Why start your own business?  After all, it may be one of the most masochistic decisions any individual can make.

To begin, startups come with financial risk, and impact of failure on one’s finances can be severe.  Moreover, starting a new business is a sure-fire way to distance oneself from friends and family.  Startups can be all-consuming, leaving little time for much else—including personal relationships.  Finally, starting a business can take a heavy physical and emotional toll.  Late nights and meals at one’s desk are not a healthy lifestyle, and the highs and lows of the startup game can drive a person mad.

Here is why I love being an entrepreneur.  In short, starting a business is one of the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding ways to spend my working years.  Yes, it can be hard and cruel, but six years into it, I haven’t experienced a single day of boredom.

 Startups are not for everyone.  Here is some advice if you are considering whether to get into the game:

(1) Get some experience first

Some recent academic literature has concluded that the ideal age for entrepreneurship is 40.  This is no doubt because can help to have working experience before you start a business.  For one, it provides an opportunity to save up some potential capital to invest.  Moreover, you will inevitably pick up some useful skills and knowledge along the way—some of which could prove handy, even if your new business is in a field outside of your expertise.  In addition, as you work, your network of contacts will grow.  This can prove useful in a variety of ways, including client development, recruiting, the pursuit of capital, to name a few.

(2) Analyze your opportunity costs

If you have nothing to lose, it is easier to take the leap into entrepreneurship.  If you are the sole breadwinner for a family of 5 with a limited nest egg, it probably makes sense to save up some cash first, and think very carefully about the impact that a bombed startup would have on your life.  One other word of caution here in a different vein: Be aware of the risk of your opportunity cost rising too high.  Although an increasing employee paycheck is generally a good thing, the higher your salary rises, the more difficult it can become to quit your job and scratch that entrepreneurial itch.

(3) Build a detailed financial model for the business and test your assumptions thoroughly

Once you begin reducing the business to a spreadsheet, the realities of the numbers will begin to emerge.  Taking into account all of your expenses and revenues, as well as when they should occur, will give you a sense of whether the business can make money.  It will also give you a sense of how much capital you will need and by when.  While there are always financial surprises in the startup experience, waiting to build your projections until after you commit to a business is a dangerous proposition.

(4) Speak to potential clients

Treat your new venture as a sophisticated investor would treat a new potential investment and determine whether your idea can be monetized.  Do some due diligence and explore whether there is interest in your product or service.  Ask client prospects whether they like your value proposition.  If you are entering a competitive industry, ask what it would take for clients to switch providers.  Knowing what potential clients want and need is critically important to know if there is room in the marketplace for your business.

(5) Ask yourself whether you have the right DNA

Jumping head first into a startup is not for everyone.  If you are the type who needs others to motivate you, or who has trouble staying focused when times get tough, starting a business is probably not be the right move.  But if you have self discipline, a fair amount of confidence, passion, and a good deal of intestinal fortitude, you may well be the perfect fit for entrepreneurship.

Keep in mind that starting a business is not for everyone.  But for those who have what it takes, becoming an entrepreneur may be the most fulfilling professional path.  

About the Author: Paul Mandell is a Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Consero. In this role, Mr. Mandell provides strategic leadership for the company with a rigid focus on excellence at every level of the business. Prior to founding Consero, Mr. Mandell founded and was the President of a national legal support company that was acquired in 2007. The successor entity was recognized as one of the world’s top legal process outsourcing companies during his continued tenure as President the following year. Prior to entering the business world, Mr. Mandell practiced law at Arnold & Porter LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in Washington, DC, and New York, New York, respectively, where he focused primarily on antitrust and pharmaceutical litigation. Prior to his law firm experience, Mr. Mandell clerked for the Honorable K. Michael Moore of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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There is much discussion about how beneficial an MBA education is for entrepreneurs starting a business. The debate is about whether the skills required for success as an entrepreneur can be taught and whether the current MBA curriculum allows its graduates to succeed in today’s business landscape. Entrepreneurs must decide whether to invest in a top Online MBA as a prerequisite for starting a business, or rather instead to invest that money directly into a new business.

According to the article, “Seven Essential Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur” published in the Wall Street Journal, having a vision and being passionate about pursuing that vision are believed to be key requirements for entrepreneurial success. Given that most entrepreneurs accept this driving force as a critical component for entrepreneurs, the question germane to the MBA debate is whether you can teach a student how to think in an innovative manner and to come up with a new idea that they are willing to pursue with an intense and ongoing commitment. Considering the enormous commitment and sacrifice that most new companies require, if an entrepreneur does not make a business dream a top priority in the beginning, it will be very difficult to stick with it when the big challenges arrive.

Education Cannot Teach Passion or Innovation

Considering the large number of highly successful entrepreneurs without formal MBA training, a persuasive argument can be made that entrepreneurs do not need an MBA to succeed when they have a good idea and are willing to pursue it against all odds. Some of the better-known entrepreneurs who are recognized as high-profile contributors to society without an MBA include Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft. Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple computer is another entrepreneur that must be recognized as one of the most celebrated entrepreneurs without an advanced education. These visionaries created technologies that have directly impacted the lives of most people in technology-savvy cultures. The problem with MBAs is that its curriculum teaches students what’s worked for businesses in the past; it doesn’t teach them what being innovative and determined are.

People Skills

While many innovative entrepreneurs in the technology industry have not suffered from a lack of people skills, in many other industries this lack could prove a block to success. We’ve all heard the saying that it is not what you know, but whom you know that makes you successful. If this is true for most entrepreneurs, then it is easy to understand why so many people who are well liked do so well in business.

Networking is promoted as a plausible way to find business partners and key employees. An entrepreneur must be able to depend on talent and commitment to make up for a lack of other resources to compete. This is where leadership and charisma play a key role in recruiting the talent necessary for success.

Conclusion

The debate will continue about whether an entrepreneur needs an MBA to succeed as an entrepreneur. Some questions that any new entrepreneur must consider is whether they can commit for the long-term, and whether they can withstand the pressure to compete under duress. Some of the considerations to think about are financial demands and a support system. Entrepreneurs’ challenges are often not limited to business competition, but also include family concerns. Having a spouse or partner who is also committed to an entrepreneur’s dream can make a substantial difference in whether an entrepreneur succeeds.

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Friends sneered at you when you said that you are going the entrepreneurial way. You quit your job in that MNC to build this dream product. Now the product is finally out in the open but how do you find takers for your product.

 Needless to say, being a startup you always have this financial question mark staring blankly at your face. Keeping in mind the limitations, startups can easily use these three tools to market their product. It is working for us and if you do it right, it will work for you too.

Social Networking might be passé but networking is not :

Start by using your own personal contacts and their contacts. Ask your friends to try and use your product. Talk about your product when you meet each other during social gatherings. You somehow have to ensure that the optimism you have for your product, gets communicated around. And all said and done, Facebook and Twitter are still one of the best ways to talk about your brand online.

Data Visualizations:

A picture is worth a thousand words. People might not be interested in your 1000 words article but they would love to see a nice graphic communicating the same idea. Try exploring infographics to market what your product stands for, what problem it seeks to solve, industry trends in your market, etc.

Blogging:

This is an effective way to make yourself heard online. Post articles that you think your target market would be interested in. Try and establish yourself as the thought leader in your industry. Encourage the idea of blogging within your organization. Ask employees to contribute their own take on things.

All the best and have a rocking year!

About the Author: Shilpi Choudhury is an Inbound Marketing Specialist and Business Blogger based out of Bangalore, India. She is currently working for DiscountPandit, Bangalore, which is a deal search engine that provides users a faster, simpler and a comprehensive deal search experience.

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Establishing a solid customer-base is crucial for any start up or small business owner—after all, without any customers/clients, you make no money and without any money your small business will crash and burn. While hiring a strong marketing team can help you acquire a good number of costumers, this route can be pretty expensive. And naturally with any small business owner, funds are tight. But there are few things you can do on your own to help build your number of customers that is relatively cheap or even better, free. To learn how you can increase your clientele and help ensure the success of your business, continue reading below.

1. Do Research

First and foremost you need to get in touch with the needs of your target audience. You could be selling the most innovative product or service known to man but if you don’t know how to appeal and relate to your target audience’s wants and needs, your campaign may fall flat. For example, could your audience be hesitant about taking a chance on you because they are hard up for cash? If this is the case you need to directly state how your product or service is beneficial to your customer despite their economic hardship, which leads us to out next tip—

2. Offer Exclusive Deals

The truth of the matter is that consumers are always looking for a good bargain, especially now (during the holidays). To appeal to the masses, offer some discounts and exclusive deals to new customers or offer a promotional limited time-only offer to people already on your email list serve for example. You can offer an immediate discount or a next-purchase discount, you can offer a 2-for-1 deal, offer free shipping and handling, or even offer a free consultation or an introductory class. The goal is to find a way to persuade new costumers to try your product or service because the deal is irresistible (and of course superior than your competitors.)

3. Get on the Social Media Map

This is crucial. If you do not know how to use popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to self-market your business it’s time you learn now. Right now. The power of social medial isn’t going to dwindle anytime soon and these free tools are a great way to reach your target audience and establish your brand free of cost. In fact, even those that refused to give-in to social media in the past will be jumping on the bandwagon come the New Year. According to statistics, 40 % of surveyed small business owners said they finally plan on using social media in 2012.

4. Be Mobile and Tablet Compatible

If you’ve created a website or blog to get your name out there that’s a great start but it isn’t enough—it’s the age of the smartphone and the tablet and consumers must be able to access your website/blog through these devices. Your site has to be compatible. While some platforms will automatically convert, others do not and you may need to download a special plug-in like WpTap to make your blog compatible. And you’re going to want to make your site convert. After all, some experts predict smartphones and tablets will replace the laptop one day and since the latest figures say one-third of the U.S. population owns a smartphone and uses it for its remote mobile access, you don’t want to risk missing out on a pool of smartphone/tablet- using costumers.

5. Hire Ambassadors

Lastly you can hire someone to utilize the traditional “word-of-mouth” marketing technique by hiring someone closely related to your target audience. For example, if you created a product that is specifically tailored to college-aged students, then you can hire a few students at the campus nearest to you and get them to tell their friends and other students how great your products or service is. You wouldn’t have to pay them much (or you could offer free merchandise instead for example), but it’s a great way to dig in deeper and go straight to the source.

Of course these aren’t the only things you can do to expand your costumer-base, but it’s a start. Do some research and investigate all of the other resources that are available to you to ensure that you find costumers and keep them coming back.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes for online universities blog.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

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Owning your own business is like going on a new adventure every day, without knowing where it will take you, what dangers you’ll face along the way, or even whether you’ll make it out alive.   That last part depends mostly on the business you’re in, but hey, it can certainly feel like your small business is going to kill you, or at least get the better of you on any given day.

A very close friend of mine, who happens to own his own apparel company, came to me recently, shaken, unshaven, and obviously stressed.  He began telling me how he was missing meetings, losing track of time, neglecting personal relationships, and generally forming more bad habits than he could keep up with, on account of his business was taking over his life. 

I definitely related to his situation, and then started thinking about ways to help him (and other small business owner like him, myself included). 

Here’s what I came up with:

Know How (and When) to Say No

Small business owners should have four legs, we scramble so much.  And while the world appreciates our hustle, we often agree very hastily to much more than we can actually take on, in the hopes that we can cut a better deal here, or get more funding there. 

Much of this hustle is necessary, but much of it is not.  Yes, it is important to make contacts, to pitch your product, and to get funding, but missing meetings because you have too much on your plate is much more damaging to your reputation than saying no ahead of time.  If you are feeling like your business is running you instead of the other way around, than examine your current commitments to see which are essential, acknowledge to yourself that it is OK to say no, and then, in the future, say no to the things that aren’t. 

Plan Every Second of Your Life

No, I’m not exaggerating.  What kills many small business owners is ambiguity in their schedules.  Don’t allow this to happen.  Get a planner, a journal, a piece of notebook paper, or a napkin — whatever it takes — and write down exactly what you have to do that week, and when you will be doing it.  Zero in as microscopically as possible, to the point that you include such details as “eating ham sandwich alone at 12:05,” or “meeting with (x) investor at Starbucks on 1234 Main at 1:39pm.”  Specificity in activity and time count.  Don’t leave any “wiggle room”; free time is time that is unaccounted for, unless, that is, you schedule it in.  See how that works?  You can’t feel guilty about free time if you knew you were taking it. 

This should go without saying, but often we small business owners need to hear what goes without saying, so: DO NOT VARY FROM THE SCHEDULE.  Once it is written, DO IT. 

Take Free Time

This is extremely important.  There’s a reason the normal work week is only Monday to Friday: Neither the human body nor the human mind were designed to work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  With that in mind, plan some free time, and even some vacation time, into your week.  You will be able to focus better, and will feel more in control of your life if you do things outside of running your business, and, best of all, you will be able to run your business better when you are refreshed and thinking clearly. 

By the way, after I presented my friend with these strategies, he adopted them, and while I can’t vouch for his business, I can vouch for his health and happiness, and I can say that after following my advice for a few weeks, he looked like a million dollars, and felt like it, too.  And you can’t run a business if you feel like anything less.

About the Author: This is a guest post by Eliza Morgan who is a full time blogger.  She specializes in writing about business credit cards. You can reach her at: elizamorgan856 at gmail dot com.

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Understanding how to utilize the web is a crucial component in the success of a modern start-up. While social media driven businesses are becoming popular, you’re doing yourself a great deal of harm if you neglect the best source of potential customers that exists online: the search engines, and especially Google. SEO (search engine optimization) is the art of gaining high search engine rankings. SEO copywriting is the art of making sure your content not only ranks highly in search engines, but also persuades visitors to your website to buy from you.

Using Keywords on Your Site

Most start-up entrepreneurs have a vague idea that they need to know about “keywords,” but they don’t have a clear understanding of what that means. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to know.

Keywords are simply words or phrases that people search for at a search engine like Google. You want to do some keyword research to find out what people are searching for that relates to your product or business. You can use the Google Keyword Tool for an overview, or a paid product like Market Samurai for a more in-depth analysis of keywords.

Each of your web pages should be built around one main keyword phrase and two or three secondary keywords. The main keyword should appear in the Title of the web page, the page URL, the Description, the first headline, and it should make up 1-2% of the body copy. (If you’re using WordPress to build your site, you can make all this a lot easier by installing the All in One SEO Pack plugin).

Crafting Persuasive Web Copy

That’s a basic introduction to keywords – now you also need to understand the psychology of online selling. Just getting people to your site from the search engines isn’t enough – you want them to take some action. That action is called your Most Wanted Response. This could be making a purchase, signing up for an email list, or submitting contact details. It might even be as simple as clicking through to another page on your site. Each page should be written with a Most Wanted Response in mind. With sales pages, the Most Wanted Response is obviously to get an order there and then.

To be persuasive online your site must convey a sense of authority and trust. People are wary of Internet scams, so before anyone will punch their credit card details into your website they need to feel you are “legit.”

Your copy should also emphasize the benefits of what you’re selling rather than just the features. A feature is something the product has – a benefit is something it actually does for the buyer. For instance, if you’re selling a Spanish learning product, you might mention it includes interactive lessons. That’s a feature – but what’s the benefit to the customer? The benefit is that they can take advantage of the fast learning they would have in a class environment, without even having to leave their house.

Every feature corresponds to a benefit – it saves the customer time or money, or it just makes life easier in some way. Emphasize those benefits. Those are what people care about and what will ultimately make them buy.

Pleasing your human visitors should always take priority over making your pages “search engine friendly.” Some people get carried away with the need to get search traffic and they end up creating a lot of low-value content which has no real use to human visitors.

Don’t be one of those people. Stick to creating quality web pages and you’ll reap the benefits in the long run.

About the Author: Tom McSherry is a professional SEO copywriter and the founder of Premium Online Writing. His mission is to provide web businesses with a go-to shop for high quality written marketing materials and information product creation.

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In a down economy, it’s difficult for entrepreneurs to access the capital needed to build their venture from the ground up. Luckily, projects can now be funded by a powerful combination of the social Internet and generous networks of friends, colleagues, and communities. This model is called “crowdfunding” and is sweeping the startup nation by storm. It seem s to be an entrepreneurs dream,. bit are there problems in the way?

Check out the below infographic on how to navigate the new crowdfunding landscape (click image for larger view).

Click for Larger View

infographic source: drawing a crowd

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Do you dream about starting a business, but don’t know if it is the right time? Are you concerned that the economic recovery still has a long way to go, so now might not be the right moment? Are you letting fear stop you from following your dream of owning a business?

Starting a business is something that can be done, no matter the economic climate. You may have to adjust your plan, but if you are savvy enough, you can find the customers your new business needs.

You cannot wait for the perfect time, or you will always be making an excuse as to why now is not the right time. The fear will always be there, so embrace it instead of running from it. Harness your fear and direct it in a positive way to ensure you are making smart decisions and thinking before acting.

The Right Frame Of Mind

The one thing that you need to have before starting a new business is the right frame of mind – the right attitude. If you are not mentally in the game, then don’t even bother. Conceptualizing, forming, growing, and running, a business takes a lot of time and energy, and creates a lot of stress and uncertainty. If your head is not in the game, then your business is doomed to fail from the start.

A great mental attitude can trump your lack of business knowledge. You can always gain knowledge, or hire someone smarter than you, but without passion, you lack the drive to be able to have a successful business. Having the right mindset is something you need before becoming an entrepreneur. You have to believe in yourself, and you have to be willing to sacrifice a lot while you build your company.

The Right Idea

However, the right frame of mind will only get you so far. You also need to have a great concept for a business. This doesn’t mean that your idea for the perfect business has to be something that nobody has heard of before – it just needs to be unique.

While there are probably plenty of unique businesses that have yet to be thought of, you don’t have to be a pioneer in order to be a successful business owner. What you do need is to bring something original to the table. If you are going to compete with existing companies in the marketplace, you have to have your own unique selling point. What makes you different from the other guys? Why would consumers (or businesses) choose you over your competition?

Take The Bull By The Horns

You can analyze yourself to death and never take the first step to realizing your dream of being an entrepreneur. While it would be foolish to throw caution to the wind, quit your day job and devote all of your energy to starting a business, there is nothing to say that you can’t commit to moving forward as quickly as you can, under your current circumstances.

Figure out what type of business you want to start, and assuming it isn’t a totally unique concept that the world has never seen, figure out how your business is going to be able to set itself apart from the competition. Commit to yourself that you are going to actually become a business owner sometime in the foreseeable future.

Don’t procrastinate any longer thinking now isn’t the right time to move forward. You have the power to convince yourself the time is never right. You also have the power to take control and move past your fears. Working for yourself is like nothing else. Why would you want to delay this opportunity any longer?

About the Author: Marshall Davis runs Business Service Reviews, a website where small business owners and budding entrepreneurs can learn about products and services to help them become more successful. Read his blog and learn more about becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Photo Credit: milos milosevic

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The speculative bubble of “dot com” era was a period of rapid growth followed by a significant decline between 1995 and 2000. Many of the companies that prospered during this brief explosion relied on venture capital and initial public offerings to cover expenses.

They valued growth over profitability which later led to significant problems. Companies soared to incredible heights on paper with little actual value, leading to numerous repercussions in the financial world. Even at the time, one didn’t need a PhD to see the problems in online businesses, Companies of today may learn from the mistakes of this time.

1. Using IPOs and Venture Capital for Expenses

Many successful businesses such as Amazon.com, Google, and eBay survived the dot com era. Amazon and Google in particular relied on IPOs and venture capital for expenses, used the free spending strategy, and valued growth over making a profit in the first few years as their stocks soared exponentially. During this time, the founders mostly had no income. Many people profited from this speculative wealth that ultimately led to crash. Educated investors knew the crash was coming and thus profited from the companies’ growth and got out before the stock market crashed. Companies should have a plan for profitability and capital for expenses to avoid this pitfall.

2. Failure to Develop a Solid Business Plan

Businesses should develop plans that include strategies to become profitable within a short time. Investors are more astute since the ’90s’ dot com bubble, and are less likely to invest in companies when the stock prices are overvalued and the fundamentals aren’t favorable. Profitable business plans should include a strategy for marketing, sales, product development, and asset acquisition. Without both long-term and short-term strategy, businesses will fall victim to using the Internet for growth with little concern for their sustainability.

Dot-com-era business all had similar business plans essentially promoting a monopoly in each particular sector. Ultimately, this strategy would allow only one company to emerge successfully and the majority would fail. Moreover, some businesses’ ideas simply didn’t pan out. For instance, online retailers didn’t consider that huge shipping costs would deter users. Their business plans and models were not well researched and didn’t anticipate potential problems that e-commerce would bring, but just relied on the momentum of the public to propel the ideas.

Businesses with novel ideas that will change the way people interact in the world should recognize that these ideas are not developed instantaneously. Many companies have become seemingly successful overnight, but other vital events happened to prepare them for this success. Every company should recognize that not every idea will be profitable immediately.

3. Free Spending

Venture capitalists were freely giving money to business owners, and business owners were freely spending it in turn. They purchased lavish items for the business, took expensive trips, and stayed in luxury hotels. Executives were paid in stock options as opposed to cash. Many of the founders became instant millionaires after the IPO, then founded more dot com companies to repeat the cycle of empty explosive growth. Businesses need to spend prudently until they become actually, sustainably profitable.

4. Predictive Tools Not Used

Many business owners mistakenly expected the adoption of the Internet to be immediate. Current and historical data should be gathered and analyzed to avoid similar mistakes with other new technologies. Numerous tools have been developed since that time to help investors and business owners analyze the market. With these tools, business owners may better be able to identify ideas that don’t have the potential for longevity.

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These are just a few problems that occurred during the dot com era that were detrimental to companies. From the business plan designed to create monopoly to the lack of use of predictive tools for success, the dot com era was plagued with mistakes. The self-made millionaires of the time might disagree, as well as companies such as eBay, Amazon, and Google that survived the crash and continued as internet giants. They are, though, the exceptions, not the rule. In general, businesses should adhere to basic models and principles with proven success rates, even if a lucky few have managed to shoot the moon.

About the Author: Elaine Hirsch is kind of a jack-of-all-interests, from education and
history to medicine and videogames. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things
instead.

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Having worked with a startup since quite some time now, I have realized that one does not need to know rocket science to be an entrepreneur. You just have to plan and plan well. Right from the ideation stage to the execution to the allocation of your resources, all your activities should be planned well. Your idea need not be revolutionary in order for you to start; it just has to be in place!

Do You Lack Clarity?

One key reason why most startups fail is due to the lack of this clarity. ‘What do you want to achieve through this endeavor? What solution are you attempting to provide? Who are your target customers?’ – these are some crucial questions which need to be answered before you venture out.

These questions might seem redundant at the beginning but eventually you will realize that the answers to these questions hold the key to your success. As your venture grows, there would be different teams pulling and pushing this idea in different directions- your marketing team will have a different understanding of your product/service, your product team will have a different approach. At such a juncture your vision of the product/service is important to bring everybody on the same plane. Each team might be right in their own way and (without sounding too skeptical) might be thinking about the good of the organization, but there is only so much that can be achieved with the resourceson hand.

Don’t Be Led Astray

With new technologies coming up and new segments joining your target group, the lure to deviate from your core idea will be very strong. You will always find a better website, a better team and a better technology in the similar field of business and you would be tempted to incorporate their ideas into yours. This might be detrimental to your core idea. I am not suggesting do not take inspiration, I am just saying do not lose out on your key focus.

The clearer you are about your product/service, the easier it will be for you to steer your team in the right direction. Remember you cannot be everything to everybody but you can always be something to somebody!

About the Author: Shilpi Choudhury is a SEO, Social Media and Business Blogger based out of Bangalore, India. She is currently working for Vavia Technologies, Bangalore, specialists in developing Web and Mobile Applications.

Photo Credit: rachaelvoorhees

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