Startup Professionals Musings

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10 Key Business Founder Checks Needed Before The Plan

Startup Professionals Musings

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. Every business is a work in progress.

Founder 262
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I Haven’t Seen A Startup Yet Thrive Without Marketing

Startup Professionals Musings

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. In a business plan these are only one of the many marketing campaigns which continue to rise in cost.

Viral 348
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Viral Marketing And Word-of-Mouth Require Investment

Startup Professionals Musings

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. In a business plan these are only one of the many marketing campaigns which continue to rise in cost.

Viral 268
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Pull Investors to Your Business Plan With a Summary

Startup Professionals Musings

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. You may have already found several articles, web pages, or books about writing the perfect executive summary.

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10 Preparation Steps to Win an Angel Investment

Startup Professionals Musings

If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. In today’s world, if you don’t have a web site up and running, you will not be perceived as a real company. They must amplify your “elevator pitch” to investors, as well as key points from the business plan and the financial model.

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Test Your Aptitude for Business Internet Jargon

Startup Professionals Musings

See how many of the following “new” Internet concepts you recognize, and can explain in terms of value to your business. If you have heard the lingo, but most of these are not in your startup business plan, you are already in jeopardy as an entrepreneur: Blogging. You can use it for your business.

Internet 239
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Kick-Start Your eCommerce Business for $100 or Less

Startup Professionals Musings

Personalize a simple web site. The net is that if I see a website business plan today with a projected development cost greater than $200K, I suspect the founder must be including some fancy perks, or they don’t understand the market dynamics of e-commerce today.

eCommerce 196