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The Essential To-Do List for First-Time Entrepreneurs | BNET. Last Updated Jun 28, 2011 5:07 PM EDT When you leave the corporate world to go out on your own, you trade the illusion of security for the illusion of freedom. It's best to realize that now. It's also useful to think of starting a business like having a baby: It will take all the time you can give it and lots more money than you thought it would.

Go into it with eyes wide open and be prepared to make a 24/7 time commitment. Before we go into how to increase your chances for success, first a few dire facts. 1. 2. So, our best piece of advice to you is this: When you control your money, you control your future. 1. Don't make the mistake of underestimating the cost of your new business and overestimating sales and your break-even point. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Sound daunting? For those of you who have started businesses -- what were (or are) your greatest challenges?

Flickr photo courtesy of Samael Kreutz, CC 2.0 © 2011 CBS Interactive Inc.. How to Use Online Design to Build a Personal Brand. What Makes A Startup Successful? Blackbox Report Aims To Map The Startup Genome. Generally speaking, the odds are stacked heavily against the average startup. The rate of failure among entrepreneurs and startups is startlingly high — it comes with the territory. Otherwise, entrepreneurs wouldn’t be pirates. But, what if there were a way to reduce that failure rate by cracking the formula of startup success? No easy feat to map the double helix of startups, but entrepreneurs are risk-takers by nature, so four of these risk-loving international entrepreneurs came together to found the Startup Genome Report, a report that is part of a larger project that dives into the very anatomy of what makes Silicon Valley startups successful — or not.

The entrepreneurs who founded the Startup Genome report (Bjoern Herrmann and Max Marmer), have also created a business accelerator called Blackbox, which will be leveraging the data they have collected (and will collect) from their ambitious R&D enterprise. Small Business Start-up Tips. Find coupons, reviews and similar sites for any retailer Do you want to venture in small business? The hardest part is always on where, when and how to start one. Read on... Do you want to venture in small business? The hardest part is always on where, when and how to start one. The tips in this article can serve as your starting point to begin running your own small business. • First, think of what business products or services you intend to carry and offer to the consumers.

. • Come up with a business name, register it with the Federal government and get a business number. . • Go out of your way to attend gatherings, business seminars, networking meetings and other gathering events. . • Make your own flyers, business cards and a website. . • Orient your staffs to make sure that they all understand that quality service is your priority. . • Always utilize different marketing tools and strategies to keep your existing customers and to attract more potential customers. Need an answer? Comments (2) x Pro. How to Build an Insanely Great Founding Team.

7 Essential Red Flags to Watch Out for in New Clients. Working with clients is one of the most difficult parts of being a web designer. It’s a challenge which we face each and every day, regardless of whether we work in-house, as freelancers, or as agency owners. Some clients are great, while others leave us tearing our hair our and wondering why we felt the need to subject ourselves to this line of work. While some problems with clients can be put down to poor communication by both parties, many times we can identify clients which are going to be difficult before we even start working with them.

Today we’ll take a look at seven ways to make sure you don’t end up as a regular contributor to ClientsFromHell.net. 1. They Want To Argue on Price This is probably the most common of all red flags. Other common issues surrounding price and payment include not wanting to pay a deposit before the commencement of work and trying to get you to agree to payment clauses. This is not acceptable. 2. 3. The best clients already have great websites. 4. 5. 6. 7. Why Co-Founding a Business Can Decimate Friendships - Fox Small Business Center. Are you planning to start a business with a friend or family member? If so, you are in good company. About half of all startups today are organized among friends, family members or spouses.

It makes sense too because in today’s highly competitive business climate, startup entrepreneurs want to pursue their most ambitious goals with people they trust. So why is it that the longest, most emotionally wrought letters I get from business owners seem to involve partnership battles with “former” best friends? Underlying every solid friendship are expectations of a higher level of loyalty and understanding than is common among everyday work colleagues. Friends count on their business partners to be supportive when family obligations interfere with business deadlines. Here are five ways startup misunderstandings can spiral out of control. No. 1: Unmet expectations. Nagging problems, however, arise when one partner can commit more time or cash than the other partner. No. 2: Work style conflicts. Staying sane in a startup. (Editor’s note: Shawn Hessinger is the community manager of BizSugar. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.) Running a startup is hard.

It doesn’t matter if you’re fresh out of the entrepreneurial gate, or if you have a few years’ experience under your belt – it’s grueling. The hours are long, the peaks and valleys come in extremes, and it doesn’t help that your friends and family often have a difficult time relating to your roller coaster of emotions or why you’re always strapped to your desk. It’s enough to drive anyone a little batty. But if you want to continue to grow your business, while still functioning in normal society, you have to hang onto that sanity. Here are a few tips to help.Stay focused on your mission – It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos, but you started this business for a reason. Your mission is what matters and it’s what everything else in your day should be working to build. Give time to your business, but also give time to yourself. Baby Boomers | Online Article Links. 6 Keys to Successful Bootstrapping - TNW Entrepreneur.

You know the moment in a start-up’s life where, if you need to buy toilet paper, you need to check your Excel charts to see if you can afford it? Well, that’s where we are. To tell the truth, we are not checking for toilet paper, but we do consider every software/service that we decide use and need to pay a considerable amount for. Our lead investor told us that, from his experience, giving the investment money in chunks forces the entrepreneur to think: creativity, creativity, creativity.

In the beginning, I thought that Yotpo is a creative start-up by definition and we don’t need any more enforcements. Well, I don’t know what would have happened if he didn’t do it, but here are some of the creative ways and methods: Research & Choose: Whenever we want to do something new I’m always amazed from the amount of software out there to help you do so. The Art of the Outsource: From time to time, you will find out that outsourcing a time consuming task is actually a good idea. Small Business News: Running Your Business.

We talk a great deal about the tools and strategy and about the marketing and tech, but what about the basics of running a small business each day? If you’re in the trenches thinking about your next move, this roundup is for you. Startup isn’t the end of the story. Here’s news for running your business each day! Getting Started Things to do before you start. Customer Service Learning to talk to your customers. Social Media How to use LinkedIn, Facebook. Marketing Makeup How to avoid big marketing blunders. How to create great marketing swag. Ideation Evaluating new ideas. Management Mechanics Switching management styles. Self-development Moving outside your comfort zone. Financial Department Small business retirement savings. Final Thoughts 10 mistakes you shouldn’t make. Startup a business. Having a successful business startup hinges on selecting a great business model.

I am offering free advice here, so you can take it or leave it. Fair enough? First off, I would suggest that you build a business that will produce a passive cash flow stream. By that I mean you work hard in the beginning to get it going, and then it picks up steam. After a year or two, you will be able to run the whole company almost on auto pilot. You can accomplish this through careful planning and the judicious use of a combination of delegation and outsourcing. If that sounds too good to be true, I assure you it is not. Second, you want to set things up so that you involved in a low-risk endeavor. Third, you want to have a high return on your investment. Fourth, you need a good mentor, or coach. From Employed to Entrepreneur: Tips for Boomers Looking to Start a New Business. Whether by choice or by consequence (or some combination of the two), baby boomers have become an entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with, even surpassing the ambitions of those almost half their age.

But underlying this spike in entrepreneurial activity among boomers nearing the age of retirement, is the need for an extra dose of diligence and business know-how. Why Are Baby Boomers Starting Businesses? According to the results of a survey conducted by the Kauffman Foundation, from 1996 to 2007, Americans between the ages of 55 to 64 have consistently started more businesses as compared to those of the population aged 20-34. The actual difference is quite significant- with the average rate of entrepreneurism among boomers holding at more than 30% higher than their younger counterparts. At first, these results may seem surprising, especially when there has been so much media attention surrounding the entrepreneurial energy and predisposition of the youngest generation of workers. 1. 2. Do You Own What It Takes For A Small Business Start Up? | Tweso.com. Avoid Having A Business With No Market!

Startup “solution looking for a problem” syndrome - National Startup Business. Potential startup founders are always looking for ideas to implement, when they should be looking for problems to solve. Customers pay for solutions, but there is no market for ideas. I’m often approached by people with a “million dollar idea,” but I haven’t seen anyone pay that for one yet.

Equally often, I see startups who are on the road to implementing an idea, but haven’t figured out what problem it solves – the business plan waxes on eloquently for 20 pages about how great this product and technology is, but never gets around to defining the problem (investors call this the “solution looking for a problem” syndrome). A related “red flag” in a business plan is a missing competitive analysis section, or a short paragraph that essentially says, “this product has no competition.” My reaction is, if there is no competition, then there is no market demand for your product, so why are you building it? Automate a labor intensive process. This is the traditional realm of computers. Six Reasons Why Big Dreams and Laser Focus Succeed. April 15, 2011 by Marty Zwilling It’s great to dream big, but your startup needs a laser focus in the beginning to get market and investor attention.

Google did it with search engines, Apple did it with a personal computer, and even Wal-Mart did it through low prices. A business plan I saw a while back to combine all the good features of several popular social networks on one site does not do it. Trying to do everything at once probably means that none of the items will be done well. Plus it’s almost impossible to craft a message that will make your offering stand out in the minds of customers. I can’t think of a company that launched to superstardom with a broad focus. Can you? Here are the common sense reasons why a laser focus is more likely to lead to startup business success: Time to market is critical. As with everything, there are two sides to every coin. Don’t give up your grand vision, since no investor wants to buy a “one trick pony.” Other articles by Marty Zwilling.