Category: Entrepreneurship

Article Contributed by Lori Wagoner

How expensive is it to start a business?

Pop that question up and you’ll get a ton of answers. Most of these answers are either a reflection of what entrepreneurs already did or what they believe is the right thing to do.

However, not everyone starts off right. Some businesses make do with whatever they do and most others will fail. If you are reading this, it’s clear that you want to start or run your business to profit from it. For that to happen, you’ll need to overhaul your entrepreneurial mindset.

Here’s how:

Guts and intent come first. Money is secondary.

Peep into the world of business and you’d think that it’s the money that matters. The need for capital, the run for VC money, the applications for business loans, the thirst to raise cash from any means possible, and the sacrifices some entrepreneurs make to find monetary support to run their business.

Surprisingly, it’s not necessary.

For just as many accounts of these “cash runs” that entrepreneurs do, there are many enterprising businesses that start for less than $100, according to Chris Guillebeau who wrote the book The $100 Startup: Fire Your Boss, Do What You Love, and Work Better to Live More. Meanwhile, the debate whether you should stake your own money or raise cash will rage on.

The truth is that you need guts, confidence in yourself, the ability to sell, a tendency to take action no matter what, and a strong intent to get started in business.

Tip: Raise a business first; money follows. You’ll find a way to make it all happen.

Get a website up on the cheap

Don’t ever believe it when you read “You don’t even need a website” anywhere.

You do.

Doing business without a website is like going to a formal gathering dressed on the top (and with a tie) but without your shoes on – yes, it’s just as embarrassing when you sit across a client and realize that you don’t have a proper functioning website.

Today, it doesn’t take much to put up a website. This is the age of Instant Domain Search – register a name you like (finding one that’s available is a bit harder, though). Picking the right web host is one leap you shouldn’t make before looking – compare hosting provider options at Who Is Hosting This or CNET and go for one you think is best for you.

Unless you have an online retail model, it’s safe to choose WordPress as your CMS (you can’t go wrong with something more than 55% of websites in the world run) and buy a theme you like from ThemeForest.net. Get your logo designed, choose your brand colors, put a site content strategy in place, and start adding stuff. Now that your site is ready for clients, off you go selling.

Tip: For a website today, there are no excuses. Start with an inexpensive, but functional and beautifully website. You can tweak, redesign, and change it later.

Marketing collateral, branding, infrastructure and equipment

Jason Fried, in his book Rework, states, 

“In most cases, getting a fancy office is more for the entrepreneurial ego than for necessity.”

You can’t help but agree. What you certainly don’t need, especially when you are starting out, is a swanky office in an expensive location (unless you are in retail). You don’t need to hire employees right away, and you’ll certainly not have too many bills to pay.

Depending on where you live, you might have some basic setup expenditure like approvals and licenses as these are necessary. Apart from the basics, no money every goes out until you make enough.

Further, the best marketing tool you have at your disposal is you. Master the art of selling and you’ll find that you’ll never need to make brochures, flex banners, and expense-heavy advertisements when you are in beginning stages of your business.

Tip: Bootstrap like your life depends on it. If you have to spend, do it when you must or when you make so much money that it won’t matter then. 

I won’t care what happens. I got nothing to lose.

Since all you do is to run with an idea and not spend too much, you get into the “I don’t care” mindset – and that’s pure power. Dan Schawbel, a contributor for Forbes.com, interviewed Ryan Blair, the CEO and founder of Visalus Sciences and author of Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain.

Ryan reveals that “adaptation is the key to survival.” He says, “To be an entrepreneur, you got to have fighting instincts,” and also adds that he “hates writing business plans.” In his opinion, “the business plan is the one built from a business that’s already up and running.”

Think about it: you won’t even hesitate when you have to pivot, you won’t be debt-ridden when your business fails, if ever. You won’t care if the world doesn’t appreciate your idea: if it works, you are a genius. If it doesn’t, you are one of those smart opportunists who dropped a business and started another one.

You exude power and confidence. You come in from the trenches. You radiate supreme confidence when you sit across customers and face them. When you are in this mode while doing business, you become invincible, unstoppable, and a rolling juggernaut that gathers business lessons along the way.

Go with “Worth Pricing”

It’s time to disrupt and justify.

Most of the markets you might enter into end up smothering in price wars and baseless debasement of product value (include services too). In possibly every market niche, you’ll find competition slugging price arrows to snatch customers away from you.

Traditional business literature teaches you to price according to cost of goods with margins slapped on it. You’d also price based on intrinsic value of products, or based on your time for your services.

Try something new: price according to what you are worth, or what the product is really worth, or what your services can do for your clients.

Here’s the biggest marketing secret: you’ll find customers at every price point. All customers, by the way, are demanding. So, why price low?

If you find yourself nodding in agreement because you agree, it’s good. If you realize that you did exactly that, you are on the right track. If you don’t agree, do let me know why in the comments!

Article Contributed by Lori Wagoner

Lori Wagoner is an independent content strategist who gives online marketing advice to small businesses. Lori has blogged at Tweak Your Biz, The Social Media Hat and many other business and tech blogs. You can reach her @LoriDWagoner on Twitter.

More than 23 million small businesses are in operation, notes the Small Business Administration. The American economy relies on small businesses — two-thirds of all jobs added since the 1970s have come from small businesses. Many college students pursue their degree with hopes of one day running a business, but there’s no rule that says you can’t get a jump start on becoming an entrepreneur. A college environment offers plenty of resources and opportunities for a young entrepreneur. Feeling ambitious? Here are five reasons why your college years are a great time to chase your dreams.

1. Resume Building

Even if your business fails or doesn’t meet expectations, your go-getter spirit will look great on your resume, Entrepreneur says. Maybe you’ll keep running your company after college, or maybe you’ll move on to something else. Either way, you will have real-world evidence of your business acumen and entrepreneurial drive.

2. Support System

A small business is no small undertaking. A busy college life might not seem conducive to these demands, but students can actually leverage their college status in highly beneficial ways. For example, a small business could be developed as part of a school project or extracurricular activity. If you’re taking classes on developing business models, petition your professor to let you create a real business model for your own enterprise as part of the class. Similarly, develop a sales strategy in a sales and marketing class or build a website as part of computer programming curriculum.

Opportunities aren’t restricted to the classroom. Let your professors and advisors know about your business endeavors. They can point you to available resources at school, including organizations, associations, other experts, and even students with whom you can collaborate. It’s likely you’ll face tough questions as you launch your business, from choosing the right strategy to covering all your legal bases. Since you’re in an academic environment, take advantage of all your resources.

3. Large Network

Many entrepreneurs end up realizing that they can’t do everything on their own. When you need partners or other associates, check out your college student body. A university presents you with a large social network through which you can make strong connections. You can even crowdsource to find the perfect associates. Online schools such as Penn Foster make it easy to connect with other students through social media that provides support and easy access to like-minded individuals.

4. Monetary Assistance

It’s not impossible for college students to make a decent chunk of change off of their entrepreneurial efforts if everything runs smoothly. If you’re able to turn profits early on, your small business could help you pay off school-related debt and cover other costs of going to school.

5. Learning Experience

Launching a small business comes with a certain amount of risk. Even with all of the support a college can provide, there’s no guarantee things will work out just as you plan. But that’s no reason not to swing for the fences. Whether your business flourishes or flops, you’ll have valuable, unmatched experience. As you start your next endeavor, whether it’s a small business or a position at another company, you’ll have substantial experience that will make you a better worker and leader.

To help you engage in impactful charitable programs that builds your brand and your business, here are some tips from philanthropist Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland for your business to engage in charitable actions that is most relevant.

Consumers nowadays are savvier with higher expectations of companies due to presence of tools that give them greater access to company information. Instead of merely doing “goodwashing” (doing a few virtuous things to bolster their reputation), consumers now expect companies to start having more real impact on society.

Community Relevance

It is important to support the organizations and causes that are relevant to your local community. For example, women education is a decent cause for companies to lend their support to. According to philanthropist Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland, without a decent education, it’s unlikely that women will enter leadership positions, contributing to another gender equality gap in the United States. Women tended to work the same hours, and just as hard as men do. Yet, women aren’t fairly compensated for the work they do.

Hence, by supporting education for women, companies can demonstrate to consumers their commitment to reducing income inequality for women.

Target Relevance: Examples from Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland

Your philanthropic efforts should resonate with your target audience. By supporting the things they care about, you gain their attention, respect, and trust. So research the events that trigger your targets’ charitable donations and the appeals that motivate their participation, and then align yourself with them.

If your target market cares deeply about child rights, then make it a point to support programs an donations that contribute towards the protection of rights for children. Philanthropist Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland has visited exhibitions which aimed to raise awareness of child marriage in developing countries. Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland believed that we can do more to advocate for change within these countries. Specifically, companies and social workers should do all they can to ensure that girls in these countries obtain a full and decent education, so they can speak out on their own behalf and fight back against the oppression placed upon them by an early marriage.

Charitable giving and actions have a tangible impact on company branding. By supporting the things your target demographic cares about, you gain their attention, respect, and trust, as demonstrated by Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland’s practices.

About Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland

Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland is a philanthropist with a big heart. And, in order to maximize her ability to provide aid, Joelle O’Reilly Hyland is partnering with the very best non-profits. Currently, her main interest is in Educate Girls Globally (EGG), a non-profit that has helped educate girls in India and is looking to expand as she and the founders believe the model will work anywhere, no matter how difficult the environment. As EGG looks to branch out into Africa, Joelle O’Reilly-Hyland, has forged an alliance with Africare, which was founded by former Peace Corps members in 1970.

Africare are operational on the ground in 27 countries throughout Africa. Their focus is on hunger but they were looking for an educational component to their work. Women are typically the farmers in Africa, and women who can read make better farmers, not to mention mentors to future generations as the family educators. The results for educating women are exponential and expand well beyond learning metrics.

“Strive for progress, not perfection!”

That’s a quote I’ve heard several times over the past couple of weeks, and I think it’s a brilliant summary of what we, as business owners, need to do. (I really don’t know who said this, by the way.)

We get so caught up in a lot of the hype that’s out there, and judge our success against what other’s are doing, rather than what we are doing ourselves. And as a result we become overwhelmed with so much to do; frustrated that we’re not achieving the same results as everyone else (so-and-so’s just had a $10k month, why can’t I do the same??); and just plain exhausted by the busyness of each and every day.

However, if we were to just take a pause … breathe … and focus on our own progress and what we’re doing each day to take our businesses forward, a lot of the problems currently being experienced would simple fade away.

For example:

How many people have you shared your business with this week? It could be through an in-person networking event; a one-on-one conversation with a potential client; hosting your own teleclass, or being a guest on someone elses’; or some other way that you’ve connected with people.

Jot down all that you’ve done this week to share your business … that’s progress.

What marketing activities have you done this week? Building regular marketing activities into your business, however small, will see your subscriber base grow week after week. Have you posted to your blog? Updated social media? Shared an article with your clients/colleagues? All of these small, quick marketing activities, when done regularly, lead to more subscribers.

I’ll give you a little sneak peek into my marketing activities… I have a weekly Monday Marketing appointment with myself that happens every Monday morning from 12-1pm Eastern. This is when I update my blog, schedule social media posts, record my podcast audio etc. It happens every week … it’s on my calendar!

What project have you moved forward with this week? We all have projects that we’re diligently working on behind-the-scenes. Some of them are huge projects that are ongoing over several weeks (such as a new program launch), and others are much smaller and can be accomplished quickly.

Jot down those projects that you’ve taken action on this week, however small and imperfect that action has been. You’re still making progress.

Next time you’re in overwhelm mode, just take a minute to acknowledge the progress that you’re making in your business … and don’t worry about it being perfect. If you waited for everything to be perfect, there never would be a right time!

Article Contributed by Cristian Ángel

In order to efficiently take the first steps of transforming an idea into reality through an entrepreneurship, there are key issues that we must consider in order to raise our few possibilities of success in the medium and long term. According to small business growth expert and entrepreneur Carl Hall, these key issues include creating management structures and sales forces that clearly understand the company’s culture and strategy, as well as technical innovations at every level of company operations.

I’m sorry to tell you in such an honest and direct way that a “brilliant” idea only is of no use. We must understand as from day one that the idea by its own has no value, and on the contrary, the implementation means everything!

As in any other area of a job, there are key requisites that will determine the success of failure of our project. That is why I would like to share which are the essential aspects to start correctly with an online entrepreneurship.

1) The differential must be at home (no matter what!)

I constantly hear this famous phrase at meetings, conferences, talks and lunches of entrepreneurs:  “do you know where I can hire a good programmer?” This is the first wrong requisite.

It’s not that we don’t need a programmer. On the contrary, we need one, and a lot! This is why we must think of the possibility of hiring a developer. We should consider making him an integral part of the entrepreneurship.

None of these are important. To start with, our system can even be slow or have a design that is not that tidy. The real key to success is to solve a real problem that the client is willing to pay to have it solved.

Are we on the right track? Let’s leave the computer, look for our potential clients and sit them in front of the system that we are developing. Let’s see how they interact with it without making any comment, just watching. Towards the end we ask them if they would be willing to pay for that service, not if they would use it. If the answer is positive and they want to pay for it, then we are on the right track.

If the answer is negative, then we must, as it is known today, “pivot.” We must listen to our clients to find out what it is that they really want, what their problems effectively are and adapt our software to their needs. Nobody will know what the clients need better than themselves, not even us (the founders of our own entrepreneurship.)

Why should we ask if they would pay for it instead of asking if they would use it? In time we will understand that in almost 100% of the cases, people will congratulate us and answer that they would use it when ready.  The truth is that they don’t want us to have a bad image of them. That is why they try to be kind, nice and positive. But when we ask them if they would pay for it and invite them to sign a service contract (for example, for 3 or 6 months), no matter how cheap it may be, it ends with any kindness and we’ve got the answer we were looking for with effectiveness.

The idea for this requisite is to avoid the BIG mistake of developing something that we “think” would be useful and when it is done and we go out to sell it, we realize we’ve lost all of our money, time and effort without any sense.

3) Rising to the next level

Once the two previous requisites are covered, we start with this one. This last requisite consists in making our entrepreneurship grow into a medium and long term enterprise/company.

For that, we need to understand how the online world works and to find the key point in which we can define the distribution channel of our service for the mass generation of our clients with the objective of raising our revenues (invoicing.)

There are a lot of mechanisms through the Internet, from social network marketing, affiliate marketing, search engine marketing (Google, Bing and Yahoo) to even ads display.

In a case like ours that we started with our own resources (no external investment) and we go on in that way, what gave us best results was working through SEO (Search Engine Marketing) for the generation of new clients for our start-ups.

An excellent resource to begin and use is the SEOMOZ community, in which tutorials, guides and explanatory videos about SEO are offered. I recommend this because we must first learn what SEO is about and then we should implement it, and finally, measure the results.

This marketing mechanism is not learnt over night and, in addition, it constantly changes; the strategies that worked last year might not work this year. Lastly, the results are not seen overnight; it requires effort and dedication over time to be able to reach excellent achievements. But definitely, effort and tidy work in this medium bring highly valuable rewards.

About the Article

Article written by the online developer, Cristian Ángel for elMejorTrato in Argentina, now expanding to Brasil, Mexico and Colombia.