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Making Brand Development Part of Your Business Plan

Your brand is your business it's the presentation of what you are and what you stand for. Your brand is the way you present the promise your business makes to everyone it touches, whether as an employee, an investor, a customer, an associate, or a supporter in the form of a referring source, contributor, or friend. Your business plan (you do have one, right ) is the blueprint for how you'll achieve business success.

This is your business not your marriage Keep your options open

As Pay-Per-Lead and Pay-Per-Click programs require huge volumes of traffic to generate serious revenue, I prefer Pay-Per-Sale programs because they are performance based. Doing business as an affiliate is about giving your visitors valuable information so they can make good product choices. Sending huge quantities of traffic to a merchant site so they can collect email addresses and spam large groups of people is valuable only to the merchant.

Quiz Are YOU an Entrepreneur

This is a quiz to determine whether or not you might become a successful entrepreneur. True home-based entrepreneurs would put a check mark beside most of the statements below. Determine whether each statement describing a successful home business owner also describes YOU I have a strong desire to be successful in my own home-based business. If so, GREAT You have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur If you couldn't agree with many of the questions, don't despair. Perhaps you might consider finding a complementary partner for your business that can support your goals and assume the responsibilities for which you are not suited.

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Outsourcing as a Small Business Owner

As a small business owner, you probably realized early on that you cannot effectively run your business while managing multiple responsibilities alone. It often takes the talents of others to do this well. Outsourcing as a small business owner is perhaps one of the better ways to rapidly grow a business from the start. By outsourcing certain tasks and services, a business can expand without increasing overhead, a tactic that many small business owners are using now to thrive. Deciding to outsource some of your business needs starts with identifying the tasks that you do not like doing, or do not have the skills or credentials to handle alone. These could be routine activities such as administrative, recruiting, training, legal, information technology, accounting and payroll. In some cases, a whole division of your company's services may be outsourced, such as product development, marketing creative services, and sales management.

Top 9 Useful Apps for Small Business Owners

We are living in the age of smart phones, mobile devices and applications. While most of the popular apps are either games or useful for everyone using a smart phone, there are some very useful apps for small business owners . Given below is a list of nine such apps. Most of these are popular but some are not so. But all of them are mighty useful when it comes to increasing productivity and organizing your work. The entrepreneur package is free for less than 2000 subscribers sending up to 12,000 mails per month. The Growing business package allows for 50,000 subscribers sending unlimited emails a month and costs from 10 a month The basic account is free and the pro account aimed at small businesses starts from 7.16 per month with a 30 day free trial.

Guerrilla Marketing Tactics for Small Businesses

2) Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 2 Start a Protest or Mini Parade You've got to love freedom of speech, but a great way to get some attention is to hold a fake protest outside of your business and around the block, or to have a small group of people with a single megaphone calling for the end of bad pizza, or the end of terrible customer service. Choose a cause that your business can really rally behind, and get your friends and family to parade around in the neighborhood to bring attention to the cause and attract local customers who are most likely to use your service or product. Postering can still work wonders around your neighborhood or around town. Let's say you run a marketing company. You can go around town and create posters that say , FOUND Great marketing company. Company has marketed for the Vancouver Christmas Market, Bluebat Games, Dajin Resources and Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar.

Start-up Entrepreneurs Survival Guide - Top 20 Tips - Infographic

If I had to pick one thing in the w hole w ide w orld that I love, it would have to be Entrepreneurship - without a doubt. The feeling of freedom from the 9 to 5 slog is priceless. I like to think of myself as free spirited and a free soul this is because of the Entrepreneurial journey I am taking. Here is a list of top 20 tips for start-up Entrepreneurs from Entrepreneur.com but in an Infographic Your Escape From 9 to 5 style. Find how you can start and keep your business with the funds you have. Find a starting point instead of an end point. If you have a grand plan make it simple, cut down activities that drain start-up funding. Focus on proving your idea and concept once you have proven yourself, getting funding for your venture becomes a simpler task. Entrepreneurship is not a 9 to 5 job. Don't exhaust yourself. You want to be productive and creative when required. Find time for yourself and your family. Eat on time and understand, sleep is not an expense to be cut down.

PR Helps Raise Venture Capital

Of the 82 of startups who did not avail themselves of PR assistance, BIGFrontier's Steve Lundin noted, They don't understand that had they spent money on PR services, they would shorten the funding cycle When you're able to walk into a room and someone has heard of your company, (there is a much greater) sense of validation than walking into a room cold. And in these recessionary times, as many smart business people consistently note, getting the word out is expecially critical for startups. As VC Fred Wilson tweeted today There's no blanket wisdom for entrepreneurs raising money right now. It's a mixed bag VC market. Strong deals getting done.

18 Practical Tips On Doing Business in China

American businesspeople interested in doing business in China will benefit from knowing the Chinese mindset and practicing the following practical cross-border skills. To first-time travelers in China, these skills will make your trips more enjoyable and less stressful. They also apply when you receive Chinese visitors at your company or at home. 2. Make friends first, do business later . The Chinese enjoy small talk and pleasantries. They want to learn more about you. Therefore, initial meetings are rarely expected to produce results. Chinese salespeople routinely wine and dine prospects before they sit down to talk business. Let people feel that they are connected with you before you close a deal with them. In America, where we feel that the legal system is largely enforceable, we can meet strangers and sign contracts with people quite speedily and start doing business. China is a people-based rather than a law-based culture. People in China build trust by profiling one another.

How SEO Online Marketing Can Improve Your Business

There are several marketing strategies available to businesses ranging from the traditional ones to the modern ones that came on the scene with emergence of the internet. Knowing all the available options for you and how to choose the one that will be effective is important. In a lot of cases, it is a combination of several marketing strategies that will bring success to your business. When your site is optimized using SEO, users and clients can easily find you. It is the best form of marketing. Over 90 of people in the country today have mobile phones and access to the internet. Where do they go when they want to look for a business You guessed right the internet to search for whatever they need. Imagine they type a search query related to your business and what you offer, will your website show up on the first page, second page, third page, etc., or will it even show up at all Although you can handle your SEO in-house, it requires a lot of work and expertise.

How to Create a Strong Brand Identity for Your Business

Here are 5 steps to Creating a Strong Brand Identity for Your Business 1) Research About Your Industry as Much as You can and Never Stop Researching. This is vital when you are starting a new business and you plan on taking your business national or global. Spending 3-6 months of deep research about the history of the industry will not only allow you to become familiar with your industry, it will also let you know what some of the weaknesses are with your specific industry. 2) Don't Just Think Different, Be Different In order to create a strong brand identity for your business, you need to be different from your competition. It's also important that this difference be better from other businesses in the long run. If you have an advantage that can be easily copied then this isn't much of an advantage. This is why Groupon was a great idea to start, but it was a low barrier for other businesses to copy.

5 Ways Your Business Can Stay Afloat During the Corona Crisis and Beyond

In fact, some businesses won't make it through the financial hardships that come with closing the doors for (possibly) weeks at a time. While I can't guarantee that implementing these virtual business strategies will protect your business adding multiple streams of revenue is never a bad idea. Don't worry I'm not suggesting you write a 600 page novel. I am suggesting you think about all the ways your business could help other by sharing a little bit of knowledge. Give your customers clients students a way to support and represent your business by designing and selling merchandise online. Products like T-Shirts, Hoodies, Coffee Mugs, and Hats are big sellers and help to promote your brand. Let your customers pay ahead for their products or services for a discounted price. For example, a photographer could offer a bundle that allows expecting parents to purchase maternity, labor, newborn and cake smash sessions all together for less than it would cost to purchase separately.

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How to Use Social Media to Restore your Business' Reputation after a Crisis

There are several excellent and free tools out there to help you keep on top of what people are saying about your business. Some of the simplest are Google Alerts and Social Mention. The easiest way to keep on top of this is by setting up Email alerts on each. Be sure you also keep an eye on your social media accounts and blog for comments (but you were doing that anyway right ).

Should Your Business Give Up on Facebook?

Organic reach is down it's pay to play on Facebook. Again, true. But since when was marketing actually free, anyway If you want to get the kind of reach you were getting four years ago, you are going to have to pay. Depending on your business, and the results you get, it might be worth it for you. Teens are quitting Facebook. Yes, it's true. But unless your business caters only to teens, that shouldn't matter a bit. Even if your best customer are in their teens, are ALL of them leaving Facebook If you abandon your remaining teenaged fans, will they thank you for it

Six Things to do Before You Start Marketing Your Business Online

Nearly all business owners understand that online marketing is of vital importance to your online success. And while you don't want to get so bogged down in planning that you never start, there are some things you simply need to do before you jump in feet first. These principles also apply if you are considering revamping your online marketing. Believe me, I get it. Your business is your baby. But with successful online marketing comes a magnification of every aspect of your business the good, the bad, and (especially) the ugly. Is your product or service truly valuable one you have reason to be proud of Is the pricing reasonable You don't have to be the least expensive, but if you're the most expensive, there had better be a good reason for it. In order to effectively market your business, you need to understand the people who need your product or service and why they choose you.

Online Travel is $534 Billion Industry - These 5 Business Models Rule

Travelers from all over the world visit travel websites to book tickets or read reviews about popular tourist destinations. Statistics say that about 95 people read reviews before planning a holiday trip to their favorite destination. With such a vast consumer base, having a website is important for people associated with travel industry or for entrepreneurs who want to start a new online travel business. There are many online travel business ideas to choose from. As in this post we are explaining the business model behind each idea, we will also look at an example based on it. Take a look at the following five profitable business ideas in tour and travel industry. It builds trust with customer reviews and lowers the fraud rate for travellers as booking is completely automated.

Business World Accelerate Announces Ten Startups For Its First Batch

Business World's Accelerate program has announced its first batch of ten start-ups. This multi-city program was started earlier this year, comprises of only Delhi-NCR based startups and were selected from over 350 applications from the region. The 3 month, 12 week program concentrates on product development & insights, go-to-market strategy & customer acquisition, business expansion, networking, strategic marketing and fundraising. During the course of the program, the start-ups will also connect and interact with various investors, which include angel investors and Venture capital funds.

45 Legendary Quotes From Successful Entrepreneurs

An entrepreneur is someone who organises and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. Ever wondered how the likes of Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, J.K Rowling and many others became successful entrepreneurs Believe it or not they know what it's like to launch a new business and to start from the beginning. These successful entrepreneurs have worked their way up to the top and created a powerful name for themselves and for their business. Despite becoming successful entrepreneurs, the journey might not have always been an effortless one either but it's what you learn on the way that counts within business.

IIT Madras E-Summit 2018: Taking the Entrepreneurial World by Storm!

2 years ago, we made a tryst with entrepreneurship, and now the time has come when we shall reveal our 3 rd edition all wholly and in full measure yet very substantially. Given IIT Madras' tryst with entrepreneurship and Indian Entrepreneurship's tryst with destiny , it can be said with an air of pride that it would perhaps be an understatement to say just that the startups have begun to gain a strong foothold at the campus entrepreneurial ground in IIT Madras. Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT M has come long way and is now prepared to embark on a bigger and even more fruitful journey. This April, the 13th to 15th, E-Summit 2018 is back again IIT M's annual flagship event focussed entirely on young entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial venture wherein a plethora of activities and interactions promise a fun-filled time to the future budding job-givers that one of the finest campuses in the world is incubating.

8 Quotes By Mahatma Gandhi Entrepreneurs Can Take Inspiration From

Mahatma Gandhi inspired an entire nation decades ago to rise up and join him in the fight for India's independence. On his birth anniversary,we have compiled a list of his quotes that can motivate entrepreneurs to fight against the startup and internal challenges they face. Entrepreneurs often fail to use their capabilities to the fullest. Once they do that, there's no looking back. As an entrepreneur, you've have to take control of the situations. You're in charge. Take responsibility for your actions. Don't wait for the situation to change, change and adapt yourself whenever necessary.

20 Metrics All Entrepreneurs Must Measure From Their Social Media Marketing

As an entrepreneur, it is impossible to evade the need for social media marketing in the modern day business environment. Running a digital marketing company and having worked with a number of startups, I've seen entrepreneurs focus on all the wrong metrics all the time. Whether you have an in-house team or an agency on record, here are the 20 most important metrics you need to keep your eyes on at all times. It is absolutely essential for an entrepreneur to be able to tweak and adapt social media marketing strategy based on inputs from the following metrics And yes. Not 5, not 10. It's 20. As an entrepreneur you need to stay on top of your marketing. You need these 20 to get a holistic view of your marketing. They're categorised for you and pick the most important outputs based on your social media goals. Based on your business requirements, you can pick and choose the ones that matter to you the most.

Things All Entrepreneurs Should Learn From Niccolo Machiavelli

But the one thing that people ignore is the wealth of knowledge about leadership Machiavelli has to offer through his works. Leadership, that is eponymous with entrepreneurship in the modern day, according to Machiavelli, is a trait that can be acquired. Let's delve into his work and find out the things all entrepreneurs should learn from Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. Depending on people, their team, is certainly essential for entrepreneurs. However, care must be taken that these dependencies are not so deep rooted that they take down the tree with them. An intelligent entrepreneur must allow people who would challenge his ideas and opinions enough so that he may learn and mold those ideas for success. The successful entrepreneur (or ruler, by Machiavelli's reference) must listen to such people, but do what he feels would be appropriate for him, as well as the organization.

How to Choose the Correct Payment Gateway for Your Business?

Ease of On Boarding Making business go live fastest is one of the aims of every entrepreneur. However, many payment gateways take a lot time in seeking permissions and approvals from partner banks for use of their services. Thus, the time taken by the payment gateway should be in accord with the launch timeline of the online business. It is also important to ensure that the payment gateway curtails opportunity loss and facilitates ease of integration. The valuable time of an entrepreneur working on an online business should be utilized in focusing on the product or services. Thus, the documentation should be available online and the shopping cart plugin of your need must be supported. For instance, at EBS we can make your business collect payment within 24 hours with some of the payment options, this reduces the unduly turnaround time for going live.

Upcoming Event Highlights- The Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 by IITB E-cell

Changing screens at a single touch, scheduling journeys with a few clicks, sending messages within seconds what was just a dream yesterday is the happening reality today. And whom should the credit go to The two best friends, entrepreneurship and technology. Having already witness a paradigm shift in the realms of possibility, the miracles' that await us in upcoming times is something all of us are eager to witness. With this in mind, we'll be hosting The Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 A Tryst with Tomorrow' A platform where technologies of tomorrow will be discussed, exhibited and future will be shaped with the hands of budding Indian Entrepreneurs. Where startups of tomorrow will contribute for building a better society, economy and government. It is scheduled for 28th-29th January, 2017 at IIT Bombay. Passionate about building, designing, or innovating Then iHack 2017 is definitely for you.

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“Every single time a transaction failed, it changed me as an entrepreneur” - Kunal Shah, Founder, Freecharge

Iamwire talks to Shah about his journey, challenges, getting acquired by Snapdeal and advice for budding entrepreneurs. Read ahead to know what he says. Startup journeys are bumpy, and the next roadblock is never far away. Like any other entrepreneur , I too faced several challenges. One of the challenges we faced germinated from the widespread perception in the venture capital industry that recharge is a bad business because of low margins and supplier concentration. It seemed difficult to start a new firm in an industry where the idea of your propositions isn't respected. Another hurdle we encountered was finding good talent to grow our team. The technology platform was built in a hurry and our users were experiencing failed transactions as we tried to grow faster. However, we sailed through this hurdle too. We moved to Bangalore and it helped us strengthen our technology team as well as expand our employee base across all departments.

What is the Role of Venture Capital in Funding Various Startups

Venture Capital financing has seen a sea change over the past few years. Venture funding initially started with the aim of supporting talented entrepreneurs and assisting them in strengthening their growing business and providing them with the much needed financing which otherwise was not available to them. Venture Capital bridges the gap where traditional sources of funds actively cannot participate in funding new ventures. In India it was initially started by the Financial Institutions and Government agencies, viz., SIDBI. In other parts of the world, it was being done more in electronic, medical, data processing and computer related industry and hence was more known as technology finance. Unlike the overseas counterparts where the investors were the private sector one who not only provided funds but also guidance and mentoring to the entrepreneurs, the India Venture Capitalists were large financial institutions which had been set up to finance only.

Great Expectations: Entrepreneurs and Innovation in Indian Agriculture

Can agri-tech entrepreneurs harness Internet, mobile, and cloud technologies to deliver cost effective solutions that address this productivity gap It's a massive opportunity but one that requires truly disruptive solutions to make a mark. Bala Can each of you please provide a short introduction about yourself and your company Rohtash In my 35 year corporate career, I have been CEO of Escorts Ltd. and CEO of Airtel. Prior to that, I spent seven years in telecom before moving to FieldFresh (Bharti's agri-business and now Bharti Delmonte Ltd.). I have also sold cars for a living for Maruti Suzuki. So that's my corporate career. Now a bit about my startup career in agriculture my company EM3 Agriservices,is in a sense, the Meru of agriculture, providing end-to-end services to farmers in a certain area. We put our technology, machinery and operatives to work for them and we charge them on a per acre basis. That's our business model.

Tips To Start a Business in Crypto Currencies Industry

In this era of digital empowerment, businesses are quick to adopt the flexible yet all-encompassing medium to maximise on reach and profitability. Here the adaptations of cryptocurrency or electronic currencies (more specifically bitcoins) are growing at a rapid pace. Surprisingly, the picture was quite different as less than a year ago, awareness on cryptocurrency was on an all time low. As we all know, the market tends to be wary of digital developments and hence, cryptocurrency was restricted to the tech crowd of developers and early adopters. Thanks to the increasing awareness amongst consumers, a slew of wily entrepreneurs, rising prices, and a powerful community, cryptocurrencies is going mainstream, with bitcoins ruling the roost. Wondering how to incorporate this goldmine into your operations Here are a few foolproof ways facilitate that Now that you have acquired a fair bit in bitcoins, you must be wondering about utilizing the.

5 Most Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes That Cause Business Failure

Entrepreneurial mistakes An entrepreneur goes through a lot of uncertainty and is bound to make mistakes on its way to success. It is always easy to preach in hindsight, but to understand the circumstances in which a decision was made. Every mistake is a step towards wisdom and a smart forward looking approach to learning from mistakes is not oops. but ah, interesting. This boosts the morale while acknowledging the mistake as learning on the personal and professional growth curve. That being said, repeating a mistake is considered as complacence and successful entrepreneurs are never complacent. Smart entrepreneurs learn from others. When on a mission with unknowns, you might not have all the answers, but learning from others increases your chances of success. Here the 5 most common mistakes that should be avoided by entrepreneurs at all costs. In business, the bottom line matters. An entrepreneur invests significant amount of time and money into building the business.

How To Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile If You're an Entrepreneur

Linkedin profile entrepreneur Salespeople and entrepreneurs use LinkedIn to find, meet, and engage new prospects. Here are six tips to help you optimize your LinkedIn profile to get in touch with more prospects and boost your career as an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you're better off creating a LinkedIn profile that reads less like a resume and more like an information page for your brand and services. Every entrepreneur should have a clean and optimized LinkedIn profile.

How To Develop An Entrepreneur Mindset

This curated column is authored by serial entrepreneur and blogger, James Altucher How come Because like most people who start their first business, I had almost zero knowledge of what an entrepreneur was. So I had to start a business that was profitable right away. But I think there are basics that every entrepreneur has to have. With my first successful business, I was excited every day to solve problems, and deal with all the issues. And for me, this was my first successful business. I had no money in the bank. Money doesn't solve all of your problems but it solves your money problems. So love your business every day, but make sure you are building value (i.e. the business can survive without you) and always have a for sale sign up. If your business lives on VC welfare (i.e. you are funded by big-pocketed investors who will put in more) then ignore all of this. But it's not a startup entrepreneurial mindset.

Don't Waste Time, Use These Strategies To Run Your Business

As the old saying goes, time is money, and wasting time is equal to wasting money in the business world. Time is a valuable resource that you'll often find you don't have enough of, so why waste it Unfortunately, many businesses do. This isn't intentional you don't set out to waste time. Instead, you do it accidentally. You use outdated business models, older equipment, and other time-intensive things. You may not realize that there are better methods out there, or you might use a certain model because you always have. If you're tired of wasting time and want to improve your business, here are some great strategies you can use. They will help you be more efficient and use your time more wisely. The first thing you need to do before you even open the doors of your new startup is to sit down and write out your business plan. Don't just have it in your head. Commit it to paper.

15 Motivational Quotes for Entrepreneurs

Building a successful company requires inspiration to do more than most people expect. It means going the extra mile to serve. All these can be extremely demanding for the entrepreneurs, especially the first timers. But great entrepreneurs persevere during tough times. They put in more efforts, acquire new skills, build better products services & do everything in their power to see their dreams come true. The following is a collection of motivational quotes from my book, The Flight of Ambition. Make everyday count. The discipline to get things done every day is crucial to how your company shapes up. Finish what you start and eventually you will have a lot of things to show for your time. More often than not things don't work out as per plans. Entrepreneurs gradually find their way to a better idea or sometimes even refine the initial idea. They take a proactive approach and pivot when required. As an entrepreneur, you have many tasks that need your attention.

10 Google Tools to Help You Market Your Business

Having an online presence is essential for firms of all sizes, but you don't always have to spend a fortune in doing so. Luckily Google offers a treasure trove of powerful tools that are free to use and perfect to grow your business online. One of the best marketing resources for any business, this free tool is absolutely essential for local SEO and helps you appear in related search. Claim your business page and make it rich in information as it feeds into all Google channels. The more information you add, the more Google's search algorithms will have to work with in terms of ranking. It is very important to ensure that the information you add is accurate (phone numbers, website, etc) and matches with the information on the landing page of your website. Google Alerts are emails sent to you when Google finds new results such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs that match your search term.

How These Entrepreneurs Built Empires Worth Millions

We live in an era where many of us rather majority of us wish to become entrepreneurs. Additionally, many of these budding entrepreneurs aspire to create the next Amazon or Uber too As entrepreneurs, we are told that we should expect to fail at our first, second, or third idea before becoming successful, and that is often true. Coming up with an idea and then profiting from it immediately is a very rare scenario. There are so many ways for one to make money using the internet it could be a physical product, service or for that matter air, that you breathe. Whatever be your product or your flavour of entrepreneurial streak, there are some sure-fire ways to make it in the online world. Here's a list of such entrepreneurs from the new-age world of entrepreneurship Christopher was also named a 2015 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Social Entrepreneurship.

11 Free Tools and Services That Every First-Time Entrepreneur Should Use

I bootstrapped my startup Jodilogik and launched the application in late 2015. I am a first-time entrepreneur who gave up a well-paying job to start a company. That meant a few things For the benefit of hungry first-time entrepreneurs, here is a list of must have tools that will help you launch your startup without spending a paisa as long as you can borrow a laptop and find free Internet Similar Read How I Stepped into Entrepreneurship - My Success Story It's important that you start becoming active on social media to start promoting your brand or product even when it's all work-in-progress You will need a proper cover photo for your company's Facebook and Twitter pages and ongoing content that will work well with social media platforms. Canva is a free tool that lets you create awesome designs not only for social media posts but also for brochures and presentations. This is a must have for every bootstrapped entrepreneur.

Three Killer Habits of Serial Entrepreneur

You use most of your time in planning to expand and achieve more. While you plan for future, you need to inculcate some habit that will keep you in good health and make you achieve your goals without affecting your health. You are the CEO of a new company with a small workforce. You are in charge of PR and at the same time doing the work of the accountant. From morning until night, you are also on the table selecting ideas that can grow your company. You need to live for an extended period to change the world as an entrepreneur. Your society should feel your impact more. However, do you know what could shorten your life and not make you contribute to your community That is existence without exercise. You need to exercise your body every time. Successful entrepreneurs go into the sport to stay feet all the time. Entrepreneurs have peculiar sporting activities they engage in.

Aspiring to be a young entrepreneur? Five habits to follow

Gone are the days when a nine to five job was the most sought-after choice to earn a living. No doubt, it comes with financial security and a promising career progression, but not each one of us is meant to do a job. And besides, if you have a business idea and risk appetite, a job is not worth the drag With the start-up revolution booming, twenty-year-olds are en route to becoming the masters of their future. However, a great idea and its execution are not the only ingredients that go into the making of a successful entrepreneur. Among many such things, are these five habits An entrepreneur must always be up to date with the know-how of the trade but also should always be eager to learn. The more you learn, the more you grow. With the technology, these days, news and infinite knowledge are a click away. All leaders have one thing in common their zeal and eagerness to learn more and gain more knowledge.

How Should An Entrepreneur Share His/Her Vision Effectively

A vision is a combination of imagination and meticulous thought both of which are important for an entrepreneur. Why is that so Because imagination helps you chart out new goals, gives you the risk appetite to explore multiple things and as an entrepreneur you will need to use your imagination at times to come up with solutions that are unique to a start-up Similarly, meticulous thought is important to plan better. Spontaneous actions have to be balanced by well-planned and implements ones too. As an entrepreneur, there are so many occasions when you think on some initiative or goal that has not worked out or was not achieved. If you break it down to the reasons for that, usually the challenge would have been the fact that pre-implementation planning did not happen well. Since your venture is almost like an extension of yourself, you know your business vision well. You know how you reached that vision.

6 Effective Business Strategies To Beat Top Competitors In Your Industry

Below therefore, are six (6) effective business strategies to beat top competitors in your in your industry. Another effective business strategy, to outshine fellow competitors in your industry is the offering of realistic discounts. Giving potential customers discount, does not only improve your customer's loyalty, it attracts newbies and boosts your company's reputation. For example, some media houses gives seasonal bulletins magazines to their customers, also some auto transport companies now offer their customers with very cheap ways to ship their car. Thereby making lives better for their existing customers and enticing new customers to come patronize them. Your employees are just one vital component of your business which must be managed effectively if you want to outshine your competitors. The growth of your business depends on the steps you take to maintain a competitive edge in your industry.

The Need of Video Marketing for Small Businesses

Video marketing businesses have found video to be extremely successful when it comes to revealing your business to the target audience. (Source) Videos have made a big splash in the world of content marketing. Videos convey messages faster than written content. Merging both images and words, video marketing is a creative and engaging way to tell your story. Videos assist you with a prospect to interact with your consumers by allowing them to get to know you and your business, and feel connected with you. This is especially important for small, local businesses. A big advantage for those preparing to introduce video into their content marketing strategy is the low level of difficulty for video creation and publishing. As the need for video content rises, access to simple and inexpensive ways and various tools to create video marketing content is increasing. Nearly everyone has access to a high-quality camera via their mobile phone.

7 Lesser Known Web Analytics Tools for Your Business

When we think of analytics softwares, it is less likely that our minds would give Google Analytics a skip, given its unbeatable popularity. However, there are several others which are equally good or might even be better, depending upon your business requirements. Here are 7 lesser known but efficient analytics tools that you might want to try out to optimize your online venture.

Some ‘Life Lessons' that Entrepreneurship Teaches You

While a lot has been written about the skills required to become an entrepreneur, in this note I want to share some life's lessons which entrepreneurship has taught me. And taught me in a way like no one else could have. I call them life's lessons as their impact goes far beyond the success or the failure of the ventures I undertook. These learnings have stayed with me and pretty much define my way of life. Entrepreneurship creates news challenges all the time. When the founder introspects, lessons are learnt. When the founder innovates to find a solution, even more learning happens. In the entrepreneurial journey, this process never stops One of the first lessons you learn as an entrepreneur is to be frugal, i.e. find the most economical way to achieve the desired results and maximize returns on your efforts, time and money. In a startup, you neither have the resources, nor the time to be generous. Any extravaganza is a possible step towards failure (like the recent Housing.

How to Truly Attract the Right Talent to Your Business

If there's one thing that successful entrepreneurs all seem to agree on, it's that the most important thing about launching a startup is making sure you have the right team behind you. More and more graduates are emerging with impressive experience and wide skill sets, but there are also an increasing number of companies launching and offering job opportunities. So the question for new employers is how do you find the right talent for your business, and how do you make them want to join your team When bringing new hires on board, it's important to make sure that you find people who match not only the skills and experience you're looking for, but also the ethos of your company. In a small, start-up environment, all your team members will have a significant impact in the shaping of your company. You should also make sure your ethos and your company aims are clear in your job postings and emphasised during the interview.

How We Are Fostering Women Entrepreneurship - Journey of Cash Suvidha

CashSuvidha (A trade name of Usha Financials Ltd) is one of the very few platforms which are helping the needy women to raise easy money and actively contribute in the growth of the Nation. The founders and driving force of CashSuvidha are two experienced individuals, myself Rajesh Gupta, and Anoop Garg , having more than 20 years of man experience in various business fields. Here is how we are promoting women entrepreneurship in India. CashSuvidha helps women entrepreneur to raise un-secured business loans of up to Rs 3 Lakhs and then secured loans upto 10 lakhs. In both the Rural & Urban areas, they are providing loans of upto Rs 50,000for small businesses or any type of income generation activities. Now you will definitely question after coming this far in the article as to how we are different from any Moneylender or a banking institution when it comes to the disbursal of the loan.

5 Reasons Why Even Great Entrepreneurs Fail and How to Bounce Back

Being an entrepreneur is like knowing you are an Old Style Clown Punching Bag and being happy about it. You know that you will be hit by many people but still you cannot do anything about it. Or on the brighter side you know that the more people hit you, the harder you will hit them back. Entrepreneurs love to talk about their success but only few share their failures. Well, worry not because I have done that for you. In this blog post you will read 5 reasons why great Entrepreneurs fail and how to bounce back. Here are some of the right reasons to start your business While on the other hand the companies that fail have poor management skills. New business owners lack of business expertise in every field. As per Jack Welch in his book Winning' put the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus.

IBM Global Entrepreneur Program Invites Applications for Smartcamp Challenge for Smart City

IBM Global Entrepreneur Program is conducting a nationwide challenge in the space of Smart City, called the IBM Smartcamp for Smart City. IBM Global Entrepreneur Program is the Startup initiative of IBM. They engage with startups in providing them with Cloud credits worth 24000 year on Softlayer and Bluemix. The winning startups get an opportunity to raise investment and to get more clients for their products. You have to be a member of IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for applying for the Smartcamp.

Why Being a Good Leader may make you a Good Entrepreneur?

It plays a significant role in employee accomplishment and efficiency in a startup. Entrepreneurs can do this by persuading employee actions in numerous ways. A frontrunner or leader sets a clear vision for the institution, inspires and guides employees and builds morale. Leadership's role in a startup is indubitable. Great leaders build great industries and average leaders generate mediocre businesses. Leadership is mostly about handling and managing employees. Having good ideas and a tactical vision is not enough if one's employees aren't keen on following their leader but many startup owners take leadership qualities for granted. Not all of these qualities are practical, especially to an entrepreneur. Ever so often, entrepreneurs follow their thirst for an exceptional idea only to recognize their need to improve their leadership skills. With a little bit of luck, startup owners realize this before it's too late.

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When Entrepreneurs Turn Investors: The Pros and Cons

For young entrepreneurs who are still too small to be noticed by VCs and have run through most of their own money trying to take off, having an angel investor betting on their idea is a blessing. Although India is the third most prolific startup ecosystem in the world, barely 1 of the startups that set up shop here get any kind of funding in the early stages, apart from their own sources or family and friends. To add to their woes, of late, venture capitalists have become extra cautious with their money post the splurges of the past years, due to poor performance by many startups, including the unicorns. In such a scenario, there is little probability for the early stage startups to attract institutional investors who prefer later stage funding. It has been noticed that quite a few ex-corporate honchos as well younger entrepreneurs who are running prominent startups are taking a keen interest in other early stage startups.

What to Expect from Venture Capital Markets in 2016

There is a lot of uncertainty about the state of the private, high-growth technology markets and the venture capital markets that underpin them. On the one hand innovation is clearly at an all time high unleashed by smart phones, fast telecom networks, social networks that spread commerce and the fact that we are all one click away from buying things on Amazon, Apple, Google or PayPal. Technology riches yield bumper crops in venture capital with new firms and new largesses the rewards of LPs rediscovering our asset class. Are LPs to blame Are VCs Or the influx of massive new amounts of entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs' seeking fortune and fame None of these. It's just a market. It's like blaming the media for incessantly covering Donald Trump and then watching the ratings when Donald Trump is at a debate and being surprised that the media gives him so much coverage. Markets are markets. I spoke last week at the annual Cendana VC LP conference.

Two Constant Companions in an Entrepreneur's Journey: Courage and Fear

My eight year old loves super heroes. He loves Batman, finds Superman flaky, believes Thor is the best and Captain America can't be for real. I obviously don't burst any of his bubbles rather I re-live my childhood through him. There is however one Super Hero that he is unsure about and that's the Green Lantern. He told me that Green Lantern is not sure about what he has to do (unlike Batman), is usually ill prepared (unlike Batman again) is foolish to go into situations where there might be no return (unlike Thor Superman who have superhuman strength) and while he is courageous his people don't believe in him till he really really proves himself (unlike Captain America). Interesting perspectives coming from an Eight year old. It got me thinking that Green Lantern could very well be an entrepreneur Unsure. Is usually ill prepared. Is foolish. Has to really prove himself time and time again.

Do you have the right EQ to become a successful entrepreneur?

For entrepreneurs, who face more challenges on a regular basis as compared to any other profession, having a high EQ can be the dividing line between success and failure. Although having a high IQ has distinct advantages, it has no direct correlation with a person's EQ. Broadly four skills can be identified as critical to having a good EQ for an entrepreneur. The level of emotional intelligence in an entrepreneur guides their day to day behaviour, helps them steer correctly through the complexities thrown up in social interactions, and arrive at positive result oriented decisions. It has been observed over and over again that high EQ is the key ingredient of an impactful leadership.

The Skill That Grew My Company 600%

Read More 20+ Top Podcasts for Startup Founders & Entrepreneurs If you want to experience rapid growth in your business, build an enduring legacy and become the absolute best version of yourself, then you should check out my private mentoring group for founders. Click here to learn more.

Raising Venture Capital 101

While venture capital provides financial assistance to early- stage, high-potential companies for equity in the companies it invests it. These are medium funds that invest greater amounts of capital for greater amounts of equity. To name a few, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, etc. are some portals rendering financial assistance. Growth Equity is the one with an enormous amount of capital investing huge amount of money so as to expand a successful business model.For e.g. Summit Partners. Now, to raise funds from either of the above-mentioned portals one needs to be thorough with his or her research before approaching them. Since, venture capitalists and private equities come across a lot of things happening every day and to get them invest into your business one need to stand out from the crowd. What venture capitalists look for is one-of-a-kind business.

5 Reasons Why Your Business Infrastructure Needs Automation

Let's look at 5 reasons why your business infrastructure needs automation As a smart business owner, you want to make sure the information flow remains undisrupted, fast and easy. With a manual communication system in place, businesses juggle different communication mediums such as voice calls, emails and chat, which can be a nightmare. But with automation, communication can be integrated into a single platform. Alongside that, businesses can make use of smart features such as automated calling, email reminders and so much more. For your business to produce anything, anything at all, you need to have a well-defined workflow. This can include a multiple interconnected tasks and activities which make it possible to produce output. Some workflows can be extremely complex due to tasks dependencies and constraints.

11 Makerspaces in India For Hardware Entrepreneurs & Innovators

A makerspace is a community driven working space, where all inventors & innovators can get their hands on the right set of equipment to bring their ideas to life. With the technology wave bringing out the entrepreneurs among so many Indians, these places will certainly act like a stepping stone for many of them. Here is a list of 11 of such makerspaces in India, in no particular order, that are enabling hardware entrepreneurs, inventors, professionals and even students Maker's Asylum is a community driven makerspace based in Mumbai and Delhi, that's suitable for both hardware entrepreneurs and hobbyists. It aims to bring together interdisciplinary activities covering Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) to foster a culture of innovation, exploration and learning. Fablab Kerala was started by Kerala Startup Misson (KSUM), and consists of two MIT USA Electronics Fabrication labs each at Technopark, Trivandrum and Kerala Technology Innovation Zone (KTIZ), Kochi.

5 Key Traits of a Successful Business Leader

Leadership is an important trait that defines most successful entrepreneurs. It helps them steer their ship and crew in the unknown, turbulent waters of the business world. The trait can be an even more useful tool when launching a startup where, initially, a lot of what has to be accomplished rests on the shoulders of the founder. As the captain and creator of their own ship, it is only the founder who knows the course to the self designated destination. While the endless pitfalls in the bumpy journey may halt ordinary mortals in their tracks, a true leader will know how to ride through it all fearlessly. In the modern, highly competitive and frequently changing business landscape, entrepreneurs need to lead from the front to survive. Here are five essential qualities every entrepreneur should have to be successful in an already crowded startup landscape. People follow leaders because they can visualise what others can't see.

DONE By NONE is DONE?; Puts a ‘?' on Web Exclusive Private Label Business Models

While most of Indian Web Exclusive Private Labels inherit their inspiration from Chinese leader Vancl, it itself is struggling with its profitability and business model after raising multiple rounds of investments totaling to over 400 Million USD. Vancl, grew very fast in China market and its global popularity as Web only apparel brand, however realizing the profitability concerns it eventually moved to a market place model under V+ and started selling other brands as well. Clearly, Indian e-commerce space poses large variety of challenges in front of entrepreneurs pertaining to business model, profitability and sustenance with high cost of consumer acquisition being a major factor in win or die.

Printland.in Raises Undisclosed Amount of Funding from Sidbi Venture Capital

Printland Digital India Pvt Ltd, the parent company of online printing solutions startup Printland.in, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The New Delhi based company was founded in 2011 by BITS Pilani alumnus Sandeep Behl.Printland had previously raised Rs 90 lakh from Delhi-based angel-cum-seed fund Evista Venture Capital.

Fundraising from Venture Capitalists: Dos and Don'ts for Startups

India has heard of competitive turnarounds in fundraising aspect in recent times with valuations and adjustments being the buzzwords. Some notable names have had significant markdowns to valuations before having convinced the investors to shell out money. Corrections help the heated markets to cool down, thereby making investment scenario little tougher. Nonetheless, the pleasant news is that valuations did not dip as much to stop the deals altogether. Given the sentiments, the investment community has become further prudent and deals worth value are still being signed. This has led to a longer gestation period to examine and recheck the values or prospects of a good business idea. Nonetheless, the winning survival strategy is to keep building the business with profit for all relevant stakeholders. In any case it becomes more and more important for startups to really scrutinize the way in which they approach the investors.

Worst Piece of Advice Indian Entrepreneurs Have Received

In the ongoing decade the success stories of Internet and technology companies in the country have motivated a large number of individuals to break the monotony and start up their own ventures. At the same time, the failed business models, shut downs, distress sales have brought into light the hardships and the challenges in having a structure that's scalable and sustainable. Since a lot of entrepreneurs with low work experience are jumping onto the bandwagon, the need for good startup mentors and business advisors is at an all time high. And bad advice to these fast moving companies can be a cause for their pitfall, here is a list of some of the worst advice successful Indian entrepreneurs have received. Look for successful business model in USA and copy that. I think there are too many business opportunity in India to chase and you need not do that . While this advice may work for a late stage company for a young start up this is typically the kiss of death.

How to Start a Business with No Experience

Ever looked at a new app or a website and thought to yourself, I could have thought of that. Often, the simplest ideas are the most popular. Maybe you have one of these ideas yourself. It's tempting to go into business for yourself, but consumers are often unsure of how to approach this. When you're young and inexperienced, the concept of starting a business sounds like something complex, reserved for those with advanced degrees and years of experience. Fortunately, this is not the case. There are a few simple steps that you can take to launch your business and help investors take you seriously. The first step in any successful business is to create a business plan. This plan outlines what you intend to do, who your target market is, how quickly you expect to see growth and a few other key ingredients. Creating a business plan can seem a little daunting at first, but when you think it through logically it's not particularly challenging.

How to Create an Effective Customer Acquisition Plan for Your Business?

Once you establish your business goals, you can A proper customer acquisition plan may give you the best chance of winning your business goals and lead to success. However, having a good plan is just the beginning. As an entrepreneur, you should be able to execute, analyze, and constantly iterate your customer acquisition plan to taste the real success.

Running Towards Your Business Goals and Never Achieving? You May Be Driven By Fear

This is something we have seen in men and women of almost all age group who have quit their day jobs to start their own business. While making the transition most of these people forget that success comes slow and steady. In most of the cases, people want to see change and fast. A very common attitude among entrepreneurs these days is if a goal hasn't been achieved yesterday, it's as good as unachievable . This the kind of pressure brought on by mainstream media who try to propagate startups as some magical way to gain instant money and fame. Capre Diem is an amazing motto for a tattoo, but it is one of the worst things you can say to a struggling entrepreneur. If you are thinking that we are discouraging all the seize the day mantras, you are absolutely right You may find it hard to believe but most of the entrepreneurs who hope to get done with a month's work in a day are largely driven by the fear of failure.

You Need To Know: Careful Branding Can Make Entrepreneurs Outshine Big Enterprises

There are management books about establishing a brand to boost businesses. But there are small business entrepreneurs who still ask for advice in obtaining the profit or expertise. They bear in mind that knowing the right tips will start a new captivating brand identity for their firm. Some small business owners don't have a big budget for branding, and it is not an affordable option to splash the brand everywhere with flyer printing just to cause a buzz. The best thing to do is to focus the spending on the things that are important for the customers. Any entrepreneurs and business owners should provide every employee with the rationale goals for the change, an outline of the brand's position, and the equipment to integrate it easily into their daily activities. It is much better to base the brand on the things that did well, such as providing innovation to customers for a great value.

Entrepreneurs! Don't React to Drama, Be The Act

Entrepreneurs struggle It also shows us how to act in business today where we are surrounded by so much noise and drama that it is important not to react, but keep doing your business. As entrepreneurs in today's time we need to know rules that can help build the business, beyond the disorder surrounding us. Here are some factors that you can focus on to help you keep building in spite of the chaos It's easy to start a startup, but a different story when you are actually building a business . In the race to build fast startups one often forget it is important to build a business that can last. Bigger the problem your business is solving, bigger will be the value of the business. If your business is solving a big problem, but there is no category under which it falls then you are building something big, hang on As The Godfather would also agree Empires are not built in a day . Remember good startups build a business, but great startup builds a category.

The Newest AI Tools for your Business

Forget the artificial intelligence doomsday storylines you've seen in Terminator or The Matrix AI is gaining traction and is here to help you in ways you couldn't have dreamed of. It's time to move past Siri and find out how AI can help you with your business. It's easy enough to start leveraging AI for your own business, even if you start off small and work your way up. Here are some of the newest advancements that can help streamline your business and get your focus off the small things and towards getting that off-the-charts growth. Even if you have a great product, if you don't have effective sales tools to back it up, your business won't thrive. Having AI that can learn and get smarter, while helping your sales team, is a golden opportunity.

Why Risky Behavior Is Indispensable for Entrepreneurs?

Risk-taking is a part of entrepreneurial life. Entrepreneurs must know when to seek loans, when to expand, when to risk a steady salary in favor of self-employment and how to judge the potential benefits of taking a risk. Entrepreneurs have to have a risk-taking spirit, because not taking risks can't even get off the ground, forget the further growth. Actually it is a kind of balancing act their risks must be calculated, as taking excessive risk without taking anything in consideration can destroy a business and its owner's credit, finances and personal life. Every business required some degree of risk-taking ability. At the juncture, when a startup entrepreneur reaches to the conclusion to leave his paid job and enter into own venture may be he she is entering by risking financial health. Let's make this more comprehensible by another example expanding business from a single store to a double store or to another territory always carries the risk of failure and dropping revenues.

Do You Have the Right CEO to Run Your Business Until the End?

In it he talks about the skills of willing an idea into existence and whether those are the same skills to take the company to the next level. In my personal case I knew that my company had outgrown both my skills and my desires. As we went from a small band of missionaries hell bent on making our idea a reality, raising capital, getting press, and selling to customers we were all having fun. We built a business with 36 million in bookings and real customers who relied upon our service. The reason I'm thinking about the topic this morning is that several months ago Jason Spievak, the Founder & CEO of Invoca, the very first company I backed when I became a VC, started talking with me about whether he was the right guy to take the company to the next level. I asked him about his thought process because Jason has already built a very successful business that has become the clear market leader in Marketing Automation for Phone Calls.

7 Things Entrepreneurs Should Avoid Doing this New Year

If you are an entrepreneur you have probably been through tons in 2016. It doesn't matter whether you were Elon Musk or the small local entrepreneur starting his new venture with nothing more than few landing pages and 50 paying customers. Entrepreneurship is one of the most enduring tasks you will ever face. Which is why an entrepreneur should know how to relax. If you are an entrepreneur experiencing slight unnatural confusion for no reason, even depression as if something is closing back inside you, know that it is not real. It is just the peer pressure, the madness of the crowd that has gotten into you. Here are few things I'd personally advise you to consider during those few days. Don't deny anything. Loosen up and face your emotion, acknowledge them as a passive observer and see how they start dissipating. No reason to fear, you've crossed the chasm the most difficult period for every entrepreneur beyond which only few ever pass.

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Silicon Valley?

So here is a small post that emphasizes on what rest of the business world can learn from here to be smarter and more competitive. Also known for eschewing many of the traditional trappings of the corporate world, several tech companies can benefit from instituting stand-up meetings, which keep things brief, relevant, creative, and flowing. Imagine the time and money saved if all your company meetings were more efficient and effective. A beer keg and ping-pong room may not be in the future for your company but every company can take a page from Silicon Valley's culture in creating a workplace where people actually want to come to work. I mean Google is famous for the perks it offers employees- from the perks it offers employees, but they choose to do so because they know they demand a lot from their employees and they value their productivity and input. After all, a business would benefit from treating employees as valuable assets rather than just cogs in the machine.

How to Explain Your Business

The best way to explain your business is to explain the why behind your business . But more often, when we communicate our brand, we focus on the what and the how. If that's what you're doing, you have an explanation problem. Press the play button in the audio player below to solve that problem. Email subscribers and feed readers, click here to listen How to Explain Your Business In this episode of Power to the Small Business, Lee joins Jay to discuss why it's so difficult for entrepreneurs to explain their business, and how to solve the explanation problem.

Turning Entrepreneurs into Marketers

The Marketing Spot blog is a marketing education blog for entrepreneurs. But after three years and more than 500 articles, it's a little tough to figure out where to start. So I'm going to point you in the right direction. Conversation Inspiring word of mouth and conversation about your business. Promotion Everything you do to actively promote your business. The Best of Conversation Creating conversation about a business is tricky, because there are three major platforms of conversation. In this collection of 15 articles you will learn how to stimulate word of mouth, and use social media and PR to generate talk about your business. The Best of Promotion This collection of 10 articles will help you understand how to advertise and promote your business including traditional advertising, internet advertising, guerrilla promotion and most importantly, your marketing message. Perhaps you don't have the time, nor the inclination to do it all yourself.

Promoting Your Business: Use the Right Tactics

This is the third in a three-part series on how to promote your business. You might think that mixing new media with traditional media requires two different strategies. That's not necessarily so. Straddling the fence may require a different approach, but the tactics are mostly the same. The main difference is the approach. With new media and social media, communication is personal. When you promote your business online, there is the opportunity for direct and immediate feedback from consumers. So your online approach should be more conversational. Beyond that there are tactics are mostly the same. Have a plan of action Before you spend one dollar or one hour on promoting your business, get a plan. Answer this question What exactly do you want to accomplish Don't advertise or jump into online promotion as a knee-jerk reaction to declining business. Be specific with your plan I want to people to know xxxx. Get your message straight before you start.

What I Learned from 10 Years as an Entrepreneur

But then as I tried to jot down my list of things I learned I realized that I'm still trying to get a hold on this being a business owner stuff. To some people it comes naturally, to me it's a lot of work. I don't just mean a lot of hours of hard work, I mean working at knowing how to own a business. The most important thing I learned is to keep on learning. An entrepreneur should never feel like he or she has arrived, and I never have. So mine in a continuous journey of learning how to be an entrepreneur. However, there are a few minor lessons from the entrepreneurial school of hard knocks I can share I learned this one the very hard way. For a while I tried to operate two businesses. It worked for a while until reality popped my serial entrepreneur balloon, not to mention my ego. To stop losing money, and to survive, I had to cut one of the businesses loose. One year later I had my most profitable year in business. With the exception of three months, I've flown solo.

Social Media 101 For Small Businesses

I recently spoke to about 80 business owners and managers at a local chamber of commerce business luncheon and posed the question How many of you are Tweeters Blank stares. I clarified How many of you use Twitter Crickets chirping. I was stunned. Not one of 80 people had heard of Twitter. And most likely, you haven't either. Twitter is part of the social media landscape. Lesson to marketers Social media awareness is spotty and fragmented.Alert to small business owners You need to know this stuff. According to Forrester research, 75 percent of Internet users participate in some form of social media. So this is a basic primer in social media for small business. Let's start by answering the question What is social media Well, it's not one basic thing. It's primarily Internet-based websites, applications and communities where people get together to share and discuss. They are all rolled together into a thing marketers call social media .

Social Media: What to do for your business.

Intimidation is keeping small businesses from using social media as a marketing tool. There are so many choices and things seem so complicated. Let's simplify by selecting what you should you use and how should you use it. Use online videos to get attention. Videos are great for punching through the noise and getting you noticed. Much of the hype of online video is focused on so called viral video . Viral videos are usually surprising, shocking, outrageous videos that capture the attention of millions of people around the world. But it is very difficult to make a real viral video and they are not necessary to for small businesses. Instead, I recommend that you aim to create helpful, interesting videos on topics which customers might search. One example is this video from Sykora Family Ford on how to set a clock on various Ford cars. (Click here if you don't see the video)

Dear Government: It's time to turn the economy over to the entrepreneurs.

You confiscate money from the entrepreneurs to create your social programs. In the process you hinder the ability of job creators to create jobs, while at the same time wonder why there aren't more jobs being created. Get this through your thick skull The government cannot create jobs. Not one. The best way for you to enable job creation is to make government smaller. And there's the problem, isn't it We're approaching a precarious Waterloo in America. On one side, we have an entire wave of Boomer Entrepreneurs ready to get this this economy back on track by starting millions of new small businesses. On the other side we have the government trying to maintain their disastrous dictatorial control of the economy by suppressing entrepreneurship. They do this with gargantuan spending programs financed with revenue (read taxes) confiscated from the job creators of this nation. I'm not talking about the Chryslers and GM's who financed their resurrection with your tax dollars.

How the Internet of Things Changes Business Models

Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of things connected to each other and describes an ecosystem including objects, connectivity and application services. There are an of projections on the size of the market by 2020 and the projections differ considerably yet all projections agree to a minimum of 1 trillion-plus addition to economic activity as a result of IoT. This is a large number and driving almost every firm (even remotely related to IoT) to encash the IoT buzz. At Faststream Technologies, we employ scientifically proven and tried and true methods to refine our customers' IoT business model. Given the passion on the Internet of things as well as the challenges in this space, the significance of IoT business models and partnerships could not be overemphasized. It is very important that the industry interacts in partnership to accomplish the market objectives. It is similarly vital for the numerous entities to understand that will be best positioned to lead the partnership.

[Video] This 10 Year Old Speech by Steve Jobs Still Inspires Budding Entrepreneurs

Steve Jobs (1955-2011, 56), the CEO & Co-founder of Apple and Pixar Animation Studios, gave this inspirational speech to Stanford University graduates on June 12, 2005. 10 years have passed since, and the words are still relevant for the entrepreneurs trying to make it big. Below is the speech he is delivering in the video above. I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.The first story is about connecting the dots.I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption.

[Video] Business Strategy and Monopoly Theory for Startup by Peter Thiel

Video Business Strategy and Monopoly Theory for Startup by Peter Thiel, Image Source In this video, Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, early investor in Facebook, and co-founder of Founders Fund, portrays a real picture of the competition in a startup world. He also shares his ideas about developing business strategies in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Thiel says in order to make young businesses competitive you have to create something of value and capture some fraction of the value of what you've created.

Look at IIT Kharagpur's Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016

Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) is IIT Kharagpur's annual international corporate convergence organised by its Entrepreneurship Cell. It is one of the largest student-level Entrepreneurial summit in the country. GES 2016 was scheduled from 8 Settle' in alliance with OnePlus Co-presented by Augray, driven by Mahindra Rise and powered by 10,000 Startups and in association with Bloomberg. Workshops covering essentials that are vital for an entrepreneur, were also being organized as a part of the summit. GES 2016 played host to other major events like Empresario (Annual Global B-Model Competition) Finale, National Product Expo presented by 10,000 startups -a Nassom initiative. It's a platform to showcase products that will define the future, Connect The Dots Conference, Startup Camp presented by Nagarro, Global Entrepreneurship Conference.

How to Prepare Your Business for a Shaky Economy

In any event, the negative reports have been numerous enough to be a sign that you, as a business owner or manager, would do well to prepare your company to weather economic ups and downs. 10 Tips to Help Your Business Thrive in a Shaky Economy Most small businesses are considered unsecured creditors, which means your collection options are limited, especially if a customer declares bankruptcy. When times get tight, there are fewer offers to entice valued employees away but at the same time, your key people become even more valuable to you in generating revenue and guiding your business through possible turbulent times. Prices may decline for some of the goods and services you purchase for your own business.

State of Entrepreneurship: Too Many Startups, Too Little Traction

T's not exactly an industry per se, but from where I sit, the startup industry is in a bubble of epic 1999 proportions. Where do I sit Across from literally several thousand entrepreneurs a year, usually in groups of 2, 5 or 25. In the past six months, I've been with startups in New York, Oklahoma, Moscow, France and Spain, to name a few. As I travel, I consistently see the same three problems dispassionate entrepreneurs startups that should but refuse to die and startups that seem sexy, glamorous and hot, with no clear signs of product market fit or a revenue model. No doubt, there are plenty of bright, passionate, tireless, entrepreneurs out there with many startup successes ahead. The long-term future of this so-called industry, at least in my opinion, hinges on finding more of both. The dispassionate entrepreneur Clearly, there is a massive glut of startups in every city and town. And it saddens me that far too often, the startups are born for the wrong reasons.

The State of Entrepreneurship

New to the startup scene and entrepreneurship and want a quick overview of the major trends and activities in the space Keep reading. The research covers the major players in the space including founders, investors (venture capitalists and angels), educational institutions, incubators, accelerators, companies (including startups), and government bodies from sources such as Crunchbase, CB Insights, the Kauffman Foundation, Harvard Business School, the National Venture Capital Association, and more. Rate of entrepreneurship Overall while startups and Silicon Valley' have become a more popular topic of interest, the level for start-up activity has steadily declined over the past 5 years since 2011, In particular the number of new entrepreneurs and the startup density, number of start-ups compared relatively to the population, have trended downward.

What is the skill of Entrepreneurship all about? Why startups are emerging like never before?

Following the suit of the 9am-5pm job becomes inevitably mundane over the period of time. While some learn to adjust and mould themselves accordingly, some breakthrough and opt for entrepreneurship. However, even if there are 100 individuals who decide to take the route of entrepreneurship there are merely 50 that succeed. Even though there are numerous external factors such as idea, market, competitors etc influence the stand of the start up yet there is one skill that affects everything majorly. The skill is known as Entrepreneurship. You may read a hundred thousand articles a day on entrepreneurship that shall guide you through the thick and thins of the business, however, what matters is that ingrained skill which nobody teaches you but you can learn it. 1. Hocus Focus A keen eye on detailing and an outstanding focus is the first key feature of the broader skill called entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur must make it a point to keep his focus upright.

How to Create The Next Business Success Story

Success entrepreneur When the going gets tough, the tough get going, but how do you get going when you face a rough time during your business journey. Success definitely lies after a bunch of hurdles and all you need is patience, persistence and determination to get across where the grass is green and the sky is blue. What determines success How do you define being successful in your business Business is a never ending journey and there are no destinations but success is not measured by the distance you have covered or how far have you reached, it is rather measured by your achievements along the way, the letdowns you have faced and how it moulded you to be a problem-solver. There are no secrets to a successful business, everybody has their own experiences and approaches to describe what success means to them it may be something small that they have accomplished but dreams are never too small and no goal is too big to achieve.

For Healthcare Entrepreneurs in India, Opportunities Lie in Filling the Glaring Voids

Beleaguered by a series of challenges and lacunae, Indian healthcare is one such arena that presents numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into the unseen. Lack of trained medical human resource, creaking public health infrastructure, absent doctors in rural areas, paucity of trained emergency personnel and minimal focus on preventive care are only some challenges bedeviling the Indian healthcare sector. While at one level, these challenges pose a significant concern for a country of a billion plus people at another level the same challenges offer a huge range of opportunities for healthcare entrepreneurs looking to make a difference in the field. Not only can they script impressive success stories by launching ingenuous and innovative healthcare solutions, the penetration of such ventures can also help fill major voids in services and care delivery. For entrepreneurs and innovators, these glaring gaps present unique opportunities.

Lessons from MIT on How to Start a Business?

How to start a business The course I recently undertook was on Entrepreneurship by Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It neatly told about the different steps one must follow to build a successful business and to add more, they even introduced us to noble rules like 80 20, H4 and a lot more. This is majorly what I learnt during this program, I hope reading this article helped you in someway or the other. For all the aspiring entrepreneurs out here, I hope this gave you a great kickstart to start working on your project.

Benefits of Cloud ERP for Small Businesses

As a business owner, if you ask me where I belong, I would tell you we belong to the cloud. Oh did I say it wrong I meant crowd No I think I was right. It is cloud. All businesses are rapidly migrating to cloud for faster and easier access to their company data, which they further use for team communication and get top of the fly insights to make important business decisions. But when it comes to cloud ERP, the definition becomes a bit sketchy, both from architectural perspective and functional scope. Recently, I just stole a look at my company data and found 10 spreadsheets staring at me Download this, export this, use this formula and what not When we found a client who wanted to get their software bug-tested, answering questions became difficult. How many bugs did your team find in the last week Can I see a report We simply couldn't do that just by tracking everything in Excel. ( See how 99tests is successfully able to handle their operations with a cloud ERP).

For Entrepreneurs Who Don't Know What They Don't Know

Interesting that there are many things we do not know as entrepreneurs, marketers and dreamers. The catch though, is you or your teams have to possess three qualities 1) an acute sense of awareness of the environment, 2) the ability to observe and seek patterns in the business moments and lastly, 3) a well-cultivated sense of humility that will empower you to learn. If you have these, then you have taken the first step towards the discovery of yourself, your team and the dream that is your startup. I have a simple and kind of a tongue and cheek description for such entrepreneurs. I label them as individual leaders who don't know what they don't know' . They have as a matter of conducting business shut themselves off from the environment, reality and more importantly to the opportunity of creating a well thought set of associations, which in turn would aid in recognition, comprehension and an overall positive perception of their business ideas.

Top Methods to Follow for Being a Successful Online Entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur is not a hard thing, but where you take your company under your leadership is what matters. This is what people will differentiate and compare. Are you fulling all the responsibility of being a businessman Or do you think that online businesses are way different than past If you have more related questions that are underestimating you and your great thoughts, then these words are all about enhancing online entrepreneur skills. This is where you get started to become a successful online entrepreneur. Customers are everything and always think from the perspective of your targeted audience. Being a businessman you may already know this, but then also let me remind you that customers are everything for the store and serve them with delighted services. Leaders never stop learning. They always try to explore their field and take responsibility to keep the business running in all the events. You should try your level best to catch up with the digital marketing trend.

6 Keys To Combat Challenges In Entrepreneurship

Often when you see successful entrepreneurs around you, the wringer to ask as what has led to their success, can be a question of great concern. The truth is the equation of being successful is consistent hard work, persistence and hiring good people. Nevertheless, as an entrepreneur there are many challenges that are faced, and to rise high, you must overcome these demurs. The following blog from Mehul Panchal, the one name that brought revolution in the Filtration industry, will help you combat the difficulties Nobody is perfect when it comes to business or in entrepreneurship. The attitude should remain perfect. Fear of failing is the greatest fright and probably the only reason of lack of success. Learn from your failures, know how not to commit the mistake again and again. When you witness failure competition you will soon realize how efficiently you have been working. Whether you are an established businessman or not, you will definitely need business ideas to raise capital.

3 Things Entrepreneurs need to know about Blockchain Technology

When the internet was new, we saw a paradigm shift and entrepreneurs who were ready to make the switch at that time got benefited a lot, but there were certainly a less number of people who trusted that things could be bought over the internet, they just saw it as a fancy way of communicating with others. Just like that Entrepreneurs are divided into 2 parts one believing and trusting the technology that enables a secure trustless network and the one considering it as a fad. Similarly, in the current scenario, there are fewer non-believers of enterprise blockchain technology as of now. Blockchain had its criticism era for no reason from 2012 to 2016. Entrepreneur considers blockchain to be disruptive as a piece of technology with certain rules which makes it more secure. Entrepreneurs need to understand that blockchain is not just about cryptocurrency, it's offerings are much more than that.

Attend Tech Bharat to Explore B2G Opportunities for your Company

In the last decade, India has come up as a third leading startup ecosystem in the world in terms of value and numbers, behind China and the US. Much of it, it owes to energetic entrepreneurs and their startup teams. Also worthy of mention are the investors and backers who have helped fuel new breed of startup corporate giants in the country. Government of India and various state governments are not far behind in their effort to catalyse the ecosystem at various stages and states with supporting set of policies and regulations. Agenda will include sessions such as role of AI ML startups in shaping the future of Bharat, product pitches, session on government support to startups, frugal marketing, fund fuels and more. There are also awards for upto Rs 4 crore for startup and exhibitor participants. Other highlights of the event includes networking lunch dinner opportunities, session on Yoga of startups life showcasing successful entrepreneurs.

How to Start a Business Blog - A Simple Guide

Blogging is easy, but a successful business blog isn't. However, if you mean business, then you just do not write a blog post for blogging' sake. You need to consider what the goals of your business are so you can develop content on your blog for the purpose of achieving those business goals , whether it's generating leads, gaining more backlinks, or fueling discussions. The first two require you to make a paid subscription, which will scare off some beginners. But they play critical roles in the success of your business. A couple of suggestions to help you find the most appropriate domain name for your business Once you have chosen a domain and web hosting, it is time to find the most suitable platform for your business blog. 5. Customer acquisition (23 ) Are you getting more new readers from your blog Are readers turning into loyal subscribers or buyers for your business Business blogging is one of the foundations of a substantial online presence.

Goal Setting Motivational Software

​A Quick Guide For Startup Entrepreneurs - 3 Step Action Plan

Ready to start that new business You've likely read countless expert diatribes on the key lessons and most important qualities entrepreneurs should have when beginning a new venture. They're all helpful, but what about the steps you actually need to take to get your business off the ground Not just formulating the idea and creating your website or any of that other fun, creative, stuff, mind you we're talking about the key steps you need to take to make sure you remain solvent, and your activities are on the up-and-up. Today, we're going to cover three of the less glamorous, but equally important steps to breaking into the business world quickly. It all begins with careful planning. You can think of your business plan as a route to the position that you want within the industry you're entering. A good plan charts ahead about five years and has within it a strategy for generating the lifeblood of any business revenue.

Wrike Project Management Software: Tailor-Fit to Your Business

Have you been looking for software that can thoroughly help you manage and simplify your business Wrike's collaborative project management software does just that. If you're having difficulty assigning tasks, communicating, then waiting to see progress. . . Well, it doesn't have to be that way. Your to-do list and your work tool can all be in one software for project management, Wrike. It can allow you and your team to work together in real time, or collaborate across departments (even continents) on cross-functional projects. This is a program that can change the way your company works, for the better. It is one of the most flexible project management tracking tools since it helps you organize and execute work.

Maximize Your Business Website: Top Word Press Plugins you need for 2017

Sometimes your business blog needs a boost. You always need to attract more people to your site and keep them there long enough to earn them as a customer. From security to organic search results to turning your visitors into customers, WordPress Plugins can do it all. If you are serious about building your blog and your business, here are some of the top, must have WordPress plugins for 2017 . This is one of the easiest ways to immediately increase traffic with a super easy-to-use plugin. This does so much for your blog it's scary but it is very customizable so you're not relying on some intergalactic algorithm to increase your business. Whether you're keeping in touch with your current customer base or trying to entice new ones you always need to be available to answer questions and provide customer service and care. WPForms is there to help you do just that.

Naaptol launches another business model as Naaptol Club.com

Naaptol.com had started its business as online comparison site. Later it forayed in to other business model and started an online store. But now it has entered in to yet an entirely different business model with its recently launched www.naaptol.com club. Through this new business model (club) naaptol is going to target consumers looking for luxury and fashion brands. This new model (club) has a wide range of fashion apparels, accessories & home d cor products from leading brands at display on a private sale at up to 80 off. Talking about the launch of www.naaptol.com club Sachin Singhal, Business Head, Naaptol said Yes it is another business model for Naaptol and it is based on consumer's demand. We have tracked this demand through feedback and customer's aspiration for fashion, lifestyle and accessories . There are some other companies which are doing well in fashion and lifestyle products. 99labels, Fashion and you have already established them firmly.

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