The Value ( And the Sale) Was in the Solution
My friend, Ilene, related to me a fantastic story on how a roofer helped her own a new roof for her home. Earlier this year a powerful hailstorm greatly damaged the roof of Ilene’s home as well as that of many others in her community. This was followed shortly by a number of roofers knocking…
Read MoreFranchise Cash Flow Questions
One of the most common complaints among people who have invested in a franchise business is that they aren’t earning enough, that they worry over meeting payroll and bills, or that they don’t have the sales they expected. As with so many franchise business problems, cash flow issues are often caused by a failure to…
Read More5 Tips on Pitching the Media
Business owners need to be able to sell their news to the media and the public if they want coverage. But how do you go about garnering media coverage? Simple: You have to craft a compelling pitch. But what’s a pitch? A pitch can be as simple as an email to a journalist that sells…
Read MoreNew Rules Issued for Employers with Independent Contractors
A small business—or a company of any size—may take on workers as traditional W-2 employees or as 1099 independent contractors. However, the federal government has issued some new rules on the classification process of workers in a business. While these “rules” are more along the lines of friendly suggestions, they’re very important to know about…
Read More6 Startup Strategies That Turn Off Most Investors
Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. There is no perfect answer to the…
Read MorePerfect Prospecting
Recently, I published a rant on LinkedIn, “Patient 0 Of Stupid Prospecting.” This rant targeted a self-appointed Sales Guru and Sales Trainer who had helped “thousands of sales people” over 15 years. A couple of people commented, “What does perfect prospecting look like?” I can’t tell you what perfect prospecting looks like, but I can…
Read More3 Key Supply Chain Strategies to Eliminate Risk for Hardware Startups
Ryan Vinyard—engineering lead for Highway1, one of the first and most sophisticated hardware startup accelerators—loves hackathons. Vinyard and his team go to a lot of them. He loves what they do for the maker community, loves that they stimulate interest in hardware, and loves that people experience how easy it is to start developing hardware…
Read MoreWhen is it OK to Fund Your Startup with Credit Cards?
We are fortunate to be living in a time when new financing options for funding your small business are popping up every day. However, they all come with limitations. Here is a super quick rundown of some: Banks. Hesitant to loan money to unknown founders. Crowdfunding. With some the money you raise will be taxed…
Read MoreThe 3 Key Steps to Awesome Content Marketing That Works
We have been drinking the content marketing cool aid for years. We understand how content attracts traffic, engages and builds trust….and we get it. Or do we? There is a conversation we need to have that is often avoided. But before we have that conversation let’s take a little look over our shoulder. In 2008 I started to…
Read MoreTop 5 Reasons to Buy a Franchise
Ah, the life cycle of a career; it is interesting to see the various paths people take. The bright-eyed graduate: Entering the world of employment The professionally growing employee: Harnessing and developing skills and maybe burning the midnight oil The relocated employee: Trying something new and in a different environment The downsized, unemployed or employee…
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