Selling to small and midsize businesses often requires reaching top executives, but gatekeepers can pose significant challenges. With thorough preparation, personalized communication, and a strategic approach—including leveraging sales team insights and respecting gatekeeper roles—you can navigate these barriers and connect with key decision-makers effectively.
Tips to Make Successful Sales Calls Read More »
Discover How Corporate Bonds Can Provide Cash Flow During Revenue Delays, and Explore How Royalties Can Tie Investor Returns to Your Sales Without Control.
Advice About Bonds and Royalties to Fund Business Growth Read More »
There is a wide array of crowdfunding platforms, each with its own unique spin on raising funds.
23 Popular Crowdfunding Platforms (Updated 2024) Read More »
Unveiling The Harsh Reality of Business Funding: Delve into The Elusive World of Business Grants. Unveil The Truth Behind the Myth Of ‘Free Money’ For Startups And the High Costs of Chasing This Illusory Dream.
Debunking the Myth of Free Business Grants Read More »
This quiz was designed to test your knowledge of funding options. Are you ready to put your knowledge of funding options to the test?
Many Aspiring Entrepreneurs Naively Think the System Is Unfair and Rigged Against Them. It Is Not. They Just Don’t Get It and Probably Never Will Which Is Why They Should Never Try to Start a Business Because They Do Not Have What It Takes.
This Is Why Many People Should Never Be Entrepreneurs Read More »
6 TikTok Videos – Funding Options by Maturity, Sense & Respond, Action Trumps Mindset, Sales is Not Sleazy, Learn to Love the Process, Insurance Creates Gravity
TikTok – Small Business Advice You Can Use Best of December 2022 Read More »
Many Business Owners Will Face the Issue of Whether or Not to Make an Additional Business Investment in Their Venture. But Is It the Right Thing to Do or Are They Just Throwing Good Money After Bad?
How To Determine If Your Profits Justify Further Business Investment? Read More »
The “Valley of Death” For Startups Refers to The Negative Cash Flow Period in The Early Stages of a Business Before Their New Product or Service Is Bringing in Revenue from Real Customers. There Are a Number of Options to Bridge This Valley.
10 Tips For New Startups To Survive The Early Years Read More »
Most Businesses Require Some Form of Funding to Get Started. However, Based on What Business Stage the Business Is At, The Sources of Funding Will Be Different. This Is Where Your Funding Plan Comes in To Identify How the Business Will Secure Financing for Each Stage.
The 5 Stages of a Funding Plan Read More »
Discover Some Important but Often Unknown Facts About the Role of the SBA, Using Retirement Funds, And Private Investors as Sources of Funding
Video: Important And Unknown Facts About Some Common Sources Of Funding Read More »
The following video excerpt comes from my FREE What You Need to Know About Starting a Business course where I talk about the five things every small business needs to be successful.
Video: The 5 Things Every Small Business Needs To Be Successful Read More »
There are 11 distinctly different steps required to conduct a successful crowdfunding campaign which can take upwards or 20 weeks to complete
Crowdfunding Primer – What You Need To Know For A Successful Campaign Read More »
To Raise Private Equity from Acquaintances to Sophisticated Accredited Investors, Founders Will Need to Consider One Of Seven Funding Options.
An Introduction To 7 Useful Funding Options Beyond Friends And Family Read More »
A Value Investor Looks Beyond Just Financial Metrics When Investing in A Business. They Will Consider Both Quantitative Factors Such as The Amount of Return on Their Investment and Qualitative Factors Such as The Management Team and Commitment of The Founder(s).
Why Founders Must Acknowledge the Value Investor Mindset Read More »
Andrew Carnegie Was a Steel Baron and A Titan of Industry Whose History Contains Many Valuable Lessons for Small Business Owners.
11 Valuable Business Lessons from the Steel Baron Andrew Carnegie Read More »
An Angel Investor is “smart money”, in that the Angels have expertise and connections that the fledgling business entity desperately needs.
What You Need To Know About Angel Investors Read More »
Bootstrapping refers to starting a business without any external investment from sources other than the founder and is the best early-stage path for most startups.
You Need to Consider Bootstrapping Your Startup Read More »
Rather than follow the traditional routes of getting a loan or selling business shares to investors, have you considered ways to get customers to fund your startup?
How to Get Customers to Fund a Startup Read More »
Many Entrepreneurs Seek Dumb Money to Fund Their Startups. Dumb Money Places A Drag on The Business with Debt or Dilution of Ownership. Smart Money Provides More Than Money to A Business in Terms of Leverage from Additional Skills, Experience, And Contacts Which Increases the Value of a Business.
Why Startups Need Smart Money and Not Dumb Money Read More »
When a business approaches a lending institution about debt financing, the lender conducts an evaluation of the borrower using a method known as the 5 C’s of Credit
The 5 “C’s” of Credit Read More »
The Opportunity Discovery Canvas tool was designed to help entrepreneurs that have identified a problem to work through a basic framework to evaluate the feasibility of their solution.
Opportunity Discovery Canvas – How to Validate Potential Solutions Read More »
When It Comes to Selling Equity to Fund A Small Business Venture, You Need to Understand There Are 3 Types of Investors and They Are Not Created Equal.
How to Unlock Investor Funding – 3 Kinds of Investors Read More »
Within the world of debt financing, there is a continuum, as different lenders have different appetites for risk and reward.
What You Need To Know About The Debt Continuum Read More »
When entrepreneurs look at debt financing, their credit score (FICO) plays an important role in being able to get a loan. Essentially, a person’s credit score is computed on five dimensions, each with a different weight.
Why You Need To Understand Your Credit Score Read More »
Conventional business advice is that in order to have a successful business you need to write a business plan. However, did you know that the simple act of writing a business plan can often lead your business to fail?
The Simple Truth Why Business Plans Cause Business Failures Read More »
A question many franchise entrepreneurs have is related to how much money they will need as they conduct early-stage franchise research.
How to Find Out if You Have Enough Money to Buy a Franchise Read More »
Basically, there are two ways to fund a new business: debt and equity. Debt, commonly thought of as a loan, requires that the borrower/guarantor has an adequate cash flow or has enough unencumbered liquid assets to pledge as collateral. This collateral covers the debt’s principle and any liquidation costs and discounts in the event that
How to Make the Most of Equity Financing Read More »
while the government may understand the importance of small business in the overall economy, its definition often differs from the way most entrepreneurs may define them. As a result, the methods in which the government can inject money are primarily limited to guaranteeing loans and creating projects for a narrow slice of the business community.
The Feeble Role of Government to Stimulate Small Business Read More »
Guest post by: Christopher Ryan CEO or Fusion Marketing Partners and Center for Business Modeling. Chris is a SCORE colleague and a marketing and sales maven. We are super fans of each others work. The following post was published by Chris on his blog is February of 2016 and is chock full of valuable advice.
The Evolving Journey of the B2B Buyer Read More »
Previously, we looked at how the startup landscape has changed and that you might not need a formal business plan to successfully launch your business. In this post, we will look into why we keep getting the same old business advice. What has emerged, as the funding and risk gap has widened, is a greater
Why The Business Advice You Are Getting Is One Sided Read More »
Entrepreneurship Is a Potential Pathway Out of Poverty for Many Provided That They Understand Some Basic Entrepreneurial Principles.
Retail Arbitrage – The Homeless Can Be Entrepreneurs Too Read More »
I often encounter clients that want to create a non-profit business. They all too often think that the primary difference is just one pays taxes and the other does not. They think that as long as they have a social benefit, they can be considered a non-profit. However, there is a vast difference between their
Non-Profit or For-Profit? Read More »
The Campaign Follow-Up Step Involves Making Good on Your Campaign Promises. If You Fail to Meet Your Goal You Still Need to Thank Backers
Crowdfunding: Campaign Follow-up Read More »
The Campaign Execution Step Is When the Campaign Is Live on The Crowdfunding Platform and Backers Are Pledging Their Support to Your Campaign
Crowdfunding: Campaign Execution Read More »
The Campaign Write-Up Step Involves Creating the Campaign’s Landing Page and Includes At Least 8 Elements Necessary for A Successful Campaign
Crowdfunding: Campaign Write-Up Read More »
The Design Rewards Step Pertains to Reward-Based Crowdfunding Campaigns Only and Are a Series of Rewards to Incentivize Backers to Support Your Campaign
Crowdfunding: Design Rewards Read More »
Crowdfunding Community Building Involves Building Awareness Of Your Upcoming Campaign So When You Launch, Your Campaign Sees Early Success
Crowdfunding: Community Building Read More »
The Campaign Blog Is Actual Part of Community Building but Is So Vital to Your Campaign Success That It Should Be Considered Its Own Step
Crowdfunding: Campaign Blog Read More »
Campaign Influencers Involves Finding and Engaging Journals, Publications, Bloggers, and Any Other Influencers That Cover Your Area
Crowdfunding: Campaign Influencers Read More »
Going Social Involves Creating a Facebook Page & Getting Involved in Other Social Media Platforms/Groups to Bring Attention to Your Campaign
Crowdfunding: Going Social Read More »
Campaign support is about introducing your campaign to a list of people that might be interested in not only supporting you but in helping you throughout the process. In most cases, campaign support should take you about 2 weeks or so to do effectively. At this point in the process, you are making people aware
Crowdfunding: Campaign Support Read More »
Campaign Research Involves Talking to Several Campaign Owners and Asking Them If They Would Be Willing to Discuss Their Campaign Experience
Crowdfunding: Campaign Research Read More »
Campaign Platform Research Involves Finding What Projects Worked Best on Each Platform to Determine the Best Platform to Launch Your Campaign
Crowdfunding: Platform Research Read More »
So, you have a gem of an idea and want to get it off the ground. The first question is how much will it cost and can you come up with the money. We know that going to a lending institution like a bank to secure a business loan is an unlikely option and attracting
Crowdfunding: Process Overview Read More »
While crowdfunding is becoming more and more common, tax support and guidance for the campaign creators continue to remain unclear on many points. At a minimum, the tax treatment of funds generated through crowdfunding depends on whether the campaign is reward-based, donation-based, or equity-based. Moreover, if it is reward-based, the value of any reward offered
Taxes and Crowdfunding Read More »
When it comes to equity-based crowdfunding, start-up investments are characterized by a high degree of information asymmetry between the entrepreneur and the investors. To obtain a positive return, investors need to accurately assess both the qualifications and ability of an entrepreneur. They also need to accurately assess the potential of the entrepreneur’s idea. Traditional institutional
Information Asymmetry in Equity Crowdfunding Read More »
CrowdCube is the largest equity-based crowdfunding platform in the United Kingdom. Since its founding in 2008, it has facilitated more than $60 million in transactions to date. Combined, those transactions have involved nearly 88,000 investors and over 140 successfully funded ventures. The average individual equity-based investment was approximately $4,000, although investments ranged from as little
Some Equity-Based Crowdfunding Statistics Read More »
Generally speaking, crowdfunding is divided into creative campaigns, reward-based campaigns, and equity campaigns. In creative campaigns, such as a Michael Moore movie, the backers support the message or the “art” and make donations to help promote the cause. Creative campaigns have been around forever, however reward-based and equity campaigns are relatively new. In reward-based campaigns,
When it is time for an owner to sell his business, the wise seller will “recast” his financial reports to create a clearer and often better impression of his business for the buyer to see. If you are the buyer and the seller has not done a recasting of their financial statements, you’ll want to
Recasting Financial Reports When Selling Your Business Read More »
When completing a Business Model Canvas, it is helpful to guide the discussion through the use of questions. When it comes to looking at macroeconomic forces that will affect your business model, the following set of questions should help you in thinking more critically about your business model. These questions are broken into four categories:
Critical Thinking About Macroeconomic Forces Read More »
Traditionally, entrepreneurs had 2 options to raise funds to start their business. They could either get a loan or give away ownership to investors. Enter crowdfunding as a third option.
The Hidden Value of Crowdfunding Read More »
The next and final environmental forces block is “Macroeconomic Forces.” This section is used to determine if your business model can adjust to macroeconomic shifts. This is where keeping up with current events is important. In addition to watching the world and local news programs each day, I use an internet news aggregator that searches
Macroeconomic Forces and the Business Model Canvas Read More »
Growing up in Boston, on the way to the airport you would pass a series of very simple signs on the side of the road. They encouraged you to relocate to Boston and read: “If You”, “Lived Here”, “You Would”, “Be Home Now”. Burma-Shave became an outdoor advertising icon by delivering a catchy message with
The Sequence Signs Read More »
Retirement accounts qualify for special tax treatment by the IRS. A common retirement account is a 401k, where pretax dollars from you, which are often matched by your employer, are deposited into an account and allowed to grow tax-deferred. These funds are designed to create income during retirement and are subject to premature distribution penalties
Using a 401k Loan to Fund Your Business Read More »
By transferring a traditional IRA into a self-directed IRA, the IRA owner can invest in private businesses and in real estate as well as traditional sources
Using a Self-Directed IRA to Fund Your Business Read More »
Many would-be entrepreneurs have money tied up in retirement plans like IRAs or 401ks that could be used to fund their businesses. Many simply believe they can’t access these funds until they reach the age of 59.5 without being subject to a premature distribution penalty. That being said, there are a few ways that you
Retirement Account Funds New Business Read More »
Debt used to fund consumption, such as buying a new TV, is not a good use of debt. However, debt used to buy an income-producing asset such as a rental property, where the interest on the debt is less than the income derived from the principal invested, is considered a good use of debt. We
All Debt Is Not The Same Read More »
Often a company will spend months or even years developing a new product. The labor and material used to develop a new product or offering is considered Research and Development (R&D). R&D is often considered an expense to the company. Expenses are deducted from Revenue in the year they are incurred and help to reduce the
Should you Amortize or Expense your R&D? Read More »
More than seventy percent of Americans think we should spend more money on education to reduce class sizes. However, report after report indicates that unless a class size is very small, say, five students, there really is no difference in student achievement between a class of ten or a class of thirty. So why do
Do Your Own Analysis Read More »
A wise man once told me: “If you have a successful business, you will need more money.” He also said: “If you have an unsuccessful business, you will need more money.” The undisputed leading cause of business failure is that businesses just run out of money before they become profitable. Access to capital is, therefore, the
Do You Have Access To Capital? Read More »
