To get money from an Angel investor or from a banker will often require entrepreneurs to demonstrate a proof of concept. This begs the question, “what exactly is a proof of concept?” While the term is kind of fuzzy, a proof concept is evidence that the company, product, or service is financially viable—the business model…
DetailsTo be successful online and generate profit for your company you must have lots of customer traffic and it needs to be the right people. Yet, getting your site the right visitors is no simple task. An incredible looking website is useless if the web designer did not consider search engine optimization (SEO) when building…
DetailsPeople learn, read, and communicate in many ways. Some people need or prefer more spatially effective communication with both words and images. In that case, consider a mind map. A mind map is a visual outline. It has a central core or box at the highest level, uses topics as bullets below it, and can…
DetailsPerceived Value Pricing is the best choice for niche marketers (most of the time). This pricing strategy is defined as pricing a product or service at a level that reflects the potential savings, the highest satisfaction level, or the maximum use that a client will receive from the purchase and/or of use of the product…
DetailsYour brand is a promise of value. Excellent brands are unique, consistent, and authentic. Your brand’s uniqueness answers the question, “How is your offering different or better?” To be considered better or different than your competition, your offering must have at least one feature or benefit that is measurably better than the competition. A great…
DetailsVenture Capital firms are out to make money—lots of money, if possible. The first thing to know about VC firms is that they are investing other peoples’ money, rather than their own. The money comes from a variety of sources including insurance companies, banks, pension funds, university endowments, and corporate investment entities. The game is…
DetailsWhen a small business or start up approaches a bank for a loan, you need to be able to answer the following eight questions: 1. How much money do you want? 2. Why do you want the money? 3. How will the money be used? 4. How will you repay the loan? 5. What is…
DetailsAngel investors are people who have the money to help start ups. This help comes at a high cost in that the angel typically takes a stake or ownership position in the start up in the form of equity or stock ownership. For the angel investor, the investment is more than just a pure investment;…
DetailsForecasting sales at a start-up is part educated guess and part in-depth research. Forecasting can be tougher for a niche marketer since little existing data will be available. In this case, the entrepreneur knows best—assuming he or she knows the target market intimately. There is no substitute for knowing your customers and why they will…
Details“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” -Colette I love that quote. Entrepreneurs need to take chances and do unconventional things and risk looking foolish. The mundane mass market is not the domain of the entrepreneur. Instead, it is the under served or overlooked customer segment which begs for a solution. The…
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