startup tips Archives - Page 11 of 26

Stop Testing And Start Something

blog-writing When we started the “When You Work At A Nonprofit” Tumblr blog, an interesting thing happened. A prominent nonprofit publication asked us to write a post about it, on the topic of “how to create a blog that fills a community need.” They wanted us to discuss the process behind getting a blog started: how we chose a platform, how we determined the voice and content, tips for keeping an updated content schedule, and all those other “bloggity things” (their words).

We couldn’t help but shake our heads.

Their request summed up the epidemic of overthinking things that, in our opinion, plagues the nonprofit sector. As an industry, nonprofits tend to overthink things — it’s a huge problem that stems from a deep aversion to risk and fear of failure. As a result, we try to help nonprofits overcome their fear of risk, and not overthink things.

We’re big advocates of just trying something and seeing where it goes. Our blog is a good example of that approach.

We didn’t create a strategy for it. There was no evaluation of tools. There was no discussion about voice. There’s no content schedule that we agree on. It’s very “Lean Startup” — we just decided to do it one day, and we did it in about an hour. We tweeted it out and it took off from there. Here’s how other organizations can do the same:

1. USE TECHNOLOGY TO RUN A SMALL TEST

Instead of investing hours of time or waiting months to “get things set up,” use new technologies to allow you to get set up quickly and with very little cost. There are tons of consumer technologies that are easy to set up, and you shouldn’t have to pay more than $20/month for just about anything you want to do. Even at that price, the benefits of a small investment of $240 per year far outweigh the cost.

How we did it: We created the blog using the blogging platform Tumblr (free), and used a theme that was pre-installed on Tumblr (free). We found and uploaded gifs (free), and posted them with some catchy, snarky text. We added a Google Analytics tracking code (free) so that we could see if anyone actually came to the site. We had our programmer add a small Facebook Like/Share plugin (cost: $125). We added a signup form using Mailchimp (free), which let people sign up for a weekly “best of” email. We tweeted it out using Tweetdeck (free), but you could just tweet using Twitter as well (free).

Total time spent: 3 hours

Total cost: $125

2. MAKE IT MEASURABLE

Build in mechanisms for tracking, so you can see the progress and success of your test. Google Analytics, an email sign-up form, social sharing: all of these are important tracking elements. Even if it’s not tied to donations, there’s tremendous value in building your list, increasing social following, and getting people into your organization’s ecosystem.

How we did it: We started a Google Analytics account under our master account, specifically for “When You Work At A Nonprofit”, then added it to the blog. We also embedded a Mailchimp signup form, so people can sign up to get the top posts emailed to them each week.

3. JUST START, THEN USE RESULTS TO MAKE YOUR CASE

Most people are quick to stop you before you get started, but hesitant to get in the way if you’re moving. Especially if you can show data. Once you just try something with your test, and you have data from your measurement tools, you can make the case that your test is worthwhile.

How we did it: On the first day of “When You Work At A Nonprofit,” we got 115 views. Second day: 3,000 views. Third day: 96,000 views. Fourth day: 115,000 views. Since we added the newsletter sign-up, over 5,000 people have signed up. I doubt management or the Board would argue with results like that.

4. IF IT DOESN’T WORK, THAT’S OK TOO

A test is just that — a test. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t. That’s actually the goal here: it’s called “failing fast.” Try a test to see if it will work before spending real time and money. It is always better to fail quickly after a 30-day test using free or low-cost tools, than to invest months and significant expense.

The important part is to decide what’s failing. To some organizations, 100 signups is success; to others, that’s not worth the time it takes to maintain the test. Failure is determined by whether the cost of your time is worth the benefit afforded by the test. Use your best judgment to determine what’s failing and what’s a thumbs up.

How we did it: For another project we started, Lean Impact, we originally planned a telesummit: a one-day online summit featuring thought leaders in the Lean for Social Good space. We were testing whether people were interested enough in the topic to pay $20 for an educational experience.

We secured six speakers (free), set up a page on Lean Impact (free), created a graphic to advertise the site on the Lean Impact homepage (cost: 1 hour designer time), used Eventbrite to sell tickets (free), and planned to use Google Hangouts On Air to host the online event (free).

Total cost: $125 of designer time

Only four people bought tickets. As a result, we reached out to potential participants to ask why they didn’t buy tickets, and we learned that people needed in-person interaction with Lean Impact first before paying for something online. We quickly cancelled the telesummit and instead planned three in-person events in New York, DC and San Francisco. Each event had over 500 attendees.

Even though no one bought tickets originally, the test was a success. We failed fast. Instead of contracting with a venue, signing catering contracts, using a complex event ticketing service, and paying speakers, we spent $125 and had our answer in 60 days.

5. DON’T STOP TESTING

If your test takes off, that’s the ultimate thumbs-up. But the success of a test is not the end goal. If test Number 1 works, take the next step towards a test Number 2. For example, if X number of people from the test opt in to a newsletter, will they then open a newsletter targeted directly at them? If X people participate in a Facebook contest, will they then donate if a landing page has messaging specifically targeted towards contest participants? Think about each step as a test.

When everything is a test, you’re able to get things up and running faster. You can see results more quickly. You’re less invested in the results, positive or negative. You know when to call off the test and move on to something else. And you can try new and better things.

A version of this post originally appeared on Medium.

Leah Neaderthal is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Start Somewhere, which uses design and technology to help social good organizations look incredible online. Leah is the co-creator of the popular “When You Work At A Nonprofit” Tumblr blog, and she is the Co-Founder of Lean Impact, the community of people and organizations using Lean Startup principles for social good. Follow Leah at @leahtn.

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.

13 Reasons This Is The Best Time To Be An Entrepreneur

QUESTION: NAME ONE CHARACTERISTIC ABOUT THIS GENERATION OR TIME IN HISTORY THAT MAKES BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR EASIER OR MORE REWARDING THAN EVER BEFORE.

MODERN MENTORSHIP MODEL

“Because this is the first digital generation, aspiring entrepreneurs have an opportunity to use social/mobile software they’ve grown up with to build a network of people navigating their careers together for the first time. This network opens the door for mentorship. Technology has completely revolutionized the traditional mentorship model!”

– Caroline Ghosn | Co-Founder and CEO, The Levo League

EASE OF GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

“I think this is the best time in history to become an entrepreneur because you can run a lucrative operation right from your home. This is because the speed of communication is lightning fast, and you have the ability to connect with the best resources all over the world. Since you are not bound by location nearly as much, individuals are able to create a stellar organization worldwide.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

FLEXIBLE DEFINITION OF A “JOB”

“This generation has abandoned the idea of working for years at one company until retirement, making the flexible nature of entrepreneurship more acceptable. It’s not uncommon to have many clients, short- or long-term, and to continually innovate to retain and attract new clients. Instead of bouncing from job to job, entrepreneurs appreciate shorter term interactions that add value for everyone.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

TODAY’S ACCELERATED LEARNING

“Thanks to modern technology and the Internet, the world is now hyper connected for almost anyone with a desire to leverage it. These platforms of information super highways allow knowledge to be obtained, shared, improved up, then re-shared — all within days, if not hours. Accelerated learning means entrepreneurs today will have easier time to use these knowledge to help build their success.”

– W. Michael Hsu | Founder & CEO, DeepSky

ACCESS TO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

“The gap between creativity and technology is becoming narrower by the day. What Web 2.0 has done is given us access to people we might never have otherwise been able to reach before. That’s incredibly powerful!”

– Srinivas Rao | Co-Founder, BlogcastFM

ALWAYS CONNECTED, WIRED AND TIRED

“While it may not be a good thing to be tired and caffeinated to keep going, entrepreneurs have the fuel to keep going like the Energizer bunny. With technology surrounding entrepreneurs, it makes it easy to communicate, promote, and work in the fast-paced commerce world that we rely on instantaneous contact for.”

– Lane Sutton | Social Media Coach, Social Media from a Teen

EVERYTHING IS CHEAPER!

“Today you can start a WordPress blog, choose and tweak a design, assemble a killer team, craft a meaningful brand, distribute your product/content, fund it, and build an engaged community for basically no money. We did it — and it only gets easier for you to do it, too!”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

LOW BARRIERS TO ENTRY

“The obvious ones are that technology costs are the lowest, and the time it takes to develop your online presence are the shortest they have ever been. However, if you look at Gen Y, you will see a very high unemployment rate. Many have no choice but to create their own living and can easily find others their own age to co-found with them. It all adds up to very low barriers to entry.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

NO CHOICES MAKE FOR EASY DECISIONS

“For many, the hardest part about entrepreneurship is taking the initial plunge. In an economic recession where regular jobs aren’t readily available, people are quickly running out of options. An individual with a goal and only one option to achieve it is a dangerous person to bet against.”

– Nick Friedman | President, College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving

LOCATION INDEPENDENCE IS AWESOME

“We live in unprecedented times, primarily due to the Internet. With the right business model, it’s possible to work from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. No longer must we confine and define what we do by where we live. That is a profound and inspiring shift commerce. Carpe diem!”

– Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

THE JOBS ACT

“The JOBS Act is going to fundamentally transform the way companies get started, making it easier to obtain startup funding and democratizing the fundraising process to let companies seek capital from investors across the country –not just from Silicon Valley. There’s never been such a user-friendly startup ecosystem, or a better time to become an entrepreneur.”

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

IT’S SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE

“Starting your own business used to be thought of as hokey or not a real job, but now, entrepreneurs earn prestige and are looked upon as doing something “real,” not something made up. You face a lot less pushback from society for pursuing something of your own today, which makes it easier to move forward with it, since others are more supportive of your choice.”

– Stephanie Kaplan | Co-Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Her Campus Media

FAILURE IS A COMMON THING

“Before, failure was the ultimate shame. Today, failure is seen as more of a learning tool, just as long as you bounce back. Your brilliance is no longer based on just your successes, but also how you overcome tough obstacles.”

– Kenny Nguyen | Founder/CEO, Big Fish Presentations

Want To Build A Website? Don’t Sweat The Tech

At one point, when I was fresh out of college, I was really excited to learn how to build websites. I studied HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, MySQL, AJAX, and a lot of other acronyms I have since completely forgotten about. My short-term obsession was probably a residual effect from studying engineering for six years. Plus, I’ve always loved taking things apart, breaking them, and putting them back together.

Looking back on that time I spent studying coding, I see it was a total waste of my time. No one (except hardcore developers) needs to know any of those things. In fact, the technical side of building a website is actually the least important thing to understand. Yet, that’s where many of us get hung up. When you think of a website, you immediately think about complicated code and technology. It sounds scary and expensive.

But it doesn’t have to be! If you’re thinking about building or redesigning your website, here are the three components you’ll need:

Technology
Design
Copywriting

These things are listed in order of least importance. I’ll briefly touch on the first two, but you’ll want to spend the majority of your time focused on copywriting. Your website copy is ultimately how you’ll convert visitors into paying customers.

TECHNOLOGY

There’s only one tool you need to know: WordPress. I can’t think of any good reason to use any other tool to build your website. Most hosting companies like GoDaddy give you the ability to install WordPress by literally clicking one button. You may have to enter a username and password, but you essentially just click a button and you have a website.

No coding is required. Click install and you’re all set. If you can use Microsoft Word, then you can use WordPress to create webpages.

DESIGN

Go to themeforest.net and pick a design you like. This will set you back between $3 to $50, so it’s not a big investment. If you’re just getting started, then use something already available and don’t spend money customizing it. Design is important. You want your website to look professional, but again, the most important component is the copywriting. So let’s move on to that final step.

COPYWRITING

Think of your website as one of your sales people. That’s really the purpose of your website — to make sales. The reality is that an ugly website with compelling copy, a strong offer, and a lead magnet will always generate more sales and return on investment than a fancy, flashy, slick website with weak copy. Therefore, the words on your page are much more important than the technology and the design. And like I said, there really isn’t too much to worry about when it comes to technology and design, thanks to WordPress.

So if you’ve been putting off building or redesigning your website because the project is too daunting, I hope you now see it’s not as hard as it seems. First, focus on your copywriting and the offer you’re going to present on your website. Then pick a professional theme and install WordPress. It will save you time and money.

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

Phil Frost is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Main Street ROI in New York, NY. Main Street ROI teaches internet marketing strategies that actually work for small businesses. Click here to get the Ultimate SEO Checklist to help you rank higher in Google.

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.

5 Ways To Maximize Your Startup’s Efficiency

to-dos As an entrepreneur, I’ve found that my biggest challenge is figuring out which tasks to tackle each day. Do I work on marketing? Sales? Update the website copy? Improve our internal training program? There have been days when I’ve been so overwhelmed by my options that I’ve become completely stuck — I couldn’t get anything done.

In the end, no single task will help to move the business forward without a larger goal behind it. A few years back, I learned about the concept of a 90-day plan for goal setting when I downloaded a “Get it Together Kit” from photographer Millie Holloman. As business owners, we may not be able to predict exactly where we’ll be in three months and beyond, but we can certainly set specific goals and take action to drive our businesses forward. Setting specific goals and deadlines makes it easier to prioritize tasks and get “unstuck” in day-to-day work.

If you’re feeling stuck, here are five quick tips that could help.

Create your 90-day plan. Choose three to five measurable goals that you want to accomplish within the next 90 days. I create a grid of these goals, along with specific tasks and dates for each based off of Millie Hollman’s template, but you can create your own template in just about any program. Just list each goal at the top, then list specific tasks and deadlines below each.
Post your 90-day plan where you’ll see it every day. I made my 90-day plan the background on my computer desktop so that I can see it every single day. As I accomplish each incremental goal, I go into the template and cross off my accomplishments so that I can see how much I’ve progressed toward my goals.
Use your 90-day plan to create your daily to-do list. I use teuxdeux.com to plot specific tasks across time, based on my goals. This way, I don’t have to look at an overwhelming list of to-dos all at once. I can look at my tasks for any given day and know that I’ll get reminders for other tasks later on to stay on track.
Find someone to keep you accountable. I’ve recently become a big fan of hiring professional coaches. I’m currently working with a speaking coach who I meet with every three weeks. If I fail to meet my incremental goals, I have to answer to him. If you don’t have the means to hire a coach just yet, find an accountability group online or ask a friend to be your accountability buddy.
Manage your energy. I work in a client service business, so it’s natural to start each day responding to client requests and push off tasks related to my bigger goals until later in the day. I did this for years, until I finally discovered that by the time I got around to working on these tasks in the afternoon, my energy way drained. I’m more creative early in the morning, but I was spending my creative energy answering emails. Now I check my email for time sensitive issues in the morning, and if nothing is pressing, I block out an hour or two to focus my energy on my 90-day goals.

Allie Siarto is the co-founder of Loudpixel, a social media market research company. Rather than relying on expensive, time-consuming surveys or focus groups, Loudpixel’s technology and team help companies better understand their customers and market by analyzing social media conversations that are already taking place each day. Allie recently published her first book on social media monitoring and analysis called ‘The Social Current.’

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.

5 Presentation Tools Your Startup Should Check Out

Audrey Jones pitching at #EECincinnati

Have a startup idea? Ready to take your concept from napkin etching to full-fledged business proposal? It might be time to explore your options in terms of presentation tools. Whether you need to create a pitch deck to impress potential investors or a slide presentation to woo new customers, knowing which tools can present your concept in the best possible light can be critical in the development of your startup. Following are five presentation tools you can consider utilizing in your efforts to transition from wantrepreneur to startup founder.

Slidebean

Slidebean lets users create slide presentations in a variety of styles. Whether you want to create bullet list slides to highlight your startup’s core features or a chart slide to illustrate your month-over-month traction, you can do so with Slidebean. Slide options include word cloud slides, timeline slides, image slides, and text slides.

Gliffy

Need to illustrate your startup idea with a diagram? Gliffy makes creating diagrams easy. From venn diagrams to flowcharts, Gliffy offers multiple options. Organizational charts, floor plans, technical drawings, sitemaps, and network diagrams are just a few of your options. Whether you are launching a startup or monitoring marketing tools, Gliffy is definitely worth bookmarking.

Blogvio

Considering business blogging to build brand awareness for your startup? Blogvio offers impressive blog widgets to help your content marketing stand out from the crowd. Whether you want to add a news ticker to your blog or a widget to add conversations to your images, you can do so with Blogvio. Widget options include a disc spinning MP3 player, a before and after image widget, and a video player with progress bar overlay widget.

Populr

Need to create a professional single page website to show off your concept? A landing page to harvest email signups for beta testers? Populr lets you create a single web page in mere minutes. With a multitude of designs and extensive analytics tracking, creating a professional image for your startup with Populr couldn’t be easier.

Bunkr

Create collaborative visual presentations with Bunkr. Collect everything from images to articles, videos to URLs, and embed into your Powerpoint or PDF presentation. Bunkr lets you take your pitch deck presentation from basic to bombshell in no time at all.

Creating a strong first impression can play an integral part in taking your startup idea from concept to reality. While traction and revenue will ultimately determine your startup’s fate, getting your proverbial foot in the door might be partially attributable to the presentation tools you choose. Could one of the above presentation tools be the secret ingredient in your startup’s success story?

Eleanor Wall (aka Tech Tidbits) is a freelance tech blogger and startup cheerleader. When she’s not busy unearthing intriguing startups, Eleanor ghost writes brand marketing content for corporate clients.

Photo courtesy of Demarcus Bowser.

14 Personal Qualities All Startup Leaders Share

QUESTION: WHAT’S ONE PERSONAL QUALITY YOU THINK ALL GREAT STARTUP LEADERS SHARE?

PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITY

“Road maps always change on the journey of making a company successful. Great startup leaders are those who know how to handle change well, and come up with new solutions when unexpected roadblocks get in their way. This ability allows the startups with great leaders to keep moving forward while the others perish or start a cycle of mediocrity.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

VISION TO EXECUTE

“More important than the ability to fly is knowing where to fly. Successful and productive startup leaders are so in-tune with their ultimate vision that they can effectively utilize and allocate their limited resources to generate the greatest return investment. Vision also helps entrepreneurs make important decisions about what opportunities to pursue and which ones to decline.”

– Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

PERSEVERANCE TO MOVE FORWARD

“All great startup leaders know that forging a new path is not simple and there will be adjustments along the way. Without losing faith or getting distracted from the goal, leaders with perseverance can keep their team motivated and moving through setbacks.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

COURAGE, COURAGE, COURAGE

“A great leader sees not only see the potential success of their company, but also the tremendous risk of failure that comes with it. It takes someone with true courage to understand that risk and continue down the path day after day, even if this path to success is difficult, not always obvious, and full of temptations to quit.”

– W. Michael Hsu | Founder & CEO, DeepSky

CREATIVE MODERATION

“No one person can come up with all the right answers. While a founder may have come up with the original idea behind the product, the ideas from customers, employees, and advisors make that product great. Having an open mind and creating settings for collaborative creative thinking can go a long way.”

– Andrew Hoeft | CEO/Founder, Pinpoint Software, Inc.

REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

“Founding a new company is risky business and the bravery is commendable, but you can’t let it get to your head. Early successes are what builds momentum, but they can also jade a leader from what’s best for the business when an ego begins to grow. Set that ego aside, listen to your employees and advisers and make informed and smart decisions to move your startup forward.”

– Benjamin Leis | Founder, Sweat EquiTees

ABILITY TO FOCUS

“Great startup leaders are very focused on their goals and accomplishing what they set out to do. Without focus, businesses would be scattered and move everywhere but forward.”

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

HUMILITY

“As leaders, it’s easy to get caught up in the ‘I can do no wrong’ mentality. It’s difficult to accept failure after a long history of success. However, admitting when you are wrong — and solving the problem before it gets worse — is essential to the future of your startup. It takes a lot of strength to admit that you’re wrong, but the results are worth their weight in gold.”

– Justin Beck | Co-Founder and CEO, PerBlue

THE POWER OF PERSUASION

“Particularly during the early days of a startup, leaders need to be able to effectively pitch something that doesn’t fully exist to multiple audiences such as customers, investors, and existing and potential employees. Leaders have to demonstrate passion and use their powers of persuasion to ensure other people buy into their vision and help bring it to fruition.”

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

AN ARROGANT AIR

“I have found that the most successful startup leaders are absolutely arrogant about their talent, their idea, their product, and their capabilities. I’ve seen investors invest in arrogant CEOs because they not only have confidence, but they have a commanding personality that says, ‘I’m going to succeed, no matter what, and you’re lucky to be a part of this deal.'”

– Jun Loayza | President, Ecommerce Rules

REAL PASSION

“Most other qualities and characteristics differ and more often than not, one entrepreneur will swear by something that another entrepreneur swears against. But the one thing every entrepreneur has in common is passion for what they do. Without passion, the business will die.”

– Richard Lorenzen | CEO, Fifth Avenue Brands

CURIOSITY

“As a startup leader, you can never stop asking the question, ‘Why?’ Curiosity should run through your veins, as you believe there is always a better way to do something. We get into this business to create change, but don’t ever stop being curious.”

– John Meyer | Founder/CEO, Lemon.ly

UNRELENTING DETERMINATION

“Every single one of the most phenomenal entrepreneurs I know are scrappy. I define scrappy as unrelentingly determined no matter what you throw at them. This goes far beyond perseverance, and includes traits of creativity and a general lack of trepidation. It’s the ability to pull off the ‘impossible’ and make it look routine.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

GUTS

“All startup leaders need to embrace uncertainty, thrive when on the edge, and be willing to fail over and over again until they succeed. They need guts!”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

5 Things to Get Straight Before Starting Up

planning Starting my company Gloss and Glam was the best thing I ever did. But before I opened my business, I spent countless hours speaking to lawyers, accountants, and other entrepreneurs trying to figure out next steps. Save yourself countless hours — and the possible headache of making a huge foundational mistake — by getting these five things straight before you start up:

Own your name. Make sure the company name you choose is one with an available trademark and Internet domain name. To see if a trademark is available, you can do a trademark search online through the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website. Failure to properly obtain a trademark could put your fledgling business at risk — not to mention that the time and money you have invested in establishing your business name could go to waste if someone else owns the trademark. Don’t assume your new business name is not trademarked because you were unsuccessful finding such name on the Internet, either. Someone could have used the name for a business that closed, or filed a trademark and never used it.
Get in with the law. Understand what regulations, licenses and taxes you will need to follow, obtain and pay for your new business. After doing some initial research on your own, consult with a lawyer and accountant to confirm your understanding and to help structure your business to be in compliance with the law. Generally speaking, you will need to need to (i) ensure you are charging the correct amount of tax your service or product that your business is promoting, if applicable and (ii) obtain all of the proper licenses needed to run your new business, at a minimum. Establishing a successful business is hard enough. The last thing you need is some technical legality or administrative detail to stand in the way of your success.
How much do you need to live? When working on your business plan, do not forget about the most important factor: YOU. You need to take into account your living costs. Rent, mortgages, and health insurance — these are all things that don’t pay for themselves. You will most likely need to cut out all the unnecessary extras you can live without. Make sure you account for unforeseen or unexpected expenses by factoring a little flexibility into your budget for those “just-in-case” moments. You might even consider taking a part-time job until things pick up with your new venture and speak to a financial planner to help you budget yourself properly.
Where are you in your life? Starting a new business takes brains, bravery, and what will seem to be endless hours of hard work. When you own your own company, there is always something that has to get done. You will most likely find yourself working at least 60-80 hours a week for the first two years. With that said, I’ll ask you one very important question: Are you ready to give up your personal life for the next three years?
Don’t over — or under — spend. Starting a business can be incredibly financially taxing on you and your family. You will need to learn where and when to spend. It’s important not to waste those precious seed dollars but it’s equally important to spend where necessary. In any business, you often have to spend money to make money. Don’t skimp out on things your company needs. For example, it may be worth it to put $1500 in an online vendor listing, but it may not be necessary to give every new customer a $15 mug. Be sure to keep up with technology too — there are many time-saving programs and apps (including free or inexpensive ones) that can help you keep track of it all, and as we all know, “time is money.”

Nicole Robinson is the CEO of Gloss and Glam, a premier and largest luxury on-location hair and makeup company. Gloss and Glam provides high end hair and makeup services for runways, magazines, weddings, TV shows, movies, and private clients across the world. For more information or to book an appointment visit www.glossandglam.com.

UberConference Could Save Your Startup On Conference Calls

UberConference, Startup Tips, startups, conference calling There’s a reason that UberConference won the TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2012 Battlefield, and continues to win awards today, like theInternet Telephony Excellence Award. It’s because they’re out to save their users money and headaches that often times come with conference calls.

Conference calls have often been the brunt of true frustration. Until recently conference calls meant dialing into a long, strange, and sometimes long distance number. Then you had to dial an equally as long passcode. This could be a pain sitting at your desk but even more of a pain when you’re mobile.

Another big pain point for people that require a regular amount of conference calls is sound quality. By the time the 3rd or 4th person enters the call it’s like you’re talking in a tunnel. With UberConference you get the benefit of HD audio calls from anywhere on the internet.

UberConference has put together a core feature set wrapped around a visual dashboard that makes conference calling a breeze. So much in fact that lawyers are raving about it.

UberConference’s core features are free and for just $10 a month you can get UberConference Pro which rounds out a suite of sweet conference calling features.

Start a conference without having to enter a PIN
Schedule conference in advance
Automatically call participants at scheduled time (Pro only)
Schedule recurring meetings (Pro only)
Get a local phone number (Pro only)
Optional web display shows who is currently talking
Easily and quickly mute participants one at at time, or by group
Participants allowed conference before the organizer shows up
Record call easily with one button
iPhone and Android apps (free) let you easily start a conference from your phone

Then, after the call UberConference provides you with a report that details who was on the call, the exact times they dialed in, who was on first and who joined the call last.

UberConference allows the first 5 participants free. Then if you connect your social media channels you can get another 10 people on your call and uploading your contacts gives you two more spots for people on your calls.

You can learn more about UberConference by watching the video below.

What I Learned About Entrepreneurship From Running

Last month, I ran a total of 120 kilometers, which included running my personal best in an unexpected half marathon. I spent a lot of time on the road — just me, some music, the sound of my (sometimes ragged) breathing and most importantly, my thoughts.

One of the recurring themes to pop into my head while running in the last month was the similarity between how I was progressing as a runner and how I could potentially apply the same mindset to running my company.

Here’s a list of the things I learned about entrepreneurship from spending time on the road, running:

WORK ONLY WHEN YOU’RE PRODUCTIVE AND FOCUSED.

I used to motivate myself to go running in a very reactive, threatening-kinda way: I would decide to run a half marathon and I would “demand” (of myself) to run specific distances in specific times. This meant that regardless of how I was feeling, I had to meet those requirements.

During my latest stint, I decided that I wasn’t going to set myself the goal of running in a specific half-marathon. Instead, I decided to run just because I loved it.

Sometimes, when I started running I could feel that my body didn’t respond or that I just wasn’t in the mental space to run, so I would cut my run short and went home. On the flip side, sometimes I planned to run 5km but ended up running 10km instead, because I was feeling good. That’s a 2x return when literally doubling down on that good feeling.

Entrepreneurs are guilty of this. We force ourselves to work, even when we’re not being productive. Stop. Get up, do something else that’s not related to work, and when you are in the zone, double down and achieve an insane amount instead.

AVOID BURNOUT.

Earlier this year, I got greedy and for about a week, I pushed myself too hard, aggravating an injury. Instead of just stopping, I kept pushing. The result was that I developed a severe case of shin splints that kept me out of running for two whole months.

As entrepreneurs, we know how to push (hard) and we know how to use adrenaline to fuel us. Burnout is, however, a very real threat that should not be considered lightly. The problem with injury or burnout isn’t the pain; it’s the frustration. Once you’ve injured yourself, there are no more shortcuts; you have to do the time.

So avoid it. Sleep well and try get eight hours of sleep a day. Eat healthily, exercise regularly and immerse your energy into non-work things too. All of this will help maintain your entrepreneurial fitness and ability to be consistently ambitious and driven.

REWARD YOURSELF.

When I eventually recovered, I decided to go for a weekly sports massage to help prevent shin splints. The massages turned into more of a reward, and I balanced the purpose of the massages between getting pampered and doing the preventive work on my muscles. I love this downtime, and it became a big motivating factor for me to run even more.

The same is true with work. For me personally, money isn’t enough of a motivating factor to work hard or do more. What does work is to reward myself with experiences. On the expensive end of the scale, that’s been via travelling as much as I can. On a more regular basis, I reward myself with a bottle of fantastic red wine.

The key is to connect the dots between the work and the experience, knowing that both need to be present to be able to draw that line.

NURTURE CONSISTENCY.

Running every second day has become a routine for me. This consistency is one of the primary drivers behind my ability to run 120km last month; it became a habit, which I could consistently get to.

I’ve seen the same scenario with my inbox. All of us get a boatload of email, and it’s probably the #1 complaint of busy people. But when I’m disciplined and keep my inbox neat and clean consistently, I avoid the problem. As soon as I lose that consistency, it becomes a mess.

As entrepreneur, these little habits are key to helping you consistently get stuff done and move forward. Consistency is your friend.

SHED EXCESS WEIGHT.

Running with excess weight is hard work. Now I’m not obese, but you probably won’t see me on the cover of GQ either. So about six weeks ago I started the Paleo diet, and I’ve since decreased my body fat by 5 percent. It makes running a lot easier.

In business and in work, excess weight can take many different shapes and forms. I used to be very guilty of taking responsibility for things I either didn’t need to do myself or just weren’t important. I was really bad at prioritizing my time. When I focused on only doing the most important things every day, I immediately got more done — and I was happier.

Shed the excess weight on your to-do list; you’ll run easier afterwards.

RUN YOUR OWN RACE.

Whilst running my last race, I realized that we’re always competing. We’re always measuring ourselves against other entrepreneurs and their companies. We read about how they do things, how they manage to be successful and how we should be applying all of those things to our own lives.

Just like you are doing, reading this now.

But this is YOUR life. In every race, you can only run against yourself and try to improve on your personal best. What the other runners and entrepreneurs are doing shouldn’t influence the way you run your own race.

Do things for yourself, be a little selfish every now and again, and most importantly, invest in yourself.

Adii Pienaar is the ex-CEO & Founder of WooThemes. He has a passion for helping other entrepreneurs, making new mistakes (of his own) and as such is working on his new startup, PublicBeta. He is also a new dad, ex-rockstar and wannabe angel investor.

Choosing The Right Finance Software For Your Startup

Running a small business means that you have to become a bit of an expert in everything. It’s not enough to be good at what your business does, you also need to be able to plan, manage logistics, handle the marketing of the business and perhaps the bit that most entrepreneurs enjoy the least: manage your finances.

(image credit: WikiCommons)

Whether you are a running a small consultancy business or a large scale non-profit, being able to track your spending and income is essential to running your enterprise efficiently.

Using Microsoft Excel is certainly an option that many people go with, but in reality it is not a great option and there are many very cost effective software solutions that will help make your business more profitable and save you time.

Here’s what to consider when looking for finance software for your business:

Do You Want A Hosted Solution?

In the past is was more normal to buy some finance software on a disc and install it on your local computer, but there are now a wide range of accounting packages available which are hosted “on the cloud”.

Buying software outright is still an option, but for most businesses a cloud based accounting package has a few notable advantages:

There is a relatively affordable monthly cost
Upgrades are regular and often automatic
You are likely to have constant technical support
You can access your accounts from anywhere
Your accounts are automatically backed up online
It may be possible to integrate with other services

Talking About Integration

That last point is an important one because many cloud based finance packages will have the ability to integrate with any other services that you may need as part of your business model.

You may think that you only need a stand-alone piece of software to handle your required accounts, but by integrating other services that you use (or may use in the future) you can often automate tasks and at the same time gain some powerful data.

Consider what services you already use online that could be integrated, for instance:

Business banking; automatically download your bank statements to fill in new transactions
Invoicing and quotes; invoices can be automatically added to accounts and payments tracked
CRM software; track your marketing channels, customer relationships and costs all in the same place, giving you a powerful opportunity to marry your accounts and cost of sales to your marketing costs and income.

Even if you don’t use these types of software yet, consider whether you will eventually want to. Many businesses miss out on opportunities because they don’t know what is available or they over-estimate the complexity of getting set up.

Thinking About Features

Finally of course you need to consider what features you want from your finance software. You may not really know what you need, so this exercise will help you to get your head around what actually needs doing.

There are a few features that are common and contained in most solutions and some other more specialist ones that might be helpful. For instance, you might want the ability to track inventory and control stock, or the ability to create invoices within the system and automatically send payment reminders when invoices are due.

The most essential features are likely to be things like reporting of profit and loss and financial analysis which will let you see where your money is going and what level of profit you are making.

If in doubt, look at the feature lists of a few finance options and note down any features that you think you need and any that you might find useful. You can then use these notes to weigh up the cost/benefit of your various options and select the most suitable solution.

Mike Spalding works as an IT technical consultant at Advantage.co.uk. Advantage specialize in business management and finance software for small businesses and social enterprises (learn more about the options here).

5 Typical Business Mistakes to Avoid

I jumped into the world of entrepreneurship a few years back, and it’s certainly been an interesting ride. Don’t let anyone fool you — business ownership requires a lot of hard work. No matter what you do, you’re going to make mistakes in the beginning. However, once you get all the wrinkles ironed out, the benefits of self-employment are numerous.

In order to help you along your way, here are five typical mistakes entrepreneurs make, as well as some suggestions on how to avoid them:

Not doing enough research. One of the worst mistakes you can make as a first-time entrepreneur is not researching the industry or niche you want to penetrate. With the Internet, you have a world of resources at your fingertips, so take advantage of it. Several pieces of information you should keep an eye out for include current demand, competition, average startup costs, and when you can expect to become profitable. I conducted thorough research, and therefore went into business with my eyes wide open.
Not saving money. If saving money is not at the top of your list, sustaining your business over many years will be incredibly difficult. First, create a simple budget by recording all fixed and variable monthly expenses, as well as an estimate for monthly income. This can give you a rough idea of how much money you have to spend — and if you realize you are spending more than you are earning, you’ll know it’s time to cut back. In order to cut costs or reduce expenses, consider purchasing used equipment to outfit your office. Turn down your office heat or air conditioning, and make sure you are not wasting any energy. And if you are spending a fortune on advertising, consider implementing free social media campaigns instead. Many business fail due to money woes, so doing whatever you can in advance to prevent these troubles is key.
Over-reliance on outside financing. Instead of begging for money from angel investors or venture capitalists, look to your own checking account for financing your startup. You’ll maintain more control over your company’s direction and enjoy a bigger percentage of the profits. I financed my own business by bootstrapping, and I have no regrets. Of course, you don’t want to overextend your personal finances and go into debt to start your business, so some outside business financing may be necessary.
Not fully utilizing social media. The best way to gain the most exposure for your small business is via social media marketing, which offers the additional benefit of being free. Start accounts on Facebook and Twitter and post helpful content to your potential customers, making the experience as interactive as possible by personally replying to each person who responds. Once your popularity begins to grow, consider conducting weekly TweetChats on topics relevant to your business, and offer giveaways to boost your presence on Facebook.
Expanding too soon. While my website enjoyed modest success early on, I ultimately decided against pursuing an aggressive growth strategy. Expanding a business too rapidly can negatively affect the level of customer service you provide and can also overwhelm your staff. Once you’ve got a good thing going, the last thing you want to do is cause damage to your brand by overwhelming your workforce. Expand conservatively, and you are more likely to enjoy success in the long run.

Through all of my trials and tribulations, I always relied on one key piece of advice a successful small business owner once gave me. He said, “Andrew, stay passionate about what you’re doing, work hard, learn from your mistakes, and success will eventually come your way.” Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, but once you’ve obtained success, the benefits make it worth all of your hard work.

What other mistakes should entrepreneurs avoid when just starting out?

Andrew Schrage is co-owner of the MoneyCrashers.com Personal Finance website. The site strives to educate readers on a wide variety of topics, including how to budget for retirement, tips to increase your income, and the best small business credit cards. Schrage hopes to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives as they work to gain and maintain financial freedom.

Why Can’t We Be Friends: Social Sharing and SEO

By Markerly’s Christine Beuhler

No one can seem to agree: is SEO out of date and obsolete or still worth it? And what are social signals? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed.

SEO and Google

Google doesn’t seem to like SEO much, which is understandable. So-called “black-hat” techniques (simply bad SEO practices) have made it their business to dupe search engines for years to get their clients in the top rankings and first pages of results. That bad name given by these techniques has pervaded SEO to the point that using SEO makes some companies uneasy and worry about its legitimacy as a method to getting more.

Content and Social Signals

Google’s phasing out of SEO means they have turned to other means to populate the top rankings, in this case social signals. The rule of thumb of social signals is the more times a piece of content is shared (the more likes, mentions, tweets, retweets, +1′s, etc.) the higher quality content it is, and generally the higher in the rankings it will show up. In fact, about half of the traffic to sites is now coming from social sharing instead of searching.

Creating quality content which is ALSO popular is not easy, but it is a more consistently reliable practice which makes sense to people. People like something, they share it, it’s a pretty simple concept, as opposed to monkeying around with technical SEO terms that they don’t understand and which seem to insist on changing anyway.

Marrying The Two

So the two have their differences, but it’s easy to see that social sharing and SEO affect each other. Their relationship is becoming intertwined, so what’s an entrepreneur/blogger/business owner to do?

As long as searching is still around, (and I’m pretty sure Google isn’t taking a vacation anytime soon) won’t SEO always be necessary? In that case, what still matters when it comes to SEO? To create harmony between the two groups, here are some areas where to marry SEO AND great content for optimum results.

(If you haven’t already, go take care of your content. Seriously. Social sharing is great, but it’s not king. Content is.)

1. GREAT Headlines

The function of a truly great headline is that it grabs, intrigues, and entices you into reading the full piece, usually in 8 words or less. A tall order, especially when stats say only 20% of people read your piece past the headline. No pressure or anything. But headlines are also a great opportunity to state clearly what your piece is about, and the words you select are a big contributing factor when it comes to online searching.

Pro Tip: Personally, I’m not a fan of “shocker” headlines, because after reading, I often feel manipulated, meaning my perception of the headline did not align with my perception of the article. You don’t ever want to give your audience a feeling of being used. They will determine that you are “not worth it” and they won’t come back.

2. Keywords

Carefully selecting keywords will really help out the people who are trying to find you, but it also helps you narrow down what your post is actually ABOUT. Sometimes, you start off having no idea what you’re talking about until the end, when the big picture slowly comes into view and you grasp it. Kudos for that, keywords!

Pro Tip: Longer phrases often help out more than shorter ones. Competition for one or two word phrases can be extremely fierce, so the more specific you are, the more likely you are to to bring in the kind of traffic you’re looking for.

3. Images

When choosing titles, captions, and alt text for your images, make sure they are tightly relevant to your topic and this could help bump up your content even more.

Pro Tip: Blocks of text can be scary and intimidating to the reader, but engaging images keep the eye flowing through the entire piece, especially if they’re funny images or have funny text.

4. Video

This one may surprise you, but stats show that video automatically ranks higher in Google Search over any other type of content. This a huge plus for your rankings, but having video content also sets you apart by switching up the medium of your content, making it more exciting for your regular readers.

Pro Tip: Show your personality and be engaging in how you move and talk. Try to turn off your anxieties about being in front of the camera and always focus on how to best help people. So as always, keep your content fresh and lively, because that’s what matters the most. But using some of the tips shown above can make sure you’re found by the right people, while keeping your content prevalent on social media. See? They don’t have to fight.

Check out Markerly’s blog about the future of content and why you need a content strategy, here.

J.D. Power’s 10 Things I’ve Learned in Business

By James “David” Power III

After fifty years working with a range of companies—as well as founding and running my own company, J.D. Power and Associates—I have observed a good deal, and come away with a few thoughts about how to have the best shot at success in business.

The businesses I’ve seen grow, adapt, and thrive are the ones that keep a focus on satisfying customers by listening to them, anticipating their needs and desires, and maintaining their organizations’ prioritizing of these principles.

Whether I’m speaking with business school students or seasoned executives, I find that my advice incorporates ten basic lessons I’ve learned throughout my career.

1. Listen—to your customers, your employees, and your stakeholders.

I have witnessed too many car manufacturers move further away from achieving satisfied customers by refusing to listen to them. One example that sticks in my mind is that of Peugeot back in the 1980s. They were trying to broaden their appeal and expand their share of the American car market, but they were unwilling to listen to customer complaints about difficulties starting their advanced fuel-injected cars. Peugeot was an early adopter of fuel injection, and American customers were “flooding” the engine by pumping the gas, something that was necessary in conventional engines at that time. Customers saw this as a quality issue, but rather than hearing this as a problem, they held fast, confident that fuel injection was superior from an engineering standpoint. No doubt they were right, but by not listening and adapting to their customers they lost them, and by the early 1990s they had to abandon the American market.

2, Remember who the client is. In a B2B world it is the organization or business you serve, not just the guy or gal sitting across from you.

This is important from two perspectives. It is critical that you not serve the desires of the representative assigned to work with you to the disservice of the organization. On the flipside, you must feel empowered to not let that person become an obstacle to the organization receiving the information necessary to take full advantage of your services. I frequently encountered a situation where the person assigned to work with us put up roadblocks to information reaching further up the chain of command because it undermined his own position within the organization. I worked around this by sending letters directly to top leaders or using the press to get out the critical information, knowing that it was only when our message could not be ignored that true change for the organization could occur.

3. Empower your employees to be curious, to do the right thing for the business, to speak up. You need the right kind of leadership and a strong culture to make it work but there is nothing more valuable.

At J.D. Power, if an employee came up with an idea, they owned it. This engendered tremendous initiative and loyalty, and may have been one of the greatest keys to J.D. Power’s lasting success.

4. Relationships matter, but they need to be built on a bedrock of respect and trust, not just friendships.

I never approached business relationships as requiring glad-handing or wining and dining. In the beginning, I simply couldn’t afford it, but as J.D. Power’s success widened, I found that true relationships with executives came from providing them with the clear, actionable information they needed to do their jobs, not time on the golf course.

5. Have empathy, be kind.

Of course this applies to all of the individuals in your own organization who come together to provide the support you need to run your business—from your CFO to the cleaning crew. It’s a Golden Rule in my book. I found that it inspires employees to show that you care about them enough to acknowledge them, and ask about their families. Another example is with regard to my clients. Sometimes I didn’t agree with what they were doing, or I knew that they were in an unwinnable position. I felt a compassion for them and always tried to make sure that our information was there to help them.

6. Be willing to look at situations from unusual directions to seek the “truth.”

Don’t be afraid to take a counter-intuitive position in order to generate better ideas. The Jesuit education I received at the College of the Holy Cross provided a basis in questioning the status quo, a trait that has served me well.

7. Accept change.

I really believe that you need to anticipate changes, be flexible, and move with the trends. We are in the Information Age today. The rise of the Internet and its impact on retailing is the most recent example of the ways companies must adapt in order to survive, but there has never been a time when change was not actively underway.

8. Stay true to your values.

Part of your brand is what you are—and, at the core, what you are is made up of your values. Whether you are an individual or an organization, you must keep your compass aligned to the virtues that guide you. At our company, I really felt that we kept the organization focused on the “Three I’s”: Independence, Impact, and Integrity.

9. Find information and inspiration in the work of others.

I have long been a student of the writings of Walter Wriston, Peter Drucker, W. Edwards Deming, and Alvin Toffler. Their observations are still compelling today, as are myriad others who can offer insight and perspective that will be invaluable to your pursuits.

10. Don’t “torture the data till it confesses.”

Don’t be blind to all but the good news you may want to hear. Consciously or unconsciously interpreting information that comes across your desk in a way that supports past decisions rather than illuminates needed improvements is short-sighted and won’t bring you closer to the satisfied customers who will ultimately dictate your success.

These ten principles guided me through a successful and satisfying career. The individuals I dealt with who shared a similar view of business invariably had the respect of clients and colleagues, and the markers of success were realized for them as well.

Dave Power is the founder of J.D. Power and Associates. Stories from fifty years in the auto industry are shared in the new book, Power: How J.D. Power III Became the Auto Industry’s Adviser, Confessor, and Eyewitness to History. For more information, visit www.davepowerbook.com.

Should You Really Be Giving Startup Advice [INFOGRAPHIC]

Today it seems like everybody has startup advice. Should you be listening to mine? Well that’s certainly up to you. In fact it’s always up to you who you decide to listen to and who you don’t. However there are a lot of people out there giving startup advice that may not be qualified to do so.

While nobody should just be classified into groups or stereotyped, here are some folks I am wary of. Also, I do have manners so I do at least listen to anyone who can break me of my ADD and actually captures my attention.

Small business and executive coaches with little or no references.

Small businesses are great. They impact the local economy the way startups would like to. They also permeate with an older, more traditional crowd than most startups can. A good friend of mine Pam Cooper, the founder of Boosterville, once told me that when going to small business folks, it’s easier to get money for a day care center or a dry cleaners than a a world changing startup.

Memphis-based self-proclaimed small business expert Tom Pease actually has some great advice for small business owners in his new book Small Business Survial 101. He’s made a lot of money with his copier machine business and tends to offer more traditional SMB advice. He doesn’t know a lick about scalable and high growth potential startups.

There are thousands just like him as well. Now if you’re one of those people who can take the good tidbits from different kinds of folks and form your own conclusions, you may be ok listening to “small business gurus.”

In my opinion, though, if you run into an “Executive Coach” that can’t rattle off a list of 5 millionaires they’re working with, he or she is probably just another out of work sales person.

Startup organizations with founders or directors who have never themselves started anything.

I don’t need you to have multi million dollar exits, but you do need to at least have started something. Even if you’ve failed a bunch of times, you get more credibility points than if you haven’t started anything. You need to be in my world for me to listen to your advice about my world.

There are a lot of folks out there who have come from finance and business backgrounds who know that starting up right now is a hot topic, and they want to be part of what’s cool and hip. That’s great and perhaps there is a place for you in the ecosystem as a “feeder,” but not giving advice.

A lot of people I’ve met who fit that description tend to be less risk averse and eager to throw in the towel. Often they can be too concerned with image to get down and grind.

This is all just my opinion, but most entrepreneurs and startup people will agree with me.

Who should you listen to? Valerie Coffman, a data scientist and entrepreneur, has come up with this flow chart from her website valeriecoffman.com