Top 100 Entrepreneurship Blogs To Follow in 2013…
Very pleased to be No. 93… got to love that!
An infographic by the team at CouponAudit
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To Get Clear Is To Be Clear…
Today I spent time in a meeting that I had arranged but was being led by another party. The reason for the meeting was to help the Business Owners “get clear”…
“Get Clear”about what? About their options, as opposed to pinging around from one option to another in the hope that one sticks!
This is what happens when you don’t know who to talk to, nor do you know how to find the right person. Mind you, it happens to all of us when we are moving into new territory!
When it’s a big ticket item like hanging on to 100% of your business that is on the cusp of greatness, where capital raising is required, there’s nothing more disheartening than to find you not only don’t meet bank criteria and the accountant offers you details on your situation but is not able to direct you much further, unless you’ve got family and friends with deep pockets, what do you do?
Fortunately I was in a position to assist these particular clients, hence the meeting today. The beauty about the meeting today was having a learned colleague who could ask all the right questions and have a pretty clear idea on how to assist.
It went so well that a proposal is under construction… Fingers crossed it all works out so they can win the “first prize” they’re after!
When a Change of Business Model Makes Sense…
When I started work with a Client today, we were going down a particular path, one we had been on for weeks… and then it changed.
We continued to explore one line of thinking and it became obvious that those around the table were not really comfortable with where we were going. So with all bets off, we re-explored what we were doing.
Only to come to the conclusion that we wanted to take a different road, one that seemed much more “right”!
We will all sleep on it tonight and see what verdict we wake with again tomorrow… although my guess is that the new path will be pursued from now on.
Yet another example of it never being to late to start again…
Make The Most Of Every Marketing Dollar
In Marketing That Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to Any Sized Company (Wharton School Publishing), the focus is on optimizing investments in every aspect of marketing, whether it’s targeting the right customer, delivering added value or generating better product ideas.
Authors Leonard M. Lodish, Howard L. Morgan and Shellye Archambeau offer tools, tactics and strategies that companies can use to differentiate themselves in today’s marketplace. As the authors note, “Marketing, more than technology, is most often the reason for the success or failure of new ventures or new initiatives” in mature corporations.
Knowledge@Wharton has excerpted a section of the book at this link.
The checklist is well worth the read. Enjoy!
Self-employed lead bankruptcies
More than half the small businesses that start up are bankrupt after three years, figures show – and the self-employed are the biggest victims.
In June 2006, there were more businesses than three years previously – 1963, 907. The creation of businesses in the intervening period still exceeded the number of those that failed.
The ABS study shows that survival rate is also linked to age and number of employees. The longer a business survives, the greater its chances of continuing survival.
Hence why it is imperative to work on your business, as well as in it (to quote Michael Gerber) so as to ensure you know which way you are steering, and why! A great place to start, and revisit annually. Click here to find out more.
