How To

How to Start a Business with Limited Funds

04.25.12 from Startup Nation

How To

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

04.18.12 By Tech Cocktail

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

How To

5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

02.22.12 From Open Forum

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

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3 Keys to Building Great Financial Models

12.03.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

Tech Cocktail is happy to share three keys to building a great financial model by guest author Taylor Davidson, creator of Excel template financial models for startups.

Financial models are always wrong, but it’s important to create one anyway. Creating a financial model forces you to outline very specifically how your business “works”: how a company creates their products, how users and customers find and use their products and how those processes create revenues and costs. The result, a set of operational metrics, financial statements and the “equation of the business,” creates a map for you to explore how your tactical product, marketing, organizational and strategic decisions impact your company’s profitability. Read more from Tech Cocktail

How To

If You’re Struggling to Get Ahead, Try This

10.20.11 Posted from BNET

Whether you own a business or work for someone else, differentiation is tough. Local and global competition, coworkers, others in a similar industry… it’s really easy to get lost in the crowd.

Here’s a simple way out of the “similar” rut: Pick an always. An always isn’t based on style; an always is something you will do, without fail, no matter what.

In time you will be known by your always — and you’ll start to stand out. Read more from BNET

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It’s Time for a Redesign: 6 Tips to Fix a Cluttered Website

10.10.11 Posted from BNET

When you first built your company website you had a primary goal in mind. Maybe you hoped to better market your business. Maybe you hoped to enhance your professional credibility and standing in your industry. Maybe you just wanted a website because everyone else had one and you didn’t want to get left behind.

Regardless of the type of business you run, you built a website because you hoped it would help you sell stuff: products, services, or even just yourself. Clean, simple, to the point.

Then, over time, like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man your website took on a life of its own. Read more from BNET

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Start a Company You Love: Superfly Presents

06.07.11 posted from Inc.

Anointed “the American rock festival to end all festivals” by Rolling Stone, Bonnaroo makes its 10th appearance this month. The brains behind Bonnaroo talk about their early days in New Orleans, promoting music festivals, and the perks of doing what they love for a living.

How To

Top 10 Success Factors for Entrepreneurs

05.04.11 posted from BNET

Naveen Jain, CEO of Intelius discovered that entrepreneurial success usually comes through great execution, simply by doing a superior job of doing the blocking and tackling. But what else does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur and how should an entrepreneur define success? Here’s what Naveen came up with…

Read more

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7 Essential Principles of Small Business Success

05.04.11 posted from Small Biz Trends

Why does one small business owner flourish while another one fails? Melinda Emerson believes there 7 essential principles that all successful small business owners have in common.

How To

Improving Your Sense of Site

05.04.11 posted from Inc.

Your web analytics report is filled with clues on how to boost sales, but are you maximizing your results? Get a sense of how to use analytics to uncover your website’s flaws and make more money.