Business plan Archives - Diane Hamilton

Entrepreneurs: Help for Getting Started

I had to opportunity to interview Martin “Marty” Zwilling this week. Marty has an impressive background. He is a former executive with IBM. He has served on multiple advisory boards. He currently works as an author and consultant. His company, Startup Professionals, is dedicated to helping new entrepreneurs succeed. He gave some great insight regarding some of the toughest issues facing new entrepreneurs. The following is our six-part interview. Click on the link below the picture. Scroll to next video with the arrow at the bottom after watching each one. Continue reading “Entrepreneurs: Help for Getting Started” →

Famous Entrepreneurs Provide Inspiration

There are plenty of examples of entrepreneurs who failed before they became successful. Some of them even explain that failure has taught them their most valuable lessons. While this may be true, many prospective entrepreneurs fear failure. One way to avoid problems is to learn from those who have experienced negative issues and still managed to succeed.

Entrepreneur.com recently published the article 10 Inspirational Leaders Who Turned Around Their Companies. In this article, author Stephanie Vozza explained, “From Apple’s Steve Jobs’ demanding personality to Marvel’s Isaac Perlmutter’s frugal methods, these sometimes-controversial CEOs weren’t always popular with employees, but they earned the respect of shareholders.”

For some unusual entrepreneurial examples, check out the VentureVillage article The Top Ten Startup Founder Blogs Every Entrepreneur Should Follow. These entrepreneurs offer a different perspective and update their blogs on a regular basis.

For more information for how to be a successful entrepreneur check out:

Have You Been Retargeted?

If you have ever shopped online for an item and then later noticed an ad for that exact item on another page, you have been retargeted. It may cause some problems for people who are trying to surprise others with something special. Consider the scenario of the man who has searched for engagement rings. If his future fiancé should suddenly have ads for rings show up all over their shared computer screen, the jig may be up!

To see what it is like to be retargeted, try going to the site: GreatCall. Once you are on that site, you will notice they sell a phone service. You might then decide to go to a site like Dictionary.com. Once you get to the dictionary site, you might notice that suddenly there is an ad for GreatCall.

Now take a look at the top right corner of that ad. There is a little sideways triangle that you can click that explains AdSense. “The AdChoices symbol appears on web pages and ads to let you know when information about your interests or demographics may have been collected or used to show you ads – what’s known as interest-based advertising. You can opt out of interest-based ads, as well interest-based advertising from other participating companies by visiting the aboutads.info choices page.” Click on the following link to find out how to manage your ad preferences.

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Top Business and Career Trends for 2013

Potential entrepreneurs often look for the next big idea. With changing technology, it is important to have foresight. It is not always necessary to be the first company to offer a product or idea. Facebook is an excellent example of this. Sometimes an idea can be improved upon or tweaked.

Once an entrepreneur comes up with an idea, they must create a feasibility study. After creating a viable plan, there are some unique ways entrepreneurs may obtain financing. Crowdfunding and microlending are just one of the latest trends. Check out the Top 7 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Obtain Funding.

Some experts have tried to predict the next big areas for innovation. There are even sites like Trendhunter that offer trend reports to help with predictions. For those interested in getting ahead of the game, check out some of the top articles on business and career trends for 2013:

The last article is an interesting one, because sometimes people look at trends as positive things. That may not always be true. An important point was made in that article. Bringing value to customers should be a primary goal.

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Avoiding Entrepreneurial Failures

It is the American dream to start a business, achieve growth with that business, and possibly someday pass it along to children or sell it for a profit. In the article, Boomers Can’t Retire, it was explained how some entrepreneurs have found that they are unable to retire. The American dream may not be as easily attainable as some may think. The Wall Street Journal article, Venture Capital’s Secret: 3 out of 4 Start Ups Fail, listed some unfavorable start-up statistics:

75% of venture-backed US firms don’t return capital investment
Around 30% of start-ups fail completely – 95% if the definition of failure is projected return
Nonventure-backed companies fail more than venture-backed
60% of start-ups make it three years and 35% make it ten

Author and Professor at Harvard Business School, Noam Wasserman, has some advice for future entrepreneurs in his book The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. In his book, Wasserman explains, “Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: should they go it alone, or bring in cofounders, hires, and investors to help build the business? More than just financial rewards are at stake. Friendships and relationships can suffer. Bad decisions at the inception of a promising venture lay the foundations for its eventual ruin.”

The new entrepreneur must consider problems they may encounter with people, as well as possible pitfalls he or she may encounter down the road. By having foresight, the new entrepreneur can learn to be proactive to change.

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