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The Resource Center has all the info you'll need From content to user feedback, the resource center has the information you need for every level of the entrepreneurial process.
Entrepreneurs confronting the unhappy task of having to downsize when business conditions change need to execute in a way that preserves the dignity of, and, ultimately, the relationship with, the employees, says an entrepreneur who laid off her entire staff in the wake of the dot-com crash. Downsizing well involves throwing away the rulebook and dealing with people on a personal level, she writes.
Combining the allure and fun of an Australian theme with savvy advertising and PR, plus sports-related sponsorships led Outback Steakhouse to the top slotted brand in the steakhouse business, with over 700 locations globally.
A strategic overview of time management for entrepreneurs is delineated in this article by the co-founder of a consultancy that advises on the matter.
Razor Suleman has bootstrapped several companies since his college days and he continues to bootstrap by investing the proceeds from one firm into the next. In this article, he shares three strategies that have enabled him to grow his current company to $10 million in sales in 2006.
Age is an issue for today's entrepreneurs, especially those in technology-based businesses, writes the author, who founded an Internet company right out of college. Younger entrepreneurs, he argues, are more likely than their elders to be technologically astute and to be creative and flexible, attributes that are integral to their companies and enable those enterprises to succeed. The author includes tips for using youth as an advantage in business.
A formal business plan, often considered an anathema to entrepreneurs who fancy themselves "do-ers" rather than thinkers, enables clear thinking, clarity of purpose and a benchmark against which ventures can measure success. Included are a list of do's and don'ts for entrepreneurs new to (or bewildered by) the essential planning process.
One plus one equals millions when you combine two business models that work into a wildly popular Web site. It also helps to have high-powered investors and a built-in formula for building customer loyalty. As these business-school buddies discovered, advertisers love an affluent audience, so you can actually make money by giving it away.
Investors write checks because they hope to get a decent return on their money. The way venture capitalists reap those returns is by taking their companies public, or perhaps selling them to other companies. That's a tough game when demand for IPOs is anemic, as it was in 2009.
Demand hasn't been robust in 2010, but things are thawing. As of this writing, eight companies had done IPOs thus far this year--the same amount for all of last year, according to CB Insights, a Manhattan firm that tracks private-company funding trends (including venture capital, private equity and government-backed deals).
"The venture funding and M&A activity we've observed so far in 2010 suggests that this year's venture funding levels will be higher than last year, but still below those highs of a few years ago," says Anand Sanwal, a CB Insights founding partner.
While you're Dilberting away in your cubicle, there are people taking conference calls in broad shorts and flip-flops. While you're saving your two weeks of vacation to hit the sand, they're getting paid to be there.
Who is the real entrepreneur? What does it mean to be self-employed? Dane Stangler examines this question and what it means to be an entrepreneur during these tumultuous economic times.
At the University of Miami a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend an entrepreneurship class with roughly 40 students. Most of them were juniors and seniors, joined by a small number of law students. The course had so far covered the theoretical literature on entrepreneurship, but on this particular day all the students wanted to talk about was their own futures.
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