8 Crucial Elements of Startup Success

Bill Clark is the CEO of MicroAngel Capital Partners, a venture firm that gives more investors access to alternative investments. He also gives investors the ability to invest in startups online through crowdfunding. You can follow him on Twitter @austinbillc. Most people understand that a high percentage of startups never make it. So what if you could give yourself a leg up on the competition? 1. If you don’t have the skills to code, make sure you find someone with a solid programming background who can implement your idea. 2. Sometimes you’ll encounter a last-minute opportunity to add features to your product. 3. If you’re developing a product, make sure you truly understand the needs of your end users. 4. Solving a problem for a targeted niche is not a bad idea — the smaller the niche, the less competition you may face. 5. As most startups know, determining how much money to raise is difficult. 6. As obvious as this one sounds, startups waste money every day. 7. 8.

How to Start a Small Business | Inc.com's Start-up Guide Writing a Business Plan, Section by Section Are you starting a business? Advice for small businesses on what it takes to create a solid business plan, including forming an outline, forecasting credible financial information, and establishing a marketing strategy. Business Plans by the Numbers When writing a business plan, here's how to run the numbers that matter without getting hung-up on those that don't. How to Choose the Right Legal Structure S Corp, C Corp, or LLC? How to Set Up a Website Want to create a terrific website without spending a fortune? How to Pitch Angel Investors Obtaining capital can be one of the trickier aspects when it comes to starting a business. How to Hire Your First Employee Your business is growing so fast that soon you'll be not only your own boss, but someone else's as well. How to Set Prices Pricing is easily one of the trickiest aspects of starting a business. How to Write a Memorable Slogan How to Choose an Accountant How to Conduct Initial Market Research

Lojong Lojong (Tib. བློ་སྦྱོང་,Wylie: blo sbyong) is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes. The fifty-nine or so slogans that form the root text of the mind training practice are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering. They contain both methods to expand one's viewpoint towards absolute bodhicitta, such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born" and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream", and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta, such as "Be grateful to everyone" and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up." History of the practice[edit] Atiśa journeyed to Sumatra and studied with Dharmarakṣita for twelve years. Geshe Chekhawa is claimed to have cured leprosy with mind training. 1. 2.

Frugal Living: Waste Less-Gain More! How to Learn a Foreign Language Without Spending a Cent Last week at Far Away Places (my new travel blog), I shared some tips on how to learn Spanish fast. The short version: Hire a tutor. But what if you can’t afford a tutor? What if you don’t want to spend money but still want to learn a language? Wouldn’t it be great if you could effortlessly communicate in another language? However, it is possible for the average adult to learn to speak a foreign language confidently in a relatively short time. I’m sure you’ve met people who have managed to learn a foreign language, either by growing up with it or learning it as an adult. Today I’m here to tell you that money has nothing to do with learning a language. It’s time to start language hacking! Finding the right mindset I’ve been learning languages for about eight years, and can indeed speak several fluently now. However, at age 21 I could only speak English and had poor academic results in German from school. But then one day I had a Eureka! Your local library for a book-based mini-course.

How Training Employees Can Boost Sales - VerticalResponse Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Female CEOs" October 16, 2009 When I started VerticalResponse we had just four employees. With such a tight knit group there wasn’t really a need for company or product training. We all knew everything that was happening, who our customers were, how our product worked, and how to sell it. But what happens when a company starts to grow and the tight knit group starts to unravel? I can tell you that we waited way too long to start formally training our new employees, and for a while it showed. One day I witnessed one of our salespeople who had been with the company for a few months selling something we didn’t offer. I take our training program very seriously. It’s never too early to start your own training program in your company. Create a document that the employee can be walked through and refer back to.