YEC Archives - Page 4 of 14 - Serious Startups

Do You Make These Networking Mistakes?

QUESTION: WHAT’S ONE COMMON NETWORKING MISTAKE OR TURNOFF THAT YOU SEE BUSINESS OWNERS MAKE?

GLOATING ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL WONDERLIFE

“We live in an era that affords many new entrepreneurs the opportunity to redefine work-life balance. But even though your life might be the most outlandish saga since Deep Space 9, talking about your personal life for a moment too long can morph “Hmmm…interesting guy,” into “This person is full of themselves.” Don’t over-emphasize personal stories when business is what brought you together.” – Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

FOLLOWING UP TOO LATE

“When you meet someone in a networking environment, it is important to follow up by email within 24 hours or connect through Twitter or Facebook. We live in a fast-paced world, so if you meet someone for the first time and send an email four days later to say thanks and follow up, the timing of your note communicates, “The time I spent with you really wasn’t that important.’ Be quicker.”

– Erica Dhawan | CEO, Erica Dhawan, LLC

FORCING FOLLOWERS TO VERIFY HUMANITY

“If I send an email or direct message on Twitter and get back a verification link, I’m immediately turned off. Setting up barriers in networking doesn’t make sense when the point is to enable easier communication! Be personal, don’t act like a robot. Those who don’t have enough time should be outsourcing non-personal tasks more to make the time to connect without all the hoop-jumping.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

NOT LISTENING TO THE OTHER PERSON

“Sometimes we get so passionate when talking about our products, it seems as if no one else is in the room. That passion is great and people like to hear others who love their jobs. However, it is important not to dominate the entire conversation and allow the other person to share what is important to them. The more you listen, the higher likelihood of discovering a business problem you can solve.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

WANTREPRENUERS MISLABELING THEMSELVES

“You know who they are! The ones who are at these events looking for people to help them get started with their business, they’re still unclear about what exactly they do, or they don’t want to tell you their business idea because they haven’t started and they don’t want you stealing their millions. They’re immediately closed off to any type of relationship unless you can help them.”

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

LEADING WITH A BUSINESS CARD

“A big no-no at any networking event is walking up to an individual or group and chucking your card to everyone within seconds. It feels like you are desperately fishing for leads in the hopes that if your card touches enough hands, you might make a sale. It would be just as effective for these people to walk into the middle of the room, launch their cards into the air, and yell, “52 pickup!””

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

NOT SHOWING UP AT ALL

“As Woody Allen said, “80 percent of success is showing up.” Many business owners (including myself) can at times feel too busy to attend events, but that’s a mistake. It’s critical to get out of the office, bounce ideas off of other people, get fresh perspectives, and meet potential clients, vendors, and employees. None of that can happen if you don’t show up.”

– Phil Frost | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Main Street ROI

ASKING TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

“A serious networking error is focusing too much on what you can get out of an interaction. If you meet somebody by asking for something from them, it’s a huge turn-off. However, if you offer up your services to help them achieve their goals without asking for anything in return, chances are they’ll offer to do the same, and they’ll enjoy working with you. Don’t bargain or trade, focus on giving.”

– Travis Steffen | Founder, WorkoutBOX

FORGETTING IT’S A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP

“Networking isn’t just about you – you should be thinking about how you can help the other person too. Why would this stranger want to help you if you’re only in the relationship for yourself? Think about how your skills and expertise might be useful to your networking contacts and give, give, give before asking for something in return.”

– Heather Huhman | Founder & President, Come Recommended

FAILING TO RESEARCH ATTENDEES

“Many events share attendee lists through Eventbrite or other sites. The biggest mistake one can make is not being thoughtful about who you target, and then not being prepared to speak with those folks. The more that you can make the conversation personal and thoughtful, the more likely you are to succeed when meeting new people. Take advantage of great resources like LinkedIn and prepare wisely!”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

CONFUSING NETWORKING WITH SALES

“Too many business owners view networking as an opportunity to sell themselves or their company. Networking is about making connections that can lead to sales down the road. The biggest turnoff is when someone starts talking pricing and “What can we do for you?” at an event. Network, meet people and use the follow up as a way to set up a sales meeting. If you network properly, the sales will come.”

– Aron Schoenfeld | Founder & CEO, Do It In Person LLC

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.

3 Best Practices For Startup Hiring

hiring It’s really hard to teach someone how to hire, how to manage, and how to lead. Like many things, it’s usually best to learn on the job, practice, and improve after making a lot of mistakes along the way. The problem is, as a startup, you can’t afford to make a lot of mistakes when hiring. You also can’t afford to wait too long to hire when the business is scaling quickly.

I thought I’d share my top three best practices when making a first hire (and in some cases, any hire). As a caveat, this is coming from a first-time entrepreneur, who has never directly hired anyone in the past, and generally believes in the goodness of man/woman.

For a senior hire, hire someone with experience. For a junior hire, hire the smartest person you can find. If you’re lucky, find someone who has smarts and experience. Our first hire was someone who actually had retail/online/consumer experience. This is something that I have had for exactly 2.5 years (since the company was founded). My co-founder and I knew what we were good at, but also knew our weaknesses. It was critical for us to find a person that could bring all the industry expertise and knowledge we could no longer fake. Our first intern (and eventual hire) was someone with exactly zero work experience. She was willing to work in whatever role we needed her for that particular day. She is also very smart. Although her role has changed over time, she was exactly the utility player every startup needs.
Take your time. Every single person we have eventually hired, including our first employee, has gone through a trial period with us before joining full time. This is not always possible, especially for a hyper-growth company. The point is that you want to take your time with your first critical hires. The people who don’t agree or understand this philosophy are people you don’t want to hire. People truly passionate about a company in its early stages and truly passionate about filling a role for that company will be patient and understand the reason for a “trial period.” It’s not because you think they are mediocre or not the best possible candidate. It’s because when people believe in something, they’re willing to fight for it. That goes both ways, and is important to understand.
Fit is as important if not more important than anything else. Startups equal tight quarters, big personalities, too much to do, and too little time. If you have a virus in the mix, it can be devastating to a startup’s success — whether it’s a bad case of the chicken pox or a bad teammate. Find people you like to work with, because you are going to be spending more time with them than your girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, husbands, friends, and so on. Everyone does not have to be identical or like the same things. That can be a problem as well. Instead, they should fit together like a jigsaw puzzle — as complementary sides that work as a whole.

Side note: I have no clue if chicken pox is caused by a virus, but I thought it had a nice ring to it and I will check Wikipedia shortly.

The theme here is to hire with caution. New hires (and especially your first hire) can make or break your company. It should not be taken lightly. Building a team is one of the most important things you can do as a founder. If you’re good at it, it might be all you do one day. If you have the slightest sense that your first key employees are not going to get the job done or do not have the fortitude to survive a startup environment, cut your ties and fire fast. Personal relationships are the most important things I have in my life. But as a founder, I understand that I am running a business. It is bigger than myself. I have investors, customers, vendors, and suppliers to worry about. If something is not working out, fire, rinse, repeat, and build until you get it right.

This post originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

Raaja Nemani is Co-Founder and CEO of BucketFeet, a Chicago-based e-commerce company that creates artist-designed footwear. Raaja’s international travels—which include a trek through the Himalayas and a dive with great white sharks—inspired him to launch BucketFeet with co-founder Aaron Firestein in 2011, as a platform to celebrate artists from all over the world. Now selling in over 10 countries, Bucketfeet has built an artist network of 1,000 artists from over 30 countries. Raaja injects his love of design and global community into BucketFeet’s mission, which aims to find a different artist to design every pair of shoes and provide consumers original footwear that stands out and tells a story.

12 Tips For Pitching The Press

QUESTION: NAME ONE TIP FOR PITCHING A MEDIA OUTLET ON AN ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE.

PITCH THE STORY TOO

“Journalists love to tell a story, so pitch them your startup story rather than just telling them about what your product is. Make it colorful and interesting so they can easily see how this would translate into a compelling piece for them to write.”

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

TIE IN A HOT TREND

“The best thing to do when pitching media is to tie in your current pitch idea with a topic that is already hot in the media. Media outlets want to get the most viewership possible, so they like to ride popular stories as long as they can. This tactic especially works when you can tie a celebrity into your story – my most popular post was “5 things LeBron James can teach us about entrepreneurship.””

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

INCORPORATE THE NUMBERS

“Business is a lot of numbers, so including numbers (revenue, profit, employees, etc.) is always helpful for a pitch. When we pitch Back to the Roots, we always mention the impact we have on coffee waste by saying “on track to divert 3.6 million pounds.” When quantifying the story, the pitch, idea, and the significance become clear for the journalist. It’s easy for them to skim over in a hurry.”

– Alejandro Velez | Co-Founder, Back to the Roots

HELP THEM HELP YOU

“When pitching to a media outlet, try to find something relevant in your business that the outlet is passionate about or they may have been discussed in the past. Helping them create new content — with a little sprinkle of your own business — will help establish a relationship and help open doors for future/better opportunities.”

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

DO RESEARCH, BE PERSONAL

“Working in media has taught me the importance of personalization. A few targeted pitches to the right people, using their names and addressing how your product/service fits within their specific outlet will get you much further than a mass pitch sent to every email address you can get your hands on.”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

BECOME AN AUTHORITY

“Some of the best-received content that we’ve had published has been in response to changes in our industry and hot topics in the news. A good way to secure a media placement is to reference a current event, trend, or statistic that affects your business and detailing how your company is developing or changing as a result.”

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

FACTS TELL, STORIES SELL

“The media exists to tell compelling stories, not to provide free advertising for a business. Think of your business as a TV series and create multiple story arcs. Do you have a quirky startup story? Are you piggybacking on or revolutionizing a trend? Make a list of 10 or 15 story angles for your venture, then match each one to its most appropriate media target.”

– Melissa Cassera | President and CEO, Cassera Communications

THEY’RE PEOPLE TOO!

“Sometimes, people forget they’re pitching a real person, not just a “media outlet.” This journalist is a person, with tight deadlines, frustrations, and an overflowing inbox, just like the rest of us. Follow that journalist on Twitter: What time does he usually publish stories? Why would he care about your business or story? You want to be a convenience, not just another spam email.”

– Alexander Torrenegra | Co-founder, VoiceBunny

HAVE CELEBRITIES USE YOUR PRODUCTS

“Nothing has made pitching to media outlets easier for me than being able to say that influential celebrities support our work — particularly if the celeb is willing to go on record for a quick quote or interview. Media outlets want to know that their article, if published online, will collect good traffic, and they know that celebs drive this traffic better than anyone else in the world.”

– Shaun King | Founder & CEO, HopeMob

BE FRIENDS ALREADY!

“Nothing works better for pitching a media outlet than already having a pre-existing relationship with an editor or writer there. So don’t wait for a reason, make some friends for friendship’s sake!”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

DO SOMETHING CRAZY

“You read about it all the time: someone puts themselves on the line with some kind of stunt, and everyone starts talking about it. What is something that you can do that would have the press all over you and want to talk to you about? Be creative and don’t hold back — and you will get your PR.”

– Louis Lautman | Founder, Supreme Outsourcing

KEEP IT SHORT

“Don’t send a long email. Journalists are pressed for time and have little to no patience. Keep it short and to the point to boost your chance for being successful in the pitch.”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

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11 Ways Mentors Are Essential To Your Success

QUESTION: WHAT IMPORTANCE WOULD YOU PLACE ON HAVING A MENTOR IN BUSINESS AND IN LIFE?

FOLLOW THE PARALLEL PATH

“Having a business and life mentor is not only important, it’s essential. Entrepreneurs are very close to our business and a mentor is someone who can see things from a distant and different perspective. A key to success is surrounding yourself with people who are further along the life and career path than you are; just remember to choose mentors who are going in a direction you aspire to go.”

– Christine Hassler | Founder, Twenty Something, Twenty Everything

YOUR PROBLEMS AREN’T NEW

“The best thing for me about having a great mentor is that I always have someone to remind me that my challenges are not new. At our lowest points, we are susceptible to think that no one has every been through our pains. Mentors are there to help us snap out of it and stay focused on achieving business and personal success. Also, hearing how the mentor handled situations acts as a guide for me.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

A PIECE OF PERSPECTIVE

“A mentor is so valuable for giving you the much needed perspective that we tend to lose in life and business. By reminding us how far we’ve come and that these challenges can be overcome, mentors can boost confidence, redirect our paths and help celebrate big wins.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

IT’S AN INVALUABLE INVESTMENT

“My mentors have provided me with more guidance, strategies, insight and connections than all other resources I’ve been exposed to combined. Finding the right mentor who is truly interested in your success and your goals is one of the most powerful things you’ll ever do as an entrepreneur.”

– Travis Steffen | Founder, WorkoutBOX

TAKE THE ULTIMATE SHORTCUT

“Experience may be the best teacher, but your mentor’s experience is the best teacher of all. That’s because getting the right mentor is like taking the ultimate shortcut. You can learn from their mistakes without repeating them yourself, and you can model your actions based on their successful formula.”

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

LEARN FROM OTHERS’ MISTAKES

“Having trusted mentors for your business and life allow you to learn from others’ mistakes instead of having to learn them on your own. Some mistakes are unavoidable (if only because we’re all too stubborn to learn from others sometimes!) but even a few avoided mistakes will save time, money and sanity.”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

MENTORS AREN’T BUSINESS ADVISERS

“Every startup has formal and informal advisers, whether they’re professors, investors, partners, family or friends. As an entrepreneur, you will often have to make choices that are good for the business, but possibly bad for you. Most advisers focus on the company. It is critical that you find a personal mentor that has your best interests — not those of the company’s — in mind.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

ACCELERATE YOUR LEARNING CURVE

“By running a business while in college, having a mentor has taught me way more than any of my professors have ever. Granted, I didn’t pay much attention in class when I should, but there’s nothing that beats real world advice, perspective, and networks. All in all — get a mentor!”

– Kenny Nguyen | Founder/CEO, Big Fish Presentations

POSITIVELY BIASED POINT OF VIEW

“Someone who offers actionable advice and has a positively biased point of view, who really believes in you, is invaluable. Turning to a mentor often means the difference between giving up and moving forward. I don’t know if I could have achieved success without my mentors to challenge me, push me, and help me keep my eye on the ball.”

– Nick Reese | CEO, Microbrand Media

FIND YOUR OWN GANDALF!

“What would the LOTR hobbits have done without him? Think of yourself no differently. Those with wisdom in this world don’t have it to keep for themselves but to share with others, and all are grateful to do so. On this journey of entrepreneurship and this journey of life, the stakes are too high not to have someone to help guide our steps. Mentor: absolutely necessary. Long white beard: optional!”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

WORK/LIFE GUIDANCE WORKS

“Find a mentor who has balanced life with business. Work/life balance is extremely important, and if a mentor can help you take a step back and look at the big picture, it can be one of the most valuable assets in life.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

14 Tips For Keeping Team Morale Up When Times Are Tough

QUESTION: WHAT ARE SOME TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING UP TEAM MORALE WHEN YOU’RE FACED WITH FAILURE OR FRUSTRATION?

LOOK AT FAMOUS FAILURES

“Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump — they’ve all failed multiple times in their respective careers. Change your corporate mindset and teach employees that experiencing failure is the only way to succeed — it’s a healthy way to overcome the sting of post-failure frustration and strive toward success.”

– Melissa Cassera | President and CEO, Cassera Communications

DON’T APPEAR DEFEATED

“All entrepreneurs go through tough times during their maturation as business leaders. When faced with failure, the best thing that you can do as the leader is to keep an even keel and not get depressed. This is good for you and your team as well. It is hard to believe in a business if the owner doesn’t even believe that problems can be conquered. Therefore, keep your game face on with employees.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

BUILD A TOLERANCE FOR FAILURE

“Too many companies view failure as a weakness. Although too much failure can be fatal, becoming allergic to it is equally dangerous. Your team should know that failure following a solid effort and thorough strategy is nothing to be a shamed of. I like the mantra, “Fail quick; fail often.” Because no one can foretell the future, your team should understand that failure is part of progress. “

– Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

FOCUS ON ACTION

“Once you recognize what went wrong, shift your energy and focus to resolving the problem, creating safeguards and identifying issues earlier. Nothing beats down morale faster than wallowing in the mistake. Instead, turn that frustration into an opportunity to do better next time. You’ll also set your team back on path and give them a goal to reach.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

BE OPEN AND HONEST

“A big mistake a lot of bosses make is that they try to shield everyone around them from the failure or disaster and handle it alone. The false thinking behind this is normally, “If I tell them something is seriously wrong, they might freak out and jump ship.” The reality almost always tends to be if you are open and honest about the situation, your team will rally around you to find a solution.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

REORGANIZE AND REGROUP

“We follow the saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. When faced with failure, we take a step back and look at what works and what is bleeding. If need be, duties and responsibilities will change, standard procedures are modified, and even shifting around people’s desks helps liven things up and enhance communication between departments.”

– Justin Beck | Co-Founder and CEO, PerBlue

ESCAPE ON A TEAM OUTING

“When major failures occur, there’s often nothing that you can do in the short term. The most important goal during a time of significant frustration should be making sure that your team is intact, aligned and energized in order to bounce back. Taking the team bowling, out to a nice dinner or even on a short overnight trip to keep the good will and teamwork strong, which will help you persevere.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

FORESEE AND SHARE

“When times are tough, the worst thing you can do is try to hide the news. Let the team know there’s a rough patch ahead, but that you have faith in them and the business. Take time to answer questions and understand their concerns. They’re the ones who will help you through rough waters, so they deserve to know how the business is performing. You’ll find that most team members will rally to help!”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

DON’T FOCUS ON THE FAILURE

“If you’re worried about a temporary failure affecting morale, then focus on the morale, not the failure. Fix the problem, but make sure your team is focused on what’s going well instead of what isn’t. Don’t let the first mistake lead to the second.”

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

DOCUMENT WHAT WENT WRONG

“Writing what went wrong on paper was a really good idea for us, as it laid out the big picture on our mistakes. By having a document on what went wrong, we can then fix our processes to prevent the mistake happening all over again. No matter what failure though, we always remind the team that greatness is remembered the most when dealing with trials and tribulations — not just success.”

– Kenny Nguyen | Founder/CEO, Big Fish Presentations

GO BACK TO BASICS

“Maintain a sense of humor, don’t point fingers, and never, ever cut the team-building portion of your budget. Most importantly, spend some reflecting on your core competencies and those things that got you to where you are. Then, do those things. Throwing a party might help everyone feel better for a night, but ultimately, you need to remind your team why they joined in the first place.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

MEET AND GENERATE IDEAS

“If you think about it, most people, whenever faced with issues either are in need to talk to family, friends, psychologist, etc. The times we’ve gone through failures or frustration, the thing we find most effective is talk, talk and talk. We talk to generate ideas, we talk to generate hope, and brainstorm until morale is back up and ready to go even harder.”

– Pablo Palatnik | CEO, ShadesDaddy.com

LOOK FOR AN EASY WIN

“If you’re facing a steady stream of frustration, it’s incredibly wearing. Just a small win — something that can give you a rush and maybe get some momentum going in the other direction — can help morale immensely. It doesn’t have to be particularly big, but it does need to be a clear success that requires some input from everyone on the team.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

GROWTH COMES FROM FAILURE

“Embrace failure. In fact, encourage your staff to fail regularly. Teach them not to look at failure as defeat but as a missed swing. If you don’t swing, you can’t ever hit the ball.”

– David Cohen | Vice President, Round Table Companies

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Should Startups Offer Unlimited Vacation Time?

QUESTION: SOME COMPANIES ARE PAYING PEOPLE TO TAKE VACATIONS (OR OFFERING UNLIMITED VACATION TIME). WOULD YOU DO THIS IN YOUR BUSINESS? WHY OR WHY NOT?

DON’T CREATE ENTITLEMENTS

“Lifestyle companies looking to implement liberal vacation policies should do so with some caution in order to mitigate their legal risks. The word “unlimited” invites trouble. Research “return on work” environments where generous vacation allotment is contingent upon job performance. This type of implementation ensures that time off is perceived as a reward and not an entitlement.”

– Christopher Kelly | Co-Founder, Principal, Convene

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY OF HOURS

“A lot of business now are virtual. It isn’t about where you are in the world, it’s about your commitment to your business. I believe it isn’t the amount of time you spend on a project, it’s about the quality of your work. If an employee feels as if they are more productive at home or somewhere else, by all means. Just get the work done.”

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

WHO’S ON YOUR TEARM?

“If you’ve got a team full of intelligent, self-motivated people working for you who truly enjoy doing what they do and achieving milestones, this can be a great strategy. If, however, you have a team made up of trained monkeys (or their human equivalent), your productivity will plummet.”

– Travis Steffen | Founder, WorkoutBOX

STRUCTURE IS STILL NEEDED

“I wouldn’t give people unlimited vacation time because it opens up a can of worms. Some people will take advantage of it more than others, which will cause resentment among the staff. I also wouldn’t pay people to take vacation. I think that most mature, sensible employees can manage a few days off at their discretion. If they can’t, then there’s a bigger problem that needs to be addressed.”

– Alexandra Levit | President and Founder, Inspiration at Work

TRUST YOUR TEAM

“We currently offer unlimited vacation time at my company. Since everyone works remotely, they’re able to do their work whenever is most convenient for them. As long as their work is completed, they’re able to take vacation days throughout the year – or work from wherever their travels take them.”

– Heather Huhman | Founder & President, Come Recommended

IT’S A TERRIBLE IDEA

“Startups are filled with hard workers that love what they do. Because of that, they’re prone to workaholism and burnout. By having unlimited vacation, you open up major problems. Bad employees will take too much time off, causing major culture/team issues. And good employees won’t take any time off — infinity and zero can be difficult to differentiate in the mind, and pressure says to take none.”

– Jason Evanish | Co-Founder, Greenhorn Connect

VALUE CREATED, NOT HOURS WORKED

“I build startups, not corporations. I therefore prefer to have no office space and a virtual team all over the country, and base performance on value-created, not hours-worked. My team understands they can take breaks or vacations whenever they want to, as long as they complete their objectives. It’s a challenge to hold people accountable only if they’re the wrong people.”

– Jun Loayza | President, Ecommerce Rules

IF I HAD THE MONEY, HECK YEAH

“I’m a big believer that rest and recovery, both mental and physical, makes for team members that aren’t just more happy, but also more creative and more efficient, too. Emphasizing and even incentivizing people to go on vacation, where they can really escape and re-group from crazy startup life, will only pay back in dividends.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

TRY EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERISM

“Working for a startup employees often work around the clock and at times can need more work. While our business was developing, some employees found they didn’t have enough full-time work. In order to provide them with a consistent full-time salary, we decided to pay them to volunteer to make up for the missing hours. Supporting paid volunteer hours has built morale and developed a cool culture.”

– Jason Jannati | Co-Founder, greeNEWit

VACATIONS DEMONSTRATES RESPONSIBILITY

“At Her Campus, we don’t have a set number of vacation days for employees per year. Everyone is expected to work their hardest and do their best possible job at their job, and we leave it up to them how much vacation time they want to take. This way, employees feel control over their own schedules and recognize that they are valued by the results of their work rather than by the hours put in.”

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

BALANCE IS KEY

“It’s a great model if you balance it with performance measures and guidelines. Employees have to be accountable to perform and should be rewarded when they work hard to get things done quickly. If it’s all about performance, they’ll hold each other accountable, both on taking too much vacation and on not taking enough.”

– Susan Strayer LaMotte | Founder & Principal Consultant, exaqueo

POTENTIALLY A DISASTER

“Zappos pays certain people to leave after finishing their training program. This makes sense. Paying people to take vacation time does not. Businesses pay for productivity, not for vacations. In the short run, employing this type of policy may be good for publicity and promoting a cool company culture, but it’s a disaster in the long run. A great culture can co-exist with structure.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

IT MEANS MORE PRODUCTIVITY

“We do offer unlimited vacations. We want to foster a culture of trust and responsibility. The more flexibility you give employees, the more responsible they feel. Instead of counting hours or vacation time accrued, they work hard and stay late when they need to and then take a break to recharge when they need to. The company and the employee both benefit.”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

TRY FLEX TIME INSTEAD

“I think vacation time is incredibly important, but even more so, flexible time. If you allow the people working for you to do what’s important to them, such as attending a family event, going to the doctor, surfing, or taking a class, and then make up the hours at other times, they don’t typically need unlimited vacation.”

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

HAPPY LIFE MEANS HAPPY EMPLOYEES

“Work-life balance is increasingly important in today’s fast-paced environment. I believe that travel and taking time off are essential to make sure that employees are happy and focused at work.”

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

3 Steps To Building A Strong Network

As any entrepreneur will tell you, there are few things in the world of business that are more valuable than a great network. After all, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. And when it comes time to start a new enterprise, expand a company, raise funds or even find a co-founder, you’ll be relying on the value of your network to help you accomplish these milestones. Here are three steps to make sure you have the strongest network possible:

MAKE YOURSELF UNCOMFORTABLE.

No, I do not mean wear a wool sweater in Phoenix in August. I mean put yourself out there. Unless you are one of those rare people who can meet a random stranger on the street, strike up a conversation and get a stranger’s life story within 30 seconds of meeting them, approaching someone you have never met before can be nerve-racking.

But if you want to build a great network, you have to do it — a lot. The more you do it, the better you will get. Make it your goal to get people talking about themselves, while genuinely listening to what they are saying. If you fake it, they will know and you will have burned a potential valuable connection. Dale Carnegie’s classic “How To Win Friends and Influence People” is an incredible resource built largely on this idea. If you haven’t read it already, I highly suggest you do. Twice.

Next time you meet someone new, smile, introduce yourself and ask a simple question; i.e. “Where are you from?” Proceed with small follow-up questions. You will find that they talk at length and naturally warm up to you. It’s basic, but it works.

BUILD YOUR NETWORK BEFORE YOU NEED IT.

Far too often, aspiring entrepreneurs get to a point in their business when they need advice but have no clue who to go to for direction. I call this the I-wouldn’t-even-know-where-to-start dilemma. It is the result of one simple fact: they do not have a network.

You have to put in the necessary time to build genuine relationships with the right people. Successful people are always connected to other successful people. Join local business networking groups or venture associations (i.e. Los Angeles Venture Association, LAVA) and immerse yourself in rooms full of them. You want to be a millionaire? Surround yourself with millionaires. You want to be a drug addict? Surround yourself with drug addicts. This might sound ridiculous, but it’s absolutely true.

On a related but important note, do not go to someone you have recently met and start asking for favors. It will appear that you’re trying to take advantage of them and they will pick up on it. Invest the time to build real relationships, and thus, your network.

FOLLOW UP, EVERY TIME.

You know the person who says they are going to do something, then doesn’t? You do not want to be that person. In fact, you want to be the opposite of that person.

When you meet someone, even if you do not think they can help you directly, ask if you can keep in touch. Send a simple follow-up email the next day saying that it was nice to meet them and that you look forward to staying in touch. Finally, stay in touch.

Just because you don’t think they might fit your idea of an important connection does not mean they don’t know 10 other people who are perfect for what you may try to accomplish in the next month or year.

This last point is what a great network is all about. Networking is not just about the people with whom you are directly connected; it is about getting those people to tap into their networks on your behalf when you need it most.

Adam Callinan is the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of BottleKeeper, the simple yet practical solution to the warm beer and broken bottle epidemics that have plagued the world for centuries. Adam is also the Founder/CEO of PiCK Ventures, Inc., the parent company of PiCK, a mobile wine technology company. Adam and his wife Katie now live in Manhattan Beach, California. Tweet @Adam_Callinan

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.

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.

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.

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.