Browsing Tag
How To
415 posts
How-to guides for all things entrepreneurship.
How Virtual Assistants Can Benefit Startup Leaders
According to venture capitalist Bill Trenchard of First Round Capital, the average startup founder "works about 300 days a year, 14 hours a day." He should know. Trenchard cofounded and led three companies and, as a VC, advises hundreds of startups. "Looking at the schedule of a typical CEO, a full 70 percent of that...
How to Pitch Your Business Idea to Startup Investors
Securing funding, whether for a startup or an established business, is not an easy task. A strong startup concept won’t be enough when approaching investors; you'll also need an exceptional pitch to sell it. Let's look at what defines a startup pitch, a few different types, and how to create a fantastic one for your...
5 Strategies for Building a Great Startup Team
The way you treat your employees, their time, skills and abilities in the early phases of your union as a team influences the rest of your company's course of action. Mark Zuckerberg once said, "The most important thing for you as an entrepreneur trying to build something is, you need to build a really good...
How to Stay Top of Mind and Boost Referrals in Any Business
Referrals are the highest compliment to your business — but it takes work to get them. There’s a fine line between staying top of mind with referral sources and being pushy. Here’s how these relationship masters and advisors in The Oracles find this balance and win referrals. 1. Create content and meet right away We do our...
For a Better Pricing Strategy, Think Like Goldilocks
Being more profitable is the result of a successful campaign to cut costs and to pump up sales. But the real profit comes about through a pricing strategy that works. The most popular pricing strategy for startups and small businesses is to follow the lemmings and charge what everyone else charges or to calculate the...
How to Design and Deliver a Business Pitch That Secures Startup Funding
A business pitch is a presentation put together to entice an investor or group of investors. The goal of your pitch is to secure funding to proceed with your value proposition so you can take your idea to the market. Remember, the pitch process is about getting investors to back people; it’s not about backing...
12 Unique Ideas For Memorable Sales Pitches
What is one unique idea for an entrepreneur to create an effective and memorable sales pitch? To help you make your sales pitches effective and memorable, we asked marketing professionals and experienced entrepreneurs this question for their best ideas. From focusing on benefits to offering irresistible bargains, there are many ways to create effective sales...
11 Reasons Why You Need a Side Hustle
Side hustles aren’t new, but they’re more popular than ever. Especially now, with so many ways to make money online, more and more people are deciding to pursue a side hustle. A 2021 survey from Dollarsprout showed that 57% of Americans have a side hustle. Why is this becoming more common? While everyone has their...
How to Channel Your Skills and Find Your Best Side Hustle
Are you ready to test the waters of entrepreneurship? Start with a side hustle. Having a side hustle gives you security, reassurance, diversity of income, and most importantly, it gives you the possibility for something more than just the mindless 9 to 5. Since a side hustle is really a business at it’s core, I’m going...
8 Ways to Avoid Burnout When Starting a New Business
We’ve all felt burned out at one point or another — that feeling of total fatigue, both mental and physical, which comes from working ourselves too hard. Soon we’re experiencing symptoms like depression and exhaustion, feeling cynical and adrift. It’s ironic that at the point of burnout, the harder we work on something, the more...
How to Use Earned Media Coverage to Drive Your Startup’s Sales
Do you believe PR doesn’t work? If so, you might be telling the wrong kinds of stories in the media. You might also be expecting your press coverage to do all the heavy lifting for you. The truth is, you need to be very strategic about your earned media coverage and how you promote it....
5 Vital Traits You Must Have to Thrive as an Entrepreneur
You are finally ready to go out and launch the business of your dreams. Congratulations! That is so exciting that you are on the course to be your own boss. Now, just like how certain traits (such as self-driven, goal-oriented, and accountable) help employees thrive while working for companies, there are a number of traits...
5 Strategies to Turn Around a Program Launch That Isn’t Working
If you’re a few days into your program launch and you’re disappointed by lack of results, don’t waste your time by wallowing in what you think is failure. Before diving into these five steps, first recognize that no matter the situation, your launch is not a failure. I like to tell my clients that every...
How Brands Are Improving Communication with Their Remote Teams
If remote work was gaining traction before the pandemic hit, it's now mainstream. A recent survey showed that 55% of employees would like to work remotely at least three days a week after the pandemic. But for managers, the decision isn't so simple. How can you ensure your workflow stays efficient and productive when everyone's...
How to Build and Fund a Startup as a Black Woman
Securing funding for a startup relies heavily on the connections you have among investors, as well as your ability to attract attention to your business. What happens when those investors are mostly upper-class white men, and you are not? It can be difficult for people of color, women, and working-class backgrounds to find investors for...
How to Create a Fundable Business Plan
Business plans are created for various reasons. Sometimes a plan is prepared for a strategic partner. In this case, the partner might want to better understand your strategy, milestones and staffing to determine whether to work with you. Sometimes a business plan is created to convince prospective employees to join you. And oftentimes plans are...
7 Mistakes New E-Commerce Startups Make and How to Avoid Them
As a serial entrepreneur, business adviser and mentor, I’ve seen many e-commerce success stories. But, I’ve also seen some horrible e-commerce startup mistakes that have cost their founders time and money. If there was anything I could do to help more of these startup founders, it would be to offer advice on how to avoid...
Free Download: Learn How AI, VR, Blockchain Can Benefit Your Business
StartupNation’s Business Builder E-Book Series provides you with a FREE downloadable guide to help you start, grow or manage your business. Confused by the metaverse and blockchain? Curious about how e-commerce businesses generate income? Wondering how to use AI and VR in your small business? We've got answers and strategies for you in this FREE...
How Startups Can Survive — and Even Thrive — in an Economic Crisis
Just as the economic effects of the pandemic showed signs of receding, the world has been hit with the prospect of an even more severe inflationary spike due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the ensuing sanctions resulting in significant disruption to global trade. Under conditions brought about in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, broken supply...
Stop Trying to Sell to Everyone: Here’s How to Find Your Target Audience
Every year, amazing businesses fail simply because the people who would buy from them (their target audience) didn’t know they existed. I blame “Field of Dreams.” The movie came out in 1989 and was an instant classic, but the concept behind its tagline — “If you build it, he will come” — has misled millions...