investors Tagged Articles

Attracting Angel Investors

What is an Angel Investor? Why should you use Angel Investors? What do Angel Investors invest in? How much is a typical investment? What should your proposal address?

Diversified are you really?

Many of you may think you are investors as I once thought and maybe many of you are, but most people have a 401k,TSP,ROTH and maybe a brokerage account through your bank or online broker. So, you have a retirement account and maybe you also nvest in mutual funds and stocks. Most people would say you are divesified, I say you are not and I will explain why I think so

Market Perspective

September was a long and volatile month in the financial services industry and markets are taking most investors on a wild and sometimes frightening ride. The news about corporate failures and bailouts is confusing and the economic news is disheartening. That said, I wanted to remind you that we have a financial plan in place that assumed we'd hit rough patches like this eventually. People react emotionally to money and volatility, and this fact is not new.

Factors That Influence Variable and Fixed Canadian Mortgage Rates

The cost of government bonds and their yield is among the major factors that influence variable and fixed Canadian mortgage rates. Bonds are actually a safe way of investing than stocks. When there is an irregular economy, the investors will benefit from the government bonds. When the market bull is going up, investors normally make a great gain.

Entrepreneurs, Investors Alert For Berkshire Investment Opportunity

The 50-1 Split of the Berkshire Hathaway Stock with passage will bring golden opportunity to investors, new and old alike. Those with existing shares and those who wish to jump on the band wagon will have new opportunity once passage has occurred.

Business Plan Examples

There are lots of business plan examples on the internet available for download. Some of these plans are easy to follow while others can be a little complicated. We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of using business plan examples available to the entrepreneur online and maybe help you make a choice that would be best for you. The average business plan will have the same key elements. This is important for consistency sake. Think about it from an investor's standpoint; they see many business plans and having the same format, more or less, will save them a lot of time, effort and more than a few questions. These are busy people and will not think twice about rejecting your proposal based on a business plan that does not meet the basic requirements. That is to say, the following

Example of a Business Plan

An example of a business plan would probably take up more room than I get on this website- unless I did a whole series. (That is something I just might think about.) But there are a lot of templates and you can find an example of a business plan that will most likely fit your business needs on the internet with a few key strokes on a search engine. But is it really that easy? I'll answer that question with a question; what ever is? A success example of a business plan, no matter how specialized will consist of the following:

Business Plan Example

A good business plan is essential as a first step towards establishing business practices or as a tool go get investors to take a serious look at your business. Often without a business plan already in hand serious investors will not even give you a second glance when you approach them seeking funding. This is just a necessary step to making your business dreams come true. Writing an business plan can be a daunting task but a good first step would be to find an business plan example that suites your needs. When using someone else's business plan example make sure they have all the basics covered. Every business plan has its main components

Free Business Plan Example

A good free business plan example is not that hard to find. A lot of the chosing relies on stylistic preferences. However, some are better than other for ease of reading and the ability for the reader to get the information they need as quickly as possible. This important when you realize that potential investors see business plans all the time and do not want to spend a lot of their time going through a plan to pick out the information they need. It’s not just a question of investors being able to process the information you are providing in an efficient manner either, other readers should be able to get the points you are driving home in a concise format as well.

Get Better Returns with Hybrid Securities

A relatively new type of income security is becoming popular in Australia and that is the Hybrid security. Given the strength of the Australian banking system investors should definitely be looking at these income securities over the traditional holdings in cash, fixed interest and bonds.

Everything You Want To Know About GIC Canada Rate

GIC Canada Rate stands for guaranteed investment certificate, which is a popular type of investment in Canada. The best thing about this investment is that investors get a guaranteed rate of return over a certain period of time. The rate is fixed in the beginning - at the time you are making the investment. For example, you might be promised a return of two percent if you invest for three years. GIC rates do not change with the changing market conditions. No matter how the market behaves at the time of the return, you will get what you are promised. Because of this special feature of the GIC Canada rate, this type of investment has gained rapid popularity in the banking industry in Canada.

Your business plan should indicate your risk appetite

It is important to determine your risk tolerance while busy writing your business plan. It will establish your attitude towards profit erosion and tell investors if you are serious to protect the profit that you will generate by pursuing your business opportunities. By establishing your risk appetite, you will also know to which extent you should and are willing to protect your profits. As a result, you will also profit from your business risks!

NDAs Reduce Business Development Risk

Business Development is an equally exciting and risky endeavor. Protect your organization by executing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to establishing relationships with unfamiliar vendors, potential partners, prospects, or investors. Use Demand Metric’s downloadable Non-Disclosure Agreement template as a starting point when drafting your various NDA documents.

Is Google In Trouble

Is Google in Trouble and Facing Bankruptcy? [NEW YORK - Wednesday] - by Devon Melk. Rumors are now running amok that the 2nd most powerful website on the entire Worldwide-Web may file BANKRUPTCY, with the deadline set for this December; being the date of both discharge and dissolution in a Federal Court of Law. This would come as a SHOCK to investors and "Googlers" alike who both profit and benefit from the use of the World's largest and most powerful search engine which receives far in excess of 1OO MILLION unique daily visitors and well over 3OO million individual searches daily - making it perhaps the single most valuable public data resource as an "information bank" online the world over. But is the rumor of google in trouble true or false?

Lesson #2: Build A Powerful Brand

In 2005, Branson said his goal was to turn Virgin into “the most respected brand in the world.” Branson is not far off from achieving his goal. Virgin was recently found to be one of the UK’s top three favourite and most respected brand names and both the brand and the man behind it are known throughout the world.

Lesson #4: Take Care of Your Team

“Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything,” Page explains to his company’s investors. “Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people. We have been lucky to recruit many creative, principled and hard working stars. We hope to recruit many more in the future. We will reward and treat them well.”

Lesson #2: Growth Happens in Bounds and Leaps – of Faith

Jeff Bezos is a risk taker. There are no other words to describe the man who put everything he had into a venture that many said was doomed to failure, even calling it Amazon.toast for the company’s first five years. Bezos might not have known what the future held in store for him and his small garage-based start-up, but he was sure about one thing: “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.”

Taking The World For A Ride: Ford Motor Co. Is Formed

High off the success of the Quadricycle, Ford and Murphy created the Detroit Automobile Co. in 1899, which was to focus on improving the design of the vehicle. The company lasted only one year before going bankrupt, unable to build cars at a fast enough rate.

Lesson #1: “Persistence is the single most important thing for success"

Matthews’ career has largely been characterized by two things: his persistent and active involvement in all of his companies, and his thorough knowledge of the industry in which he is involved.

Lesson #2: “I watch and learn. And I’m still watching and learning.”

Armed with both a Bachelor of Engineering and an MBA, Wilson has taken his fair share of educational courses, but the one he found the most valuable was one called “Consumer and Buyer Behaviour”. “It helped me understand things like product differentiation,” says Wilson, “how to make marketing memorable; advertising; the impact of brand logo and positioning, and post-purchase dissonance.”

After the Honeymoon

Here’s some information about what happens after the honeymoon is over when the shiitake hits the fan. There are three parts to each section: the problem, how you got to this point, and what to do now.

The Top Sixteen Lies of CEOs

At the suggestion of, and with the help of, Glenn Kelman, here are more lies. These are the lies of CEOs running a companies that are beyond the startup phase. Startup phase lies you’ve read here before.

Giving Up Salary for Equity After VC Funding

I got a great question the other day which highlights the tension that can emerge in an early stage company between VCs and entrepreneurs.

Payroll - Bi-weekly vs. Semi-monthly

I was on a board call for a company today that pays their employees bi-weekly (every two weeks). At some point in time there was a rationale for this since this company has a lot of hourly employees and there was a perception that folks would want to be paid every two weeks. So - presumably this was a logical decision at the time.

Do Your Investors Use Your Product?

Brad Spirrison has a nice article in the Chicago Sun-Times titled Feedburner’s investors have its technology at their fingertips. Among other things, he highlights that three of the FeedBurner investors – me, Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures, and Matt McCall at Portage Ventures are active bloggers that use FeedBurner’s services regularly.

The Art of Projections in a Dotcom 2.0 World

The world is running amok with entrepreneurs pitching every sort of Web 2.0, social networking, user-generated-content startup. It’s the attack of the bull-shiitake startup projections, so I’m losing my hearing; there’s a ringing in my head, and I get dizzy every once in a while. Before the world implodes (again), here is a top-tenish list of ways to create realistic projections in this Dotcom 2.0 world.

Recruiting a New Director

In the life of most companies with an active board of directors, it occasionally becomes necessary to recruit a new director.

What Does It Take to Scale A Web 2.0 Startup?

Last year, the meme of “you can start a company for minimal capital” made the rounds. This is still true. But – it’s not trivial to scale a company for minimal capital (it’s possible, but an exception, not the norm.) This meme is starting to make the rounds – Heather Green at BusinessWeek just wrote an article titled Make-or-Break Time For The Net Newbies.

Talking to Directors

On Saturday, I called a director at a company I’m on the board of to get a reality check on something that is going on. Ten minutes on the phone solved three things: (1) I was able to road test my idea with someone I respect and (2) I incorporated his feedback into my idea, and (3) we were calibrated.

Should You Force Your Investors To Use Your Product?

I had the following exchange with the CEO of one of my investments the other day. Q (Brad): It’s strange to me that only a few of the investors / board members are using Product X. Any insights?

The Twitter Lesson: No Business Plans Please

Seeing that Twitter closed a funding round, and spotting the associated incredulity about Evan's company not having a business plan, reminded me of something: Whatever your feelings about Twitter, business plans are overrated, and profits perhaps even more so.

Customer Enthusiasm

One of the great things about blogs is that it makes it easy for anyone (that has a blog) to express things – both good and bad. While mainstream media seems to be endlessly focused on “bad stuff sells newspapers”, people like to express (and consume) a full range of their experiences.

You get to choose

That's the cool thing about marketing. Unlike most other functions in the organization, you get to choose where and how you do what you do.

The Venture Capital Capital Calamity Thing

Yo, BusinessWeek, the Trouble with VCs is not a new story. And Web 2.0 is not a "legitimately exciting frontier". Nevertheless, it is good fun reading this wildly bearish piece about the venture capital business. It touches on some legit issues, and will get attention. The VC industry is at a crossroads, no question, but things also look way worse than they are if you look at the VC biz solely through an IT lens.

When I Say Theme, What Do I Meme?

The newest blog post up on the Foundry Group web site is titled What Is "Thematic Investing?" In this post, we try to describe more deeply what we mean when we say "we are thematic investors" or "we like horizontal stuff."

Hey, What if the Founder Gets Hit By a Bus? Nada

One of the questions investors in early-stage companies -- both private and public -- often ask is this: What if the founder gets hit by a bus? It is, of course, an investor's way of saying, "How much of this company's continuing success requires this man/women at the helm?"

The secret of the web (hint: it's a virtue)

Patience. Google was a very good search engine for two years before you started using it. The iPod was a dud.

Why are People Never Taken to Task?

Tonight I was trying to get a sense of what signals were missed earlier this year, so I got to reading comments from various well-known buy-side sorts. Here is a sample from March of 2008:

How to Tell If Your CEO Is Clueless

Pontificating, theorizing, and terrorizing abounds these days in tech startups. Here is a simple test to help you figure out if the startup you work for is in trouble. All you have to do is listen to your CEO talk to people for a week and determine if she uses these lines.

Kevin Rose and Tim Ferriss Discuss Angel Investing and Naming Companies

In this video, Kevin Rose — founder of Digg and others — and I talk about how we invest in other companies as “angels” and how we choose names for companies. Topics include:

Relationships Matter – A Lot

It blows my mind how many people think they can treat entrepreneurs and other investors poorly and think that it won’t come around to negatively impact them some time in the future.

Achievable avalanche opportunities

That's what your team wants. Your employees, your investors, your boss. They're willing to put in the time and the energy and the work if they think:

Fred Wilson and the Venture Capital (Non-)Cartel

When a capitalist says that he is pleased to see profits increase as his competitors disappear and the remainder hold the line on price is that a cartel? How is it different from the CEO of, say, Honda, gloating about the elimination of other auto companies, and then asking the remaining companies to hold car prices?

Give Your VCs Assignments

Over the weekend, Mark Suster wrote a great post titled How To Communicate with your Investors between Board Meetings. Mark continues to just tear it up with great advice for entrepreneurs. However, he left out one thing from the post – which is one of my favorite pieces of advice for entrepreneurs. Give your venture capitalists (and board members) assignments Mark alludes to this in many of his suggestions but he never comes out and says it. And, amazingly to me, many entrepreneurs either don’t ever think of this or don’t feel comfortable doing it. They should.

Pitching your business idea to potential investors

Before you approach the bank or other form of financier to fund your start-up or business expansion, you need to be sure that you've done your research and have confidence in your Business Plan. You then need to prepare and practise your business pitch.

Building the Perfect Startup Team - It's More Than Employees and Founders

When investors evaluate a start-up company, they report about 25% of the final decision is based on the team. Even if external funding isn't in the start-up's future plans, it's a good idea to consider the criteria used by investors; they have seen many startups come and go. So what makes an effective team? How do you build one? The success of any venture hinges upon the strength of the team and this is never more true than a company at its beginning. And the team is not just the company's founders and employees.

The Importance of Marketing for Fledgling Startups

Today’s investors are not interested in funding start-ups that don’t know how, where, and to whom to sell their products or services. Why are investors so concerned and why the entrepreneur should be too?

What will happen to small business funding?

Investors must change their mental views of “I don't feel like "spending money" because of the recession and lack of liquidity options. For startups it’s irrelevant, it’s a long road and management or lack of will be the determining factor.

The Commercial Real Estate Time Bomb

The deterioration resulting in a drop in commercial real estate values could result in over $1 trillion in upcoming headaches for financial institutions, investors and the administration, with the bulk of exposure concentrated at banks and insurance companies. The refinancing problem is the altogether entire current shut down in debt capital markets for assets, which affects all refinancings equally

How to think out of the box regarding Equity

Equity is expensive and investors want to buy assets for 10 to 30 cents on the dollar. There are a number of different sources for equity that can be accessed.

Finding and Evaluating Mobile Home Park Investments

Of all the questions I receive from investors that are looking to purchase a mobile home park there are two questions that are asked most often: 1) How do I find a mobile home park deal that makes sense? 2) How do I place a value on that mobile home park? These are important questions and there are several ways to find mobile home park investments and even more ways that one can approach evaluation of that investment.

Gravity Freeze

The media is contributing heavily to the belief that there's little hope for any forward progress in terms of our economy. Thanks to the continued negative press and coverage - a lot of people are Frozen in Gravity, hopeless as to a recovery of any kind.

Free Business Plan Outline

Here is a free business plan outline that might help you start, grow, or get financing.

The Surprising Resemblance between Christopher Columbus and Today’s Entrepreneurs

Christopher Columbus was an explorer and an adventurer, but today he would simply be called an entrepreneur. Let’s step back in time and take a look at Columbus through the eyes of today’s entrepreneurs and investors. Is the start-up funding climate really any different now?

Are Shifting Rules and Government Investment in Canadian Firms the Real Obstacle to Foreign VC Funding?

Every time we make an investment in a Canadian company or do some sort of transaction with a Canadian company we have a whole set of "surprises" (and I put quotes around the word surprises) that we have to figure out each time, so there is always a new set, or different set of rules that we have to go through . . .

Why Choose Network Marketing and Direct Sales to Build a Business?

Network marketing at its core is about an individual working to build their own business, and to develop a model that attracts other like minded people to want to come work for them. It’s about entrepreneurship – breaking out of the traditional ‘employee’ mold and mindset, and then developing a business that you have control over its – and your – destiny.

ETF For Life!

So far this week has been slow in regards to commodity ETFs. Gold continues to shine while silver refuses to make a move higher. Crude oil has a nice bull flag and we are waiting for a breakout and setup while natural gas continues to see selling pressure.

Trivita Review - A Look At This Home Business Company

If your here your probably looking to join Trivita, or have already joined them. Well you have to come to the right place because I'm going to give you my opinion on everything related to Trivita.

Five Elements of a Credible Startup Marketing Plan

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Forex Trading - Trader Psychology

Professional athletes are often told by their coaches that their attitudes on the field can affect whether they win or lose. That's even more true in Forex trading. It sounds like the standard motivational speech, but having the right frame of mind can definitely influence your trading results. There are many aspects of Forex trading that are outside the investor's control. Forex market participants number in the millions - traders for the world's largest banks, huge governments and individuals just like you. Unlike stocks, even the big traders have a tiny effect on exchange rates.

Stock Prices Rise 21% When Firms Announce Energy Management Projects

When selecting projects under a limited budget, a firm should implement the project that will return the most value. Ultimately, firm value is measured by stock price, which can be impacted when the firm makes a major announcement. This paper shows that announcements of energy management projects correlate with a 21.33% increase in stock price within 150 days of the announcement. This increase is in addition to the risk-adjusted return the firm would normally experience. For example, during a “bull market” a firm’s expected return was 10%. After the announcement, the return would increase by 21.33%, for a net return of 31.33%. These results suggest that investors react positively to energy management projects. This outcome demonstrates one more strategic incentive for firms to implement energy management projects.

The Thin Line Between Persuasion and Manipulation

We practice the art of persuasion every day in our businesses. We bend our audiences' beliefs through the stories and information we share, through the brand or image we create, through the sales discussions we guide so carefully. So where's the line between sales and marketing persuasion - and manipulation?

The Importance of Loving What You Do

Why is doing something that you love, so dang important? Why, because it sustains you for the long haul, of course. Well (you ask) won't my love of making money sustain me for the long haul? And (I answer) - No my friend, doing something you are indifferent to, just because it makes you rich, is not a long term success strategy.

Get Rich Quick Schemes

We all want to make a lot of money quickly, and hence the popularity of get rich quick schemes. Many such schemes are nothing more than scams,while the rest fail to live up to their promise. But are there some get rich quick schemes that actually works?

Warren Buffett and his Effect on the Stock Market! Part 2

Buffet is indeed one of the greatest investors to ever walk the face of the earth, and his strategies and ideas carry tremendous weight.   He influences the influencers and very often his beliefs are taken out of context and therefore misunderstood and lead to stock bubbles.

Public Relations Success Stories

What makes public relations so fascinating are the unexpected perks. While you’re reaching your target market and promotional goals via public relations that press coverage can also lead to other money making ventures and career opportunities.

Don't Be Fooled By The Dollar's Rally!

Lately, I’ve been talking about the dollar’s decline...and so far, I’ve been right. However, the last few days in the market has gotten some traders to question their positions and its even scared others out of their positions. Not me! Here’s why...

Got an opinion on Stocks? Then you have one on GBP/USD too!

I find that many people coming from the stock market into the FX market don't think they know much about forex. However, if you have an opinion about where stocks might go, then you have an opinion about where this currency pair may be going.

Warren Buffett and his Effect on the Stock Market!

When Warren Buffett speaks, people listen. However, when he is misinterpreted or taken out of context his words carry so much weight that they can have a large negative effect.

Equity Splits

I’ve been working with a couple of clients recently on how to give equity to other people coming into the business, and it’s definitely a recurring theme which causes a lot of debate and difficulty.

Market tells Bernanke: Take a Hike!

Much has been made of the inflation vs. deflation debate as of late, but at the end of the day neither will be seem important if investors have no confidence in our economy. If you want the markets to be stronger, then you have to project strength and not weakness.

Five Things Investors Want to Know

Many good ideas never get to market because of a lack of knowledge about what is important to potential investors. Here is a list of five important topics, about which investors want to know that you are an expert.

Differentiation-Based Leadership: Three questions that every leader must ask

The more competition you face, the greater the need to highlight the differentiation -- the unique advantage of your product or service -- in order to succeed in the marketplace. Differentiation-based leadership places the onus of grasping, defining and communicating that differentiation on the shoulders of the leader, and extends the concept to encompass every area of business -- including the leader him or herself. Using differentiation as the central principle of strategic competitive advantage, these are the three questions that every leader must ask.

Bootstrapping Your Start Up Business.

You're better off spending money on only those things you absolutely need until you have established your business as viable. Once you have done this, you can enter the arena of capital formation through equity funding. You'll have a much better story to tell your potential investors AND a much greater likelihood of getting financial backing.

The Insider's Guide to Penny Stocks, Part 2!

Despite all of the warnings, the appetite for penny stocks is greater than ever.   Investors routinely see triple digit gains and think that even if they can capture even a portion of those returns they are ahead of the game.   Sadly this rarely happens, as they become victims of a “pump and dump” scam. Here’s how it works.

How to Build Quality Financial Projections

“Financial projections are part art and part science”. So what does that mean? It means that you won’t know how to do them until you have done them. Sure there are some things you can estimate based on your knowledge and experience with a particular type of business, but the rest has to come from research. And, that research, is part of the overall business plan. Find out how to get them done in this article.

Entrepreneurs – What Should Be In Your Business Plan?

You are setting up your business and know that you need a business plan but you have no idea what should be in it. Well here are a few ideas for you:

Here’s why “Buy & Hold” Investing is Dead!

Veteran Financial Planner explains why Buy and Hold Investing is Dead

Obama Stock Analyst Turned Currency Analyst

China's calling for a super reserve currency as the Fed and Treasury stack on trillions of dollars in US debt. While I don't think China will get their wish for a new global reserve currency anytime soon, I feel their pain. Once foreigners stop buying our debt, we're in big trouble!

Mars and Venus – Part V. Buyers and Sellers Want to Close the Sale for Different Reasons.

Do you remember that last significant sale you made? Do you remember the buzz you felt from the exhilaration of closing? So what did your buyer feel at that stage? Do you know precisely why they felt the way they did? If you can not tell me for certainty, the real reason they finally made the decision to purchase, then maybe this article could help you close significantly more sales.

Can You Afford Not To Use Film Tax Credits When Financing a Film In Canada - An Investor Primer

Information on Canadian film tax credits and how producers and investors can utilize and monetize these tax credits when financing a film, tv or digital media project .

Avoid A Reputation Online Equivalent To The One Of A Real Life Jerk

Currently, we live and survive in two very different worlds: a real one and a virtual one and both can be equally important depending on the situation and angle in which events are viewed or experienced.

Overcoming the riskavoidance

Today the incredible woes of our economy have shown how we have become addicted to “stuff”. As we accumulate more and more stuff, we are continually inundated with marketing from businesses teaching us what we have is never enough. In order to be happy we need to go out and buy more. So we do. Eventually came to the point of cheaper credit allowing us to borrow more money with the notion of paying it back later. And then we lost control. while credit is tightening all around us and sales slumping in almost ever sector in our economy. “… the underlying reality endures: after two decades in...extraordinary surges of borrowed money...a new era of risk-avoidance appears at hand.”Peter S. Goodman, 6.5% Out of Work, The New York Times, Saturday, November 8th, 2008, p. A20. How to become successful in this “post-stuff” world,

Investors in People Accreditation what questions are asked

A detailed list of the questions asked in assessment for Investors in People in the UK at a smaller sized legal recruitment consultancy. Guidance and advice on answering the questions and trying to ensure that the responses match the criteria in order to maximise the chances of gaining accreditation.

Top 5 Small Business Franchise Opportunities At Your Fingertips

A small business franchise is a great way to break into the business world in this economy. You get the stability of a franchise (one of the few sectors of business that has shown growth in the last year) and you get all of the benefits of owning and operating your own business. Here's 5 great examples of small business franchises currently available.

Entrepreneurs Want A Smoothly Running Profit Making Business?

You’ve done all the hard work and your business is starting to turn over a profit. Have you though about the benefits of getting it running smoothly and efficiently so that you don’t get massive peaks and troughs of income? So how do you go about turning your business into a smooth running machine?

Media survival tactics in an economic downturn

When trouble strikes and your business is hurting, it is tempting to retreat from the public eye and refuse all media interviews. But sometimes there are good reasons to speak out.

Start-up Financing & Equity: What is Dilution?

Equity dilution reapportions a stockholder’s percentage of equity (stock) in a company. Here’s a scenario to demonstrate how equity dilution works.

Start A Email Marketing Campaign For Extra Retirement Income

With the world’s economy heading for a recession and investors seeing their retirement savings taking a serious hit, many are searching for ideas to earn supplemental retirement income. Starting a Internet home business is an option many are choosing and running a successful email marketing campaign is a vital part in order to earn money from home.

Why Most People Fail to Make Money Online

Internet is, in my opinion, the best tool ever invented. I just love it. It has made starting companies a lot easier. However, most Internet companies fail to make any money. Why is that? Is starting an online business different from starting any other business? Yes and no. Yes, the technologies change. And no, most basic principles still apply. You still need to understand your target market, learn what they want, and provide them with it in a cost-effective way. You still need to learn what their buttons are and how to push them. You still need to know about finances, leadership, management, marketing, and sales.

Focus On Where You Want To Go, Not The Wall!

While events beyond our control do throw roadblocks in our way, the people who continue to have success are the ones who focus on where they want to go, not on the mess they're hoping to avoid.

Take Your Elevator Speech to the Next Level in 5 Simple Steps

If you do much networking, chances are you’ve delivered your elevator speech before. But even if you never go to a networking meeting, you still have plenty of opportunities to harness the power of a persuasive elevator speech.

Small Business Interview Series – Website Design and Development

Understanding the website development process is important for small business owners - a well designed and programmed website will add value to your bottom line by engaging your target audience and generating leads. In this edition of the small business interview series, I speak with Jordan Klassen, Vancouver Web Designer, about website design and strategy.

When Strategies Are Not Strategic......

Modern business planning owes it origins to two very different parents.

What Do Your Business Emails Reveal About You

Why should you worry about how your emails are reviewed by their recipients? Because in business, you are constantly being judged by your customers, your employees, your investors, your partners, and your peers.

SWOT Analysis Is No Magic 8 Ball

Q: A key investor in my business has suggested that I hire a consultant to do a SWOT Analysis to help plan for the future. I try not to argue with my investors, but I'm not so sure I need to have this done. What do you think? -- Laurie B. A: Laurie, before you call in the SWOT team to deal with this investor (sorry, couldn't resist that one), let me tell you exactly what a SWOT Analysis is and how it can not only help you plan for

Do You Have What It Taks To Be An Entrepreneur

There are a variety of skills you'll need to succeed as an entrepreneur and chances are do not possess them all. One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that if you lack certain skills you can always hire people with those skills to help round out your company skill set.

The Key Benefits to Having a Business Plan

If you are considering establishing a business of your own, it is important to understand the key benefits to having a business plan. A business plan is a document that is strategic in nature and explains the current status of a business or a proposed business. If you are in the developmental stages of a business endeavor the business plan is an essential component to the achievement of the goals that you have for that business.

5 Not So Obvious Business Plan Mistakes to Avoid

Everyone knows they need one. Everyone plans on writing one, eventually. But not everyone does it. Why? Because it’s so easy to put off and it’s such a chore. I’m talking about writing a business plan. Many business owners put more effort into planning their vacations than they put into planning their businesses. This is a shame because an entrepreneur with a business plan is much more likely to succeed than one without a plan.

6 Ways To Avoid Being Scammed When Buying A “Business Opportunity”

When we decide to pursue our dreams, to go for what we truly want instead of settling for whatever comes along, we automatically become vulnerable to being taken advantage of. Dreams are often so fragile and yet so formidable that they're easily trampled on or abandoned. So whenever someone comes along who tells us what we so much want and need to hear, we can be like putty in their hands.

The FTC on Earnings Claims Statements

Are you considering buying a franchise? One of the first steps you ought to take is to determine whether that franchise is doing well or poorly financially, which involves determining what the franchise’s actual quarterly and/or annual earnings are.

How to present to Investors

The top 5 tips to make that investment presentation go well and increase the likely-hood of getting funding.

Million Dollar Mistakes

Want to avoid common start-up missteps? Read on...

Start Up Funding - Lessons From Success

If you need money start a home based business, where do you look? A good place to start is to consider where successful companies found the money they needed.

Finding Funding

These days, not everyone starting a business needs funding, but if you do, you’ll need to think about the options open to you. Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking takes you through the paths available.

Sample Term Sheet

If the venture capitalists are interested, they will very quickly come up with a draft term sheet for you which gives an overview of the conditions under which they would make an investment in your company. (see next page for a sample term sheet).

Two Ways for Entrepreneurs to Manage Risk and Avoid Losing Their Shirts

One habit that separates successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones is managing risk. This article suggests two important tactics that every entrepreneur should lock in place in order to avoid losing their shirts.

Steps to Raising Money for Your New Venture

Raising money can be intimidating, especially if you are new at it. Learn the documents you need to prepare, in advance to maximize your chances of getting everything you want from investors. Prepare a "One Line Pitch," develop a Business Summary, and craft a Power-Point presentation that motivates rather than putting potential investors asleep.

VI. D. Shareholder Protection: WHAT DETERMINES STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA?

Another key determinant of stock market development is the level of shareholder protection in publicly traded companies, as stipulated in securities or company laws (Shleifer and Vishny, 1997).

Prove that what you have is sellable and ask for the right amount of money

Prove that what you have is sellable. You have to pick something you can develop on a small budget and sell in a reasonable amount of time. It can take years to build a broad product and then more time to sell it. If you are looking to raise capital, that is a hard pitch to sell investors on. Find a product that you can bring to market quickly and start earning revenues with to prove yourself. Do not get distracted by your vision.

Financial Management

Most entrepreneurs I know have taken few, if any, business courses. They are creative, imaginative, and ambitious to no end, but they couldn’t tell you the first thing about what sound financial management means. If you’re not one of those entrepreneurs, then read no further. Go about your merry sound financial management way. But, if you’re one of those entrepreneurs who are finding themselves drowning in the spreadsheets and jargon of the financial world, keep reading for tips on how to stay afloat.

Perfecting Your Pitch: Winning the Hearts and Minds of Investors

The keys to increasing your effectiveness with prospective investors. This article provides a detailed overview of the components of a winning presentation, and it provides tips on what to do, and what not to do, if you want to persuade investors to finance your company.

Technology Innovations at Grameen Foundation USA

How will easy, affordable and reliable access for a person in a remote village be provided? When will this person have the ability to make a simple one-minute call, send a complaint to the local government, or make a loan payment without undo cost or travel difficulty? The microfinance industry is answering these questions with technological innovations.

Financing Options for Start-ups

One of the biggest challenges for many start-ups is to find money to keep the company running. This article outlines some ways in which start-ups can acquire financing for their business.

The business plan and why you need it

As a business owner, you have to be aware of and work with so many variables – like creating a compelling product, building a great team, generating sales and keeping your customers loyal. Writing a business plan helps you as it will guide you in understanding how your company operates. The process of writing a business plan, will help you learn how to forecast any challenges, understand what resources you would need and even manage your own company more effectively.

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