Select and Elect

Choices are tough. Americans have a major choice to make on November 8th. New entrepreneurs also have important selections to make.

Fishing for a Yes

"No way. Sorry. Nope. Not interested. Maybe later. I don't think so."  As a new entrepreneur, you have to get used to the "No"!

More Work Coming at You

No good work is left un-rewarded.

Are you a control freak?

Ever seen intense video gamers? Their eyes are glazed and they are intently focusing on the screen. They are gripping the controller with both hands, thumbing the buttons and advancing to the next stage of the game.

The Entrepreneur is a Chef

There's nothing as savory and satisfying as a perfectly grilled startup.

What are the ingredients that make a startup? The chef aka entrepreneur has to create the tasty meal.

Fail on Sale

Trying is scary. 

Something old, something new

Fear can be crippling.

First Marketing Push

I have some enterprising friends. Not a day goes by that someone isn't launching a fitness blog, a recipe channel, a consulting practice, or a new startup. Every week I get messags requesting me to "please like my Facebook page" and "send this link to everyone you know"! Many of the requests from my friends are not relevant to me nor will I ever be a target customer. I've even liked a men's weight loss page just to support a friend (I never looked at that page again).

Forgo a Logo

In the first month of starting a business, the most important task is to validate your customer problems and find a paying customer. 

Entrepreneur's Maze: Finding Your Ways

Rats have been used in mazes for experiments and testing for over 100 years. These studies are used to understand cognition in rats. Using the studies, we have learned about motivation and psychology of humans and other mammals.

Wanted: Deadline or Alive

Ravaging through the rough, grunting and seeking out the next victim....Scavenging anyone and anything that comes in the way...

Bullseye: Focus like a new entrepreneur

If you can read this sentence without thinking about your next sales call, the line of buggy code you have to fix, the intern you must hire, or the appointment you are itching to make....then congratulations! You probably have better focus than many new entrepreneurs.

An Entrepreneur: The Fixing Machine

Attention budding entrepreneurs: How handy are you with tools?

Building a Startup Empire

Download Now!

"Rome wasn't built in a day either..."

I first saw this unapologetic declaration on a billboard sign on a highway that is perennially under construction. And it always reminds me that startups have to be treated the same way.

Entrepreneur's Palm Reading: Certain Uncertainties

What would you do if you knew, right now, how successful your startup would be in the future?

If  you knew it wouldn't be successful, would you still pursue the entrepreneurial journey? 

And if you knew it would be successful, would you work as hard at it, or just leave it to fate?

So About Our Product...

“With no marketing budget I resorted to techniques I would have never considered – cold calling, cold emailing, cold presentations, and crashing networking events, amongst others.” 

To spread the word to customers in a big company, the marketing department gets the big bucks to make sure the sales team is out there busting down doors to grow the business. And since chances are the brand or product already has recognition, the marketing helps reiterate and boost the brand in the market. The huge marketing budget pales in comparison to the return on the investment.

In a startup on the other hand, every employee – from founder to developer to gopher needs to be a marketer and a salesperson. The thick skin each employee will develop after hearing constant rejections will only make the value proposition stronger.

This article by Anita Newton goes deeper into the comparison! It's a good read especially if you are making the transition from big company to small, or vice versa.

Key Startup Lesson: Use inexpensive methods of marketing and PR that all team members can use help grow the business.

Tell us about your experiences marketing in your startup in the comments below. 

This comic and post is from the book: Cheating on Your Corporate Job: A Comic Look at the Startup Dream. Read the review on Forbes.com. You can get the book on Amazon Kindle or PDF. Use the code "fifty" to get a 50% discount on the PDF.

This contains little to no spam. Promise.

As alluring as social media is, it is fleeting and many people never see the posts more than once if at all.

Email provides one of the highest conversions in online marketing because everyone checks their emails – even if only looking at the subject line, and it is always in their inbox until deletion. Catching folks on social media is hit-or- miss.

Startup Street Signs: 11 Ways Starting a Business is like Learning to Drive

Take that exit now!

There are many similarities between learning to driving a car and becoming and entrepreneur.

Getting behind the wheel and learning how to start a new company can both be options to provide a ticket to ultimate freedom!

Here is our line-up of why entrepreneurship is like driving a car:

The Words Get in the Way: Do your Thoughts Need Subtitles?

I had this amazing business idea for an online tool and a website.

It was so beautiful in my head - the functionality, the design, the value proposition - I could basically hear people banging on my door for access to it, and clogging up my servers to download it. Then I told people about it and my bubble burst.

Take the First Hasty Exit, then Make a U-Turn

Last year, I was working on a business that I was convinced could be bought by a huge media conglomerate. In fact, before I had a business model, funding, prototype or even a single customer, I was ready to sell the business! Needless to say, the business didn't work out. My passion was focused on the wrong place. And I'm not the only one. Many entrepreneurs I speak to are looking for an exit strategy much earlier than even their entrance strategy.