Gordon Logan - Sport Clips
Gordon talks about Sport Clips and the success of the franchise model he built.
David Allen - Getting Things Done
David talks about GTD and how it can help you, your business, and your success.
Chris Babel - TRUSTe
Chris provides great information about online privacy and what you can do for your business.
Sep28
Written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Dave Lavinsky
The other day I read the first page of a business plan and was really turned off. The frustrating thing was this: it was a really good company and business opportunity. So, why was I turned off? Because the business plan was written in too sophisticated a manner.
Sep25
Written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource John Cavanaugh
Last week I was in Charlotte, North Carolina as a special guest for the important meetings that culminated in the nomination of Vice President Biden and President Obama for a second term in office. While there were many outstanding presentations given at this particular convention, three speeches clearly resonated with the audience inside Time Warner arena. So what was the one key to their effectiveness? The secret was the authenticity each featured speaker communicated from the stage.
Aug28
written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Jason Best & Sherwood Neiss
2013 is going to be an interesting year. It will be the year that the pieces of the puzzle come together for entrepreneurs. Prior to 2013 entrepreneurs were tasked with learning a lot of tangential yet not fully connected tasks. The idea, the business plan, the capital raising, the organization, the structure and the financials. It took more than an idea, it took a village of supporters, many of whom never got paid, to help an entrepreneur with a vision see the light of day. The one thing that won’t change is the people who will always rally around someone with a vision they believe in.
Aug6
From now until election day, those of us who have the misfortune of residency in “swing states” will continue to be subjected to an unrelenting barrage of paid media advertisements from political candidates as well as largely unregulated Political Action Committees. Formal and informal debates will be held by the nominees of our major political parties. Friends, neighbors, and coworkers will argue about competing proposals to fix our ailing economy. Most importantly, families will sit down at kitchen tables in order to balance their household budgets and carefully plan positive steps forward.
Aug3
written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Dave Lavinsky
One of the best things you can do when seeking funding is to build a Board of Advisors. Particularly since most other entrepreneurs and business owners don’t know to do this, it will give you a major competitive advantage.
Unlike a formal Board of Directors, a Board of Advisors is much more informal. While I do suggest giving Advisors warrants so they profit if the company succeeds, you do not have to pay and/or insure them like you do with typical Board of Directors members.
So, let me explain why I recommend forming a Board of Advisors and who you should ask to join.
Jul25
co-written by Subject Matter Resource Jason Best & Sherwood Neiss
Raising capital for your brilliant business idea through crowdfunding sounds like a simple and straightforward process, but it involves much more than setting up an online donation box. The SEC missing its original July 5 deadline to finalize regulations indicates this investment strategy is a little more complicated than it sounds. As the authors of the crowdfunding framework used in the JOBS Act (and life-long entrepreneurs ourselves), we offer the following insights when considering a crowdfunding campaign.
Jul6
written by MO.com Subject Matter Expert Ruth King
I wish that I had said that because it sums up what I’ve always believed and taught: you can’t make rational decisions when you are emotional.
“When you become angry you become stupid” was said by Dr. Ned Hallowell on the May, 2012 Success Magazine audio CD. He feels, as I do, that to make good decisions you have to get emotion out of the decision.
When you first find alarming things that your financial statements are telling you, you might not believe them, you might get angry, you may feel like you’ve been kicked in the stomach. If you find someone has been stealing from you, your initial emotions totally overtake your rational thought. If one of your personnel does something totally stupid, you get angry.
My rule has always been to…
Jun4
written by MO.com Subject Matter Expert Dave Lavinsky
When startup entrepreneurs seek funding for their businesses, they quickly realize the “chicken and egg” situation they are in. On one hand, they need money to build their infrastructure and generate revenues. While on the other hand, investors and lenders want to see that their infrastructure and revenues have already been established in order to minimize the investment risk.
As in all “chicken and egg” scenarios, there is no perfect solution. But one great solution is bootstrapping. Bootstrapping is the process of progressing your business with no outside capital. It allows you to start building infrastructure and revenues so that investors and lenders will then fund you to enable your future growth.
May23
written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Dave Lavinsky
Most entrepreneurs know that if they need funding they also need a business plan. Like a prospective employee needs a resume, every entrepreneur needs a business plan to present to funding sources.
Similarly to a resume, the paper alone won’t cause the reviewer (employer or investor) to say “yes.” Rather, initially the documents serve mostly as a screening mechanism. Specifically, they allow those reviewing the document to make a decision as to whether or not they should invest one of their precious resources in the candidate. And that precious resource is not their money, but their time.
That is, the initial goal of both a resume and a business plan is to convince the reader to take the interview or meeting. In the case of raising funding, you want the investor or lender to schedule a face-to-face meeting. Regardless of how good your business plan is, rarely if ever will they fund you without meeting you first.
Later in the process, after agreeing with the premise of your venture and that you and your team can execute on it, the investor will do a more comprehensive assessment of your business plan as part of their due diligence process.
Now that you know how your business plan will be used, here are some ways to improve it:
May18
written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Ruth King
All businesses must grow or they will eventually die. Why? Business costs go up each year. Suppliers demand more for their products, employees want raises, gasoline prices increase. If you continue to sell to the same customers at the same prices your company will become less profitable year after year and eventually go out of business.
Your company must become more productive; raise your prices, or both to survive. If you choose to grow at the rate of inflation, that’s okay. Growth is serving the same number of customers and simply raising prices. The company is stagnant with respect to the bottom line profits.
Another way to look at this: your company must be more productive the same percentage as the rate of inflation. If inflation increased one percent, your company must be one percent more productive to stay even.
Apr16
written by Subject Matter Resource Ilya Bodner
Entrepreneurs listen up! Things will be challenging, the road ahead is long and cold. There will be unexpected surprises both for the good and the bad. Whatever you do, do not give up on your desire to succeed.
Most of the times the issues that are the hardest to overcome involve money. “It’s all about the Benjamin’s”, as they say. Other, non-monetary issues, tend to have a solution; some solutions are more complex than others, but the technical fix can be found. It is with money related issues that entrepreneurs tend to give up their fight for success.
Not giving up is really hard but only those who push through get to brag about their successes as business owners.
Here is what one needs to master in order to weather the storm:
