2011 Orr Fellow: Mitch Causey

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 by Fellow Stories
Name:  Mitch CauseyMitch Causey
Alma Mater:  Indiana Wesleyan University
Major:  Marketing & Business Administration + some Computer Graphics
Host Company:  Slingshot SEO
Hometown:  Indianapolis, IN
Bio:
I love, live and breath SEO - that's why I'm so glad to be placed at Slingshot SEO. I'm engaged to my high school sweetheart (getting married June 18th). I really don't have much of a life outside of my fiance, work and trying to make more money online... it's a vicious, but wonderful cycle.
Why did you choose to be a part of the Orr Fellowship?
Choosing to be a part of the Fellowship was a pretty "DUH" decision. As soon as I heard about the incredible opportunities we would be given, the fact that it is Indy-based and the special access to executives shot the Fellowship to the top of my job hunt.
What are your long-term career ambitions?
My long-term goals for my career are to simply continue to grow and push myself to the next level. I love a good challenge and view the Fellowship as one. I would love to start / continue my own business and see where that leads. Multiple streams of income is pretty much a must for me ever since reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" so I love to stay busy and have a multi-tracked mind.
What will your first role be at your host company?
I am currently an SEO Consultant for Slingshot SEO. That includes analyzing websites and forming strategies to make them perform better in search engines.
Just the facts:
Engaged, IWU grad, 22, SEO, 5'8", loving life as an Orr Fellow.

Thinking Like an Entrepreneur

Monday, January 11, 2010 by Bryan Povlinski
In our recent business leader meeting with Thomas Mason, and Economics and Engineering Management professor at Rose Hulman, he made the point that any employee should always be trying to "Think like an Entrepreneur."  Now that doesn't mean that every employee should aspire to be an entrepreneur, or that employees should be thinking about starting new businesses while they're working for their current company.  What it means is that, as an employee, you should constantly be thinking of better ways to do things in your current company, and thinking of new business opportunities for your employer.  These new ideas don't have to be world-changing, million dollar ideas, but rather small innovations that get things moving the right way. 

I'd venture to guess that most employees at entry-level jobs in Indiana do not have this mindset.  But when you're working with high growth start-ups "thinking like an entrepreneur" is practically required.  A lot of the companies that are part of the Orr Fellowship are small, entrepreneurial companies in Indianapolis.  They don't all have a full marketing or finance department.  These companies need Orr Fellows to come up with unique ideas to help build their business.

How can you be "thinking like an entrepreneur?" 

Are there certain things that are done at your company every week just because "that's the way they're always been done?" If they no longer make sense maybe it's time to make a change.

Do you have a perspective from a previous internship or organization that no one in your current company has?

Maybe there peripheral activities that are outside the responsibility of your everyday job that you can address.  Starting a recycling program or fitness routine could make a bigger impact than you think.

There are countless ideas just waiting to be taken.  Are you thinking like an entrepreneur?