17 Mistakes Start-Ups Make 17 Mistakes Start-ups Make John Osher has developed hundreds of consumer products, including an electric toothbrush that became America's best-selling toothbrush in just 15 months. He also started several successful companies, including Cap Toys. "After I sold my business to Hasbro, I decided I'd make a list of everything I'd done wrong and [had] seen other entrepreneurs do wrong," explains the 57-year-old Jupiter, , serial entrepreneur. He came up with an informal list of "16 Mistakes Start-Ups Make"-since expanded to 17-that has been used in a case study, has been cited in many publications, and has become a part of what he teaches budding entrepreneurs in his frequent university lectures. "I didn't expect it to actually work like that, but it did," Osher says. To home in on what lies behind the 17 mistakes, Osher told Entrepreneur what they are and how you can learn from them to achieve your own level of perfection. Mistake 3: Underestimating financial requirements and timing.
Startup How-To Guides Quitting your job to launch your own business can be a hard pill for your company to swallow, particularly if your company is in the same industry. Here's some advice. Laying the Startup Groundwork Starting your own business is not just about having a dream. There are real steps to ensure your business a successful start. So what are all of the things you should consider when launching your new brainchild? Planning for a Successful Start The old adage goes: failure to plan is a plan for failure. Raising Capital You've got the idea and you've got a plan. Establishing Your Image You may have a great idea, product or superior service, but have you thought about what image your startup will take on? Finding Customers Without customers, it doesn't matter how great your product is, how well you branded you are, or how well funded your start-up is. More Startup How-To Guides How to Start a Foundation BY Gwen Moran An Introduction to Business Plans
Hacker News | Founders who can't code An advise to founders who can't code If you are a business/idea guy and looking for a technical co founder, stop. Stop right now. Take 6 months off and go learn how to code (day and night, weekends including). Most web apps do little besides save, show and update data. The reason why most technical cofounders can create great products is not because they have a deep domain knowledge or they are great hackers. Here is the thing, 1 year from now, you will still have plenty ideas. Stop and go learn. Note 1: If your idea is to build something truly technically challenging, then scratch my advice. Note 2: Off course all the above would mean little if I wasn't the marketer/business/idea/support/whatever guy who spent the past few months learning.
So You Want to Start a Startup? 5 Places to Start The world is rife with business opportunity, and nowhere more so than online. I often think of the web as something of a wild west frontier, awaiting anyone intrepid enough to stake out a claim. But to start an online venture you first need to have an idea of what you want to do. Some time ago I met a very talented developer who was independent and industrious, more than capable of developing a brilliant web app. With a bit more thought and contemplation I’ve decided to catalogue some different methodologies for finding a business to get into. Part 1 – Solve a Problem Solving a problem is arguably the underpinning of every successful business. So let’s start by breaking down some famous online businesses into Problem / Solution couplings: YouSendIt.com Problem: People have trouble sending large files by email. AllRecipes.com Problem: Using recipe books can be expensive and gives you a very limited number of recipes with no popular opinion. Your Own Problems Part 4 – Follow the Money
What Does It Take to Run a Business? Are you smart enough? Are you tough enough? Are you brave enough? Are you stupid enough? If you do fail, what will it take to succeed at a second business attempt? You can’t really tell at the beginning whether someone will be successful with a start-up. When I started my first business, a couple former bosses made comments on my prospects. Was I lucky? Looking back, my prospects weren’t good. When I started my second business, everything had changed. I failed in six months. Start another business, of course. So what does it take to succeed in a business start-up? There are a couple things I’ve learned over the years.
CoffeeScript Founders Block » Blog Archive » Why Startups Fail: An Analysis of Post-Mortems The guys at ChubbyBrain have graciously allowed Founder’s Block to repost this analysis, originally published Jan 11th, of the top 20 reasons why startups fail. We’ve previously highlighted the top startup failure post-mortems (32 in total) written by a group of startup entrepreneurs gracious enough to share their lessons learned from failure. Many of you read those post-mortems and asked, what are the most common reasons why these startups failed? 20 – The Great Recession Many companies that failed started during the recent financial crisis (and continues to suffer through), and some startups highlighted the larger market negativity as a reason for their ultimate demise. Our analysis was supported by articles in the Wall Street Journal and the NYT, as well as the Mei Moses art index, which suggested the art market was countercyclical and had a low correlation to the S&P. #19 – Lack of Full-Time Commitment Startups are hard. We thought we’d able to run internet service after hours.
How to Run a Business Successfully: The Golden Rules ShareShare It’s easy! Understanding how to run a business successfully really boils down to using your common sense. The trouble is that the pressures & strains of running a business venture make you run business operations ineffectively. The strategic leadership skills needed to run the business fall into a couple of key areas, as I’ll show you… Do your market research You wouldn’t buy a house without checking out the neighborhood, would you? You need to do your research into where the customers are, what benefits they are looking for and how your product is going to satisfy these benefits. The Golden Rules are: Check out the competition. Simplify your expenses If you want to know how to run a business badly then look out for those companies who blow their budgets on fancy advertising campaigns, company cars and hugely inflated workforces. Only increase your work-force size when absolutely necessary. Be a proper leader Encourage open feedback within the company. Author Rod Dunne...
Practical Tips for Hiring Ruby Web Developers The topic of 'hiring' always generates a lot of discussion. And why not? Talking about hiring is a convenient way to pass judgment on large groups of people while keeping a professional, detached demeanor.. This post is for those who handle the technical evaluation necessary to hire candidates, especially in the Ruby and Rails scenes, although the overall strategies are language-agnostic (though I'd hope if you're hiring folks to work on missiles and nuclear power plants, all bets are off). This is a guest post by Tim Goh of Trikeapps, an Australian software development company. Some Structure While hiring processes differ, I'm organizing my advice by the following components that, assumedly, most processes include: the job posting itselfthe coding testthe phone screen The Job Posting You need a permanent "Careers" page You should have a permanent careers page on your company site and constantly correspond with candidates, even if you're not hiring at the time. Include a filter question
How to Start an Online Business for $100 Today's economy isn't doing anyone any favors, and if you're one of the unfortunate folks to have been served a layoff notice, you might be facing a long haul when it comes to searching for another job. Is now the right moment to put your long-lingering business idea into practice? While times may be tight for many larger enterprises, in many cases smaller, more-nimble companies are better able to withstand market uncertainty and weather downturns. The best way to stick it to The Man? Starting your own business doesn't have to mean spending thousands of dollars on setup costs before you ever open your doors. Find an Affordable Web Host The Web site for your new business has to reside somewhere. Most hosting plans for small companies offer similar features: basically unlimited storage space, support for common databases and publishing systems, and anywhere from a few gigabytes to 2 terabytes of data transfer per month. How to pick one from the dozens out there? Get Logos and Design Work
How to Start an Online Business Eager to launch your online business, but not sure where to start? With improving technology, including excellent online tools and lower costs, there has never been an easier time to put your business online. These 10 steps will get you online in no time. Or for an even faster start, follow this 9 Step Quick Start Guide. Know the Internet What is your experience with the Internet? Success online requires spending significant time: Researching competitors Understanding how Web tools work (Twitter, RSS Feeds, etc.) Your domain is your unique address on the Internet. Some registrars even offer "free" domains with a hosting package or another purchase. Domain registrars: Find a Web Host A Web host is the company that essentially will "rent" you space on their servers to host your website. Web host features such as storage capacity, uptime percentage, domain based email and server security should be evaluated. Web Hosting Providers: Designing Your Website This isn’t as difficult as it sounds.
How to Start an Online Business - Internet Business E-Commerce Solutions Alex Andon wasn't thrilled to lose his biotech job in May 2008. But unlike most of the 2.6 million others laid off that year, he knew exactly what to do next. "I was a marine biology major in college, and I had some pretty cool fish tanks. I had noticed that jellyfish exhibits had become popular at aquariums," he recalls. "People were mesmerized, but there was no way for someone to keep their own jellyfish, because they need special tanks and special food. If I could build one and supply the food, I knew there was a market there." Nearly two years later, selling jellyfish tanks through JellyfishArt.com is Andon's full-time job. In years past, starting a business was a complex, expensive and risky affair, but online tools have smoothed out many of the logistical bumps in the process. Testing the Waters Start small. Since these blogs aren't designed for sales, they're best viewed as a way to share your work with the world and,more specifically, to gauge interest. Setting Up Shop
Starting an Online Business Establishing a business presence on the Internet can be a lucrative way to sell, market, and advertise your business’s goods and services. The following topics provide details on how to start and manage an online business. 1. Start a Business Regardless of where you choose to operate your business, certain general requirements always apply. 2. A domain name is the web address of your online business. Be careful to avoid possible security risks by becoming aware of potential scams. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is the non-profit corporation that has technical oversight of Internet protocol address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management, and root server system management functions. 3. A web host provides you with the space and support to create your website. 4. The website of your online business is extremely important to its success. Be sure to comply with U.S. trademark and intellectual property laws. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Follow These 10 Steps to Starting a Business Starting a business involves planning, making key financial decisions and completing a series of legal activities. These 10 easy steps can help you plan, prepare and manage your business. Click on the links to learn more. Step 1: Write a Business Plan Use these tools and resources to create a business plan. Step 2: Get Business Assistance and Training Take advantage of free training and counseling services, from preparing a business plan and securing financing, to expanding or relocating a business. Step 3: Choose a Business Location Get advice on how to select a customer-friendly location and comply with zoning laws. Step 4: Finance Your Business Find government backed loans, venture capital and research grants to help you get started. Step 5: Determine the Legal Structure of Your Business Decide which form of ownership is best for you: sole proprietorship, partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), corporation, S corporation, nonprofit or cooperative. Step 7: Get a Tax Identification Number