Blog

Crowdfunding – Is it Right for My Startup

The success of fundraising campaigns on crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo has reached an increasing number of startups and small businesses trying to raise money via these sites. However, crowdfunding is not suitable for all businesses. Let's see how crowdfunding sites work and what startups should know before launching a crowdfunding campaign. Read More...

5 Delegating Tips for Entrepreneurs

Control freak. Workaholic. Business owners who fall into one or more of these groups usually have one thing in common: difficulty delegating. Often, these managers are none of the above. They simply haven’t mastered the art of delegation. A common trait that entrepreneurs share, is their intolerance of laziness. That trait is a big part Read More...

If I’m Not Applying For A Bank Loan, Why Do I Need A Business Plan?

A business plan is considered a useful tool and a needed part of applying for loans. It shows any potential lender that you understand your what your market is all about, know your customer, can generate revenue to make timely payments and have a contingency plan should something happen unexpectedly. However, because so many business Read More...

4 Work-Life Balance Tips for Entrepreneurs

Let's face it, work-life balance is especially elusive to the entrepreneur.  Work is a necessary means for most people to keep a roof over their heads and to live comfortably. But to an entrepreneur running their own business, work is life and life is work.  An entrepreneur doesn't just go to a job.  An entrepreneur lives and Read More...

Using Intellectual Assets to Finance Your Business – What You Need to Know

Monetizing intellectual assets for financing has is a growing trend in the business world. There are several ways to do so. You can use intellectual assets as security for debt finance or collateral, licensed, sold. Or it can provide an alternative basis for seeking equity from family, friends, private investors, microfinance institutions, venture capitalists, and Read More...

Why Your Business Need A Retirement Plan

Most people realize that, in the 21st century, they must take more responsibility in saving for their own retirement. According to a Business Index survey, nearly 50 percent of business owners are worried that they won’t have enough money when they retire. But what about their employees? They will also need nest eggs, too. Offering Read More...

How to Create A Clear And Compelling Value Proposition

If you have been into sales of a product in recent years, you would have certainly noticed some changes: complex and longer sales cycles, more buyers involved in your business decision-making process and more customers coming to your organization with an exact and clear idea of what they want. As buying cycles become more complex, Read More...

6 Questions You Should Ask Yourself When Searching For A Location For Your Business

Your business's location is the key to successful business operation and overall growth. When choosing your location, consider the needs of the company, customers, employees and equipment required for your business. Before you start scouting for a space for your business, you need to have an idea of what you should have, what you’d want, Read More...

6 Quick And Easy Ways To De-Stress Even During Work

The stats on stress are alarming: According to a report from American Psychological Association, 77% of Americans workers experience physical symptoms caused by stress such as fatigue, teeth grinding, headaches, muscle tension, upset stomach, changes in sex drive and appetite. While 73% claim to experience symptoms like lack of energy, irritability, nervousness, and anger. The Read More...

Being an entrepreneur is always a delicate balancing act. Every step you take should be well-thought in advance because a wrong step can be a setback for your success. One of the main tasks an entrepreneur faces all through his business life is acquiring funds. Whether you're just starting out or you've already established and trying to scale, an Read More...

5 Signs It’s Time To Hire a Dedicated IT Professional

IT professionals are one of the vital personnel need for business expansion. Research shows that most large businesses currently account for an average of 6.9% of their income on IT. This roughly amounts to thousands of dollars per employee for hardware, software, infrastructure, and repair. However, the strategic investment that actually results in growth lacks. Read More...

Procrastination in the Workplace

Procrastination in the workplace is a real productivity killer and morale deflator. Since things are left to the last minute, they’re often done sloppily if they’re done at all. And when they’re not done, it adds the procrastinator’s workload to others, pushes timelines and creates resentment. So how do you know if it's affecting your Read More...

Owner Compensation – How Much Should I Pay Myself?

How much should I pay myself as the owner/founder of my business is a question we hear on a regular basis. And it’s a good question because it’s important you understand how this can affect the prosperity of your business. Why is this important to your growth? How does it affect employee morale? How does Read More...

Prioritizing or Procrastinating?

How do you know if you’re prioritizing or procrastinating? How many times have you uttered the words “I’ll do that later?” Probably too many times to count. And with tasks and responsibilities constantly bombarding you from all directions, it’s no wonder why. We’re constantly being pulled in multiple directions. As an entrepreneur, your list of Read More...

Selecting the Right Investors for the Right Business Stage

If you’re an entrepreneur and you want to scale your business, you’re going to need capital. It’s not just about funding, it’s about finding the right investors for the stage your business is in. Approaching the right investor at the wrong stage of your business is a waste of time and energy. Yes, with the Read More...

Dashboard Report – Why It is Crucial to Your Company’s Total Success

The amount of reports companies generate every day is precious as these reports tell a story; It's a story that gives organizations actionable and valuable insights. These ideas help in making better and informed decisions.  As a business owner, it's important to fully understand and utilize dashboard reports to increase your success. Many business owners Read More...

4 Tips for Creating Excellent Vendor Relations

Creating excellent vendor relationships is vital to creating a sustainable business. But, you may be thinking: why should I be busy devoting time to building relationships with my vendors when I’m really focusing on my customers? First, building trust with your vendors can, in turn, hugely help your business relationship with your customers. In business, Read More...

Should I Focus on Business Process Automation to Scale My Company?

Business owners are being told to apply business process automation in order to scale their companies. Are you one of these owners?  Can your business really be scaled using business process automation?  Why are some businesses more adept at having automation help them scale?  Can every type of business use business process automation to scale Read More...

Daily Routine – Entrepreneur’s Key to Success

As an entrepreneur, creating a daily routine is one of the most important investments you can make in yourself and your company’s success. Whether you work from your home in pajamas or you head to your office in suit and tie, your life is full of business decisions, research, strategizing, networking and running a company. Read More...

Is Seed Money Different Than Startup Capital?

Startup capital and seed money are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a difference.   Seed Capital An idea worth investing in As it implies, seed capital is provided at the concept stage. It’s an idea that an investor feels warrants more thorough research and investigation. However, the investment is generally not a very large Read More...

Strategies for Stopping High Employee Turnover

High employee turnover is detrimental to the success of any organization. It can result in low-quality performance and unmet targets in the workplace. High turnover can also result in lower customer satisfaction and retention. And since there's no guarantee that all company roles will be filled daily, you’re left with no choice but to recruit Read More...

7 Essential Networking Tips for Entrepreneurs

Networking is essential for entrepreneurs. Studies show that first impressions occur within the first two minutes of meeting someone new. And there's evidence to suggest that people make snap judgments about you even faster.  That's a lot of pressure, especially when you need meaningful connections to help your business thrive.  Here are seven business networking Read More...

How Do Credit and Cash Reserves Affect My Company?

The question of how do credit and cash reserves affect your company is a great question. And it's one the majority of business owners don’t consider properly. There are a number of factors that this answer affects, such as how it affects the line of credit a bank will extend, the line of credit vendors Read More...

Hоw tо Cаlm Yоur Nеrvеѕ Before a Bіg Presentation

Is it really possible to calm your nerves before a big presentation? Fear оf рublіс speaking іѕ one оf thе mоѕt соmmоn рhоbіаѕ. No mаttеr how effectively уоu vіѕuаlіzе the сrоwd wеаrіng оnlу their undеrwеаr, trасеѕ of fear rеmаіn fоr juѕt about everyone. Evеn еxреrtѕ nееd help while рrераrіng fоr a bіg presentation. A grеаt presentation саn Read More...

8 Things That Attract Venture Capital Investors

All venture capital investors are attracted by the same thing – a return on investment with a lot of interest and capital growth.   Every investor has a slightly different perspective on what's important to them. Here are 8 things that attract all venture capitalists. Well Crafted Business Plan The first thing they’re going to Read More...

What is the Difference Between Growth and Scaling?

Growth and scaling are not interchangeable. And simple growth will not automatically mean an increase in your revenue. Growth Growth is adding resources or infrastructure to handle your company’s increased demand, at a cost which is more or less equivalent to the level of increased revenue you have coming in.  Good examples are traditional service Read More...

How To Build Customer Trust

Have you ever wondered how you can build customer trust? Customers don’t buy from a business they don’t trust – do you? You’ve allocated time, energy and financial resources to your marketing and sales. You and your team are doing everything you can to attract customers. And so are all of your competitors. Customer trust Read More...

Should I Settle a Lawsuit or Fight it?

You need to consider many factors when deciding if you're going to settle a lawsuit or fight it. How many dollars are involved in the lawsuit?  Are you being sued or are you thinking about filing a suit?  How many lawsuits has your business been involved in? When figuring out how many dollars are involved Read More...

8 Health Benefits of Laughter

Are you aware of the health benefits of laughter? When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? Laughing is one of the best feelings in the world. You can share laughter with anyone that has a good sense of humor. Did you know that snickering, giggling, or even uncontrollable laughter can make Read More...

Common Questions About Venture Capital

Venture capital is a very popular topic and on the forefront of everyone's mind.  It's a staple in every entrepreneur's playbook for raising capital. Today, I want to answer some of the most common questions I'm usually asked. What is venture capital? Venture capital is financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses Read More...

Do I Need Key Person Insurance?

Your business is growing and you’re considering securing your business’s future by adding key person insurance. But is now the right time? And do you really need it?   You won’t be surprised to know you’re not the only one struggling with this decision...  According to surveys by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, although Read More...

Can I Operate A Home Business?

Have you ever thought about running a home business? Why not, right? Sometimes it’s more convenient to run your business at home because you can monitor your business anytime and even be with your family at the same time. A home business is a minor business that functions within the premises of the owner themselves. Read More...

How do I hire Managers and Executives?

Hiring managers and executives is one of the biggest challenges small business owners face.  It's far different than hiring staff.  Often times, we see small business owners promoting their top staff to department heads.  They do this because they think if the staff person is doing a great job they can be a great manager. Read More...

What Makes a Good Life? You Might be Surprised…

If you were going to invest now in the happiness of your future best self, where would you put your time and your energy? Money, right? Lean in to work, push harder and accomplish more to achieve financial security. We're given the impression that these are the things that we need to go after in Read More...

What Questions Will Investors Ask?

  I'm often asked, "what questions will investors ask?"  You should be prepared to answer the questions below and more. Most of these answers can be found in your working business plan. You know, the living document that you review and compare to your company’s actual results at least once a quarter and preferably monthly? Read More...

5 Reasons Your Company Needs an HR Person Now!

If you’re asking yourself  “Do I need a full-time HR person?”  You probably do.   Like most business owners, you and your office manager have been handling all things HR since the beginning.  But now that your company is expanding, you’re starting to get a vague feeling of unease that things are growing out of Read More...

Company Core Value Exercise

Use today's company core value exercise to help you create values that will guide you and your company as it grows. There are a lot of companies competing for your customer’s attention, so you have to be really clear on what you want them to remember about your company. The most successful company core values Read More...

The Keys to Hiring & Retaining Long-Term Employees

How do you hire and retain employees so both you and they are still happy years down the road? Hiring good people who work diligently and stay for years is a common big challenge entrepreneurs face, so please don’t feel there's anything wrong with you.  In over 40 years of hiring executives, managers and staff Read More...

Dad Jokes to Start Your Weekend With a Groan

These are generally clean and non-offensive dad jokes to start your weekend with a laugh - or a groan. Please feel free to use these at family gatherings, bedtimes and anytime you need to embarrass your teenager in front of thier friends.   Dad Jokes Walk Into a Bar Charles Dickens walks into a bar Read More...

Most Common Types of Angel Investors

Part three in a series that will focus specifically on an Angel Investors.   I’m often pulled aside by first time entrepreneurs who are trying to raise capital, specifically, through angel investors. As the conversation progresses, I inevitably hear, “how many types of angel investors are there?”  There are quite a few types of angel Read More...

When is a Company Ready to Hire a First Vice President of Sales? 4 Signs You’re Ready

 This is one article in a series titled: Building Your Executive Management Team - Who and When Is it time to hire a vice president of sales? Sales is one of the 8 Essential Internal Practices every company must have in order to achieve success. You know if you want to grow and scale your Read More...

Common Company Core Values

Part of a series examining Core Values and how to create them for your growing business.   If you look around, you’ll notice that many of the same core values are used over and over again by companies around the world. There’s a good reason why. Core values are universal - they express qualities we Read More...

What is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a statement that explains why a consumer should buy your product or use your service. It’s not your mission/vision statement, a description of your company’s values, a product/service description or an ad. And it’s important. Because this statement is often the first opportunity you’ll have to convince a potential consumer that Read More...

The Happy Secret to Better Work

The Happiness Advantage Shawn Achor - TED Talk Voted one of the funniest Ted Talks (with almost 16 million views), Harvard psychologist Shawn Achor discusses his happy discovery: only 25% of job successes are predicted by IQ; an astonishing 75 percent of job successes are predicted by your optimism levels, your social support and your Read More...

Common Questions About Angel Investors

Part two in a series that will focus specifically on an Angel Investors. How do Angel Investors operate? What is unique about angel investors is that they typically invest their own funds. It may be a one-time investment to help the business off the ground or a continuing flow of funds to support a company through Read More...

As your business grows you will want even need to take on staff, but when and who so, today we look at the 4 company signs your company is ready to hire a VPM “From my experience, the marketing department is one of the entrepreneur’s most valuable assets in building a company. They check their Read More...

What are Company Core Values? And Why They Are Important

In today’s business world, we’re constantly hearing about core values, culture, and mission statements and we’ve spliced them into standard business language. So what are company core values exactly? And why are they so important to your company? Simply put, core values are the fundamental principles, beliefs or philosophy of a person or organization. They’re Read More...

Why Time Is So Important When Growing Your Business

Race Against Time? Time is so Important Clock is Tickin Time is a critical element yet, over and over again, we see business owners misunderstanding how important time is for their business.  We coach business owners how to scale their company to $100 million and more, in three to five years. This is doable for Read More...

How To Disconnect From Work – Lifehacks We Can Actually Use

How To Disconnect From Work - Lifehacks We Can Actually Use You invest in your business financially, physically and emotionally.  You work longer and harder than anyone else because you know that’s what your business needs to succeed. You know what else your business needs to succeed?  You, not burnt out. And that means disconnecting Read More...

Angel Investors – What is an Angel Investor and Where Do I Find One?

Part one in a series that will focus specifically on an Angel Investors. One of the most effective resources for raising capital (especially if you’re just starting out) is the angel investor. Their numbers are growing daily because today’s investors are seeking better returns on their money than they can get from traditional investment vehicles. Read More...

When Is it Time to Hire a VPO (Vice President of Operations)?

When Is it Time to Hire a VPO (Vice President of Operations)? Part of Series: Building Your Executive Management Team - Who and When Is it time to hire a VP? Hire a VPO because Operations is one of the 8 Essential Internal Practices every company must have in order to achieve success. Your Operations Read More...

What is Key Person Insurance? When Do I Need Key Person Insurance?

When Do I Need Key Person Insurance? Your business is growing and you’re considering  securing your business’s future by adding key person insurance. But is now the right time? And do you really need it? Are you a key person? You won’t be surprised to know you’re not the only one struggling with this decision. Read More...

Differentiate your product service from the competition. Question of the Week

How to differentiate your product service from the competition? Be Different in a Good way Are you regularly looking at how to differentiate your product or service from the competition? Over the decades I have seen many business owners focus on making sure they differentiate their product/service from their competitors.  Sometimes this is to validate Read More...

Company not growing fast enough? Question of the week

Why is my company not growing as fast as I want it to grow? "why is my company not growing as fast as I would like it to grow"  is one we get from business owners every day.  The average business fails to grow at the speed the founder(s) wants because it is missing essential Read More...