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It's been a long road and I can't thank you enough for joining me on this wild ride. I have loved every minute of writing this book; but, I will admit it was an intense project for sure. Lol. Now all eyes are on the launch, book tour and my fashion show at New York Fashion Week. I will bring you that update from New York City soon! You can watch the book come to life at my fashion show by going to Entrepreneur's Facebook page. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. EDT. There will be a special performance by Jonah Platt, a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, musician, composer, arranger, director and producer. Celebrities and influencers -- including Alison Brettschneider of @25Park will be walking the runway as well. Brettschneider calls herself a "true warrior of the digital age" and for good reason. She stands up for what matters and inspires her followers to do the same. Here is the link to our livestream. We hope you can tune in!
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Starting a business is more than quitting your day job and putting together a website for your new project. It involves the law, your money and your daily energy. When it comes to being your own boss, knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you can both protect and grow your business.
I’m not talking about the more you know about marketing or the more you know about your competition. I’m talking about the more you know about business itself. Here are three common business terms all self employed people need to understand.
Quarterly taxes
People who work for themselves don’t pay taxes in exactly the same way as people who are W2 employees for a company. In the W2 situation, a company helps pay taxes on your behalf and sends you tax information once a year.
When you work for yourself you have to pay taxes once a quarter. These are called, very helpfully, quarterly taxes. You can pay them by phone, online or mail in a check. They’re designed to ease the total burden of taxes due in April. Many freelancers though, don’t save enough for their quarterly taxes or fail to pay them throughout the year. It’s important to pay them on time and to regularly save for them, to avoid any fees or getting into trouble with the IRS.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is one of those business terms that you’ll hear a lot when you start a business. "Do you have someone doing your bookkeeping?” or “What do you use for bookkeeping?” are common questions. But what even is bookkeeping?
Broadly put, it’s keeping track of all your financial records. That means your income and expenses, and narrowed down, it means things like all your invoices, receipts, taxes and contracts. You can do this yourself by hand, or you can hire a bookkeeper, or you can use a platform like Due to manage it. What works for you will depend on your business and your needs.
Work agreement
A work agreement is a basic statement that lays out the type and scope of work that you’ll complete for a client. It’s not as rigid or binding as a contract, but it functions to lay the groundwork of a partnership in a similar way.
A work agreement is essential for freelancers, especially new ones. It can provide some protection for clients that want to take advantage of you. It can provide guidance if you get confused about what you’re trying to create.
These business terms are common in the self-employed world, and understanding them will make your work day smoother. Learn all you can about the functions of being self-employed and you’ll find that the profit comes a little easier.
Women must practice career self-defense against subtle and not-so-subtle challenges.
6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The sad truth is that women in business must always be on the lookout for people who will try to discredit them. The opposition could come in the form of a direct challenge to your authority or a sneak attack to damage your reputation with your clients, your customers, your bosses and peers. Ask any woman in any line of work, and she'll tell you how simple it is for a carefully planted seed of doubt or a well-placed bit of gossip to jeopardize her position by raising questions about her professional competence or her effectiveness in her business. Watching your back, unfortunately, is an inescapable part of the track to success. When it comes to protection from sneak attacks, you have to go it alone.
Sniper alert: king snakes, queen bees and mean girls
While working in big corporate law, I took on a high-stakes case requiring a team of associates and one junior partner. Unfortunately, all the junior partners were fully booked. Arriving to the "rescue," another senior partner volunteered to "help" me. No sooner had he signed on than he announced to me that he'd be taking lead on the entire case. I doubt that he saw his actions as an attempt to push me aside. He was simply doing what powerful men do: He was conflating his involvement with being the boss.
I didn't take his attempt to usurp me lying down. But, dealing with these sniper attacks is tricky business. A well-placed male enemy with deep connections in the old boys' network is no small matter. If you're not careful, one back-room political maneuver by a jealous rival could knock you off the rung you earned with your merit and grit.
For all the attacks that may come from men, however, what is often more unexpected is an attack from another woman. Whether arising from naked ambition or from the perception that there can be only one "queen bee" in the company, a back stab from within your own tribe carries its own unique sting.
While taking lead on a case for a Fortune 100 client, I pulled in several junior partners, including one woman. Within two weeks of bringing her on board, she was trying to poach the client. Her actions blindsided me. Fortunately, I had a 15-year relationship with the client, and she had zero chance of succeeding. Still, being double-crossed by someone who should be your ally is difficult to forget.
"Queen bee syndrome" describes a woman who has succeeded in her own career only to pull up the ladder behind her. It can also describe a woman who treats her female subordinates more critically than their male counterparts. I've long maintained that this corrosive phenomenon is rooted in the misguided perception that there is only room for one woman at the table, but I was surprised to learn that research now theorizes that queen bees are simply trying to emulate the men in an attempt to fit in.
Queen bees are trapped in a vicious cycle, according to one recent study. As they rise in their careers, they distance themselves from junior women, legitimizing and perpetuating the very gender discrimination that they faced while advancing their careers in male-dominated organizations. According to the study, queen bee behavior is a response to misogyny and the social-identity threats that women encounter in businesses controlled by men.
"Queen bees" may control the hive, but they're not the only women standing in the way of progress. "Mean girls" are women who undercut or bully out of a desire for supremacy, jealousy or in response to a perceived slight, real or imagined. A 2010 study conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute found that female bullies directed their hostilities toward other women 80 percent of the time. In contrast, male bullies are equal opportunity bullies. A 2011 study of 1,000 working women conducted by the American Management Association found that 95 percent of these women felt they had been "undermined by another woman at some point in their careers."
The fine art of career self-defense
Protect yourself from attack with these five strategies:
1. Maintain constant vigilance. It's not helpful to become paranoid or to spend your entire professional life looking for slights or attacks. It does, however, make sense to expect that an attack could come at any time and to guard against exclusions, putdowns and lies before they go too far.
2. Build alliances. Countering sabotage is much easier if you've already established genuine working relationships. Well-placed allies, including people senior to you, can tip you off to threats and come to your defense if needed. Don't neglect your broader network either. Leverage your contacts to build alliances beyond your own organization.
3. Don't let it slide when you are attacked. Your enemies need to know that you can't be trifled with -- you're tough as nails and will staunchly defend your position against their sabotage. Call out your attackers. Be direct. Make it clear that you're not inviting debate; you're simply explaining that you're fully up to speed and that sabotage won't go unpunished. You'll be surprised how effective open confrontation can be.
4. Keep it professional. Counter-sabotage and underhanded tactics rarely work. Stick to the high road no matter how tempting the low road may be. When the truth comes out -- and it will -- you want to be able to hold your head high. Your integrity will distinguish you from those who have tried to undermine you.
5. Go above and beyond in proving yourself. Women are held to higher performance standards than men. Starting on Day One, deploy all the skills women have -- talent, grit, emotional intelligence, femininity and strong relationships -- to build your standing with your organization. That way you'll be in as strong a position as possible when someone questions your character or suggests that you can't cut it in terms of performance.
Perhaps you'll be the rare woman who makes it through her career unscathed by sniper fire. But, it's smarter to assume that you won't and prepare yourself accordingly.
Take heart, because there are other paths to take to launch a company -- some very popular, and others virtually unknown.
6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
First, there was the initial idea. Then you ran it past multiple family members and friends. You decided that the idea was ready to release to the world. Then, as a newly minted entrepreneur, you sat back and realized the inevitable: You somehow needed to fund your startup.
Face it: When push comes to shove, a good idea, even a great one, is nothing without the practical back end. And it's at this point that young entrepreneurs who can’t self-fund their startups or obtain money from friends and family traditionally realize their limited choices: angel investor, crowdfunding or venture capitalists.
The problem is that angel investors are hard to find and even harder to lock down; and crowdfunding not only includes platform fees but is not very effective for non-consumer/B2C services.
The logical choice, therefore, becomes VC funding. To go this route, startups must partake in a tedious and long process that doesn't guarantee success. And at the end of the process, most startups are still rejected by VC investors: According to Fundable, only .05 percent of startups are funded this way, compared to the 57 percent that are self-funded and the 38 percent who receive funding from family and friends (interestingly, though, at .05 percent, VC funding is still the third most popular funding technique).
When you limit "startups" to seed and early-stage startups, the numbers get even worse. TheQ2 PwC / CB Insights MoneyTree report, found that for the seed-stage and early stage companies researchers examined, VC funding remained flat and declined, for both categories from Q1 to Q2.
So, what to do? Entrepreneurs may feel helpless and unsure of the other alternatives they have, but they should take heart because there are other paths to take to launch a company, some very popular, and others virtually unknown. Here are a few options they, and perhaps you, may not have thought of that offer a good alternative to VC funding.
An incubator is a great option to help launch your new business, as incubators typically provide not just office space but business coaching and mentoring. Using an incubator, startups can worry less about practical business technicalities. However, they must be mindful of the fact that these facilities rarely provide capital and that their tenure there will usually be limited to three to six months.
This method is more helpful, then, for initial guidance and mentorship, but has been used by many companies--and some such as Reddit turned out to be incredibly successful.
CVC funding
Corporate venture capital funding differs from regular VC funding in that larger corporations help fund your startup, as opposed to limited partners/investors or venture capital firms.
CVC funding is an opportunity for startups, particularly tech startups, to get a head start. An example is tech analytics company Hivery, which obtained CVC funding from Coca-Cola, in 2015. This method is popular because individual startups are generally granted greater independence, compared to what occurs with standard VC funding; but entrepreneurs must be mindful that it may limit their own decision-making flexibility on strategic options.
Becoming part of a “bigger thing”
My own company, The Glimpse Group, offers seed and early-stage companies another -- relatively unusual -- alternative, which is to acquire them and then provide them with an environment in which they can grow.
This model takes the best elements from accelerators and incubators, as well as from holding companies. It gives companies the same upside in their own venture they would have had after dilution in the regular angel/VC model; and, in addition, they receive equity in our company, as well.
Founders continue to manage their businesses but focus only on building their products and taking them to market without needing to spend time raising capital and attending to back office functions. They also have access to our peer network, a diversification of risk, access to mentors and a salary and benefits.
Microloans
Many private companies and non-profits offer small loans that range between $500 and $50,000, with the average around $13,000. Examples of microloans include SBA and small office/home office loans, known by the acronym SOHO.
Small loans can go a long way. Just ask The XP Agency, an experiential marketing agency which used this method to raise the $60,000 it needed to cover the up-front costs of producing its first event.
Peer-to-peer lending
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending offers another solution for small businesses. With this model, borrowers and lenders are connected via various online platforms. Loans here usually range from about $1,000 to about $35,000, and there is about 5 percent in additional closing costs.
The average annual rate of return for most P2P loans is 5 percent to 7 percent for borrowers, and investors pay a 1 percent transaction fee on all payments received. Popular P2P lending platforms include Zopa and Upstart. Common categories of P2P loans include student loans, real estate loans and payday loans.
Purchase-order financing
This method allows startups to accept large, new orders in return for getting the money right away. With purchase-order financing, companies give the money directly to the supplier, allowing profit to flow to the startup.
Purchase-order financing often covers a large portion of the requisite supplies, and sometimes even all of them. This process is often much easier than bank financing. Purchase-order financing can be beneficial to small businesses because it relies mostly on the company that has placed the order with the startup, and not the startup itself. Platforms created to assist this process include PurchaseOrderFinancing.com and others.
The upshot? To young and hungry entrepreneurs, I would say, yes, VC funding is an alternative to self-funding, which may not be possible or even ideal, given the lack of mentorship that comes with it.
However, there are other options to consider, either because you could not attain VC funding or just didn't want to deal with the loss of control or the possibility of misaligned goals between you and your investors. I noticed this problem when I started my first company back in the 1990s and created a model that felt right, and more importantly worked for entrepreneurs.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Back to the Future, the smash-hit movie trilogy, is 33 years old but continues to capture the public's imagination, even three decades on. Proof? When October 2015, rolled around, fans celebrated "Back to the Future" Day, marking the date that Doc Brown, Marty McFly and Jennifer Parker made their way into the future, in Back to the Future II.
More recently, the movie made news in August because of a mini-reunion at the Fan Expo in Boston, where questions of a remake or sequel were raised and, unfortunately, shut down once again.
This fascination level continues for many reasons, but I’m not writing about Back to the Future just because I think it’s awesome, I’m writing for another, very specific reason: The trilogy possesses lessons for entrepreneurs at every stage in their careers. Apart from just being a fun set of movies, the Back to the Future series is, in many ways, infused with the spirit of innovation.
What entrepreneurs can learn about innovation from Marty and Doc.
Back to the Future's lessons have less to do with the movie's outlandish technology and more with the characters we get to know. To start with, the series' premise flows around a serial entrepreneur and inventor, Doc Brown, who creates a time machine from a swanky, high-dollar car.
While that’s really cool, what’s most impressive about Doc Brown is that throughout his life, he never gave up on his vision of the Flux Capacitor.
Though the myth of the innovator is wrapped up with geniuses who hit it out of the park the first time around, much more often the myth revolves around those who failed, learned lessons, then moved forward to another, newer concept which had a major impact on the world.
That’s the story of Doc Brown and it’s also the success stories of some of the world’s biggest innovators, like Steve Jobs, whose biggest successes only came after his most crushing failures.
Doc Brown isn’t the only role model for entrepreneurs, either. When we look at Marty McFly, this message of never quitting carries over, albeit in a different way. Marty isn’t an innovator, but he is a problem solver. Solving problems in the face of adversity -- or, more often, in the presence of naysayers -- is a daily challenge for entrepreneurs.
Marty, in fact, is faced with being sent back in time and potentially being erased from the existence he knew. He’s repeatedly challenged by bullies and utilizes the world around him to overcome every obstacle. He turns a scooter into a skateboard to escape a bully named Biff (who becomes Marty's arch-enemy), and he cobbles together a sci-fi story to persuade his dad to ask his mom to the dance (and ensure he'll eventually come into the world).
Paying attention to the world around him, and his as well as others' needs is Marty's recipe for success.
Even Biff possesses some of the entrepreneurial spirit, seizing an opportunity when it’s presented in the second movie and starting his own auto-detailing business at the end of the first. Not that Biff is the role model entrepreneurs should latch on to, but the idea of seizing opportunity, never quitting and continuing forward -- regardless of who you are -- is one every entrepreneur should take to heart.
These comparisons are all well and good, but how does film theory turn into business practice? Here are three lessons from Back to the Future that we can apply to the entrepreneurial world.
1. Innovation knows no age limit.
Far too often, companies see those over 50 as “unable to innovate” and view those under 30 as magically able to pull the next Snapchat out of thin air. The reality is, innovation doesn’t know an age (or even a job title), and world-changing ideas don’t stop coming just because a person hits 40.
The Doc Brown character was in his late 60s when he invented time travel, despite coming up with the idea 30 years earlier. Meanwhile, in real life, Robert Noyce founded Intel when he was 41, and Bill Porter launched E*Trade at 54. According to the Kauffman Foundation, the chances of someone over 55 starting a new business is nearly double that of a person under 34 doing the same. Great Scott!
Moral of the story: Give everyone the opportunity to participate in the brainstorming of new ideas. Sometimes, the person you'd least expect is the one who changes a company’s trajectory.
2. Stop paying attention to the way things are; focus on where things are headed.
One of Marty’s biggest strengths is how he can quickly figure out the long-term ramifications of current actions. That’s not to say there aren't mistakes -- I'm looking at you, Back to the Future II -- but Marty nearly always stays one step ahead of his obstacles, be they the latest actions by Biff or the effects of time itself.
So, here's the lesson: Skate to where the puck is going, instead of where it was. That can make all the difference in the entrepreneurial world, too. Netflix started out as an alternative to Blockbuster DVD rentals, but the true genius of Ted Sarandos lay in his ability to see where the future of Blockbuster was headed before the video store chain did.
Netflix's innovation in the streaming movie space changed an entire industry, destroyed video rental giants and even gave HBO a run for its money.
3. Innovation doesn’t always mean creating something wholly new.
Rather than trying to steal plutonium or create a whole new time machine, Brown and McFly adapt the DeLorean to harness the power of lightning. Sometimes, the best path to innovation is in retooling existing technologies or ideas toward a new goal or endeavor.
Creating a dating app in the style of Tinder isn’t going to be innovative, but modifying those same concepts to work with a different industry may be. Take BarkBuddy, which uses the Tinder concept to match people looking for a dog with pets that need adoption. There’s a whole industry of “Tinder for (blank),” which takes the UI of Tinder and successfully applies it to a different niche. That's innovation by modification, and it's worth thinking about.
So, enjoy rewatching the Back to the Future movies. While the movies may not provide you any new business plan or inspiration for a new idea, the characters within them can provide everything a person needs to know about the attitudes an entrepreneur should have.
And don't forget to use Marty McFly as a role model: Seize opportunity where it comes, never give up and always look to the future. We’re entrepreneurs, after all. So, for where we’re going, we don’t need roads. We carve our own.
Companies partner for lab-grown THC, doctors warn against breastfeeding, and Oregon lowers medical limits.
2 min read
Welcome to Green Entrepreneur's video recap of the cannabis news you might have missed this week, hosted by our dope correspondent Conrad Martin.
Cannabis companies partner to produce lab-created THC
Weed stocks soared on Tuesday as Billion dollar Cannabis company Cronos Group, made a whopping $122 million dollar deal with US based GinkoBioworks. The intent of the partnership is to produce lab-created THC instead of extracting cannabinoids from the plant itself.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a warning to breastfeeding mothers to avoid cannabis. This comes off of the heals of a recent study that showed THC could be detected in breastmilk for up to 6 days after use.
Oregon lowers medical marijuana allowances
Oregon recently released new regulations limiting medical purchase limits from a pound and a half to just an ounce. The move is an attempt to stave off thos abusing the system and selling the product on the black market.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged a marijuana-focused investment fund with bilking investors out of more than $3 million and simultaneously warned the public about “scam artists” exploiting “hot” industries such as cannabis.
In a lawsuit, the SEC accuses Texas-based Greenview Investment Partners and its founder, Michael Cone, of using misleading marketing materials and bogus promises of high returns to defraud investors out of $3.3 million.
According to an SEC news release, Cone allegedly:
Employed a “boiler room sales staff” that made cold calls to investors and promised them up to 24 percent annual returns from investments in Greenview.
Used an alias to hide prior criminal convictions.
Lied about having a former agent from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on staff.
Falsely claimed to have a long record of profitably investing millions in cannabis-related businesses.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged a marijuana-focused investment fund with bilking investors out of more than $3 million and simultaneously warned the public about “scam artists” exploiting “hot” industries such as cannabis.
According to an SEC news release, Cone allegedly:
Employed a “boiler room sales staff” that made cold calls to investors and promised them up to 24% annual returns from investments in Greenview.
Used an alias to hide prior criminal convictions.
Lied about having a former agent from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on staff.
Falsely claimed to have a long record of profitably investing millions in cannabis-related businesses.
In reality, the SEC said, Greenview had no track record and its sole investment of $400,000 was in a cannabis company that had yet to harvest a crop.
This article was originally posted in Marijuana Business Daily.
This week’s roundup includes tips to grow your business with Email Marketing, increase traffic to your site from Social Media, and how to maintain the Online Reputation of your business.
Learn how to optimize your Content for featured snippets, and improve the Design of your Website. We’ve covered all of this news and, much more, below!
From the UpCity Blog:
Content Marketing:
Learn how to optimize your Content for featured snippets, from Stephan Spencer’s blog.
Anna Pusack provides actionable tips to maximize the appeal and efficiency of your Content.
Amarpreet Singh’s blog offers guidance to help marketers achieve impressive results using Content Marketing strategies.
Conversion Optimization:
Jen Saunders offers guidance to increase the Conversions of your website, by optimizing SEO meta descriptions.
Follow the valuable tips from Matthew Murray to increase the Conversion rate of your website.
Deepak Chauhan emphasizes the need to keep your checkout page simple, include trust elements and use social proof, for improving your Conversion Optimization efforts.
Rajesh Rawat discusses how tactics such as promoting videos, writing blogs and using focused landing pages, can improve the Conversion rate of your website.
Email Marketing:
Peter Ellington offers useful tips to grow your business with Email Marketing.
Kevin George highlights the significance of an Email Marketing calendar in planning your strategy.
Mario Gzz offers tips to help marketers improve the open rates and clickthrough rates of their Email Marketing campaigns.
Local Optimization:
Follow the tips from Chris Kirksey for taking your Local SEO efforts to a new high.
Chris Sharkey offers guidance to help marketers leverage Google My Business for the benefit of their Local businesses.
Learn how to create an effective SEO strategy for your Local business website, from Amit Raj’s blog.
Mobile Optimization:
Keith Hearn discusses how Mobile first indexing can impact the performance of your SEO campaigns.
Reputation Management:
Katherine Husmith emphasizes the need for creating a neutral Wikipedia article and apologizing when necessary, to maintain your business’ Online Reputation.
Search Engine Optimization:
John Ball highlights the best practices of website navigation to improve the performance of your SEO campaigns.
Shannon Dunn offers guidance to create an effective internal linking strategy that is imperative from the standpoint of user experience and SEO.
Ashish Sharma discusses how strategies such as using long tail keywords and allowing incoming links, can increase the Organic traffic of your website.
Social Optimization:
Amy Post offers tips to improve the performance of your B2B Social Media campaigns.
Jeannie Hill discusses how the synergy of Social Media and SEO strategies, can improve search rankings and user engagement of your website.
James Gurd highlights the significance of having a coherent Social Media strategy for your business.
Learn how infographics, attractive images and Social Media buttons can increase Social Media traffic to your website, from Raveen Paswan’s blog.
Isha Singh draws special attention to Social Media strategies that can make your brand popular and increase ROI.
UX/UI:
Sean McGowan highlights the less known sources that can help marketers to draw inspiration for UX Design.
Website Design:
Learn how strategies such as including social share buttons, using proper images and implementing calls to action can improve the Design of your Website, from Michael’s blog.
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Stop looking for love in all the wrong places on Amazon. Here's how to proceed effectively with the Amazon channel.
4 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Since the beginning of this year, Amazon Retail has notified thousands of small to medium-sized brands to inform them that it will no longer make available a Vendor Manager to interact with the brand. Now brands are expected to use the new Vendor Success Program (VSP), a self-service option where there is no opportunity to negotiate directly or discuss with someone at Amazon. This shift certainly leaves many brands scrambling to figure out how to proceed effectively with the Amazon channel.
Each Vendor Manager today can have up to 200 brands to manage. With Amazon now actively reducing the total number of Vendor Managers, even a brand selling millions of dollars of product each year to Amazon may find itself without a Vendor Manager. Instead, that brand must use the VSP program, featuring automated reordering and computer-based contract negotiation.
Many brands are going to find this shift frustrating; who really wants to be treated like just a collection of widgets for sale, without a human to discuss inventory, pricing or marketing issues? If Amazon Retail is basically marginalizing or breaking up with smaller brands, now is a highly suitable time for those brands to reflect and re-evaluate how they do business with the Amazon marketplace. Are there other effective ways to get their products to market on this channel? Are there other effective ways to promote and merchandise their products on this channel?
Fortunately, there may be several suitable options beyond dealing with an automated buyer. A brand should consider selling on Amazon through the third-party marketplace, either in conjunction with an authorized reseller that knows best practice for selling and advertising on Amazon, or as the seller of record of its own brand (essentially a direct-to-consumer model). And if the brand doesn't have or want to have the in-house Amazon channel capabilities, there are several firms that can be hired to be the outsourced teams running the day-to-day operations of a brand's third-party business on Amazon.
As a third-party seller or working through a known third-party seller, the brand is likely to find it has more control over a) what selection is carried on Amazon, b) how much inventory of those items is stocked, and c) what pricing is used to sell the items on this channel. I view these three levers as critical levers for which most brands gave up control when they sold through Vendor Central.
To be fair, brands engaged at any point selling product to Amazon Retail (through Vendor Central) are subject to the Product Availability Policy for Manufacturers (also known as the Amazon MOA), where Amazon expects the brand to offer Amazon Retail the option to source the brands' products at competitive terms for sale as Retail items only. Yet, if Amazon is going to marginalize your brand by forcing you into the VSP program, the likelihood of Amazon trying to enforce MOA on your brand is greatly reduced, leaving you the significant opportunity to evaluate shifting from being a first-party seller to a third-party seller, where the level of control of key business issues should increase, while your take-home margin as the seller (or wholesaler to a third-party seller) is likely to be much better than the wholesale margin you were earning while wholesaling to Amazon. If done properly, that incremental margin will help to fund additional Amazon channel investments you make in your brand (including listing optimization, advertising, and new product development).
So I ask, if you've just been dumped by Amazon Retail, isn't it time to get back on your feet, and take back control of your brand on this channel?
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For Entrepreneur Network partner Phil Town, the next stock market crash may be coming soon.
Town is confident the next crash is on the horizon, since the current market is distinctly overpriced. High valuations are making it difficult to secure any margin of safety price. Town points out the last time prices were this high was in 1929.
From Town's perspective, at times making money with the stock market involves waiting patiently. Town observes that many investors are pouring money into the market due to a perceived strong state. Town opts for a more passive approach, choosing to sit back and see where his money takes him, instead of falling into the hype. Town recommends being a smart investor by staying on the sidelines, and looking for opportunties to follow the smart money.
A stock market crash does not necessarily have to be a bad thing either. If you invest in cash, a tactic Warren Buffet often uses, you may be able to avoid having your stocks plummet and see a big return afterwards.
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The global software market in the small and medium businesses segment is estimated at US $50 Billion per year, and the enterprise software market is estimated to be above US $200 Billion per year, according to a report produced by Google & Accel Partners. These numbers clearly indicate that the software tools market is huge business today. Though software tools are aimed to make life less painful, a tool wrongly selected, or is not future proof, often lands a business in a messier situation, despite the enormous spend.
So, before embarking on a business software buying spree, it helps to ask a few fundamental questions to set the right strategy: Why do we need the software? What are we trying to achieve with it? How will it improve our employee productivity? How will it reduce our workflow processes?
If there aren’t enough clear answers to the above questions, it is wise to skip the purchase, and seek the help of specialists.
Assessing Your Business Needs
Talking to existing clients is a great first step in the journey of purchasing or upgrading software. Asking people in your existing network about what they think about particular software options will help you assess its worth before shelling out the money. There should be convincing reasons such as reduction in man-hours or a marked increase in efficiencies before purchasing a particular software. Understanding how long it would ideally take to adapt and how long did it take before realizing the benefits should drive the decision making.
Often, the best thing is to simply involve a vendor agnostic system integration consultant. Discussing in-depth about what one’s business does and what the leadership is trying to achieve by buying a particular tool will help you arrive at a solid decision. An integration consultant, with a wide exposure to the industry and hands-on experience will help perform a careful analysis to arrive at a recommendation of what tools that best suits an organization.
Just Push Play?
Challenging the status-quo will help push one’s knowledge boundaries and be aware of all the features a product brings. Many times, a lot of interesting and enriching features might be hidden, and do not translate to value despite implementation. On the other hand, many a time, a lot of needless features might only add to the clutter, and may add to the confusion of the end user. It always helps to reduce the clutter and have just what it takes to achieve one’s targets.
Sometimes, custom built applications may turn out to be less expensive and the right fit for a business. One may never know without a detailed analysis provided by an expert. The regular ways of procuring software have all changed. These days, the industry sees a lot of a bottom-up approach. No one wants to buy without a test drive.
Try it. Buy it.
It is a great proposition and a fail-safe strategy to opt for a 30-day free trial, or use the Freemium version before purchasing any software. This is the age of subscription. Many companies, especially the small and medium enterprises, choose to go for a pay-per-use model, where software is offered as a service (S-a-a-S). It is crucial to use it and get a hang of it before purchasing. All involved teams should therefore get a hands-on experience of the product. It is wise to let the users decide. A few extra bucks while finalizing should not bother as long as the product ticks all the right boxes, and is favored by the team.
What Do the Employees Think?
Slack, Dropbox, Trello are great examples of continuous and effective feedback that starts with the end user. First, various teams in an organization are introduced to these tools by their peers. Once a sizable number of employees adopt, and there is consensus, the CIO then negotiates an organization level agreement to deploy it across the company. This approach is radically different from the usual board-room decisions that fuel software purchase, and since the recommendations are generated from the users themselves, there are almost no chances that the purchase would go awry.
Knowing Which Software Vendor to Choose
Decision makers should do thorough research online by going through what people have to say about the business on review sites. Getting peer reviews also help. While an older software player in the market will also be able to provide better after-sales support, a new vendor might offer more innovations bundled with the offer. Making a choice after a careful weighing of the vendor’s credentials and hearing from peers is a great way to go about a software purchase.
The Migration Plan
As an organization grows, it may want to migrate to a bigger tool to consolidate functions, have access to more features, and also expect better returns on investment. On many occasions, the real nightmare begins when a team attempts to pull all data out completely, resulting in crashes and losses. Finally, many compliance requirements mandate data to be maintained for a few years. Companies should therefore choose the tool that best complies to the norms, while enabling easy and effortless export of data.
Manjunath is the Founder and CEO of Zivoke, LLC - which was awarded New York's Top Salesforce Implementation & Consulting Company. He is passionate about increasing the revenue of SMBs with less than 5000 employees, by automating their sales, marketing and support operations using Salesforce Solutions and Pardot. He helps customers across the US, UK and Canada gain maximum value from their Salesforce Investment. Manjunath loves football, traveling and reading during his leisure time.
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Millions of people pay close attention to what Warren Buffett has to say. This is who Buffett listens to.
7 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Charlie Munger is one of the greatest business minds of the past century. He is the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and right hand man of Warren Buffett. Throughout his career, Munger played a key role in Buffet’s success.
An interesting thing about Munger is he became one of the world’s most revered businessmen without taking a single class in business, economics, marketing, finance, or anything else of that nature. His formal education included meteorology at Cal Tech and law at Harvard.
Over the years, Munger has provided countless insights that entrepreneurs from all corners of the business world should keep close. While there are many, many lessons that can be taken away from Munger’s wisdom, I have chosen four of my favorites.
1. Develop a healthy relationship with the truth.
“I think that one should recognize reality even when one doesn’t like it; indeed, especially when one doesn’t like it.” -- Munger
As an entrepreneur, it’s surprisingly easy to develop tunnel vision -- keeping your eyes glued to the prize. As a result, you can grow ignorant to the ugly facts and truths surrounding you. A huge aspect of running a business is being able to face harsh realities and fight through them.
Between 1992 and 1995, Munger gave a number of speeches that dealt with psychology and economics. In one of the speeches, he talked about how avoiding the truth is how people create false realities. He gave an example of a student athlete flying over the Atlantic and never coming back. His mother simply did not accept the reality and never believed him to be dead. Munger described how this form of psychological denial can lead to numerous problems down the road.
Now, getting back to the (less morbid) business world, getting into a cycle of denial that blinds you from the harsh truths is a toxic trait that must be avoided. You need to be able to take a step back and critically examine the flaws of your business, no matter how big they might be.
2. Success stems from divergence.
“Mimicking the herd invites regression to the mean.” -- Munger
When you look at the most successful business leaders in the world, perhaps the most common pattern is they brought something new to the table; whether it was through innovation or disruption.
In a digital world, where people have access to just about every piece of information, there is a fine line between true innovation and adding to the noise. A huge part of Munger’s messaging deals with breaking norms and avoiding the “average.” The ability to move away from the average label is dependent on the ability to diverge.
We see this all the time in marketing. The most impactful brands are able to take an idea and bring it to the next level. One of my favorite examples of this is GoPro. Now video cameras. When GoPro came on the scene in the early 2000s, it was clear they were bringing something unique to the world of video. While there are many elements that make this company stand out, one of the key differentiators is the unspoken culture they sell with their products. This culture revolves around being adventurous and showcasing your experiences. A critical contributor to this culture is the GoPro Channel, a page on the website where people can submit their GoPro videos. The coolest ones are shown on the channel.
In many ways, this concept puts pressure on the customer to go out and do something extraordinary. So, when someone buys a GoPro, they are buying more than just a camera; they are buying a mindset of being awesome.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what your product or service is, there is always room for divergence. Your ability to find this special something and add a new twist is the key to success.
“Smart people aren’t exempt from professional disasters from overconfidence.” -- Munger
Munger is a huge believer in self-awareness and avoiding overconfidence, especially in this current era of constant connectedness. This is one of my favorite business tips that gets overlooked time and time again.
Unchecked egos are everywhere in the business world. This is especially true for companies in the midst of rapid growth. When business is booming, it’s very easy to get carried away and assume you can take on more and more challenges. For example, let’s say you’re an agency specializing in content marketing and have seen a great deal of success in recent years. It might seem like a natural progression to use your excess revenue to expand to other areas of marketing like PPC, display advertising and social media. If you saw success in one area of marketing, doing the same in other areas shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Truth be told, you might not have the same expertise in other, similar subsets of marketing. Therefore, you will need to bring in people who do. This is where things can get hairy. When you have an unchecked ego during rapid business growth, the ability to listen to others and accept their expertise over your own can be very difficult. However, failure to do so can easily run your operation into the ground.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how well your business is doing, do not let it go to your head, for this is the origin of countless failures.
4. Always maintain the student mindset.
“Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.” -- Munger
One of the things I like most about Munger is his mindset that one should never stop learning. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, no one has all the answers. However, the ones who commit to a lifetime of learning have way more than those who don’t.
I firmly believe that every single day is an opportunity to become smarter and more aware of the world around you. As the business world is constantly changing and evolving, this is an especially important mindset to have as an entrepreneur. Otherwise, growth is simply not possible.
Fortunately, there are many daily habits to help cement the student mindset. Start your mornings by taking 30 minutes or so to read up on the latest industry news or trending blog posts. Another thing you can do is keep a journal at the end of each day and write down two to three new tidbits or insights you picked up. If you can commit to this, it will become natural to think like a student throughout the day.
Learning goes way beyond the classroom. If you can properly foster this mindset and remain open to new ideas and approaches, your business will reap the benefits.
Munger is a true inspiration, whether you are in the business world or not. The wisdom he has shared throughout his illustrious career can be applied to all walks of life.
As an entrepreneur, the ability to rationalize, innovate, stay humble and retain a student mindset are some of the most important ingredients to achieving long term success. This post hardly scratches the surface of the wisdom Munger offers. If you haven’t read up on his words to live by, do yourself a favor and Google his name.
Advancements in technology have shaped how we do business in a number of ways. Arguably, one of the most important changes has been in how businesses communicate within their professional communities and with clients. For example, it wasn’t that long ago that a mailbox full of catalogs signaled the beginning of the holiday shopping season, where today a surge in emails and paid advertisements on social media are the cue.
The changes in technology have affected communications in ways other than how B2C businesses are reaching out to their customers. It’s completely shifted how businesses network and acquire new insights and connections within their industry.
Networking in the Digital Age
Ask any digital agency today what their strategy is for networking with other professionals in the industry or building their brand through visibility and the answers are practically guaranteed to be mostly digitally focused. Optimizing professional platforms like LinkedIn can be door openers for networking, and the majority of agencies today use email lists to keep in touch with clients and boost conversions.
With a digitally connected global village, is putting effort into networking as important as it was a just few years ago? Do agencies today seek out networking opportunities, or do the sit back and allow our digital connectivity t naturally bring connections to their door? We asked our agency partners about their approach to networking in the digital age and what strategies have brought them the most success.
“I generally prioritize online networking, as I can “be” in more places at once. In-person events are important too, but I normally reserve this for large “effort” situations like giving presentations. That said, I think in-person events are hugely underutilized by agencies as a way to invest in person development, education, and business development. When our agency was doing more in-person events, we actually had a spreadsheet that we used to track back revenue for specific services to specific events. That enabled us to see how profitable an event was, and for what service.” -Jared Carrizales, Founder of Heroic Search
“LinkedIn is not a huge focus in terms of first introductions. It’s a great second touch. Generally, in-person events take a second seat to any pressing client’s needs. Ultimately we measure the value of any networking event by its size and relevance to our business.” – Adam Rizzieri, Chief Marketing Officer at Accunity Digital Agency
“At Bleevit Interactive, we value the benefits of in-person networking and spend time attending mixers and other events. And since we are digital marketing agency we also know that content is king, so when we meet a prospect in the real world and have a conversation, we send a nice “meeting you” email along with a link to a blog post that may be of interest based on the conversation. Works wonders!” – Rick, Hogan, CEO & Co-Founder of Bleevit Interactive
How Important Is Networking for Digital Agencies?
We discovered that the majority of our agency partners feel that networking is an important, essential part of their business operations. Networking can connect agencies to leaders in their industry, expand their professional knowledge, keep them up to date on current trends and generate referrals that lead to new client relationships.
There’s also the fact that networking puts your brand’s face out there in front of other industry professionals and serves to elevate your professional reputation. A little effort put into networking can allow a small and relatively unknown agency to establish themselves firmly in the digital marketing community. That said, here are what a few individual digital agencies had to say about their own personal experience with networking opportunities and how they’ve helped their businesses grow.
“[Networking] is very important. Businesses love to work with people they’ve met and have interacted with – especially when we’re offering free value to small business who are trying to figure out how to build an online presence.” – Tyler Viertel, Director of Operations at Tell Me Your Goal
“Networking is crucial for our agency to bring in new leads and those interested in utilizing our services. By networking, the relationships begin with trust and reliability, which is the mission our agency stands for.” – Arya Bina, CEO of Kobe Digital
“Networking has been a game changer for us. I can’t point to THAT much direct business… definitely a few deals. But mostly it just gave us credibility locally & helped us meet people. Now many of the people we’ve met have become friends, partners, referral sources, employees, clients, etc.” – Chris Mechanic, CEO of WebMechanix
According to this it would seem that networking is a no-brainer for any digital agency. But then we take a trip back into real life and discover that while there’s value in networking, there are also challenges that prohibit some agencies from taking full advantage of their opportunities.
“We don’t nearly spend enough time networking. The challenge of course is finding events and associations with the right audience that aren’t cost prohibitive.” – Peter Horton, Founder and Managing Director of Telideo Productions
“I spend at least 6 hours each week networking. I’m part of BNI, the local Chamber of Commerce and a few other small groups. I do it because it works. The only downside, it takes time. When you’re networking and get to know people, you have to build trust. Once that trust is established, referrals follow. Although I’m not a fan for many reasons, I should use LinkedIn more than I currently do. I know it is powerful. However, to me, it seems like nobody on LinkedIn is real, everyone is just there for the sale. On top of that, the more I use it, the more my inbox gets flooded with people from other countries trying to sell me their services, and it gets incredibly annoying.” – Chris Kirksey, CEO of Direction, Inc.
Finding Value in Conferences and Networking Events
The frustrations with networking that some of our agency partners communicated help to illustrate the fact that there’s one form of non-digital communication that is still of incredible value to the industry – conferences and networking events. The right event can help to eliminate many of the networking woes, while putting agencies face to face with thought leaders in their industry and the industries they serve.
As mentioned in a few of the responses, time and cost can be major factors, especially for smaller agencies who are already at capacity with their client loads. For conference and networking events to be successful ventures, digital agencies should look for the opportunities that best meet their needs.
For example, some agencies prefer to attend only a few of the most reputable industry conferences where they know they’ll have a chance to learn from some of the most influential names in the business. Others prefer smaller networking events where they have the chance to connect one on one and plant the seed for professional relationships. Then there are others that aren’t all that interested in conferences for their own industry but prefer to attend events for the industries they serve as a way of gaining new insights to better serve their clients.
To put it more simply, quality over quantity and know what your goals are before signing up.
“About once a year we attend a conference. We usually pick a more technical conference where we can learn about new technologies. So far, we have not gotten any new business from these conferences. We learn a lot and they spark new ideas, and we meet lots of new people, but it has not really led to any new work. So, ultimately, conferences help us grow because of the knowledge we gain at them, but not because of the networking.” – Chris Simental, Co-Founder of Ripe Media
“I try to limit industry conferences to two or three a year. It definitely helps grow your network, however I’ve found that often times you run into the same people and hear the same presentations over and over again. Attending two or three good conferences per year will get you in touch with the right people and keep you updated on industry changes and forecasts.” – Kevin Watts, President of Raincross
Speaking at an Event
For agencies that have concerns about whether attending an industry event is really worth the investment of resources, one sure way of gaining the most networking power is by attending as guest speaker. For many in the digital marketing industry, taking center stage and sharing your own insights is one of the most effective ways of establishing authority and building a professional network.
It’s an unfortunate truth that there are many small agencies out there feel like they’re not big enough to hold much influence as speaker, when the reality is this couldn’t be further from the truth. Agencies of all sizes and areas of expertise have something valuable to contribute to their professional industry. It’s often the smaller agencies that work in niche markets and have experience with specialized skill sets that can make them especially valuable as guest speakers.
If you’re a little timid about stepping up and speaking, start by setting your sights on something smaller. For example, host your own local networking event or connect with your local Chamber of Commerce for opportunities. Also, the more you network, the more likely speaking opportunities will come your way without actively seeking them out yourself. Here’s what a few of our agency partners had to say about their personal experiences with speaking at industry events.
“Our speaking events have helped earn valuable backlinks and earns new business. These usually came from word of mouth referrals, but we’ve also landed speaking engagements via social media, and submitting to call-for-speakers requests.” – Jared Carrizales, Founder of Heroic Search
“I’ve had the opportunity to speak at several conferences in the last 20 years of my career in digital marketing covering topics such as SEO, E-Commerce, E-Mail Marketing and Pay-Per-Click Advertising. All of my speaking engagements were beneficial to creating new friendships, sharing of information and growth of my agency.” – Kevin Watts, President of Raincross
“Members of our leadership team have spoken at conferences, specifically around digital marketing programs that are applicable for certain industries or business types. Typically, conference organizers reach out to us directly requesting participation. These experiences helped our agency grow, not only through the interaction with the group at the event, but the exposure to new businesses overall.” – Leah Nolan, Managing Director of Storm Brain
Forming the Professional Connections You Need
Networking and professional connection building are invaluable tools for your agency’s success. While we understand the value of networking, we also understand the challenges that agencies face in making it a priority. That’s why we’re focused on making the process easier. We’ve built a community of agency partners who work to make each other stronger, and we’re committed to keeping growing agencies in the loop on industry events and future growth opportunity. If you’re a digital agency looking for a community, contact UpCity today and learn how we can help.
Jordan J Stella is a digital marketing professional whose passion is to help brands find their voice, tell their story, and connect with real people. As Customer Success Manager for UpCity, Jordan helps clients integrate our Agency Growth Engine into their existing workflows and processes.
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It's no secret that customers like to research their options before choosing a service. Today, that happens online in about five minutes. Customers search your website, your social media presence and any online reviews. They want to see if you're doing a good job. More importantly, they want to know if they can trust you.
While it's true that building trust is something that happens with every interaction, creating a professional brand can help you do that before your customers even talk to you. Developing a trustworthy brand is about more than just having a domain name and a hosting platform. (You should have those already!)
I've spent years developing professional brands for clients and myself and discovered core strategies to build trust and stand out from the competition during the process. Branding takes time, effort and investment, but it pays off in earned revenue and business growth.
Here are seven ways to start building your professional brand right now:
1. Hire design professionals.
Your logo is the face of your business. Because logo design affects the color scheme of your website, get this done first by hiring a freelancer or a company that specializes in logo design. I've used 99designs and LogoBee and have had excellent results. Spend time refining your logo. I request changes and provide input until the logo is perfect. The process typically takes 10 days.
After your logo is ready, hire a web designer to build your website. I prefer to use agencies or freelancers on platforms like Upwork.com. A freelancer platform acts as an intermediary between you and your designers, and you have the opportunity to review your experience after completion.
Instead of using free stock photos, purchase high-quality images from sites like iStock to make your pages stand out. Don't forget to include images of yourself and team on the site. Hire a professional photographer for executive head shots. I suggest posting a project on Thumbtack.com and have local photographers bid for the job. Use those photos on your website and social media so that consumers can put a face to your brand.
Two employees operated my first ecommerce business -- my father and me -- but you wouldn't have known that if you had called us. One of the first steps I took to change the perception of my business was to purchase a toll-free phone number through RingCentral for $25 a month.
When customers called the number, an automated system greeted them with, "Thanks for calling Wholesale Janitorial Supply!" and presented them with options to contact our sales, billing, tracking and service departments.
No matter what department they chose, the call went to the same place. I was the one answering all the lines! However, because customers believed we were a much larger company than we actually were, we did an incredible amount of business.
3. Use logos from companies you use.
Don't try to compete with other businesses for reputation and legitimacy. Use their reputation to validate your own. Place their logos and names on your website, even if they're just companies you buy from.
Restaurants do it all the time. How many times have you browsed a restaurant menu and noticed the logo for Coke or Pepsi products? How about your local hair salon? If you check its website, you'll likely see the names of national brands from the products it uses.
In addition to informing your customers about the products that go into making the services and experience they receive from you, you're also legitimizing your own brand by association.
On our insurance website, we prominently display logos of all the insurance companies we represent. This association technique has improved the conversion rates on all of my websites.
Anytime I find myself thinking about buying that new T-shirt or pair of shoes, I do what everyone else does: I check the online reviews. Today's online shopping experience can be summed up in five stars, and you'll find that rating system everywhere from Amazon products to Google search engine results.
Five-star customer feedback can skyrocket the legitimacy of your brand to new heights, but it doesn't have to be a passive experience. Sign up for services like the Better Business Bureau and Yelp. Display their logos prominently on your page and point your customers toward the five-star ratings you have earned.
Testimonials and reviews from large, third-party sites go a long way toward legitimizing your brand. What's more, review websites lift your standing with search engines and make it easier for customers to find you.
5. Employ privacy policies and consumer protection seals to win customer loyalty.
If you've been watching the news recently, you've seen consumer privacy disasters dragged into the spotlight. Major retailers and social media platforms have disclosed security breaches where customer information was stolen from their systems.
More and more, consumers care about how you handle their personal information.
Use this to your advantage. Create a privacy policy. Advocate for privacy and transparency, and use security seals to prove that you've taken active steps. Purchase a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate from a well-known company and place it prominently on your checkout page. We use either Symantec or Digicert and we pay more to get the extended validation to make the address bar green. The same goes for malware seals like Trust Guard.
When a customer prepares to pay, the seals remind them that they're protected and safe. It tells them your brand is one they can trust.
6. Maintain a social media presence and use it to connect with your target market.
Use social media to methodically engage with your fans and followers. Don't join every platform at once. Focus your online presence. Research where your base is likely to congregate, then create content to drive brand awareness.
Buy targeted ads on Facebook and promoted posts on Instagram to get your message in front of the right eyes. See if it drives business. By showing up on social media platforms that customers trust, you will generate brand recognition and increase consumer confidence.
7. Create a press page.
Imagine that a community newspaper wants to know more about your business. You might wonder who will see the article after it goes to print. There's no reason to let that publicity fade! We upload all press and articles to our website.
That's the power of press coverage and industry awards. They legitimize your business by making you an expert worth talking to. I've written and been mentioned in articles for numerous online industry publications, and I highlight the articles I've written on our company press pages so that they're easy to find.
For consumers, the fact that someone with influence thought you were important enough to talk to goes a long way toward brand validation.
Legitimacy is cumulative.
By itself, these changes are small. Some items -- like social media and customer testimonials -- take time to grow and cultivate, but every little change adds up. Every step you take to build trust creates the perception of a professional brand. If you prioritize how your customers perceive your brand, you'll see accelerated growth in no time.
