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Starting your own business can be a daunting prospect and you need to carefully weigh up the pros and cons, especially if it means having to give up the security of regular employment and a steady income. People start businesses for a variety of reasons. You may have an idea for a product or service that will help solve a problem or a passion you want to turn into a thriving business. Or maybe you just want to be your own boss. Starting a business isn't the right move for everyone however. To he...

Social media can be a great way for small business owners to build brand awareness, reach potential new customers and interact with existing customers, all of which can directly impact sales. While it's important to choose the right platform and have an effective strategy in place, it's also crucial to avoid making the kind of mistakes that can damage your reputation. To help you build and maintain your credibility on social media, Jared Hecht shares here the six most common errors that "can lea...

Although public speaking is one of the most important skills to develop, many people are so afraid of giving a speech or presentation they'll avoid it altogether rather than learning to master it. Fear is a natural response to danger that prepares us to either confront or avoid a threat to our safety. Yet the fear of rejection, ridicule or humiliation can trigger the same response with symptoms that range from mild discomfort to intense anxiety. To help you overcome your fears and...

Pitching your business to potential investors can be a gruelling process. You need to create a well-crafted pitch deck that captures your audience's attention with a compelling narrative that demonstrates your strengths as a business. And you need to be prepared to answer some tough questions. Business growth expert Scott Duffy has years of experience, both as an investor and as an entrepreneur raising funding. In this excerpt from his book Breakthrough , he shares some top tips on how to a...

While it's common for startups to wait too long before they start hiring, you won't be able to do everything yourself when it comes to growing the business. You need to start building a team that shares your vision and values, while bringing the right balance of skills and experience to fill key roles in the business. Having the wrong team is one of the top reasons for startup failure, so you need to be selective and strategic about the people you choose to work with. To help you build a winning...

Raising the finance you need to get a new business idea off the ground isn't easy. Investors generally aren't interested in your product until they see some traction, yet you can't gain any traction among consumers until you can build the product. This is why so many entrepreneurs are turning to crowdfunding to validate their ideas, build a customer base and raise the funding they need. Mark Campbell has seen entrepreneurs raise anything from $50,000 to more than $1 million this w...

Failure is common feature of the startup ecosystem and while there's rarely one single reason for a startup's failure, having products or services that don't serve a market, running out of cash, being outcompeted or price/cost issues are among the most frequently cited reasons. "But the technical cause of death is usually a veneer," writes Carl Tashian. "Behavioral cultural, and interpersonal issues are among the biggest killers of startups, but they are seldom discussed." To help you avoid expe...

Selling is one of the most crucial parts of entrepreneurship, yet the sales role is often the one entrepreneurs struggle with the most. Few people find the art of selling easy to master and many find the thought of having to overcome sales objections from prospective customers particularly intimidating. "The good news is that when you arm yourself with an arsenal of turnaround frameworks, you can face these roadblocks and get past them so you can move onto the next stage," says Jeb Blount. Here,...

Raising money for a startup isn't easy, despite the impression you may get from the success stories of companies that raise huge funding rounds. It can take months of hard work, the uncertainty can be stressful and you'll inevitably face a lot of rejections. While there are many reasons why an investor might pass on your company, it could be an issue with the fundraising process itself that's causing a problem, says seed-stage VC and angel investor Sarah Downey. Here she explores the m...

Although mistakes are an important part of the learning process, you don't always have to learn from your own trial and error. When it comes to building a successful business, learning from what went wrong for other entrepreneurs and small business owners helps you to avoid making the same mistakes. And learning from what went right helps you continuously improve your own business strategy. With that in mind, Alison Coleman shares here some top tips from successful entrepreneurs, and the le...

Taking a break from work during the summer months gives you an opportunity to review your career and personal goals. And it's often the time when those in full-time employment think about quitting their regular, nine-to-five job for the freedom of being their own boss. Before taking the plunge, you need to be sure it isn't the back-to-work blues clouding your judgment. Building a successful business from scratch isn't easy and more often than not the odds are against you, says Eugene Cheng. Here...

Even though it's an essential part of daily life, most of us dread having to negotiate. Whether it's to close a sale or ask for a pay rise, the key to success in any negotiation is thorough preparation. When you have a good understanding of the underlying principles and the interests of everyone involved, you're in better position to reach a satisfactory outcome. And the more you practice, the more you improve your skills. To help you become a more confident negotiator, Vivian Gia...

All entrepreneurs face challenges yet gender inequality and cultural expectations continue to create additional challenges for women. Although the ranks of female entrepreneurs and female-owned businesses are on the rise, men still outnumber women in entrepreneurship. And while raising the necessary funding to start and grow a business is challenging for any startup, women founders often find it more difficult to be taken seriously and receive less funding than their male counterp...

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...

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...

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...

No matter how great your idea for a new service or product, you'll need access to capital to get a new business off the ground. Many entrepreneurs start out by using their own savings or credit card. Bootstrapping and borrowing from friends and family will only get you so far however and when it comes to growing the business, you'll need to raise additional funding. "You'll meet many different types of investors for startups," writes James Church. Here, he shares "a few to lo...

Being solely responsible for all the hiring decisions can be daunting. Having the right employees is crucial to the success of any business and for a small business with only a few employees, there's very little margin for error. A bad hire can damage the company's reputation and it can be difficult for the business to recover. So it's essential to invest time and effort into creating an effective hiring strategy to maximize your chances of hiring the right employees. To help you avoid the compl...

Many successful entrepreneurs have at least one failed company early in their career and they consider failure a natural part of the journey and an opportunity to learn. Nevertheless, learning the hard way from failure is a challenging process that can take both an emotional and financial toll on the first-time entrepreneur. "You'll make mistakes when starting a company, no matter how many articles and books you read, but you'll make fewer of them if you learn from those who came before you...

While entrepreneurs are known for their persistence and resilience, it's important to recognize when quitting might be the right thing to do. Starting and running your own business can be an exciting adventure. It can also be a long and sometimes arduous journey. And whether the business is successful or struggling, having an exit strategy in place from the outset—and knowing when to implement it—will help you decide when it's the right time to either hand over the reigns or close...

Entrepreneurship can be both rewarding and extremely challenging, especially if you decide to go it alone as a solopreneur. While you may relish having no boss to answer to, it also means you'll be responsible for making all the decisions yourself. And having no workers to manage means you'll have no team to delegate tasks to. To succeed, you need to be self-reliant and self-disciplined. Here, career change strategist, speaker and podcast host Joseph Liu shares some of the lessons he's...

Innovation is what sets your company apart from the competition, stimulates growth and keeps your business moving forward. It's the process of taking fresh ideas and converting them into new products, processes, or strategies. And finding new ways of doing things—whether it's product design or methods of management—requires creative thinking and problem solving. Here, Igor Makarov shares how, with the right management approach and support, you can overcome resistance to change, stimulate cr...

Content marketing is transforming the way businesses interact with consumers and with so many businesses vying for the attention of potential customers, you need to work hard to earn their interest. An effective content marketing strategy helps you learn more about your target audience so you can deliver useful, relevant and engaging content that enhances your reputation and helps you build a loyal following. To help you consistently hit the mark, Ann Gynn shares here some of the bigge...

As a growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) allow companies to quickly increase their size, resources and market share or gain a competitive edge by acquiring talent and intellectual property. Any merger or acquisition carries an element of risk. It requires a lot of planning, preparation and negotiation—and there's no guarantee of a successful outcome. To help you understand the issues involved, M&A experts Richard Harroch, David Lipkin and Richard Smith share the 12 key p...

Marketing is crucial for the success of any business. Yet knowing how important it is to create and implement an effective marketing plan is one thing; putting the theory into practice is another. As a small business owner, you face various marketing challenges that large businesses with marketing teams and big budgets don't have to contend with. To help you decide what works best for your business and where to focus your effort and resources, this article explores some of the most common c...

Startup fundraising can be a long, hard slog and it may be tempting to celebrate a successful funding round by going on a big spending spree. However, it's important to remember that venture capital isn't free money. Investment comes with strings attached and a new set of responsibilities. So while you may have to spend money to make money, that doesn't mean you should spend it like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Here, Avi Meir shares his top tips on keeping your costs under control and spendi...

Job interviews can be daunting. Whether you're a first-time interviewee, returning from a career break or looking to advance your career, you may be up against stiff competition. This is your one chance to create a good first impression, showcase the qualities that make you the ideal candidate and make sure you're memorable for all the right reasons, so it's natural to feel nervous. The better prepared you are, the more confidently you'll be able handle even the toughest interview. So to he...

While it's easy to be fooled by the successful lifestyles of the rich and famous, entrepreneurship isn't as glamorous as it may seem. Having great ideas and a grand vision doesn't guarantee success. You have to be willing to make sacrifices, take risks and work hard to make it happen. Yet having the "opportunity to make a difference and transform lives" is also "deeply rewarding," says Raffi Keuhnelian. To help you make the most of this opportunity, Keuhnelian shares here some of the top tips th...

Buying a franchise can be a rewarding alternative to starting a new business from scratch. Instead of going it alone as an entrepreneur or small business owner, you can benefit from an established brand, a proven business model, the franchisor's experience, and support from other franchise owners. However, while there are good reasons to buy a franchise there are also good reasons not to. It may involve a hefty initial investment as well as ongoing royalty fees and although it may be less risky ...

Emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly important in the workplace—and it's a vital ingredient for success as a leader. Unlike technical skills and cognitive ability, how skilled you areat understanding and managing your own emotions—as well as those of people around you—can be difficult to measure. So while intellectual intelligence can be tested and given a score known as your intelligence quotient or IQ, you can't sum up your emotional intelligence in a single number despite the term ...