Posts Tagged ‘Mistakes’
6 Ways Startups are Fooled by Prior Business Models
As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. If you ask them for a reason, most will insist that they couldn’t get funding, or they ran out of money too early. But I’m not convinced that it’s as simple as that. Many are just not…
Read MoreThe Worst Reasons to Buy a Franchise
You want to become a franchise owner. It’s a big decision and one that takes tremendous consideration. Although you have your reasons for wanting to make this important next step, are they the right ones? Here are five of the worst reasons to buy a franchise and how you can know if your motivations are…
Read MoreMailing Lists, Email Marketing, Errors, Oh My!
Using old email lists for the first time is like eating really stale doughnuts. The taste is pretty bad, and the side effects could be disastrous. Email companies like Constant Contact, MailChimp and many others all have strict rules they follow to avoid being caught in spam hell, with their servers blacklisted and worse. Each…
Read More5 Ways to Not Pitch Journalists
When pitching a story to journalists, the quality of the pitch can determine if you see your news in the headlines or it ends up being tossed in the garbage can. Many journalists are bombarded with several pitches a day, so if you’re unable to get their attention, your news may never see the light…
Read More10 Most Common Business Plan Mistakes, Updated for 2016
Over the weekend, a Quora user asked me to list common mistakes that people make when developing a business plan. I’ve done that post from time to time, and it seemed like a good time to do it again. Here’s my list of most common business plan mistakes for 2016: 1. Misunderstanding the business objective.…
Read MoreCommon Cloud Migration Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
“The cloud” has become a vague buzzword. A lot of business owners aren’t exactly sure what the cloud is or how it works, which leads to mistakes being made when it comes time to migrate from onsite servers over to the cloud. According to a recent survey, 52% of small businesses in the US now…
Read MoreWhat’s Wrong with Business Networking
I’m starting to realize I hate the word “networking” used as a verb, meaning—apparently—some variation on connections with people for self-serving business use. Business networking my [whatever]. I’m pretty sure people are actual living breathing human beings, for the most part. Not nodes. Not assets. Not resources to be tapped later for favors. Real connections with…
Read More8 Types of Investors That Entrepreneurs Need to Avoid
Don’t assume that all investors are the same, just because their money is always the same color. Every entrepreneur should do the same due diligence on a potential investor that smart investors do on their startups. Check on their track records, values and management style. Taking on an investor is a long-term relationship, like getting…
Read More10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Should Avoid with Venture Capitalists
Entrepreneurs often know more about running their business than they do about raising funding from venture capitalists. As a result, their attempts to get VC funding fall short. There are a number of typical pitfalls that an entrepreneur or startup should try to avoid when working with venture capitalists or soliciting funding. Rob Jevon is…
Read MoreThe Best Advice Startups Will Never Follow
Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril. Don’t take money from relatives who can’t afford to walk away without remorse. Do take money from experienced family members only after you…
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