Posts Tagged ‘Planning’
Caution: 3 Main Reasons for Business Failures
Running out of money Lack of planning Growing too fast There are countless scare stories out there and it’s true, many businesses don’t make it in the long run, but according to the SBA, only 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and…
Read More7 Keys to Balancing Profits Versus a Higher Purpose
It’s always been tough to start a new business, even when the bottom line was just making a profit to stay alive. A few years ago, a second focus of sustainability (“green”) was added as a requirement for respectability. Now I almost always hear a third mandate – social responsibility. Entrepreneurs are now measured against…
Read MoreLet Your Board Help with “What” and “Why” but Rarely “How”
I am sure you can argue with this one. Sometimes a board member is valuable in teaching the “how” to get things done inside the company. But experience reinforces the usual fact that a board member telling the CEO or founder “how” to perform a function crosses a line and can diminish the CEO’s confidence…
Read MoreMake Sure to Consider These Common Expenses When Preparing Your Startup
You’re almost ready to start your new business. You and your partners have come up with a killer idea for a company that you know your clients are going to love. You’ve even thought about what you’re going to name your brand, and how you can improve your chances of getting your product or service…
Read MoreYou’re Not Ready for That Call!
Somehow, it seems that a post on preparing for sales calls/meetings would be totally unnecessary. One would hope all sales professionals would have a plan for every call, if only to manage their own time very well. When I talk to sales people about the importance of sales call/meeting planning, the responses tend to fall…
Read MoreDesigner Joe Doucet’s Secret to Success: Forget Inspiration and Embrace Fear
“I am most interested when a project scares me, when I have absolutely no idea even where to start,” says Joe Doucet, designer and founder of Joe Doucet and Partners design firm, based in New York and London. Watch Doucet talk about his 3D-printed concrete public-seating project—seating that also serves as a protective barrier for…
Read MoreThe Upside to a Recession
When we talk about a recession, we don’t usually tell happy tales. We talk about struggles, cutbacks, and loss. If you were old enough to be in the workforce, own a home or business in that 2007-2010 season, you remember the challenges that we all faced, personally or professionally. But from a marketing perspective, I…
Read More“Nail It Then Scale It”: The New Mantra for Startups
I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them—vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Maybe it’s time to look harder at the mantra of a new breed of gurus and successful entrepreneurs, including Steve Blank and Eric Ries, called “nail it then…
Read More“I Want to Start My Own Business, But Don’t Know What Kind of Business to Start!”
In the last few years, we have seen a huge increase in entrepreneurship. More and more of us are looking to start our own business, Millennials especially. The idea of being your own boss, working at your own discretion and of course, the most attractive benefit—keeping the profits—is all well and good, but how do…
Read MoreBest Tax Practices to Start Now
With 2019 going by at breakneck speed, now might be a good time to consider some new tax practices that can benefit your business both in the near and long term. Here are some best tax practices to start practicing now that will allow you to grow your enterprise and add to your business success.…
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