While it took a few years after the financial crisis for financial services start-ups to get their business models refined to the point where they can come to market they are here now, and these alternative financial services technology companies are becoming viable and increasingly common sources of financing for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

When he was laid off at age 52, my father chose to buy a business. And in no time at all, he'd turned the business around and was successful. Today, I run my own business, as do my husband and our two daughters, which raises the question, is entrepreneurship genetic or is it a skill set you can learn?

Dorian and Ilissa are two California entrepreneurs who have taken women's obsession for shoes and created a multi-million dollar empire because they allow women to have their cake and eat it too. You'll be very inspired by this interview and you might even want to grab a pair of Milk and Honey Shoes for your own collection.

Fear. For a four-lettered word, it sure carries a lot of weight and for the would-be entrepreneurs in my newbie group, no matter what their business aspirations were, it was an emotion they were all feeling. So how do you overcome that fear of failure. Here are some pointers.

As CEO of a product testing company, I have encountered hundreds of entrepreneurs with unique ideas who are quite brilliant and determined and who have the guts to take a concept and turn it into a business. Most of them stumble with their pricing model. If you scare off a customer with your pricing from the outset, you will likely brand yourself as "that expensive company."

For me, the quintessential source of inspiration comes from where I start every morning, and that place is Starbucks. I am a Starbucks Brand Addict because they have created an environment and a brand that has me hooked. What Starbucks has done rather ingeniously, is create a Brand Ambassador out of me without me even knowing it. Here are some ways that Starbucks is doing it right and how you can learn from their holistic approach to the customer experience.

Dane Maxwell could be mistaken for just another entrepreneur, but the reality is that Dane is far more than that. He's smart, strategic, caring, a savvy entrepreneur and he's shaking up a lot of the old ways of building an online business. There are so many more golden nuggets in this interview -- far too many to count. I hope you'll take the time to listen to it.