8 Reasons to Initiate a Startup in a Sluggish Economy

According to CNN Money, the economy is still very sluggish, with only 1.6 percent growth in 2016. Yet if you wait for an economy bubble before starting your new business, you will be making a comparable mistake to the people who thought during the dot-com bubble “all I have to do is a startup, and I’ll…

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Franchisees: Understanding Your Exit Strategy

You need an exit strategy. It’s as plain as day, yet most new franchisees never address the idea of leaving their business one day. All the excitement centers on opening and growing. It’s a different, but mandatory, approach to open their franchise unit with the end in mind. Bar none, the best exit strategy is…

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8 Key Ingredients to a Profitable Consulting Business

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). Yet, according to statistics from the Small Business Association (SBA), over half of new businesses offer something else—personal professional services, including consulting, business coaching, and advisory services. The challenges for…

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Startup Vision: Paradox of Consistency vs. Opportunity

The world is full of paradox, like this one. Here’s research on startup vision that shows “The tech landscape is lush with entrepreneurs whose success blossomed only after the founders had modified or even abandoned their original vision.” That makes sense when you see examples and details. But wait – what about the idea that the…

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Is Your Brand a 50’s Housewife or Free Spirit?

The days of poodle skirts, greased back hair and Mary Jane’s may be gone but is the prim and proper image of the time not as far gone as we may think? Despite the times being far ahead of the 50s, the digital world is showing us once again that history always repeats itself. Consider…

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3 Secrets of Success That Influencers Don’t Tell You

Jim sat on his dingy bed. Around and under the center of his universe were the bits and bric brac of a life collected. Books, a radio and just some tired essentials.  Some of these were the leftovers of Jim’s story. Dog eared photos of past relationships and distant memories. The boundaries of this one room dwelling…

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Which is More Important: Management Quality or a Better Plan?

So, what do you think is more important? The quality of your management team, or the plan you execute toward success? Checking with professional investors from angels to VC’s, the answer appears to be near unanimous: the quality of the proposed or actual management team comes in a strong first, before the attractiveness of the business…

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Go With Your Gut Not Your Logic

Go with your gut… They say that our intuition is far more effective at decision making than the logical mind. Did you ever have a feeling that you should or should not do something? You may have even said “I have a gut feeling….” When you go with your intuition basically you are going with…

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