.CO Exclusive

Surroundings Impact Success – Five Steps to an Organized and Efficient Workday

.CO ExclusiveAs a small business owner your ability to self start and stay focused is key.  However, few things can derail your best efforts as instantly as a disorganized or  inefficient workspace.  Poor organization systems and exposure to visual distractions translate into massive amounts of wasted time, frustration and lack of progress.

The great news is that we can avoid these pitfalls by taking a few, simple action steps. Implement the following five tips and prepare to be more effective, productive and in control of your day.

from Rebecca Malik

Startups

Top 10 Mistakes First-Time Entrepreneurs Make

Here at IDEA, we work with first-time entrepreneurs on a regular basis. Our job is to provide a network of resources as we guide these budding entrepreneurs through all the steps necessary to propel their ideas into real, successful businesses.

We decided to compile a list of the top ten entrepreneurial mistakes we see students make as they learn the ins and outs of what it takes to survive as entrepreneurs in today’s complex society.

1.  Not having a clear focus. The most important—and often most difficult—part of starting a business comes down to knowing how to prioritize and understanding the tasks involved.

2.  Hiring the first person they interview. Venture Capitalists invest in teams, not just business ideas. It is crucial to put the time and energy into bringing the right people on board. Read more from BostInno

How To

How to Start a Business with Limited Funds

Startup Nation LogoOwning  and running your own business can be the most fulfilling occupation  in the world. Unfortunately, some businesses require quite a bit of  capital to get started. Opening up a barber shop, for example, means  leasing a building and purchasing chairs, mirrors, and grooming  tools. Other businesses – like an auto garage – require even more  significant investments.

Yet,  there are some businesses you can get up and running with relatively  limited funds. You just need to know how to determine whether a given  business is both inexpensive to start and something that you’re  interested in. You also need to know where to cut costs, and where  you need to keep the cashflowing.

Read more from Startup Nation

How To

5 WAYS TO BUILD A COMMUNITY AROUND YOUR E-COMMERCE STARTUP

When you’re launching a brand new e-commerce site, how do you get noticed when giant online retailers like Amazon, Zappos, and Overstock – not to mention the online stores from well-established bricks-and-mortar mega-chains – are casting such long shadows?

We all know e-commerce is big business – according the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly $965M was spent online in January – a 9.4% increase from January 2011.  Boston-based Karmaloop, an online retailer that specializes in edgy, underground brands, launched a new site last week called Brick Harbor.  I spoke with Chase Whitaker, Brick Harbor’s Director of Operations, about how to stand out from the crowd and build a community around your e-commerce site.  Here are 5 takeaways from our conversation: Read more from Tech Cocktail

Get Inspired

ZAMP’S SAM ZEBARJADI ON COFOUNDING WITH A SIBLING AND THE GROWING TECH SCENE IN ATLANTA

Way back at the beginning of the month, Zamp was a showcased startup at our SXSW #StartupLife Celebration Founder Sam Zebarjadi was gracious enough to sit down for an interview, which became part of our SXSW video series (you can watch the interview here).  He talked about his really cool social travel service that connects travelerswhile they are traveling, as well as how to get through the tough days, why the startup life is all about networking, and how the idea of stealth mode is dying.

Because we could only cover so much in the video interview, I circled back with him to learn more about what it’s like to co-found a company with your brother and learn more about the burgeoning startup scene in Atlanta.

Read more from Tech Cocktail

.CO Exclusive

SXSW Insights – From Our Startup to Yours

.CO Exclusive Linda Koritkoski is the Director of Marketing for .CO Internet

In 2011, .CO had barely just launched, and our marketing team (myself included) assumed SXSW would be just another sponsored event. We set up some unique activities and sent a few of our team members to attend. Boy, did we underestimate the power of SXSW! While what we did was still amazing, we came back knowing that the SXSW monster needed far greater firepower if we were to battle it again. So this year, nearly our whole team was sent to Austin, and this time we were armed and ready to squeeze every last drop of opportunity out of SXSW. You can learn a little bit more about what we did here and here. Read more from Linda Koritkoski

Uncategorized

What Your Business Needs Before You Select that Vendor & Partner

.CO ExclusiveRaj Malik is CEO & Co-Founder of KikScore, an exciting startup that helps small online businesses use their own track record of reliability and trustworthiness to increase sales and close more leads. Raj is a contributor to his company’s blog at blog.kikscore.com, a past speaker at SXSW and is passionate about helping small business and entrepreneurs succeed.

In life, we select vendors and partners all the time.  There are vendors for your banking, there are partners that will help you with your 401k and of course your life partner that is your husband or wife.  There are also an entire host of vendors and partners that we as businesses owners and operators must work with, seek out and in some ways even court so that they will work with our companies.  Small businesses are often inundated with these vendors and partners that range from marketing/integration partners, telecommunication vendors or freelancers to support our business, using consultants to advise on company strategy and using website designers or software developers for our businesses. Read more from Raj Malik

How To

5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Most small-business owners feel strongly about social media. They either love it, hate it or both. If they love it, it’s because its tools can create tremendous brand awareness. If they hate it, it’s because it’s a massive time suck. Regardless of where you stand and how proficient you are at each tool, there is always something new to learn. Here are a few common social media mistakes and tips on how to fix them.

Expecting ROI right away

Ashley Ranger sees this often. As founder of /excelamktg, a social media marketing company based in Los Angeles, potential clients frequently voice frustrations when not attracting a target number of followers or sales captures. Ranger’s advice is always the same: It takes time. Read more from Open Forum

Startups

PAUL SINGH ON VENTURE CAPITALISTS AND RAISING MONEY

Last week I got a chance to listen to Paul Singh from 500 Startups talk about raising money at The Fort. First of all, I have to say that almost every sentence Paul uttered could have been used as a quote on its own. Below are the best ones, which I broke down into 3 basic steps for raising capital for your startup.

Step 1 – When you are ready to start approaching investors, do not run around knocking on every door. Have a targeted approach.

“Think of investing as phases. Create a hit list of investors and sort them by ranking. Take the people on the bottom and test your pitch on them first. Pay attention to the questions they ask you, because there is a 90% chance you will get those questions again.” Read more from Tech Cocktail

.CO Exclusive

Thinking of Starting a Business? Don’t Forget These Five Essentials

.CO ExclusiveRebecca Malik is the President at 17thandRiggs.com, an online source for contemporary furniture and lighting, where she helps you create a fresh, modern space.  Her site has been featured in well-known publications such as Southern Living and online with sites such as the popular Daily Candy. She is a blogger for WomenGrowBusiness.com, where she shares ecommerce and small business management tips.

As a small business owner since 2008, I’ve encountered an array of frustrations and roadblocks in running and growing my company.  I must admit that my response to many of these hiccups has been more reactive than proactive.  However, these hasty actions can be avoided and you can operate more effectively if you start off on solid footing.  To that end, consider the following five fundamentals when in the planning stage of your business. Read more from Rebecca Malik