Learn for Profit: Becoming an Entrepreneur

Showing posts with label Becoming an Entrepreneur. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Here's How to Level up Your Marketing Team (Without Blowing Your Budget)

- VIP Contributor

Entrepreneur and Marketer, Co-founder of Web Profits

As the barriers to opening a business fall, competition increases. We see evidence of this trend every day in new articles worrying about everything from the competitive threat posed by Chinese companies, to the need to invest in culture to maintain a competitive advantage.

We even see barriers failing in the illegal activities being undertaken in the name of success.

Staying competitive comes down to many factors, but one that’s often overlooked, in my opinion, is the ongoing need to level up your marketing team. You may have hired the right workers for the job, but marketing is evolving too quickly for you to assume that those workers are still equipped to produce the results you want.

Ongoing training can mean the difference between your having a company that falters versus one that thrives in this newly competitive landscape. Even better? That training doesn’t have to be expensive. Consider the following strategies:

Conference travel

Instead of: Sending members of your marketing team to expensive conferences, which can easily top five figures once you add in ticket costs, travel expenses, accommodations, and meals . . .

Try this: Buy conference recaps for your team to share. These days, there are people who actually attend conferences for the purpose of preparing, and then publishing, recaps that contain all the key takeaways for those who can’t attend.

Tim Castleman is one such writer who covers marketing conferences. You can find others by searching Google for “conference recap + [your industry].”

Coaching and mentorship

Instead of: Paying for spots in pricey mastermind programs, which can cost thousands of dollars a month for access to top coaches.

Try this: Form your own coaching and mentorship program based on your internal skills and expertise. If you’ve built a team of star players, chances are everyone has something he or she can contribute to a community learning program.

Start by assessing where your team is currently, and where you want it to be. Ask staff members:

What do you believe you’re doing well?
Where do you believe you’re falling behind?
What would you like to learn more about?
What do you do better than anyone else in the company?
What skills can you teach others?

From there, leveling up your marketing team comes down to playing matchmaker. If you have a team member who wants to learn more about analytics, match him or her with someone who’s indicated that data is a strength. Create small groups. Allow employees to shadow one other. Arrange “lunch and learns,” where exchanges of information can occur.

As information is shared, document it. DigitalMarketer CEO Ryan Deiss feels so strongly about the importance of documentation that it’s one of the factors his companies use when deciding to promote internal talent:

“Promote those who show an ability and willingness to document what they know and teach it to others. The fact is, processes are more valuable than products.”

Don’t forget to add your own knowledge to the mix. If you’ve been with your company since the start, you likely know a lot -- not just about marketing best practices, but about how each of those practices works for your business. That information can’t help your marketing team if it’s stuck in your head. Make sure you’re a part of any ongoing training or coaching initiatives.

Training courses

Instead of: Dropping thousands of dollars on premium training courses . . .

Try this: Look for free (or at least cheap) sources of information.

Start with books. Most business leaders will tell you that they make reading part of their regular routines. Back in 2012, I challenged myself to read 100 books during that year, and doing so had a huge impact on the way I’ve grown my businesses.

You can get books for free from your local library, or purchase enough copies for your team at a relatively low cost. Read them as a group, then meet to discuss the key takeaways from each of your selections. OptinMonster has a great list of 19 marketing books to read during 2018 to get you started.

Blogs are another great source of free information, though you need to consider your sources carefully. In order to use blog posts to level up your marketing team, make sure that they’re current, applicable and replicable. Avoid outdated information, suggestions that don’t apply to your industry or business model and anything else you can’t re-create on your own.

For more targeted, lower-cost training options, sites like Udemy, CreativeLive, and SkillShare offer regular sales and updated materials.

Got another suggestion for leveling up your marketing team on a budget? I’d love to hear it. Leave me a note in the comments below with your thoughts:

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/308691

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Accelerator vs. Incubator: Which Is Right for You?

Hubert Zajicek

- Guest Writer

CEO and Co-Founder of Health Wildcatters

Often entrepreneurs entering the startup arena are exposed to a completely new business vernacular. Unless these brave souls peddling their new ideas have a background in finance, they find themselves lost in conversations with people throwing around terms like angel investor, crowdfunding, seed funding, VC (venture capital) -- and the list continues to grow daily. Another misconception from early entrepreneurs is the use of accelerator and incubator interchangeably as synonyms, which is understandable but incorrect.

Sure, both programs provide guidance to startups, as well as advance their business models and strategies, and the main goal is to groom the startup to become valuable in the eyes of investors. However, key differences exist between accelerators and incubators. When examining the selection and investment process, the differentiation between the two becomes more apparent.

Purpose

Incubators support startups entering the beginning stages of building their company. The startups possess an idea to bring to the marketplace, but no business model and direction to transition from innovative idea to reality.

Accelerators advance the growth of existing companies with an idea and business model in place. These programs build upon the startups’ foundations to catapult them forward to investors and key influencers.

Duration

Incubators operate on an open-ended timeline. They focus more on the longevity of a startup and are less concerned with how quickly the company grows. It is not uncommon for incubators to mentor startups for more than a year and a half.

Accelerators operate on a set timeframe, which usually lasts three to four months. During this period, startups build out their business with the support of mentors and capital provided by the accelerator. At the end of the program, startups receive the opportunity to pitch their businesses to investors.

Application process

Incubators invest time and resources into advancing local startups; they are generally tasked with creating jobs or finding ways to license intellectual property. Startups are a conduit to accomplish both. Incubators have less pressure to deliver startups that can grow fast, as fostering and supporting local startups is part of their charter. Therefore, even a slow growing or less scalable business constitutes a good incubator candidate.

Accelerators use a more traditional and formal model for entry into their program. Participants must apply for a select number of slots in the program. These programs are extremely competitive as the accelerator must select the top startups from across the country, which are scalable, investable and have to show an ability to grow rapidly within months.

Environment

Both incubators and accelerators offer an environment of collaboration and mentorship. This enables the startups to share a space, as well as have access to a multitude of resources and peer feedback. Both also provide mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and business experts.

Investment capital

Incubators do not traditionally provide capital to startups and are often funded by universities or economic development organizations. They also don’t usually take an equity stake in the companies they support.

Accelerators do invest a specific amount of capital in startups in exchange for a predetermined percentage of equity. Due to this investment, the accelerators bear a greater responsibility in the success of the startup.

When deciding which program is right for their startup, entrepreneurs should look for the right fit. Most startups could benefit from being in an incubator, but fewer are a fit for an accelerator.

Incubators tend to take on startups which are still in formation, may not necessarily require investment capital and tend to be part of the local startup community already. The timeline to commercialization may be longer, or they are so early that some of the basics have not been addressed yet.

Accelerators have national calls to apply and pick from among hundreds of pre-vetted applicants. These startups must be able to demonstrate they are investible and rapidly scalable businesses willing to relocate to the town where the accelerator is housed for at least the duration of the program. The accelerator fund will be the startup’s first outside investor in most cases. While both programs provide significant benefits to startups, they are not to be consider one in the same. Through careful self-reflection, entrepreneurs will be able to determine which is the right fit for their business at that moment.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294798

Top 10 Global Accelerators for Overseas Startups

Louise Beavers

- Guest Writer

Business Strategy Expert

Innovation is everywhere. Silicon Valley is no longer the center of the tech universe: Berlin is a creative hub, Seoul has a vibrant startup ecosystem, Tel Aviv is the leader in security software, London has a growing financial tech center, Shenzhen is ground zero for hardware startups, and Hangzhou is home to Alibaba and its e-commerce offspring.

In China alone, there are an estimated 5,000 incubators, and the number is growing. But China is not the only one; every major economy is experiencing a startup explosion, much of it fueled by government money.

With all the activity, who are the major accelerators globally? We did our homework and came up with ten names you should be paying attention to. We judged them on a number of criteria, with the following taking precedence:

Quality of startup education and training

Connections to global strategic partners

Access to local venture capital

Worldwide reach and network

Reputation and brand

1. Founders Space

Founders Space has gone through a massive global expansion over the past 18 months, adding new offices and partnerships all over the world. Known for the quality of its startup training, instructors fly all over the world educating startups. Founders Space now has over 50 partners in 22 countries and regularly runs programs in China, Taiwan, Korea, Europe and the Americas.

Founders Space has established its Asian headquarters in Shanghai and is opening up incubators in China’s top cities, which has created a huge amount of press for them, and given them a leadership position in Asia. With China being the largest market in the world at 1.3 billion consumers, this is no small thing.

Founders Space also has one of the strongest investor networks, with top-tier VCs from all across Asia, Europe and America participating. If you’re a startup and want an accelerator with a strong global presence and top-notch education, Founders Space hits the sweet spot.

2. Techstars

Techstars has done an incredible job building their brand, and they now run programs in London, Israel, Germany, Canada, Australia and, of course, America. They started in Boulder, Colorado, but have grown into a global organization. Techstars Ventures has $265M under management, and they are currently investing out of their third fund.

Part of their strategy is to partner with big corporations. They use the term “powered by Techstars” and offer their expertise to specialized programs targeted at sectors focused around the needs of their corporate partners. Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator in Philadelphia, Barclays Accelerator in New York, London & Tel Aviv, The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator in Los Angeles, and SAP.iO Foundry in Berlin all count themselves among the partners of Techstars.

Techstars also has Target, SONY Music, Warner Music Group, Amazon, SONOS and METRO as some of their other backers. If a startup is looking for a specialized accelerator with ties to global corporations, this is the right choice.

3. PlugAndPlay

While they aren’t as focused on education and training, they hit homeruns when it comes to connecting startups with corporations. They have dozens of corporate partners from all over the world, including Intuit, Credit Suisse, Honeywell, Bosch, Panasonic, and the list goes on.

PlugAndPlay has expanded to 22 locations around the world, with most of those locations closer to co-working spaces than accelerators. But because of their sheer size, they are able to offer real value. This gives them an edge, especially when working with overseas governments and multinationals. To their credit, they invest in around 100 startups a year and have built a brand recognized around the world.

4. 500 Startups

While they are huge, they aren’t as focused on opening up overseas accelerators. Instead of training overseas startups, they have transformed themselves into a global venture fund. In fact, 500 Startups has a dizzying variety of funds. They have raised capital from all over the world, including Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the Middle East. Just take a look at their fund list:

Fund IV – fourth global flagship fund

500 Luchadores II – regional fund focusing on Spanish speaking Latin America

500 Fintech – vertical fund with fintech focus

500 Kimchi – regional fund focusing on Korea

500 Durians II - regional fund focusing on SE Asia

500 Istanbul – regional fund focusing on Turkey

500 Falcons – regional fund focusing on the Middle East and North Africa

500 Startups Vietnam – regional fund focusing on Vietnam

500 Canada - regional fund focusing on Canada

Clearly, they are the #1 accelerator when it comes to funding global startups at an early stage, and this alone has earned them a place on our list.

5. Y Combinator

(YC) had to be on this list simply because they are the best known of all the accelerators in the world. They are truly a global brand.

While they are #1 in name recognition because of their phenomenal success in Silicon Valley, they don’t offer as much abroad in terms of local training, education and funding. YC’s real strength is in bringing startups from all over the world to the United States and turning them into Silicon Valley companies. They also have a large fund, a sterling reputation, and an active alumni group. If you’re looking for a halo effect, YC has it.

6. Startupbootcamp

Offering a global family of industry-focused accelerators, Startupbootcamp runs 19 programs around the world, including food tech, Internet of Things, financial tech, smart cities and smart transportation. These are located in cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Mumbai, New York, Signapore, Cape Town and Istanbul.

7. Hax

Arguably the #1 global accelerator for hardware startups, Hax has done an incredible job at building a hardware-centric ecosystem. They are located in Shenzhen, the hardware capital of the world, and provide soup-to-nuts training and guidance for startups. They are also part of the SOSV family of accelerators, which includes INDIEBIO, FOOD-X, URBAN-X, CHINACCELERATOR, MOX and others. The combination of all of these is what puts it on our list of top global accelerators.

8. Highway1

Right up there with Hax when it comes to building out an ecosystem for hardware startups, Highway1 are located in San Francisco but have their roots in Shenzhen. Backed by PCH International, one of the leaders in bringing electronics from conception to consumer, they offer a range of services. These include everything from design engineering to manufacturing, scaling, and fulfillment. If you’re a hardware startup, this is a good place to start.

9. Techcode

Another world leader, Techcode has established incubators in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Gu'an, Silicon Valley, Seoul, Tel Aviv, and Berlin. Techcode is backed by CFLD (China Fortune Land Development), a giant in the Chinese real estate business. Because they are well-financed and well-connected, they can bring a lot of resources to the table.

10. InnoSpring

Last but not least, InnoSpring have set up in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Germany, Kunshan, Nantong and Shanghai. They were one of the early Chinese accelerators to land in the Valley and make a name for themselves. They are going strong and we expect them to keep expanding.

That sums up our top picks for global accelerators for overseas startups. You can’t go wrong with anyone on this list. They are all excellent, and each offers its blend of unique services and value.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294113

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Becoming an Entrepreneur Is Easy but Succeeding as an Entrepreneur Is Not

Dillon Kivo

- Guest Writer

Founder and CEO of Kivo Media Group

Entrepreneurship is an impressive word, a word filled with optimism and the prospect of joy and riches. Millennials and veteran careerists view the world of entrepreneurship with strong enthusiasm, hope and energy. It’s their path to freedom and success.

You know how it works. Just dream up an idea, package your product, sell it to your target customers and then wait beside the ATM for the torrent of cash to land in your corporate account.

Entrepreneurship is a worthy career but it’s a tough career. The successful entrepreneurs you meet are smart, hard-working folks. They toiled to get where they are today. It's not that getting started is all that hard. In today’s Internet-empowered world, it’s easier to launch a startup than to do a five-minute workout. I mean, with few clicks from your bed, you can start your online business. You can run it on the go, with your Smartphone. Launching a business is not the problem. Building it into a successful empire is.

Your idea could be a mere hallucination.

Just because you dreamed of building that billion-dollar company doesn’t mean that, when you turn your ideas into products and inject some money into marketing them, you’ll become the next success story in your niche. The world of entrepreneurship is filled with uncertainties.

There’s no guarantee that your target market will patronize your products. There’s no guarantee that you’ll make a profit in your first year (or the second, or ever). There’s no guarantee that you’ll become the next success story in your industry.

The sooner you accept this fact, the sooner you’ll develop the resilient habits of successful entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs know that mistakes are inevitable and failure is always possible. That powers their passion to keep building and refining their ideas until they succeed.

So execute your dreams and ideas, because, as author and thought leader Robin Sharma puts it, “Idealization without execution is a delusion.” Your ideas might not sell. You just have to take the risk. So build, launch and work tirelessly to succeed at your new time-consuming career.

Entrepreneurship is a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. job.

What will happen if you think that entrepreneurship is an easy career?

You know, just work at your leisure tinkering around with your passion. You’re wrong if you think that entrepreneurship works like that. The painful truth is, building your business is more complex, tedious and time consuming than your normal day job.

Successful entrepreneurs, knowing that they are their own bosses, wake up early every morning and show up every day for long hours to think, create and invent for their customers.

It’s not easy. They have to grind, compete in the marketplace and get their products in front of their prospects. They have to snatch some of their competitors’ customers and they have to promote their brand to the world. They struggle to find even more hours to achieve these goals -- or fail woefully in the business arena.

That's what you have to do to survive as an entrepreneur.

Procrastination is your biggest enemy.

Every business builder has numerous enemies: competitors, insufficient funds, inadequate willpower, but the biggest enemy of them all is procrastination.

You may have a great idea. You may be the most brilliant founder in your industry. You may have a couple of angel investors willing to invest in your startup.

All of these are important when you are building a successful venture, but you must have the discipline to execute. If you don’t, believe me, none of these will matter because the secret to building your company lies in your productivity.

Sometimes, when you’re down and feeling withdrawn, you will choose to play Grand Theft Auto rather than work on your startup. The truth is, everyone faces the wrath of procrastination at some point. But successful entrepreneurs deal with it decisively.

They routinely itemize their tasks for the day. They show up every day to work on those tasks. They remain focused, working on their tasks one at a time, finishing one before moving on to another.

And they are consistent. Every day, every week, every month, they show up to do quality work that will move them closer to achieving their goals, mission and vision. Hence, they dominate their market.

Are you willing to sacrifice your life?

Running a business is more than just working for a few hours on weekends, making a few bucks and cozying on the sofa with your loved ones for the rest of the week. To build a business you need to be willing to sacrifice a lot, sometimes to the detriment of your life, for your customers.

Steve Jobs’ was a man full of passion, love and admiration for a product he named after his favorite fruit -- Apple. He loved his product like a mother loves her child. He made many sacrifices for it because he realized that was the only way he could “put a dent in the universe.”

Jobs devoted his entire life to building Apple. He would leave his family in the wee hours of the morning to show up before anyone else at Apple headquarters in California. He would stay after working hours to brainstorm, refine and reinforce his many ideas about the company, barely getting home to eat dinner with his wife.

In short, he sacrificed his life for it. But his legacy remains to this day. Whether you’re building another iPhone or just starting up as a freelancer, get ready to pour your sweat and blood and life to appease your market. You may not realize it is necessary, but it is.

As a digital marketer and blogger, I realize that to be an expert, I need to write every day. So I sacrifice my social life almost entirely. I shut myself in my room (my wife hates that) and do nothing but write so I can please what Stephen King called “the boys in the basement.”

That’s the only way to master the craft, to survive, or to last long as an entrepreneur. That’s what you must do if you’re serious about becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Sacrifice. If you’re not willing to sacrifice for your customers, delete the word “success” from your vocabulary.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/308803