ReportWire

Tag: Starting a Business

  • 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting an Ecommerce Business | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As a 3X founder and veteran book publisher, I’ve brought thousands of authors to market, including several that climbed the New York Times bestseller list. Like most publishers, I always relied on traditional channels to handle sales and distribution, including, of course, Amazon. It always worked for me, but it’s expensive because you lose more than half the retail price to the middleman.

    Frustrated with the business model, I decided to cut both the retailers and wholesalers out by selling directly to consumers through my ecommerce platform. I became both a publisher and an ecommerce seller.

    While I experienced some success, going from zero to more than $1 million in revenue in less than one year, the transition also caught me off guard. I discovered that what looked straightforward from the outside was far more complex in practice. The highly competitive world of online retail is a minefield of logistical and financial challenges that can derail even the most prepared.

    Here are five things I wish I had known before leaping into ecommerce. These factors may determine whether you can build a thriving business or not.

    Related: How to Build, Grow and Make Money With Ecommerce

    1. Your competition is all the other online sellers

    Unlike traditional retail, your ecommerce business doesn’t just compete with the store down the street. You’re competing with sellers worldwide. It turns out there are millions of them. There are an estimated 4.82 million live Shopify stores worldwide — and that’s just one platform, and each is competing for the same dollars.

    This reality requires a fundamental shift in how you think about the products you’re selling. Success in ecommerce isn’t just about having a good product at a good price. It’s about finding unique angles that give you a competitive advantage. Whether that be your brand story or how your shopping cart works, the entrepreneurs who succeed in ecommerce are those who find ways to compete on factors other than product and price.

    2. Customer acquisition costs can make or break your business

    One of the biggest shocks for me was discovering how expensive it can be to acquire customers. I learned the days of “build it and they will come” are long gone. With iOS privacy changes, rising advertising costs and increased competition for consumer attention, many ecommerce businesses spend between $30 and $50 to acquire a single customer.

    Before launching, you need to understand your customer lifetime value (CLV) and how much you can afford to spend on acquisition while remaining profitable. If your average order value is $40 and your profit margin is 30%, you can only spend about $12 acquiring that customer while maintaining profitability, unless you have a strategy for repeat purchases.

    The math is tricky, and your excitement about your top-line revenue can quickly become a nightmare if you’re not careful. So, calculate these numbers early and build your business model around sustainable acquisition costs.

    Related: How to Reduce Customer Acquisition Costs with SEO

    3. Operations and fulfillment are more complex than you think

    Managing inventory, processing orders, handling returns and shipping products efficiently requires systems and processes that I underestimated. What seems simple when you’re selling a few items per week becomes overwhelming when you’re processing hundreds of orders.

    I tried to save money by doing it myself, but soon discovered that the hidden costs were costing me more than they were saving. Fortunately, I decided to hand it off to a fulfillment company before it got too late. Consider using a third-party logistics provider (3PL) or leveraging services like Amazon FBA. Each option has trade-offs in terms of cost and scalability. Remember, while self-fulfillment gives you control, it also costs you in space, time and systems.

    4. Cash flow management will test your business skills

    Ecommerce creates unique cash flow challenges that catch even the best entrepreneurs off guard. You typically need to purchase inventory before you sell it, and payment processing companies often hold funds for new businesses. Add in the costs of advertising, website hosting and fulfillment, and you can quickly find yourself cash-strapped and underwater.

    You can plan for these realities by maintaining adequate working capital and understanding your cash conversion cycle, which is the time between purchasing inventory and collecting cash from sales. If you’re not careful, you can run out of money during growth periods. This can be especially stressful.

    Try to avoid risking too much by oversizing your inventory. It’s tempting because your cost of goods is lower, but the trade-off in terms of your cash position can derail your business. As you grow, you can transition to holding inventory for better margins and faster shipping times.

    Related: How to Properly Manage the Cash Flow of Your Startup

    5. Social media is your lifeline, not just marketing

    In traditional publishing, I could rely on established channels and industry connections to reach readers. In ecommerce, social media isn’t just another marketing channel. It’s everything. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are the primary discovery mechanisms for many consumers, and not just younger demographics anymore.

    I quickly learned that treating social media as an afterthought or delegating it entirely to agencies was a mistake. Social media drives your brand’s awareness and traffic to your online store. It enables direct customer engagement and provides social proof through user-generated content. So you have to own it.

    The key is consistency and authenticity. Customers detect when brands are simply pushing products versus genuinely engaging with their community. Invest time in understanding each platform’s culture and create content that is appropriately relevant. One viral post can save you multiple times what you’d have to spend on equivalent advertising.

    Ecommerce offers tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to approach it strategically. But it’s not a magic wand. Success requires more than just a good product idea. It demands understanding of digital marketing, operations management, financial planning, and yes, sometimes nerves of steel.

    As a 3X founder and veteran book publisher, I’ve brought thousands of authors to market, including several that climbed the New York Times bestseller list. Like most publishers, I always relied on traditional channels to handle sales and distribution, including, of course, Amazon. It always worked for me, but it’s expensive because you lose more than half the retail price to the middleman.

    Frustrated with the business model, I decided to cut both the retailers and wholesalers out by selling directly to consumers through my ecommerce platform. I became both a publisher and an ecommerce seller.

    While I experienced some success, going from zero to more than $1 million in revenue in less than one year, the transition also caught me off guard. I discovered that what looked straightforward from the outside was far more complex in practice. The highly competitive world of online retail is a minefield of logistical and financial challenges that can derail even the most prepared.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Tom Freiling

    Source link

  • His Side Hustle Earns 6 Figures a Year: 1-2 Hours of Work a Day | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Dennis Tinerino, 39, of Los Angeles, California. Tinerino worked in online sales when he first learned about domain names and launching websites, which helped him discover domain investing as a side hustle. Here’s how he turned the gig into a lucrative business that brings in six figures a year — with about an hour or two of work per day. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Domain Smoke. Dennis Tinerino.

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    I started my side hustle in 2014 after discovering that domain names are like real estate, only online. Realizing the right ones could keep growing in value was all the inspiration I needed to dive in. My interest first sparked when I was launching a new website and came across a domain name for sale. I had no idea what the cost might be, so I filled out the form on the seller’s website. A domain broker from Afternic replied, explaining that the name was for sale and would require a six-figure minimum offer. Unfortunately, this domain was out of my budget for this project, but thankfully, they were very helpful and explained why it was valued at that price, even suggesting other names that were closer to my budget at the time. That conversation grabbed my attention and pushed me to do a deep dive into the world of domains.

    Related: These 31-Year-Old Best Friends Started a Side Hustle to Solve a Workout Struggle — And It’s On Track to Hit $10 Million Annual Revenue This Year

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    When I started, I did not know anyone personally who was doing this, so I had to teach myself. I dove into blogs, read FAQ sections on marketplaces and learned everything I could about how domains are bought and sold. Like most new investors, my first stop was GoDaddy, where I began registering domains that sounded cool or interesting. Luckily, I kept my spending in check and only bought four domains for a total of $36. One of them, LawyerBoss.com, ended up selling for $700 on Afternic less than two months after I bought it for about $8. That sale was a turning point. It was exciting to see that I could learn the process, list a name and have someone actually buy it for their business. From that moment on, I was hooked and started looking for more ways to find new domains to invest in.

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    If I could hop in a time machine, I’d go straight back and immediately sign up for the Domain Academy course on day one. It covers everything about domains, with resources from A to Z, and there’s nothing else like it. I could have skipped months of trial and error, saved a few gray hairs and gotten in the game faster with a deeper understanding of domains and the industry as a whole. There are countless strategies in domain investing, but before you dive in, you need to understand how domains work, what end users are looking for and the different ways to approach them. Trust me, learning this early is a lot cheaper than buying cool names and hoping for the best.

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    The hardest part for newcomers is getting the right education. Too many jump in blind, skip the basics and end up spinning their wheels. It’s like trying to fix a car without ever popping the hood. Making uninformed investments is a quick way to waste time, burn cash and get frustrated fast. Another big surprise is how much upkeep a domain portfolio requires. This is not a buy it and forget it business. You have to watch your names, keep up with renewals, follow the market and be honest when it is time to let go of names that are no longer relevant or valuable.

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
    In my early days, I started doing outbound marketing to create interest and generate sales for my domains. I was not thinking about trademarks at the time and reached out to companies that owned marks similar to my names. That mistake earned me a stack of legal threats and cease and desist letters. Thankfully, I was able to resolve each situation on good terms by finding common ground with the parties involved. It was a valuable lesson to always check for trademarks before investing or reaching out to buyers, and I am glad I learned it early. Avoiding legal battles is high on my priority list.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    It wasn’t until my second to third year of domain investing that I began to see consistent monthly revenue come in. What I noticed is that after my first year, when I started to educate myself more, build up my domain portfolio with better quality domains and then began outbound marketing, my sales accelerated, and steady monthly revenue came in. In the first year, I earned a few thousand with my first initial sales. In the second year, it was in the lower five figures, and it kept ramping up from there as I invested more time and resources.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    Back in 2014, the portfolio was just a handful of domains. Today, it has grown to roughly 8,000 to 10,000 names. There were stretches where I was buying one name a day, and some days I went on a spree and grabbed 20, using profits to keep scaling and building the portfolio. Each year, I have consistently added another 500 to 1,000 names, experimenting with different top-level domains (TLDs) and country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) when I spot a trend. The real growth has come from .com domains, which remain the most in-demand with end users. What started as a few thousand dollars a year has grown into a business generating steady six-figure revenue for the past five years. That growth comes from years of research, relentless market tracking, careful portfolio maintenance and making the right moves at the right time, even when they were tough.

    How much time do you spend working on your business on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
    On a typical day, I spend one to two hours building and managing my portfolio. Over a week, that adds up to 15 to 20 hours, and by the end of the month, it’s usually 60 to 80 hours.

    How do you structure that time? What does a typical day or week of work look like for you?
    My time is split between portfolio management, searching for fresh inventory, outbound marketing and closing deals. Each week, I set aside blocks of time to review my portfolio, adjust prices and prepare names for marketing. Once you get past a few hundred domains, daily portfolio management becomes essential. It is easy to let small tasks slip through the cracks, and that is when mistakes happen. What has saved me the most time is staying organized. It sounds easier than it is, but creating workflows, keeping detailed spreadsheets and using the right tools will save you from falling behind on your daily tasks.

    Related: These Friends Started a Side Hustle in Their Kitchens. Sales Spiked to $130,000 in 3 Days — Then 7 Figures: ‘Revenue Has Grown Consistently.’

    What do you enjoy most about running this business?
    Domain investing can get a little lonely sometimes because you have to put in the hours to stay sharp and up to date. But the thing I have enjoyed the most is the investor community. We are very active on X, and I have met incredible people from all over the world who have helped me grow as an investor, taught me a ton and become lifelong friends.

    The freedom that comes with this business is unlike anything else. You can run it from anywhere in the world with minimal tech skills. You set the rules, choose your hours, decide your prices, pick where to sell your names and choose which names you want to buy.

    Over the years, as an investor, I found myself looking at tens of thousands of domains coming to auction or expiring every day. As great as many of those names were, I knew I could not buy them all, but I also did not want to see those opportunities go unnoticed by other investors. That got me thinking about how I could share this research and these findings with others. That is when I launched Domain Smoke, a daily newsletter sharing industry news, investment opportunities and the best domains hitting auction each day. Since its launch in 2019, it has grown to thousands of readers worldwide who read it every day.

    Based on your journey so far, what’s your best advice for someone who wants to get started with this kind of business?
    When I got started, there were a few things I would change if I could, and I hope my experience can help you find success in your own journey as a domain investor. If you are new to domain investing, here are three tips that can help you start on the right foot:

    1. Be patient with hand registrations
      This one is not easy, but you will thank me later. Try to hold back from registering new domains by hand until you have a proper understanding of domain investing. The easiest mistake beginners make is buying names that are not likely to sell. Many of them also have little or no appeal to end users. That costs both time and money you will not get back. Once you get past the learning phase, you will have plenty of time to acquire domains that actually fit your strategy. When you know what to invest in, you will be glad you waited.
    2. Invest in yourself early
      They say the more you learn, the more you earn, and that is definitely true with domains. Avoid rookie mistakes by investing in your education. One of the best places to start is the Domain Academy course from GoDaddy, which teaches the ins and outs of the business. Just like any other form of investing, there are many ways to make money, but the best way to improve your chances of success early on is to educate yourself.
    3. Keep learning and follow the data
      It is easy to get started, build up a bit of knowledge and then think you know it all. But markets evolve, trends shift, and change is constant. Stay up to date with domain blogs, industry news, eBooks, Domain Sherpa shows and forums like NamePros, which is full of free knowledge for beginners. Most importantly, follow the data. Study sales and trends using resources like NameBio, dotDB and DNJournal. These will help you understand what is actually selling, what is trending and why. That insight gives you a competitive edge and keeps you aligned with the market.

    Related: I’ve Interviewed Over 100 Entrepreneurs Who Started Businesses Worth $1 Million to $1 Billion or More. Here’s Some of Their Best Advice.

    Start small, stay consistent and give yourself time to learn. Every successful investor was once a beginner. The more you study and track sales data, the sharper your skills will become. And remember, the community side of this business matters too. The investors and connections you build can be just as valuable as the domains you own.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • After Studying 233 Millionaires, I Found 6 Habits That Fast-Track Wealth | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Entrepreneurship is the quickest path to wealth, offering the potential to bypass the slow grind of traditional saving and investing. I am a CPA, Certified Financial Planner and author of Rich Habits: The Routines Millionaires Use Daily That Will Help You Build Wealth.

    Over a five-year period, I studied the daily habits of 233 wealthy individuals, of which 177 were self-made millionaires, and 128 people living in poverty. My Rich Habits research, along with insights from other independent third-party experts/studies corroborating my research, reveals that entrepreneurship accelerates wealth-building when paired with specific habits.

    This article explores why entrepreneurship is the fast track to wealth and how my findings can guide aspiring entrepreneurs to success.

    Related: 10 Habits That Separate Rich and Successful Founders From Wannabe Entrepreneurs

    The entrepreneurial advantage

    My research shows that self-made millionaires who pursued entrepreneurship built wealth faster than those who relied on saving and investing as employees. In my five-year Rich Habits Study, “Saver-Investors” took an average of 32 years to accumulate $3.3 million, while entrepreneurs reached $7.4 million in just 12 years. This gap highlights entrepreneurship’s potential to compress the wealth-building timeline.

    Entrepreneurs can create multiple income streams, scale businesses and directly influence financial outcomes, unlike employees tied to fixed salaries. However, I must emphasize that success depends on adopting certain ‘Rich Habits’ — daily routines that set successful entrepreneurs apart.

    Below are the key habits from my research, tailored for aspiring entrepreneurs.

    1. Set clear, actionable goals

    In my Rich Habits study, 80% of self-made millionaires set specific, long-term goals and focused on them daily. For entrepreneurs, this means defining a clear vision — whether launching a product or hitting revenue targets — and breaking it into daily tasks.

    I found that successful entrepreneurs have a do it now mindset/daily mantra that encourages immediate action to maintain momentum.

    Actionable Tip: Write one major business goal for the next year and break it into monthly and daily tasks. Review progress daily to stay on track.

    Related: The Path to Becoming a Wealthy Entrepreneur Starts With Identifying Scarcity and Saying ‘No’ More Often

    2. Commit to continuous learning

    Successful entrepreneurs are lifelong learners. My Rich Habits study shows that 88% of millionaires dedicate at least 30 minutes daily to self-education, reading books on personal development or industry trends. In contrast, 77% of poor individuals in my study spent over an hour a day either watching TV, streaming, reading books of fiction, social media engagement and other online time-wasters. Knowledge keeps entrepreneurs competitive.

    Actionable Tip: Replace 30 minutes of social media with reading a business book or listening to an industry podcast. or reading industry journals

    3. Live frugally to re-invest

    Financial discipline is critical. Saver-Investor millionaires build their wealth by being frugal with their spending in order to save 20% or more of their net income, which they prudently invest themselves or through financial advisors. Entrepreneurs are different.

    While they do share the frugality habit with Saver-Investors, they don’t save like Saver-Investors. Instead, they live frugally in order to maximize the amount of profits, which they then reinvest back into their businesses — marketing, product development or hiring. In order to be able to live frugally, budget no more than 25% of net income on housing, 15% on food, 10% on entertainment and 5% on vacations.

    Actionable Tip: Automate investing 20% of your company’s profits into a business savings account to help you fund growth or provide a buffer.

    Related: Frugality Among the Wealthy: A Closer Look

    4. Build power relationships

    Networking is a cornerstone of success. In my study, I found that 93% of millionaires with mentors credited them, almost entirely, for their success in life. Mentors offer guidance, share processes that work, teach habits that automate success, teach what works and what does not work and open doors to influencers who are part of their inner circle.

    Wealthy entrepreneurs also invest significant time in cultivating “Power Relationships” with optimistic, success-minded peers and mentor others to strengthen their networks.

    Actionable Tip: Seek a mentor in your industry and ask for specific advice. Mentor someone else to build your network and refine your strategies.

    5. Take calculated risks

    Entrepreneurship involves risk, but successful entrepreneurs do their homework and make informed decisions prior to taking any risk. In my study, 27% of millionaires failed at least once in business but learned from their setbacks. They avoid reckless, speculative moves, relying on research, mentorship and market analysis to seize opportunities others miss.

    Actionable Tip: Before launching a venture, conduct market research and test ideas with a small-scale pilot program in order to minimize risk.

    6. Prioritize positivity and health

    A positive mindset and good physical health sustain entrepreneurial stamina and energy levels. My Rich Habits millionaires practiced “rich thinking,” controlling negative emotions and staying optimistic. Additionally, 76% exercised regularly to maintain energy and focus, enhancing decision-making and resilience.

    Actionable Tip: Spend 30 minutes daily on exercise like walking, yoga, weights or resistance exercises and practice gratitude to maintain positivity.

    Related: How to Build a Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Life

    The power of passion and persistence

    I learned from my Rich Habits research that passion fuels entrepreneurial success. Passion makes work fun. Passion gives you the energy, persistence and focus needed to overcome failures, mistakes and rejection.

    Passionate entrepreneurs endure long hours and challenges, while disciplined habits create a compounding effect. However, even the entrepreneurial fast track requires time — 12 years on average to reach multimillion-dollar wealth.

    Addressing challenges

    Critics of my work argue that systemic factors or demographic biases may influence wealth beyond habits. While barriers exist, my blind study focused on controllable behaviors. Entrepreneurs can’t eliminate external challenges, but can control daily actions, relationships and decisions to navigate them effectively.

    Entrepreneurship offers the fastest path to wealth for those who adopt the Rich Habits my research highlights. By setting goals, prioritizing learning, living frugally, building networks, taking calculated risks and maintaining positivity and health, aspiring entrepreneurs can emulate self-made millionaires. Wealth-building is a two-step process — creating and sustaining it — and entrepreneurship, with disciplined habits, is the engine that drives both steps faster than any other path.

    Start small, stay consistent and entrepreneurship will eventually lead you to financial success.

    [ad_2]

    Tom Corley

    Source link

  • Her Business Helps Women Earn in a $6.3B Industry: ‘Rewarding’ | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Moniqueca Sims, owner of SSG Appliance Academy, got her first glimpse into the appliance repair industry while dating a man who worked in the space. “He worked all the time, seven days a week,” Sims recalls, “so I used to go out with him just to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those appliances, and he was repairing them quickly.”

    Image Credit: Courtesy of SSG Appliance Academy. Moniqueca Sims.

    Sims believes in “working smarter, not harder” and had the idea to hire technicians to help the man she was dating with repair calls. She did, but when he didn’t slow down, she ended up with her own appliance repair company.

    However, in running that business, Sims lost a significant amount of money purchasing parts. Many people she hired didn’t actually know how to repair appliances — and would just switch out part after part in search of a fit.

    Related: After Experiencing the ‘Lack of Diversity’ in Tech, This Software Engineer Started a Business That’s Changing Lives: ‘People Are Waking Up’

    So Sims took matters into her own hands again. She enrolled in an online course to learn about appliance repair and started handling jobs herself, even taking her kids along sometimes.

    “When you fix something, it boosts you up, every time you do it.”

    Still, Sims knew there had to be a better way to train and hire technicians for business growth, so once more she set out to make it happen: She founded SSG Appliance Academy, which provides hands-on training courses on the fundamentals to have a career in the appliance repair industry, in Atlanta in 2019.

    “ I saw how appliance repair was the gift that keeps on giving,” Sims says. “When you go out, when you fix something, it boosts you up, every time you do it. It’s not a grunt job. It’s a feel-good job.”

    When Sims went out on jobs with her daughter, she found that many of the clients were stay-at-home moms who breathed a sigh of relief when they realized they wouldn’t be alone with a male worker. Knowing that, and seeing firsthand what a confidence booster appliance repair could be, Sims committed to bringing more women into the industry.

    The total appliance repair industry revenue reached an estimated $6.3 billion in 2023, yet women make up less than 3% of home appliance repairers, according to data from ConsumerAffairs.

    Related: Raised By an Immigrant Single Mom, She Experienced ‘Culture Shock’ Working at Goldman Sachs. Here’s What She Wants You to Know About ‘Black Capitalism.’

    Sims decided to partner with shelters to grow SSG Appliance Academy and offer a viable career path to the women there. Although there was a lot of interest, the shelters didn’t have the funding to back it. So Sims got approved for grants through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

    The funding helps low-income, under- or unemployed women and men complete SSG Appliance Academy’s program and “turn their life around,” Sims says.

    SSG Appliance Academy’s classes typically enroll eight to 10 students. The most recent course had three women in it. In the past, Sims often had to attend events and convince women to come to the class; now, word-of-mouth is helping them find it themselves, she says.

    “ You constantly have to prove yourself [as a woman] in this industry.”

    Sims looks forward to seeing even more women take advantage of SSG Appliance Academy, despite the challenges that can come with being a woman in the space.

    “ You constantly have to prove yourself [as a woman] in this industry, and not just to the customers,” Sims says. “You have to prove yourself to everybody that works in the industry.”

    Sims is also excited to see more people across the board jump into the appliance repair industry, noting that learning a trade can help people make more money than they might through earning a four-year college degree.

    “Appliance repair can really help change people’s lives,” the founder says.

    Related: This Black Founder Stayed True to His Triple ‘Win’ Strategy to Build a $1 Billion Business

    “You want to learn your craft from the inside out.”

    To other women interested in starting their own careers or businesses in the appliance repair industry, Sims has some straightforward but essential advice: Enroll in a program that can help you learn all you need to know about the trade.

    “You want to learn your craft from the inside out,” Sims says. “A lot of technicians in the field now learn on the job, so they become part-changers because they don’t learn how to diagnose and troubleshoot the appliances properly. So my advice would definitely be to take a class. It doesn’t have to be my school — any school.”

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    Sims notes that there will be plenty of obstacles along the way, but she encourages anyone interested in learning appliance repair to stay the course — because “it’s a very rewarding career and business.”

    This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

    Moniqueca Sims, owner of SSG Appliance Academy, got her first glimpse into the appliance repair industry while dating a man who worked in the space. “He worked all the time, seven days a week,” Sims recalls, “so I used to go out with him just to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those appliances, and he was repairing them quickly.”

    Image Credit: Courtesy of SSG Appliance Academy. Moniqueca Sims.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • I Risked Everything to Build My Company. Four Years Later, Here’s What I’ve Learned About Building Real, Lasting Success | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When I first moved to the United States, my goal was simple: survive. I had no connections, little understanding of the system, and a burning desire to build something meaningful. At 33, I shared my journey here — how I used grit, education and a bit of luck to launch a real estate tech startup built on transparency.

    Four years later, I’m still standing — but I’ve changed. So has my definition of success.

    Today, I’m the founder and CEO of a growing real estate tech company based in New York City. But how I run my business — and how I live — looks completely different from when I started. I’ve learned that building something sustainable takes more than hustle. It requires alignment, clarity, and the courage to evolve.

    These are the five lessons I wish I’d known sooner. They now form the foundation of how I lead and advise others.

    Related: I Built a $20 Million Company by Age 22 While Still in College. Here’s How I Did It and What I Learned Along the Way.

    1. Stop chasing the finish line

    Early on, I thought success meant scaling fast, raising capital and staying in the spotlight. But sprinting toward a vague goal is a recipe for burnout.

    Now, I prioritize rhythm over speed. My weeks are structured around deep work, reflection and meaningful conversations. Sustainable growth isn’t linear — it’s iterative. Whether you’re building a business or navigating a career shift, ask yourself: What version of success feels good to live, not just good to post?

    Start your week with a “clarity session.” List your top three priorities — both for your business and your wellbeing. If your calendar doesn’t reflect those, you’re running someone else’s race.

    2. Your business should serve your life — not the other way around

    For a while, my business ran me. Every client issue, notification and small win or loss dictated my emotions. I was reactive, and my personal life paid the price.

    Now, I see my company as a vehicle for the life I want to lead. I’ve built systems that support autonomy, hired people who don’t need micromanaging and created workflows that don’t require 24/7 attention.

    Design your business — or your career — backwards. Start by defining the lifestyle you want, then build your work structure around it. This mindset shift made me a more present human and a better leader.

    3. Real estate is still one of the best paths to wealth — if you play the long game

    My company helps people make honest, informed real estate decisions. I’ve watched many chase trends or try to time the market. But real estate rewards patience and perspective.

    Some of my best investments didn’t look exciting on paper — but they had strong fundamentals. Over time, they became strategic assets, both financially and personally.

    Avoid the hype. Focus on long-term value. Sometimes, doing nothing is the smartest move you can make.

    4. You don’t need to be the loudest person in the room

    In my early years, I believed visibility equaled success. I over-indexed on appearances — networking events, interviews, panels.

    But the most impactful moves in my career came from quiet, focused work behind the scenes. Today, I choose depth over noise. I nurture a few meaningful relationships and let results speak for themselves.

    Build your “trust circle.” Choose five people you admire and invest in those connections. You don’t need a big network. You need a strong one.

    Related: Entrepreneurial Success Comes Down to Having the Right Mindset — Here’s How to Make Sure You Do

    The biggest myth I believed was that success meant arriving. But success is constant movement. It’s reinvention. Pivoting without losing your center.

    I’ve evolved from immigrant to employee, tech lead to CEO, and now founder to educator. I mentor entrepreneurs, speak at universities and write — not just to share what I’ve learned, but to keep growing myself. Each quarter, ask: What version of me am I outgrowing? Let the answer shape your next chapter.

    Looking back, my path hasn’t been straight — and I wouldn’t change a thing. Fulfillment doesn’t come from proving yourself. It comes from building in alignment with who you’re becoming. Whether you’re just starting or starting over, know this: you don’t need to build the biggest company or be the loudest voice to make a lasting impact. You just need to build with intention.

    And most importantly — keep going.

    When I first moved to the United States, my goal was simple: survive. I had no connections, little understanding of the system, and a burning desire to build something meaningful. At 33, I shared my journey here — how I used grit, education and a bit of luck to launch a real estate tech startup built on transparency.

    Four years later, I’m still standing — but I’ve changed. So has my definition of success.

    Today, I’m the founder and CEO of a growing real estate tech company based in New York City. But how I run my business — and how I live — looks completely different from when I started. I’ve learned that building something sustainable takes more than hustle. It requires alignment, clarity, and the courage to evolve.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Rodolfo Delgado

    Source link

  • The ‘Boring’ Side of AI That Could Make You a Fortune | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Most people building with AI are chasing the same thing: viral chatbots, cool demos or the next trending wrapper. But I think the real money — the serious, unicorn-level money — is somewhere else entirely.

    It’s in the stuff nobody wants to touch. Tedious, time-wasting, must-do tasks. The things you hate doing, but have to. That’s where the next wave of AI companies will emerge.

    Painful > pretty

    AI that makes you laugh is fun. AI that gets your taxes filed, your Visa sorted or your documents organized? That’s life-changing.

    When I moved to the UK on a Global Talent visa, I couldn’t find a single tool to track my absence days — something crucial for maintaining legal status. So I built it myself. Not to show off. Just to solve a problem I was quietly freaking out about.

    That’s the kind of “boring” problem most people overlook. But if it causes stress, repetition or fear — it’s valuable.

    There’s more money in fixing one painful workflow than chasing 100 likes on a fancy AI-generated avatar.

    Related: Don’t Be Afraid to Embrace Boring Ideas

    The more annoying it is, the bigger the opportunity

    Scheduling medical appointments. Submitting invoices. Picking wines from a 40-page restaurant list. These aren’t sexy problems. But they’re everywhere, and no one enjoys dealing with them.

    I’ve built apps that take care of those exact scenarios. Some were simple side projects, but they solved problems that people repeatedly run into. That’s the magic formula.

    In a piece I wrote earlier — 7 AI-Based Business Ideas That Could Make You Rich — I pointed out that the most profitable ideas are often hiding in plain sight. This is another example of that.

    No team? No problem.

    The tools available now are ridiculous. With GPT-4o, Supabase, Vercel and Claude, I’ve launched entire products in a week — solo.

    No designers. No backend engineers. Just a painful idea, an AI stack and a few cups of coffee.

    I’m not the only one. I’ve seen one-person shops build apps that manage apartment leases, prep legal docs and even coach you through IVF. They’re quiet tools with unflashy interfaces, but they’re deeply useful.

    If you’re a founder today, your MVP doesn’t need to be impressive — it just needs to make someone’s headache disappear.

    Build for Tuesday, not for tech Twitter

    Some of the smartest founders I know aren’t even trying to go viral. They’re building for Tuesdays — for that one problem that hits at 4:00 p.m. when you’re stuck in a bureaucratic loop and need someone (or something) to handle it for you.

    And here’s the kicker: The more boring the problem, the less competition you’ll have. AI founders are still chasing novelty. That’s your advantage.

    This article on overlooked metaverse jobs made a similar point: There’s a fortune in places people ignore.

    Boring doesn’t mean small

    If you told someone a decade ago that accounting automation or AI-powered scheduling tools would be billion-dollar companies, they’d probably laugh.

    Now those tools run quietly in the background of almost every business.

    The lesson: Don’t build for applause. Build for relief. If your product makes someone breathe easier, saves them time or reduces stress — they’ll pay for it.

    Even if they never tweet about it.

    Related: Why Unglamorous Entrepreneurial Opportunities Can Be Lucrative

    Boring tools can still build billion-dollar companies

    If you need proof, look at Expensify. It started by solving one thing: making expense reports less painful. It’s not exciting, not revolutionary — just useful. Nobody dreams about scanning receipts, but millions of people have to do it.

    Now Expensify processes billions in transactions. All because it made one annoying task easier.

    Same story with Calendly, which killed the back-and-forth of scheduling. DocuSign, which removed the pain of printing and scanning contracts. UiPath, which built a massive business by automating office tasks.

    None of these were flashy, but they fixed something people deal with every day. That’s what makes them work.

    If you’re building with AI, forget the hype. Look for the problems people quietly suffer through. The ones they never talk about publicly, but deal with constantly. That’s where the best ideas live.

    Boring isn’t a weakness. Boring is a business model.

    You don’t need a revolutionary idea. You just need to make one annoying thing go away.

    If you can do that, it won’t matter how it looks. It will sell.

    Most people building with AI are chasing the same thing: viral chatbots, cool demos or the next trending wrapper. But I think the real money — the serious, unicorn-level money — is somewhere else entirely.

    It’s in the stuff nobody wants to touch. Tedious, time-wasting, must-do tasks. The things you hate doing, but have to. That’s where the next wave of AI companies will emerge.

    Painful > pretty

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Ashot Gabrelyanov

    Source link

  • How This Startup Plans to End Restaurants’ Most Wasteful Habit | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Life is full of minor inconveniences. Most people see them as annoyances, but entrepreneurs see opportunities. Small frustrations can spark ideas that lead to big solutions, and many of the best companies are built by solving problems others overlook.

    That’s exactly what Dylan Wolff has done with his water conservation startup, CNSRV.

    A cooler way to thaw

    Wolff, a Southern California native, was introduced to the issue that now dominates his life through a bartending friend.

    “He told me the restaurant wasn’t serving drinking water to customers unless they asked for it — a policy to conserve water. But in the back of the house, in the kitchen, they were running the faucet for 10 hours a day to defrost frozen food. That’s over 4,000 gallons of water straight down the drain.”

    This isn’t an isolated issue. Every year, billions of gallons of water are wasted in the U.S. food industry during the defrosting process. One turkey breast can take 5 hours of running water. It seems like small potatoes, but when you multiply that across every restaurant in America, the environmental cost is staggering.

    After this epiphany, Wolff immersed himself in the wondrous world of food defrosting. He found that restaurants use three main methods: refrigerating the food, microwaving it or running it under cold water.

    The fridge method takes days to defrost, creating an “inventory nightmare”, and we all know that microwaved food isn’t quite the same. That leaves the cold water method, which would be perfect if not for the thousands of gallons wasted each day.

    “I spoke with as many people in commercial kitchens as I could, and kept hearing the same thing,” Wolff says. “It’s just the nature of the business.”

    Undeterred, Wolff turned words into action, meeting with health departments to fully understand the code and reverse-engineer a solution. Working with his partner, Brett Abrams and Tim Nugent, head of R&D, he developed an early prototype that uses a proprietary defrosting method combining water agitation and precise temperature control.

    That prototype would become the DC: 02, a defrosting machine that cuts thawing time in half using 98% less water than traditional methods, and improves food quality, all while saving thousands in utility expenses.

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    Efficiency meets affordability

    When Wolff started, there were hardly any players in the defrosting industry, and none with a completely portable technology.

    “There are alternatives, but they’re $35,000 blast chillers that need a dedicated 220 outlet and a lot of kitchen space,” Wolff says. “We’ve built something that uses the space they’re already defrosting in, plugs into a standard 120 outlet, uses little power, and completely optimizes the process.”

    For customers who don’t care about water savings, Wolff jokes that he can “Trojan horse” it in.

    “They’ll care about the improved quality and saving time,” he says.

    They’ll also care about new rebate programs from municipalities in Southern California ($800 per unit) and Tampa, Florida ($1,000 per unit).

    “The Metropolitan Water District has a program that provides grants to innovations in the water conservation space,” Wolff explains. “I received that grant, along with the third-party validation of our technology that came with it.”

    For consumers, that means when you buy a DC:02, you’ll get a check back from the Metropolitan Water District. Wolff envisions this resonating with smaller restaurants and grocers, who benefit personally from the savings while contributing to the larger cause of water conservation.

    Related: 7 Water-Saving Strategies for Your Business

    Though passionate about the environment, Wolff has no formal training in sustainability or water conservation. What he does have is a background in product development, management, and an entrepreneurial drive. He bootstrapped CNSRV through its early stages, raising capital from friends and family before catching the attention of venture group Burnt Island Ventures, which provided the funding to take the next step.

    “I always knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial,” Wolff says. “I just needed that spark—the problem to solve. This was a serendipitous intersection of my strengths in business and my passion for sustainability. Finding this solution is exactly where I want to focus my time and energy.”

    Life is full of minor inconveniences. Most people see them as annoyances, but entrepreneurs see opportunities. Small frustrations can spark ideas that lead to big solutions, and many of the best companies are built by solving problems others overlook.

    That’s exactly what Dylan Wolff has done with his water conservation startup, CNSRV.

    A cooler way to thaw

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Leo Zevin

    Source link

  • Co-founders of Stakt on Starting a Side Hustle Earning $10M in 2025 | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand.

    Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across Amazon, DTC and B2B.

    Read exactly how they did it, here.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt. Taylor Borenstein, left, and Millie Blumka, right.

    Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    Blumka and Borenstein: We had the idea for Stakt back in 2020 when home workouts became the norm and our old yoga mats just weren’t cutting it. We needed more support and versatility for the variety of workouts we were doing like sculpt and pilates, and we couldn’t find a mat that could keep up. We found inspiration through our own personal need and noticing many trainers we looked up to were rolling their mat in half to get extra support…we knew there had to be a better way.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    Blumka and Borenstein:     Neither of us had started a business before, let alone created a product, so the first step was a lot of networking. We spoke with friends of friends to try to understand how you even go about creating a product. We also did a lot of surveying to understand if this was an “us” problem or if other people were struggling with this, too. We each invested $25,000 of our own savings to get the business off the ground and have invested profits ever since.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    Blumka:     If I could go back, I’d probably establish our lanes much earlier. In the beginning, we both tried to touch everything and be hands on for every aspect of the business. Once we defined who owned what, things became so much smoother. Having those roles in place earlier would have saved us a lot of time.

    Borenstein: I probably would have hired customer service support sooner, as we spent a lot of our time on customer experience when we could have spent it building the business.

    Related: These Friends Started a Side Hustle in Their Kitchens. Sales Spiked to $130,000 in 3 Days — Then 7 Figures: ‘Revenue Has Grown Consistently.’

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    Borenstein:     Before starting a consumer brand, I had always thought, How hard could it be if you have a good product? It turns out the product is just the first step: Growing a business takes a ton of discipline, hard work, networking and efforts across all verticals to really make it successful.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong — how did you fix it?
    Blumka:     We once had an entire container of inventory arrive damaged, and we didn’t feel comfortable selling it. Instead, we donated the mats to local organizations and used them for community events. It left us out of stock for a while, so we leaned on pre-orders and reframed the challenge as a marketing opportunity.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    Blumka:     We didn’t pay ourselves until we decided it was time to make Stakt our full-time jobs instead of just a side hustle.

    Borenstein: It took about a year before things leveled out and we saw consistent monthly revenue. For the first year, there were good months, great months and bad months — eventually it became more consistent and easier to predict.

    Related: At 24, She Immigrated to the U.S. and Worked at Walmart. Then She Turned Savings Into a ‘Magic’ Side Hustle Surpassing $1 Million This Year.

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    Blumka and Borenstein:     We are on track to do $10 million in revenue this year — doubling what we did in 2024.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    What do you enjoy most about running your business?
    Blumka:     The combination of creativity and community. I love taking an idea and turning it into something people genuinely connect with. That said, the real reward is seeing our products out in the wild, with people actually using and loving them. Building community around movement and wellness has been the most fulfilling part. Plus, doing it alongside my best friend is the biggest bonus.

    Borenstein: At some point, this truly stopped feeling like work. Stakt is an extension of me and my family, and every day I get to work with my best friend and my husband (whom we hired last year). I love that I can make my own schedule, my hard work is rewarded with the growth of my own business, I meet awesome people, and I get the opportunity to design new products and see them come to life.

    “Chaos is part of the journey.”

    Based on your journey so far, what’s your best advice for aspiring founders?
    Blumka:     There will never be a perfect time, perfect product or perfect plan, but you have to start somewhere. There will always be a reason to wait, but the real progress starts once you launch. This is when you can adapt, learn and grow.

    Borenstein: Everyone will have advice, but trust your gut — there’s no single playbook. And remember, no one has it all figured out; the chaos is part of the journey.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand.

    Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across Amazon, DTC and B2B.

    Read exactly how they did it, here.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • How a Software Engineer’s Business Impacts Education | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    As Brandon Bailey, founder and CEO of TutorD, built his career in software engineering, he came face-to-face with the “lack of diversity and inclusion” in tech — and he wanted to do something about it.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of TutorD. Brandon Bailey.

    Bailey worked at a consultancy in Chicago at the time, and as co-lead for one of the firm’s employee resource groups, he partnered with a couple of community-based organizations. One partnership was with a middle school in Bronzeville.

    The school was located about 15 minutes from Bailey’s home, but the students “had a totally different lived experience,” the founder recalls. Many of the kids had never been on an escalator or inside a skyscraper despite living just minutes from downtown.

    Related: Technology Opens the Door for Entrepreneurs to Achieve the Triple Bottom Line

    The program helped the students have those experiences and access internships and other opportunities. “That gave me this drive and passion for the educational experience and helping facilitate it,” Bailey says. “It changed my life. I know it changed [their lives].”

    But Bailey wanted to figure out how to reach even more people. He landed a job at an edtech startup in Los Angeles, California, and began to think about how he could bring together education, engineering and entrepreneurship.

    When considering the platform or tool that could accomplish that, Bailey noted one significant obstacle: There was an issue of connectivity for students who didn’t have access to computers in their homes. However, most students did have cellphones, so Bailey decided to meet the students where they were and build for those.

    Related: How DEI and Sustainability Can Grow Your Triple Bottom Line

    “We wanted to lead with providing value to the community first and gaining trust and buy-in.”

    Bailey officially founded TutorD, an edtech platform for teachers and tutors to enable distance learning, and TutorD Scholars, a nonprofit that teaches “urban youth in-demand 22nd century skills,” in 2019.

    “We wanted to lead with providing value to the community first and gaining trust and buy-in into what we were doing,” Bailey says. “So that’s why we led with the nonprofit TutorD Scholars first, while building out the software platform.”

    Teaching made it easier to figure out the specific tools students would need on the platform and how to tailor lessons to their unique learning styles.

    Related: This Black Founder Stayed True to His Triple ‘Win’ Strategy to Build a $1 Billion Business

     ”We’re teaching [the students] in different ways,” Bailey says, “so using visual, auditory, reading and kinesthetic. [It’s] a very intentional approach.”

    Entrepreneur sat down with Bailey to learn more about how he’s grown TutorD into a successful business — and the role that Intuit’s IDEAS accelerator program has played.

    Intuit’s IDEAS accelerator program provides founders access to capital and the company’s AI-powered platform, service and experts, plus business coaching from the National Urban League and executive coaching from Zella Life to support their business and professional growth.

    Related: Over Half of Small Businesses Are Struggling to Grow, Intuit Survey Shows — But These 5 Solutions Can Help

    Learning the accounting fundamentals was a game changer

    Through the IDEAS program, Bailey got valuable exposure to the basic accounting fundamentals, like cash flow and profit and loss statements, that make or break a business.

    “That wasn’t something I had a lot of support with growing up, looking back at it,” Bailey says. “In our household, [and] it is common across Black and brown households, we didn’t have that training around finances.”

    Receiving that technical training helped Bailey and the TutorD team develop a clearer sense of where the business was headed and how its costs and sales projections would shape that trajectory, the founder notes.

    Related: Why Accounting Skills Are Indispensable for Entrepreneurs

    Streamlining the business’s messaging was also key

    TutorD used Intuit’s MailChimp, an email and marketing automation platform for growing businesses, to streamline its communications.

    Not only did the platform make it easier for people to get in touch with TutorD, but it also helped cultivate a sense of presence — making the business seem bigger than it was, Bailey says.

     ”We’re a team of five right now, and we’re dealing with other companies that are 200, 500 people strong,” Bailey explains. “And they have $20 million backed by different investors. [MailChimp] helped us appear bigger than we are to compete in the market and with other edtech companies.”

    Related: How to Streamline Your Company’s Internal Messaging and Communication

    Leaning on mentors helped during tough times

    The business coach that Bailey connected with through Zella Life also became an integral part of TutorD’s journey.

    Having a support system in place was invaluable as Bailey juggled the challenges of growing a business with major life events, he says.

    “My father passed away, and my baby came, and I had an injury, all in a three-month span,” Bailey says. “My coach had also lost his mother around that time, so we [had a] really deep connection, and he was able to help.”

    Related: How to Evolve From Manager to Mentor and Create a Lasting Impact in Your Organization

    Bailey says that the IDEAS program put TutorD in the position to scale — and gave him and his team the confidence to talk to people about their journey.

    Advice for young entrepreneurs

    Bailey encourages other young, aspiring entrepreneurs to never stop learning, seek out opportunities where there’s a need and ability to create value, connect with other founders who can serve as mentors, and leverage the community to help lay the foundation for business success.

    He’s also excited to see people embracing the “triple bottom line,” which tracks a business’s financial, social and environmental performance — and suggests anyone considering the leap to founder do the same.

    “ People are waking up to [the fact that] it’s not just about making money and some infinitely growing, making-money approach to entrepreneurship and capitalism in general, but really looking at it with a triple bottom line approach, generating sustainable profit or revenue for yourself, your family, business and shareholders, but also making an impact in the community,” Bailey says.

    Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • Stop Losing Customers — 5 Friction Fixes That Boost Conversions | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    At Bask Health, we once forced every new patient to download a separate app just to upload their ID. Only 40% of them made it through. Six weeks of development, thousands of dollars spent, and we called it a funnel. That one decision cost us more patients than any Facebook ad ever brought in.

    Turns out, healthcare has a cart abandonment problem, just like ecommerce. But instead of a forgotten pair of sneakers, it’s unbooked visits, lost revenue and patients who still need help. And unlike a shopping cart, an abandoned patient is a real person who might go untreated.

    The irony? Most platforms are a few micro-fixes away from major conversion lifts. We’re talking about small, scrappy interventions that boost visit completion rates, no full redesigns required. Fix the friction, finish more visits.

    Here’s how we sealed the biggest leaks in our patient flow and increased completion by 15%.

    Related: 5 Simple Ways You Can Decrease Shopping-Cart Abandonment

    1. Scare fewer patients at step one

    First-time users are already skeptical. They’re worried about cost, privacy and whether this whole “online doctor thing” is legit. Add a dense form or legalese about data, and they’re gone.

    What worked for us:

    • Put a “HIPAA Secure” badge near the call to action
    • Include a one-line promise like: “We never sell or share your info.”
    • Use plain English, not compliance jargon

    Patients don’t read your privacy policy. But they do feel your tone. So do the work for them. Space your elements clearly. Use icons sparingly. And write like a human. People aren’t comparing you to other clinics. They’re comparing you to Uber and Amazon.

    Tip: Follow HIPAA’s privacy guidance for what you must, and can, say. Patients feel safer when they know what’s happening.

    2. Escalate to live chat before they bail

    We assumed patients would reach out if they had questions. They didn’t. They just left. Page stalled, visit lost.

    Here’s what helped:

    • Auto-trigger live chat if users pause at critical fields (like insurance input or ID upload)
    • Escalate from bot to human in under 15 seconds
    • Train reps to reassure, not upsell

    Live chat isn’t optional anymore. It’s the new front desk. After implementing this flow, we saw a 12% increase in form completions, just from helping people in the moment when they were getting stuck.

    Make sure your chat tool integrates cleanly with your CRM. Set KPIs: sub-30-second response time, sub-3-minute resolution. If a patient wants care at midnight, don’t make them wait for support until morning.

    3. Cut steps like a chef, especially ID uploads

    Requiring patients to scan their ID in a specific browser? We may as well have asked for a fax. And the worst part? We didn’t know it was broken until a user emailed us three days later.

    Quick wins:

    • Accept image uploads from phone camera rolls
    • Offer drag-and-drop + file upload options
    • Use OCR tech to auto-fill name and DOB

    OCR’s identity verification guidance is flexible enough; don’t make it harder than it needs to be.

    Also: test this flow on iPhones, Androids, tablets and old browsers. Friction hides in tech gaps. The best checkout is one that disappears into the background.

    Related: 3 Fatal Ecommerce Mistakes You Must Not Make

    4. Automate the boring stuff

    Nobody wants to type their insurance group number at 11 p.m. That’s when they’re finally booking care, and we’re greeting them with paperwork.

    Here’s what helped:

    • Enable camera capture of insurance cards
    • Use autofill for returning patients
    • Pre-load common insurer names and plan types

    These changes cut our manual data cleanup by half and improved patient throughput without adding support headcount. Most importantly, they helped people finish the booking while they still had momentum.

    Automation isn’t about removing humans. It’s about clearing the path so your humans can focus on care, not copy-pasting from a broken webform.

    5. Confirm with confidence

    Our first “success” screen said: Thank you. That’s it. No confirmation number. No next steps. Patients didn’t know if they were actually booked or if they just wasted 15 minutes.

    Fixes:

    • Add a visible progress bar throughout the flow
    • End with: “You’re confirmed. Here’s what happens next.”
    • Send immediate confirmation via email and SMS with visit details

    We also added a preview screen that lets patients review, cancel or reschedule their appointment in one click. Empowering the user reduces support tickets and gives them a sense of control.

    Remember: this is healthcare. An ambiguous checkout creates anxiety. A clear one builds trust.

    Close the leaks, book more patients

    We built these fixes after getting burned by our bad assumptions. We didn’t need a brand strategist. We needed friction audits and brutal honesty. Healthcare abandonment isn’t about laziness, it’s about user experience.

    Your challenge: audit your patient flow this week. Pull the data. Watch users abandon in real time. Where are they dropping? What would it take to lift conversions by just 3%? (That’s often six figures of revenue.)

    Here’s your cheat sheet:

    • Add visible trust cues upfront
    • Make support accessible instantly
    • Remove unnecessary steps
    • Auto-fill every field you legally can
    • Confirm like you mean it

    This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being good enough to get them through the door. Remember: the patient doesn’t care how clever your design is. They care that it works.

    Healthcare doesn’t need more bells and whistles. It needs less friction.

    And fewer abandoned carts.

    At Bask Health, we once forced every new patient to download a separate app just to upload their ID. Only 40% of them made it through. Six weeks of development, thousands of dollars spent, and we called it a funnel. That one decision cost us more patients than any Facebook ad ever brought in.

    Turns out, healthcare has a cart abandonment problem, just like ecommerce. But instead of a forgotten pair of sneakers, it’s unbooked visits, lost revenue and patients who still need help. And unlike a shopping cart, an abandoned patient is a real person who might go untreated.

    The irony? Most platforms are a few micro-fixes away from major conversion lifts. We’re talking about small, scrappy interventions that boost visit completion rates, no full redesigns required. Fix the friction, finish more visits.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Zachary Dorf

    Source link

  • Workers Over 40 Are Turning to Side Hustles — Here’s Why | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It seems that every day, there is another story about a young person who started a side hustle and hit it big. In 2024, over one-third of Americans had a side hustle to supplement their income. Side hustles are particularly appealing to Gen Z, with about half of them reporting having one. Millennials are a little less active, with about one-third of them stepping up to get that extra income that a hustle provides. Are side hustles just for those in the early stages of their career? Is there a huge opportunity for baby boomers as well?

    Several years ago, I wrote an article and shared how I turned my “side hustle,” which at the time we called freelancing, into a business. At the time, I shared that turning a side hustle into a business does not always work. However, if you can go the distance, build a team and get the cash you need to launch and sustain the business you, like me, can have a great run. In 2027, Cynthia Kay and Co. will be 40 years old.

    There are some dramatic differences between a side hustle and a mature business. To begin, a side hustle is generally a part-time endeavor to make some additional money and does not require a lot of investment. A business is more structured and complex. Believe me, it takes a significant amount of time, attention and cash to be successful in the long haul.

    Most of the time, the side hustle stories are about an endeavor that grows and becomes a viable business. I would like to propose something to entrepreneurs who are at a different stage in their careers, where the runway in front of them is shorter than behind them.

    There comes a time when entrepreneurs must decide to continue running their company or move on. Some entrepreneurs love the thrill of a new venture and cannot even think about leaving the business. Others get bored when managing the day-to-day operation and are ready to start a new venture. Finally, there are those who are ready to sell but struggle with the idea of retirement. I know I do. There are options.

    Related: This 79-Year-Old Retiree’s Side Hustle Earns $4,000 a Month: ‘I Work as Much or as Little as I Desire’

    Side hustle as a transition

    A side hustle can be the perfect transition for entrepreneurs who are seeking a new adventure. If you have sold a business but are too young to sit on a beach, it might be a way to earn some cash while you consider the possibilities. A side hustle offers a flexible schedule, and you don’t have to make a significant investment. You can test out a big idea or new product and have the time to refine it. If it shows promise, it becomes your next entrepreneurial venture. If it fails, you still made some money and probably learned a lot.

    Side hustle while working full-time

    For years, people have been asking me when I am going to retire. Honestly, it is getting annoying. It started in my early 60s, and it continues to this day. I know many entrepreneurs who never plan to retire. That does not mean they will continue to work day-to-day in their operation. I have been working for years on a “side hustle” that gives me the best of both worlds.

    While running my company, I built a communications consulting practice. I love to teach seminars, write books and speak to audiences, both big and small. I was intentional about building this side hustle because I know I cannot fathom retirement. Truthfully, like most entrepreneurs, there are some things I no longer enjoy doing at work. There are projects that do not require my advanced skills. I needed to step out of the way so that others at the company could step up.

    Several years ago, working with my accounting team, I began to create a “business within a business.” All the activities that I was doing solo were line-itemed and separated out on the balance sheet. That way, we could account for all the income and expenses. More recently, I formed a new business entity where all that work now resides.

    It is important to note that building a side hustle while working full-time running a company is quite different than doing it as a transition. I have made my established business the priority because there simply is not enough time to do both well. There are opportunities I have turned down. However, when I finally do sell the business, my side hustle is established and is ready to be supercharged.

    Related: 10 Side Hustles for Retirees: Making Extra Cash on Your Terms (And Enjoying the Ride!)

    Side hustle as an alternative to retirement

    Entrepreneurs looking to work well into retirement should look at their existing business and determine if activities or services can become the foundation of a side hustle. In my case, there is no conflict of interest between my side hustle and my business. That may not be the same for others. In fact, if you sell, there may be strict non-compete clauses. Look for specific expertise that you have that no one else does. You may be able to carve out working with clients who will not stay with the company if you leave. There may also be short-term engagement projects that are a perfect fit.

    Of course, a retirement side hustle can be completely different than the entrepreneur’s life’s work. It could be a passion. My father was a business owner, a dry cleaner who had a passion for duplicate bridge. Over the years, he became a life master. His side hustle in retirement was directing bridge games. It was great pin money, kept his mind active and he loved it. Others have hobbies that become businesses. It is easier than ever to set up ecommerce sites and sell anything and everything. Not creative? I know a retired teacher who has become a paid tester of products.

    A side hustle is no longer just for Gen Z or millennials looking to build a career. It is for entrepreneurs of “a certain age” to stay engaged, make a little extra cash or a big haul and work as long as they want. To those who keep asking when I will retire, the answer is not anytime soon.

    It seems that every day, there is another story about a young person who started a side hustle and hit it big. In 2024, over one-third of Americans had a side hustle to supplement their income. Side hustles are particularly appealing to Gen Z, with about half of them reporting having one. Millennials are a little less active, with about one-third of them stepping up to get that extra income that a hustle provides. Are side hustles just for those in the early stages of their career? Is there a huge opportunity for baby boomers as well?

    Several years ago, I wrote an article and shared how I turned my “side hustle,” which at the time we called freelancing, into a business. At the time, I shared that turning a side hustle into a business does not always work. However, if you can go the distance, build a team and get the cash you need to launch and sustain the business you, like me, can have a great run. In 2027, Cynthia Kay and Co. will be 40 years old.

    There are some dramatic differences between a side hustle and a mature business. To begin, a side hustle is generally a part-time endeavor to make some additional money and does not require a lot of investment. A business is more structured and complex. Believe me, it takes a significant amount of time, attention and cash to be successful in the long haul.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Cynthia Kay

    Source link

  • Average Ages to Make 6 Figures, Buy a House, Save for Retirement | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    There’s no age limit when it comes to achieving significant financial milestones, but many people envision checking them off their list by a certain point in their lives.

    Unfortunately, these days, amid high costs of living and economic uncertainty, most U.S. adults fall short of wealth-building goals: 77% say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s Financial Freedom survey.

    How old should you really be to land that dream job, start saving for retirement, earn six figures or buy your first home?

    Related: Rewire Your Brain to Reach Money Goals With This Simple Exercise From a Former J.P. Morgan Retirement Executive

    New research from Empower set out to answer those questions and explore how Americans navigate money milestones today.

    Although just 17% believe people should hit financial milestones by a specific age, 44% are glad they achieved them when they did, per the report.

    On average, Americans think you should start saving for retirement at 27, land your dream job at 29, buy your first home at 30 and earn six figures by 35, according to the research. Respondents also reported hoping to be debt-free at 41 and to retire at 58.

    About half of Americans (45%) wish they’d saved money earlier and with more consistency in order to prepare for life’s big changes, the study found.

    Related: Make Your Money Manage Itself — How to Automate Your Personal Finances and Keep Your Goals on Track

    After planning for retirement and becoming a homeowner, Americans see several life events as significant wealth-building opportunities: investing in stocks (34%), investing in education (26%), changing career paths (21%), getting married (19%) and starting a business (19%).

    Nearly one-third of respondents said they realized the value of having a financial plan or working with a financial planner after meeting a life milestone.

    “For all ages, it’s important to talk to an advisor who can help create a tailored path specific to your financial goals and set you up for a realistic retirement lifestyle,” Stacey Black, lead financial educator at Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), told Entrepreneur last year.

    Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.

    There’s no age limit when it comes to achieving significant financial milestones, but many people envision checking them off their list by a certain point in their lives.

    Unfortunately, these days, amid high costs of living and economic uncertainty, most U.S. adults fall short of wealth-building goals: 77% say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s Financial Freedom survey.

    How old should you really be to land that dream job, start saving for retirement, earn six figures or buy your first home?

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • Don’t Be Fooled By Overnight Success Stories — Building a Business Takes More Time Than You Think. Here’s How to Play the Long Game. | Entrepreneur

    Don’t Be Fooled By Overnight Success Stories — Building a Business Takes More Time Than You Think. Here’s How to Play the Long Game. | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In the business world, it often seems like startups go from idea to billion-dollar valuations in the blink of an eye. But these overnight success stories, while inspiring, often mask a crucial truth: Building a great, sustainable business takes time, often much more time than most founders, investors and observers expect.

    Nothing sells better than the idea of a rapid, meteoric rise to success, and we’ve all heard stories of the legends — Instagram went from launch to a $1 billion acquisition by Facebook in just 18 months, Uber achieved a $70 billion valuation in less than a decade, and the idea for Airbnb went from air mattresses on a living room floor to a global hospitality giant in a few short years. But these are exceptions rather than the rule, and they create a distorted view of how long success really takes.

    As a founder turned investor, I’ve built and funded startups that have been very successful. But they took a long time, in some cases over a decade, to get there. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The real secret to building and growing startups lies in the art of patience.

    Related: Overnight Success as a Startup Is Unrealistic — Embrace the Uncertainty and Try This Instead.

    Reality check: The true timeline of startup growth

    The reality for most successful startups is far less glamorous than the companies making headlines and much more time-consuming. When you’re forming a new company, these are the things that take the most time but that you need to prioritize to have a shot at success:

    • Product-market fit: Finding the right product that solves a real problem for a specific market can take years of iteration and pivoting. Take Slack, for example — it started as a gaming company before pivoting to become the workplace communication tool it is today.
    • Revenue generation: Developing a sustainable revenue model often requires multiple attempts and adjustments. Pinterest spent years fine-tuning its monetization strategy before achieving profitability.
    • Scaling: Growing from a small team to a larger organization while maintaining culture and efficiency is a slow, challenging process. Dropbox spent over a decade perfecting its product and scaling its operations before its successful IPO.
    • Market education: For truly innovative products, educating the market and changing consumer behavior takes time. Tesla spent years convincing the market of the viability of electric vehicles before achieving mainstream success.

    I spent eight years at the company I co-founded, Density, and we were hyper-focused on getting these areas of the business right. In the beginning, we tested our idea by manually counting people in a coffee shop and publishing the results online. We initially sold WiFi-based counting solutions to retail businesses, but after receiving feedback and interest from larger organizations, we decided to pivot and focus exclusively on commercial real estate (CRE).

    Along the way, we realized our product wasn’t accurate enough, so we rebuilt it from the ground up. We expanded into mid-market businesses and even found an unexpected use case with airport lounges — if you fly Delta, you’ll probably see one of our sensors above the lounge doors. Eventually, we shifted back to focusing on CRE and changed our business model from a per-sensor fee to a square footage-based software fee because it made the most sense for revenue generation.

    Since I left the company, that journey has continued. This timeline is much more representative of the typical startup experience.

    Related: How Saying ‘Yes’ to Every Opportunity Helped My Startup Make $1 Million in the First Year

    Maintaining momentum over the long haul

    Long timelines without significant milestones can certainly be demotivating to employees and leadership. But there are ways to maintain motivation and momentum for the long haul.

    Set intermediate goals by breaking down the long-term vision into shorter-term, achievable objectives. This will help your team understand that they are making progress even if it’s incremental. I also believe in celebrating small wins. Acknowledge and celebrate the little achievements along the way, no matter how insignificant they might seem.

    It can be difficult to do when you’re grinding hard to make your idea a reality but hear me out — it’s crucial to maintain some semblance of work-life balance. If everyone is working until 9 p.m. and on weekends, they’re going to burn out and be even less likely to stick it out for the long run. Encourage your team to take time off.

    Lastly, stay connected to the mission. Regularly revisit and reinforce the company’s core mission and values because it reminds people why they’re doing the work and why they should continue even when progress feels slow.

    How investors and founders can align on long-term visions

    Building a great startup takes time, and it’s not just you who needs to be patient — your investors have to be on board, too. From the get-go, make sure you’re having honest conversations with them about what the journey is going to look like. Talk about timelines, key milestones and what success really means for your startup.

    It’s crucial to find investors who not only get your industry but also share your long-term vision. It’s important to pursue capital from investors who share your ideology and have a vision for their fund that outlives your business — an investor can only be in it for the long haul if their fund model supports it.

    In general, try to find investors with good track records and some semblance of operating experience. They’ll often have more empathy for the ups and downs of finding market fit or unlocking revenue. Once you have those people in your corner, keep them in the loop with regular, open communication. And don’t just focus on today’s revenue or growth numbers; pay attention to leading indicators, like customer acquisition cost, monthly recurring revenue and user engagement metrics. These are the signs that show you’re on the right track for future success.

    Don’t be shy about asking your investors for help. They bring experience and connections that can be game-changers when things get tough or when you’re looking to scale faster. As a former founder, I try to be a mentor to the companies I invest in. I’m always willing to get into the nitty gritty with founders and help them with operations, brand work, product development and company culture. The more involved your investors are, the better off you’ll be.

    Embracing the long game

    Building a truly great, sustainable business is more a marathon than a sprint. It requires not just ambition and hard work, but also patience, resilience and a willingness to learn and adapt over time.

    For founders, this means setting realistic expectations from the start, both for themselves and for their teams. It means being prepared for the long haul, celebrating the small victories along the way and maintaining focus on the ultimate vision.

    For investors, it means looking beyond the allure of quick returns and being willing to support promising companies through the tumultuous startup journey.

    We also need a mindset shift for the whole industry. We need to celebrate not just the rapid rises, but also the steady, persistent builders who create value over time. By being patient, we can foster a more sustainable startup ecosystem — one where enduring companies create real value for society. The most impactful companies of our time weren’t built overnight. They were built day by day, with patience, persistence and an unwavering commitment to their vision.

    [ad_2]

    Rob Grazioli

    Source link

  • How to Choose the Right Business Model | Entrepreneur

    How to Choose the Right Business Model | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Embarking on the entrepreneurial journey is an exhilarating step toward creating a legacy. However, the stakes are high — it’s almost common knowledge that 90% of startups fail. A recent survey by Failory looked into the why behind this number in 2024. Over half of the failed businesses cited marketing failures. Specifically, 34% cited poor market fit as a critical factor.

    This makes selecting the right business model in 2024 more crucial than ever to ensure you’re positioned correctly in the market. Aligning your business model with market demands and personal values is key to avoiding these statistics.

    By exploring the advantages and challenges of various models, from the structured support of franchising to the flexible adaptability of lean startups, it’s important to assess how each aligns with your long-term goals and immediate needs.

    Related: The 7 Elements of a Strong Business Model

    1. The structured approach of franchising

    Franchising offers a structured pathway to business ownership that combines the security of a proven system with the excitement of entrepreneurship. One of the primary benefits of franchising is its turnkey operation. Franchisees are provided with a ready-made business blueprint, significantly lowering the startup failure rate compared to independent ventures. This model comes with established brand recognition and customer loyalty, which can be invaluable assets from day one.

    Take McDonald’s, for example. With over 38,000 locations worldwide, McDonald’s franchisees benefit from the power of a globally recognized brand and a loyal customer base, reducing much of the risk that comes with starting a new business. McDonald’s offers its franchisees extensive training and support, covering everything from store operations to financial management and marketing campaigns. This ensures that franchisees can focus on growing their individual outlets without the burden of building these systems from scratch.

    McDonald’s has perfected this model by streamlining processes and leveraging its vast supply chain. Franchisees get the advantage of bulk purchasing, established suppliers and powerful advertising campaigns. This support structure helps new owners avoid many pitfalls that independent businesses face, such as inconsistent quality or costly marketing efforts.

    However, franchising comes with challenges. In the case of McDonald’s, the initial investment is significant, often ranging between $1.3 million and $2.3 million. Franchisees must also pay ongoing royalties, typically 4-5% of gross sales, which can impact long-term profitability. Additionally, while franchisees benefit from McDonald’s global reputation, they must adhere to strict operational guidelines, leaving little room for creativity or local adaptation. McDonald’s maintains tight control over everything from the menu to store layout, which limits entrepreneurial freedom.

    For entrepreneurs drawn to the structure and support of a well-established brand, franchising can be a less risky pathway to success. However, it’s important to weigh the financial commitments and lack of operational flexibility when considering this model.

    2. The subscription-based model

    Subscription-based models offer several compelling advantages for businesses looking to establish a steady and predictable revenue stream. This model significantly reduces the unpredictability associated with one-time sales by ensuring that revenue is generated on a regular basis through monthly or annual subscriptions. For example, Dollar Shave Club revolutionized the razor industry by offering affordable razors and grooming products directly to consumers via subscription. This not only created a consistent revenue stream but also built strong customer loyalty by delivering products on a recurring basis.

    One of the key benefits of this model is its scalability. Dollar Shave Club demonstrated this by expanding its offerings based on customer feedback, moving from simple razors to a broader range of grooming products. The subscription model allowed the company to scale quickly and efficiently, as it could adjust its services without substantial incremental costs. This adaptability helps businesses respond to market demands and maintain operational efficiency as they grow.

    However, while subscription models like Dollar Shave Club have thrived, maintaining customer retention is an ongoing challenge. To prevent churn, companies must constantly innovate and deliver exceptional customer service. In Dollar Shave Club’s case, they continuously updated their product line and used clever, engaging marketing to keep customers interested and subscribed. This approach helped them avoid high churn rates, but it also required significant investment in product development and customer engagement strategies.

    While the subscription model provides businesses with stable revenue and growth opportunities, it also demands consistent attention to customer satisfaction. Companies need to focus on innovation and customer service to retain subscribers, making the model both lucrative and resource-intensive.

    Related: 4 Effective Business Models That Built Billion-Dollar Companies

    3. The lean startup model

    The lean startup model is highly regarded for its flexibility and cost-effectiveness, making it an attractive option for entrepreneurs aiming to minimize risk while maximizing adaptability. A prime example of this is Dropbox, which used the lean startup approach to become a multi-billion-dollar company. Rather than building a full product from the start, Dropbox launched a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) — a simple video demonstration of its concept. This allowed the founders to gather feedback and gauge interest before committing to full-scale development. The overwhelming response validated the demand for a simple file-sharing solution, and Dropbox quickly grew from a startup into an industry leader.

    By following this lean methodology, Dropbox was able to iterate rapidly, continuously improving its service based on real-time user feedback. This approach minimized upfront investment while ensuring that their product met the needs of the market. As of its 2023 revenue report, Dropbox has reached over 700 million registered users, and its annual revenue was $2.5 billion, demonstrating the power of scaling efficiently using lean principles.

    However, the lean startup model isn’t without challenges. Its iterative nature requires constant adjustments, which can lead to uncertainty and the risk of over-pivoting. While Dropbox managed to scale effectively, frequent product changes can confuse stakeholders or destabilize the business strategy if not carefully managed. Despite these risks, for entrepreneurs who prioritize flexibility and responsiveness, the lean startup model offers a pathway to success with minimal initial investment.

    4. The cooperative business model

    The cooperative business model emphasizes shared ownership and decision-making, fostering a democratic approach to running a business. Each member has a voice in key decisions, promoting transparency and engagement. This model often leads to a strong sense of community and prioritizes long-term value over short-term profits. A prime example is REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), a consumer cooperative that has successfully operated under this model for over 80 years. REI’s profits are either reinvested in the business or returned to its members through annual dividends. In 2022 alone, REI returned $234 million to its 23 million co-op members in the form of dividends and member-exclusive discounts.

    One of the major advantages of the cooperative model is the alignment between the business and the community it serves. REI, for instance, focuses on environmental sustainability and local development, ensuring its values match those of its members. This not only creates brand loyalty but also strengthens the cooperative’s long-term sustainability.

    However, there are challenges inherent in the cooperative model. Since profits are distributed among all members, individual financial returns may be lower compared to other business structures. Additionally, decision-making can be slower due to the need for consensus among many members. For REI, balancing its cooperative ideals with financial growth has been crucial to maintaining its success while supporting both the environment and its community.

    Related: How to Navigate Today’s Complex Entrepreneurial Landscape — 4 Strategies for Success

    Choosing the right business model is a cornerstone decision for every aspiring entrepreneur. By considering both the advantages and limitations of each model, entrepreneurs can align their business strategies with their personal values, market conditions and long-term goals, forging a path to success that is both fulfilling and sustainable.

    [ad_2]

    John Conway

    Source link

  • 3 Trends That Will Change the Future of Entrepreneurship | Entrepreneur

    3 Trends That Will Change the Future of Entrepreneurship | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The most recent data from the new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report reveals a powerful trend for the future of entrepreneurship.

    Young adults, aged 18-24, had both the highest entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial intentions in the United States, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2023-2024 United States Report. With similar results in 2022, this is not just a minor shift — it’s a fundamental change that could have lasting impacts on the economy and society.

    I serve as the chair of the board for the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, the entity that oversees GEM, which was founded in 1999 as a joint venture of Babson College and the London Business School. As the GEM U.S. team co-leader and a professor of entrepreneurship at Babson, I see firsthand the impact of the research created by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

    Here are three entrepreneurship trends from the new GEM report that are changing the landscape for the future.

    Related: 21 Success Tips for Young and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

    1. Young entrepreneurs on the rise

    For years, entrepreneurship has been dominated by older, more experienced individuals, but this year’s report shows that the youngest adults are now at the forefront. According to GEM, 24% of 18- to 24-year-olds are engaged in some form of entrepreneurial activity, a higher rate than any other age group. What’s driving these young entrepreneurs is equally remarkable: They aren’t just starting businesses to make money; many are deeply committed to making a positive impact on society and the environment.

    These young entrepreneurs make sustainability a key priority. They are more likely than entrepreneurs from older generations to build businesses with sustainability as a core focus — whether that means reducing their environmental footprint or focusing on social causes. This shift toward impact-driven entrepreneurship isn’t just anecdotal. GEM data shows a significant number of young entrepreneurs taking real, measurable steps to create businesses that align with their values. With sustainability as their north star, young entrepreneurs appear to be simultaneously pursuing societal impact as well as profits.

    However, it’s not all smooth sailing. While young people are leading the way in starting businesses, they are also discontinuing them at higher rates than their older counterparts. The discontinuation rate for 18- to 24-year-olds is 15%, the highest among all age groups. This is not surprising, given the challenges of inexperience and more limited access to capital. Starting a business is tough, and sustaining one is even more challenging. But despite these hurdles, the enthusiasm and energy that young people bring to entrepreneurship are undeniable, and with the right support, this generation has the potential to drive substantial change.

    2. Tech gender gap narrows

    One of the most promising findings in the GEM report is the narrowing gender gap in the technology sector. Historically, tech startups have been dominated by men, but 2023 saw a record-low difference in the number of men and women starting tech companies. The gap has narrowed to just 1%, with 8% of women compared with 9% of men launching businesses in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

    This is a significant step forward and reflects broader efforts to support more women technology startups. Still, it’s important to recognize that while progress is being made, continued focus on providing equal opportunities is essential to ensuring this trend continues.

    3. Optimistic outlook for Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs

    Another highlight from the report is the optimistic outlook among Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. These groups showed stronger confidence in their entrepreneurial abilities and lower fear of failure compared to their white counterparts. Black respondents, in particular, demonstrated high levels of resilience and self-assurance, which is vital in overcoming barriers faced in starting and sustaining businesses. This optimism is encouraging, but there’s still much work to be done in assuring ecosystems offer equal opportunities for all aspiring entrepreneurs, regardless of their background.

    Related: I Wish I Received This Advice as a Young Entrepreneur

    A promising future

    Reflecting on the key findings of this year’s GEM report, it’s clear that the entrepreneurial landscape is changing in meaningful ways. The rise of young, sustainability-driven entrepreneurs signals a future where business is not only about profit but also about making a difference. These young entrepreneurs are launching businesses at a time when the world is looking for solutions to some of its most pressing challenges — climate change, poverty and economic recovery.

    Yet, to fully realize the potential of this next generation, there must be more focus on addressing the challenges they encounter. Young entrepreneurs need access to the right resources — whether it’s funding, education or mentorship — to turn their innovative ideas into sustainable businesses. The narrowing gender gap in tech is encouraging, but we must continue to foster environments that support women and other underrepresented groups in entrepreneurship.

    The GEM report paints a picture of an entrepreneurial future driven by purpose, diversity and innovation. But it also reminds us of the work that lies ahead in making entrepreneurship more accessible and sustainable. If we can provide young entrepreneurs with the tools and support they need, we will not only see more businesses being created — we’ll see businesses that are making a lasting, positive impact on the world.

    [ad_2]

    Jeffrey Shay

    Source link

  • Entrepreneurs Need to Develop These 5 Qualities to Be Successful | Entrepreneur

    Entrepreneurs Need to Develop These 5 Qualities to Be Successful | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    I am often asked, “What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?”

    It’s a question that is difficult to answer because there are so many personality qualities an entrepreneur must have to be successful. With some of these qualities, you either have them, or you don’t. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t develop them over time.

    Here are some of the more essential qualities you need for entrepreneurial success.

    Related: 10 Traits All Successful Entrepreneurs Share

    1. Be a risk-taker

    If you already know me, then my approach to taking risks will not surprise you. After all, I have always subscribed to the mantra: Ready, Fire, Aim. I have no aversion to risk, which has been critical to my path as a successful serial entrepreneur. Small business owners must be willing to take risks if they want to achieve their goals.

    At the same time, entrepreneurs need to make sure there is a very real potential for profit on the other side of that risk. Too often, small business owners will embrace a risk without carefully weighing the potential reward. They will focus all that energy on the front end. Then, they successfully navigate that risk, only to break even. I have always believed that only through profitability comes business sustainability.

    The other caveat I would add is that you can’t be reckless, taking unnecessary risks, because you derive some sort of adrenaline rush. That is a recipe for disaster. This can be a challenge for me. Because taking risks has been such an effective strategy for me, I have a tendency to take risks when I could achieve the same result with a more conservative approach. This is where having a good network of advisors can come into play, which I write about next.

    2. Be a connector, build a network

    To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be able to assemble a team. That means being open to individuals, their abilities and how they can assist you on your path. They say it takes a village, and that’s very true. It takes a village to launch and successfully maintain a business.

    I encourage young entrepreneurs to make connections, whether at in-person events or on social networks. You never know when that one connection you make will be instrumental in the success of your business for decades to come.

    Over time, you will build an invaluable network of trusted advisors. I have such a network — a handful of people with differing personalities. They are typically more risk-averse, which is a good thing (see “Be a risk-taker”), which tempers my sometimes brazen approach to taking risks.

    Related: Want to Succeed as an Entrepreneur? Discover the Key to Building Long-Lasting Connections

    3. Be confident

    While this seems similar to the idea of embracing risks, it is not the same.

    If you take risks, you will occasionally fail. It’s the nature of the beast. But can you bounce back from a failure? Being confident is being resilient in the face of failure. Confidence must be woven into your psyche as an entrepreneur.

    It is also not just confidence in making initial decisions about your business but also having confidence in your ability to pivot if you hit a roadblock. That’s another form of confidence. You have to be confident not just about the normal path that you’ve selected, where you’ve done all your research, but the fact that you can change if you have to and flow in a direction that does work.

    4. Embrace growth capital

    Too often, entrepreneurs run their businesses on a shoestring budget, fearful about the cost of raising capital and/or servicing that debt. I get it. Owing people money can be an emotional weight. But it doesn’t have to be, not if you consider these two ways in which growth capital can transform your business.

    First, the funds can fuel an initiative designed to generate more revenue. I am reminded of a friend of mine who sells newsletters to the legal community. For years, he merely attended a major conference that was frequented by his readers and sponsors. He recently made the decision to take on a little debt and become a sponsor at the conference, which ended up producing three times the investment in revenue.

    Second, obtaining capital will free you up for more important entrepreneurial tasks. If you are constantly making adjustments to your bank account to ensure you have enough funds or making presentations to individuals who might invest in your company, you are not addressing the operational needs of your business.

    Thus, it is important to understand your options. Increasingly, alternative funding companies are offering ways to determine how much capital you are eligible for without experiencing a dreaded inquiry on your credit report. Frequently, entrepreneurs are stunned at the amount of money they are eligible for. And then, when they weigh the cost of servicing that debt versus the time spent trying to keep their business above water with limited resources, they become more open-minded about the prospect.

    Related: How to Make Debt Work For You

    5. Delegate, delegate, delegate

    Being willing to delegate is absolutely essential for entrepreneurial success. You have to be the leader of your venture. That means you have to find people with skillsets that complement what you do. You might be able to do it, but they can do it better.

    I’ve delegated my entire life. There’s no way I could have taken the necessary risks to grow the business without someone to handle the details, whether it is accounting, the nuts and bolts of marketing or writing, to name a few.

    This is even more true when it comes to technology. Surround yourself with those who can handle the operational side of technology so you don’t have to. When your website goes down, you have help on speed dial.

    In sum, being aware of the ingredients in a recipe for entrepreneurial success is a foundational block for that success. Whether you were born with some of these qualities or not, you can shape your future decisions with these concepts and approaches in mind.

    [ad_2]

    Peter J. Burns III

    Source link

  • How to Build a Thriving Business Without Venture Capital | Entrepreneur

    How to Build a Thriving Business Without Venture Capital | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    After recent conversations with Y Combinator alumni and other promising entrepreneurs, I hear many of them have no plans to raise venture capital — ever. While raising funds is often crucial, bootstrapping is an approach every entrepreneur should consider.

    Contrary to the “move fast and break things” mantra that echoes through Silicon Valley, bootstrapping often means adopting a steady and deliberate approach. This allows for a deeper understanding of your market and more meaningful connections with early customers.

    For instance, instead of chasing rapid growth, Tuple focused on building a product users would truly love. Their strategy revolved around a relentless focus on user feedback and incremental improvements. By prioritizing the quality of their screen-sharing functionality, a critical feature for developers, over the rapid expansion of their feature set, they created a loyal user base that fueled organic growth.

    Related: What I Wish I Knew Before Bootstrapping My Startup

    Steering your own ship

    Bootstrapping isn’t just about money; it’s about maintaining the purity of your vision. When you bootstrap, you retain complete control over your company’s direction, culture and values. This autonomy can be invaluable, especially if your vision doesn’t align with typical investor expectations.

    Keep in mind that maintaining control doesn’t always mean rejecting all external input. Mailchimp, which bootstrapped its way to a $12 billion acquisition by Intuit, did seek advice from outside experts. The difference was that the founders had the freedom to choose when and how to implement this advice.

    Can your model fuel itself?

    The ideal bootstrap-friendly business generates revenue quickly and requires minimal upfront investment. This often leads bootstrapped startups to focus on solving immediate, painful problems for customers willing to pay for solutions.

    Gumroad, a platform for creators to sell products directly to consumers, built its business model around immediate monetization. Gumroad aligned its success directly with its users by taking a small cut of each transaction.

    Being bootstrap-friendly often requires creativity in finding ways to generate early revenue. Pieter Levels, founder of Nomad List, bootstrapped his company by creating multiple small products and services for digital nomads. This diversified approach allowed him to generate revenue streams that collectively funded the growth of his main platform.

    Related: Bootstrapping vs. Seeking Venture Capital — How to Decide the Best Avenue for Your Business

    Walking the line between brave and foolish

    Bootstrapping often means betting on yourself — sometimes quite literally. It requires balancing necessary risks and avoiding reckless gambles. This often involves personal sacrifices and a willingness to operate with a much thinner safety net than funded startups.

    When Sara Blakely started Spanx, she kept her day job selling fax machines while developing her product at night and on weekends. She invested her entire $5,000 savings and even wrote her own patent to save on legal fees.

    The key is to be realistic about your risk tolerance and financial situation. It’s about finding creative ways to extend your runway and validate your ideas before going all-in. This might mean starting as a side project or finding ways to generate supplementary income that aligns with your long-term goals.

    Building big while starting small

    One of the most pervasive myths in the startup world is that certain ideas require massive scale from day one, necessitating significant upfront investment. However, numerous examples prove that it’s possible to build a large, impactful company from humble beginnings.

    Shopify, which now powers over a million businesses, started as a simple online store for snowboarding equipment. They bootstrapped the company initially, only seeking outside investment after they had a proven product and clear market demand.

    This paradox is often resolved by focusing on a specific, underserved segment of your target market. By dominating this niche, you can build the resources and reputation necessary to expand into adjacent markets or scale up to serve larger clients.

    Turn constraints into advantages

    One of the most powerful aspects of bootstrapping is how it forces creativity and efficiency. With limited resources, bootstrapped startups often find innovative solutions that end up becoming key competitive advantages.

    Referring to Basecamp’s journey again, their limited resources led them to focus on doing a few things exceptionally well rather than trying to match every feature of their competitors. This constraint-driven innovation resulted in a product known for its simplicity and ease of use — qualities that became major selling points.

    Related: Starting a Business? Before You Seek VC Money, Here’s Why Bootstrapping May Be the Better Choice.

    Building a team with more than money

    One of bootstrapped startups’ biggest challenges is attracting and retaining top talent without high salaries and extensive benefits packages. However, many bootstrapped companies have found innovative ways to build strong teams despite these constraints.

    By openly sharing the company’s revenue, salaries and equity distribution, Gumroad attracted talent that was aligned with their values and excited by the opportunity to work in such an open environment.

    Many top performers are motivated by factors beyond just salary. Autonomy, mastery, purpose and work-life balance can be powerful attractors, especially for those disillusioned with the high-pressure environments often found in heavily funded startups.

    Defining success on your terms

    The bootstrap path can lead to unexpected and often more favorable exit opportunities. When you bootstrap, you retain more equity and have more control over the timing and terms of any potential exit.

    When Intuit acquired Mailchimp for $12 billion, the founders owned 100% of the company, a feat unheard of in tech unicorns. Their bootstrap journey allowed them to grow the company at their own pace and exit on their own terms.

    An “exit” doesn’t necessarily mean selling or going public. Success can be defined in many ways — building a profitable business that supports your desired lifestyle, creating a company that makes a positive impact on the world, or, yes, eventually selling for a significant sum.

    [ad_2]

    Arian Adeli

    Source link

  • How NYU’s Scott Galloway Uses AI on the Job, How You Can Too | Entrepreneur

    How NYU’s Scott Galloway Uses AI on the Job, How You Can Too | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    NYU Stern professor and serial entrepreneur Scott Galloway says “AI is not going to take your job” — but people who know how to use it might.

    In an episode of the Masters of Scale podcast, which aired earlier this month, Galloway advised anyone who thinks their job might be at risk of automation to start using AI.

    Related: This One Talent Is ‘the Greatest Skill You Can Develop’ for Entrepreneurship, Says Professor Scott Galloway

    “I would say try to take 15, 30, 60 minutes a day, even if it’s spending time with your kids to try and time sneaker drops — which I’m doing with my 14-year-old — using AI,” he said. “Just get competent with it.”

    Galloway, who sold his media business L2 for $134 million in 2017, initially experimented with the tech by having AI write for him based on prompts. He quickly realized how much AI wrote “like a computer” or in a bland way.

    “I’ve used AI for every component of my job, and I find it can’t replace anything,” he said.

    Related: Worried About AI Stealing Your Job? A New Report Calls These 10 Careers ‘AI-Proof’

    Galloway says he now uses AI more as a “thought partner” than a writer. He consults AI for information, asks it to create a pitch deck, and prompts it to ask him questions like an investor based on the pitch deck. AI doesn’t replace the tasks Galloway has to do; it augments them.

    “What I would say is just start using [AI], and your own mind will start figuring out ways you can incorporate it,” Galloway said. “You’re the warrior. This is a weapon, but you’re the warrior.”

    Scott Galloway. Photo by Tobias Hase/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

    Galloway’s recommendations come as tasks like writing and coding have increasingly become automated. In August, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman predicted a future where AI does most of the coding for software engineers. In April, Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti encouraged computer science majors in college to study philosophy as well in order to develop the reasoning skills to interact with AI.

    As for writing, one expert estimates that 90% of all online content will be AI-generated by the end of next year.

    Related: How Close Is AI to Actually Stealing Your Dream Job?

    [ad_2]

    Sherin Shibu

    Source link

  • I Was a Founder Before I Became an Investor — Here’s How It Shaped My Investment Strategy | Entrepreneur

    I Was a Founder Before I Became an Investor — Here’s How It Shaped My Investment Strategy | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Before becoming an investor at Bread, I was a startup founder. I know what it’s like to stand before a room full of people, palms sweating, asking them to believe in me. I also know the relentless effort it takes to prove, time and again, that their faith — and their money — will pay off. My journey from founder to funder was shaped by these experiences, and it’s why I approach investing differently.

    As a founder, I benefited most from investors who went beyond providing capital. They mentored me, guided me through difficult decisions and became true partners in my entrepreneurial journey. Now, as an investor, I aspire to offer the same kind of support to the founders I back because it’s something that the startup world has long been missing.

    This founder-to-funder transition isn’t unique to me — I’m seeing a growing number of entrepreneurs take their hard-earned experience and apply it to venture capital. What’s more, there’s an increasing number of former founders taking on strategic consulting roles for young companies. These “founders for hire” aren’t just giving advice from the sidelines; they’re applying years of entrepreneurial experience to help today’s founders plan, execute and grow their businesses.

    Both founders-to-investors and founders-for-hire are transforming how startups are funded and nurtured, and I believe it will have a profound impact on the startup ecosystem for years to come.

    Related: How Saying ‘Yes’ to Every Opportunity Helped My Startup Make $1 Million in the First Year

    A unique perspective

    Successful founder VCs have investment success rates that are 6.5 percentage points higher than professional VCs. This doesn’t surprise me. Founder-turned-investors bring something to the table that isn’t common in the VC world: operational knowledge. They’ve experienced the highs and lows of startup life, understand the challenges of scaling a business, and have a keen eye for identifying promising ventures. Investors with startup experience can relate to founders on a deeper level, offering insights that traditional investors might miss.

    My co-founders and I built our first product company, Density, from the ground up, which has shaped my approach to supporting my portfolio companies. It’s a common misconception that innovation in business is all about technological discovery, when really it’s about solving “boring problems.” I look for founders who are just as excited about their hiring practices, operational processes, and financial planning, as they are about their product development. When you’re excited about the boring things, you build better products and run a more stable business. I wouldn’t know this without the firsthand trial-and-error experience I gained as a founder.

    How experiences shape investment strategies

    If you’re a founder looking to raise capital, here’s why you want to look for an investor with startup experience:

    1. Emphasis on product and market fit: Having built products themselves, a founder-turned-investor is able to quickly assess a startup’s potential to solve real-world problems.
    2. Realistic expectations: They understand the challenges of scaling and are often more patient with growth trajectories.
    3. Focus on fundamentals: They tend to prioritize sustainable business models over hype-driven metrics.
    4. Empathy for founders: They’re more likely to back passionate founders who demonstrate grit and adaptability.

    Investors with startup experience also offer much more than access to capital, often providing founders with access to their network, partnership opportunities and guidance on every part of the business.

    The importance of hands-on involvement

    One of the most significant advantages that a founder-investor brings to the table is a willingness to roll up their sleeves and get involved in portfolio companies. They often want to know the ins and outs of product development at every company they invest in and the operational challenges they’re dealing with.

    Are they struggling to hire the right people? Are they lacking clear processes for project deliverables? Are they conflicted about which product feature to prioritize?

    Whatever the challenge, founder-turned-funders are not afraid to get into the trenches with their portfolio companies. Personally, I’ve spent hours helping founders reshape their visual identity, refine their marketing strategy or even relaunch their product if necessary. In many cases, I am literally in the code with them.

    Investors who’ve started their own companies know how hard it is. They want to provide emotional support and guidance through the intense ups and downs of startup life. By being a sounding board for the founders I work with, I hope to make the journey a little less stressful, which can make achieving success a bit easier.

    Related: What Should You Value More — An Investor’s Money or Their Experience?

    The future of the founder-led startup ecosystem

    Just as founder-led venture capital firms offer early entrepreneurs access to operational guidance, working with a consultant who has started their own company can provide invaluable mentorship opportunities.

    What sets a founder-for-hire apart from a traditional consultant is the depth of their involvement. They’re not just helping startups refine their sales motions or market strategies; they’re actively shaping products, helping find market fit, and even assisting in building out teams. It’s a level of engagement that goes far beyond typical consultant-client relationships. It’s also a flexible way for startups to tap into years of experience without needing to hire someone full-time or give up too much equity.

    Having a founder-consultant on your team is one of the smartest things you can do as an early entrepreneur. The combination of practical experience is invaluable in those first stages of business growth.

    Related: I Shifted From Founder to CEO 20 Years Ago and Never Looked Back — Here’s How to Successfully Make the Leap

    Bridging the gap

    The rise of founder-turned-investors and entrepreneurial consultants is changing the game for both venture capital and startups. By mixing financial knowledge with the real-world experience and hands-on involvement of former founders, these new players offer a unique level of business development and growth potential for young companies.

    For new entrepreneurs, this means a more supportive and understanding investment landscape. And for the startup ecosystem overall, it means a clearer path to success for everyone involved.

    [ad_2]

    Rob Grazioli

    Source link

  • 7 Business Lessons I Learned While Planning My Daughter’s Wedding | Entrepreneur

    7 Business Lessons I Learned While Planning My Daughter’s Wedding | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    My 26-year-old daughter recently got married. I’ve been to dozens of weddings and have enjoyed them, but this was the first time I was involved in putting a wedding together. In the months of planning for this week with my wife, I learned seven valuable lessons that can relate to business.

    We thought about having a traditional wedding, so we searched for a wedding venue to hold the reception. However, we ran into a problem. Our guest list included about 500 of our closest friends — most of them were my daughter’s network of fans, friends, students and others.

    Paying $50-$150 per plate for a reception venue was out of our budget for that many people. We had a choice: We could whittle down the list or put the wedding together ourselves. We did both.

    We got the guest list down to 300 people, and to still save as much money as we could, we did the wedding ourselves. My wife was the wedding coordinator, and I was her assistant.

    What does a DIY wedding look like? Well, we bought custom stickers and placed 400 stickers of the bride and groom on 400 water bottles. We borrowed vases from friends and had many of our own from previous events. One of our friends is a design hobbyist, so she made dozens of table settings and bouquets from real flowers and fake flowers. I could go on.

    However, what was MOST important about planning this wedding were the lessons I learned in doing it:

    Related: 8 Important Lessons From Leading Entrepreneurs

    1. Communication is essential

    We had several WhatsApp groups to facilitate communication. We had regular meetings for status updates and planning various elements of the wedding. My wife and I were in constant communication. We went to the venue, our church, many times to prepare and plan.

    Poor communication is one of the biggest barriers to success. Miscommunication and misunderstanding will sink your business.

    Maybe my wife asked me to “put vases on the table,” but I didn’t ask which vases. This can result in the wrong vases being on the wrong tables.

    Your business is the same. Communicate clearly — in fact, when the task is highly important, you should over-communicate.

    2. Be clear on the goals you’re trying to accomplish

    As we went through the weeks leading up to the wedding, we kept in mind the key goals we needed to accomplish. We knew the bride and groom had to get married — that was most important. Other goals we had were good food and a fun environment, among other things.

    Your business is the same.

    Be clear on what goals you want to accomplish in your business, including the various projects and tasks that are a part of your business. If you’re not clear on your goals, it’s going to be very hard to know what success looks like and how to even be successful.

    3. Get help

    While my wife shouldered the bulk of responsibilities for the planning of the wedding with my support, we could not have done the wedding by ourselves. We had friends and family helping us at various stages of the wedding.

    One couple helped us for weeks leading up to the wedding. Other friends also offered assistance on the day of and in the weeks before the wedding.

    Running your business is the same. It’s very difficult to serve your customers and grow your business if it’s just you. Seek help by building a team, and seek help from friends, mentors and even your family. You’ll need help in different ways from different people.

    Help could take the form of paying a lawyer to help you draft a legal agreement the right way. Help could take the form of a good business friend giving you advice on a new hire.

    Don’t be afraid to get help in starting and growing your business.

    4. Who you partner with is important to your success (or failure)

    My wife and I were partners in ensuring a successful wedding. We trust each other and do our best to work together. It’s the same in business.

    In order for a partnership to be successful, you must understand what’s important to your partner. Understand how they communicate and their styles of working.

    A partner can be a POWERFUL asset to your business as they can help offload the thinking and actual work that needs to be done in order to grow a business. However, the wrong partner can be detrimental to your business.

    Related: 25 Lessons Business School Won’t Ever Teach You

    5. Prioritization is essential — Don’t major on the minors, and don’t minor on the majors

    Prioritization is important, especially as the complexity of your projects increases. There’s only so much you can get done in a given day. Time is finite. Hence, being able to prioritize is essential. In preparing for the wedding, we had to constantly prioritize. For example, today, we’re going to set up tables. Tomorrow, we’ll set up vases. As we got closer to the wedding, we had to “let go” of some things and scale back on other things.

    You’ll need to do this in your business as well.

    What needs to be done TODAY? What can wait until later? What MUST be done this quarter, and what can be held off to another day?

    As you work with others, also understand that YOUR priority might not be their priority. Hence, having shared goals and an understanding of what’s important to you, your partner and/or your team is important.

    6. Who are the stakeholders?

    For the wedding, we knew there were several important people or groups of people we had to consider. The bride and groom were the most important. The groom’s parents were also important, so we had to consider their needs and concerns. We also had to think about our church ministry and their concerns and needs for the wedding.

    Your business is the same. You’re NEVER solo in your business. There’s you, your employees (or team members), your customers, possibly government agencies, vendors and others.

    Consider the stakeholders who are important to the success of your business, and think about their needs and concerns.

    Related: 5 Lessons From The Most Successful Entrepreneurs

    7. Get advice from others

    Critical to the wedding’s success was our wedding coordination team. This team was made up of my sister, my daughter’s best friend, my wife, my daughter, my daughter’s fiance and me!

    We had regular meetings with this team to get their input and their help with much of the planning for the wedding — cake, clothes, housing and so much more.

    You also need advisors in your business. You can get advice from peers who are fellow business owners. You can get advice from books and podcasts. You can join a mentorship community. You can also hire a consultant to guide you with certain aspects of your business.

    My daughter’s wedding was a success, and now you know why. A wedding is a one-day event. However, your business can take years to grow and be successful. You can’t build a successful business alone — it takes guidance, purposeful planning and a bit of luck.

    [ad_2]

    Ramon Ray

    Source link