Special Women's Issue, November 2014

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FE A TU R E D S PO TL IG H T: S A L E S , M A R K E TIN G ...

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Characteristics of Great Female Entrepreneurs Leave the Nest to Start Your Own Company: 8 Signs You're Ready -by Marla Tabaka Who Advises the Entrepreneur?

-by Kerrie MacPherson

Five Startup Lessons for Fast-Growing Companies, by Kit Hickey -by Kit Hickey Set Goals – Evaluate And Re-Evaluate Often! -by Deb Bixler Calculating Your Business’ Available Working Capita -by Meredith Wood Fear - The Entrepreneur’s New Fuel 7 Things I'd Do Differently If I Started My Small Business Today -by Sarah Santacroce 3 Successful Women Entrepreneurs Who Beat the Odds Building A Startup Empire -by Kriti Vichare How to Close a Sale: The Only Thing You Need to Know -by Jill Konrath Manage Your Marketing: Remember You’re in Sales -by Margie Clayman

It’s Time to Focus on Retaining Customers -by Monique de Maio 9 Ways Not to Ruin Your LinkedIn Reputation -by Victoria Ipri Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business Model -by Nichole Kelly Women Connect: Do Childhood Dreams Really Come True?

A Business Guide for Protecting Personal Information -by Sandy Glover 5 Free Online Tools Too Valuable to Ignore that Will Help You Grow Your Business -by Didi Zheleva The Quest for the “Easy” Startup 3 Hardships Women Must Overcome to be Successful Do You Have What It Takes to Start Your Own Business? -by Rieva Lesonsky 6 Ideas for Starting a Business -by Mary Ellen Biery

These 8 Business Beliefs Are Killing Your Startup -by Ana Yoerg Getting Ahead: Don’t Forget to Feed Your Spirit -by Mindy Thomas

A

LETTER FROM

THE EDITOR

re you aware that as a woman, you have more persuasive skills than your male counterparts? What’s more, this isn’t a charm issue because even the most disciplined and serious woman can be more convincing than a man. In fact, dozens of scientific studies reveal that women can be smarter than men – if they choose to be. According to an article published in The Atlantic in August 2014, women make 3 times more money on hedge funds than men.

The author of this article also found that women CEOs earn almost 50% more for the businesses they work for than male CEOs. Imagine the possibilities if you decide to start your own business.

Women and entrepreneurship belong together - and this is proven because of several facts…

· Women are more willing to take

calculated risks than men. This could be because of a pressing need to prove oneself - and one of the main reasons women and entrepreneurship are ideally matched.

As a woman, you instinctively know how to be a team player.

This trait makes you a better team leader than most men, especially in the areas of decision-making and problem solving. At the same time, women are more willing to openly admit fault, which eventually works in their favor because it makes them appear human and more likeable.

Women draw on their power of intuition as an additional key to success. In 2008, the British Journal of Psychology studied the human instinct, also known as the “sixth sense.” What they uncovered was that intuition happens instantly and on the unconscious level. Intuition taps on past experiences and environmental clues. This means intuition isn’t a flaky, warm and fuzzy feeling, but something intellectually-

·

·

based and often reliable. Yet most men refuse to use their intuition because they see it as an emotional decision – a “woman’s thing” so they tend to toss it away as insignificant.

The Next Step Women and entrepreneurship isn’t just about learning how to start and run a business; it’s about removing the barriers that come between you and your resolve to be successful.

These barriers are your emotional and psychological excuses.

“I don’t know where to start and I don’t know how to be a leader.”

“I’m afraid that people I know will laugh at my ideas.”

Let go of your barriers. Understand that what you do not know, you can learn. If you have a passion for something, you can turn it into a business. You don’t even have to quit your day job. Women are excellent in planning, staying focused, and multi-tasking. You can do this. You just need to believe in yourself.

Quick Tips on How to Get Started

· Believe in your skills but don’t hesitate to keep improving. · Turn to government and

privately-supported groups that encourage women as entrepreneurs.

Don’t let others convince you against starting your own business.

·

Most important, be the kind of entrepreneur that solves problems. You can be a part of the rapidly growing number of successful women entrepreneurs in the country.

All The Best -

Tabitha Jean Naylor Editor & Publisher

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special women’s topic

Characteristics of Great Female Entrepreneurs

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ll great business women have some things in common – the positive qualities that assist them in propelling anything they touch to success. Women have become strong in the business world and are making success stories every day. The modern woman has become part of the economic wheel and her investment ideas and business opinions are highly valuable. If you are planning to be an entrepreneur in the near future, or you are already running a business, you should know the characteristics that make a successful entrepreneur. This is what the leaders in business possess:

Ambitious To be a successful woman in business, you need to have a clear vision. Achieving great things is important and your vision should be ambitious but attainable and realistic.

Having a vision is simply not enough; it is just a small part of the deal. You should have the drive to pull resources together and build the energy you need to drive a business to achieve set goals within spec-

ified time. You should have eyes all round to check for new technology, advice and any type of information that will fuel your strategies and take your business to the next level.

Confident To fit in the shoes of a modern successful businesswoman, you should have a great amount of self-confidence. Believe in your skills and use your abilities to build a strong business empire. Doubting yourself is part of being human but instead of dwelling on it, focus on your strengths to boost your confidence. You should not personalize any criticisms or mistakes; instead, use them as feedback and as lessons to make better decisions next time.

Though you should be confident in what you believe in, creating room for other people’s opinions is crucial in succeeding in just about anything. Do not be too self-reliant that you

cannot seek professional help or listen to advice from someone else; whatever they are offering might be valuable to your operations.

Instead of blocking their advice and opinions, be confident enough to constructively criticize what they have to say and analyze their ideas for usefulness in your business. A confident businesswoman should take risks, make bold decisions, be responsible, analyze poor judgment and mistakes, explore new business opportunities, adapt to a new environment and move forward.

Innovative To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to have the energy and boldness of creating new strategies, and plans to replace an ineffective status quo. Use traditional and modern methods of doing business to create a twist that works for your business. As much as it is good to be innovative, you should also look out for talented people. Accept that there are people with better ideas and listen to them for the sake of your business. Smart entrepreneurs accept that the best way to take a business forward is by combining the efforts and abilities of different people to create a strong foundation.

Willing To Learn Though you should be bold in your opinions and decisions, you must be willing and ready to accept change. The world is changing every single day and if you are not in the bus of change, your business will lag behind. You should be willing to embrace new technology that works towards making your business better. Learn on how to use different methods in bettering your company and don’t wait until it is too late.

To survive in the business world, you must be willing to work extra hard and most importantly, work smart. Believing you can steer your business to success is the first step in making it and the above characteristics will come in handy on your journey to that success.

Start Your Company

LEAVE THE NEST TO START YOUR OWN COMPANY: 8 SIGNS YOU'RE READY

BY MARLA TABAKA

Daydreaming about leaving your day job?

See if you fit the profile of a successful entrepreneur--or if you're better off staying where you are.

So, you have a great idea for a business. You believe in it with all your heart. (On your better days anyway.) Furthermore, you are really tired of the 8-to-6 grind.

(Hey, didn't that used to be 9-5?)

On some days you are absolutely certain that it's time to follow your dream and take the plunge into entrepreneurialism. But on other days the doubt, and yes, even the fear, are enough to make you pack your lunch and trek off to another day on the J-O-B. Sound familiar? So, what are

these doubts and fears really all about? Do other people feel like this? Sure they do; you are definitely not alone.

Some of the most common uncertainties that keep the would-be entrepreneur bound to his commitments in corporate America relate to the potential loss of financial security, fear of failure, fear of success (yes, you read that right), and lack of emotional support. Frankly, if you want guarantees, it's probably a good sign that you are

risk-adverse...and perhaps not cut out to be an entrepreneur. But if you are close to making a decision between the security and familiarity of your day job and depths of the unknown in the world of small business, this may be the check-list you've been waiting for.

In his role as a top-level executive, Paddy Spence has helped numerous emerging brands leverage their success in specialty channels, and successfully cross over into mainstream markets. During his 18 years of executive management experience in the natural and organic consumer packaged goods industry, Spence was vice president of marketing at Kashi and created one the natural industry's first market research firms. Today, he leads the way in his own company as the Chairman and CEO of Zevia, a line of zero-calorie sodas sweetened with the natural sweetener stevia.

Spence knows firsthand what it is like to make a choice between an existing job and launching a business. "It's important to be aware of what appeals to you most when you make this decision; whether it's the idea of managing a business or building a business," says Spence. "For me, the excitement came when I had the opportunity to build something based on a cause that is significant to me."

So with his knowledge of the natural foods market and his personal mission to reduce the quantity of artificial products and sweeteners that people are consuming, Spence set out to build something new. Is it time for you to do the same? Let's take a look at what he cites as the main differences between his new role as a CEO. "Building a business requires an ongoing level of sustained passion that managing and maintaining a business from a corporate

position requires less of," Spence says. "To be an entrepreneur you need to have a tolerance for immense risk and the ability to wear a lot of hats.

Inherently in a smaller, emerging enterprise you will be called upon to do the mundane and unexpected.

Your bandwidth in terms of functional skills will be stretched much more. So if you want to be a specialist in one thing only, then managing a business via your corporate job is probably what you're built for."

So aside from recognizing whether or not you have entrepreneurial passion and ability running through your veins, what should you have in place before saying goodbye to your comfy corporate cushion?

Paddy Spence offers some sage advice.

WATCH FOR THE SIGNS: Spence began waking up in the morning thinking about that day's to do list rather than the next three months—or three years. This increasing short-term focus, along with feeling that work-thoughts were an intrusion when he wasn't at work, were both signs to Spence that he was ready to leave his job.

He felt that he was maintaining something in his job rather than building something new and exciting. "When I realized that there was an opportunity to jump into a product category that 96 percent of Americans already purchased; that no one had used stevia as a sweetener across an entire soda portfolio before; and that I was already a huge fan of its all-natural sweetening ingredient," says Spence, "I knew it was a perfect match for me!"

START WITH PASSION:

Remember, what defines an entrepreneur is to go beyond thinking about it, ignore the calculated risks and do it.

BELIEVE IN IT: Define a product, segment, or category that you really believe in and combine it with a business opportunity in that segment. This creates a fertile business opportunity. Stevia is a personal passion for Spence.

Because of it he is able to live a completely sugar-free life; as an athlete, that's important to him.

Spence took that passion and married it up with a business opportunity; a void in the marketplace. Stevia is a great sweetener and no one was maximizing its full potential—until now.

HIRE A GREAT PR TEAM: Spence suggests

looking for a firm that has been there before, knows how the bigger companies do it, who the players are, how to leverage opportunities, and how to identify areas where you can improve over your competition. Find PR people who share a passion for your product and can communicate your brand's message naturally.

KNOW YOUR PLAYERS: Spence had a

close-knit team of people with whom he'd worked throughout his career. There was a level of trust and camaraderie that eliminated a lot of the risk for him. "Personal chemistry is just as important as the written track record of an individual," he says. "It's great if you've done a lot on paper but I've never worked with you I don't know if we are going to have a strong work chemistry."

HAVE A PLAN: careful

financial planning is critical right up front. "All emerging businesses need capital to grow," says Spence. "Understanding those capital needs and how achieve them is important going into it, as opposed to trying to figure it out as you go along."

DO YOUR MARKET RESEARCH: Test and learn.

Try things on a small scale. Begin with friends and family and get their input on what they think of your product or service. From there you can go on to larger control tests where you will identify measurable quantitative results and actionable changes you might make in your product offering. "The larger your sample size the more you eliminate bias," Spence says. "Start out with a small group and expand it to get feedback from hundreds or thousands." Today, our customers and retailers, such as Whole Foods, Target, and Kroger, are our test groups.

Keep your branding simple: "You need to be able to tell the story of brand or product without it being a complicated story," Spence reminds us. "For us, our consumer value proposition is incredibly simple: Zevia has zero calories and no artificial sweeteners, it's all natural. So when I tell people it tastes great, has no calories, it’s all natural and it cost a dollar, that’s a pretty easy sell!"

One of my favorite tidbits from this interview with Paddy Spence is this important reminder: "You are going to learn from your experiences; both good and bad experiences. Regardless of what happens in an entrepreneurial or emerging brand situation, you are going to come out of that experience with more knowledge than when you entered. New risk doesn't make you dumber it makes you more experienced. If you have to go back to the corporate arena, you will be a more valuable employee than when you left."

MARLA TABAKA is a small-business adviser who helps entrepreneurs around the globe grow their businesses well into the millions. She speaks widely on combining strategic and creative thinking for optimum success and happiness. Connect with her @MarlaTabaka and www.inc.com/author/marla-tabaka. *This article was originally published here

Who Advises the Entrepreneur?

By Kerrie MacPherson

if you’re thinking of setting up an advisory board, be very clear on what it is, and what it’s not. It’s not a formal board of directors, which has well-defined duties including a fiduciary one.

If you’re leading a startup business with potential for high growth, one of the most valuable things you should do early on is to set up an advisory board. Scaling an enterprise is hard work, and you only stand to benefit from drawing on perspectives, experience, and networks that augment your own. A group of advisors committed to your success not only provides a sounding board to test and strengthen your ideas, it gives you access to important competencies and resources.

But many entrepreneurs, especially those in the early stages, find the task of building an advisory board daunting. Whose strengths would complement their own and counter their weaknesses? Who might bring an insight to the table that would otherwise be missed? It can feel like an exercise in knowing what you don’t know. Moreover, most people who have not formalized such a board before haven’t given much thought to what it takes to keep one running effectively.

This is why, in the Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program I oversee at EY, we make this an early part of our teaching. The program is our effort to help women entrepreneurs in particular take their small businesses to the next level. We identify promising startups and provide the women behind them with customized executive leadership training and the opportunity to join an elite network.

The advice we offer and the discussions that take place among our entrepreneurs center on five key tips:

Look outside your existing network of contacts. As you sit

down to think about whom to invite onto your advisory board, remember first that this should not be a group of your friends and fans. You’re looking to drive new business opportunities and new ways of thinking with diverse experience, expertise, viewpoints, and skill sets. Work to find people outside your inner circle who have built successful businesses and can pass that knowledge on to you. Think about who would be a constructively critical audience, and who can provide access to other valuable contacts, from potential customers, suppliers, and strategic partners to financiers, publicists, and other professional service vendors.

Recruit a well-known community member or industry influencer as your first board member. There is a reason that film producers begin their projects by lining up the most bankable talent they can. Their involvement helps to attract others who want to work with them, or who simply see a star’s

commitment as reassurance the project will take off. In the same way, entrepreneurs should work first to recruit the people who will attract others, and give an advisory board strong credibility from the start.

Invest the time in developing relationships with your board members. Since most are not

compensated, their reward is the satisfaction of sharing their knowledge and experience and helping you succeed. So make them feel appreciated! (Meanwhile, if a prospective board member does insist on being compensated, determine how uniquely valuable he or she is.

If there’s a possibility of a long-term business relationship, you might want to offer that person some kind of remuneration.)

Establish goals and expectations for the board up front, including how often it meets and where.

Usually, in-person meetings once every three to six months will suffice, but you may want to reserve the right to consult with individual members on an ad hoc basis if a particular issue comes up. When the board does meet, make sure there is an agenda with specific goals. Your board members are busy professionals, so don’t waste their time. Perform a yearly assessment of how the board is working. If you can afford it, invite them to an offsite at a comfortable locale at your expense to have them discuss the board’s progress.

Have a framework for transitioning out board members. As a high-growth entrepreneur,

your business will evolve, and you will likely need advisors that bring different skills to the table at different phases of growth. Most will not have the time to serve on your board for more than two or three years, anyway. And

others may not be as helpful as you had hoped. So, make it clear up front that they serve as needed and spell out term limits.

Finally, if you’re thinking of setting up an advisory board, be very clear on what it is, and what it’s not.

It’s not a formal board of directors, which has welldefined duties including a fiduciary one. An advisory board holds no legal or financial responsibility for the decisions you make.

Instead, it is a group of volunteers with knowledge and skills that you, the business owner, lack, and whose purpose is to help you make your company a success. It is there to assist you, challenge you, guide you, and open your eyes to new opportunities.

For a high-growth business, it is difficult to overstate the importance of that kind of support. Advisory boards allow entrepreneurs to leverage others’ specialized knowledge while honing skills and talents of their own. Reaching new markets, accessing new forms of funding, adopting new technology, and garnering information to manage risk are all necessary to scaling a sustainable entrepreneurial venture. A strong advisory board is one of the fundamental building blocks that will allow you to take your business to scale.

About the Author Kerrie MacPherson is a principal at Ernst & Young LLP and executive sponsor of its Entrepreneurial Winning Women program. She has served on EY’s Gender Equity Task Force, is an active leader in its Professional Women’s Network, and is the Diversity and Inclusiveness Champion in the Financial Services Office Advisory Practice. * This article originally appeared here.

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Five Startup Lessons for Fast-Growing Companies

By Kit Hickey

Within our first month of publicly launching Ministry of Supply in June 2012, we sold more than 6,000 shirts and gained 4,000 customers. Our company grew fast because it had to. We were an adolescent trapped in a baby’s body — we had to learn how to sprint before we could learn how to walk, and we had some serious growing pains as we tried to scale production from 300 to 6,000 shirts a month.

However, we quickly realized that by empowering

our customers and empowering our company, we could truly grow the way we wanted. Everything we do comes down to empowering people to be their best.

As a co-founder, I focus a lot on how we can scale our team, our operations and our distribution.

We’re a startup, and face many of the same challenges that startups face. Here’s what we’ve learned along the way about managing fast growth.

Championship vs.

Ownership There are six members of our team, and we all champion different areas of the business.

For example, co-founder Gihan Amarasiriwardena focuses on product development and technology. Devin Cook, head of Customer Advocacy, spends all day thinking about how we can make customers as happy as possible. Over the months, we realized that we worked better as a team when we moved away from ownership and moved towards championship.

This philosophy ensures nobody feels possessive about his or her area of focus, while encouraging teamwork and collaboration. So while Devin may be focused on customer happiness, we all chip in with ideas and often have company-wide brainstorms about improving the customer experience. As champions, we’re all really proud of the areas we focus on and are encouraged to get others behind our initiatives.

Holistic Views of the Business I love knowing what’s going on in all areas of the business, and we’ve found that everyone the team does too. We have an open office space and are constantly talking and bouncing ideas off of each other throughout the day. A few months ago, we realized that our communication wasn’t great despite the fact that we spent all day talking – some people didn’t know what was going on in various aspects of the business because decisions get made so quickly and a lot of decisions get made outside of the office.

We’ve been trying to get better at making sure that everyone in the company knows what’s

going on and has a holistic view of the business. Being transparent and giving everyone the opportunity to know as much as they can enables everyone on a team to be their best.

Agile Problem-Solving We act fast whenever we see problems. When we realized that some of the shirts we were shipping were running too slim, we halted production, created a new pattern, trained our manufacturers, and got better-fitting shirts on the market in three weeks.

Being able to adapt quickly and iterate in real-time is a huge benefit of a startup and we will forever try to retain that ability. In this example, by acting quickly to solve a problem, we were able to minimize exchanges — and more importantly, make our customers happy.

Technology Is in Our DNA As a fashion brand born out of MIT, we use technology to create the best products possible — from our use of thermal mapping

to optimize venting in our Aero pants design to the NASA phase-change performance materials we use in our Apollo shirts.

We truly believe that technology can improve everyone’s lives and we democratize technology through apparel. As such, we don’t stop at the use of technology in product development; we leverage technology in every touch point of our brand.

Brand Is Culture At Ministry of Supply, we all live and breathe the mission. We are intentional

About the Article Kit Hickey is the co-founder of Ministry of Supply, a brand which is inventing the future of men's professional wear. The company has been featured in NYT, TechCrunch, Inc., Forbes and Elle Magazine. In addition, Kit is a lover of mountain sports and has half an MBA from MIT. Follow her: @kit_hickey

about hiring people who fit both our brand and our culture. When we take company retreats, we challenge ourselves to be our best. Our last one included hiking and winter camping in negative degrees. We want our customers to be their best and our employees to be their best. Everything we do comes down to that.

Obviously a startup is a tremendous amount of work and nothing is certain.

However, by staying true to our mission and empowering our customers and employees, we know that we’ll be here for the long haul.

Set Goals - Evaluate and Re-Evaluate Often!

BY DEB BIXLER nyone who works from home probably knows how important it is to set goals. Many do not realize though that when working at home it is even more important than ever to have a written business marketing plan in place as opposed to some wishy-washy unwritten goals.

You may have heard of smart goals but not everyone knows how to set SMARTER goals.

SMARTER stands for Specificity, Measurability, Attainability, Relevancy, Timeliness, Evaluation, and Reevaluation.

The first part of SMARTER goal setting is the S- be specific in your goals. Don't set vague goals or else you'll be prone to saying you completed your goal when you didn't really accomplish anything. The more specific, the better.

The M means to make sure your goals are measurable. If you can't measure your goal

then how can you say whether or not you actually completed it? Instead of saying "Work on Project A" make it a goal to "Spend two hours on Project A." Time goals are extremely easy to measure.

Make sure your goal is attainable. If you can't actually attain your goal, then you're just going to bring yourself down when you fail. It's important that you set goals that you can actually accomplish so that you're not ruining your morale.

Your goals should also be relevant to the project you're working on. It's okay to have a few goals for another project, but the majority of your goals should be focused on the main project you need to accomplish. Making progress on another project is good, but not if it comes at the cost of not making progress on the more important project.

Make sure your goals are timely. Don't set goals for ages down the road. Instead, set smaller goals more frequently. If your goal is to finish Project A by the end of the month, then that gives you plenty of room to slack off. But if you have smaller goals throughout the month, you won't be able to slack off. So instead of setting one large goal, set smaller, more frequent goals.

Before you start working,

you should evaluate the goals you've set out. This is important for two reasons.

The first is to make sure you've followed the goal setting procedures we just described. The second is so that you have a game plan for that day or week. You'll know what you're getting into.

When you don't have someone looking over your shoulder every day, it's very easy to slack off. With these goal setting methods you'll be able to hold yourself accountable. Trust me, you'll be glad you started using this method of goal setting.

At the end of your goal period, whether it's the end of the day, week, or month, you also ABOUT THE AUTHOR

need to reevaluate the goals you set.

Did you accomplish all of them? If not, figure out why not.

Was it a problem with the goal itself or was it a problem with your work habits?

What can you do to ensure you hit all of your goals next time?

If you follow this path of SMARTER goal setting, then you'll see a huge increase in your productivity.

Deb Bixler is a direct sales trainer who used a party plan business to her corporate job position. She now teaches wanna-be direct sellers how to start a party plan business and work at home.

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Calculating Your Business’ Available Working Capital

BY MEREDITH WOOD Working capital is essential to running the day-to-day of your business. Without it, you simply can’t keep the lights on. Determining the amount of capital you have to work with each month is certainly not easy, but it can be done, and it must be done. It’s essential you know how much you have to spend, so you don’t overspend. Therefore, become a pro at managing both your liabilities and assets, giving you a complete understanding of your working capital and allowing you to use this cash to its fullest potential.

MANAGING YOUR LIABILITIES In short, current liabilities are what money your company currently owes people such a suppliers or creditors. It’s short-term debt, all due within the year. In order to pay these liabilities, you have to turn your assets into cash to do so. It’s important you keep watch over these figures when trying to properly assess your working capital.

How do

you go about doing so? It’s all about understanding who you owe money to, and when it is you owe them this cash.

1 2 3

4

First, start by always having reminders set in your calendar of when your payments are due. Make sure the reminder is set not only for the day of but also at least a week in advance, giving you enough time to prepare payment. Be diligent about getting those payments in on time.

If you owe multiple payments to a specific lender, be sure to specify what a payment is for.

If you are struggling with your cash flow (or you simply forget a payment date), be sure to start a conversation with your creditors about it. When you keep this sort of relationship with your lenders, it will let them know you aren’t ignoring the debt and can sometimes lead to them being more accommodating.

On that same note, if cash is tight, ask your lender if you can send a post-dated check that can be cashed in thirty days. Some will be ok with this. Just be sure the check doesn’t bounce, as this will take away the opportunity to do this in the future.

MANAGING YOUR ASSETS Your current assets are any cash your business has or anything else you can expect to convert to cash.

Examples of these assets are: 1. CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENT Currency and deposit accounts.

2. RECEIVABLES - Any money you are waiting to receive from customers for a product you have old or a service you have provided.

3. INVENTORY - Any goods your business has in stock. Be aware there are different types of of inventory. For example, your first type of inventory is materials and components. These are the items that are needed to make the finished product. The second is progress inventory, and this refers to partially completed items. The third type of inventory is finished goods. These are any final product ready for purchase.

4. SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS – Includes such things as securities bought with intention to be sold to generate income on short-term price differences.

5. PREPAID EXPENSES – Expenses that are paid for and recorded as an asset before use (i.e. insurance).

All of the assets listed above are important to manage in different ways. For example, it’s crucial that you always keep an accurate assessment of the inventory your company keeps in stock. It’s also super critical you actively pursue

any open invoices you have so you can turn those receivables into liquid cash faster. Most importantly, however, it’s important to keep a watchful eye over the actual cash you already have. Cash is king in your small business, and it’s important you understand what this cash is being used for. To do so, be diligent in both your cash flow forecast and cash flow monitoring. Tracking every dollar in and out is precisely what needs to be done.

In short, the amount of working capital you have is the total of your current assets minus your current liabilities. Be certain you are keeping track of these two figures to guarantee your working capital calculation is as accurate as possible, ensuring you know exactly how many dollars your business has to work with.

About the Author Meredith Wood is the Director of Community Relations at Funding Gates, an online application for small businesses that allows them to track, organize and manage their receivables all with simple clicks. An avid small business writer, Meredith’s work can be seen on Amex OPEN Forum, SCORE, the Small Business Bonfire and many other small business sites. Connect with Meredith on Twitter @FundingGates.

Fear - The Entrepreneur’s New Fuel

By Tabitha Jean Naylor

F

ear...it’s something that entrepreneurs hear plenty about.

They tell you fear isn’t real, that it’s something that people create in their minds. That it shouldn’t effect you because you, yourself, made it up. But how often has this mindset actually helped you start a small business or jumpstart your entrepreneurship development?

Dealing with fear, realizing that it’s going to be a part of the journey, is the only way that you’re going to become a successful entrepreneur.

You can scour the web and read every book imaginable on how to deal with your fears but until you realize that fear is going to be a part of the process you are going to struggle.

I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that it hasn’t. You’ve looked up and down the internet, read books, listened to speakers, heard all about other peoples’ entrepreneur success stories. The fear, however, still persists. It’s still there, slowly eating away at your morale.

It’s all about making a decision that your comfort zone is not a place that you want to be. Understanding that fear is going to be there every step of the way and falling in love with the feeling of your stomach tightening every time you make the decision to face those fears. That’s what is going to help you develop into the type of business entrepreneur you want to become.

The bottom line is that fear is real. It’s very real.

If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t feel it.

People that work for other people are helping THOSE people achieve THEIR dreams. Whether

they are a sales executive making six figures or working in a cubicle for 50k a year, they are spending their time helping other people achieve their dreams.

There is an old quote that says that 99% of people in the world can work for a company once it’s been created, but only 1% of the population can actually create those things or places that the 99% work at.

Understand that you, already, are a part of that 1%. When you’ve made that decision to make the jump to starting a business, you’ve done something that only 1% of the population has the ability to do.

So whatever you’re getting into right now whether that be developing new business ideas, signing on with a new marketing partner or maybe still thinking about making the jump to opening a small business realize that fear is going to be a part of the process.

Realize that uncertainty, butterflies, and a tightened stomach are going to be with you every step of the way. But also realize that beautiful things will begin to happen when you start to accept that uncertainty and move forward anyhow. Realize that your potential lies right beyond that comfort zone.

Entrepreneurship is a beautiful thing. It’s also an incredibly difficult thing. You’ve already made a decision that only 1% of the population has the ability to make. Now make the decision to put yourself at the top of that 1%.

A wise person once said, ‘By leaving behind your old self & taking a leap of faith into the unknown, you find out what you are truly capable of becoming.’

Face your fears, step out of that comfort zone, use that fear to fuel you and don’t ever look back again.

Things I'd Do Differently If I Started My Small Business Today

By Sarah Santacroce

As an optimist I usually don’t spend too much time thinking about the past and avoid wasting time on the “what if” question regarding my small business. What if I had started blogging from the get-go? Would my site get more traffic today?

Would I have built more relationships with other bloggers and my blog posts would be shared way more often?

“Don’t cry over spilled milk” … is my motto. But I didn’t write this post for myself, I wrote it for the aspiring small business owner, for you, who is just starting your adventure into entrepreneurship. I wrote the following list with the hope that it might help you avoid some of the mistakes I made, or shorten the time it takes to get your business off its feet!

7 things I’d do differently if I were to start my small business today: I’d start blogging from the get-go. It took me

a while to realize the benefits of writing a regular business blog. I thought I had nothing to say, feared the time investment, and shied away from the exposure. And don’t think it was all easy when I finally did start. Not at all. I heard nothing but crickets and thought I was talking to myself. But if I start something I rarely give up (except for sports) and so I kept going. I advise you do the same.

Maybe one day I’ll see your name on the list of AllBusi-

ness Experts.

I’d start my e-mail list from day 1. Along

with blogging I’d also start building my e-mail list from day one. And I’d choose a tool with growth in mind.

When I first started out I chose Mailchimp because it was recommended for small business owners.

And I still recommend it to some clients, because it is a good tool.

But for me it wasn’t enough anymore, because my list rapidly grew and became the centerpiece of my business. I changed from Mailchimp to Aweber (and lost a lot of subscribers in the process, which is inevitable). So my advice: start building your list from day one, but don’t choose the cheapest tool available. Consider the different options and then choose a tool with growth in mind.

3. I’d build my website with WordPress. I’m only partly to

be blamed for this one. Back when I started, WordPress wasn’t as popular, so I started building my website with another tool. But if I’d start today, I would definitely use WordPress and even though I learned a lot in building it myself, I would not do it again. I would outsource this task to someone who does not only understand design and code, but also has an idea about inbound marketing.

Your website should work for you and get you new clients on a regular basis.

I wouldn’t print 2,000 business cards. When you have

finalized your logo and brand identity you will feel very proud!

And you should! But rather than

passing a print order of 2,000 business cards, just give yourself a good tap on the back, or treat yourself to a glass of wine.

Businesses evolve and maybe already 6 months later you wished you had added another service to your business card. My advice: always print business cards in small batches.

I’d work hard on my elevator speech. I still

remember going totally unprepared to networking events and then stuttering when someone asked me, “What do you do?” You need to prepare your elevator speech! In 30 seconds you need to be able to communicate who you help and how you help them.

Practice in front of a mirror.

uniqueness shows the best on video and it’s the best way to build trust with your community.

I’ve made more than 7 mistakes in the past 3 years of entrepreneurship. And as you probably know, making mistakes is part of the journey. But if we met over coffee and you asked me, “What would you do differently if you were to start your small business today?”, that’s what I would tell you.

It's unlikely that we'll meet for coffee, but I'd love to count you among my loyal subscribers and see you on a future webinar about small business topics. Sign Up today.

I’d immediately start building relationships with influencers. One of the best ways to get noticed fast is by building relationships with influencers in your industry. In the times of social media this has become easier than ever. Follow them on Twitter, comment on their blogs, invest in some of their one-on-one programs, mention them in your blogs, etc. There are endless ways of getting to know influencers in your field.

I’d implement video into my marketing strategy from day one.

Last but not least, I’d push myself harder to get over the fear of appearing on video. As small business owners, one of the main advantages we have over corporates is our uniqueness. Your

About the Author Sarah Santacroce is the Small Business & Social Media Marketing Mentor at Simplicity - Simple Small Business Solutions

3 Successful Women Entrepreneurs Who Beat the Odds While starting a business is never easy, gender is one additional obstacle that women entrepreneurs face when trying to succeed in the business world, which can still be something of an “old boys’ club.” Add to that the additional hurdle of being a female immigrant entrepreneur, and the challenges are that much bigger.

The truth is, many Americans have a hard enough time making their dreams come true in this country, but these three women came from across the world to turn their aspirations into reality. No matter what boundaries or obstacles they came across, they overcame the odds and made a life for themselves in a country that was once foreign to them.

S

Sheela Murthy

heela Murthy is a lawyer and entrepreneur. She was born in Baroda, India, and is the founder and president of Murthy Law Firm, which she founded in 1994.

When she younger, Murthy’s father did not want her to become a lawyer.

In 1985, she graduated at the top of her class from Stella Maris College.

While on a trip to New York for a court competition, she took a chance and applied for her LLM at Harvard Law School. She returned to India and awaited a

Y

While attending school, Murthy had to work nights as a security guard to pay for her living expenses, working 12- to 14-hour days until she was able to open her own firm. In 2009, she was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young and today her firm is one of the country’s leading immigration law firms.

Yolanda Voss

olanda Voss came from Ecuador to the United States in 1962 with the hopes of becoming a fashion designer. She came to the U.S. after obtaining her Fashion Certificate from the Institute of Quito Luz de América.

After she arrived, she attended the Pier El Riff Institute to specialize in haute couture. She also enrolled in the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she began establishing apprenticeships with people she

R

response, only to find out that she had been accepted.

considered to be role models. She caught her first big break when Betty Ford, the former first lady, wore one of her designs.

Voss tries to give back to the community. During the startup phase of her first business, she taught other young adults what she knew about the business out of the basement of her home. She is now president of her own fashion-design studio and showroom in Columbia, Maryland.

Rubina Chaudhary

ubina Chaudhary was born in India and came to the United States in 1987 with her husband and three children. Her first business was actually started on a dare.

She originally started running training seminars on business skills after earning her MBA. During this time, one of her clients dared her to start her own firm. She took the client up on that dare and entered the field of engineering consulting, a very male-dominated field.

With her initial dreams of wanting to earn more

money for her children’s future, she opened MARRS Services. Today, her business has a fulltime staff, 35 percent of whom are female.

Her husband is her business partner and their firm earns about $6.5 million annually.

Regardless of where you’re originally from or what your dreams are, running a business is hard work.

Whether you’re male or female, young or old, believing in yourself and your abilities is the first step to launching a successful business.

Building a Startup

Empire

By Kriti Vichare

“Rome wasn’t built in a day either...”

I first saw this unapologetic declaration on a billboard sign on a highway that is perennially under construction. And it always reminds me that startups have to be treated the same way.

Entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs approach creating a startup empire differently. Firstly, what’s a wantrepreneur? They are the eager beavers who may look, act, and seem like entrepreneurs - but all without owning an actual business!

Let’s examine the wantrepreneur scenario when building a startup empire:

1.

This is the one…the idea of the century!” Wantrepreneurs rarely focus on the problem to solve.

2.

3.

4.

“Oooooh features! I love features!”

Wantrepreneurs don’t create a foundation and work incrementally, but instead fast forward and jump in the deep end before learning to swim.

“I’ll just whip together the business in no time!” Wantrepreneurs always underestimate the time it takes to grow a business.

“If you build it they will come.”

Wantrepreneurs believe the only thing stopping them from customers, is the lack of product.

5.

“Money… I’ll figure it out later.”

Wantrepreneurs severely minimize the needed funding for their projects.

To build an empire you need a foundation, vision, support, and patience. Serial entrepreneurs know this; it is second nature to them. As they move with tremendous speed, they know they have to learn to walk before they run. A scalable, repeatable business model is necessary before expanding too big or out of reach.

About the Creator This comic was created by Kriti Vichare and Shivraj Vichare. It was inspired by the ironies they have seen and have experienced in their small business ventures. You can find their comics on www.entrepreneurfail. com. They are the creators of the book Cheating on your Corporate Job: A Comic Look at the Startup Dream.

Special Spotlight Feature:

Sales, Marketing... and Startup Success

How to Close a Sale: The Only Thing You Need to Know

By Jill Konrath

Have you ever heard the phrase “detach from the outcome”? It’s a tenet of Eastern religions.

For many years it was a concept that I found totally unfathomable. After all, sales itself is about outcomes. Our income is at risk. We need to get the business.

But over the years, I’ve learned the wisdom of that message. In fact, the more I wanted to close a sale (or should I say – needed to close a sale) the less likely I was to get it.

Why? Because my focus was on me, not my prospect. And, whenever you need something that much, you push too hard for it. You short-circuit the process and go for the close before the time is right and your prospect is ready.

Do they feel it? You bet. They lean back, put obstacles in your path and don’t return your calls or respond to your emails. Then, you get desperate and your neediness shows – and you become even less desirable to do business with. All because you’re so eager to get the sale.

I’ve learned that the only cure is to detach from the outcome.

To be willing to say to yourself, “I know I need this sale, but I’m going to put that aside and focus on helping my prospect make a good decision.” Sometimes, you have to say it over and over to yourself.

When you stop focusing on closing a sale, everything changes because your prospect’s needs become your driving force. And, paradoxically, that’s the best way to get what you want. Go figure.

About the Author Jill Konrath is an internationally recognized sales expert, keynote speaker and author of three bestselling books: Agile Selling, Selling to Big Companies and SNAP Selling. To accelerate your sales, check out all the free resources on her website: www.jillkonrath.com/sales-resources * This post originally appeared on Jill Konrath’s website and is republished here with permission.

Manage Your Marketing: Remember You’re in Sales

By Margie Clayman A few weeks ago I was in Barnes & Noble and I happened to glance at the business best sellers shelf (as I am wont to do). A book sitting there caught my eye. It was Daniel Pink’s To Sell is Human. The title got my attention for a couple of reasons. First, as we have discussed many times, there are silos between marketing and sales departments in most companies. The title made me wonder if Pink would offer an argument that would help to destroy that (needless) division between sales and marketing. The title also got my attention because as a marketer, I have always known in my gut that I also need to understand what’s happening in sales. As Pink notes at the start of his book, very few people like to think of themselves as sales people. Why is that?

Beyond the online world, it is also important to visualize your marketing content as if it is an army of non-human sales representatives for your company. Instead of knocking on doors, your ads appear before eyes of potential customers. Instead of traveling city-to-city, your email marketing calls for attention in someone’s inbox. Your content is intended to help increase sales. It may not be a direct line like it would be for door-to-door salespeople, but the intent is the same. You are striving to convince someone to buy your company’s product or service. If you are using social media marketing, you are like the old-fashioned store owner who knows everyone’s name, who cares, but who also is still trying to sell something. One does not need to be a snake oil salesman to be in sales.

Pink suggests that most people equate “sales” to being shady, like the old stereotypes of the used car salesman. In fact, in a questionnaire that Pink cites in the book, many people, when asked, answered that sales made them think of primarily negative personality traits. However, Pink argues that “sales” is more than just trying to sell a product. “Sales” can mean trying to get a person to buy into your ideas or, as he says, “moving people.” If this is not marketing, what is?

There’s no reason for silos

But I must reiterate – being in sales is gross!

I think a lot of people have this gut reaction to the idea that they are in sales, especially people who are using social media as part of their marketing campaigns. The emphasis in the online world has long rested on relationships versus “selly” engagement. There is a sentiment that if you try to “sell” online it will be a real turn-off. For marketers, this creates a conundrum and this conundrum lies behind the entire controversy regarding whether it is possible to calculate social media ROI. If you are hesitant to sell anything online, it will of course, be extremely difficult to realize any return on your investment.

Marketing and Sales departments are often pitted against each other in companies. When things go wrong these departments point the fingers at each other. “Sales are down because the marketing is bad.” “Sales are down because the sales team isn’t converting leads into sales.”

When things go well, the departments compete for credit. The faulty logic is that sales and marketing are diametrically opposed. This is simply not the case. If you are truly enmeshed in marketing for your company, you are in sales.

If you are trying to promote ideas that will help your company grow, you are in sales. Indeed, in an ideal situation, marketing will work with the sales team to make sure all messaging emanating from the company is consistent and effective.

The next time someone says that marketers don’t really understand the world of sales, or the next time you hear a marketer talking disparagingly about the sales process, remember that marketers are also in sales. Marketers are humans. And, if you agree with Daniel Pink, to sell is human.

Do you agree?

About the Author Margie Clayman is the Director of Marketing, B2B Services at Clayman and Associates, a full service marketing firm headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. You can follow the agency at www.facebook.com/claymanandassociates In addition to blogging for her agency, Margie Blogs for Razoo Giving.

it’s time to focus on retaining customers

By Monique de Maio of On Demand CMO Traditional marketing is all about building awareness for products and brands. In traditional marketing, the emphasis is on getting new customers and very little attention is paid to retaining existing customers. According to best-selling author and marketer, Stan Phelps, traditional marketing is dead. Instead, it’s time to focus on retaining customers.

The data backs Phelps’ claim up: according Gartner research, decreasing customer churn by just 5% can increase profits by 25%-125%. The reason is that it is expensive to get new customers—it’s much easier and more sustainable to keep your current customer and sell them more products.

Phelps discussed how to do this at the last meeting of the NJ Chapter of MENG (Marketing Executives Networking Group). It all boils down to doing that little extra for your customers—like what one Panera store did this summer when it went out of its way to make a bowl of clam

chowder for a young man to take to his grandmother in the hospital. The story wound up on Facebook and it has almost a million likes now!

Panera got great exposure and lots of good will from its simple act of kindness. Going the extra mile for your customers sounds like common sense, but it is far from common practice.

Panera is obviously B2C, but their model has applications for B2B as well. For example, when you send shipments out, pack the boxes in the same order that the manifest is written. Also, take good care of your channel distributors and they will pass the love on to their customers—a.k.a. your end users!

Here are some things Phelps suggests to give customers that little extra:

Follow up with your customers. This is a really

easy way to get started. Call your customers up after they buy from you and ask them if they are happy with the product/service and see if there are any issues you can clear up for them.

Write thank you letters to your customers (hand write them for extreme bonus points!). Writing thank you letter is becoming a lost art today—which makes them very powerful tools when used. Want to retain customers?

Thank them for doing business with you!

Handle mistakes well.

It is inevitable that you will make a mistake at some point. How you handle that mistake is very important though: don’t just make it right for the customer, go above and beyond. If you do above and beyond to rectify a wrong, you can actually form a stronger bond with the customer than if you had never made the mistake.

What might this look like in action? Well, for home health service provider Nurse Next Door that means they hand deliver fresh baked apple pies to customers when something goes wrong. Nurse Next Door spends about $1,500 a year eating humble pie (literally!), but they estimate that they

save about $100,000 in business from going elsewhere. That’s some pretty good ROI!

Value add. Is there a small

extra you can add to your service or product for your customers?

For example, when SafeliteAutoGlass replaces windshields in cars, they also clean the customers’ cars for them. See, it takes time for the windshield glue to dry, so rather than just sit around and do nothing while the glue dries, Safelite technicians put away their tools and take out vacuums and clean the car. Safelite has time since it has to wait for the glue to dry and the put it to use.

Waiting… In business,

waiting is often as inevitable as it is annoying. But, it doesn’t have to be annoying. If you can provide some extra service or product while your customers are waiting, then they will be very happy. For example, burger chain Five Guys has boxes and boxes of free (and delicious!) peanuts for customers to nosh on while they wait for their burgers.

Make a good first impression. If you’ve been

around long enough, chances are you have heard the cheesy pick up line, “do you believe in love at first sight—or should I walk by again?” That may or not work in romance, but it certainly does not work in business. Customers form lasting impressions right away, which is why it is so important to make a good first impression.

If you have ever stayed at a DoubleTree Hotel, you have enjoyed a delicious first impression: starting in the early 1980s, DoubleTree began a tradition of serving warm chocolate chip cookies to customers when the check-in. At the time, it was common for hotels to give cookies to VIPs, but DoubleTree said “all our customers are VIPs,” and today, they have sold 250 million of these cookies. These cookies are quite popular –a fact noted by the New York Times and by the 4.2 million hits a Google search for “DoubleTree cookie” brings up.

Take care of your customers and look for ways to give them just a little extra. You might be surprised at how well your customers respond!

Monique’s Note: For more great tips on customer care, read here

* This article originally appeared on OnDemandCMO.com

9 Ways Not to Ruin Your LinkedIn Reputation

By Victoria Ipri You already know LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform...a treasure trove of affluent, engaged, connected buyers. But break the rules and you can hurt your reputation right out of the gate.

Let’s look at 9 ways to avoid ruining your startup’s reputation on LinkedIn:

1

LinkedIn’s User Agreement contains, among other rules, a list of Dos and Don’ts by which every member must abide. The link to the User Agreement is found at the bottom of nearly all LinkedIn pages. Read it, follow it, and avoid

major faux pas that can lead to account suspension.

2

When creating your profile, always use your real name and other accurate personal information. It is a violation to create a personal account using an image of a logo or any object other than your own headshot. The more professional, the better, especially for the individual tapped as the voice of your company.

Save the branded images and logos for your Company page.

3

LinkedIn operates in 3 connection tiers – 1st, 2nd and 3rd connection labels signify at which level you are connected to others.

The biggest freedoms of communication are allotted to 1st level connections. If you also pay for a Premium subscription, you’ll find yourself at the top of the food chain in terms of member privileges.

startup. Using the same rules of netiquette to avoid harming your reputation:

While you want to grow your network to access new opportunities, simply inviting random people to connect with you is a reputation-ruiner. LinkedIn imposes rules governing how and why you may connect with another member, using the “people you know” rule. Inviting total strangers to connect could lead to those members clicking the “I Don’t Know” (IDK) button.

Get 5 of these in response to your invite and your account will be temporarily suspended.

(Do it often, and the suspension could become permanent.) Instead, connect slowly but surely with people you really know or do business with, or people you’ve at least met professionally. Think quality, not quantity.

• Click on the magnifying glass visible in the top right search bar

4

Authentic communication is key to protecting your startup’s reputation.

Avoid LinkedIn’s standardized messaging: “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” or its creepier cousin, “Because you are a person I trust, I’d like to add you to my LinkedIn network.” To avoid sending these pat phrases, don’t click on any big blue Connect button with “+” sign. Simply go straight to the profile of the person with whom you want to network. Then click on the Connect button you’ll find there, and you’ll have the opportunity to delete the standard phrase and write a personalized note, ensuring a warmer start to your relationships. Yes, it takes a few more seconds, but it’s a wellrewarded investment of your time.

5

As your 1st level connections grow, you’ll want to drill down into your 2nd connections (your 1st connections’ first-level connections) to find valuable people who can open doors for your

• Visit the profile of a 1st connection you consider valuable to your startup. Click on the person’s blue Connections number (most often, 500+)

• Enter the job title or skill you’d like to search – for example, “Marketing Director” • Click “Advanced” in the top left of the box.

Now, it’s a simple matter of using the filters on the left side of your page to further explore a specific location or industry. Make a list of the individuals you’d like to connect with or even meet in person. (This list cannot be exported.) Finally, ask your 1st connection to make an introduction (via LinkedIn’s Introduction tool, via email, or in person) to get things started.

6

Export your complete list of connections regularly. Imagine you can’t log in to LinkedIn, for whatever reason. How will you reach all of the people with whom you’ve so carefully cultivated relationships? This could be a real reputation buster. So export those connections, and do it often if you’re in high growth mode: • Hover over the Connections tab in the main navigation • Click on Keep in Touch • Click on the gear icon at the top right • Click on Export Connections, also top right • The system downloads your connections’ profile data to a handy Excel spreadsheet

7

Never, and I repeat never, agree to ‘sync’ your email. LinkedIn’s current procedure is to send a connection request on your behalf to every single email address stored. Remember a year ago when you bought those shoes online, and sent the company a question about returns? Remember that work dispute with that jerk at your last job? Yeah, him too. Your email server probably stored the email addresses, and those people will receive a “connect with me” request from your LinkedIn account. Even worse, each email address receives two followup requests. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against LinkedIn to attempt to change this procedure but, until such time as it is resolved, just say “no” to syncing.

8

Once you’ve grown a strong network of 1st connections – 500 is the milestone, but 150 is effective – consider establishing a Company page for greater credibility. As mentioned earlier, this is your ‘branded’ page where your logos, banner images, and companyrelated content is posted and shared. While you can personally post to the Home page (similar to Facebook’s wall) from your profile, the Company page allows for perks like growing followers separate from your personal network, and Sponsored Updates – a type of highly targeted paid advertising that appears like an innocent feed post, but

works great to improve reputation across very specific audiences, and can be tracked and measured for deeper ROI analysis.

9

Don’t post junk. Seems obvious, right?

But time and again, companies with high impatience and low content post without a purpose, ruining their reputations early on as industry thought leaders. This is a particularly important point for startups, who must craft excellent 1st impressions. Consistently posted, audience-relevant content is key.

As a startup, you must determine where in the decision making process you hope to engage your customers, and decide the type of content needed to influence allimportant early buyers. It’s a strategy of its own that requires planning.

2013’s most attractive startups using LinkedIn included companies you’ve probably heard of: DropBox, Cloudera, GoPro and Pinterest, to name a few. LinkedIn data-insight specialist James Raybould makes a habit of analyzing how LinkedIn tech sector members engage with early-stage companies.

Essentially, by analyzing ad clicks and other engagement metrics, Raybould assesses a crowdsourced reputation score for each startup, and his “best picks” go on to do very well.

Will your startup be next?

About the Author “LinkedIn™ consultant Victoria Ipri demystifies the platform for users across the U.S. and Canada. A sought-after speaker and author of the popular ebook LinkedIn for the Clueless, Victoria is also the Founder of The Ipri Institute and a respected LinkedIn instructor for both the Online Marketing Institute and the Association of Strategic Marketing. Victoria holds a degree in Advanced Internet Marketing from the University of San Francisco and resides in Philadelphia PA. Find out more at www.LearnLinkedInFast.com.”

Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business Model

By Nichole Kelly

Companies are starting to recognize that customer experience is an important element for having a differentiated brand. Social media has forced companies to take customer experience seriously as customers have taken to their social networks to tell their negative stories with passion and a virality that has been unmatched in other channels. However, the reality is that there is a lot of lip service about putting the customer at the center and making customer service improvements. At the end of the day, this transformation requires a change in culture, which leaves companies dealing with massive amounts of politics and inherent human capital challenges.

This post was inspired by a truly incredible experience I recently had at Royal Taj, an amazing Indian restaurant in Columbia, Maryland. I went to Royal Taj the week they opened when there were

few patrons and I’ve watched the restaurant grow over the last few years. I’ve been so impressed to watch it turn into a hot spot with lines out the door during peak restaurant times. My recent experience made me stop and question the differences between my experience there and my experiences at other restaurants, and honestly with other businesses. Here are the key ingredients I believe led to their success.

Each of these ingredients are relevant to every business that wants to drive their companies’ success with a customer-centric approach.

THEY PROVIDE AN EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCT The best customer experience won’t matter if the product isn’t good. Royal Taj, by far, has the best Indian

food in the area. The best way to describe their food is that well…it’s perfect. The flavors are bold and you can get your food spicy or mild to ensure it meets your palettes desires. As a connoisseur of ethnic cuisine, one of the best tests is whether or not they can attract patrons from the culture. On numerous occasions, I’ve watched as their Indian patrons talk about how amazing and authentic their food is. I’ve watched as friends recommend Royal Taj to other friends telling them they have to go because it is the absolute best Indian food.

The first step for companies to begin putting their customers at the center of their business model is to ensure their product is top notch. Your products need to speak for themselves and leave an impression that people want to share with friends.

THEY KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS

BY NAME Royal Raj is owned and managed by Bindha, Soni and Jasvinder Singh. Every time I’ve been to Royal Taj, I’m greeted by Bindha with a big hug welcoming us back. I’ve watched Bindha work the room and he has an innate ability to make every customer feel like they are the most important customer in the room.

He asks questions about your family, who you are, what you do and then he remembers it the next time you come. As a person who is awful with names, I’m amazed that he can keep all the customer’s personal stories straight. Bindha goes above and beyond at every turn. When I was there last weekend, it was raining. I watched Bindha walking customers to their cars with an oversized umbrella to make sure they didn’t get wet. As I watched Bindha with

his customers, it’s clear he truly cares about their experience and their lives. He makes you feel like you have a close friend at Royal Taj, so why would you choose anywhere else to enjoy an evening out?

Frankly, you wouldn’t. You want to go back to say hello to Bindha.

This can be a challenge for large companies with thousands or millions of customers, but it’s not impossible. It just requires really good record keeping inside the CRM. Every customer service or sales representative has the ability to take notes on more than just the issue the customer is trying to solve. They can take notes on the conversation and take the time to get to know more about the customer.

This will require that your company doesn’t measure your front line employees on how quickly they can get a customer off the phone. Instead, we should be measuring how much intelligence they can gather about the customer in the short-time they have with them. True customer intelligence goes beyond their experience with your product experience. It should also include who they are buying the product for and what they can learn about their preferences and their lives in the process.

The more we know about our customers, the better we can be at predicting their needs and building relationships. When at all possible, customers should be able to talk to the same person they have formed a relationship with for continuity in their experience.

Customer service and sales representatives should have enough information to be able to ask, “How did (your child’s name) enjoy the (product) you purchased from us last time?”

THEY SURPRISE AND DELIGHT Another thing I noticed about Bindha is that he always surprises and delights his customers. When he is about to leave a table he offers a free round of wine, a free dessert or something else he thinks you will enjoy. He knows I love Chateau St. Michelle’s Reisling and he makes sure we get a glass on him every time. He’s given us free dessert and free Naan.

We never expect to get anything free and we are more than willing to pay for what we consume, but he always surprises us with something meaningful that we remember. This is one of the reasons you feel like Bindha is a friend who treats you like a special customer. When I started watching, I noticed that Bindha does this with every table; it’s a secret sauce he uses to make sure you remember your experience. And I think it’s brilliant!

How can your company surprise and delight customers? It could be something simple like a handwritten thank you note, free shipping, free rush delivery, or a special gift they weren’t expecting.

The key with surprise and delight is that is must be a surprise. Customers can’t start to expect it; they need to feel like it was something special just for them.

We need to figure out how to surprise and delight customers EVERY time. This requires companies to allow their front-line staff to have the power to decide what the right surprise and delight gift is for each customer. And it’s even better if they can personalize a note with the gift so the customer knows the person they dealt with was the reason they got the gift and that they were thinking of them when they included it.

THEY ARE ALWAYS READY TO SERVE The great experience at Royal Taj, doesn’t start and end with Bindha. It’s clear customer experience is something they engrain in their employees. When you dine at Royal Taj you will see the entire staff standing in a line right in the dining room waiting for an opportunity to serve. They scan the dining room constantly and all you have to do is look at them

and they rush to your table to serve you. We’ve all been at restaurants where the staff casually stands chatting each other up, getting distracted and even doing unprofessional things. As a customer you feel like your needs are less important because they don’t convey an interest in being ready to serve you.

How can your company always be at the ready looking for an opportunity to serve? Are you monitoring social channels for mentions of your company? Do you have live chat on your website? If so, do you proactively reach out to website visitors and let them know you are there to help? How are you making it ridiculously easy for customers to get your attention?

The challenges with putting customer experience at the core of your business comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. But seriously, it comes down to one thing; how committed are you to ensuring

customers have a great experience? If you are truly committed then you won’t let any obstacle get in your way. You will find creative solutions to challenges instead of using them as excuses for under-serving your customers. Isn’t it time for every company to put their customers at the center of their business model?

How important is customer experience in your company? Are you making great strides or using a lot of lip service? What are your biggest frustrations that company’s need to address?

Leave a comment and join the discussion for helping company’s put customer experience at the core of their business model.

About the Author Nichole Kelly is the CEO of Social Media Explorer|SME Digital. She is also the author of How to Measure Social Media.

Her team helps companies figure out where social media fits and then helps execute the recommended strategy across the “right” mix of social media channels. Do you want to rock the awesome with your digital marketing strategy? Contact Nichole

slideshare

T C

he Today’s Professional Woman Report was inspired by the conversations in Connect: Professional Women’s Network, an online community with more than 370,000 members. You can read the full report here: http://bit.ly/1pUgVii. onnect is a free LinkedIn group powered by Citi that features videos interviews with influential businesswomen, live Q&As with experts, and slideshows with career advice. To join the conversations in the largest women’s group on LinkedIn, visit http://www.linkedin.com/womenconnect.

A Business Guide for Protecting Personal Information

BY SANDY GLOVER any businesses find it necessary to keep personal information about their clients which can include name, Social Security number, credit card or bank card numbers, address,etc. Keeping client's personal information is necessary for the business to fill orders, send invoices or any number reasons however, if this information is compromised or stolen, it can lead to your client's falling victim of identity theft or fraud and your losing your creditability thus business. How can you protect this information that you have been trusted with, and your own? The answer is a sound security plan: Keep the information you need for your business. If you don't need the clients date of birth, black it out.

Secure the information. Keep files in a locked safe or secure your hard drive when the business is closed.

Don't leave files in the view of the public.

Install a alarm system and, if possible, closed circuit cameras. Know what goes on in your business when you are not there.

Have a very thorough background screening program in place, the best is with a consumer reporting agency or a private investigation agency who specialize in background screening.

Have a document management program, this includes a shredder-once you no longer need the document, destroy it in a shredder.

Consider having employees signing a confidentially clause agreeing to keep any and all information strictly confidential. This includes sharing or posting pass words.

Use strong pass words and change frequently.

Personal data security begins with knowing what information you have and who has access to it.

Reviewing how the information flows through your business, who has, or could have access to it is very good place to start. This can be accomplished by

law to truncate the electronically printed credit or debit card receipts you give your customers. It is a good idea to check the default settings on your software that reads customers credit card numbers or processes the transaction. If it is preset to keep the information permanently change the settings to make sure your are not keeping the information longer than you need. It is your responsibility to understand the vulnerabilities of your computer system. If you are not an IT expert, thoroughly screen IT companies and hire the best fit for your company.

If your employees use laptops computer, restrict the use of laptops to only those employees who need them to perform their jobs; required laptops be stored in a secure place-under lock and key when not in use. Determine which employee really needs personal or sensitive information stored in their laptop. If they don't, delete it with a "wiping" program.

Information can all so be protected by requiring the use of a smart card: thumb print or other biometric, as well as a password to access your computer system.

While we are on the subject, you might what to check on the companies that have YOUR information or that of your company to protect yourself.

an inventory of computer, laptops, mobile devices, flash drives, disk and any other equipment you have that stores sensitive data. Once the inventory is complete, you may have an idea how you can effectually scale down who knows what; the fewer people who have access to client's personal information, the better.

If your business does not have a legitimate need for storing sensitive personal information, don't keep or collect it.

The laws says Social Security numbers can only be used for lawful purposes, and you may be required by

When a customer or client trusts their personal information to you, obviously you have a responsibility to take every step necessary to protect it. Additional resources in this subject are: Federal Trace Commission (FTC) at http://www.ftc.gov.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at www.csrc.nist.gov SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Institute at www.sans.org/top-cyber-security-risks National Small Business Ombudsman www.sba.gov/ombudsman.

About the Author Sandy Glover founded The Gold Shield Agency, Inc. (A consumer reporting agency) in 2008. She brings 20 years of exemplary law enforcement experience to provide clients with results they can depend on and trust. Sandy is located in Florida but has nationwide screening services. She believes staying current with laws and trends as they apply to screening is important. When she is not working, Sandy is active in sea mammal rescue and fosters feral kittens to get them ready for "forever" homes. Please visit http://www.goldshieldli.com to learn more.

5 Free Online Tools Too Valuable to Ignore that Will Help You Grow Your Business

By Didi Zheleva Setting up a business is a big enough investment but did you know that when it comes to managing your business and marketing it, you don’t need to spend a fortune. Here are 5 free tools that would transform your business at no cost!

1. WordPress Having an online presence for your business is increasingly important.

Whether you are planning to use your website as a branding tool, to sell or to generate enquiries about your product, it is imperative that you have one.

It is often misunderstood that creating a website is a complicated tasks, that you need a specialist or a graphic designer to do it, it takes a ton of time and it’s expensive. Once upon item, that was the case but not anymore. Now there is WordPress.

WordPress is a free content management system. It comes with thousands of templates you can chose from and you can easily and effortlessly setup a website for your business. Simply follow the instructions and you will have a website within minutes! Try WordPress.

2. InTouch CRM Customer Relationship Management is a must for any business wishing to stay ahead in the game. The focus of each and every business is to thrive through building long-lasting relationships with customers and a well implemented CRM system will help you do exactly that. Being so popular however, CRM is quite often a luxury.

With some providers charging as much as $2000 just to set up your account, InTouch comes as a breath of well-needed fresh air.

InTouch gives you much functionality at a comparatively lower price than other providers and it even has a free package! Some of the features include a contact history database, email marketing, web forms, custom fields, leads and sales management and much more. InTouch truly is an integral part of the smart business person’s strategy. Try InTouch.

3. Skype Keeping in touch with people, be it customers, suppliers, investors and employees will in time prove to be rather costly.

Skype allows you to stay connected, grow your business and work smarter. You will benefit from the opportunity to make conference calls and generally keeping in touch with people and clients. You can even interview people using Skype!

Skype allows for instant messaging and calls on pretty much any mobile device, wherever you are. In addition, you will be able to work from anywhere, save on travel and share your screen. Try Skype.

4. HootSuite Social media is a huge part of the business marketing strategy but sometimes juggling between the different platforms could be overwhelming.

To make their business and social media life a lot easier, here is HootSuite. It is a free social media management tool that allows you to manage all your social networking accounts (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) at once. HootSuite helps you drive more leads, measure the impact of your campaigns and schedule messages to be post automatically. Try HootSuite.

5. DROPBOX Smart businessmen know that it’s paramount to store important files and data in different places to ensure that they’ll always have a copy, no matter what disaster they encounter. Right now, it is not enough to have files stored on your website and USB. You need other backup storage, and that is where Dropbox comes in.

Dropbox offers a secure way to store your. If any other members of your team have a Dropbox account, you can actually share access to the files.

With a basic Dropbox account you get up to 2GB of free cloud storage. It offers native support for Linux and Blackberry, as well as Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android. Try Dropbox.

Whether you are just starting your business, or you would like to budget, these 5 online tools will help you stay more organized, productive and professional at no cost. So go ahead and give them a try!

About the Author Didi Zheleva is a Content and Digital Marketing Executive at InTouch CRM - a web based sales and marketing software provider. She’s committed to helping small businesses grow and passionate about all things digital. Good marketing doesn’t need to be too costly or too complicated!

Facebook: facebook.com/intouchcrm Twitter: twitter.com/intouchcrm LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/intouchcrm Google+: plus.google.com/+Intouchcrmplus/posts

THE QUESt FOR tHE “EASY” StARtUP Tabitha Jean Naylor If you’ve ever played video games, you have heard the word quest on a regular basis. You are often completing quests in order to save the princess or find the missing dragon. If you haven’t noticed, these adventures are not real.

The ‘easy’ startup is also a fantasy.

For some reason, there are many myths that are involved with running a startup. Who thinks these fantasies up and spreads them around like wildfire? Nobody knows. Often these rumors are started by those who have never experienced running their own business. These myths are also created by those who assume they know the answers to running a startup.

The truth is, many people have dreams of beginning a startup but are too afraid to move on it. Moving past your fear is the first step to beginning a startup.

Before you truly begin, you must learn the truth behind many of the myths that follow an ‘easy’ startup.

If your startup fails, you’ve failed.

For some reason, people associate failure with two ideas: that your product must not be worth purchasing or that you should quit altogether. This is absolutely incorrect.

Many successful startups have failed numerous times. If you need proof, look at one of the cofounders of Paypal – he launched 4 startups; 3 failed and one did “okay”.

Failure is more of a state of mind than anything else. Yes, it means that something needs to be changed because you did not reach success, but success is also not a journey. Many people need to fail to learn and grow, because failure teaches lessons.

If you’re facing a failure with your startup, find out why – what needs to be changed?

What areas of your startup were successful?

There are many questions you can ask yourself to turn these negative issues into positive opportunities.

Expectations: Expect to fail. Failure will allow you to alter your business in ways that will eventually benefit your company in the future and open the doors for success when you come out for round 2. If your startup is successful from the get go, work hard to ensure that it continues to thrive.

A new product will obviously mean immediate customers.

Unless you’re lucky enough to have a TV infomercial that advertises your product line, immediate customers is definitely a fantasy.

Just because you have created something

great does not mean customers are going to flock to your business. In fact, many people may not even know – or care – about your business.

Passion will keep your business alive.

Whatever services or products you are trying to sell are irrelevant; even if it’s something that has never hit the market before. Unless it is an absolutely breakthrough in science, it needs to be properly marketed and given a purpose.

Did you know that passion doesn’t actually run your business? It is extremely important to be passionate about your company and brand. You must care about your products and what you’re going to be giving back to the public, yes, but it is not what is going to keep your business thriving.

Customers need to be given a reason to care about your product and know that it serves a purpose for them that no other product can serve.

Expectations: You’re going to spend a lot of time marketing and advertising through social media and be reliant on word of mouth, including your own, to spread the news about your business. Even after you’ve spent hours and hours marketing, customers are still going to be far and few.

It may be months before you begin to see a rise in customers, so don’t get discouraged.

Passion is not going to sell or market your product. It isn’t going to spread the word through friends and family. Once your products have been sampled or used, the excitement in customers may sell your product to others, but it is not passion that will get it there.

Many startup founders get distracted with their passion because they believe that their product is good enough to sell itself. While it is vital to having faith in your own products, you must be able to see your products from the customer’s point of view.

Expectations: You have to allow yourself to see things from an outside perspective. Being able to accept criticism and make changes is what is going to help keep your business going. If you’re too passionate about your services or products, it may be detrimental to your company. The dreams you have of succeeding and selling an unbelievable product should not trump your intelligence or attention to details. Every product has flaws – don’t let your vision blind you from seeing them.

If you don’t know, get a cofounder who does.

It’s obvious you cannot do it all. While being the jack of all trades is ideal, it’s often unrealistic.

Getting a cofounder can help reduce some of your workload, but if you’re getting one for the wrong reasons, your startup may still fail.

Because you aren’t familiar with the technical details of running a startup is not reason enough to find a cofounder to help your business.

You may be asking yourself why you need to know something if you have a cofounder who knows already.

Expectations: You should have some knowledge in every aspect of your startup. There will obviously be large holes in your knowledge because some business areas require a lot of education, such as software programming or the financials, but having some knowledge in each department is helpful. This can provide you with some insight as to what is going on in your business; this way, you aren’t completely oblivious if something happens. If your cofounder is busy or out of town, you must be able to step up to the plate and know who to call if something breaks or what the next step to take is to find a solution.

A good business plan is the key to success.

For some reason, people in general think having a plan is the best solution to avoiding chaos.

Then, when something goes awry you can panic and have absolutely no idea what to do next.

Yes, a business plan can help lay things out and begin a startup successfully. Depending what kind of business you’re starting, a plan can help you maintain a guideline as to how things are supposed to be done or what your prediction may be for the future.

Expectations: Stay realistic and remember: a business plan is simply full of predictions.

The future can never be known even if you do everything in your power to control it. Expect your business plan to be a guideline rather than something that is set in stone. Things can always go in different directions and creating a new business plan every time something changes is absurd.

3 Hardships Women Must Overcome to be Successful

A

lthough you do see many women in the business and tech world, let’s face it: they still face many obstacles that men don’t.

Women are slowly becoming equal to men in almost every aspect of life, whether it’s climbing the corporate ladder or running for high-level positions in politics. Women can do everything that men can do… but they still face some major challenges and

difficulties when it comes to starting and successfully growing a business.

Letting Go of Their Fears While you don’t have to overcome your fear of heights when it comes to being a female entrepreneur, there are still many fears a woman holds onto during her journey to success.

Becoming a leader in the industry can be scary.

Many women are afraid of taking the next step or moving up to the next level of success. Why? Because they want to be treated with respect but also still be treated as a woman. In the eyes of some, women who are successful or focused on their careers are considered ‘less feminine’ or ‘money-driven’; neither of which are necessarily true.

It is important to let go of the fear that others will not accept you or your success. Be proud of your success and accomplishments - regardless of who recognizes these feats.

Funding Your Startup If you are a startup founder seeking funding, as a female, this task can prove to be more difficult than others.

In some instances, men look at other men as mirrors of themselves. They see a piece of their ambition that they once had and are more willing to fund their startups because they’re easier to relate to than a woman, although there are many men who fund women owned startups.

Research thoroughly. Analyze your resources.

Make sure all your I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed. And most important, don’t be afraid to hear the answer ‘no’. Being rejected or denied should only fuel your motivation to keep trying and working to achieve your goals.

Making Decisions and Handling Expectations Decision making can be difficult for women – almost as difficult as dealing with expectations that weren’t met or setting your goals too high.

Setting goals, creating outlines and making plans are a part of the female nature. You want everything to go according to plan but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Learning how to let go of your expectations is hard, but can be EXTREMELY beneficial to your business because you will be ready and prepared to make changes on a whim.

Some women have difficulties deciding where to eat for lunch, let alone making a major decision for her business. Prepare yourself to make decisions.

It is your business, so you are required to make the best choices possible based on what you think is best for your business.

Women are naturally programmed to become emotionally connected to major areas of their lives, including their businesses and professional relationships. One of the challenges many women are faced with is making a dramatic choice that may wind up hurting someone or causing someone to lose a job. It’s important to ALWAYS remember that it’s strictly a business decision. You must let go of these emotions and stay focused what’s best for your company… no matter how difficult that may be.

Being a woman in the startup space can be tough. Thankfully as a gender, we’re all in this together, which means we’re all facing the same types of struggles. So the next time you have a bad meeting or have to make a tough business choice that feels like it’s eating you a live, take a deep breath. Then, make a quick trip to Starbucks. Go grab lunch. Take a 5 minute walk outside. Do something to unwind. And while you are, look around you. I guarantee you’ll see at least one female entrepreneur (or aspiring entrepreneur) during this “downtime.” And when you see her, flash her a genuine smile – and take solace in knowing that no matter how you may be feeling at the time, you’re not alone… and most important, that you CAN do this. We all can!

Do You Have What It Takes to Start Your Own Business?

By Rieva Lesonsky What qualities do successful small business owners have in common? A new survey by Deluxe Corp. sought to find out by asking entrepreneurs about their history, attitudes and characteristics that led to business success. How do you measure up?

According to Deluxe:

• Small business owners are comfortable with failure. The road to business success is paved with failures, but that’s OK for entrepreneurs in the study. More than three-fourths (77 percent) say they would rather learn from failure than never try at all.

• Small business owners are optimists. You’ll deal with lots of setbacks and obstacles in your road to business success, so you need to have a positive outlook. In the Deluxe survey, a whopping 86 percent of respondents believe they can do anything they set their minds to.

• Small business owners keep it all in the family.

Having family members who have run businesses is a common thread among successful small business owners. Whether it’s learning the ropes of business success at an early age or simply being exposed

to the realities of entrepreneurship that makes the difference, more than three-fourths (76 percent) of small business owners Deluxe polled have a family member who owned a small business.

• Small business owners like to be in charge. More than half (54 percent) of entrepreneurs in the survey say they started their companies because they wanted to work for themselves instead of having a boss. A majority (89 percent) described themselves as leaders.

• Small business owners like to get things done. You may be dreaming about starting a business, but for business success, you need to take the next step. Seventy-eight percent of entrepreneurs in the survey describe themselves as doers and 80 percent say they’re practical (80 percent).

Of course, not all small business owners are the same, and there are many reasons to start a business. Deluxe found the small business owners in the study fell into one of seven categories: 1. All Heart: These entrepreneurs started a business to do

what they love and share it with others.

2. Encore Career: These entrepreneurs are older, entering a second phase of their careers, and took a risk with starting their own businesses.

3. Passionately Confident: These risk-takers are born business owners who believe in choosing their own paths in life.

4. All in the Family: Traditional types, these entrepreneurs inherited the family business.

5. My Way: These entrepreneurs were motivated by taking back control of their time. They started their companies to gain control over their schedules and hours. (They’re more likely to be women).

6. Mastering the Niche: What we think of as the classic entrepreneur, these business owners saw an opportunity and wanted to capitalize on it.

7. Boss-me-not: These former business professionals left their for-profit, corporate jobs because they wanted to be their own bosses.

Isn’t it good to know that, whichever category you fall into, you can make a go of your business?

About Rieva Lesonsky Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@smallbizdaily.com, follow her on Google+ and Twitter @Rieva, and visit her website SmallBizDaily.com to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free TrendCast reports.

6 Ideas For Starting A Business

By Mary Ellen Biery

unemployment rate that remains around 7.6 percent also means that many Americans have been unable to find a full-time job with an employer, so they may be looking for ways to earn a living on their own.

Indeed, nearly half of Americans dream of starting a business, according to a recent survey by The UPS Store. And while the number of “business births” and their associated employment remain below pre-recession levels, small businesses have been at the core of the economic expansion, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Small businesses, which the SBA defines as fewer than 50 employees, represent more than 99 percent of all businesses and about half of the private-sector economy.

Is there anything more American than starting your own business?

With huge success stories like Bill Gates, Sam Walton and Mark Cuban, Americans see what a good idea and working hard can accomplish, and many regularly hear that independent streak calling them. A U.S.

Sageworks, a financial information company, recently researched which service-based businesses could be good options for people looking to start their own companies. Through its cooperative data model, Sageworks collects the financial statements of private companies from accounting firms, banks and credit unions, aggregating the data at an approximate rate of 1,000 statements a day and generating benchmark performance statistics.

Service-based businesses are good to consider because they typically require little to no capital to start, and a person can walk out the door and start making money with hard work.

Among U.S. service industries with the highest sales growth in the 12 months ended May 31, Sageworks found several types of businesses that could be started by one person. Each of these industries has also generated solid profit margins relative to all other industries, based on Sageworks’ data.

“Private companies, on average, are growing at a healthy rate and have improved margins relative to last year,” said Sageworks analyst Libby Bierman. “But they continue to hold off on hiring. If a job seeker is frustrated, these services industries could be a good place to focus energy. They have lower entry costs than most sectors – need little-to-no inventory investment, can operate out of your house or a small rental location, and don’t require heavy equipment.”

One major industry posting healthy sales growth that lends itself to entrepreneurism is management, scientific or technical consulting services (NAICS code 5416). This includes an array of consultants, such as those focused on management,

marketing, energy efficiency, safety and human resources.

Building and landscape architects and computer systems design are also industries growing strongly, by about 15 percent over the last 12 months. And there are many business ideas within other categories such as personal services (NAICS 8129) and other professional, scientific or technical services (NAICS 5419). For example, startup businesses could focus

on photography, translation services, pet care, personal fitness training or something as simple as a balloon-o-gram service. There are many unusual jobs that pay surprisingly well.

For more information on the types of jobs listed in this chart and their markets, visit the Census Bureau’s industry classification system page, where you can type in the NAICS code to learn more about the industry. Or browse

the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Granted, many of the jobs in the industries with healthy growth rates and margins require certifications, schooling or experience in the field, Bierman said. “But if someone meets those qualifications, their strong growth rates indicate there might be room for more players in these industries,” she added.

6 INDUSTRIES FOR STARTUP-UP IDEAS Industry

Job Ideas

Sales Growth (last 12 months)

Consulting (NAICS 5416):

Marketing consulting, HR consulting, management consulting, energy consulting services, safety consulting services, environmental consulting

15.1

Architectural/engineering (NAICS 5413):

Building and landscape architects, traffic engineering, heating design

14.9

Computer services (NAICS 5415):

Writing/testing/supporting software, hardware/software/communications design, computer disaster recovery services, software installation services

14.9

Advertising, public relations (NAICS 5418):

Advertising, public relations consulting, lobbying, flyer distribution, merchandise-demonstration services

13.1

Other personal services (NAICS 8129):

Pet care, parking lots, balloon-o-gram services, house sitting services, personal fitness trainer, personal shopping services, wedding planning

12.9

Other professional/technical services (NAICS 5419):

Photography, translation services, appraisal services, credit repair services

10.2 Source:

Sageworks, a financial information company, collects and analyzes data on the performance of privately held companies and provides financial forecasting software.

THESE 8 BUSINESS BELIEFS ARE KILLING YOUR STARTUP

By Ana Yoerg

“The common rule of thumb is that of 10 start-ups, only three or four fail completely.

Another three or four return the original investment, and one or two produce substantial returns. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that 25% to 30% of venture-backed businesses fail,” according to Wall Street Journal reports.

Yet VC’s like Marc Andreessen have publicly noted that there is no rational reason for it. We have the talent, we have the ideas, and there is plenty of market demand for smart products and killer services. Our current economy has enough space to accommodate the growth of one hundred times more startups into fully-scaled, sustainable businesses.

So, why aren’t there more Dropboxes and Airbnb’s?

Is the startup success story fated to be like a Hollywood wonder, where only a few actors in LA finally make it to the top?

Possibly. But maybe it’s because too many people are clinging to old business beliefs.

Teaching Old ‘Business Beliefs’ New Tricks Now, if you’re a relatively young startup founder, it’s strange to think you can have “old”

“

The National Venture Capital Association estimates that 25% to 30% of venture-backed businesses fail,” according to Wall Street Journal reports.

business beliefs. It seems like something reserved for silver-haired COO’s at Fortune 500 companies, rooted in traditional business practices from decades of experience.

But first-time entrepreneurs do have old beliefs.

They come during those “I have no idea what I’m doing” moments, when to find an answer to a new question or challenge, they fall into the trap of Googling or getting counsel from peers — both of which result in a mountain of startup advice that doesn’t apply to the problem.

So, what do they do? What any human would: they turn to their own experience for answers.

And that is where the dangerous moment comes … when old, life adages are not only false, but when clinging to them blocks their chances of success.

Here are a handful of ‘old’ business beliefs that could be killing your startup:

1

Follow my vision.

Ever hear the one about the executive who surrounded himself with “Yes” people? He always felt confident in every business move, but all those yes-es caught up with him in the end when the customer said “No.” Too many entrepreneurs rely on generic market research or common assumptions to confirm their vision and seemingly “no-brainer” solution. If you have honest conversations with the customers whose problems you are trying to solve, you’ll learn what people really want, not what you think they want.

2

In business, this means pricing a product based on the sales margins you need in order to make the profit that will work on your balance sheet. Ignore that me-first instinct. Instead, work backwards and first find out how much a customer will pay. For instance, at last year’s Lean Startup conference, Lit Motors explained how they built a simulated dealership experience just to find out if their product had a viable market. When 15.7% of showroom visitors put money down on the spot, they knew they could move forward with their pricing strategy.

3

exist. What ultimately drives them to purchase is psychology and an interactive experience. To make people buy, make it easy for them to behave the way you want them to; focus on interaction design, not visual design. An upscale boutique may have hardwood floors and relaxing music, but they’re not selling the kind of volume as the franchise grocery store that carefully places high-margin products at eye-level.

Figure out what you need, then ask for it.

5

Ah, the popularity trap! In business, this translates to the the problem of vanity metrics like visitors, views and followers, and thinking that Facebook “Likes” are going to impact your business. Ditch those and focus instead on what directly impacts your business’s bottom line: conversions, retention rate, customer referrals and even (gasp!) revenue.

Perfect planning = excellent execution = success.

Note, however, that metrics by themselves are not enough; as Ash Maurya has said, [metrics] will only tell you that something is going right or wrong. To understand why and to get to the real insights, you need to get to the people behind your numbers — the customer.

Think about all of the planning that goes into a wedding, and how little of the detail anyone remembers from it.

So, what if the timing is a little off on the march, or if the groomsmen’s ties are a slightly different shade than the bridesmaid dresses.

In the same way, your product release is important to you, but if everything isn’t 100% as you planned it, will anyone else even notice, or care? No. Just get your product out the door so you can begin the process of learning and iterating. As General Patton once said: “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

4

People buy pretty things.

No, people are tempted to buy pretty things. That’s why fashion magazines

Have lots of friends.

6

Customers are loyal.

Dogs are loyal, customers are not. Maybe you make some nice moves and get a handful of seemingly dedicated, loving customers, but they’re not going to stick with you if you mess up more than once. Given that so many startup founders are millennials, who are known for their constantly shifting brand loyalties, this may already be apparent.

7

So, if all customers are fickle, how do you keep them? This is where startups have an edge on bigger businesses. They’ve gotten notorious for their tendency to pivot, but pivoting is a great way to acknowledge that your current path is not earning or retaining enough customers and that you need to shift gears. If more companies had short runways and had to make these hard decisions sooner rather later, there might be fewer fizzles, or long, drawn-out product failures.

audience. Startups need to dedicate resources to marketing, because as sexy as the “we went from zero to one million users with no marketing” story is, it’s just not the norm. But this is again where timing comes into play.

If it ain’t broke…

Each bag has a large number printed on it, and that number represents the amount of nourishment (i.e, lunches, vitamin supplements, etc.) children in need will receive via their in-kind donation to the WFP. It’s a built-in story that gets people thinking and talking about the product and mission in the same breath, which is the kind of word of mouth marketing that turns customers into brand ambassadors.

Tradition assumes that every business’s goal is to achieve product-market fit, to find that special formula that will skyrocket sales and ensure long-lasting success. But if you don’t innovate and change the formula, your product will eventually become irrelevant and customers will get bored and move on (see #6).

The best startups are the ones that have struck fear into large companies in their space because of their ability to not only iterate faster, but to be constantly moving targets themselves and therefore harder to pin down and crush as competition. So, even if it’s not broken, fix it.

Strive for continuous innovation; it’s as essential as changing the seasonal inventory in a retail store. Keeping things fresh for your customer makes them come back for more.

8

First product, then marketing.

In a way, this is a correct belief because everything needs marketing. People, places, products… you can build it, but they won’t come unless you communicate the value to the right

Consider marketing as a component of your product, not a supplement or something that comes after. For example, FEED Projects are like the Toms Shoes of bags, but rather than push their mission through advertising and storytelling, they’ve built it physically into the product.

About the Author Ana Yoerg is a founding partner at Pivotal Pod, a content marketing agency that specializes in working with startups. She is, at heart, a word-nerd who believes that great branded content (e.g., creative ad copy, email, blog posts, bylines, video) coupled with well-timed, agile PR campaigns can dramatically boost user growth and build customer engagement for any startup.

Pivotal Pod is the producer of the Lean Startup promo video, “What would an entrepreneur do?” featuring Marc Andreessen and Eric Ries.

Clients have included Opera, Wikia, Mobile Theory, Rumgr, VegasTech, and Explore.org, a project of the Annenberg Foundation.

Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

Getting Ahead: Don't Forget to Feed Your Spirit

By Mindy Thomas

shows that 75 percent of the gainfully employed would rather “ Research take a raise than have more time off. In other words, people are NOT taking time for themselves. They are not engaging in doing things that nourish their being or feed their spirit.

“

used to be). Remember those days when you used to laugh hysterically with your friends or family? Remember how damn good it felt? Filling your spirit with nature and meditation could also make you go inward, resulting in feelings of gratitude and intense pleasure.

As Blake Shelton from the popular show “The Voice” might say, “What kind of bull crap is this?” To the contrary, Blake definitely knows what I’m referring to because it’s clear that one of the ways Blake feeds his spirit is through country music.

In today’s never-ending world of staying on top of your game, it has become increasingly difficult to stay supercharged. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a college student, or someone who is looking to make career changes, empowerment can come in different forms, including feeding your spirit.

One of the things I have observed with people who are trying to make changes in their lives is that their level of unhappiness continues to get progressively worse. It’s not just their job that is making them anxious, depressed, or downright miserable. I am finding that 9

times out of 10, these same people rarely, if ever, make quality time for themselves.

In fact, people go for weeks, months, or years without feeding their spirit.

Research shows that 75 percent of the gainfully employed would rather take a raise than have more time off. In other words, people are NOT taking time for themselves. They are not engaging in doing things that nourish their being or feed their spirit.

Let me provide a little more clarification about what feeding your spirit looks like.

Feeding your spirit simply means enjoying yourself and doing things that bring you happiness.

It’s about opening your heart and finding ways to bring a smile to your face. It’s about making time for fun and laughter.

Feeding your spirit reminds you of who you are (or who you

You see, when we spend more time working our tails off and thinking about everything outside ourselves, we lose ourselves. We forget about us.

Ultimately, we end up starving our spirit. Who’s kidding whom?

You know whether you’re starving your spirit or not. It’s easy to figure out. Are you creating any free periods to have fun? If not, you might want to look at ways to incorporate time into your schedule to connect you to your heart, in turn lifting you and your vibrational levels up.

Just last night, I saw a wonderful picture of a friend on Facebook who had a brain hemorrhage one year ago. She posted these words, “With my salsa teacher and salsa friends who gave me back my joy and love of dance.

Dance keeps me young and alive!”

This morning my client, who is a crackerjack of an attorney but bored out of her mind, proclaimed that she would return to her yoga practice. After attending a class last week, she

realized how grounded and clear she became after taking time to fill her spirit. She feels infinitely more empowered by allowing herself “feel good” time.

Another client sent me a text message a few months ago telling me he was in NYC for the weekend. This was his way of “filling up his spirit.” He adores big cities and had been down and out for more than three years after his layoff and, yes, he agreed, he had done nothing to replenish his spirit since the layoff.

your cell phone, being quiet for two minutes, getting a massage, playing with your pets, cooking a nourishing meal for your family, and entertaining your friends are all great examples of ways to feed your spirit.

This past summer another client called me from a Phillies game.

Even though he adored baseball, he hadn’t been to a game in two years. This man sounded so revived and energized as a result of making this incremental change. I was truly happy for him.

However, feeding your spirit is remarkably different and unique for each person. The question you need to ask yourself is what helps to open your heart?

What is the one thing you could do for yourself this week that would make you feel more cheerful and connected? The other question you need to ask yourself is what is this going to cost me if I don’t take the time? You and I both know there’s always a cost.

Listening to music, singing out loud, driving with the convertible top down, breathing in fresh air, going on nature walks, sky gazing, visiting the beach, the mountains or a lake, turning off

I would like to suggest that you consider being kinder to yourself as a possible way of staying supercharged

About Mindy Thomas Mindy Thomas is a cutting-edge career consultant, professional résumé writer, professor, and entrepreneur. Through her company, Thomas Career Consulting located in Philadelphia, she leverages her 25-year business background with a solid foundation of career solutions for challenging times. Email Mindy at mindy@thomascareerconsulting.com, follow her on LinkedIn , and visit her website to learn more about her expert career consulting services.

as you drive towards your goals of getting your business off the ground or starting a new chapter in your life.

Think of yourself as if you are a garden. Nurture yourself just like that garden. You deserve it. Your spirit craves it. And, there’s no question that you most definitely are worth it.

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