Browsing Tag
Risk Management
19 posts
Why Taking a Customer-Centric Approach Significantly Reduces Risks and Increases Your Chance of Success
To build successful businesses, entrepreneurs must fall in love with solving customer problems more than their own ideas. Entrepreneurs often rush to build and test their ideas using the lean startup methodology. They are taught and believe that they should “fail fast.” Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs do a great job failing. Harvard reports that 95% of...
How to Identify and Offset Risk to Build a Business That Lasts
The following is excerpted from "Rogue Waves: Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit from Radical Change" by Jonathan Brill (McGraw Hill, August 2021). Netscape founder Marc Andreesen, now a prolific startup investor, describes entrepreneurial risk management in terms of peeling an onion. On day one of a startup, you have a bulb full of...
Here’s Why Cyber Insurance is a Must for Startups (and it’s Affordable)
The dreaded 180-day notification arrives on your computer. It’s time to change your password again. What version of a pet’s name or mother’s maiden name will you use this time? Max1234? Sherbert5678? Now, you must remember this new password and the one to your credit card and your bank and your Venmo and on and...
Want to Start a Lower-Risk Business? Become a Franchisee
The day I became a franchisor, the ceiling collapsed. Literally. I was at Kidville headquarters in New York City and had just signed the final documents. The phone rang, and the CEO answered it. He handed the phone to me and said, “This is your problem now.” A heavy truck had pulled into the parking...
Learn How to Run a Successful Franchise on StartupNation Radio
On today's franchise-themed episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff is joined by co-host Chris McCuiston of Goldfish Swim School and two featured guests: Dr. Mary Mason of Little Medical School and Manish Vakil of Tumbles Kids' Gyms. StartupNation exclusive discounts and savings on Dell products and accessories: Learn more here Tune in to the full StartupNation...
Award-Winning Finance Expert Shares 5 Financial Musts Before Jumping Into Entrepreneurship
So, you want to start your own business — in which you are your own boss and you’re in control of your professional destiny. You’re mentally ready to become an entrepreneur, but the question is: Are you financially ready? Making the leap from side hustler to full-time entrepreneur is a big move. Yes, you gain freedom...
Here’s Why Taking Risks is Good for Business
You’ve heard it before: "Fortune favors the bold." Or the ever-popular, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." There’s also, "The only way to fail is to start." And my personal favorite and go-to: "Learn from your mistakes." All of those pithy, motivational statements focus on one underlying truth: Taking risks is inherent in everything worthwhile. Yes, risk can...
From Employee to Entrepreneur: Becoming Your Own Boss in 2021
Plenty of people dream of launching their own business, but then they undermine themselves, coming up with reasons to put off their dream just a little longer. And then they put it off again. And again. Maybe they don’t feel like they have the capital to pull it off. Maybe they simply can’t summon the...
How to Manage Risk and Adapt Your Business Processes During the Pandemic
Building a team, securing funding, creating an amazing product, marketing, and generating a sales pipeline is difficult enough during a boom, let alone during a global pandemic – all while keeping everyone motivated and morale up. You’ve got a great idea, a great team and are ready to launch your business. It’s go time! But...
Would Your Startup Survive a Cyberattack?
A cyberattack can instantly cause significant harm to a business. But the chance of a startup being hit is slim. So why bother with robust precautionary measures. Right? Wrong. Cybercriminals aren’t picky about who they target and, with fewer resources to protect themselves, smaller businesses are actually more likely to be a victim. You might...
How to Manage Risk Like an Entrepreneur
The following is excerpted from the book "Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life" by Chase Jarvis. Copyright © 2019 by Chase Jarvis. To be published on September 24, 2019 by Harper Business, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission. I’ve had the opportunity...
Small Business, Big Risks: A Guide to Protecting Your Startup
Not taking risk seriously can stop your startup in its tracks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the chance a business will make it through the first year is 80 percent. As time goes on, the likelihood of failure increases. Less than a third will still be open after 10 years. How many...
5 Steps to Take Before Making Your Side Hustle Your Main Gig
Starting up a side hustle has become easier than ever. Between the explosion of opportunities in the gig economy and the plethora of tools and resources now available to facilitate remote work, Statista reports an estimated 59.7 million Americans worked either full or part time as independent contractors in 2018. That figure is expected to...
How Much Risk is Too Much? When to Look for Business Insurance Savings
As a business owner, you know you need to have business insurance to protect your company from risk and liability. However, you do not necessarily need to purchase a policy that covers every type of risk. Instead, you can pick and choose to end up saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year. There...
To Incorporate or Not? The Many Small Business Structures
To incorporate, or not? It’s a perennial topic that has plenty of surrounding myths. As with so many things, there isn’t one right answer. Entrepreneurs, especially those who work solo, have choices. There are three main types of corporate organization in the United States: sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. There are nuances based on federal...
Crime and Theft Insurance: Why They are Treated Differently
As a small business owner, you surely have property insurance, which covers a wide array of circumstances, including some instances of theft. But do you know where your coverage ends and vulnerability begins? Believe it or not, crime and theft insurance are not interchangeable, and your property insurance may not provide the coverage you need....
A Startup’s Guide to Business Risk Management
While it’s easy to focus on the positives of your growing business, what about mitigating risks for the future? Every company—whether it’s a fledgeling startup, a growing SME or a booming multinational—should be continually figuring out how to react and adjust to whatever curveballs the business world hurls in its direction. Proactive business risk management is...
Risky Business
We're in Miles City, Montana this weekend at the world famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale. What a blast! People come here from all over for a 3-day party in the streets, intermingled with auctions of bucking horses, a horse and tractor parade, craft shows and street dances. The bucking horses get ridden (few of...
Be bold, not stupid
Continuing on the theme of hallmarks of true entrepreneurs, boldness is certainly one among them. But there's "smart boldness," and there's just plain "stupid." An example of smart? Take Tina Norris, creator of Foot Petals, a company that sells patented shoe pad inserts for women's dress shoes. They're basically a super premium, improved version of...