Category Archives: e2e

How Small, Local Businesses Can Reach New Investors And Keep Dollars In Communities | Fastcoexist.com

imagesSmall, local businesses lack access to capital. Banks will place restrictions before giving loans, like asking for collateral, wanting to see years of revenues, or asking for personal covenants. And then venture and angel investors aren’t interested in the low-rate returns hairdressers, restaurants and furniture-makers can offer; they want “high growth.”

That is why small, local businesses generally stay as small, local businesses. But what if small businesses could reach over the top of those market failures to the general public and investors who are willing to suffer the relatively low returns on offer? That might open up options.

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Why Job Titles are Killing Your Business | Blinkist

What’s in a name? Nothing but trouble. We abolished job titles and launched our #1 most-requested feature in record time. Read why job titles are detrimental to success and how getting rid of them can revolutionize your organization.

In most traditional workplaces, people are obsessed with job titles like Sales Manager or HR Assistant, and prefixes like “junior” or “senior” that go with them. Unfortunately, in an organization full of bright people, operating within a strict hierarchy of titles creates a big problem: work becomes less about getting things done and more about egos and politics.

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Why The Way We Work Is Broken and How to Fix It | Blinkist

From the hours of 4 or 5 a.m. to 8 or 9 at night, man, woman and child could be found behind closed – often locked – factory doors. They went to work before sunup and trailed home in the dark. The longest break, a half hour for tea, was the best respite most people could expect, which likely felt as ghastly as it sounds.

Although things have changed for the more humane since then, if reading the above gave you an unsettling prickle of familiarity, you wouldn’t be alone. This system of management, called command and control, is still widely used today.

Command and control might be “historically proven,” but it only makes sense if the person running the show is a complete genius, and the employees, mental midgets incapable of independent thought. These days though, organizations tend not to be this stratified: smart, educated people can be found at all levels of a company, and as you’ve probably already realized if you’ve ever held a job, that someone holds a senior position doesn’t always indicate smarts.

So what do you think happens when you try to force people of equal intelligence into a strict hierarchy as in the command and control system?

71% of people wind up hating their jobs, that’s what.

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15-year-old steps down from startup because … high school | Money.Cnn

Like any minor, Mintz has had to lean on her parents for some help. Her father — who runs a private equity firm — is the registered owner of her business. He’s helped front money for legal fees but says he fully expects a “return on investment” as with any business venture.

But Nannies by Noa is all her brainchild. The idea came about as a result of a challenge, made in jest by her mother: Find a better babysitter for their family. (Mintz was critical of their own.)

She did just that — and then she starting helping her mother’s friends find nannies.

“I found it fun to get to know a family and their needs — and find a babysitter who matched that,” she said. It was the summer of 2012, before she entered 7th grade.

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How to Master the Two Key Parts of Your Online Presence | Entrepreneur

download (1)In his book Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars, Mitch Meyerson introduces you to 22 innovators who have redefined the developing landscape of online marketing. In this edited excerpt, contributing author and founder of Duct Tape Marketing John Jantsch explains why email is the key to building your online presence and what you should really be using social media for.

There’s a hierarchy in the world of building a total web presence for your business, and mastering things like Facebook and Pinterest fall somewhere far behind getting your email marketing machine oiled and ready for prime time.

One thousand responsive email followers trumps 25,000 Twitter followers every day when it comes to actually promoting the things that make your money. Focus on building a list of email subscribers that want to hear from you, and social media will become a tool set to help you do more of that. While this may sound shocking and hard to hear, you should ditch social media for now and focus on email marketing first.

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Focused Entrepreneurial Mindset | Business Tips

downloadGrowing up, how many times did one of your friend’s eyes light up right before they declared, “I have a great idea”? In elementary school, that statement was probably followed by a pitch on why your group of buddies should have a contest to see who could chug their lunch milk the fastest (trying to be the one who kept it down was the real challenge). Now, that one sentence – I have a great idea – is more often followed by an actual good idea and if you’re reading this, chances are one of them came from you.   Making that idea more than just a fleeting moment of inspiration is the hard part. Becoming a business owner takes more than smarts and knowing people. It requires an extremely disciplined and ever-motivated mindset that not everyone knows how to get into. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur though, it’s important that you do. Below are some tips to help you get there.

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Secure Future Custom: 4 Ways to Keep a Client |CoolBusinessIdeas.com

Whether you have an award-winning sales team or the most competitive prices on the market, the most important part of business is keeping your past and present clients interested in your service. You need to make sure that your customers are regularly reminded of your service to them and steer them away from the opposition. This is where we come in, as we have put together some top tips on how to retain business from your best customers.

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3 Struggles Entrepreneurs Are Afraid to Admit | Entrepreneur

download (1)You have to be confident to be an entrepreneur. Not 100 percent of the time, but it takes confidence to leave the security of a steady paycheck every week for the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. We know the stats about business-failure, which is why that confidence and fearless attitude are so important.

Too often, however, entrepreneurs use that confidence to cover up what they are struggling with inside. They don’t want to admit or show any weakness. They think they can “work it out” or that those struggles will magically go away on their own. They don’t want the outside world to see in cracks in the armor.

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Questions to ask before starting a business in 2015 | mashable

Ready to launch your own business in 2015? You’re not alone: Each year at CorpNet we see an uptick of new businesses formed in January. The New Year marks a new beginning, and what can be more fulfilling and exciting than making things happen with your own business?

As a serial entrepreneur myself, I wouldn’t trade the opportunities and exhilaration for anything in the world, but I also realize that launching and running a business isn’t for everyone. While you can’t prepare yourself for every aspect of the entrepreneurial lifestyle, here are six important questions to ask before you quit your day job and dive in:

1. What’s your motivation?

People are drawn to start their own business for a variety of business. Some hate having a boss, are tired of the morning commute, and feel they can do it better on their own. Others want to see the startup riches: get sold to Google, get tons of cash and retire early.

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Make Your Advertising Dollars Work Harder: 5 Critical Steps | Forbes

downloadWhether you have a million-dollar marketing budget or are just launching your startup, making your advertising dollar work harder for you can make or break your growth. Following these five steps will help ensure that you get the results you need.

Identify Your Audience

You may have heard someone say, “She is such a good sales person. She could sell ice to an eskimo.” While that skill can come in handy, persuading prospects to go against their natural inclinations can result in higher acquisition costs for new customers. Instead, start with an understanding of who is currently buying your product or service. To do this, look at past sales data for demographic indicators: Where do they live? Are they primarily families? What is their gender?

You don’t want your potential audience to become so narrow that it is impossible to reach them, but these types of answers can give you a great jumping-off point for structuring your campaign.

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