Business Beginner

Starting a business is usually a very costly undertaking. You commonly hear about aspiring business owners requiring a 6-7 figure franchise fee, several rounds of startup funding from venture capitalists, or at least tens of thousands of dollars in small business loans from the bank to just get a business off the ground. Not only are these costs prohibitive to most hopeful entrepreneurs, they are by no means a guarantee that you'll even actually turn a profit! You could even end up losing everything if you buy into a flawed business or fail in your own entrepreneurial exploit. Due to these serious barriers to entry and liability, taking one of these paths to owning your own business just isn't realistic for the everyday person that wants to start a company on a budget. Luckily, there are plenty of great business opportunities out there with minimal initial costs and little to no risk. I've been successful in the past, and continue to be successful, with all of the methods...

          Shark Tank has been a hit show now for years and I've enjoyed every episode. The six main investor Sharks have very diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and investment perspectives.While most people usually think of Mark Cuban as the biggest (and wealthiest) shark, I've always focused more on the miserly "Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary . This Canadian turned Bostonian is "the only disciplined investor in the Shark Tank" as he likes to say. He's almost the antithesis of QVC Queen Lori Greiner who is most often very encouraging and passionate about the presenting entrepreneurs.            He's usually the harshest critic and can be quite brutal and offensive when evaluating entrepreneurs, products, and businesses. He tells it like it is, no sugar coating, like a real life Gordon Gekko . When he was a young aspiring entrepreneur, a big moment in his life was the harsh advice of his step-father telling him that he needed to stop h...

So you want to be an entrepreneur?  Congratulations on deciding to join the hundreds of thousands of people who take that leap every year! You didn’t think you were one of the few, did you? Clearly there are a lot of experienced professionals talking about online entrepreneurship nowadays and are qualified enough to give you solid startup advice on how to be successful.  So here is what you need to pack in your business brain bag before you set off on your  entrepreneurial journey . These are just a few tips on how to get started.  1) Know The Odds The downside to businesses being so easy (relatively speaking) to start is that you’ve got a massive amount of competition. The majority of entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses fail in their first year and even more in their second. The odds are against you even if you have a unique, well-executed, and resilient business. We don’t mean to scare you! But knowing this fact is important, so that you know exactly how...

I get questions on a daily basis about social media marketing, digital media, entrepreneurship, SEO, retail, and many other topics through various outlets. These questions come through my website, social media platforms, forums like Quora / Reddit / Google / Inbound.org, and other outlets. When I have a lot of information to share on a particular subject I'll usually write an in-depth answer in the form of an article here... but I don't always have the time. Sometimes I just give a quick answer, or whatever comes to mind first without edits.  It's actually ending up feeling a bit like hustling entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk 's book #AskGaryVee (which I'm finishing now before posting a review), but I've actually been doing this for years with previous businesses.  This will be my first installment of Bootstrap Business Blog Blitz, tackling quick questions from readers, viewers, peers, and friends. You'll also see plenty of internal links throughout which bri...

There is a common misconception that Leadership and Entrepreneurship can be separated. Entrepreneurs are leaders . Not all leaders are entrepreneurs but every entrepreneur is a leader.  Entrepreneurship is about selling. Selling is about influence . An entrepreneur must have sway. Once you have influenced someone to the point of action such as making a purchase. You have become a leader in some way. Some may choose to follow your advice.  So what makes people decide to buy ? Benefits. How do they benefit from your product or service? If the reward does not outweigh the price then people will not buy. In other words: What is the overall value of what you are selling?  Entrepreneurs are masters at adding value. This is what propels businesses from start-ups to multi-million dollar enterprises. Value. The more you can add value to someone else's life the easier they will part with their money for you. A true leader is someone that can add value to your life, while saving you...