3 Ways Women Can and Should Have It All

A generation after many prominent feminists encouraged women to “have it all,” we continue to decry the absence of women in politics, business, and other positions of power. At the same time, even though there is more opportunity for women now than ever before in history, some professional women argue that we can’t or shouldn’t want to have it all.

But is it really too much to have a prominent career and a family? Must we make just one choice to tip the balance of power?

I don’t think so — women can have it all, and here is how:

1. Define what “having it all” means to you. Like many women, I didn’t want to work so hard for someone else that I wouldn’t have time for a family. Not only did I want to have a successful career and a family, I wanted the freedom to do the kind of work I pleased.

Yet working for a branding firm in Manhattan, I found myself staying late and coming in on weekends to represent products and companies I didn’t believe in. I was frustrated. I realized that what I wanted most was more control over my hours and over the people, companies and products I worked with.

2. Strike out on your own — gradually, if needed. If you want to avoid what Anne-Marie Slaughter calls the “time macho” of male-dominated corporate culture, why not start a business or a freelance career?

Like any major transition, owning your own business can be a gradual process. After several years of working for a company, I had enough confidence in my work as a graphic designer to strike out on my own and start freelancing. While freelancing, I developed relationships with businesses, potential clients, and other entrepreneurs who wanted to partner with me.

I developed an interest in branding and eventually in how alternative forms of cause marketing could alter the marketplace (and people’s lives). Slowly but surely, I found my way and gradually built a life of freelancing into a business.

3. Make your own rules. Maybe you can accomplish the same amount of work in 50 hours that others can in 90 hours. Maybe you work better from home; maybe you work better at night. Maybe you are more creative if you get enough sleep and spend time with your family. Maybe you want to measure success by results rather than how much time you have logged. Or maybe you think your employees will do better work if you treat them well.

In a world where you set the rules and the measure of success, it is possible to create an alternative culture. It is possible to stop asking to be part of the game (or trying to fit into the game) and start your own game instead.

Over time, I was able to choose clients and associates who shared my vision of a business in which success would be measured by more than revenue, a business that would help make the world a more humane place.

I still work hard, but I choose my own hours, and all my work fuels a vision I have for my new company Maiden Nation — a community devoted to the idea that women can live the lives they imagine for themselves.

You can live the life you imagine, too. The first step is knowing what that looks like.

With degrees in Anthropology from Columbia University and Design from Parsons, Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown represents a brand development vanguard uniting global, technological, and social concerns. She has introduced leading international brands, like Sony Ericsson, into the North American market. Additionally, Elizabeth has founded many sustainable branding initiatives including Choose Haiti and launched this Fall, Maiden Nation. She is the co-founder of Maiden Nation and studioe9.com.

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.

Ready, Set, Launch! Getting a Startup Site Off the Ground

For years, you’ve been selling your incredibly delicious baked goods to a group of devoted family, friends and co-workers. Now, you’ve decided to take the plunge and create a website that will allow you to ship your scrumptious scones, marvelous muffins, and tantalizing teacakes to a hopefully appreciative worldwide audience.

In order to have a successful online business, budding entrepreneurs need an effective and terrific-looking website. As any online business owner knows quite well, fantastic websites don’t just happen — they require a fair amount of advanced preparation and homework. While it may seem a bit overwhelming at times, the following nuggets of advice can help take the idea of a website and turn it into reality.

Determine if your home computer can handle a business website

The first order of business when launching a new website is to make sure your computer can handle it. WebHostingBlueBook.com notes that in many cases, home computers need some serious tweaks before a business website can even be built. For example, check with your ISP provider to see if you can run the site from your PC. In some cases, you may have to upgrade your Internet account and plan in order for the site to work. Since a slow-to-load site will send shoppers running to the next online merchant quicker than you can say “cupcake,” be sure you can afford to pay for an upgraded connection. Paying a low monthly fee (as low as under $2 a month) to a web host can alleviate slow connection pain points you may encounter by hosting at home.

Select your domain name

Next, choose your domain name AKA the proud title your website will carry. This typically means getting an account with a domain name company that will give you permission to use that name, as The Site Wizard points out. Take your time in choosing a domain name, and make sure when it’s written out, it will look and read well, and isn’t too long or cumbersome. If your name is Ida, and your specialty is cupcakes, then IdasCupcakes.com may be the perfect domain name for you and your website.

Learn what your customers want — from your site

Beyond your mouthwatering baked goods, it’s good to do some research and find out what a typical online cookie buyer wants from a website. For example, does this type of customer want complete ingredient lists to be posted, so they can make sure allergies are not an issue? Do they desire gorgeous photos of the baked goods? Are they looking for a brief history of the company and your commitment to using only the best ingredients possible? Probably all of the above! Ask around, see what people like, and spend time researching other online bakeries to see what you feel looks and works the best.

Figure out how you will get paid

Since you will be selling your goods over the Internet, you will need a way to receive and process your customers’ credit card information. Read up on how to accept credit cards, set up shopping carts, and add order forms to your site. Make sure you have all of these tasks in place before you even begin to design your site. Once you are ready to open, you will easily be able to make sales to your customers.

About the author Albert Lester
Al teaches economics and business at his local high school. He blogs about business, finance, teaching and the economy in his spare

time.

5 Ways to Use Your Competition to Your Advantage

When envisioning and establishing my business, I focused on both short- and long-term goals. My short-term goal was to outgrow a local competitor’s annual gross sales. I knew I wanted to eventually compete with multimillion-dollar giants, but first, I needed to examine my strengths and their weaknesses.

Market competition can create a battleground. My goal was to win the war. This mindset might be controversial, but many businesses have failed because they did not capitalize on their competitors’ faults. I built my business from modest beginnings to achieve multimillion-dollar revenues by distinguishing my venture from others like it. Here’s how:

Analyze the industry. Studying the competition allows you to find weaknesses in their organizations. Begin by subscribing to their newsletters. Approach a competitor as an interested customer so you can see what its sales and customer service processes are like. I was able to gain invaluable information by simply buying a product and noting the logistics of the sales process. You can take it further and visiting the business’ location, which allows you to speak to managers or even the owner. To your benefit, many of these leaders will brag about how they started their businesses — or their own accomplishments. Take note and begin to brainstorm ideas for setting your business apart.
Outshine the competition. Now that you’ve gained knowledge about your competitors, put it to use. Create a more professional, user-friendly website. If applicable, outbid your competitors and secure exclusive contracts with your clients. Work to take your competitors out of the picture. By limiting their market appeal, you can increase your own. Your goal is to provide the most effective and efficient service or product from the start so customers recognize the quality of your company as well as its integrity.
Focus on customer service. Do this by assembling the best team possible. After all, your business is only as good as your employees — they’re the face of your company. Positive and resourceful customer service helps set your venture apart at the outset, since larger companies are simply not as hungry for new customers. Aim to create the best shopping experience for your customers and do not compromise on the quality of your employees. Seek out intelligent and independent individuals who share your passion and vision. Regular communication about business priorities and strategies is crucial to professional and monetary growth.
Create quiet opportunities. This can be difficult. As you’re putting together the best team, best product, and best marketing, you want to keep a low profile. If you’re overexposed, your competitors will notice quickly and begin fighting back for market share. Try to keep your company under the radar as long as possible, while also gaining valuable and dedicated customers. Once those customers understand the quality and reliability of your business, they will remain loyal — despite increased attention or competitors who might offer lower prices or more blatant promotions.
Maintain your lead. You should know your business better than anyone. Be proactive and deliver a quality product or service consistently. The most successful entrepreneurs anticipate future advances in technology, customer service, and production, and incorporate them into their game plans. You need to constantly push yourself and your team to new heights through active research and by attending professional conferences to avoid losing your edge to the competition. Team-building and potential contacts enrich the overall experience.

While a magic formula to benefit from the competition’s weaknesses — and boost your business — doesn’t exist, conducting extensive research is the key to see how your business can better connect with customers. Once you find your niche, you can begin building and maintaining your momentum by delivering quality service and a unique experience. The way to the top can be a war. Make sure you are motivated and diligent enough to be the victor.

Yosef Martin is founder and President of Merchandize Liquidators, a closeout and liquidation wholesale company specializing in selling overstock and customer-returned merchandise from major stores back to the market for a fraction of the original wholesale cost. A thought leader and entrepreneurial expert, Yosef welcomes anyone to reach out to him on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

7 Fun Ways to Harness Social Media in Your Startup

If your company hasn’t learned to harness the power of the social media world yet, here’s one reason you should: according to Google, nearly 60 percent of people talk more online than they do in real life.

So where do you begin? There are plenty of avenues to take. Here are some ideas for putting your business into the spotlight, gleaned from a recent Ragan Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Host a Google+ Hangout On Air. What do Maroon 5, the Dalai Lama and President Obama all have in common? They’ve all hosted Google+ Hangout On Air sessions. It’s a new spin on having conversations with your audience by allowing them to engage with your product and meet the people behind the brand. Disney, for example, premiered its “Lincoln” film trailer through the Hangout On Air feature. Here’s how it works: log into your Google+ account, click Start Hangout and conduct an online video chat that streams the conversation live. Every Hangout on Air is automatically saved to your YouTube account. The most important thing to remember: practice beforehand, so you can nail things like lighting and sound.
Start an ambassador program. Your employees can be your best advocates or your worst enemies. Chances are, you’d like to go with the former. Many of them already use social media, so why not harness the energy of engaged employees into something useful? Start by creating a social media customer engagement policy and conduct training. Sprint does this in an entertaining and wildly successful way through its Social Media Ninjas program. They even have “black-belt” ninjas who tout the latest devices. Consider taking that a step further and recruit fans outside of your company as additional ambassadors.
Hold a contest on Pinterest. Pinterest offers a creative and meaningful way to connect with a huge audience –especially female customers ages 25 to 34 — many of whom spend loads of time on the site. By holding a contest, you can connect with a niche audience that was likely not paying attention to your company before, and it can give you insight as to the audience’s needs and wants. TIP: Use curalate.com to measure your Pinterest presence. It finds images about your brand to help you measure your reach.
Tweet with gusto. For starters, let your personality shine through when tweeting. Start the conversation by asking your fans questions so they can generate colorful commentary. For example, Marvel asks its fans for thoughts on movie releases and games. And across the company’s Twitter accounts, hashtags are sprinkled in. The handy little # symbol categorizes tweets by topic and can make a huge difference. Case in point: When the NBA held its slam-dunk contest this year, viewers were asked to vote for favorite dunks using #spriteslam as the hashtag. Likewise, #spriteslam was tweeted 50,000 times in the first two minutes it appeared on-screen. But be sure to check your hashtags ahead of time. The pithy phrase may already be in use, and it may not be in line with your branding. Likewise, have a fresh pair of eyes look over the hashtag. Susan Boyle’s #Susanalbumparty was a PR disaster.
Listen to your fans. When Tasti D-Lite’s technology and digital marketing exec noticed a fan tweeting about potentially buying from the dessert company later in the day, he offered her a Tasti D-Lite coupon and she continued to tweet about how pleased she was with this interaction. This took less than a few minutes to do, but think of how effective it was. Along the same lines, when a Phoenix Suns fan sent out a tweet and photo complaining about a bad seat at a Suns game, the Suns social media team offered the unhappy fan a special seat in a suite. His resulting tweets were positive and influenced his huge audience.
Publish killer content. What makes content good? It has to be engaging enough that people want to share it. Ask yourself is this relevant to my audience? Does it answer a question? Does it provide entertainment? Do you have share buttons next to your content to make it easy for your readers to share it with their friends? And remember, you don’t have to generate all the content. Ask your audience members to guest blog, which will enable you to reach their audiences, too.
Develop a social media strategy. Of course, none of this makes sense if you don’t have goals and long-term thinking in mind. Just like anything else, you don’t want to throw your brand out into the social mediasphere all willy-nilly. Having a strategy will help you plan ahead for contests and such, and it helps you to shape your message. Keep in mind: any good social media strategy should address the good (contests and coupons) and the bad and the ugly (customer complaints).

Tom Cannon is the CEO and cofounder of BungoBox, an Orlando-based company that rents moving containers made of recycled plastic as an alternative to cardboard boxes. Founded in 2009, BungoBox now has 20-plus locations in the U.S. and Canada and plans to open 150 more franchise locations in the next five years as part of a steady and strategic growth strategy.

Derek Flanzraich, 7 Lessons From My First Year as an Entrepreneur

Derek Flanzraich is a keynote speaker at Everywhere Else Cincinnati, September 29-October 1st (tickets available here). Derek originally published this piece in July of 2012 in conjunction with the Young Entrepreneur Council.

A year ago, I started Greatist with no real clue what I was doing. We’re now the fastest-growing health and fitness site on the Web, so a lot has gone right. But a lot has als0 gone wrong. A year ago, I’d never really hired someone. Never really fired someone. Never incorporated a company in Delaware. Never spent days accounting in Excel, signed an office lease, paid the IRS, saved a crashing website, negotiated with a potential acquirer, or been responsible for six people’s paychecks. But those things could always have been figured out.

The biggest challenges, instead, have been personal, and on that level, it’s never been harder. I’ve never been so busy, so behind, so unsatisfied with how much I can accomplish with the mere 24 hours in each day. At the same time, I’ve never been happier. I’ve never been more optimistic, more excited for what can be achieved, more able to genuinely say I love every second of what I’m doing. Now I can.

Here are 7 lessons I’ve learned this past year of being an entrepreneur:

Starting something for the first time is really, really hard. Imagine the hardest thing you’ve ever worked on. Now imagine that thing is the most important thing you’ve ever done. Then imagine you have no idea what you’re doing. Most startups are different, and most founder motivations and ambitions unique – but no matter what it is, if you think it’s going to be easy, you’re wrong. This experience has been way harder than anything I’ve ever been challenged with. I love that challenge. A startup is a to-do list with infinite scroll. It’s true that it’s never been easier to start a startup, but that doesn’t mean that starting a startup is remotely easy.
Sometimes you just have to make mistakes for yourself. There’s an unbelievable amount of brilliant, experienced entrepreneurs/investors/male models regularly sharing advice on the web (Vin Vacanti, Fred Wilson, Mark Cuban, Chris Dixon, Ben Horowitz, Albert Wenger, Rob Go, Bijan Sabet, Brad Feld, Jason Goldberg, just to name a few of my favorites). Those + Quora can answer nearly any question. But you’re going to mess up anyway. I recognized that it was likely I’d make a lot of mistakes, but I’ve realized I had to make an awful lot of them for myself. Example: knowing that you should fire someone who isn’t working out because they’re hurting the team’s culture quickly is much easier than actually fully realizing that’s what’s happening and then acting on it. I knew, but I didn’t really know until I felt the taste of mistake in my mouth. And it tastes salty.
Asking others for help and meaning it is important. I’m the worst at asking for help, but I’m getting better. Entrepreneurs are, by nature, usually confident, positive and optimistic, but if success in startups is the outcome of a million random factors, inspiring help from others is among the most important. Asking for help is humbling, but the minute you genuinely eat your pride, tell it like it is, and share what you need is the minute things can change. If what you’ve built is truly meaningful and impressive, let your guard down. Share your hardest challenges, biggest worries and scariest fears, and people will help if they can.
Surround yourself with friends who will remind you you’re awesome when you need it, and call you out when it’s time. In my experience, entrepreneurship is sort of like a see-saw: sometimes it seems like everything is falling apart and, at others, that huge thing you’ve been working to achieve may actually be possible. Friends can be an escape, sure (and you need escapes, big time), but they can also be the external support you need most. It’s hard to keep up with friends regularly when you’re starting a company, but each time I do, I’ve been working increasingly hard to allow them to push me in the way I personally need pushing (and, by the way, try to do the same right back!).
Sharing what you’ve learned with others can pay back in a million different ways. With Greatist, I’ve found putting the time into teaching others has paid me back many times over. I started a class with Skillshare mostly because two awesome buddies, Peter Boyce and Scott Britton, asked me to. I taught How to Grow from 0 to 250,000 Organic Uniques in Under 6 Months with no expectations… and have since taught a few more. Each time I’ve been shocked by how much I’ve learned, from the people who take the class and those who follow up afterwards. I’ve made great friends, started major brand partnerships, been introduced to some remarkable people, and brainstormed amazing ideas with others because of them.
Schedule in specific time to think and be creative. Emails, meetings, sleep, repeat… and suddenly a week has gone by without time to think. This might sound a little silly, but put time blocks into your calendar to just think. I’ve literally just started scheduling “thinking time” on my calendar at regular intervals, and beg everyone on my team to do the same. Also, a lot of my most creative ideas come from doing, seeing, experiencing something else entirely. Some of my best ideas have come from seeing a random movie, attending a jazz concert, or taking the time to explore somewhere new.
The only way to build something different is to do things differently. A good friend, Runkeeper’s Jason Jacobs, said in an interview once: “We have no exit strategy, we have longtime horizons. We are digging our heels in and we are going to slog through this over a long period of time.” I’ve noticed it’s increasingly easy for people in the startup community to become swept up in, “That’s just what everyone else is doing.” It obviously makes some sense to do what others have done to fit how everyone else defines success, but I’m learning that success, to me, is different. I’m getting better and better at realizing that to achieve something different, we need to do different things.

Derek Flanzraich is the founder and CEO of Greatist, a health and fitness media startup on a mission to make better choices easier for everyone. Also a fan of theme parks and theme bars.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.

12 Personal Budgeting Tips Now That You’re Running A Startup

Question: What’s ONE practical way to adjust your personal budget when preparing to start a business, and why?

Sorry, Starbucks

“I love my Starbucks (maybe too much), but it’s significantly cheaper to purchase coffee in bulk, buy a simple machine and make it yourself, rather than spending more than two dollars every morning for the same thing. Plus, if you really get into the routine, it can become the perfect morning meditation and start every day right.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

Don’t Resort to Walmart

“Instead, start buying from other small businesses! Whatever you need, I guarantee you that another small business owner like the future-you is trying to make money doing what they love. Give them a shot. Not only will you save big, but helping small businesses grow will mean more revenue for your business, which in turn translates into less budget cuts for you. Scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

– Carissa Reiniger | Founder and CEO, Silver Lining Ltd.

Cancel Your Cable

“Cancel your Cable TV subscription to save an easy $600 per year. You won’t have time to watch TV anyway, and if you do need downtime, pick up a business magazine or a book instead. The Innovator’s Dilemma, Great By Choice, and The Personal MBA are all great reads.”

– Matt Mickiewicz | Co-Founder, Flippa and 99designs

Do Your Own Nails

“…or other beauty treatments. It’s important to look nice as a founder of a company, but when I looked at what I was spending on manicures and other beauty treatments every month, I realized that this was money my company would need. As a bonus, I can read business blogs while my nails dry!”

– Caitlin McCabe | Founder & CEO, Real Bullets Branding

Cook for Yourself!

“Whether it’s lunch or dinner out, you’re spending massive amounts of money every day to have someone else prepare your meals. If you’re in a city like NYC, SF or Boston, lunch can easily cost you $10 a day and dinner is $15-$20. Packing a lunch for a week can easily be done for $10, if you don’t mind sandwiches, and you can make a great dinner for $5 a day. The savings add up fast.”

– Jason Evanish | co-founder, Greenhorn Connect

Nix the Subscriptions

“Examined your budget and cut out needless subscriptions. If you are serious about reducing your spending, look at cutting out common subscriptions like Netflix, unused gym memberships, online memberships, cable TV, cleaning service, magazines and more. Subscriptions surprisingly sneak up on you, so cutting out the unused ones can save you a pretty penny.”

– Nick Reese | CEO, Elite Health Blends

Downsize Your Home

“If you don’t have a family and can live with roommates, it’s worth considering to save a huge amount of money every month. If you can live with your parents an extra year out of school to start a business, that’s awesome too. Housing is the biggest monthly expense for most people, so any way you can cut that down to as little as possible will help you tremendously cut your expenses.”

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

Hire an Accountant

“Many first-time entrepreneurs think that accountants are only for their business, and they’re only half right. An accountant can be an extremely valuable asset when it comes time to file your personal taxes. With so many different deductions, credits, etc., having an experienced accountant on your side can mean the difference between eating Ramen or steak with your refund.”

– Derek Johnson | CEO/Founder, Tatango

Ditch the Office Space

“When you start your business, company and personal expenses tend to be malleable. As much as possible, integrate your personal life with your business. Block off part of your apartment or home for a formal office space to save rent and claim the tax deduction! Similarly, eat at home often, but make sure to have business meetings over coffee or lunch.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Get Rid of Your Car

“Depending on where you live, you might rely on your car to get around. Alleviate yourself from that hefty car payment and walk more, ride a bicycle to save the environment, or carpool with your friends and families. The truth is, you shouldn’t be leaving the house/office that much anyway while you’re launching your business.”

– Logan Lenz | Founder / President, Endagon

Eliminate That Debt

“Not having personal debt will reduce your financial pressure as you’re building your business. Try to pay it off as much as possible so it’s not weighing you down or stressing you out.”

– Elizabeth Saunders | Founder & CEO, Real Life E®

Get Real About Your Spending

“Before you can begin to adjust your personal budget, you need to get real with yourself. Most people overspend or spend in areas that could easily be cut back, especially in times of need. I recommend that people go to Mint http://www.mint.com and configure their accounts so they can see where their money is going. Getting a good look at what’s happening will allow you to then make good decisions.”

– Erin Blaskie | CEO, Erin Blaskie, Digital Strategist

How I Turned My Personal Challenges Into Startup Success

You are not stuck in life. No matter what barriers you face, if you can see your future, you can take action to get there. I know…because I may be the world’s least likely businessman.

I can’t read. That might seem like a pretty big barrier. I’m not saying it wasn’t. I had a lot of challenges in school. I felt dumb. I knew I wasn’t picking up things as easily as other students. Lucky for me, an art class changed the way I saw myself and the way I saw my future.

Finding a Different Way

The summer I was 10 years old, I broke my arm, right at the beginning of a summer school art class. I was disappointed: I was looking forward to the intensive class, where we made art for hours a day. I went to my teacher and showed her my cast, which covered my right hand and gave me no way to pick up a pencil or paintbrush. I told her I’d like to sit in on the class, even if I couldn’t participate.

“What do you mean?” she said. “Don’t you think people with disabilities make art?”

“No, probably not,” I said, “Not if they can’t use their hands.”

So she told me about artists with disabilities — how they created art with paintbrushes held in their mouths or strapped to their wheelchairs. I spent the rest of the summer making art, drawing with a magic marker held in my mouth and painting with my feet. I learned a key lesson: if a broken arm wasn’t going to stop me, then dyslexia shouldn’t stop me, either. I just had to find a different way to do what I wanted to do.

It wasn’t easy. I didn’t really recognize that I was smart, truly smart, until the end of high school. And it was even later that I realized that even though my dyslexia could be a barrier, the ways I dealt with it became part of the reason for my success.

Barriers or Benefits?

I embraced technology at an early age, since I used technology to “read” and to play. My dad had one of the earliest computers. It had one simple video game, which I loved. He wrote down the DOS commands so that I could play it, and I became one of youngest DOS users around. Since I became tech savvy early on, I’m extremely comfortable with new technology and quick to adopt it.

I also listen well. Not only am I an avid reader of audio books, but I really listen to people. After a meeting, I often remember key points much better than my colleagues. I don’t have to go back and look at my notes, because I don’t have any. I have to listen and remember.

Dyslexia also helped me become a salesman. In school, I had to sell the teachers on how clever I was, so that they understood I was trying and would cut me some slack if I needed to write something.

I learned to ask for help, too. Since I couldn’t write, I needed to dictate. I had to learn to get what I needed from other people. I think that gave me a big advantage, since that‘s where a lot of other entrepreneurs fall down. They try to do everything themselves. Me? I ask for help when I need it.

The Art of Starting Up: 3 Tips

I think I gravitated toward art in part because of my dyslexia. As an artist, I wouldn’t be judged by my reading skills. After receiving my MFA in sculpture, I became a working artist, and learned some of my first lessons in business, like:

Push yourself to be creative. Different is good in a crowded marketplace.
Brand yourself. Don’t just be different. let the world know that you are unique and valuable.
Manage your own budget. An obvious but important lesson, especially for artist.

Being an artist also taught me to value my independence. I liked relying on myself, rather than depending on an employer, which eventually gave me the confidence to start my own business. I didn’t have to leave a 9-5 job. I didn’t have to give up my art. I just needed to shift around time and priorities.

I went on to start a Web-based company, and then built on its success with another one. Now, I’m the CEO of Globe Runner SEO, a Dallas-based firm offering comprehensive search engine optimization, search marketing, and social media campaigns. I’m proud to say that, in spite of the economic turndown, Globe Runner grew exponentially during the last few years, and was recently recognized as one of the Top 100 SEO Companies (#36) by SERP.com.

An unlikely success story, right? Maybe not. The one big challenge in my life, my dyslexia, has helped me acquire every skill that has made me successful.

So take another look at the barriers in your life. How can you address them? How can you do things differently? Paint with your feet, in a manner of speaking. Do what it takes to reach your vision of the future. You may find that the skills you learn along the way will lead you to success.

Eric McGehearty is the CEO of Globe Runner SEO, a top-performing, SEO and digital marketing firm. Eric, who received his master’s degree from UNT, is also the founder of BabySafeTravel.com, a advisor to non-profits, an advocate for people with learning disabilities, and an award-winning sculptor. Though Eric has achieved success in many fields, the role he cherishes most is that of husband and father to his wife and four children.

The Evolution & Future Of Chicago’s Startup Ecosystem

In the past decade, Chicago’s technology community experienced incredible growth. Much of the community’s success was driven by the strong history of big business in Chicago and the emergence of key stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.

While the Chicago startup scene is still relatively young in comparison to some other U.S. cities, the community’s key stakeholders are in place to drive long-term success. Chicago start-ups have already built amazing technology and will continue to build on the city’s big business roots, ensuring long-term sustainability and growth for this ecosystem.

A strong historical foundation

Chicago’s place as a home to startups can be traced as far back as 1928, when Motorola was founded in the city. Motorola went public in 1943 and its legacy lasted through the early 2000s before being acquired by Google in 2012.

A vibrant business community has set the foundation for sustained growth. Companies like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and McDonalds—and the recent relocation of Boeing—highlight Chicago’s strong history as a home for large businesses.

Recent tech successes

The technology foundation set by Motorola and others provided an ecosystem ripe for innovation in the 21st century. Orbitz, the leading online travel company, was founded in Chicago in June 2001 and subsequently went public in 2003 before being acquired for $1.25 billion.

Careerbuilder and Groupon, two startups founded a decade apart from one another, also exemplify recent Chicago-based technology successes. Careerbuilder receives more than 24 million unique visitors per month and ranks as one of the largest online career sites in the United States. Groupon, on the other hand, has already closed over 20 acquisitions, has 2,000 Chicago-based employees, and went public in 2012. The paths of Careerbuilder and Groupon are emblematic of the rapid growth and success that Chicago-based companies can achieve, and the marketplace is listening.

Critical components of the ecosystem are in place to drive future growth.

The successes of Orbitz, Groupon, and Career Builder, to name a few, have sparked the explosive growth of startups in Chicago, but no start-up community can thrive without a certain set of valuable components.

Traditional elements of Chicago’s business-community—strong corporate and civic engagements and world-class universities—have anchored the technology infrastructure and community. For example, after purchasing Motorola Mobility, Google decided to relocate 3,000 employees from the suburbs to downtown Chicago. Also, newer education-focused groups like the Starter League and Chicago Tech Academy are creating a strong base of technology talent.

However, the clearest sign of a sustainable ecosystem and a platform for future growth has been the number of new Chicago-based investors, industry groups, and incubators.

Chicago couples a strong angel community with co-working spaces and incubators for early stage companies. For example, 1871 launched in Chicago in 2012 and TechStars created a formal, local presence in Chicago earlier this year. VC funds like New World Ventures, Lightbank, OCA Ventures, Sandbox Industries, and i2A provide a local, institutional base for capital and operational support.

The result of this rapidly expanding ecosystem has been an incredible amount of new Chicago-based startups and early success stories.

In 2002, only 11 digital startups were launched in Chicago. By 2012, that number was 197 and the startup community received over $391 million in funding. Companies like GoHealth, Braintree, Belly, SilkRoad, and many others are showing early promise of not only achieving success, but also creating meaningful, sustainable businesses.

Successful exits and the reinvestment of gains back into Chicago will fuel future growth.

As the Chicago technology community develops, the reinvestment of capital and talent into the local ecosystem will be critical to sustain long-term growth.

In 2012, Chicago saw more exits than any previous year. As this number continues to rise—and the value of these events grows—Chicago entrepreneurs, angels, and venture capitalists must invest those gains back into the community to successfully continue the evolution of Chicago’s startup community.

Chicago’s unique culture will shape the future.

With cheaper cost-of-living and office space than cities like New York and San Francisco, Chicago maintains a reputation as a livable city for technology companies and their employees. Chicago’s Midwest heritage, its big business history and its separation from the influences of Silicon Valley and New York set the tone for a unique founding and operating environment. This change in perspective can often be valuable for start-ups and others in the ecosystem.

The duality of a city with strong, historic business roots and a young, thriving technology ecosystem has made Chicago a fantastic place to live and start a business.

Chicago’s recent growth as a legitimate technology hub has created a palpable energy in the city. The technology scene is young and on the upswing: start-ups, incubators, educators, and investors all are able to play a meaningful role in its development.

As this ecosystem continues to gain traction, the sky is the limit for companies and entrepreneurs who call the Windy City home.

Gregory Grossman is a Partner at DLA Piper who works with venture capital firms and emerging growth companies, from the earliest stages of formation and seed capital through the entire company life cycle, including exit events. He holds a law degree from The George Washington University and an accounting degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Marina Dedes joined Lightbank in April 2011. Prior to Lightbank, Marina was a Senior Associate in the Valuation Group at Duff & Phelps. Marina holds a BS in Materials Science and Engineering with a concentration in Biomaterials from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Greg and Marina are both among the founders of the Chicago Founder Circle, a new Peer-to-Peer networking group for founders and CEOs of emerging growth companies in Chicago. More information can be found at: http://www.chicagofounderscircle.com

Check out some of our great Chicago startup coverage.

12 Sources For Practical Business Advice For Your Startup

Question: As a young entrepreneur, what’s your #1 source of practical business advice and why?

Ask Experienced Businesspeople

“Although there are countless pieces of valuable advice that can be found both online and in books, nothing beats getting insight from people in your network. Consulting individuals that have long and diverse careers in the businesses world enables you to get personalized and customized advice from a demographic that has both talked the talk and walked the walk.”

– John Berkowitz | Co-Founder & Vice President of National Sales, Yodle

Read the Best Books

“Blogs and social media are awesome, but there’s something really special that happens when you read a book that essentially condenses twenty years of experience from an author. You get to learn from their mistakes, and it also teaches you to apply their ideas in our modern world so you can hone your creative thinking skills too.”

– Nathalie Lussier | Creator, The Website Checkup Tool

Ask Your Customers

“Business advice is a dime a dozen. The easiest way to know what the right thing to do is to listen to what your customers want and help them achieve their goals.”

– Wade Foster | Co-founder, Zapier

Pool From Fellow Entrepreneurs

“Reading a ton of books can only get you so far when you’re trying to build a business from scratch. The great thing about entrepreneurship is that most are willing to share their tips with you. Listen to them, because they have been in your shoes and don’t want you to make the same mistake. Take your ego and pride out of it and listen to them. They may point out something you never thought about.”

– Ashley Bodi | co-founder, Business Beware

Learn From Trial and Error

“The business I’ve built isn’t exactly like anyone else’s. That means that one of the best options I have is to actually try everything I can. I’ll try out something I read on a blog, a tip from an older entrepreneur — anything that comes along.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

Go for Google

“Practically anything and everything you would ever want to find today, you can find on Google. It never ceases to amaze me when I have questions on anything and type it into Google, I always find an answer. And many times, there will be a video that will come up and explain something to me or I can listen in to a guru talk about something.”

– Louis Lautman | Founder, Supreme Outsourcing

Take to Twitter

“I’ve found the ability to follow some of the absolute best minds in business, technology, and leadership on Twitter unlocks a wealth of advice and knowledge — though, now the only problem is giving the best tweets the attention they deserve. We’re lucky to live in a time when we can connect directly with people we’ve never been able to access before.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

Make Use of Mentors

“I always try to find a mentor in a specific, key area in which I am trying to gain advice for. My father always taught me from an early age: “Life is a minefield — why walk through it yourself when you can seek out and follow the footsteps from someone who has already navigated the minefield successfully?” I’ve used this technique many times.”

– Warren Jolly | Co-founder, Affiliate Marketing

Don’t Fear Failure

“Almost every piece of practical advice I’ve learned have come from various failures. When you know what you did wrong, it shows you how to improve and succeed the next time.”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

Consult Mixergy for Advice

“The interviews by Andrew Warner of Mixergy are some of the most inspiring and informative videos on the web. Andrew has a knack of getting to the core of a founder’s thought process and extracting valuable nuggets of wisdom from them. I definitely recommend that everyone subscribe to Mixergy or watch the videos for free in the week that they are released.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

This Week In Startups

“Twice a week, I tune into This Week In Startups, hosted by Jason Calacanis. His show is full of direct, honest and real entrepreneurial business advice from not only himself, but his amazing co-hosts and guests. ”

– Derek Johnson | CEO/Founder, Tatango

Read Peter Drucker for Leadership

“Being a leader is tough, and every entrepreneur has to find her or his own path. But there’s is no excuse for not working on being a great manager. Learn how to set goals with your team; stay on top of tasks; and execute on a daily basis. Read Peter Drucker and learn from the best.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

How A Movie Can Change The Way You Run Your Startup

The best advice you’ll ever get as an entrepreneur can come from anywhere. It may have come from your parents or a mentor, a book or a billboard — even a movie. You’re not always sure why, but something in what you hear changes the way you think.

For me, this happened while watching the movie “Jerry Maguire” (yes, that Jerry Maguire!). If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll remember Jerry’s mentor, the late, great Dicky Fox. Although Dicky Fox had limited screen time, his scenes have stuck with me. Before ShadesDaddy.com was founded, my friends and family always thought it was funny (but still admirable) how many businesses I had tried to start but failed. Failure ultimately has been my best teacher and continues to be.

Maybe that’s why, in both my personal and professional life, I find myself thinking back to “Jerry Maguire.” Admittedly, it’s a little embarrassing that some of my guiding principles come from the movie with the immortalized “You complete me” scene, but what can I say? Dicky Fox taught me a thing or two.

“The key to this business is personal relationships.” You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I heard that a lot in my years, and it really resonated when I started seeing the value of one’s network in working with vendors. Building personal relationships has been an integral part of growing my business to date.
“Roll with the punches. Tomorrow is another day.” Anyone who ever started a business or runs one knows there are days when when it rains, and then there are days when it pours. There will always be dilemmas — but thankfully, there is always tomorrow to find the solution for them. I’ve had to overcome problems that could have easily taken me out of business time and time again, but I always knew I had another day to fight.
“If [the heart] is empty, [the head] doesn’t matter.” We all have personal problems, and those problems can easily interfere with our work. Some of my better, most thriving moments professionally came when I was very happy personally with my relationships and my family life. However, there were also periods when my personal life wasn’t going so well, and I was fueled to work harder professionally as a result. All in all, I’ve learned that when I’ve been happiest personally, I’ve been able to better focus on my business.

I’d like to end with one last piece of Dicky Fox advice: “I love getting up in the mornings, I clap my hands and say, ‘This is going to be a great day!’” Seriously, do this. CLAP your hands in the morning, and say that quote out loud. In the last few years, starting off my day with positivity is a routine I’ve diligently applied. Love what you do from the beginning of your day to the end. If you put good energy and hard work out there in the universe, it will happen.

As Dicky says at the film’s end, “I don’t have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I have failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.”

Pablo Palatnik is the founder and CEO of ShadesDaddy.com, one of the largest online retailers of sunglasses in the world.

This is the must attend startup conference of 2013.

3 Important Lessons From Our First Major Pivot

A few months ago, one of my mentors told me, “Change is easy, but pivots are painful.”

I understood all too well what he meant, since my company, Zealyst, was in the middle of our first true pivot. We’d just signed a major enterprise client, one year after launching as a consumer-focused business, and we were scrambling to figure out the new business model.

Change is constant in a startup: every day there are new ideas, new opportunities, and new hurdles, which is part of the thrill. Pivots, however, are deep, long-term changes that fundamentally alter your course and shift your company’s identity.

The pain of that pivot has decreased and we’ve come out the other side wiser and stronger, but my mentor’s words have stayed with me. I reflected on the stages of our pivot and distilled the challenges we encountered along the way into three main lessons.

Listen to opportunity.
I joked with a colleague recently that our pivot began when opportunity knocked, but it had to knock again…and again…before we really listened. Shortly after launching Zealyst to a small pilot group of consumers, a business approached us about providing the service to their clients. We agreed to work with them out of curiosity, but considered it an experiment rather than a direction change. We had a few contracts come our way through referrals, which we continued to handle in a similar manner. It wasn’t until a Fortune 100 company asked us to host an employee engagement event that we finally realized we needed to change our focus and pursue enterprise opportunities instead of expanding to new consumer markets.
Maintain a connection to your core.
My co-founder and I initially resisted the enterprise direction because we thought it strayed too far from our original vision. We started Zealyst to help people build meaningful new connections and ultimately create stronger social networks. We were concerned that taking our model into the corporate world would dilute the impact and lessen the satisfaction we derived from our work. However, after a series of client engagements, we found that the work we did to heighten employee engagement, improve retention and foster innovation was just as gratifying as the work we did for consumers. People spend a major portion of their lives at work, so helping people feel more connected to their workplace has proven to be a very rewarding challenge. Additionally, we discovered that working on specific client objectives, such as connecting people across regional boundaries or across management levels, actually improved our design process.
Communicate clearly with stakeholders.
One of the things that kept me up at night during our pivot was how we were going to tell our loyal group of early adopters about the change. Initially, we were not sure if we would have to scrap the consumer arm of Zealyst entirely, which felt like a betrayal of the people who supported us from the beginning. I consulted all of our key advisors about the best way to move forward, and we eventually came up with a strategy to maintain a small consumer division for research and marketing. After we integrated the consumer activities into the new business model, we worked closely as a team to craft a clear message about the change to all our key stakeholders: investors, advisors and our existing customers. I was nervous about how the announcement would be received, and pleasantly surprised to be met with resounding support across the board. It was a humbling reminder of the importance of transparency — and further reinforcement that we’d made the right decision.

The pain in our pivot came from having to re-calibrate our vision and change the expectations we had in the early days for what the company would become. It was challenging to let go of the plan and wrap our minds around a new course, but opening up and altering directions has allowed us to become a more resilient company than we could have imagined at the beginning of this adventure.

Martina Welke is the CEO and Co-founder of Zealyst, a curated networking service based in Seattle, Washington. Zealyst utilizes smart technology and creative design to build unique events. Zealyst software uses registration data to match attendees according to their interests, and customized social games make it easy to make new professional and personal connections at events.

Wait, is your startup registered for this?

Do Entrepreneurs Ever Get a Vacation From Email?

Question: Work email on vacation: do you do it? When is it time to tune out?

Guilty As Charged!

“I never turn off my email. I may not be answering all of the emails that come in, but I am constantly scanning to make sure that the business isn’t on fire. I think it’s difficult to turn it off completely, especially if you are a solopreneur, even though there is great value in doing so. It is appropriate to tune it out if you are with family or friends though — give them attention too!”

– Erin Blaskie | CEO, Erin Blaskie, Digital Strategist

Admittedly Always On

“For entrepreneurs, “work-life balance” is more like “work-life blend.” When you need to recharge, you can take a break whenever it fits into your schedule; vacation doesn’t have to happen around prescribed times. Because of the reality of intermittent breaks, it’s never convenient to entirely tune out and switch off. You might set an away message, but it’s better to stay on top than fall behind.”

– Doreen Bloch | CEO / Founder, Poshly Inc.

Vacation Responder Is Key

“I go email-less at least one day per week, usually on the weekend. So when it’s time for a real email-free vacation, it’s important to have an away message and to give people who might have an emergency a way to contact you, but chances are their emergencies aren’t actual emergencies and can wait till you get back to your inbox.”

– Nathalie Lussier | Creator, The Website Checkup Tool

Regular Checks Necessary

“I try to only check emails at certain times of the day when I’m on vacation. It’s not very realistic for entrepreneurs to completely log off for long periods of time, but you can limit it to first thing in the morning and once in the afternoon. If it bothers you to not check it, just check it quickly and get on with your vacation!”

– Caitlin McCabe | Founder & CEO, Real Bullets Branding

Sorry, Entrepreneurs

“Whether you like it or not, if you are a founder, you should also serve as a customer service representative for your company. Customer service is a 24/7 job, and keeping your clients happy is a must. Email doesn’t have to take much time out of your vacation (an hour or two per day maximum). You should never ignore it completely.”

– Eric Bahn | Co-Founder, Hustle Con Media

Hire Someone for That!

“Email and vacation don’t belong in the same sentence. Working during your vacation is distracting and will prevent from getting that R&R your body needs. The best way to get the best of both worlds is to let someone who is very trustworthy read your emails once per day. Ask them to call you if something is extremely urgent. That will give you peace of mind since you’ll know everything is in order.”

– Christian Springub | CEO and co-founder, Jimdo

Live Your Vacation

“I decided to live my vacation, but building my business so I am actually on vacation all the time. Part of that is checking emails and allotting time to make phone calls and things, but I built my business so I can travel the world and explore fun new places while hanging out with cool people, rather than taking a vacation and trying to get your balance in for a week. Balance your life daily.”

– Louis Lautman | Founder, Supreme Outsourcing

Yes, With a Caveat

“When I’m truly on vacation, I’ll check email, but only for absolutely essential emails. I only answer emails if someone bought a product and it wasn’t delivered, or if my site is down for some reason. Just essential customer service and catastrophic tech issues. That’s it. Everything else can wait.”

– Sean Ogle | Founder, Location 180, LLC

Leaving Is Not an Option

“It’s truly not an option to avoid checking your email if you are a startup company founder. It’s your job to serve your customers and fellow team members whenever needed, even if you’re lounging with a cocktail on the beach. The key is utilize parameters and have enough discipline to not be constantly checking your email throughout the day as you would at the office. Once or twice a day is okay.”

– Warren Jolly | Co-founder, Affiliate Marketing

Compartmentalize Your Life

“Of course I check work email on vacation — damn near impossible to fully disconnect! But I’m working on getting better at compartmentalizing work time while on vacation by dedicating up to an hour in the mornings to read and respond to the critical things. Then I shut off for the rest of the day and get something out of the vacation.”

– Brooks Kincaid | Co-founder and Head of Business, Imprint Energy

It’s Part of the Job

“Answering email on vacation is one of the sacrifices entrepreneurs have to make. After all, no one is responsible for making sure the company doesn’t implode but you. Hopefully, after a few years of blood, sweat and tears, you can take a breather. But as a founder you will most likely always be heavily involved in your business operations.”

– Alexandra Levit | President and Founder, Inspiration at Work

Entrepreneurial Escape

“When I’m lucky enough to escape for a few days, I usually set aside an hour in the morning that I designate to answering emails, connecting with clients and employees, and taking care of anything else that arises. Once that hour is over, the phone is off, the laptop is closed and the only thing on my iPad is Pandora for the rest of the day!”

– Kevin Tighe II | Co-founder and CEO, WeBRAND

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.

image: vacation

Do You Look At Employees’ Social Media Accounts

Question: As CEO, be honest — do you look at potential employees’ social media accounts? If yes, what is it you expect to see from someone you WOULD hire (vs. wouldn’t)?

Positive and Professional

“Whenever we are vetting new team members, we tend to do a little Internet sleuthing to find out more about the person. Social media accounts are a huge part of that. We will look at Twitter and Facebook accounts to get a feel for their communication style and attitude. A positive attitude and professional communication give us confidence that their interaction with clients will be the same.”

– Erin Blaskie | CEO, Erin Blaskie, Digital Strategist

Part of the Application

“I ask for links to all social media accounts right on the job application, and always check them out before contacting the person for an interview. The reality these days is that all of your employees represent your company, and they need to be aware that what they do and say is public. If I see a Twitter account or public Facebook page filled with angry, negative rants, that person is out!”

– Laura Roeder | Founder, LKR Social Media

Don’t Actively Look

“I don’t actively browse people’s accounts because I don’t want to see what they do in their private life; that’s not what I am hiring them for. However, if candidates send me their profiles for me to learn more about them, I click. If nothing is hidden, it’s a downside because they come across as taking privacy lightly. I prefer to get a link to a well-maintained résumé site or a LinkedIn profile.”

– Christian Springub | CEO and co-founder, Jimdo

Both Potential Employees and Current Employees

“I regularly monitor social media accounts of my employees. Negative things that I watch out for are excessive profanity, inappropriate photos, and explicit and/or suggestive conversations. It gives you a window into who somebody really is as a person. Every single one of my employees represents my brand. Therefore, I want people who present themselves in a way consistent with our image.”

– Richard Lorenzen | CEO, Fifth Avenue Brands

Let Yourself Shine Online

“Definitely. I personally maintain a private Twitter list of potential hires and monitor them over time, for example. But I’m primarily looking for familiarity with social media, a sense of humor, and a true passion for what our company is doing. Consistent negative updates are usually a deal-breaker.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

A Quick Glance

“I will look at the social media account of anyone I’m considering adding to my team — because of my field, I need to hire people who are already web savvy. But I also expect to need to give them some training and guidelines on what I expect to see on their accounts in the future. These are new tools and people aren’t always aware of what’s appropriate initially.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

It’s Part of Your Brand

“Absolutely, I do. The first thing I look at is a potential hire’s LinkedIn account and who I know that’s connected to him or her. We work with our clients to make sure their LinkedIn profile displays their professional brand in a positive way, and I expect the same from a potential employee.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

Very Valuable Tool

“I want to know that they fit the job description. For some positions social media is not relavant, but for some, I want to know if they are who they say they are and if they would fit my company culture. Social media is a great way to connect with anyone and also find out information about anyone. It is a tool, so use it as such.”

– Louis Lautman | Founder, Supreme Outsourcing

In the Age of Transparency

“Sure, I check them out; I like to see leaders and influencers. I stay away from shy people. We are in the age of transparency, and I want the members of my team to feel comfortable sharing their details online.”

– Alexander Torrenegra | Co-founder, VoiceBunny

Absolutely Not!

“I see little to gain by snooping on prospective employees personal social media accounts. I would fully expect to find them engaging in completely unprofessional activities outside of work as they should be. I’m more concerned about what kind of game face they can put on when the suit up in the office and judge them on their professional performance alone.”

– Christopher Kelly | Co-Founder, Principal, Convene

Social Media Doesn’t Lie!

“People tend to always interview really well, and sometimes that means they choose to withhold certain information that prospective employers wouldn’t want to hear. Every employer should look at a potential employee’s social media to see how they truly behave as a person. as we’ve found this always does play into their work ethic and character in the workplace.”

– Warren Jolly | Co-founder, Affiliate Marketing

Time and Frequency

“Yes. During the interview process, we consider social media use in the context of time and frequency. If an applicant is consistently active during working hours, that is the only real red flag for our business — unless they are managing company social media accounts. For a social media specialist, online presence is a job requirement; otherwise, it’s a distraction.”

– Nick Reese | CEO, Elite Health Blends

Smile on Social Media

“In our business, we work with the public. Smiling and being friendly is important. I expect to see potential employee smiling in photos and socializing. If I see potential employees not smiling in any photos or posting photos of inappropriate behavior, I would not want that person serving my customers.”

– Nancy T. Nguyen | Founder/Sweet Sylist, Sweet T Salon

Image: social media

Founder Spotlight: Matt Ehrlichman CEO & Co-Founder, Porch

Matt Ehrlichman is the CEO of Porch, where you can get inspired by the best home projects your neighbors have completed, see what any home project will cost, and find the best service professional your neighbors and friends recommend. Previous to Porch, Matt was a founder and CEO of Thriva (acquired by ACTV) and Chief Strategy Officer of Active Network (2011 IPO). Matt lives in Seattle, WA. Follow him @mattehrlichman.

Who is your hero?

My personal hero is Pete Carroll. My business hero is Warren Buffett.

What’s the single best piece of business advice that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?

No one will ever remember how much money you made or what your title was. They will only remember you for how you changed and impacted the world in a durable way. Because of this, I am on a mission to build a truly great company that improves the world one household at a time with Porch.

What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?

The first company I ever started was a sports summer camp in Western Washington at age 14; later, I needed to transition the camp into new leadership. With the change in leadership, the camp failed to continue. Had I known better, I would have worked harder at diligently finding the best way to balance not only the camp sustainability but a successful exit as well.

What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?

I methodically organize my week to make sure I provide appropriate attention to our key efforts: management, consumer growth, product, marketing, and sales. During the first hour of each day, I speak with the respective discipline leader (walk and talks). We go over priorities and execution, and I roll up my sleeves to dig into subject matter challenges.

What’s your best financial or cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?

Entrepreneurs by nature make mistakes and take opportunistic risks. We track key financials and metrics that provide us with health and appeal for investors. The only one that matters at the end of the day is your last day. Keep strong watch on your cash runway end date, and ensure that you know what the date is with no revenue as well as with conservative estimates.

Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?

Turn the tables and ask your employees to give you a 360 review!

What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?

Success to me is building a truly great company that solves a really big problem. I will know that I am successful if I build a company that delights customers, creates beautiful experiences, helps millions of small businesses, and forms a culture and team passionate about embarking on a joint mission.