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Bootstrapping a Startup. A List Apart: Articles: Starting a Business: Advice from the Trenches. If you’re like thousands of other designers, programmers and other creative professionals out there, at one point in time you’ve considered starting your own business.

A List Apart: Articles: Starting a Business: Advice from the Trenches

Unlike most, you’ve gone against common sense and decided to open shop for yourself. And not just freelance full-time, mind you, but file for the company name, get some stationery, and wade through the legal mumbo-jumbo. Maybe even get a real office with a water cooler. This article offers real-world advice from the trenches of a small start-up, and is applicable to designers, web developers, copywriters, usability experts and all manner of service providers. Eight Questions To Ask Before You Start A Business. Are you thinking of starting a web business?

Eight Questions To Ask Before You Start A Business

Starting a PPC Management agency? Setting up your own site and selling things, or building a web publishing empire? Before you start, ask yourself the following eight questions. The advantage of this Q&A is that you can quickly see if the idea you’re going to throw your money and soul into is likely to work. 1 . Define what service the business provides. Try to focus. Business Ideas for the Self Employed - StumbleUpon.

Several years ago, I had a lovely long-term consulting assignment which kept me both busy and solvent. One morning I woke up and realized that it was coming to an end and I had nothing lined up. After a few moments of panic, I decided to get serious about creating my next income source. I didn’t have a great deal of time to devote to this, so I gave myself the challenge of finding a way to earn $100—an easily accomplished goal. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I had just created a new habit that has kept my business—and cash flow—moving smoothly along. Over time, I’ve learned that there are other benefits to this simple technique. There’s an old saying, popularized by Robert Schuller, that goes, “By the inch, it’s a cinch.

You can begin implementing the $100 Hour even if you now have a job or other commitments that clamor for your time. A word of warning is in order here. 13 Business Books That Will Blow Your Mind. Having never taken a business class in college I find that I read and listen to a lot of business books to round out my education.

13 Business Books That Will Blow Your Mind

The books usually aren't "How to Manage Your Cash Flow" but rather get me to rethink the way I run my business, which--despite no business classes or diploma--continues to be in business 13 plus years after I started it. In that time, here are 13 of the books that had the biggest impact on how I run my business (in no particular order): Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink: If you supervise anyone in your business, this book is a must read. It shows that what science knows about motivation, business isn't putting into practice.

In fact, many of the incentives we create can actually de-motivate our employees. The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham: I wanted to have at least one book that was dedicated to small business and the entrepreneurial spirit. Startup Flavor — tips to start and grow a great business. What the Apple Store Can Teach You About Creating a Remarkable Business. 45 Kick-Ass Resources for Online Entrepreneurs.

Few people talk about this great productivity tip… You will reach your goals faster and easier if you’re willing to learn from others.

45 Kick-Ass Resources for Online Entrepreneurs

Using brilliant, well-crafted resources created specifically for online entrepreneurs improves your online productivity. Below I have a long list of resources, most of which I’ve used myself. The rest come highly recommended from my mentors and online business friends. Enjoy the list. How Oprah Nearly Killed My Business : Innovation. How did being featured on the cover of Oprah's magazine almost cost this author his business? January 03, 2012 My book, Goal-Free Living, was featured on the cover of the November 2005 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

Startups Use Four Catalysts to Win Funding: Benjamin L. Hallen. For many aspiring entrepreneurs, the hunt for venture capital is a tale of frustration and woe.

Startups Use Four Catalysts to Win Funding: Benjamin L. Hallen

Yet an entrepreneurial minority, sometimes viewed as the lucky few, appears to raise money with relative ease. It turns out there is a roadmap to venture-fundraising success. My research with Stanford University’s Kathleen Eisenhardt, which will be published in the February edition of the Academy of Management Journal, identifies four hallmarks of efficient prospecting for money. By efficiency we mean attempts that take less than two months of formal, almost full-time fundraising, while yielding offers from desired investors.

Our conclusions are based on extensive fieldwork, tracking nine Internet-security startups as they sought multiple rounds of venture capital over their first five years. Conventional wisdom holds that successful fundraising requires introductions to investors, a clear pitch and the ability to signal the presence of a high-quality founding team. Casual Dating (Benjamin L. Entrepreneurs, Start Your Engines: 100 Business Ideas You Can Drive Home Today. Skip Advertisement This ad will close in 15 seconds...

Entrepreneurs, Start Your Engines: 100 Business Ideas You Can Drive Home Today

Young Entrepreneurs. A VC: Financing Options For Startups. I got a bunch of great suggestions in my kickoff post on this topic last week.

A VC: Financing Options For Startups

Based on that feedback, the series is going to look like this: 1) Friends and Family 2) Contests/Prizes/Accelerator Programs 3) Government Grants 4) Customer Financing. ARE WE TOO PROFESSIONAL? It’s an unstoppable buzzword.

ARE WE TOO PROFESSIONAL?

But has professionalism gone too far? As a sportsman, Ed Smith saw it backfire at first hand; now he sees this in other fields, from “The Wire” to the banks ... From INTELLIGENT LIFE Magazine, Winter 2009 A young nurse, interviewed by John Humphrys recently on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, was asked what she considered the two most important qualities in her job. “Being caring and being compassionate,” she replied. “Not being professional?” “No, not being professional,” she confirmed.

How did the concept of professionalism become so dominant? In 13 years as a cricketer I watched ultra-professionalism become entrenched as received wisdom. Professionalism was continually invoked as the primary means of improvement, whereas amateurishness was mocked as a laughable relic. The question no one ever dared ask was: is professionalism actually helping us to play cricket any better? Occasionally, it is true, an ex-pro warned me against over-professionalism. Empty Your Closets, Fill Your Bank Account.

Chances are, you own lots of items that are worth something to someone—you just need to know where and how to sell them for the best potential profit.

Empty Your Closets, Fill Your Bank Account

Here are the ways you can prosper (mentally and financially) by getting organized, and turning “trash into treasure.” Ebay James Massey is the founder of What Sells Best, a site that provides a real time peek into what’s hot on eBay. He advises that potential eBay sellers keep note of what’s on the list to “become familiar with the styles, names, and types of rare items that generally fetch the highest prices.” Massey says that items in the “top-bracket” typically have a 95 percent sell-through rate.