took chances to get where she is)
- A desire to learn and try new things is crucial as a entrepreneur
Did you miss last weeks spotlight? Check it out here: The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Drew Curtis of Fark.com.
Be on the lookout for our next entrepreneur spotlight article in this ongoing series. In the meantime, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think about the success of this week’s entrepreneur and her entrepreneurship characteristics. Also, please let me know if you have an entrepreneur you would like to see featured here in the weeks to come.
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