Many people hold off on starting a business because they figure they don’t have the money to start. But you don’t need money at all to start. In fact, the less you start with, the less you have to lose! So starting with nothing should really make you pretty fearless! I’ve always loved the brief…
When most people think of business risks they think of bad things that can happen to the business that are about the business. What if we open the restaurant and everyone hates the food? What is we start a website and we can’t get any traffic? These are internal risks and need to be addressed…
I had written a post earlier about how sometimes entrepreneurs shoot themselves in the foot by not discussing their ideas in order to validate the demand and market and competition, etc. The reality is the idea is usually 1% or less of the value of the total- the rest is execution. Here’s a perfect example….
Congratulations! You’ve had your business for almost a year (maybe more!) and the roller coaster ride has been exciting, challenging and rewarding. With all of the effort you put into working on and in your business, it’s important you maintain your company’s good standing status in the state (jurisdiction) of creation and/or the states where…
Not talking about your startup idea with people who can help you is worse than taking the risk of someone stealing it. Don’t believe it? Well, keep reading and find out why. Here’s what happens when you talk about your idea: People give you ideas on how to improve it You find out where people…
This seemed like a fun way to explain our business to potential new clients. Visually, using a metaphor that hopefully makes our value proposition clear and entices the viewer to pursue more information. Plus, it just seemed kind of fun! And no seals were harmed in the making of this ad, so it’s really win-win-win…
If you are looking at buying a business as a way of getting started in your own business, then you need to learn how to quickly and heartlessly tear the business apart so you know if it s worthy of any more of your time. Once you’ve done it a few times, and learned the…
There are right now literally millions of people telling themselves they are going to start their own business just as soon as the time is right. Many of them are fooling themselves, and they are never going to start a business. The excuses they tell themselves, however, sound like valid reasons to wait. Some of…
I sometimes get the question- can I write off all these old “blanks” that we bought to give away but never did? Usually the question comes while the business owner is pointing to a stack of old boxes filled with T-shirts that say “Have a Great Summer-2008” or chipped and broken coffee cups with the…
Myths have surrounded the SBA loan program for as long as it has been around. Now that they are back and many banks are actively funding them again, it’s time to revisit and hopefully put these to bed once and for all and to really understand what the SBA can and can’t do to help…