Startup
New to Business? 6 Inexpensive Ways to Market a New Business
If you have a new business, it can be difficult to get people to notice your company. However, it is those companies that can get their name seen that stay relevant and are able to succeed in a competitive market. If funds are low, don’t worry.
What is Good Advice?
Managers and entrepreneurs receive so much advice, and it is hard to know which to follow. I have seen some entrepreneurs get conflicting advice and keep on asking the same questions in hopes of finding a clean solution to their problem.
Two Key Digital Innovations for Small Business
There’s never been a more exciting time to be a small business owner. Whether you are a sole proprietor or have a team of employees working for you, never before have so many innovative tools been available to improve your business.
How to Get Startup Ideas by Interviewing Customers
The first step in building a product people love is to identify a problem that some group of people have. Solutions to clearly defined customer pain points make for the most compelling value propositions. You don’t need to start with a “startup idea.”
Love the Model, Not the Product
When searching for a business to own that you are sincerely interested in, look deeper than the product. While demand for the product or service is an important piece of the successful business formula, it is not what the business owner is going to live, eat and breathe every day—it’s the model of the business.
Include Your Labor Value in Your Plan
Investors love it when entrepreneurs draw little or no money from their startups. It extends the cash available for research and other necessary fixed costs and gives the fragile, young company more “runway” to get to breakeven.
How to Make Sure Your Work Aligns with Your Values
A mentor once told me that the only way you truly know what your values are are when they are violated. When you betray your values, you feel awkward, uneasy, and even sick.
Does a Low-Cost Franchise Mean a Low Return?
With a low cost franchise, you will typically be looking at the opposite end of cost factors than the higher-priced category. Items such as less employees, less physical space needed (sometimes none at all!) and less overhead to get started are all valued features of lower-cost franchises.
Tell a Story to Build Your Brand
Gone are the days when brands could just broadcast their message and reach their audience. They now need a good story to break through the noise.
Accurate Assumptions Lead to Defendable Plans
The biggest error in planning may not be spreadsheet calculation error. Or cost estimation. It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan.