It’s Essential to Have a Pitch for Every Niche, Says The Pitch Girl’s Laura Allen
Whether you’re pitching your business on “Shark Tank” or figuring out how to create an effective pitch during a pandemic, having an elevator pitch at the ready can help land new deals and make an impression. For two decades, Laura Allen, aka The Pitch Girl, has helped executives and entrepreneurs craft compelling pitches. In fact,...
Apply for Federal COVID-19 Support Now or Risk Missing Out, Business Strategy Expert Says
As small and medium businesses scramble to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government has made billions of dollars available in loans to help companies make payroll and stay afloat. At the same time, startups in certain industries such as online learning or grocery delivery may be struggling to keep up with increased...
In Order to Succeed in Entrepreneurship, Get Uncomfortable, Says Square Co-Founder
When glassblower and computer scientist Jim McKelvey teamed up with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to launch Square, a startup that enables small business owners to accept credit cards, payment industry insiders told them they were crazy. And when Amazon launched a product to compete with it, many predicted it would kill off Square. But over...
Creating Your Entrepreneurial Edge: How to Turn Adversity into Advantage
Harvard Business School professor Laura Huang spent a decade studying interpersonal relationships and implicit bias in entrepreneurship. The former investment banker and consultant noticed that it wasn’t always the hardest workers who got ahead. Often, it was those who had inherent advantages or figured out how to create advantages for themselves. That realization inspired Huang’s...
How to Build Your Dream Life and Crush Your Business Goals in Just 90 Days
Twenty years ago, Teneshia Jackson Warner had a cushy project manager job at IBM. In 2003, Warner left that job to found EGAMI Group, a multicultural marketing and communications firm. With her unmatched tenacity and vision, Warner has since grown the firm into a multi-million-dollar business. In addition to her award-winning marketing work, Warner is...
Why Problem-First Thinking is the Solution Your Startup Needs
Many entrepreneurs focus first on building products and then finding a problem for their products to solve. That’s a mistake, according to Matt Wallaert, author of “Start at the End: How to Build Products that Create Change.” Wallaert is a behavioral scientist turned serial entrepreneur. He co-founded Churnless, a product consultancy that uses behavioral technology...
Main Street Entrepreneurship is Thriving: Here’s Why
There’s no denying that venture-backed companies located in big cities tend to get noticed. But Michael Glauser, a business professor and consultant, realized that so-called “Main Street entrepreneurs,” or those businesses located in smaller towns that are a staple of their communities, represent a largely unsung segment of America’s landscape. Glauser biked 4,000 miles, from...
How Pitch-a-Kid Connects Curious Kids and Entrepreneurs
Several years ago, startup advisor and mentor Mike Millard was hard at work on a resource website for startups in Austin, Texas, where he and his family live. When Millard’s daughter, Audrey, expressed curiosity about the project, it inspired the father/daughter duo to launch Pitch-a-Kid. The organization allows entrepreneurs to hone their pitches with kid judges...
This Brand Loyalty Consultant Shares How to Build a Business Everyone Will Love
Kyle M.K. is a brand loyalty consultant who’s worked with major brands, including Uber, General Assembly, Walt Disney World Resort and the Ritz-Carlton. His book, “The Economics of Emotion: How to Build a Business Everyone Will Love,” was published earlier this year, which explores how consumers’ emotions impact their decisions, and how company leaders can...
Thought Leader Pat Flynn Shares the Keys to Attracting Superfans
Pat Flynn started an online business in 2008 after getting laid off from a job in architecture. Since then, he’s built Smart Passive Income into a thriving online community complete with a blog, podcast and online courses. The Smart Passive Income Podcast has been downloaded over 58 million times, and Flynn’s insights on online entrepreneurship...
How Entrepreneurs Can Sharpen Their Strategic Thinking Skills
Do some people simply possess an innate ability to think strategically, or can such a skill be developed over time? According to executive and leadership coach, Greg Githens, it’s the latter. In Githens’ new book, “How to Think Strategically: Sharpen Your Mind, Develop Your Competency, Contribute to Success,” he shares practical advice on sparking strategic...
Serial Entrepreneur Michael Cloran on the Mistakes That Can Sink a Startup (and How to Avoid Them)
Over the course of several startups and acquisitions, Michael Cloran has observed how hidden errors can lead to what he calls “technical debt” and ultimately tank an otherwise promising business. After Cloran connected with business professors and angel investors Todd Saxton and M. Kim Saxton, the trio expanded the concept to include other types of...
This Entrepreneur Talks About Forming a Community of Nomadic Creative Thinkers
Several years ago, photographer and journalist Jon Kalan and entrepreneur Michael Youngblood started hosting retreats for entrepreneurs, creatives and others who wanted to work while traveling in order to connect with others in the process. In 2016, they launched Unsettled in response to demand, and many of their monthlong retreats are sold out. However, there’s still space...
Build an Irresistible Brand by Connecting with Your Audience
A veteran of marketing, public relations, branding and creative direction, SheBrand founder, Liz Dennery Sanders, has helped some of the world’s most iconic brands tell their stories. Recognizing that not everyone can afford her services, Sanders recently published a book called “Style & Substance: How to Create a Compelling Brand: A Guide to Women Who Want to...
This is the Characteristic You Need to Be a Good Leader
Startups and enterprise businesses alike can struggle with stagnation and narrow-mindedness. According to Nick Liddell and Richard Buchanan, co-authors of the new book, “Wild Thinking: 25 Unconventional Ideas to Grow Your Brand and Your Leadership,” the solution may be to look beyond your competitors and seek inspiration elsewhere. Liddell and Buchanan, who lead the London-based...
Start with a Purpose: Jules Pieri on Building Great Consumer Product Companies
Industrial-designer-turned-entrepreneur Jules Pieri co-founded product launch platform, The Grommet, in 2008. Over the past 11 years, Grommet has helped launch thousands of consumer products, including now-famous brands like SodaStream, FitBit and GoldieBlox. A former entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School, Pieri releases a new book later this month titled, “How We Make Stuff Now: Turn Ideas...
How Crowdfunding Platform iFundWomen Amplifies Female-Led Startups
Women have made huge strides in business, but female founders still lag behind their male counterparts in terms of venture capital dollars. Several organizations and platforms aim to elevate female founders, arming them with the capital and connections their businesses need to thrive. iFundWomen is among them. The crowdfunding ecosystem for female entrepreneurs offers coaching...
Why Pricing Your Business Isn’t a One-Size-Fits-All Strategy
Many entrepreneurs and solopreneurs struggle to price their product or service; set the price too high and miss out on sales, or set it to low and risk under-valuing themselves. Author, speaker, coach and entrepreneur Damon Brown serves nontraditional entrepreneurs and creatives, so he knows this conundrum well. He writes a column for Inc.com and...
Why You Should Make Your Startup Better Instead of Bigger
In their dogged pursuit of growth, some startups wind up growing too fast and burning out their employees or founders. Writer and designer Paul Jarvis takes a contrarian approach to business success in his new book, “Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Your Business.” Jarvis has been a company...
InventiveLabs Helps Aspiring Entrepreneurs with Learning Differences Reach Their Goals
Rick Fiery is a serial entrepreneur and Wharton MBA whose previous companies have raised millions of dollars in venture capital. With co-founder, Tom Bergeron, Fiery launched InventiveLabs, an Amesbury, Massachusetts-based business incubator aimed at helping people with learning differences such as ADHD, autism or dyslexia launch their careers by fostering creativity through entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship...