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From the category archives:

Starting a Business

I like serendipity. Not just because the word sounds like a refreshing drink in the shade on a hot day, but because when serendipity happens, it’s always good. Here’s the Wikipedia definition:
Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. …
So I had a great Friday: [...]

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Every startup has its own natural level of startup costs. It’s built into the circumstances, like strategy, location, and resources. Call it the natural startup level; or maybe the sweet spot.
1. The Plan
For example, Mabel’s Thai restaurant in San Francisco is going to need about $950,000, while Ralph’s new catering business needs only about $50,000. [...]

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Seems to me like the recession has hit bottom and the economy is starting back up.
It’s not just sales at our company which are picking up. It’s also people I know and talk to, like the other 24 investors in my angel investor group which met last week; most of them are business owners. And people at [...]

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I like the title: "Just Start," as in start your business, shades of the now famous Nike "Just do it" campaign. Just start.
I’m pleased to be speaking along with John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE, and Rich Sloan of StartupNation for this free webinar next wednesday. 
It’s a free [...]

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Adeo Ressi doesn’t like what he calls a slanted field on the deals entrepreneurs get from investors. He says (I’m quoting):
Honestly, I think that the entrepreneur gets a raw deal today, and that this has gotten a lot worse since I started in 1994. Entrepreneurs are victims of a lot of predatory and exploitative behavior.
This [...]

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You want this book: Escape from Cubicle Nation, by Pamela Slim. She’s been writing a great blog for several years, and now she’s put much of the soul of that blog into her new book, with the same name. You want it if you’re working for a company and thinking about going on your [...]

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Joanna Van Vleck has revamped her business plan at least half a dozen times, made a new take on an old idea work sensationally, and is riding triple-digit growth during this recession.
So, when she humbly offers 10 lessons for startups, it’s worth listening.
Joanna is founder and CEO of the Trunk Club, which is a network [...]

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(I posted Organizing Angel Investors Monday on Up and Running about positive developments in angel funding. David Rose, CEO of angelsoft.net, added the following as a comment to that post. Although I haven’t had guest posts on this blog, David’s comment is worth it. And I’ve been using angelsoft.net for a while now, I know [...]

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(This post is taken from my most recent column in the Eugene Register-Guard’s Blue Chip magazine)
Suppose you’ve been wanting to start a business; or maybe you’ve lost a job and you’re thinking that starting a new business might be easier than finding a new job (it’s not that unrealistic, by the way; it does happen sometimes). [...]

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I picked this up from the American Express OPEN forum: Fear Is Easy, But Hope Is Smarter. Are those the only choices? How about carefully planning the right responses. Taking action. Reviewing the situation, revising the plan, focusing on priorities,…

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