Deciding Between An LLC Or S Corporation: 6 Key Differences

When starting a business (or growing a business from a sole proprietorship), the limited liability company (LLC) and the S corporation are the go-to entities for small business owners. Both entities provide liability protection (which prevents business creditors and those with a judgment against you from accessing your personal assets) and act as a pass through, which means that all income from LLCs and S-corps are treated as income of the individual owners. However, there are various differences between the LLC and S-corp.

Instead of randomly choosing one or the other, here are some of the differences that may affect which one you choose for your business:

Corporate Formalities: LLCs generally do not have to maintain corporate requirements, even though its good practice to maintain separate company records. In some states, LLC owners are required to file a simple biennial statement with the Secretary of State, but that’s about it. S-corps, on the other hand, are required to maintain corporate formalities in order to keep their liability protection. S-corps must keep meeting minutes, a board of directors, officers, separate business accounts and appropriate records for all of their business transactions.
Allocating Income: This issue only comes up when there are several owners of the business or when additional owners will be added in the future. LLC owners may allocate the business income to its member disproportionately. That means that two owners may split the income 60-40 instead of 50-50. This may be important in situations where each owner contributes to the business differently — for example, where one owner is putting up startup capital and the other is putting in sweat equity. S-corps do not have this flexibility. Owners of an S-corp (also known as shareholders) are required to split the income equally among all of the owners.
Filing Taxes: LLCs with one owner do not have to file separate tax returns for the business. They can typically add a Schedule C to their personal taxes and be done with it. LLCs with more than one owner do have to file separate tax returns, but have the flexibility to file as a partnership or a corporation. S-corps must file information returns every year and their owners have to add a Schedule E to their personal taxes. However, a big tax benefit that S-corps provide is that with the Subchapter S election, you have the option to pay self-employment tax (approximately 15 percent) on only your reasonable salary as the owner, rather than on the entire net revenue of the business. This can result in big tax savings and is a big incentive to go S-corp rather than LLC for some.
Startup and Operation Costs: Maintaining corporate formalities and filing additional tax returns may increase the costs of running an S-corp. However, in several states the filing fees to create an LLC are substantially more than the fees to create an S-corp. In some states, such as New York, LLC owners are required to publish the name of the LLC in two newspapers which can easily cost well over $1,000. Its important to be aware of the filing requirements and associated costs in your state.
Restrictions on Type of Owners: In most states, LLCs may be owned by individuals, corporations, other LLCs and foreign entities. S-corps are not so flexible. S-corp shareholders must be individuals (not partnerships or corporations) who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Additionally, an S-corp can have a maximum of 100 shareholders. Certain types of businesses may not be LLCs or S-corps, including banks and insurance companies.
Psychological Effects and Public Perception: People who may be important to your business’ development can have strong opinions about the different business entities. I have heard from bankers and venture capitalists that they are not fond of LLCs and prefer to invest in corporations. I also know lawyers who think the LLC is the best thing since sliced bread. I think that corporations, with all their formalities, can influence the way you treat your business and the level of professionalism that you maintain. Additionally, public perception of an LLC versus an S-corp may be different. Incorporating may show customers, banks and other potential investors that you are serious about growing your business and that you intend to be around for a long time.

These are just some of the various factors to be considered when selecting a business entity. I highly recommend a consultation with both an accountant and a lawyer to determine which entity will fit your business best.

This article was originally featured in YFS Magazine.

Rachel Rodgers is a business lawyer for women and/or young entrepreneurs. She runs her practice, Rachel Rodgers Law Office, entirely online. In addition to practicing law, Rachel blogs about virtual law offices and teaches a popular workshop for women lawyers who want to practice law online through her website, Her Virtual Law Office.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

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Disclaimer: This article is a resource guide for educational and informational purposes only and should not take the place of hiring an attorney. No information in this article constitues legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader.

Image: YEC

This Twin Cities startup takes photo tagging to a new level.

13 Powerful SEO Tools For Startups

Question: Which SEO tools have been most helpful to your business?

SEOMoz for Everything

“SEOMoz’s suite of products has essentially provided us the value of our own personal SEO consultant. We use their tools track keyword rankings, rate on-page optimization, and track links to our site. They also regularly post great tips on their blog and have a Q and A section. By using their tools, we’ve increased our monthly search traffic 10x in the last year.”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

Raving About Raven Tools

“I love Raven Tools. It is one of the key reasons why my company’s website ranks either first or second for most keywords related to our niche. Their research analysis and link-building tools allow me to find untapped niches and capitalize on them through effective organization for outreach.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

Install SEO for Chrome

“SEO for Chrome is the go-to tool that I use. It allows me to easily see Page Rank, backlinks, estimated traffic, and even conduct keyword research for a website, all through my Chrome browser. It’s very important to get backlinks for SEO; I use this Chrome app to determine where I will invest my time to develop links back to my site.”

– Jun Loayza | President, Ecommerce Rules

Scribe for Content

“Scribe is a great tool for SEO-ifying content. We run all of our blog posts through it to make sure that they’re not only educational, but will all be found in the search engines. Right now, we receive more than half of our traffic from relevant Google searches.”

– Laura Roeder | Founder, LKR Social Media

Can’t Go Wrong With Google

“SEO is all about content and links, but equally important are the keywords you choose to target. Don’t assume what your users are searching for. Instead, use Google’s free Keyword Tool to determine monthly search volume for keywords in your industry. Once armed with this data, create content and obtain links targeting these keywords and watch your SEO traffic soar.”

– Warren Jolly | Co-founder, Affiliate Marketing

Two Birds With One Stone

“YouTube has helped me rank high on certain Google keywords. Not only is it the second highest search engine ever, but it also helps my audience see me and my photography in a more personal setting.”

– Angela Pan | Owner/Photographer, Angela B Pan Photography

Join the Fight With Market Samurai

“Ever since I started doing SEO years ago, Market Samurai has been the backbone of my keyword research and analysis process. It is much easier to use than Google’s Keyword Tool and less expensive than other products on the market.”

– Sean Ogle | Founder, Location 180, LLC

Open Up Open Site Explorer

“Information is key in improving your SEO efforts; if you don’t know where your inbound links are coming from and what keywords are providing the biggest boost to your search efforts, you can’t work to improve them. Open Site Explorer lets us check which inbound links are giving us the best SEO benefits, perform competitive research, and check backlinks and anchor text almost effortlessly.”

– Lauren Fairbanks | Partner, Stunt & Gimmick’s

Go Real-Time on Rank Checker

“I’ve been using Rank Checker, the simple browser plugin for over three years now and haven’t had a need for much else. It’s free and you can download and set it up in a few minutes. You can create multiple website profiles that you want to track keyword SERPs for. It’s super simple and it gives you the most up-to-date results each time you run it. You can also schedule it to run automatically.”

– Matthew Ackerson | Founder, Saber Blast

Wordtracker Cuts Out Extra Work

“When it comes to researching which keywords are the most searched for, and how much competition they have, Wordtracker is the way to go. You can find out how many clicks you’d likely get if you got to the front page of Google, and whether it’s worth targeting this keyword or not.”

– Nathalie Lussier | Creator, The Website Checkup Tool

Add Platinum SEO to WordPress

“Many of my sites run on WordPress so I use WordPress plugins on them. The best one of these plugins for SEO is definitely Platinum SEO.”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

Site Strength Indicator Delivers Results

“Site Strength Indicator from SearchEngineNews has been incredibly helpful, as it provides a very detailed breakdown of the most important SEO factors and how your site rates for them”

– Nicolas Gremion | CEO, Free-eBooks.net

Forget SEO and Hit the Books

“The best SEO tool I’ve ever encountered is The Purple Cow, a book by Seth Godin. This book makes the case that investing your resources into developing an amazing and viral product is better than any marketing or SEO campaigns. Instead of gaming SEO, focus on building a product that goes viral.”

– Eric Bahn | Founder, Beat The GMAT

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Now read: 4 Startup Lessons You Won’t Learn In Business School

Image: TopSEOPicks.com

Can You Really Make Money Doing What You Love?

Recently, author Daniel DiPiazza wrote “An Open Letter to Frustrated 20 Somethings” on Under30CEO.com. It blew up. Daniel’s premise: If it were up to him, why would he make a “job” or “work” the center of his life? When someone asks him “what he does”, why should he have to respond and narrowly define himself by the skills he uses to make money?

I’d spend my life traveling, learning languages, practicing martial arts, reading, programming, eating good food and (eventually) raising smart, open-eyed children.

Touché Daniel, and I agree: there is a better way. Now let me break it down for those on a quest to “do what you love” from someone who’s been through all the ups and downs already.

How We Did It

I graduated from Bryant University having built what the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization named the best chapter in the world, four out of five years. I was leading a team of 150 smart, young, innovative, passionate people. No way I was getting a “real” job after that.

So upon graduation, I pass up job offers galore to “start my empire” from my mom’s basement outside of Poughkeepsie. Pitching VCs, writing business plans, sending money to India for web development — and still without a clue about how to actually make money from my lawnchair. I call Jared O’Toole to drink some beers on the front porch and we realize there have to be lots of other young people trying to start businesses just like us. We co-found Under30CEO.com.

With no revenue in sight, it’s now the dead of winter, and Poughkeepsie is getting depressing. Then the global financial crisis hits, and we’re really screwed. My mom comes to me shortly after Christmas to tell me that we will be losing our house. The home I grew up in.

Lesson 1: At least be able to tell your mom how your business plans to make money.

Suddenly, I question those $65k+ salaries I turned down. But it’s time to hustle. I accept the first job I can find on Craigslist, a position for a driver, and show up at 6 a.m. Wheeling and dealing can’t be so bad, I think to myself. It’ll be my mobile office…

Wrong. I show up and am given the keys to a dump truck. With an 18-foot trailer. I guess it’s time to learn to drive a dump truck.

I get us to the job site, where I’m quickly informed that the crew of laborers I’m driving around aren’t going to appreciate it if I sit in the truck. Time to dig ditches 12 hours a day for the next six months.

Lesson 2: When you put your back against the wall, you make things happen.

Sure, I could have let go my entrepreneurial dreams and gotten a cushy desk job. But instead, I put myself in the most uncomfortable situation possible. Digging ditches with guys who could work me under the table, and then going home to moonlight Under30CEO until 2 a.m., was absolutely miserable. I was making $15/hour, living in a tiny apartment with my mom. I love you, Mom, but that’s not exactly what I thought my “empire” would entail.

But these early days are what make or break most entrepreneurs. If you can get through this part and still believe in what you’re doing, you can survive.

Lesson 3: Test everything.

We try everything we can think of on Under30CEO.com. We don’t talk about it much today, but Under30CEO was once a Ustream show, then a Ning Network, a Meetup, and a membership site; we’ve offered daily deals, affiliate offers, consulted startups, hosted workshops on social media, done dealflow for VCs — you name it, we’ve tested it.

It’s the smartest thing we’ve ever done. Make little tests, and if they make money, run with them. If not, see ya later!

Lesson 4: You don’t test stuff very long when you’re broke.

While throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks is great, when you’re bootstrapping on a ditch-digger’s wage, you don’t have the money or the patience to test things for very long. You’re trying to get cash-flow positive as fast as possible. Any of the business models listed above are solid ideas and could be turned into million-dollar businesses. Looking back at it, it was probably our biggest curse too. We were looking to get hit the jackpot, and we were quick to give up. Young and impatient? Yes… But also smart. Here’s why:

Lesson 5: Never do anything you are going to hate.

Call me a pretentious, formerly-frustrated 20-something, but we always stuck to our core value of doing something we loved. We loved being in the business of inspiring young entrepreneurs. Many of those other business models were not that, and we knew we would eventually grow to hate them. We listened to our gut, and as corny as it sounds, we followed our dream.

But don’t think for a moment that it was easy.

Guts, grit, determination, yeah, all of that, and then some. Following your dream is much harder than anyone will ever tell you. But is it worth it? Absolutely.

Now we’re officially spinning off a new company, based on something we’re even more insanely passionate and excited about: A travel company for ambitious young professionals. The best part? I got to spend seven months around the world, working from this very laptop, plotting world domination.

No wait, ACTUALLY, the best part is that this travel company is designed to be the launching pad for young people who want to see the world, and go out and do big things. This isn’t a course and there is no curriculum. We simply curate experiences in places like Costa Rica and Nicaragua with other amazing people and inspire the creative environment to let you guys figure out your next big moves.

To return to the “open letter” that inspired this post, yes Daniel, you’re spot on. It is possible to make money doing what you love. It’s just not easy. But when it helps other people figure out their dreams? Then it’s game on.

A version of this post originally appeared on the author’s website.

Matt Wilson is the Co-founder of Under30CEO and Adventurer in Residence at Under30Experiences. To win a free trip to Costa Rica from Under30Experiences, sign up to win today.

Check out the 12 Hardest Questions Venture Capitalists Will Ask You.

Revealed: What It Takes To Get A Top 10 Rank In The Apple App Store

With so many mobile-first and mobile-focused startups in the world these days, one of the biggest hurdles startups and app developers have is breaking the highly coveted Apple App Store Top 10. With many startups, that are truly starting from the beginning, without the help of a rock star team, cracking the top 10 can make or break a company.

Reading those words may be scary, but that’s the breaks with literally millions competing in the same space.

Trademob analyzed 72 campaigns conducted over an eight month period from August 2012 to March 2013. The analysis revealed average CPI’s (cost per install), during boost campaigns as well as data about the required volume of installs necessary to achieve a position in the top 10 of Apple’s App Store in each country.

Trademob found that installs required for top 10 status in the “free” chart for Apple’s App Store in the US were 3x as high than the UK, the next ranking country. Likewise the US also had the highest cost per install. They also discovered was that even if an app cracked the top 10 in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, they still wouldn’t necessarily have the installs needed to crack the U.S. top 10.

The data set specifically looked at boost campaigns and their effect on app installs for iOS. It also highlights the “organic uplift” achieved from a boost campaign.

” In order to rank in the top 10 of the iOS App Store, an app must achieve a high number of downloads within 72 hours. App marketing boost campaigns can boost an app’s ranking by generating (buying) large numbers of downloads in a short amount of time. The downloads achieved during the last 24 hours have the biggest impact on the ranking position”. Trademob wrote.

If you’re an app developer and a mobile focused or mobile first startup, check out the data below.

Now check out this infographic: 10 Rules For A Great Startup Idea

6 Ways To Cultivate Creativity In Your Company

The startup scene today is an overcrowded space where companies are constantly vying for talent. But hiring talented people is only the first step in cultivating an innovative and creative environment. Building a workplace where there is a constant exchange of ideas involves finding the right formula for your company and culture.

You can’t force creativity, but the right setting will put your team in the right frame of mind to find imaginative solutions. Here are six ideas to help cultivate creativity in your company:

1. Be easygoing.

A relaxed and flexible work environment increases your team’s productivity by letting ideas flow. Encourage an atmosphere where the boss is more likely to make you a coffee than expect you to make them one.

Let go of the traditional 9-5 work week and have team members come in to work when they are rested and at their best. Not everyone is an early bird, and that’s good! Embrace your employees’ natural rhythm — they’ll show up to work fresh and ready to go.

2. Hire for culture.

Look for team members who understand your vision and align with your culture. Having a team that shares one vision and works together helps the organization run smoothly. This doesn’t mean only hiring people who always agree with you, though. Encourage different perspectives — it will help your company stay ahead of the curve.

3. Bring on people who love what they do.

Hire people that are passionate about their work. You want people at your company who really care; people who are excited to go to work everyday because they believe in the product. Adding people that want to improve your product will be the most beneficial for your company.

Point #2 goes hand-in-hand with this one. It’s far more pleasant to work alongside interesting, friendly, and driven people working towards the same goals.

4. Encourage diversity.

Put together a team with different backgrounds, passions, and capabilities. Having a group with a diverse set of ideas and problem-solving approaches helps push your product forward. Embrace and celebrate your team members’ individuality — out-of-the-box ideas and problem-solving approaches help push your product forward.

5. Incorporate sprints

The hustle and bustle of daily office life can wreak havoc on your concentration: emails, phones, meetings — the distractions are endless. That’s where a “sprint,” a set amount of time in which your team works to finish a project, can be the solution.

Startups develop quickly in the early stages because everyday interruptions are at a minimum. When your company has started to grow into individual teams, having them work in a remote location surrounded by nature is a great way to center your focus and take up a project from start to finish.

6. Take ample time off.

Communicate how important taking vacation is. Our brains are constantly on and connected, taking time off for some R&R is crucial for a healthy work/life balance. Wore-down workaholics don’t produce the highest quality content, you want your employees to be fresh and excited to be at work. Convey to your employees how important time off is — and make it non-negotiable.

There are plenty of roadblocks your team will have to overcome to breakthrough in your industry; the company’s work environment shouldn’t be one of them. Reimagine what “work” should look like, and you’ll be surprised at the impact it will have on your team’s energy and creativity. The best takeaway for your employees? They won’t be boxed in by rigid rules and can focus on building the next game-changing feature instead.

What’s your favorite way of breaking the mold?

Christian Springub started his first business at the age of 12 buying and reselling kinder suprise collectible toys at flea markets. Three years later he switched to creating websites for small business in his hometown with Fridtjof. Christian moved to San Francisco in 2011 to build Jimdo in the USA.

No You’re Not Better Than Silicon Valley: How To Support Your Entrepreneurial EcoSystem

Cliff McKinney is the CEO and cofounder of WorkForPie and a community leader in the Memphis startup community. This post, which also appears on his personal Tumblr, can easily be applied to any town, any city, everywhere else.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Memphis lately. Where it is, where it’s been, and where it might go. What I think should be done to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem here is perhaps a post for another day. Today though I thought I’d share a few words about how to support an entrepreneurial ecosystem. No doubt this applies in Memphis, but I’ll try to leave it general enough to apply to most any growing ecosystem. I’ll try to limit things to five general themes:

Theme One: Be Successful

Brad (my cofounder) and I talk a lot about how we might help Memphis. We do a lot of small things that we hope add up. We both serve as mentors to local entrepreneurs and lead user groups, but we always come back to the same general idea: the best thing we can do for Memphis is to become wildly successful. Doing that will bring in more investors and more interest, more jobs, and even a couple new angel investors. This goal trumps all the others, as it should. If our efforts to be successful leave us no time for all of the other stuff, then so be it.

This should be paramount for you and your company too. If you have to move to be successful, then move (but come back and invest later). If you have to put another company out of business to be successful, then do it. If taking advantage of some opportunity means others won’t have the chance, that’s okay too. It’s okay to be competitive. It’s okay to want to be better than the next guy. The success of your company is what matters most. Never forget that.

Theme Two: Give Time

I’d love to give money to my local ecosystem, but as a poor entrepreneur I just can’t afford it. What I can afford is my time, and I’d like to think that in some ways that is more valuable to local entrepreneurs. My office is always open, and my phone is always on, and I’m happy to give local entrepreneurs an earful (and often more than they bargained for) anytime they ask. Brad leads the local Python user group, and I lead the local Startup Meetup. It’s something we both do for fun, but we also do it because we feel obligated to give back to a community that has given us a bunch and that continues to support us.

Giving your time means a lot to local entrepreneurs—especially those who are just starting out. You don’t have to lead a startup meetup. Just make it a priority to attend once a month. Email startup CEOs and offer your help. It only takes a little while, and the good karma you’ll earn is totally worth it. Do what you can. Every little bit counts, and giving something, no matter how little, is always better than giving nothing.

Theme Three: Be Honest In Your Support

So here comes the first controversial part of this post. Truth is, I don’t think supporting local startups means blowing smoke up their asses. I’m a big fan of honesty, and if a local company has a terrible business model or distribution model or team then the fact that they’re local shouldn’t preclude you from saying so. In fact, I think you’re more obligated to say something if they’re local. It’s what I give, and it’s what I expect from the people I really respect.

I gave a little talk during the Seed Hatchery demo day last year. I won’t bore you with the details, but the general theme was that the companies at Demo Day weren’t competing with Memphis companies, or even Tennessee companies. They were competing with every company everywhere. If we didn’t treat them accordingly, then we were doing them a disservice. I’m hard on the local companies I mentor. I don’t call them out publicly, but in private I do as much as I can to convince them that this isn’t a mutual admiration society. You can’t build an ecosystem by calling a local company awesome when it’s clear to everyone else that it’s not. It just doesn’t work that way.

Theme Four: Pay and Get Paid

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made as a founder was thinking that someone deserves some kind of discount or special recognition because he or she is a friend. That should never be the case. If a local company does awesome work and they charge companies $150/hr for it, then I expect to pay $150/hr. I honestly don’t care if the company is in Memphis or even if it’s run by my mother or my spouse. If the service is valuable to me, I expect to pay for it. If it’s not, and the company happens to be local, then I’ll take the time to tell them why, and if they correct the issue, I’ll pay for their service then.

Now (but not always) I feel the same way about the services I provide. I trade value for value. I have something valuable, and I expect companies to pay for it. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business. The only time we consider offering some discount for our services is when working with some company at a discounted rate is somehow highly valuable to us through the association. Despite the fact that they have millions more dollars than all of my local startups combined, I’m more likely to work with some company like Facebook at a discount than I am to discount our rate for a local company. I want to establish my value, and one of the most important places to do that is in my own hometown.

Theme Five: Talking Shit Hurts You More

It’s important to be proud of your city. The best way to show that pride is to talk about all the wonderful things your city is doing to support entrepreneurship. The worst way is to talk trash about other cities or other ecosystems. I’ve heard people say things along the lines of “our city is better than Silicon Valley because….” When I hear that, I almost immediately assume the person saying it is an idiot. Your city is not better than Silicon Valley. That’s why you’re comparing it to Silicon Valley. If your city was better than Silicon Valley, in any way whatsoever, then they would be comparing themselves to you. Honestly, the same goes for any criticism of another ecosystem. If you’re talking shit about them, then you’re wasting time you could be spending making your city better.

On the other hand, I happen to think that it’s completely okay to criticize your own ecosystem, and even startups or leaders within it. But, if you do, make sure you’re actually talking directly to the person or company in question. If they can’t take it then they probably need to hear it even more. And nothing sucks worse than hearing criticism secondhand. I’ve had more than my fair share of secondhand criticism and it sucks way worse than hearing it from the source.

See this guest post by McKinney’s co-founder Brad Montgomery, on “Minimum Working Thing”

Startup Tips: How To Mine Your Customer List For Sales Gold

As a business owner, your biggest potential gold mines are often closer than you think — it’s just a matter of knowing where to look. By going beyond what’s worked in the past and being open to new strategies, you’ll be surprised by how many untapped profit centers are just within your reach.

Uncover Hidden Gold Mines

You already have one major profit source at your fingertips — your customer list. Tap into this often overlooked gold mine by implementing the following strategies:

Reengage lost customers. Most of your customers, clients, or patients don’t stop doing business with you because they’re dissatisfied; more often than not, life gets in the way. In my business, we created a three-step strategy for regaining them (our Customer Re-Engagement Strategy™). This tactic generated over 100 percent increase in sales in less than five days. How? We simply created an email for our client’s list of existing customers, expressed our gratitude for past business, and expressed concern for having not heard from them in a while. We then made a time-limited, preferred customer offer and followed up on that.
Upsell and cross-sell. If customers are offered a complementary product, service, or add-on during the time of purchase, they would happily invest in it. For example, our team helped a client recognize the potential to offer a free, one-month trial for ongoing service and support. Approximately 65 percent of people who purchased the original product agreed to the trial, which added tens of thousands of dollars in additional profits in the subsequent months.
Tag team. Some of the biggest companies in the world owe their success to joint venture partnerships. Look for opportunities to leverage the trust and goodwill you’ve created with your customers, reach out to a company that offers a complementary product, and make that product available to your customers for a share of the profits. When I owned a real estate development company, we did something most of our other competitors were not doing — we struck deals with related businesses to provide “preferential pricing” to our clients. Pairing up with furniture suppliers, security companies, and other related industries resulted in one of the largest profit margins in the industry.

Fix the Leaks

Most entrepreneurs believe the only way to grow a business is by acquiring new customers. Meanwhile, their existing customers are being ignored.

The truth is that your competitors are working every day to win over the hearts of your customers. People want to feel valued, special, and appreciated — if you’re not communicating this to your prospects, they’ll find someone who does. By taking time to engage in an ongoing dialogue with your prospects, offering them valued information, and providing them with incentives to return, you’ll see a better, more consistent flow of income.

Convey Your Value

Choose advertising and lead generation opportunities that make sense for your business, and position your product or service as the obvious choice in your market. In addition, ask for references from your happiest customers. Simply asking for — and rewarding — referrals will engage current customers and instill confidence in new ones.

When it comes to increasing profit centers, the outcome is dependent upon your approach and strategic thinking. Continue to pursue new strategies, seek fresh ways to engage current customers, and capitalize on opportunities to increase the perceived value of your products.

Because when you do strike gold, everyone wins: You’ll experience reduced business costs and increased profits through more efficient operations, and your customers will get exactly the experience they were looking for.

Charles Gaudet’s controversial marketing insight has earned him the title of “The Entrepreneur’s Marketing Champion” by both his clients and Insiders’ for his ability to help them out-compete, out-market and out-earn their competition. As the founder of PredictableProfits.com, he’s an expert at helping entrepreneurs radically improve their profits through a series of effective marketing strategies.

Now check out 5 Tips For Young Entrepreneurs Who Want To Be Taken Seriously

12 Tips For Crowdfunding Your New Startup

Choose an Entrepreneur Facing Platform

“Spend some time researching successful projects. You’ll notice that there are core elements of a successful campaign: compelling rewards, a powerful story, and out of the gate support from friends and family. At Fundable, we coach our clients through best practices, and provide them with resources to increase their chance of success. Every entrepreneur should look for that type of support.”

– Eric Corl | President + Co-Founder, Fundable LLC

Read the Fine Print

“Read the fine print of what the future ramifications of fundraising are for your business after taking on crowdfunding. Walk through the different scenarios for future funding and analyze whether crowdfunding your first round will be a turnoff for other potential investors.”

– Abby Ross | Co-Founder & VP Operations, ThinkCERCA

Solve a Problem, Don’t Create One

“When it comes to crowdfunding, the best and most successful ideas come from entrepreneurs that are trying to solve a problem, not create one. If you have a product that will solve a problem that everyone has, you’ll have a good chance of succeeding with your crowdfunding efforts.”

– Derek Johnson | CEO/Founder, Tatango

Understand the Downsides

“Crowdfunding is not a panacea for first-time entrepreneurs. While it can reduce the regulatory burdens of initial capital raising, it comes with downsides. You need to ask yourself whether you want to deal with information requests from 100 shareholders, trying to convince a seed or VC to join that quagmire or the potential of losing your friends’ and families’ savings. ”

– Peter Minton | Founder & President, Minton Law Group, P.C.

Build Momentum First

“Crowdfunding campaigns can become “stale” over time, much like a house that has been on the real estate market for a while loses luster. Make sure to launch your campaign after having folks commit to participate, and then try to schedule a dripfeed of interesting news throughout your campaign. Show momentum — everyone wants to back a winner!”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Tap Into the Power of Video

“If you’re looking to crowdfund a new idea I’m going to assume you’ve done your research and have determined it’s a good route to take. Many crowdfunding success stories have said a great video was key to their success. A study by Econsultancy said people are 97% more likely to buy your product after watching a video of it. That’s huge!”

– Natalie MacNeil | Emmy Award Winning Media Entrepreneur, She Takes on the World

Develop a Network of Influencers

“Crowdfunding websites are simply funding platforms. That means you can’t rely on them to market and find funders for your venture. You’ll need to do your own marketing and develop critical mass to get your project funded. Increase your chances of getting crowdfunded by developing a strong network with plenty of influencers.”

– Benjamin Leis | Founder, Sweat EquiTees

Build Your Own Platform Instead

“Follow Lockitron and App.net’s path. They built their own platform to crowdfund, and it worked — so now they don’t have to share a percentage. Lockitron even recently opensourced the code to do so. Check it out here: http://selfstarter.us.”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

If You Almost-Build It, They May (Still) Come!

“For physical products, I think crowdfunding presents a unique opportunity to test a market before spending on inventory. That alone is a great reason to build a campaign to sell something that you’re fairly sure the market will love. That said, get as far into the design/build process as possible, so potential customers know you’re serious, and so you identify challenges/costs early.”

– Derek Shanahan | Marketing, Playerize

Plan Your Next Move

“It’s important to have clear plans for how you will use the funds you raise and how you will sustain your success. Be sure that the funds you raise can serve to launch a profitable venture.”

– Lisa Nicole Bell | Founder/CEO, Inspired Life Media Group

Only Raise What You Need

“Despite the big numbers that often grab headlines, most companies don’t need millions of dollars to build a minimum viable prototype (MVP). Spend as little as possible to validate your business idea and then you can attract more capital on better terms. ”

– Robert J. Moore | Co-Founder and CEO, RJMetrics

My Advice? Don’t!

“Your ability to raise money on crowdfunding sites is not correlated in any way to your ability to run a business. If you need outside financing, force yourself to raise money from professional investors — have the door slammed on you a few times! Crowdfunding is “safe,” but a first-time entrepreneur needs to experience hardship, and understand what experienced investors look for in a business.”

– Sunil Rajaraman | CEO/Co-Founder, Scripted.com

So what’s this Everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference?

Startup Tips: 6 Tips For Negotiating Effectively

The word “negotiating” often brings to mind hard-nosed business people in suits stubbornly bidding over the details of a deal. It’s assumed that if one person “wins” the war, someone has to lose. Not so. Business has evolved past the point of needing to be a tug of war between ego-driven people who refuse to lose. Here are six tips for negotiating effectively:

1. People should always come before profits.

Relationships are the currency of influence and success in business. No matter how badly you want the deal or a certain outcome, do not use, manipulate, insult, or demean people to get it. Not only does it create bad energy that will come back to you, it also sets you up to be found out and have people walk away from the deal unhappy. While you can’t control anyone’s opinion of you, you can do everything you can to operate in integrity and treat other people with respect. This is the first and most important rule of negotiating.

2. Know who’s on the other side of the table.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down to negotiate a deal and had people make all kinds of wild assumptions about me, my company, and my partners. A lack of research on your part says that you either don’t care enough to prepare properly or you’re an amateur who isn’t savvy enough to research the other side.

Take the time to understand who you’re negotiating with – what makes them tick, what that might want in the deal, why they might want what they want, what’s urgent versus important for them. As with sales, the more prepared you are, the more effective you’ll be.

3. Know what you need, want, and would like to have.

Before you arrive at the negotiating table, know what you absolutely cannot compromise and what you’re willing to concede. This prevents the temptation to get caught up in emotions and the desire to reach a conclusion. Even when it’s uncomfortable, it’s important to keep your objectives in the front of your mind and advocate for them.

4. Create leverage.

In many cases, you have advantages in a negotiation that are not obvious to you or the other party. To fully maximize your opportunity, it’s important to think about what advantages you have that make your proposal more desirable for the other party. It could be a strategic partner that the other party wants to work with or it could be a future promise that you could easily fulfill. Keep 2-3 leverage points handy and use them if negotiations begin to stall or go south.

5. Give something meaningful.

The best way to start a negotiation is with a meaningful gift. In his classic book, Influence, Robert Cialdini explains the concept of reciprocation, which says that when we give something to someone, they feel indebted and want to create balance by returning the favor or gift. The reason to give is not to get something in return. The purpose is to set the tone for the negotiation.

If you’re a genuinely kind and generous person, you’ll want to do things that create goodwill. The gift could be something as big as courtside tickets to a sporting event or something as simple as a Starbucks gift card for $10. The gift is less important than the proper motivation and follow-through.

6. Close quickly and gracefully.

If you’re a fan of the ABC television show “Shark Tank”, then you’ve probably witnessed people talking themselves out of deals by not knowing when to stop talking. Going back to point 3, identify a point that’s satisfactory and immediately close. Don’t linger or talk out of nervous energy. Simply state the terms, seek confirmation, and then discuss next steps. Don’t give the other party the chance to change their mind and spend time waffling over inconsequential details. Be clear, be firm, and be progressive.

– – –

Want more advice? Check out Influence by Robert Cialdini and Getting Past No by William Ury – both books are fantastic primers on negotiating and personal selling.

What negotiating strategies do YOU use?

This post originally appeared on the author’s blog.

Lisa Nicole Bell is equal parts artist, businesswoman and motivator. Lisa is the Founder and CEO of Inspired Life Media Group where she and her team meld art, social change, and commerce to create economically viable media properties.

4 Startup Lessons You Won’t Learn In Business School

My co-founder and I both attended Wharton as undergrads, where we “concentrated” in entrepreneurship (in addition to finance, accounting, legal studies and philosophy). We wrote multiple business plans, negotiated the details of term sheets and collaborated on teams vying for theoretical capital within the confines of a semester.

While the skills learned no doubt gave us perspective and provided a structure for entrepreneurial thinking, after two-plus years of living a startup, it’s become apparent to me that studying entrepreneurship was just as abstract — if not more so! — than my studies in philosophy, especially with respect to starting and building a bootstrapped company.

The lessons outlined below may not be as sexy as term sheet negotiation and capital raising, but they are core to the success of a resource-constrained startup — and make a world of difference between success and failure:

1. Learn how to sell, quickly.

You need to be profitable from day one, and consequently, you need to think about what you’re building as a sustainably profitable venture with a real business model. You do have investors, but they’re your clients, and they’re not giving you money because of an impressive management team, large addressable market, previous accomplishments, or world-scale strategy.

They care only about your ability to address their specific needs in a better way than the current solution. Can you fix their problem? They don’t care about anyone else’s.

2. Learn how to build relationships.

You may be without financial or strategic advisors, but no one understands the problem that you’re trying to solve better than the customers you’re courting. Your first set of customers will effectively become your advisors and most valuable advocates, providing deeper insight into the issues you’re trying to solve and giving you a better grasp of customer needs.

Your first 10, 50 and 100 clients will define your brand and help you shape your business, so make sure you listen to them vs. trying to expand too rapidly. Better insight and understanding of your customers in the beginning is key to setting your business in the right direction.

3. Learn how to engage client referrals and leverage the media.

You may not have the budget for marketing programs, but even if you do, there’s nothing better than a referral from a satisfied customer. Word-of-mouth marketing from current customers creates a trusted network that results in a supportive, invested client ecosystem.

With regards to PR, take the opportunity to engage writers directly with your story. It means a lot to a writer when they receive a custom note from a founder instead of a templated message from a PR firm or marketing rep.

4. Understand the scope of what you’re embarking on — and the significance of determination and perseverance.

This is where our traditional entrepreneurship curriculum failed most fundamentally. Successful entrepreneurship rarely happens within the confines of a year, let alone a single semester, and our half-hearted attempts at starting businesses every semester (only to let them die at winter and summer breaks) reinforced a misleading expectation: that success can be validated quickly.

Building a successful company takes time and patience, two assets that you can’t raise from any venture capitalist. Yes, capital can help you hire and attract resources, but in the early stages of a startup, doing all the work yourself will provide you with perspective on the full scope of what you’re building.

Being in control of your own destiny also uniquely allows you to go at your own pace. While you obviously need to be aware of market pressures, without the pressure from outside investors, you can take the time to better lay the foundation of your business — a foundation that, one day, might support an empire.

Zach Yungst is the Co-founder of Cater2.me, a company founded in late 2010 focused on revamping the corporate catering industry. Zach grew up in Sarasota, Florida and graduated with degrees in Finance and Philosophy from Wharton / The University of Pennsylvania. Post graduation, Zach worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in New York and in private equity for TPG in San Francisco.

Quick tip, this can be a fundraising deal breaker.

Startup Tips: How To Know When You Need A Contract

Do you sometimes lie awake at night wondering what will happen if your biggest customer doesn’t pay you? How about if the vendor handling your website upgrade takes off with your thousand-dollar down payment? These scenarios would be a nightmare for any bootstrapping entrepreneur — and they happen all the time.

The Problem

Here’s a pretty typical scenario. One of my clients, who owns an Internet-based consulting firm, was hired to create a new website for a client a few months back. He received a $500 deposit for several thousands of dollars worth of work. Then he hired a web coder, with whom he had a good relationship, to handle certain aspects of the design. He and the coder completed the work, and guess what happened next?

The client stiffed him. And not only him, but also his colleague, because he didn’t have the money to pay the web coder out of his own pocket. This caused a strain in the relationship between the consultant and his coder, and a major strain on his pockets.

Several months later, the consultant hired me and I used my magical lawyer ways to collect all of the money from the client. (Note: magical lawyer ways = calling the client, announcing that I am a lawyer and demanding payment. Okay, okay, it was more complicated than that but, most importantly, it worked). He was happy to get fully paid, but the strain on the relationship could not be erased, he lost the time value of the money he was paid in January instead of August, he spent a lot of time chasing this guy instead of working on other projects, and he was out the attorney’s fees he had spent, too.

The Solution

How would this scenario have been different if the consultant had a contract for both relationships? First of all, in his initial strategy session with me, I would have advised him that his payment collection method wasn’t working and we would have set up a better payment system. Additionally, the client contract would have required the client to pay interest on late payments and court fees plus attorney’s fees if he wound up having to take him to court. This makes it really easy to sue and win.

With such a contract, the chances of getting an enforceable judgment (read: getting paid) jump sky-high — and it won’t cost you money, since the client has to pay your lawyer’s fees.

The lesson? When you show clients that you are professional and serious about your business, they will think twice before trying to stiff you.

Regarding his relationship with the developer, an independent contractor agreement that stated that the coder would get paid when the business owner gets paid would have eliminated the bad blood between the parties.

So, Do You Need a Contract?

I often tell my clients, “Everyone is an enemy to your business!” Your business partners, customers, vendors, employees, etc. all have the ability to screw your business over. So you have to treat everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) like an enemy on paper. Only then are you free to treat them like a friend in person.

How do you do that? By having a contract for every relationship your business enters into.

Here’s my rule of thumb that will protect your business from all manner of headaches, financial loss, emotional distress and yes, lawsuits as well: Have a contract for every single relationship your business enters into. You and your buddy starting a new business? Create a contract that governs that relationship. Selling your new widgets in that new widget store up the street? Draft an agreement between you and the widget store owner. Setting up a website to advertise and/or sell your services? Have a privacy policy and/or terms and conditions to govern your relationship with people who check out your website.

These contracts do not have to be complicated. In fact, they can be pretty simple, but they do need to protect you from all (or at least most) of the ways the relationship can go wrong. And please don’t forget the all-important boilerplate at the end of the contract, because it provides lots of protection and will save you money, time and headaches.

Once you have an agreement with your independent contractors, vendors, clients and business partners, you can go back to getting enough sleep at night because you know you’re well-protected in any situation.

Note: This article is a resource guide for educational and informational purposes only and should not take the place of hiring an attorney. No information in this article creates an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader.

A version of this post originally appeared on the author’s blog.

Now check out these startup marketing tips from everywhere else.

Top Resources For Understanding Startup Funding

It’s no secret that many activist investors are frustrated with the lack of financial literacy among entrepreneurs today. In my own battle against the blank face in the boardroom, I’ve been following the work of Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, and Fred Wilson (in addition to asking some of our great investors questions directly).

Some of these online works can be a little overwhelming, however, with Fred Wilson’s MBA Mondays alone returning over 90 posts. Here are a few places to get started — followed by some additional resources I’ve found useful.

Brad Feld’s Finance Fridays

Brad’s professorial writing style explains the context around numerous accounting mechanisms and why they matter. Brad will get you thinking about the big picture before you dive into vocabulary.

Select Picks:

Jason Mendelson’s Convertible Debt Series

Convertible debt (and convertible equity) is popular for seed stage companies in Silicon Valley. Jason’s series will help you get comfortable with the levers behind most seed stage negotiations.

Select Picks:

Brad Feld’s Term Sheet Tips

Don’t forget to plan for success! Get familiar with what a term sheet looks like before you get one.

Select Picks:

Fred Wilson’s MBA Mondays

Fred’s posts are among my favorite. Not only does he share concrete examples, he uses simple terms to get you familiar with almost every major financial metric that will have an impact on your business. I even printed Fred’s posts and annotated them rigorously until I understood how everything fit together.

Select Picks:

Additional Resources:

This post originally appeared on the author’s blog.

Tyler Arnold is Co-Founder and CEO of SimplySocial Inc., a software tool that helps large companies create great content for their social media profiles. As CEO, Tyler assists with key accounts, business development, and talent acquisitions as SimplySocial grows its presence around the world.

Now read 12 of the hardest questions venture capitalists will ask you

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10 Great Productivity Apps For Entrepreneurs

Getting more done throughout your day isn’t simply a matter of sitting down and working harder. Instead, being more productive requires that you work harder on the right things, in addition to tackling them as efficiently as possible. Fortunately for entrepreneurs, there are plenty of apps out there that will help to both organize an overwhelming workload and provide the motivation needed to get things done.

The following are 10 of my favorites:

Evernote: The beauty of Evernote (which is available for free in Web, iOS and Android versions) is that it can be whatever you need it to be. Need a simple place to store notes or track thoughts as they occur? Evernote has you covered. Want to set up a complete David Allen-style “Getting Things Done (GTD)” environment inside the program? Evernote can do that too.
Dropbox: As with Evernote, it probably isn’t a surprise to see Dropbox on a list of recommended productivity apps. The program’s value has been pretty well-established, all though chances are good that, even if you do have this program installed on your computer or mobile device, you still aren’t getting as much out of it as you could. To expand your usage, check out Macworld’s article on “62 Things You Can Do With Dropbox” (many of which work no matter what platform you’re using).
Lastpass: In an age of digital insecurity, forming secure passwords is an absolute must – but who has time to remember all those different combinations of letters and numbers? If you struggle to keep your online accounts secure, Lastpass can help by generating, storing and automatically recalling strong passwords for all of your Internet logins. It’s free to use on both PCs and Macs, though you’ll pay $12/year to have the premium version available for download to your mobile device.
Remember the Milk: Remember the Milk (RTM) is a widely-used to-do list management program that’s worth a look if you’re having trouble tracking your tasks. It’s highly flexible and easily customized – and can even be used to implement a GTD-style system. The Web version and basic iOS and Android apps are free to use, though daily syncing will run you $25/year.
Wunderlist: If RTM lacks in any one area, it’s visual appeal. So if you’re a more graphically-inclined entrepreneur, take a look at Wunderlist – a perpetual favorite on lists of the best “to do” trackers. The program is easy to navigate and can be used to quickly and efficiently track important tasks from within its free desktop, Web, iOS and Android versions.
Things: Although Things is only available on Macs and within Apple devices, it still warrants a mention on this list, given how intuitive the program is to use. While some users find that the RTM interface has a learning curve to fully utilize, Things makes it easy to start tracking “to do” items as quickly as possible. And, as an added bonus, it’s totally free to use!
Instapaper: Coming across interesting articles is one of the best parts of the Internet – and one of the worst things for your overall productivity levels. Instead of reading through new posts whenever you encounter them, save them to your Instapaper account. Your selected Web pages will be automatically saved for later browsing, when they’ll be displayed in a reading-friendly format for free on your computer, iPhone, iPad or Kindle.
Yast: Nearly all professionals can benefit from some type of time-tracking program – whether this type of tool is used to report billable hours back to customers or to simply measure how working hours are being spent. Yast provides an incredibly easy-to-use solution (just press the “Play” button to start tracking time to a specific account) that’s free to use for personal time tracking. Business accounts for entire teams are available as well, starting at $14/user per month.
Focusbooster: Plenty of entrepreneurs use the Pomodoro Technique (which alternates 25-minute long working blocks with short breaks) in order to maintain sustainable, long-term productivity. And while there are plenty of different Pomodoro timers out there, one of my favorites is the Focusbooster App. It’s free to use and provides a simple way for business professionals to stay focused over long periods of time.
Leech Block: If you find that the Pomodoro Technique alone isn’t enough to maintain productivity (which – let’s face it – isn’t that much of a challenge in today’s digital world of easily-accessible distractions), you may need to call in the big guns. In this case, you need Leech Block – a Firefox add-on that allows you to lock down specified websites. It’s easily customized to suit your unique working habits, and even provides a helpful reminder to get back to work when you stray to one of your blocked sites.

These are just a few of my favorite productivity apps. If you have others that you couldn’t get through the work day without, share your recommendations below!

Sujan Patel is the founder and CEO of Single Grain, one of the top Digital Marketing agencies in San Francisco, CA. With more than 10 years of Internet marketing experience, Sujan leads the digital marketing strategy for companies like Sales Force, Yahoo, Intuit and many other Fortune 500 caliber companies.

Exhilarator Founder, Michael Goldstein on: Beating The Startup Odds

Michael Goldstein, Exhilirator, DC Tech,DC startups

(photo: bizjournals.com)

Michael Goldstein is the founder ofExhilarator, a startup accelerator that helps consumer Internet startups get traction and funding. He is a serial entrepreneur with 15 years of experience focused on e-commerce, online content, and subscription businesses. Michael’s passion is for growing startups, and he has been involved with multiple startup businesses as an advisor and mentor

The old formula for startup success is out. Instead of the traditional plan-pitch-present-sell method, successful startups increasingly use a more straightforward sink-or-swim approach. These entrepreneurs jump in right away with their ideas to test them with customers.

Many entrepreneurs take a more conservative approach to building their startups, believing an extensive business plan increases their chance of success. They develop a business plan and look for financing. Once their plan has been vetted by investors, they put together a team, introduce a product, and only then begin selling their product.

A business plan created without any real data or feedback from customers is ineffective. Moreover, this approach can take months or even years to go from idea to product. Meanwhile, technology races ahead.

The best path a startup can take is creating value for its customers as quickly as possible. Once you’ve developed a minimum viable product, you can use feedback to determine your startup’s business plan. A startup needs powerful internal motivation to get moving before external momentum kicks in.

Building a Lean Approach

Here are a few ways to increase your chance of survival in the startup world:

1. Create value. Prioritize value first, then revenue. Increasing the worth of services or products means creating something your customers need and want. People will appreciate you offering something truly valuable to them — and they’ll invest in it.

2. Get to revenue. Revenue follows value. Building revenue buys you time to come up with a good business model. The success of your startup depends on making money from your idea. Use your startup’s first steps to take your product to your customers.

3. Stay slim. Keep your startup’s business as lean as possible. It’s important to stay focused on a few high-value products, rather than many lower-value ones. We use leanlaunchlab.com, an online canvas with tools and advice for startups.

4. Find expert help. Good mentors significantly reduce the learning curve for startups. Mitigate risk by seeking guidance from more experienced entrepreneurs. Now, more than ever, experienced, successful people are willing to share their knowledge. Seek out a referral from someone you trust or leverage online resources to make connections.

5. Pay attention to details. Taxes, insurance, and compliance issues can quickly sink a business if they’re ignored. Be sure your startup has a business license, pays appropriate taxes, and buys adequate insurance coverage. These seemingly small issues can become costly if left unaddressed.

Breathing Life into a Struggling Startup

If you’ve already taken the business plan approach and are experiencing problems, don’t be discouraged. You’re never too far along to be unable to stop and take stock of your options. A great idea may need to be reworked, tweaked, or improved. If you find yourself in a rut, here are some ideas to get your startup back on track:

Regroup. Plan an offsite meeting with your team. Getting out of the office to focus on the bumps will invigorate your business and get new ideas flowing.

Ask your customers. Your product, delivery, or brand may need a readjustment. Survey target or current buyers to find out what they want and how you can improve. Sites like surveymonkey.com make this task easy and inexpensive.

Seek outside advice. Find an advisor. A more experienced entrepreneur or mentor will seek guidance to get things back on track.

Value, Revenue, Growth

The chances of success for any startup are slim. Research by Harvard Business School academics found recently that 75 percent of all new startups fail.

Those entrepreneurs who take the typical business plan approach may not be ready to jump in all the way. Entrepreneurs who work from a lean startup plan to create momentum have a higher likelihood of survival because their flexibility allows them to meet the ever-changing needs of their customers.

Not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur. If you find yourself among those brave people who are passionate about an idea and can tolerate the rollercoaster of risk, be sure you’re keeping your priorities in order: value, revenue, and growth.

Michael Goldstein is the founder of Exhilarator, a startup accelerator that helps consumer Internet startups get traction and funding. He is a serial entrepreneur with 15 years of experience focused on e-commerce, online content, and subscription businesses. Michael’s passion is for growing startups, and he has been involved with multiple startup businesses as an advisor and mentor. Connect with Michael onTwitter andGoogle+. Because this article was published, one book will be donated to Reading Is Fundamental.

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