11 Ways to Collect Customer Feedback
Question: What's the best way to collect customer feedback on new products or services? Be the Customer "The best way to get first-hand customer feedback is to step into the shoes of the customer. Even if you're selling a product of which you're not typically a user...
The Key to Growing Your Brand: Skate Where the Puck is Going to Be
Success usually doesn't come to those who just "go with the flow" Although the Phoenix Coyotes struggled a bit financially (to put it lightly) during Wayne Gretzky’s time as head coach, the man has a quote that has put plenty of dollars into my business: “Skate where...
11 Tips for Handling Internal Employee Promotions With Finesse
Growth is exciting for a small business or startup — but it often comes with a lot of internal HR challenges, including the less-than-pleasant task of promoting or hiring the right person for the right management role (often to the disappointment of another employee)....
Should you avoid raising startup capital early on? 10 founders weigh in
There’s more than one school of thought about startup financing. After all, there are some very successful companies that have managed just fine without VC money, often on purpose. But as one entrepreneur we polled puts it below, if you really want to see your startup...
Don’t Shut The Book On Writing One: Advice For Would-Be Authors
To the dismay of many, we live in a society where Nicole Richie is a New York Times bestselling author. We live in a world where Flava Flav has published a book. Hell, this is a place where even Snooki from MTV’s “Jersey Shore” has books on the market. I’m here to...
10 No-Brainer Ways to Track Employee Time
What’s your favorite tool for tracking employee/contractor time and why? (If it is your own tool, please make that clear in your answer.) 1. TrackSmart TrackSmart (www.tracksmart.com) is free unless you have more than 20 employees. Also, it does more than just track...
13 Favorite Startup Quotes – From Tony Hsieh to Field of Dreams
What's your favorite startup quote of all time? A. Steve Jobs "When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know it's there, so...
10 Beta Launch Do’s and Don’ts
What one tip would you give an entrepreneur about to do a beta launch to a select group of users? 1. Charge Your Users There are very few pieces of software that should be free. Most cost money. The easiest way to find out if you are making something people care about...
Your Chances of Failure are Higher than Your Chances of Success: How to Reverse That Trend
Thomas Edison notoriously failed to create a light bulb 1,000 different ways before he stumbled upon the right combination of elements. The Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series pennant since 1908. Lemurs have a three-week mating season each year and have more males...
Outsource your technology troubles
Which tech jobs—like software development, apps and web design—can you safely outsource and which should stay in-house? 'In-house' means under control "Keeping as many competencies as possible in-house gives us better quality and cost control, and allows us to be very...
13 Websites to help you save on starup costs
Question: Name one website that has helped you save money as an enterpreur. How specifically did it help you? Question by: Larry – Austin, TX Find savings with Indinero “The first step to saving money for your startup is truly understanding from where your costs...
Reasons Why You Should Write A Business Plan
Below are a few reasons why you should write a business plan... Business plans are dead — or are they? For many entrepreneurs, the business plan is an outmoded document that gets created mainly for the benefit of VCs and bank loan officers. Bootstrappers rarely think...