Tag: entrepreneur

The 3 Most Important Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Answer | Entrepreneur.com

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1409688781-3-most-important-questions-every-entrepreneur-must-answer-2The ultimate goal of every entrepreneur is to succeed – and to be happy doing it. But not every entrepreneur gets to achieve it. Indeed, hundreds of new businesses are launched every year but success eludes most of them.

One reason is that entrepreneurs are faced with some of the most difficult questions on a daily basis – and how they answer them could depend on if the startup sinks or swims.

To ensure success, here are the three most important questions entrepreneurs must answer.

1. What are my goals as an entrepreneur? Most entrepreneurs find it difficult to separate their personal goals from their business goals. And that makes sense. Think about it, entrepreneurs are often trying to turn their personal passion into a business – and just need to find others to help achieve their goals. While I get that sometimes they are linked, the ability to separate your goals can help you focus your personal growth and the success of your business at the same time. So set goals.

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Saving Money in Your Startup | The Simple Dollar

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saving moneyWe get it. You’re starting a new businesses and you’re strapped for cash. There are a million questions going through your head. We empathize with bootstrapping entrepreneurs and small-business owners everywhere, and today we explore meaningful ways that add up where your business can save money in the early phases. That said, every small-business owner and entrepreneur has a unique set of circumstances that pertains to their business, industry, strategy, and execution. Here we will outline some of the key choices, some obvious, some less obvious, on ways you and your small business can save money.

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28 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Pitching to Investors | AllBusiness.com

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Entrepreneurs from early stage startups have to pitch to investors to raise financing, and many entrepreneurs are inexperienced or terrible at making the presentation. As a venture capital and angel investor who has heard many pitches, I’ve compiled a list of mistakes and things to avoid if you are an entrepreneur seeking angel or venture financing.

Mistake #1: Sending me your executive summary or business plan unsolicited.

Investors routinely discard or don’t read unsolicited emails. They get hundreds if not thousands of such emails, and they can’t spend the time sifting through them all to find that diamond in the rough. But what they will pay attention to is a referral from someone in their network — a lawyer, an entrepreneur from one of their portfolio companies, or a fellow venture capitalist.

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Top Ways To Market Your New Business Idea | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

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Marketing a new business idea can be a difficult task and should be done with care and precision to target the correct audience in a way that is both effective and affordable. However, with a little planning and an array of effective techniques in your marketing arsenal, you’ll stand a good chance at advertising success – here are some great ways to market your new business idea to get you the exposure you need.

Presentation Packs

Whether you are trying to get some investors on board or are looking to help others gain awareness of your product or service, tailored presentation packs are a great way to do this. They contain all of the relevant information needed on the product or service and you can include a sample depending on what it is, as well as some merchandising goods used to entice clients and investors and establish your brand.

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4 Questions You Must Answer About Ditching Your 9 to 5 | Inc.com

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I left the “security” of the 9-5 job world back in 2007. At that time, I was three years out of college and had a good job by other people’s standards, but found myself very unhappy. The people I worked with were fine. The work I was doing was fine. Everything was pretty much fine.

But I didn’t want fine.

In 2007, I took the leap from a normal job to co-found my first company. How I eventually talked myself into leaping came after answering a few questions:

If I stayed at the 9-5 job, what was the best case scenario?

I’d climb the fickle corporate ladder. I’d see incremental financial increases. Different words would be embossed on my business cards which only meant more responsibility and stress. I’d probably never be truly happy.

If I stayed at the 9-5 job, what was the worst case scenario?

I’d either work there for the next 30 years and be miserable or at some point I’d be let go, I’d have no income, I’d be scared, and I’d find some other mediocre 9-5 job. I’d definitely be unhappy.

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7 Bad Reasons to Become an Entrepreneur | Businessnewsdaily.com

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Every entrepreneur has a reason for starting his or her business. Most of them say it was to follow their passion, or to solve a problem they encountered in their own life. But sometimes, a startup founder’s heart just isn’t in the right place.”You can always tell what drives a business by the story it tells,” said Mark Sephton, a public speaker and personal mentor to entrepreneurs. “Does the business look to give, add value, encourage, inspire, inform and educate? Or does it purely promote and sell its products and services like a bull in a china shop? A successful and sustainable business must be built through and for people.”

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8 Ways to Make Your Crowdfunding Campaign Pop | Entrepreneur.com

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For Joanna Griffiths, launching a crowdfunding campaign was about more than raising capital for her startup. Griffiths turned to Indiegogo in 2013 to test the market for Knix Wear, a line of women’s underwear made from moisture-wicking, odor-absorbent fabrics. “It was the last test in a series of tests I conducted before launching the business,” explains the Toronto-based entrepreneur.

Even though Knix Wear garnered support from 518 backers who pledged more than $50,000 for the 2013 campaign–on a goal of less than $40,000–crowdfunding was a challenge. “I thought if I had a great idea and a strong platform, I would sell thousands of units,” Griffiths recalls. “But getting every single new backer was a struggle.”

As crowdfunding gains popularity as a financing model–Kickstarter, for example, has seen more than $1 billion pledged since its 2009 launch, and more than 19,000 successful campaigns last year alone–a growing number of startups are clamoring for support from backers, making it that much harder for ‘treps to stand out.

Before you sign on with one of the 200-plus U.S. crowdfunding platforms, master these tricks for launching a successful campaign.

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