Who's Who 2013: Dr. James Stapleton, Executive director of the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and associate professor at Southeast Missouri State University

__Community involvement:__ Board member for the Cape Area MAGNET, an advisory board member for Junior Achievement of Southeast Missouri and a member of the Missouri Governor's Task Force on Small Business.

What do you love about your work?

I love helping others achieve their goals and dreams. Whether I am working with a student that is exploring innovation and entrepreneurship, an individual interested in starting a business, or a business owner trying to expand or turn their business around, I appreciate the opportunity to make a positive difference in that person's life. Since I mostly work with entrepreneurs, I also appreciate the multiplicative effect of our work together -- they provide jobs that improve the quality of lives, businesses and communities.

What motivates or inspires you?

As an entrepreneur, I am mostly motivated by making something out of nothing. I love the challenge of creating value and solving problems, especially when the circumstances make most people shrink. I'm not very good with status quo, so I am inspired to make a difference.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in your line of work?

Many aspiring entrepreneurs I work with don't have a realistic vision of the length of time and amount of effort required to build a successful business. It's one of the reasons so many new businesses fail. Too many people think that a business starts with a plan and a bank loan. Especially in our uncertain economic climate, startups need to develop products/services through significant customer interaction. Being a startup is about validating each element of a business concept. It takes time and patience to build something sustainable.