You Don’t Have a Business Until You’ve Sold to Strangers
“Will the dogs eat the dog food?” This rather crude expression weighs heavily on the mind of all good startup founders, no matter how confident they appear. We all know…
Don’t Get in Bed with the Wrong Co-Founder
Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the…
How Startups Should Think About Competition
Every entrepreneur should spend plenty of time thinking about competitors, and how they relate to your business, but you need to be very careful what you say out loud about…
Likability Can Help Entrepreneurs Succeed
You don’t have to be likable to everyone to be a great entrepreneur, just to the people who count. Of course, we can all point to apparent exceptions, like Ted…
Great Ideas are Worthless Without Leadership and Execution
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen and pitch them on their current “million dollar idea.” The initial monologue usually…
Phrases that Frighten Investors
In previous articles, I have occasionally mentioned “red flags” which every potential investor unconsciously listens for. Other writers, like Guy Kawasaki, have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but…
Conflict Can Be Constructive
Many entrepreneurs are not prepared for - or actively avoid - conflict. Their vision, passion, and focus are so strong that they can’t imagine someone disagreeing, much less fighting them…
10 Ways to Keep Your Business Plan Simple Yet Powerful
If you want people to invest in your idea, my advice is to write a simple business plan. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back…
Being Busy Doesn’t Mean You’re Being Productive
Too many entrepreneurs confuse motion with momentum and results. We all know someone who repeatedly tells us how “busy” they are, when it’s hard to see what they get done…
5 Steps to Customer-Centric Sales
Entrepreneurs always work hard to create an innovative product or service, but often count on standard seller marketing for sales. But the reality is that sellers are no longer in…