Category: Entrepreneurs

Starting a company is easy, and you could do it in an afternoon. The challenge lies in starting a successful company. You need to come up with the idea, and your product or service needs to be good enough to convince people to part with their hard-earned money. As an entrepreneur, you’ll be filling a variety of different roles, some of which you won’t have much experience in. Although being an entrepreneur is tough, you’ll have better luck crafting companies when you follow these five tips.

Focus on the Needs of Your Potential Customers

A common problem among entrepreneurs is that they focus only on what they want to do and miss out on the most important part of the equation—what the customer needs. The most successful products and services aren’t the ones designed to make a buck. They’re the ones that fulfill a glaring need a specific market of people had.

Look at rideshare services, such as Uber and Lyft, as an example. They saw that people wanted a better transportation option than a taxi, and they built platforms to offer that.

Niche Down

When you’re starting out, you need to have a narrow niche that your company serves. This allows you to focus on a very specific target market and limits your competition to other companies in your niche. If you try to sell it all, you’ll lose to Amazon and Walmart every time.

Remember that just because you’re niching down now doesn’t mean that will remain your company’s niche forever. Amazon is an e-commerce giant now, but when it started, its focus was on books.

Follow the Example of Successful Companies

There’s a saying that good artists copy and great artists steal, and even though art and business may be completely different, the saying holds true in the business world. There’s a lot you can learn from companies that have already succeeded in your industry. For example, if your focus is on dietary supplements, you could see how NuSkin and similar companies found success.

What separates the good from the great is how they use those examples they find. A good entrepreneur will copy a business’s model and hope to replicate its success, whereas a great entrepreneur will put their own spin on the model, making it uniquely their own.

Expect Higher Costs and Lower Revenues

You’ll need to put together a business plan before you launch your company, and when you do, you’ll estimate the costs of operating the company and how much it will make. These are areas where entrepreneurs tend to get overly optimistic, making it smart to stay on the conservative side. Lower those revenue expectations and raise your expected costs, and then consider it a pleasant surprise if you’re wrong.

Go after Sales from the Beginning

A company can’t survive without making money, which means sales should be your priority from the beginning. Many entrepreneurs instead focus the bulk of their attention on getting everything just right regarding their brand, assuming they’ll focus on sales later.

You can develop your brand as you develop the company, but you should have a sales focus from the get-go. Prepare your sales funnel and monitor analytics to see how it’s performing. Without sales, it won’t matter how great your brand is.

Building a company is an exciting journey that could change your life. Get started on the right foot so that any company you create has a solid foundation for future success.

When it comes to starting and running their own businesses, women simply shine. You probably know a number of successful female entrepreneurs whose stories would provide anecdotal evidence to back this up, but it turns out that there’s actually some science behind the claim, too.

What is it about women that makes them so well-suited to the challenge of entrepreneurial ventures? They tend to be optimistic yet realistic. They aren’t ego-driven and can admit failure — meaning that it’s easier for them to pivot and change course, or to abandon a plan altogether if it’s not working out. However, they’re also perseverant, and will learn from their mistakes, so that subsequent ventures will be more successful.

Then there’s the proverbial “women’s intuition.” Turns out that’s a real thing — female business owners are able to use subtle cues to size up a situation on the fly, and to make better decisions — even if those decisions defy traditional business logic.

Similarly, women appreciate creative approaches to the everyday problems of running a company, and take smart, calculated risks. They consider the input of their colleagues are are less likely to dismiss suggestions out of hand, even when those suggestions are radical or unorthodox.

Men’s egos can sometimes work as blinders, and they can become invested in a business to the point of stubbornness. It’s something of a cliché that women struggle with work-life balance and “having it all,” but in fact women are often more able to find equal fulfillment in their many roles: mother, wife, artist, businessperson.

They can be intensely passionate, and don’t generally begin a business simply to make a quick buck. Rather, they truly believe that the products or services their company offers to the world are valuable and will help others. Women also take a long-range approach, and can ride out the tough times with their eye on future rewards.

Women are good at negotiating, because they understand the true value of compromise and don’t see negotiations as battles that must be won at all costs. They give respect where it’s due, and demand respect in return.

Their communication skills, too, help them be direct and to-the-point, but with the empathy and compassion that build long-lasting professional relationships. And they’re naturally good at networking. This means finding common ground with the people they meet and striving to build and maintain connections that will benefit both parties.

Lastly, women excel at integrating the skills they’ve acquired throughout their life — in school, in their previous positions, in their personal lives, even raising children — into their approach to doing business. In other words, they have the “street smarts” and life skills that rival the formal education provided by an MBA.

Thinking about starting your own business, or maybe investing in a franchise opportunity? If our infographic rings true, and you can recall times when you exhibited these qualities, then you might make an excellent entrepreneur!

As an entrepreneur, you may be focused on trying to boost the profitability of your small business through growth and improved brand development. You may also be competing in a very large market against major businesses with a very limited budget. These are unfortunately common challenges that many entrepreneurs face, and the good news is that you can overcome these obstacles by adopting the right strategies and methods.

Focus on Your Image

Establishing a strong, stable image is critical if you want to bolster your level of success. Building presentation can go a long way toward projecting the image that you desire, and you can choose a great office or retail location in a desirable location to get started. Then, focus on décor so that your business space makes a bold and positive statement about your business. Also, don’t forget the exterior. If you’re located in a big city, like NYC, window washing services are going to be your best friend. After you’re your windows are the first thing that clients and partners are going to see when walking you’re your business and it could possibly deter them from doing so if all they see is grime and a sense that they place is unkempt. Furthermore, remember that many people prefer to do business with established and successful companies, so this effort can help you to generate more business.

Buy Secondhand Items When Possible

Growing businesses often need to purchase an exceptional amount of furnishings, equipment, computers and more. Buying quality secondhand items is a great way to save money. Avoid buying items in poor condition or that appear to be used. With proper effort, you can easily find great used items that appear to be in like-new condition and that can be purchased on a dime. Use the Internet or consignment stores to find quality used items.

Barter with Partner Companies

Another great idea to get your company on a fast track for success is to barter with different companies to obtain necessary goods and services. You may be able to strike a great deal with companies offering marketing services, office supplies, website hosting and more. By doing so, you can save money, and you may also get some great customers that can be used for referrals and testimonials.

Maximize Social Media Marketing

Marketing is essential for small business growth, but you only have a limited budget to work with. Social media marketing is ideal for many small business’s marketing plans because it is usually cost-effective. In fact, some methods are even free and can have far-reaching effects. Consider, for example, that creating a tweet on Twitter is free, and it could potentially go viral to maximize exposure.

There are many aspects of running a small business in a big city, but you can achieve success with your new project. By following these strategic tips, you can expand your reach while containing expenses.

We’ve all read the stats. Companies with more diverse workforces perform better financially.

McKinsey & Company’s “Why Diversity Matters” series demonstrates that companies in the top quartile for gender, racial or ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above national industry averages. Likewise, a study documented in Harvard Business Review, states that “firms with more women in the C-suite are more profitable.” And while women make up nearly 50 per cent of the labour force, they still only hold about 12 per cent of board seats in Canada and less than 10 per cent of the highest-paid positions in the country’s top 100 listed companies.

It seems that workplace diversity — and particularly on boards, in management roles, and among senior executives — is still a thorny issue for many organizations. That is why it has never been more important for women to know their value and to build their visibility as experts and leaders. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Make yourself seen and heard: Award-winning author, educator and women’s advocate, Shari Graydon, believes that if you want to create change: “It’s not who you know, but who knows you.” In her presentation for leading global executive search firm Odgers Berndtson, Ms. Graydon underscored the importance of putting the time and effort into building an increased profile by speaking up at meetings or writing online newspaper commentaries. She says this kind of profile “makes it easier to exert influence and get phone calls returned.” She also suggests that taking the seat opposite your CEO at a meeting or boardroom table, or volunteering for a high-stakes assignment, is as important as the behind-the-scenes work of building your network. Ultimately it all adds up to increasing your profile and making yourself seen and heard in meaningful ways.

Build a web of support: Use the multiplier effect to your advantage by engaging others in activities that support diversity in the workplace. An excellent case in point (as outlined in this Fortune article): SAP hosts a monthly “Women’s Professional Growth” webcast that has reached more than 11,000 people in more than 40 countries. The key here is to create an opportunity to band together as a community, and build a web of support made up of people who are willing to work for the same goals and drive change in the organization. This can go a long way to creating better peer relationships, building cultural understanding and opening up honest dialogue around diversity issues.

Know your value: According to executive recruiter, Jane Griffith, when it comes to putting themselves forward for jobs or promotions, women tend to play down their strengths and experiences even when they are qualified for the opportunity. A partner at Odgers Berndtson and the firm’s National Diversity Leader, Ms. Griffith says that she often counsels women to be less humble and to talk more about their successes. “Women tend to speak more about their soft skills such as communication, collaboration and stakeholder management, all of which are key to effective leadership,” says Ms. Griffith. “But they need to place more emphasis on their achievements. I think to really affect positive change over time, women need to know their whole value and be ready to communicate that value every opportunity they get.”

Think about the bigger picture: Remember making yourself more visible isn’t just about you. As Ms. Graydon points out, “When you speak up you have no real way of predicting the ripple effect you will have, whether it’s in terms of the contribution you make to your company, your industry or something in the broader world.” It’s also why Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg encourages women to negotiate for a higher salary when they’re up for a promotion. And it’s why Malala Yousafzai continues to fight for education on behalf of disadvantaged children (and especially girls) from around the world. Ultimately, it’s not just for their own sakes, but for all women who come after them.

The men and women of the armed forces who put their lives on the line to keep our country safe — and who spend extended periods of time away from their families and loved ones in living conditions that are somewhere between difficult and dreadful — are certainly deserving of our gratitude, regardless of where we are on the political spectrum. Remember: we’re talking about military personnel here, not politicians!

What’s more, there is another way that these men and women, upon transitioning back into their civilian lives, are making a valued and vital contribution: they’re launching businesses with a well above-average success rate. Here are the five key reasons why Veterans make great entrepreneurs:

1. Discipline

While the media loves covering attention-grabbing, “lightning-in-a-bottle” entrepreneurial stories (almost as much as it enjoys covering when some of these businesses crash and burn!), the truth is that succeeding as an entrepreneur is a lot less about glamour, and a lot more about grind. Veterans have the discipline required to stay the course — and remain focused — as opportunities and challenges emerge.

2. Teamwork

The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t virtuosos. They’re conductors who know how to build strong relationships and delegate accordingly. Veterans have well-honed teamwork skills and know, without a doubt, that success can’t and won’t happen if leaders are working in silos or on an island.

3. Sacrifice

Virtually all entrepreneurs know (or will discover) that for at least the first few years – and sometimes longer – it’s not about cashing in and surging up a few income brackets. It’s about putting your head down, rolling up your sleeves, and building equity. This typically means working 60+ hours a week, and taking care of tasks and activities when the rest of the employed world is enjoying a holiday, taking a vacation, or sleeping late on the weekends. Veterans could write a book (and some have) on the importance of sacrifice, and how to “get going when the going gets tough.”

4. Pressure

Many Veterans have faced extreme pressure situations, and are therefore well-equipped to deal with the fact that being an entrepreneur is a high-stress job that involves wearing many different hats.

5. Reliability

Veterans have proven – often under dire and dangerous conditions – that they’re reliable, dedicated and follow-through on their commitments. All of these qualities are essential for success as an entrepreneur. Indeed, their well-earned reputation for integrity is a big reason why many lending firms offer small business loans for Veterans that have favorable terms, interest rates, and other benefits.

The Bottom Line

These are just some of the key strengths, abilities and talents that many Veterans bring to the entrepreneurial world, and help support their success on the journey from dynamic startup, to established enterprise.