Helen Lindsey

Getting a new business off the ground is a great achievement and the more advice and support you have the better your chances of success. There are hundreds of small business development centres (SBDCs) throughout the United States that help first-time entrepreneurs and small business owners establish sustainable and profitable businesses. Here, Sarah Hovet explores the role of SBDCs, how to find your local office, what kind of resources are available, and how they can help y...

Very few startups are successful at raising venture capital and any entrepreneur who's faced the challenge of pitching to investors knows how grueling the process can be. There's no experience quite like it and to stand a good chance of success, you need to be as prepared as possible. For entrepreneurs raising funding for the first time, the best thing to do is learn from others who have already been through the process and get their advice. With that in mind, ten successful entrepreneurs s...

Companies may underestimate the power of Instagram for business. Yet among the top social media platforms, Instagram boasts the highest engagement rate for brands with 80 per cent of its 500 million daily active users following a business. And having already rolled out a number of business-specific features, the platform is gradually becoming a fully functional ecommerce platform, writes Michael Burke. To help you leverage the power of Instagram, Burke shares here his top tips for turn...

Every entrepreneur needs to master the art of delivering a compelling elevator pitch. While an actual elevator is rarely involved, it's the brevity of an elevator ride that's important to keep in mind. The idea being that when someone asks what your company does, you can deliver a summary that sparks their interest in less than 40 seconds. Like anything else, practice makes perfect and as you get more used to delivering your pitch it will sound natural even though it should be carefully prepared...

Feedback is one of the most important tools you have for keeping your team on track. When it's given in the right way and with the right intentions, feedback improves an employee's performance and contributes to their personal and professional growth. Honest feedback also builds trust in you as a leader. Badly timed or poorly delivered feedback, on the other hand, is ineffective and may even be counterproductive. In this article, Stephanie Vozza shares some top tips from leadership expert Cheryl...

Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. It often involves a lot of hard work, long hours, multiple roles and responsibilities, and making decisions on a daily basis that may have important consequences for the business. And the uncertainty, frustration and stress that come with it can be emotionally draining. However, you can avoid burning out "by approaching entrepreneurship realistically," writes Jaime Faulkner. In this blog post, Faulkner explores some of the factors that contribute to burnout a...

Likeability and trust are important currencies in business. People prefer to do business with people they like and the more they like you, the more they trust you. Consumers base their buying decisions on emotions, not rational thinking, and they're more likely to create an emotional connection with a likeable business. Since friendliness is a major factor in likeability, it's an important part of the customer experience. Yet many businesses make the mistake of sacrificing friendliness for the s...

There are numerous ways to secure the funding you need to get a new business off the ground. When it comes to growing the business however, convincing venture capitalists to back your business is often seen as the ultimate form of validation. The fundraising process can be a challenging, time consuming and costly endeavour. And while a successful funding round can bring significant benefits, there are also some potential downsides, writes Adam Cragg. To help you make the right choice for yo...

Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of thinking their idea for a new product is so great all they have to do is build it and consumers will come flocking to buy it. Yet the "build it and they will come," approach is one of the top reasons startups fail. They build a product first then seek a market for it instead of doing some market research first to find out who their customers are so they can build the right product for them. Here, Noah Parsons looks at how market research reduces risk, ho...

While it's impossible to grow a business without spending money, it's vital for startup founders to understand the difference between necessary and unnecessary outlay and avoid wasteful spending. It's also essential to manage your burn rate so you know how much capital you need and how you're going to spend any funding you raise. The key to how effectively you spend your money comes down to discipline and having a "low-burn mindset," says entrepreneur Dennis Zdonov. Here, he shares eight strateg...

Whether it's created intentionally or develops over time, your company culture shapes the behavior of individuals and teams throughout the business. And while a strong culture is a key determinant of success, a poor culture can stunt the growth of your business. Often it takes a significant event—such as a company crisis, a change in leadership, or a new business opportunity—to recognize the need for a shift in culture. Although building a better culture will help the company thrive, transformin...

Choosing the right type of financing for your business is an important decision. There are various options for raising capital, depending on the stage your business is at, and they fall into two broad categories: debt and equity. In this article, Mark Abell looks at some of the most common debt options and the different sources of equity investment and examines the pros and cons of each to help you assess your needs and determine which is going to be the right fit to fund the growth of your...

Your brand is the public perception of your business. It's how people feel about you, their experiences and expectations of you, and why they choose you rather than your competitors. Your brand identity is how you communicate your brand to the public and every aspect of how you represent your brand visually. You brand is what people think of when they see your logo—and an iconic logo can have a significant financial impact on your business, says Zaheer Dodhia. To help you create an instantly rec...

While starting a business may be the toughest challenge you'll ever face, it can also be the most exciting and rewarding. A lot of myths and misconceptions have grown up around entrepreneurship, however. So before investing "time and money in an idea based on what you think you know, it's wise to get a clear idea of what to expect," writes Casey Kelly-Barton. In this blog post, she debunks some of the most common myths to set the record straight about entrepreneurship and "arm you with realistic...

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST)—a pan-African training programme, seed fund and incubator for technology entrepreneurs—is now accepting applications for its 2020 training programme. Successful applicants will benefit from a one-year programme of "rigorous entrepreneurial training," hands-on project work and guest lectures. The course is fully sponsored—including free meals, housing and a monthly stipend—and culminates in an investor pitch with the chance to receive seed...

The male dominated power structure in Silicon Valley has not only been making it hard for female founders to raise funding, it's also led to them facing inappropriate advances from male venture capitalists. Although recent figures highlight the "overwhelmingly male, overwhelming white" nature of the industry, some of that is finally changing as venture capital firms start to hire female partners, writes Kimerberly Weisul. Here, she looks at the sexism that's been rife in Silicon Valley's venture...

While not everyone has a natural talent for sales, it's a skill that can be learned. And as an entrepreneur, learning to sell is essential for the success of your business. Fear of rejection is a common obstacle that can affect the performance of any salesperson. With practice however you can learn to overcome your fear, build your confidence and hone your selling skills. To help you get started, eight successful entrepreneurs share here their top tips for sales success even if you've never sold...

Understanding what makes your employees tick helps you build collaborative and productive teams. Everyone falls somewhere along the scale between introvert and extrovert, depending on how sensitive we are to stimulation. Yet misunderstandings about what it means to be an introvert often lead to false assumptions that can damage an introvert's career. Here, Geoffrey James reveals the characteristics CEOs look for in their ideal employee and the research suggesting introverts are more likely to ha...

In any negotiations, all parties want to feel they've got the best possible deal and it may seem like there's going to be no deal at all when you're negotiating with a tough customer. When your usual strategy isn't working as well as you'd like, reframing can help you achieve a better outcome. Reframing helps you or another person see a situation from a different perspective and move on from being stuck to resolving a problem constructively. Here, Vivian Giang shares some top tips from...

The key to success in sales and marketing is to achieve the right balance between them. Yet they're so closely related people are often unsure where one ends and the other begins. Although they share the common goal of boosting revenue, they each play a different role in the sales pipeline. And with a better understanding of the difference between them, you can allocate resources more effectively. With that in mind, Jason Lemkin shares here the story of how a company raising extra mone...

While taking on a leadership position can enhance your reputation and future employment opportunities, the additional duties and responsibilities can be exhausting. Researchers found that managing their own performance, the performance of their team, and the added burden of helping employees cope with emotional issues is so demanding it leaves the majority of leaders feeling "depleted and unengaged." Here, Klodiana Lanaj, Trevor A. Faulk and Amir Erez, share the self-reflection exercise they des...

The romanticized vision many people have of a successful entrepreneur is rather like seeing an Olympic athlete's medal winning performance without taking into account the gruelling training schedules and years of dedication they've put into achieving their success. While being an entrepreneur can be fun, exciting and rewarding, building a successful business can also be challenging and stressful—and not everyone is cut out for it. In this open letter to an aspiring entrepreneur, Maynar...

The key to filtering out distractions and focusing your attention and effort on what's important is having clearly defined goals and prioritizing the tasks that will help you achieve them. Knowing which tasks and activities are going to have the most impact on your life and business helps you move forward in a meaningful way, says productivity and time management coach Carl Pullein. Here, he shares his top tips for making the transition from being task-focused to outcome-focused to boost your pr...

A corporate blog can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness and credibility by delivering engaging, high quality content that helps your readers get better at what they do. It takes time to build a regular readership however, and corporate blogs that are considered to be underperforming are often removed entirely or left to languish. Yet "done right, authentically, with an initial focus at least on truly solving problems … a great, authentic corporate blog almost always works," writes J...

While most small businesses use social media as a marketing tool, not all of them are doing it effectively. As consumers increasingly use social media platforms as their go-to source for product and brand information, small business owners need to make sure they have an effective strategy for connecting with their target audience. "When used correctly, social media can be a real asset to your business," writes Felicia Sullivan. Here she shares 30 small business social media ideas you can us...

Many people feel anxious about speaking in public, yet being able to connect with an audience and get your message across effectively is an essential skill for leaders at any level. Public speaking is a learnable skill. And one of the best ways to become a more confident and engaging public speaker is to be a keen observer and learn from other people's talks, says Darren Menabney. With that in mind, he refers to Tim Cook's recent Apple keynote to share some top tips for delivering impactful pres...

Your best brand ambassadors are happy customers and one of the best ways to promote your business is to actively encourage your customers to recommend you to their family, friends, and others. "When people hear about something from someone they trust, they'll instinctively trust that recommendation," writes Rose Leadam. Here, she explores key findings from new research—presented as an infographic—that reveals the power of word-of-mouth and why it's important to have a marketing strategy that can...

With so many small businesses clamouring for attention in a crowded marketplace, you need to make sure your company stands out from the crowd. And one of the best ways to boost your visibility on the internet is to improve your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). While large companies have the advantage of a big advertising budget, an effective search engine marketing (SEM) strategy can be a highly cost-effective way for small businesses to compete. Here, nine members of the Young En...

Startups are all about rapid growth and discovering new ways to solve problems—and these two elements come together in growth hacking. Digital marketers are finding it increasingly difficult to cut through the growing volume of content to reach their target audience and capture the attention of potential customers. And that means having to find new ways to exponentially grow your customer base and revenue using tactics that are focused on the single goal of efficient and rapid business grow...

Time is limited when pitching your business to potential investors and a compelling and deftly executed presentation is crucial for making a positive, lasting impression. A single page in a presentation is a slide, a group of slides is a slide deck and when you're pitching to investors it's a pitch deck. Research shows investors may spend less than four minutes studying your pitch deck so you need to make sure every second—and every slide—counts. In this blog post, Bill Clark shares his top tips...