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Tag Archives: Entrepreneur
Negotiations in business – practice, practice, practice
Doing business is a series of negotiations. From the moment you plan to start a business to serving your customer, you find yourself negotiating. For most people negotiations brings to mind price, but there are many other areas … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Business, Business plan, Businessperson, Cash flow, Customer, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Extended warranty, Finance, Financial plan, financing your start-up, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Negotiation, Planning, Price, Revenue, Service provider, Small business, Start-up, startup, Startup company, Value proposition
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What is an angel investor?
Following the launch of the Plains Angels this week, I have had several people ask me what an Angel Investor is. According to the Angel Capital Association: An angel is a high net-worth individual who invests his or her own … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Angel Capital Association, Angel investor, Angelsoft, Business, Business model, Business plan, Cash flow, Entrepreneur, Executive summary, Finance, financial model, Financial plan, financing your start-up, Investment, Investor, Planning, Revenue, Small business, Start-up, startup, Startup company, Venture capital
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Partnerships – a guaranteed divorce
Many of the clients I advise are in partnerships. It is a common situation. Two or more people get together to solve a problem and the next thing you know a partnership is born. If you listen to the first-time … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Articles of Partnership, Business, Business plan, Consulting, Entrepreneur, Finance, Financial plan, financing your start-up, Free Cash Flow, Investment, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing plan, Planning, Small business, Start-up, Startup company, Value proposition
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Let go or be dragged
So the other day I was getting ready for yoga class when one of my classmates told us about something she saw on Facebook. Someone, I do not know who, posted “Let Go or Be Dragged” on their … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Business, Business model, Business plan, Cash flow, Employment, Entrepreneur, Executive summary, Expense, financing your start-up, Investment, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing plan, Planning, Revenue, Small business, Startup company, Value proposition
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How do I tell you…?
Dear Small Business Owner, How do I tell you? How do I tell you that the tops of all the napkin holders in your restaurant are covered in dried, crusted food? How do I tell you that your email is … Continue reading
Mentors: Why, who, when, and what next
Mentors play an important role in business. Most successful business people I know will attribute some of their success to having good mentors. So what makes for a good mentor? Well, it depends on you. First you have to decide … Continue reading
The business sayings of my father
I grew up the son of an entrepreneur. My father was Bill Colwell. For anyone who was in Waterloo, Iowa in the early 70s you could not miss him. He ran TV commercials on channel 7 every night for Schukei … Continue reading
The paradox of a new idea
Recently I drove by a closed restaurant. It had been a steakhouse most recently. I thought about how tough it would be to compete against the other steak houses in the area and wondered if that was why it … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Accountancy, Business, Business model, Business plan, Entrepreneur, Finance, financial model, Financial plan, financing your start-up, German, German language, Groupon, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing plan, Planning, Restaurant, Small business, Startup company, Steakhouse, Value proposition, Wikipedia, Yahoo
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Do not compete on price, unless…
There was an interesting article about a new start-up company called AutoSlash in the New York Times this past weekend. AutoSlash says they will get you the best price on a car rental by constantly checking for better deals even … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Business, Business model, Business plan, Car rental, Cash flow, Customer, Entrepreneur, Finance, financial model, financing your start-up, Hertz, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, New York Times, Planning, Revenue, Small business, Startup company, Transportation, United States, Value proposition, Walgreens
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So, whos ready to step up to the next level?
Growing a business quickly requires that you can bring new employees into your business and bring them up to speed in their tasks. Too often, bringing a new person on requires one of your best employees to take precious time … Continue reading
You get what you measure for
I was taught that saying many years ago. You get what you measure for. If you measure only for profit, you may have fewer but profitable sales. If you measure for sales volume, you may not get the profit … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Business, Business model, Business plan, Cash flow, Customer, Customer satisfaction, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Finance, financial model, Financial plan, financing your start-up, Gross margin, Investment, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Measurement, Planning, Return on capital, Revenue, Small business, Start-up, Startup company
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What your business culture says about your business
Ok, restaurants again. As you can tell, I eat out – alot. I was at the local Applebees in Ankeny the other evening. It is a favorite place of mine. The food is good but not the reason I go … Continue reading
New owners are at a disadvantage…don’t make it worse
It is truly a disadvantage to be a new business owner. To start with, you are an unknown to most potential customers. You probably do not have a long list of referral accounts or a line of customers out your … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Models
Tagged Business, Business model, Business plan, Consulting, Entrepreneur, Finance, financial model, Financial plan, financing your start-up, Hiscox, Liability insurance, Marketing, Professional liability insurance, Revenue, Small business, Start-up, Startup company, United States
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The staircase approach to building a business
Stand at the base of a set of stairs, 10 to 15 steps will do. Now get ready and leap to the top! That is what many entrepreneurs attempt to do when starting a business. Unfortunately most do not have … Continue reading
“Let’s deal with it later…” No, let’s not.
A guy comes up with a business idea. It is a pretty good idea. He starts working on it. The idea takes hold. Others start encouraging him. Customers begin to say a tentative “yes” to his offer. The guy gets … Continue reading