startup tips Archives - Page 13 of 26

Oversee Your Business Without Being Chained to a Desk

Guest post, Startup tips, startup monitoring You would think that advances in technology would reduce the amount of hours you spend at work. You’d be wrong, as Technology Digital finds that white collar jobs are sitting at a 60-hour work week, and anyone chasing that elusive 40-hour beast is written off as a part-time dabbler. While it will take quite some time to change the societal and corporate culture, you can put technology to work for you in at least making your time more comfortable. You don’t have to be chained to a desk day in, day out to oversee and manage your business, departments and employees. Instead, put your smartphone to work so you can get a change of scenery.

Bring Your Own Device

BYOD policies bring more benefits than headaches to most corporations, but if you’re a CTO or needing to manage a variety of mobile devices in a secure and safe manner, it takes some time to work out a cross-platform solution. One such solution, Blackberry’s Mobile Device Management, allows you to take advantage of Blackberry’s secure setup. The Blackberry 10 OS allows you to create a virtualized environment that is kept entirely separate from everything else installed on the device, and supplies mailing and calendar functions, among others. MDM is a cross-platform version of that so you can increase the safety and security of every mobile platform accessing your work network.

Productivity Apps

Productivity apps streamline your day-to-day tasks, as well as keeping you on track with employee activities and essential business information. Stocks is a solid, free Blackberry app that keeps you on track with the stock market, an essential bit of information if you’re a publicly traded company. Evernote is an essential bit of software that works well with small or large teams, or for your own personal notes. Since it’s a cross platform app, you can access your notes from any location, whether it’s your phone or computer. When you need to keep your notes on hand when you’re out of the office, this is the perfect choice for you.

Cloud-based Storage

Cloud-based storage is essential to unlocking you from your office. When you can access your files from any location, at any time, there’s no real reason for you to stick around work if you’re not otherwise needed on-site. Instead, you can head down to the beach and work on your tan while you’re getting the profit and loss statements ready for your department. Many cloud services are compatible with Blackberry, such as Google Drive and Dropbox. However, one the most useful apps you can get is one that allows you to access all your files in any of the cloud storage sites supported. This app is called Playcloud, and it also lets you bring up FTP and local files.

New Leadership Book Contradicts The Startup Lifestyle

As I write this I must remind many people to heed what I say not what I do. I’m admittedly one of those startup workaholics that has driven myself to the doctors, and later this week the hospital, because I focused so much on work that I let my health go.

My good friend and bad ass startup chick, Denver Hutt, first drove me to re-examine the 120 hour a week lifestyle when news broke that the She-Ra of the startup community pushed too hard and ignored early onset signs of what is now stage 4 ovarian cancer.

While there are many nights that I work around the clock, there are thankfully equally as many that I don’t.

So what’s the “right” way?

We joke with other startup people all the time that if you’re not coding, writing, developing or working on business development 24 hours a day, you aren’t a real startup founder. We scoff at people that post Facebook updates saying they are having family time while you’re on the grind. Is it jealousy? Are we jealous of the other founders who have work/life balance? Sure sounds like it.

Well a new book called Bankable Leadership by Dr. Tasha Eurich suggests that working around the clock is actually a bad thing. In fact Eurich goes as far as to say, “We actually get stupider when we work too much.”

Dr. Eurich holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University. She’s spent her entire career working with organizations big and small to mold more effective leaders, and believe it or not it all starts with better time management.

Dr. Eurich’s approach to leadership is fresh, modern, and fun. Broken down into four easy-to-digest sections, the Bankable Leadership model “can help anyone become bankable-producing results while fostering a healthy work environment that ensures sustainable success,” says Dr. Eurich. “This balance between people and results lies at the heart of Bankable Leadership.” Based on over 70 years of science, Dr. Eurich helps leaders understand current—and sometimes surprising—research on the best ways to lead. “This is not fluff. The science of leadership is strong – and good leadership drives results.”

While most startup founders are going to be interested in what Eurich says about working too many hours, there are other entrepreneurial and startup myths and lessons explored in her book:

70% of leadership is learned and great leaders are made, not born.
Why most companies don’t develop leadership skills effectively.
How anyone can learn the principles of effective leadership, regardless of his or her background.
How organizations can achieve prosperity with the Bankable Leadership model.
Why companies treat employees like children and ways to change it.
The differences between the “Cool Parent” Leader vs. the “Trail of Dead Bodies” Leader.
What “Delusional Development” is and how it is killing many of today’s leaders.

Find out more about Bankable Leadership here at bankableleadership.com

The Role of IT Training in Today’s Startup World

The Role of IT Training in Today’s Startup World

The world of business and startups has changed a great deal over the course of the past decade or so. No longer is it practical to think that a business can be operated without IT, and whether that comes from an employee who is well-versed on the subject or yourself will depend upon both how much interest/time you have in learning more about IT and how much you can afford someone else to take care of things for you. The fact is, every business owner can benefit from increasing his base of knowledge when it comes to IT, especially when it comes to overseeing daily operations.

You don’t have to delegate a huge amount of time if you want to prioritize IT, but putting some effort into the equation will definitely help to push your business in the right direction. Here are just a few reasons why IT training is more important in today’s business world than ever in the past.

Businesses Rely on IT to Keep Moving

Years ago, IT didn’t usually take up a great deal of space in the minds of business owners when it came to day-to-day operations. Today, however, it is essential part of running a company. Without IT, the flow, retrieval and storage of information for businesses of all kinds would come to a screeching halt. Many business owners who simply don’t have the time or interest to handle the IT side of the business, and while this can be an effective tool, it can also be quite costly. Understanding more about how to handle the day-to-day logistics of your business’s IT can be quite freeing and is more than worth your while.

IT Is Crucial to Customer Satisfaction

Your customers need to know that they can get in touch with you no matter what time of day or night they need to. This means that if your website, email or other IT-related services are down, you’ll not only be missing out on the chance to bring in new business, but will also be running the risk of angering current clients and customers. Gaining a better understanding of IT will allow you to take care of any issues that might pop up, which means that any downtime can be cut to an absolute minimum. If you’re in the dark and can’t get in touch with whomever is handling your IT, you’re bound to run into issues that could be costly to your business.

IT Will Only Become More Integrative

Technology is advancing at an alarming rate, and businesses of all kinds rely on it for daily operations. While there are still certain types of businesses that don’t utilize IT as much as others, this is likely to change as the Internet continues to become a central aspect of the professional world. This will be especially important in terms of security. Understanding IT and training your employees to do the same will be a huge part of providing online security for your company in the years to come. It’s safe to assume that years from now, a business that doesn’t have solid integration of IT will have an immensely difficult time finding success and surviving in the marketplace.

There are plenty of resources online and elsewhere that can help teach you about IT issues. Follow the link here to learn more about an education in IT security measures and the technology involved in protecting your IP.

Kelly Jane Brown is an aspiring writer, entrepreneur and student at UCLA.

11 Marketing Tools Your Startup Needs For Launch

Question: What ONE must-have tool should small businesses include in their marketing campaign when launching a new product? (events, pop-up shops, swag, social media campaigns, etc.)

Mailchimp Is a Must

“For every new product launch, we collect emails via MailChimp. We use their email campaign and auto-responder functionality to draft countdown emails so that our customers receive regular updates and pre-specified intervals prior to launch. These email campaigns get customers excited about our launch and result in increased conversion.”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

Landing Pages with Unbounce

“Landing pages are a must when launching a new product. They let you easily focus the potential consumers attention on the actions that you deem desirable. With new products, money is scarce, so having the highest conversion rate is of necessity. My product of choice is Unbounce — it’s dead simple to use, and they also have new and improved features for the advanced user.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

Create a Dedicated Email

“As you’re building buzz for your product, there must be a customer and sponsor support team ready to handle incoming questions. Put your email out there everywhere and encourage questions, ideas and communication. Don’t just have the email account, but be ready with resources, FAQs and engagement specialists to nurture your early adopters and raving fans and help them promote you further.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

Set Up Google Analytics Properly

“You can’t have a good marketing campaign without tracking in-depth analytics throughout the entire process. Not only is Google Analytics great because it’s free, but they continue to add more robust features for tracking every detail of each visitor on your site, which will help you understand the location, referrers/keywords, behaviors, site usage, and transactions of each of your visitors.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

Incorporate Retargeting Pixels.

“Use a service like ReTargeter or AdWords Remarketing in order to drop cookies for first-time visitors to your website, so that you have the opportunity to remarket to them later and stay top of mind. Start building your remarketing list from day one.”

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

Utilize Hacker News

“Hacker News is a great place to launch a product. If you submit your site correctly, it could drive thousands of visits within a few hours and collect excellent feedback. Make sure to read how to use Hacker News first though!”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

Put In a Squeeze Page

“If I had to recommend one tool for any product launch, it would be a “squeeze page,” also known as an opt-in page. Get an account with an email service provider (ESP), create a squeeze page, and point potential customers to it during your pre-launch. Send emails to your subscriber list building anticipation for the launch, and then offer your subscribers a limited-time offer upon the launch.”

– Pete Kennedy | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Main Street ROI

Let People Use Your Product!

“If the goal is to get people to use your product and talk about your product, then it seems logical that you should get that product into as many hands as possible. If it’s online, this means a trial. If it’s food, it means having tons of samples. If it’s jeans, give away your jeans. You can talk and hype something all you want, but the product speaks for itself. A worthwhile investment.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

Bloggers Create the Buzz

“A lot of small businesses focus on long-lead, print media without realizing the power of blogs. Even relatively small blogs have the power to convert sales with links in a much more powerful way than print ever can — and even have the potential to take on their life of their own through social sharing.”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

Coordinate a Social Media Push

“Including fans in the conversation or decision-making process prior to launch is by far the most valuable pre-promotion you can do. We generally narrow new watch designs or colors down to three or four options before running a vote on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. It’s our “Threadless meets Kickstarter” model: whether we receive 100 votes or 1,000, we learn from our biggest advocates!”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Collect Real Testimonials and Reviews

“No matter what else you do to market a new product, you need to have proof that it does what you say it does. Getting people outside your company to try the product and talk about it is the only initial source of that proof that you can set up before the product goes on the market. So make the effort to get testimonials and reviews from beta testers and pre-launch customers.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

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.

How to Find the Right Investor for Your Startup

A good team of investors can be the foundation of your startup’s success, but a bad one can obliterate even the strongest ideas. Investors can provide your business with more than capital — they can become resources for organizing, marketing, and realizing ideas. Knowing what to look for in an investor and being able to attract the best kind of investors are vital skills for any new entrepreneur.

Attracting Investors

As a newbie with limited experience, how do you convince potential investors you are worth listening to — and get them to buy into your idea? Here are two qualities I strongly believe are key:

Communication: In a time when people are constantly connected online, it’s essential to be good at correspondence in its simplest form. People hate being relegated to your voicemail, and unanswered emails make it appear that you don’t have time or don’t care about responding.

Our investors know they can call me anytime, and I’ll always pick up the phone or get back to them quickly. Respond to phone calls and voicemail messages and make time — not just to read, but also to thoughtfully answer emails every day.

Honesty: Being truthful is obviously non-negotiable. If you misrepresent yourself or your business, you’ll be dead in the water.

It’s natural to think seducing investors with best-case-scenario figures is the most effective way to get funding for a new project. Actually, the opposite is true. Nothing will torpedo an investor’s confidence in you faster than projecting everything through rose-colored lenses.

Making cautious or even negative projections shows investors you’re honest with them and also capable of being realistic about your project’s potential problems. Underpromising and over-delivering is your best bet, and an honest assessment of a project’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial.

Sealing the Deal

Once you’ve established yourself as accessible and trustworthy, you will not have to go out of your way to land the investment. Take these steps in advance to increase your chances of sealing the deal:

Prove it works. Once you’ve built a business successfully — even a small one — investors are more likely to believe in you. Get an idea going, and achieve small successes to show you’ve got the drive to see things through. As someone who’s been on both sides of the table, I personally feel more confident investing in ideas that have already proven viable.
Build relationships. Every person you meet is a potential investor or a contact who will lead you to one. This has proven true for me dozens of times. I met a guy at Starbucks once who introduced me to a group that invested $250,000 in one of my ideas. We eventually sold that business for seven figures.
Be likable. It’s impossible to raise money if investors don’t like you. Engage people and be friendly. Look sharp and exude positivity. An investor once told me that he chose to invest in my company because I was personable. “I know we have a winner here because of you. I like you,” he said.

Finding the Right Investors

Getting the right investors for your project is just as important as being able to attract investors. Here’s what I advise upcoming entrepreneurs look for in their investors:

Diversity: The more well-rounded your investment group is, the better suited they’ll be to address the challenges your company will face. Look for investors with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Positivity: Supportive people can be the difference between a project’s success and failure. No company can grow without encountering problems. Finding people who remain confident through these times can improve your chances of success.

Investors are vital in far more ways than just providing cash. Depending on the arrangement, the right group can become unofficial consulting firms or even assist in day-to-day operations. My current partner, Ryan Goldschmidt, first invested in a nightlife venue he had neither the experience nor the skills necessary to operate. After an exhaustive search, he found a company willing to invest in the buildout with the skills to operate a large venue and the capital needed to make the necessary improvements.

Of course, some investors prefer to remain at arm’s length. Either way, your team of investors can make or break your startup. Always approach potential investors with honesty and confidence, and don’t forget to be picky when choosing the right people to partner with.

Aaron Pitman and Ryan Goldschmidt are founders of RA Domain Capital, a domain name development firm. Aaron is an angel investor and an entrepreneurial thought leader. He welcomes anyone to reach out to him through Twitter (@aaronpitman) or you can visit him directly at aaronpitman.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.

10 Ways To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Question: What process do you use to spur creativity — in yourself and your team — especially when you’re feeling blocked?

Mindmapping Works Like a Champ

“Start with a topic or question, and mindmap your way around it. Don’t censor yourself as you come up with all the surrounding topics and bubbles that go with your initial topics. This type of “hyperlinked” thinking is what allows us to come up with new ideas. You can also go really deep on a thread, which can help spur creativity in other threads of your mindmap. Mindmap as a group, and this takes on a whole new life!”

– Nathalie Lussier | Creator, The Website Checkup Tool

Turn to Your Trusted Resources

“When I hit a creative road block, I turn to other entrepreneurs for inspiration. Usually, I hit those road blocks at weird hours of the night, so I keep a business-related book or a copy of Entrepreneur or Inc. Magazine close by. I find that spending 15 minutes or so digesting other entrepreneurs’ thoughts and opinions does the trick and gets my creative juices flowing right away. I use a similar tactic when it comes to spurring creativity in my team. During our team meetings, everyone is required to share an article, story, quote or anything else that gave them creative inspiration this week. After everyone shares, we take a vote on our favorite creative piece and the winner chooses what is for lunch that day. It is a fun and interactive way to get everyone thinking.”

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

Fun Equals Creative Thinking

“It sounds simple, but some of the best ideas come from having fun and not thinking about the business. Get your team out of the office and take them out. Not having an “office atmosphere” allows people to open up and be themselves. Not only will it give you the chance to really get to know them but also the chance to let the creativity flow. If you aren’t having fun, then why are you doing it?”

– Ashley Bodi | co-founder, Business Beware

Look Outside Your Field

“One of the best ways to jog my creativity is to consume media totally outside my field. If I’m at the airport maybe I’ll pick up a magazine about farming or architecture. I’ll watch a documentary about a subject I don’t know much about or go see an experimental play. Listen to a random Pandora channel in a genre you usually don’t listen to. I think ideas tend to slow down when you get into a rut with the things you see every day. Even taking a different route on a walk can help a lot!”

– Caitlin McCabe | Founder & CEO, Real Bullets Branding

Movement Gets Me Going!

“Our bodies provide as much information as our heads, but we usually ignore them in our work lives. You know, simply taking a walk while talking about important things makes the conversation more meaningful. So why do we sit in conference rooms instead of walking and talking? To think creatively, keep moving. What do I do? Bollywood dance breaks! Seriously — I have Bollywood-inspired Innovative Moves workshops.”

– Erica Dhawan | CEO, Erica Dhawan, LLC

Get the Ball Rolling and Don’t Stop

“Creativity comes often when one least expects it: in the shower, walking to work or in the middle of the night. These moments are gifts not to be wasted, but they’re also impossible to schedule into team’s meetings. As a founder, my company relies on me to take the lead on creative discussions, so I created a simple process to get the intellectual momentum going. We start by going into a conference room where we break down a problem or topic into its smallest possible parts. As ideas flow, we post them up onto our walls with flip chart paper. Surrounded by the information, people naturally start connecting the dots and the creative juices start flowing. Once you hit a rhythm, embrace whatever topics come into focus, dig deep and never let ridged schedules derail your flow.”

– Christopher Kelly | Co-Founder, Principal, Convene

Get Completely Uncomfortable

“I’ve always found creative ideas come when you’re trying to do something new… and find out that you’re bad at it. Take a cooking class, try rock climbing, learn to play a new instrument. Inevitably, you will encounter some difficulties when experiencing something for the first time, and your brain will get to work. A lot of times, I end up saying to myself, “This is really hard…why don’t people just do ‘x’ to make it easier?” Or, “This is great, but it would be so much better if ‘y’ were added to the experience!” Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations where your brain isn’t used to operating often is a great way to get those creative juices flowing!”

– David Stankunas | President and Founder, Beard Head, Inc.

Spark Creative Visual Conversation

“By painting our walls with IdeaPaint, we’ve been able to have a lot of conversations by drawing out what we imagine. Instead of our ideas floating around in the air, we put them out on the wall for everyone to look at and soak in. This caters to those who are visual and audio learners and ultimately brings everyone together for a better, more creative brainstorm.”

– Bobby Emamian | CEO, Prolific Interactive

Wine Catalyst to Get Creativity Flowing

“There is a reason why happy hour is such a crucial thing for co-workers to participate in together. Allow your employees to unleash their ideas outside the confining walls of an office over a glass or two of wine. You’ll be surprised how quickly the combination of a relaxed environment, and some vino will transform a casual hang out into an innovative meeting that just might leave you with a whole new creative direction.”

– Erika London | Co-Founder, iAdventure.com

Place, Purpose, and Post-Its

“First, take your team somewhere stimulating. The beach, a grassy field, or even couches will do. If you go outside, be sure to bring some cardboard to use as an idea wall. Next, frame the discussion. “This morning we are generating ideas. Our goal is to come up with as many ideas as possible in 10 minutes. Wacky ideas are welcome – they might lead us somewhere unexpected and exciting.” Throw, slide, or pass colored markers or pencils and sticky pads to everyone. Everyone then captures ideas as fast as they can in 10 minutes before sharing their ideas. Depending on the size of your team, you will have twenty to several hundred ideas. Rinse and repeat. Each set of ideas will spark other ideas. Then your challenge will be moving to analysis mode!”

– Kevon Saber | Cofounder , Fig

Jeff Hoffman: 10 Tips For Entrepreneurs I Learned Along The Way: Lessons From Everywhere Else Cincinnati

Monday afternoon Priceline and Ubid founder Jeff Hoffman took the stage. For decades Hoffman, an entrepreneur his entire life, has spoken to big corporate CEO’s, sales forces, and countless others in the business world. Over the past two years, when we hear “startup conference” and “Priceline fuonder,” it’s been Scott Case, the founding CTO of Priceline and the founding CEO of Startup America. Case drives home excellent points about startup communities.

After spending most of his career creating business plans (successful ones at that), Hoffman has now turned to building entrepreneurs. He is a founder of Venture Camp, a reality show and accelerator that had it’s inaugural session in an Indianapolis mansion. After the success of the first cohort on film and with their companies, Hoffman is looking to expand the program.

Hoffman told the story of his entrepreneurial journey to the audience at Everywhere Else Cincinnati. He started out as an entrepreneur not because he wanted to make huge amounts of money but because he wanted to at least attempt to fix broke things he came across.

“I set out… to deal with problems that no one is fixing,” Hoffman told the crowd at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.

Although uBid and Priceline have been wildly successful Hoffman said “big companies don’t just appear. Even Priceline was a small startup”.

Hoffman then started in on his 10 points of entrepreneurship:

1. Find Your Purpose– People who are focused on purpose far exceed the people who focus on money. Find the purpose that drives you. To illustrate this example, Hoffman told the story of an employee he had named Chris whose purpose was to get his family out of a trailer and into a real house and nothing was going to stop him.

2. Work Backwards from your goal. Set your goal and work backwards. Set your goals and then find out each step to get there, and then do them.

3. Get engaged in the world around you. Sit next to someone you don’t know. The more engaged you are, the more ideas you come across. “I’m amazed with the network I built because I was just out somewhere doing something,” Hoffman said.

4. Solve a real problem.

5. Win a gold medal at one thing– Find something, and tune out everything else. Hoffman explains that many entrepreneurs don’t like this because they worry about the next idea. He then explained that the people that get to work on their next ideas are the ones who won a gold medal on their first idea. He turned to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as an example: “Bezos always wanted to sell everything, but he became so damn good at selling books, the best damn book seller in the world and with that gold medal built out Amazon. People trusted him on their book sales experience; now they’ll buy anything from him”. Gold Medal= credibility

6.Build a great team- Hire someone smarter than you. “Don’t you want to be the manager with 7 people on the all star team, not the one who has a shitty team because you didn’t want players better than you?” Hoffman asked. Hoffman added that he told his Priceline team once that they could completely change industries on one Friday morning, and they would still win.

7. Get out of your office. The best companies build their product for customers. When Hoffman has a good idea he grabs his car keys to go out and find someone with a wallet who likes the idea.

8. Launch Something- MVP doesn’t mean put a crap product out there. If you go too lean, you’re putting your reputation on the line. “I remember you. You’re Jeff, the crap guy.” Don’t over do the lean thing just to rush something out there. Do two functions of your five function product and crush them. Lean is like throwing shit to the wall.

9. Find a mentor.

10. Work Hard.. success is no secret, work hard. – Hoffman saved his best personal story for last. He’s good personal friends with Evander Holyfield. One day he was visiting with Holyfield who was finishing a workout and Hoffman was spotting him. Holyfield was doing an extremely difficult exercise that he does 300 times a day. Hoffman was counting with Holyfield and then apparently lost count at 299 or 300. Holyfield needed his friend to be absolutely certain whether it was 299 or 300. When Hoffman wasn’t sure Holyfield went down one more time and did the exercise again.

When Hoffman asked Holyfield why he did that, the heavy weight champion told him “The difference between 299 and 300 is the difference between heavyweight champion of the world and just another boxer.”

Needless to say Hoffman does 300 every single time.

Four Rules Every Female Entrepreneur Should Follow

While many business challenges are common for all founders, there are unique lessons that women entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to learn in business. Here are several essential lessons I’ve learned as a successful female entrepreneur and what every female founder should know along the way:

Own your success.
There are several things that, as a woman, you should never apologize for, and at the top of that list is your well-deserved success. The apologetic undertone of some women entrepreneurs is subtle, laced with an excuse, chocked up to ‘luck’ or a dismissed congratulatory pat on the back. Many of us aren’t outright asserting, “I’m sorry that I am successful,” but a lack of confidence and all of the above are bedfellows of the same notion. Ladies, we already face an uphill battle in some cases. Don’t pack more unnecessary personal baggage on your rise to the top. When you earn a congratulatory remark from your peers, embrace it gracefully and confidently. And according to leadership consultant, Rachelle J. Canter, Ph.D., “If you can’t own this success for yourself, then own it for all the other women who look up to you and emulate you.”
Never underestimate your value.
We have all read the headlines that insist women still earn less than men. According to ThinkProgress contributor Sarah Glynn, in the U.S., “women on average make only $.77 cents to every dollar earned by men. Some of that wage gap is the result of women being more likely to work in certain industries or occupations, but about 40 percent of the difference in men’s and women’s wages cannot be explained by any measurable factor.” As a woman, this pay gap may have haunted you in corporate America. But it should no longer hold court in your business. Consider this: you are in complete control of your earning potential. In order to make a shift in your business you must be aware of your gifts and talents, understand what you have to offer within your industry, and monetize your products and services to reflect what the market will bear. Couple all of this with your unique value creation. Tell yourself a positive story about what you have to offer the world. No more excuses. As Albert Einstein notably suggested, “If you put a small value on yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”
It’s lonely at the top, so bring others with you.
By nature, the front-end of innovation is lonely, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “You do something no one else has ever done and leave everyone else scratching their heads and howling in protest. As the saying goes, ‘You can tell who the pioneers are from the arrows sticking out of their backs,'” suggests MACPA contributor Bill Sharidan. An article published by the Harvard Business Review echoes this notion — it’s isolating at the top. For founders, it can be unsettling. The survey found that “half of CEOs report experiencing feelings of loneliness in their role, and of this group, 61 percent believe it hinders their performance. First-time CEOs are particularly susceptible to this isolation.” Much of the loneliness that entrepreneurial leaders will face is connected to the growing pains of personal development. Or as Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, has said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”
Be unapologetically authentic.
Authenticity is a bankable currency. It can define your business and set you apart from the clutter of a cookie-cutter marketplace. You (and your customers) are not well-served by haphazard attempts to be someone else. According to organizational development professors Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, “Leadership demands the expression of an authentic self. Try to lead like someone else and you will fail. Employees will not follow a CEO who invests little of himself in his leadership behaviors. People want to be led by someone ‘real.’” The same can be said for your business and its customers. Authenticity in business is a baseline of belief in what you say and in what you sell. It is the courage to offer unique value and market yourself in a way that is consistent with your brand. Being everything to everyone sets you up to be nothing to no one.

Erica Nicole is the founder and CEO of YFS Magazine, the definitive digital magazine for startup, small business news and entrepreneurial culture. As an entrepreneurial change-agent, Erica Nicole been featured in national media outlets including Forbes.com, Upstart Business Journal, Fox Business, MSN Business on Main, The Huffington Post, Black Enterprise and more.

8 Mandates To Finding Your Meaning From Elevate’s Jake Stutzman At Everywhere Else Cincinnati

At most startup conferences, there’s a speaker or two who makes everyone get up from the chairs and do something, get the blood flowing, meet new people–you know orchestrating meaningful collisions. That speaker at Everywhere Else Cincinnati didn’t come until Tuesday afternoon when Jake Stutzman the founder of Omaha’s Elevate took the stage.

Stutzman, whose firm spearheaded the “experience” part for Everywhere Else Cincinnati, wanted to make sure that the attendees in the room were doing what they were supposed to. After testing moving the group closer to the front and closing the gaps, he tested the audience participation and moved on with explaining 8 mandates to finding your meaning as part of his discussion, “Find The Meaning Find The Money”.

The eye opening talk led off with Stutzman throwing some basic words on the screen and asking the audience to say what brands those words represented in their minds. For instance when he put the word “coffee” on the screen the crowd quickly blurted out Starbucks. For computer, most said “Apple”, and for the word “Phone” most shouted out iPhone, although one person went retro yelling out “Motorola Razor”.

While most of the brands said here made the list of the “World’s Most Valuable Brands”, they are extremely valuable because they own the category in people’s minds. How does a product go beyond just a product and become that category owning brand? Stutzman mapped it out clearly with these 8 mandates. “Usefulness only lasts until something better comes along,” Stutzman told the crowd. Need an example of that, just look at Blackberry.

These 8 important mandates are:

1. Know Yourself

2. Know Your Audience. Who’s your audience? Is there an audience for your product? How do you engage that audience?

3. Know Your Competitor and your category. Do a competitive audit, and know what your competitor does

4. Be Different.

5. Cast a Vision

6. Make it accessible, have brand identity, create memorable experiences and make sure your brand is infused in everything

7. Be Consistent. Consistency is the key to all of this. “It’s the difference between a chaotic brand and a charismatic brand,” Stutzman said.

8. Empower brand champions, find those champions for your brand those people that are extremely loyal and give them the tools to help grow your brand. These brand champions will work for you because you want to.

Nick and I got to experience all of this first hand starting with a two day workshop at Elevate’s Omaha, Nebraska office. There the Elevate team asked us hard questions about exactly what we wanted to do, who attended our conferences, who read our website, who shares our content. Who do we want to come and what do we want them to do? This is why Elevate is so much more than a design firm.

Elevate helped our brand appeal to multiple senses. Visually how was everything going to look? How were we going to direct people and what were they going to do on site?

Moving into 2014 we will have three conferences and continue to work with Elevate, who will help us make sure we continue to drive home these mandates.

Find out more about Elevate at elevate.co

To Grow A Startup, Grow as an Individual

Of all the speakers at Everywhere Else Cincinnati, none embody the Everywhere Else mentality more than John T.Meyer, the Founder of Lemon.ly – a startup that builds awesome infographics. Meyer and Lemon.ly are based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the state’s largest city with a population just north of 159 thousand. “Everywhere Else” personified.

Meyer’s talk, entitled “Don’t be Everyone Else at Everywhere Else,” outlined a more internal, individualized approach to building a startup. Rather than focusing blindly on bettering and building the company itself, Meyer argued, an early-stage founder is better served by expending an equal amount of time and energy in bettering his or herself. Or, essentially, a founder should grow as a person to grow the company. Meyer went on to outline 7 points, in the form of quotes, that speak to this approach:

Execute on being you

-Gary Vaynerchuk

Essentially, in the context of Meyer’s discussion, this means that a founder should play to his or her strengths. If you know sales, sell. If you code, code. Conversely, if you know marketing, don’t code, and so on. Play to your strengths.

When human judgement and big data intersect there are some funny things that happen.

– Nate Silver

While tracking big data and various metrics is a familiar undertaking for founders, Meyer brought this up in the context of individual, daily life; i.e. tracking the quantified self with a Fit Bit or some such device. It goes back to knowing and executing on yourself.

It is not enough to be busy. The question is: What are we busy about?

– Henry David Thoreau

Meyer argued that everyone is busy, but a founder must prioritize, and eliminate to the extent it is possible, lesser tasks and focus on the larger goals. A sort-of task triage if you will.

The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.

– Warren Buffett

This Buffet quote speaks to the Thoreau quote above. It is not enough to simply prioritize your tasks as a founder, you must learn which of those to reject. This is a very less = more approach.

Everyone has highs and lows that they have to learn from, but every morning I start off with a good head on my shoulders, saying to myself ‘it’s going to be a good day.’

– Lindsay Lohan

Meyer used this quote, jokingly, to argue for the use of an alarm clock, as opposed to setting an alarm on a phone. More-or-less, Meyers argued, once you come in contact with your cell phone, it instantly compartmentalizes your brain into ten or more different sections, and you are completely unable to focus on the task at hand. You would be better served to go “phoneless” for the first few minutes or hour of your day.

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

– Bill Cosby

This gets back to saying ‘no’ and focusing on what you are doing. It is important to focus on what you are building and make it really good at what it does. Don’t expand the problem you are solving into sub-problems. Fix it, fix it real good.

If you really want to know where your destiny lies, look at where you apply your time

– Mark Cuban

A fitting end to the talk. Look at what you love doing, and go do it.

Essentially, Meyers talk boiled down to combining two aspects that are usually presented as dichotomy; the self and the company. Rather than treating the two as sort-or exclusive of one another, both should grow in tandem. To grow as a company, it is important to grow as an individual.

Andrew Thompson is the Managing Editor of TechFaster.

4 Steps To Find The Right Mentor For Your Startup

People often say that finding a mentor is essential as an entrepreneur, especially if you’re young. I am a junior at Duke University and the co-founder of Star Toilet Paper, so the experience I had prior to starting this company includes camp and caddying work. How do I even know what steps to take or how to develop a business?

While many people within the realm of entrepreneurship are willing to help, there is a big difference between someone who answers a few questions for you and someone who is genuinely interested and invested (not monetarily) in both your company and in you as a person. To me, the most important aspect of a mentor is the latter; your mentor must have a vested interest in learning more about you and what you wish to do to change the world with your new company.

But how do you go about obtaining this type of mentor, and how do you know if they are the right person?

Where: In college, I have access to both people and resources. But you don’t need to be a student to access the people and resources you need. In any major city, there will be a variety of incubators, accelerators and universities which are hotbeds for innovation and centers of knowledge. That does not mean that you need to find the entrepreneurship professor at the closest university. See what is around you and how you can make the most out of those resources. I have found that it is often the third or fourth degree of separation that leads to the best person for you.

When: ASAP! Even if you have thousands or millions of dollars in revenue, a mentor can be helpful. It is important to know that, no matter where you are in your business, there is always room for improvement and a sounding board. The advantage of having a mentor as that sounding board rather than an employee or co-founder is that they come with a consumer perspective. When you work on something 24/7, you begin to lose touch with the thoughts of those who will actually be using the product. Having someone outside the company is a great way to get back in touch with that side without having to test or survey.

How: Just ask. Having access to people and resources is helpful, but the relationships do not go as far as mentorship. Generally someone interested in mentoring will send emails saying things like, “Hey, wanted to catch up and see if there was anything I could do!” They recognize how valuable their time is to you and thus, you need to do the same. Tell them what you are looking for and why you specifically want them to mentor you. Demonstrate the value that they will have in the company. And just ask.

So…Who?: Of course, there is no easy answer to this question; it depends on personal preference and what you are looking for help with specifically. For example, in our case, there are multiple possibilities. We are looking for people with expertise in the toilet paper field, in the marketing field, and in the business development field. Chances are, just one person doesn’t embody these characteristics.

That being said, it is better to have different people with different types of expertise so that you know the question you are asking will be answered by somebody with years of knowledge and experience.

Furthermore, when you find someone you believe could make a valuable mentor, ask yourself whether you are comfortable sitting down for hours and talking with that person, both about the company and yourself. Your mentor should love what you are doing and love your passion. Make sure that they are interested in you at least as much as they love the business.

Bryan Silverman is the co-founder of Star Toilet Paper and a junior studying neuroscience at Duke University. His company utilizes a two-ply business model: they first obtain a large public venue to receive toilet paper at no cost, then reach out to advertisers who pay half a cent per ad to target that demographic. He is a New Yorker at heart, a diehard Yankees, Giants, and Nets fan and of course, a Cameron Crazie.

10 Best Blogs For Business Advice

Question: What’s your favorite blog for Internet-based business advice?

Start with SEOMoz

“The Daily SEO Blog from SEOMoz is filled with articles on marketing, brand building, community management and more. The company embraces transparency and often shares their own strategies and metrics to better help other online companies. Using the advice from the SEOMoz blog, we’ve managed to increase our traffic by 10 times in the past year. Thank you, SEOMoz!”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

Opt Into Unbounce

“What Oli Gardner and his team have built with the Unbounce blog is amazing. This is my favorite because they have incredibly useful infographics on the process of internet marketing. Very few blogs go as in-depth on internet marketing as Unbounce. Make sure you check out their “Noob Guide to Online Marketing,” which is a great cheat sheet to continuously grow your company’s brand online.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

Make Use of Mixergy

“I love these targeted interviews from Mixergy that I can watch with Andrew Warner and his guests. Generic advice just isn’t as valuable, and being able to watch the guest adds another dimension. The interviews are inspiring and always leave me with ideas, tactics and strategies to implement in my business.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

Learn From @ASmartBear

“@ASmartBear is a really insightful blog for startup entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs with a focus on marketing and customer acquisition. Jason Cohen, the author of the blog, previously built a multi-million dollar company without VC money, and then sold it for cash.”

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

Anita Loomba for More Media

“Anita Loomba has created a fantastic social media and online marketing blog that displays visual infographics and provides relevant and valuable information for anyone looking for ways to get a handle on their social media. You can subscribe to her blog through email too, which helps when you’re on the go and not at your computer!”

– Stacey Ferreira | Co-Founder and Vice President, MySocialCloud

The @KISSmetrics Marketing Blog

“The @KISSmetrics Marketing Blog has some of the best Internet marketing advice I have ever found. They are wonderful about breaking down complex techniques into step-by-step instructions. It’s one of the few business blogs online where I don’t feel like I have wasted 10 minutes of my life, reading the same old advice rehashed over and over again, like elsewhere!”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

Find Fred Wilson on AVC

“Fred Wilson, a VC and principal at Union Square Ventures, has a daily blog called AVC that he has written for years. His posts are insightful (check out the archives too!), but even more valuable is the comments section, which often runs hundreds of comments deep. Each post is a dense discussion of savvy Internet-based business advice from entrepreneurs, VCs, marketers, sales folks and more.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Vin Vacanti’s How To Make It as a First-Time Entrepeneur

“Yipit co-founder and CEO Vin Vacanti writes a blog that is full of thoughtful, honest, actionable and inspiring lessons. Especially relevant to the first-time entrepreneur, but really relevant to just about anyone, each of Vin’s posts is a winner.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

Peek Into PandoDaily

“PandoDaily offers a great alternative to actual insightful news in the Silicon Valley, and the interview they do with prominent investors and founders are great for interesting insights and learnings.”

– Jesse Pujji | CEO, Ampush

Read Neil Patel at Quick Sprout

“Big supporter of Neil Patel’s blog at Quick Sprout. He consistently publishes high-quality, resourceful articles on Internet-based advice. Definitely recommend following it.”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

Startup Tips: 4 Ways To Defuse An Awkward Business Situation

As female entrepreneurs under the age of 30, my business partner Brittany and I have found ourselves in our fair share of uncomfortable situations. From being carded at client dinners, to being asked if we were the sales girls, our looks and gender have never gone unnoticed by clients.

Since starting the company in January 2011, we have found that no one wants an awkward situation to blow over faster than the person who just made the ultimate blunder. Instead of mumbling “awkward turtle” or cringing at the ordeal, we have discovered another approach that works every time: light-hearted laughter! Spinning the situation from an uncomfortable exchange to a talking point will endear clients. They will appreciate that you didn’t harp on their misstep.

Below are a few maneuvers we’ve used in less-than-ideal situations that left us feeling more like Michael Jordan going for the slam dunk, instead of the towel boy:

Awkward Encounter #1: Founder Faux Pas

Client: “It has been great to meet with you ladies. We are looking forward to meeting with your upper management next week.”
‘ZinePak Response: Brittany: “Kim, are you free next week?”
Kim: “For these guys, I’m sure I can work something out. You?”
Brittany: “Yes, I’m great. Congratulations gentleman, the founders of the company are totally available for a meeting next week as long as you bring the coffee.”

Why It Works: You are letting your client know where you stand in the company hierarchy without belittling them. This proves helpful for the future as the client is more likely to only reach out to you when there is high-level question or concern instead of a task that one of the team members under you can handle.

Awkward Encounter #2: Whose Daughter Are You?

Client: “Oh, you are Kim and Brittany?! How did you get this meeting? Do one of your fathers work here or something?”
‘ZinePak Response: “I can see that our reputation preceded us as opposed to our dashing looks, and I can’t be mad about that! Our fathers don’t work here but we know a few dads in the building who have worked with us in the past and think we are pretty awesome. Does that count?”

Why It Works: Establishing presence within a company is paramount. By letting this person know that you have done deals within the company allows them to mentally put you into a “recommended” grouping in their mind. This also gives them the opportunity to ask you, “Who else have you worked with?,” hopefully giving them a way to change the conversation since their first sentenced started out with a less then positive tone!

Awkward Encounter #3: Your ID, Please

We’re at a client dinner when the waiter so eloquently asks: “Can I see your ID, miss?”
‘ZinePak Response: “I keep forgetting to tell my Botox team and plastic surgeon to take it easy. Next thing you know, I won’t be able to buy a lotto ticket!”

Why It Works: You are showing your client that you recognize your young age and embrace it in a humorous way. This lets them know that you aren’t trying to be something you’re not by dressing or acting differently. This amount of comfort with your client will allow a friendly, low-key, and no-fuss atmosphere to flourish.

Awkward Encounter #4: Mistaken Identity

We’re out with a client when a stranger refers to me or Brittany or being the client’s daughter/little sister.
‘ZinePak Response: “I wish I could get an ounce of their good looks! Sadly, this is just my client. Instead of sharing a gene pool we share projects and contracts.”

Why It Works: Show me a person who doesn’t like a compliment and I will show you a world-class fibber! First-class flattery isn’t dead as long as it is done in a sincere (and not creepy!) way. Whether it is complimenting someone on a new suit or haircut, going back to business basics is never out of style.

Just remember that at the end of the day, it is best to always be true to yourself. Brittany and I don’t try to pile on makeup or add enough hair spray to make us look older. We just put all of our focus on the most important thing: our work! Clients care that the work we put in front of them is creative and dynamic, and not about how many wrinkle lines they can make out on our foreheads.

Kim Kaupe is the co-founder of ‘ZinePak, a custom publication company that creates engaging fan packages for entertainers, brands, and celebrities. She graduated with a BA in Marketing from The University of Florida in 2008 and roots loyally for her Gators. Most recently, she and her business partner Brittany Hodak were named to Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40 List for 2013.

How to Ensure Your Employees’ Productivity

The last thing any employer wants is to have a workforce that puts procrastination over productivity. Unfortunately there are just some employees who are going to push against that envelope at every chance they get. It’s one thing if you have someone who works best under pressure and can still turn out a fantastic product reliably in a short time frame. It’s another if that someone is simply easily distracted or doesn’t mind producing a lackluster product and would rather spend time playing games on Steam.

So what do you do? How do you make sure that your employees stay on track?

1. Monitoring Software

Some companies will install monitoring software that will allow them to “log in” and see what any employee is doing at any given time. If you have some particularly problematic employees, this might be a good way to “catch them in the act.” Another good way to go is to use Network Monitoring Tools that track and record details like traffic, resource allotment, etc. This way, even if someone minimizes a window when you walk by (or in case you “log in”) you can see how much bandwidth they are using. If you know the volume of resources they should be using, telling who is spending more time surreptitiously watching YouTube will be obvious.

2. Regular Reviews

Performance appraisals (some employers choose to call them, simply, Performance Reviews) are a great way to improve employee productivity (nobody wants a bad review!). The trick is to have them regularly. Most employers will only do them once every twelve months because, frankly, most employers hate doing performance reviews more than the employees! It’s better to have them at least every six months. If you have the time or your employee pool is small enough, having them every three months can keep productivity levels high. It also helps you maintain contact and keep tabs on how your business as a whole. It is helpful, particularly if you are going to have them more often, to strive for an informal and conversational style. Encourage feedback from your employees as well as asking them to accept the feedback you give to them.

3. Provide Helpful Tools

There are lots of different productivity apps out there that you (and your employees) can use to help manage time, stay on task and increase productivity. Embrace the technology and implement it on all of your work-related machines. Foot the bill for the better, and more expensive, apps so that your employees don’t have to.

4. Offer Great Benefits

In addition to basic health care benefits, other benefits like company cars (or gas allowances), free childcare (or as close to free as you can offer it), paid kid sick days and allowing employees to telecommute when they need to can all help improve your employees’ productivity. Why? Who would want to risk losing a job with all of those sweet benefits? Further, those benefits help your employees relax while they are on the job. That relaxation feeds into their desire to give their best performance at work. Everybody wins.

There are lots of ways to incentivize your employees to stay on task and to be as productive as possible. The hardest thing is not deciding whether or not to offer those incentives but which incentives you want to focus on.

Kelly Jane Brown is an aspiring writer, entrepreneur and student at UCLA.

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