Pre-Money vs. Post-Money Valuation
When a company decides that it must raise capital, a key question that must be answered is how much the company is worth. For example, if the business needs $500,000 to get started and/or grow, how much of the equity in that company should $500,000 command? Once this question is answered, the company will go out and try to find investors. When doing so, a key question often arises as to
whether the valuation is "pre-money" or "post-money."
read article > >
The 7 Major Reasons Businesses Fail and How to Overcome Them
This year, over 800,000 of the approximately 2,000,000 start up businesses will fail!
read article > >
5 Habits Of Successful Entrepreneurs
Habits get a bum rap. When you think about your habits, I bet you think of the "bad" ones - the ones that you aren't particularly proud of, like eating too much sugar, or smoking, or dwelling on your negative thoughts. According to Webster's dictionary a habit simply is: A pattern or action that is acquired and has become so automatic that it is difficult to break.
read article > >
Reducing the Stress of Being an Entrepreneur
Starting and running your own business can be exciting and rewarding, but it can also be very stressful. For most of our almost 40 year marriage my husband has been an entrepreneur and I have sometimes worked with him. Having built my own business as a Stress Reduction Coach I have been reflecting on the stresses of being an entrepreneur.
read article > >
Four Steps to Entrepreneurship
As more and more people start or consider starting their own business, it is important that they understand the core steps that are required to launch successful ventures. These steps include spotting, assessing, selecting and executing upon opportunities.
read article > >
5 Tips For Identity Theft Protection
This is that time of year when we all start getting those emails that want to purloin our secret codes and passwords. You know the ones that have subject lines like: "Your Account Is About To Be Closed," "There's A Block On Your Account," "Could You Help Me Claim My Funds," or my all-time favorite "Congratulations - You've Won The UK Lottery."
read article > >
7 Small Business and Self Employed Law of Attraction Principles For Success
It is widely held that one of the most important ingredients in small business success is perseverance. Deciding on a strategy and sticking with it. I would agree but you need to be clear that the strategy is in alignment with your passion in business and your natural action and communication styles. It's also helpful to have effective strategies to follow through on what you set as your
priorities, goals, plans, calls to action... and other components of your daily business activities. These principals will give you ideas to be effective when working on your business; so you can be persistent, passionate and productive in your small business.
read article > >
The Perfect Little Coffee Shop: Are You Afraid of Failure? Are You Letting that Failure Cripple You
Ah, coffee, the drink of choice when I want to share a special moment with friends, when I want to sit and ponder life or when I want a moment alone. I am an avid coffee drinker. I love coffee and I love the atmosphere of a good coffee house, a café.
read article > >
Securing Second and Third-round Venture Capital Financing
Widget sales are booming - the competition is scrambling, demand is up, and the books are finally treading water. Your core management team has big ideas for the future of Widget Inc. Opportunity is abundant; but how will you fund that next big leap?
read article > >
HOW TO START AN ADVERTISING SPECIALTY BUSINESS
Advertising specialties are small items like book matches, pens or key chains that can be imprinted with a company, logo or slogan.
read article > >
Business Start Up Tips From Some Hearty Entrepreneurs
When's the last time someone asked you: "What's new?" If you're starting or growing a business, an e-business, or a web site, the answer is: "Everything!" - especially on the inside.
read article > >
Corporate Espionage in Franchising
Franchising Trade Journals do not do well, because today with all the industry regulations only about 1800 active franchise actually exist in the US. Down sharply over the past five years. Why? Over-regulation. Now you have a Bank Cooperative, which owns a company that collect data, FranData of Uniform Franchise Offering Circulars, which are the industries required disclosure documents to
new franchise buyers. The company sells it to attorneys and to competitors of which many probably are financed through that bank. My God can this be real. Then they work with industry Trade Journals to do Top 50 franchises lists, but to be qualified to be reviewed they of course wish to see your UFOC; Uniform Franchise Offering Circular.
read article > >
Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Before They Even Start
So you want to start a business. You have an idea. Lets say you want to be a carpenter. You print some brochures, some business cards, and take out an ad in the Yellow Pages. You pay $600 for a website and a domain name that tells everyone about your amazing credentials and experience. You distribute your fliers at a local grocery store. And then you wait. And wait. And wait?
read article > >
Business Dress - Women
Like it or not, the first impression people get from you is your appearance. When engaged in an interview or you are already hired, you always want to look best. Clean cut, professional looking people get treated like a professional. How you dress sends specific signals to people. Let's start from head to toe for women. First of all, never wear too much jewelry or makeup. One item of
jewelry is enough. A small ring on one finger, or small earrings is plenty. No big loops ladies. Makeup should be conservative, just plain powder or concealer and barely any eye makeup. No lipstick is appropriate at an interview. It is just not professional. The woman's suit should be wool, linen, or cotton/polyester. Stick with navy, gray, and medium blues, at least for the first
interview. As for blouses, solid colors and natural fabrics, such as cotton or silk look clean and professional. A scarf says a lot about a business woman; it is a powerful status symbol. Shoes should never be open toed and stay within 2 1/2 inch heels, nothing faddish or multicolored. The color of your shoe should be the same or darker than your skirt. Pantyhose should always be neutral
skin tones, nothing outlandish, unless you are interviewing in the fashion industry. A briefcase is an excellent choice for a business woman, but don't bring along your purse too. It looks awkward trying to juggle them around. You should choose either brown or burgundy, black or navy, either one is fine. You do not want to ever distract the interviewer with your outfit, makeup or
accessories. Last but definitely not least is your personal hygiene. Bad breath, dandruff, body odor, and dirty unmanicured nails do not give a good impression. When it comes to body odor, you are what you eat. If you consume a lot of garlic, onions, cilantro, and junk food, not only will it show in your skin, but it will seep through your pores. Gross. Make sure you eat a natural healthy
diet so you always smell pleasant.
read article > >
Taking Charge and Getting Results: The Choice is Yours
As one of the most successful direct sales entrepreneurs in the industry, I have found there are two kinds of people in the world, those who would like success and those who are serious about success. There really is no in between. Think about it. Everyone wants success in their life; they want to make more money, have more time, have less stress and really make their mark in the world. The
people who actually do it are the people who will not accept any alternatives.
read article > >
The Business and Life You Want to Build
In the early days of my first consulting business, I knew I needed some sort of plan to give me the greatest chance at success. I took many a wrong step, yet in the end I managed to put a solid business together.
read article > >
Starting a Company on a Shoe-String Budget
A lot of people never start businesses because they believe they don't have enough money to do so. Unfortunately, these same people don't realize that many of the world's most successful companies were started on a shoe-string budget by an entrepreneur with limited resources. Below is a list of tips to help you save money when you're first starting a company:
read article > >
Business Dress - Men
The general dress code guidelines for men during an interview are that they wear suits in navy blue or dark blue. This is preferred over gray or charcoal gray. Sometimes brown can be acceptable but not on the first interview. Usually, the darker the suit, the more authority it carries. But beware; a man should never wear black to an interview unless he is applying as an undertaker. A two
piece suit is acceptable as is a three button single breasted jacket. What matters most is that the suit fits well and it is good quality. The trousers should fit comfortably at the waist and a slimmer fit is preferred. There should only be a slight break where the trouser hits the shoe. If your ankles are showing, they are way too short.
read article > >
Independent Auto Detail Shop VS Biz Op or Franchise
Owning a detail shop can be an exciting and rewarding business indeed. Many times an owner of an independent Detailing Shop will wish to add those items he/she believes their customers want. Since an independent detail shop is not a franchise or affiliate they can try new things and do what ever they want. They use their knowledge of the industry, a little intuition and luck; it is a best
guess issue. For an independent detailing shop entrepreneur; there is no proven business plan to go by, but the savvy operator who is in touch with their customers seldom has to face a shot in the dark.
read article > >
Solo Mojo for Solo Entrepreneurs --- Where's Your Juice?
I recently read a magazine article about Andrew, a 42-year old businessman. He gave up a demanding law practice in the Northeast, moved South to launch a new furniture and interior-design store, and wrote his first fiction novel in the midst of that transition. He persevered with his passion for writing, buoyed by the love and support of his family, by drafting ten pages daily for two
years. Since the completion of his novel, he started a new advertising business and is co-authoring a non-fiction tale on top of his other interests.
read article > >
Guaranteed To Increase Sales!
As a Publishing entrepreneur and by doing publicity for my clients, I've spent years studying the art of selling. The techniques that follow aren't difficult to learn, but they require discipline and practice.
read article > >
Key to Starting Your Own Clothing Company
Starting your own private label clothing company is not as difficult as you may think. I assure you that the founding members of Volcom, Paul Frank, Hurley and Von Dutch, are not mad geniuses of fashion. You can duplicate their rise to brand stardom provided that you have the following:
read article > >
