“Staying Power: How to Ensure Your Company’s Longevity” Reporting from a nation-wide survey of 100 successful small business owners, Entrepreneurial Edge editors point out some of the factors that helped keep these businesses in business and growingn The statistics seem grim: more than half of this year’s startup businesses will fold within three years; 75 percent won’t last five years….
Our panel of entrepreneurs responds …Creativity with purpose Vision can be defined as creativity with purpose. Knowing why your offering has value allows you to figure out how to best accomplish success. Entrepreneurs who stick to their core value proposition become the opposite of myopic — they adapt the “how” to their focused goal. The positive perspective on the scientific…
“Entrepreneur’s Adviser — Know Thyself” Question: “How do I define my core competencies?”Answer: Market timing and competition have left no time for company wanderings into areas of marginal competency or fuzzy focus — either of which can take you out of the game. Specifically define what your business does and its customer value proposition. As a company grows, it hires…
“Entrepreneur’s Adviser — Business for Sale” Question: “What steps should we take to sell our company, and how do you put a price on the business?”Answer: Look at your company through the eyes of a knowledgeable buyer. Every company has a few warts. Identify yours and clean them up. Obsolete inventory? Get rid of it. Noncollectible receivables still on the…
“They Won’t Throw Tomatoes… But It’ll Probably Hurt Just as Much” There are some basic variables in successful public speaking. This article recounts them and offers advice on mastering these variables to better ensure success in addressing an audience. Not every presentation is going to come off as successfully as you’d like. You have bad days and so does your…
“Your Move — Thinking About Thinking” Relying on instinct works for only so long. Do you spend much time thinking about your company?Dumb question. Of course you spend a lot of time thinking about your company. But do you think about your company in the right ways? Do you, for example, think about how you think about your company? Understanding…
“Extreme Measures — When No Plan Is the Best Plan” In preparation for an extended sailing trip, business owner Tom Richman meticulously plotted charts, outlining an ambitious schedule of times, ports and dates.”With firm control — that’s how I ran my professional life. Not surprisingly, that’s how I would run my cruise,” Richman says. But winds repeatedly blew him off…
“Your Move — The Power of Peer Learning” A CEO roundtable helps you work on your business. Bruce Corson Bruce PetersAlthough the concept of peer learning is exploding in the academic world, it’s sadly underutilized in business circles. Some CEOs are intrigued with the idea of joining a peer group, but hesitate to show up until they solve the problem…
“On the Network: The Best Person to Market Your Business Is…You!” Tips on networking include ideas for maximizing the value of contacts and sales leads. I’m always amazed how many folks talk about networking — yet, when questioned, will admit they’ve rarely if ever benefited from it and are confused about what it really is. To many it’s just another…
“Extreme Measures — Managing With Style” Hecky Powell, owner of Hecky’s Barbeque, Evanston, Ill., repeatedly asked the young men working the take-out counter to pull up their pants — to no avail. Saggy pants and exposed boxers continued to appear, and Powell didn’t believe the fashion statement conveyed the right message to customers.Then Powell relented — sort of. The men…