46 Ways To Start A Business With No Money Most people who want to start their own business don’t have a ton of money laying around and it’s probably one the most common questions I get emailed about: How can I get started without a lot of cash? Well I’ve put together a list below of the best ideas I’ve heard and personally used. I hope you find it useful! The three basic strategies to starting a business without much money are: Delay the normal “business starting” activities like incorporating, hiring, renting office or retail space, etc until AFTER your business has started earning money. This is known as bootstrapping.Doing everything yourself and spending your personal time instead of hiring an expert. Start With The Easy Stuff: Eliminate Expenses Don’t rent an office! Legal Stuff and Incorporating Make a website for your business Getting a Logo Don’t hire a fancy graphic designer. Accepting Credit Cards Starting a service business where you consult, coach, teach, etc Creating Info Products Before investing in a retail location…
Eight Questions To Ask Before You Start A Business Are you thinking of starting a web 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. 1 . Define what service the business provides. Try to focus. McDonalds could, no doubt, provide up-market meals, but they focus on selling quick, cheap food. That is what they do. 2. Who are your customers? Create a mental image of your typical customer. 3. What is your unique selling proposition? If your customers can buy the same services for less elsewhere, or more easily, they will. There is a tendency to model yourself on others. This is not to say doing something wildly new or different is any guarantee of success. 4. This point is so important, it really should be number one. Businesses may have great ideas. Then the bank manager calls. The overdraft has hit its limit and you can’t meet payroll this week. There is no fooling cashflow. 5. 6. 7. Set company goals. 8.
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. 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. Freelancers take heed: there are several items that are just as pertinent to your profession. Write a Business Plan#section1 The most important thing you can do to prepare for starting and operating your own business. A few years ago, new age business rhetoric said forget the business plan and just run with it. File for a Fictitious Name#section2 Funding#section3 Good:
Jedi Mind Tricks: 17 Lesser Known Ways to Persuade People Want to know how to persuade people online and get what you want? The power of influence is usually all that separates the successful from everyone else. These are some tactics, discovered through psychological research, that you have probably not yet heard about, but have the potential to increase your persuasive abilities. I’m not going to cover reciprocity, scarcity or social proof and all those widely known persuasion principles. You already know all about those (in case you don’t, stop everything and read this book by Cialdini). Related: How Nike’s Making Persuasive Product Pages 1. The best way to persuade audiences that are not inclined to agree with you, is to talk fast. Want to boost persuasive power? Don Moore from Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Behavioral Decision Research has published research showing that confidence even trumps past accuracy in earning the trust of others. People naturally associate confidence with expertise. 2. Light swearing, that is. Image credit 3. 4. 5. 6.
29 Ways to Collect Email Addresses for Your Business Looking for ways to grow your list of newsletter subscribers? There are a ton of ways to get people to sign up for your weekly or monthly email marketing campaigns. I’ve put together a list for you to read, so you have heaps of options for growing your list. Include a link to your newsletter sign up form in the main navigation bar of your website and/or blog. (Or better yet, include a sign up form in the main navigation bar).Create a “sign up” call to action on your Facebook business page.Create enticing visuals encouraging people to sign up for your list, and post them on social media channels (especially Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn).Attend or exhibit at a trade show or networking event and bring a newsletter email sign up clipboard or book. Bonus: Optimize your site for appropriate SEO keywords, and ensure your business is on appropriate online listings. Have any additional ideas? Need more ideas for your next email? Send your next email for free using VerticalResponse.
10 Blogs Entrepreneurs Need to Be Reading See the 2012 edition: 10 Must Read Blogs for Entrepreneurs (2012 Edition) #1. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Site: What it is: Mike Michalowicz provides entrepreneurs and small businesses with tips on everything from starting a business to networking to marketing and health care. Why you should read it: Mike not only provides great tips but he provides great tips from REAL people. #2. Site: What it is: Written by a panel of small business owners, the site offers tips and advice on everything business related. Small business trends really covers EVERYTHING! #3. Site: Run by two brothers, Matthew and Adam Toren, Young Entrepreneur is exactly what it sounds like; a site dedicated to young entrepreneurs. Between blog posts, forums, polls and interviews with other small business owners, the site offers fantastic content. #4. Site: Why you should read it: #5. #6. #7. #8.
How not to start your cover letter This was one of our most popular blog posts this year, and we think the advice is so good it should be repeated! If you’re looking for some awesome cover letter advice on how *NOT* to start your cover letter (and some great examples of how you should be starting it) then read on! On a weekly basis any hiring manager probably receives between 50 and … well, probably hundreds of resumes and cover letters. Here is the most boring intro line because everyone uses it: Please accept my resume for consideration of the (XYZ) position within your organization. What a snoozer! Administrative: If you are spending too much time compiling tedious lists of general office duties and administrative tasks, then I have the solution for you. Customer Service: It’s twice as hard to attract a new customer as it is to maintain an existing one. Nonprofit: Try something like this: “In today’s challenging economic climate, many people will respond to your advertisement. However … General: “Integrity.
100 Must See Interviews With the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs At Under30CEO we think big. We recently published a list of our Top 50 Most Motivational People on the web and things got a little nuts. The article created incredible buzz all over the web and most importantly we fired up our audience to go out and make something happen. As young entrepreneurs it’s important that we keep swinging for the fences. The list below is the most incredible people to learn from as entrepreneurs and we intend to interview them all…somehow. Introducing our Top 100 Entrepreneurs to Learn from and their best interviews from around the web…1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) 10.) 11.) 12.) 13.) 14.) 15.) 16.) 17.) 18.) 19.) 20.) 21.) 22.) 23.) 24.) 25.) 26.) 27.) 28.) 29.) 30.) 31.) 32.) 33.) 34.) 35.) 36.) 37.) 38.) 39.) 40.) 41.) 42.) 43.) 44.) 45.) 46.) 47.) 48.) 49.)