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Evan Vitale

Business Tips, Tactics and Updates by Evan Vitale

Evan Vitale

Evan Vitale – What Is A Business Startup?

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By Evan Vitale

I’ve been writing several blogs about business startups and, recently, one of my followers in Twitter wrote to me asking for a better explanation of a business startup and how he could begin to form a startup.

Most think a startup is a boot-strapping, grass-roots technical, or medical device firm developing a brilliant idea in a warehouse in San Francisco.

According to Forbes.com, Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker says “a startup is a company working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says a startup is “the act or an instance of setting in operation or motion” or “a fledgling business enterprise,” while the American Heritage Dictionary says a startup is “a business or undertaking that has recently begun operation.”

In order for your company to be considered a startup, you must have set up shop recently. Some say a startup company can still be considered a startup during its fifth year; others say you are no longer a startup business at the end of your third year.

A business that is a “startup” doesn’t mean the firm is living on the edge. It means the new company has the ability to grow and increase revenues. It can scale very quickly. A florist with one location in one town is not considered a startup. Neither is a franchise.

Therefore, there is technically a big difference between starting a business and a startup business. Investor and angel entrepreneur Paul Graham once said the difference between a small business and a startup business is like the difference between Google and a barbershop. Growth and financial investments for a startup is much more different than that of a small business.

The definition of a startup isn’t mean to downplay or claim that starting a business isn’t important. Instead, it’s only used to measure and definite the differences.

Evan Vitale – Waiting On Startup Funding?

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By Evan Vitale

A common scenario among startup businesses is the idea that things seem to be moving a little slow in terms of waiting on startup funding.

Slow and steady wins the race. If you are waiting on funding or for another situation to unfold, there’s little you can do when the ball is in someone’s court. Believe me, they aren’t delaying decisions to keep you from sleeping at night.

Here are a few things you can do to keep your startup vision alive and to prevent from being discouraged:

  • Make sure all your plans are finalized and in place when startup funding comes through. For example, if you need to secure office or warehouse space, start looking for it now. Finding business space is an important decision and it takes a lot of time.
  • Will you be hiring employees or additional staff to your startup? If so, start writing your employment advertisements and decide where (and when) you’re going to start asking for resumes. This is an extremely important step for any startup company.
  • Unfortunately, many businesses have failed simply because the owner could not hire and retain good help. Sometimes, the search for those with specialized skills is going to take up a lot of your time.
  • When startup funding becomes available, will you need to purchase computers and other required equipment in order to run your company efficiently?
  • You could also begin to craft some ideas for your startup website, secure necessary social media networking accounts for your company and consider talking to a designer for development a logo for your startup followed by ordering business cards, letterhead, etc.

There’s no need to spend any money on the aforementioned steps before funding is secured. However, since time is on your side, use and spend it wisely to solve other tasks for your startup.

Evan Vitale – Providing Business Charity

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By Evan Vitale

As a business owner, you will find there are many opportunities in your  local community that allow you to give back. However, with so many in need, you’ll need to make some tough decisions on how and when to donate to local organizations, clubs, schools, individuals, etc.

In can be over-whelming.

Here are some tips on how you can be charitable in your community:

  • Talk to some of your business associates and networking connections and ask them for charity referrals. They probably know of some local programs that need assistance and can offer you some personal referrals on where you can donate time or money.
  • Have a meeting with your staff. Here, everyone on your team can offer their input on local donations.
  • Consider donating time instead of finances. Many local charities greatly appreciate your time than they do your checkbook. They may need help cleaning a playground, painting, serving meals, etc.
  • Food bank donations. Rather than a financial donation, many local food banks often publish a list of items they need. Your company and its employees may inherit a food bank and decide to regularly purchase much-needed items to the charity on a monthly or quarterly basis.
  • Offer your services to a non-profit organization. This is an excellent idea. Again, instead of sending a check, many organizations would appreciate your services. Perhaps, your staff can help them design and write marketing materials, create or update a website, write and publish press releases or provide search engine optimization and social media services. These can be invaluable to a local organization.

Don’t wait until the holidays to help. Many local charities and non-profit organizations are in constant need of help year round. Unfortunately, many tend to be overwhelmed with help during the holiday season, but are soon forgotten about come January.

Evan Vitale – When Your Competitor Closes Its Doors

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By Evan Vitale

Competition, someone said, is good for business.

However, we all want to do better than our competition. We strive to create better products and offer top-notch customer support.

We want to increase our sales; cut our expenses and, if possible, steal a few customers away from the competition.

But what does it mean for your company if your top competitor goes out of business? Is that good news? Or bad news?

First, face the facts: businesses can go under for a variety of reasons. Poor management, family matters, health problems, financial issues, legal troubles. Perhaps, it was time for your competitor to renew the lease or upgrade expensive equipment and didn’t feel it would be worth the expense in the long run.

Sometimes, business owners will retire and close their doors if they don’t feel value in putting the business for sale on the market.

Either way, a closed competitor will impact your company – primarily to recognize it as a potential opportunity for you to capitalize on your competitor’s misfortunes; inherit new customers and generate additional revenue for your firm.

Investigate the following:

  • Is there a way in which you can find out your competitor’s customer/client list? If so (even if only a few), contact them and let them know you’re still in business and that you can help.
  • Contact the telephone company to see if your competitor’s telephone number is available for purchase. Why this might seem a little uncomfortable to some, a disconnected telephone number to a closed business is going to eventually end up as a new telephone number for another business. Why not your business?
  • Eventually, the website domain of the closed business will soon be available as it will most likely not be renewed by your competitor. This is an opportunity to purchase your competitor’s domain and have all traffic re-directed from your closed competitor’s website to your website.

Don’t dwell on reasons why your competition closed its doors. Instead, view it as an opportunity to gain a new customer base and increase your bottom line.

Evan Vitale – Working In A Family Business

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By Evan Vitale

There have been many examples of successful family businesses over the years. Father starts a business and the rest of the family joins in. Even the children, as they grow up, learn the ins and outs of the business and may eventually carry on the family name and ownership of the company.

However, a working in a family business has its up and downs as it becomes very difficult to separate the business from the family. Some time to keep family-oriented things at home and keep business-oriented things at the office, store or factory.

Impossible!

It’s extremely difficult to separate the “family” from a family-owned business. Something happens at home and the emotions are taken to the business. Someone at the business receives a reprimand and takes it home with them. And, definitely, family members take advantage of the family business in shaving work hours, coming in late, leaving early and taking extra or extended vacation time.

A business – family or not – has been be run like a business and, when family is working at the “family” business, they should act and be treated as employees and not family members.

Still, it’s extremely difficult to separate the two.

Some of the issues that come up from time-to-time with a family-owned business include:

  • Family members act one way at home and treat each other differently at work causing a conflict between family values and business values.
  • Some might try to take advantage of a family business with a better salary, benefits, etc., with no regard to business growth, investment back into the company and retirement options. Some may want the money now instead of for retirement.
  • Leadership situations. Who’s the boss? What happens when a family member retires? Who is taking over? What kinds of conflicts will/does that create?
  • Family relationship issues, including rivalry between children and family members.

Running and working in a family-owned business can be difficult, but once everyone agrees on drawing the line between the family and the business, your company can be on its way to better success.

Evan Vitale – Is A Partner Right For You?

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By Evan Vitale

Whether you’re starting a new business or you’re seeking business growth, one idea to help you launch or reach your goals is the idea of bringing on a business partner.

A business partner can be both good news and bad news. Let’s look at both possibilities.

Having a business partner could mean he/she brings a lot of assets to your company, especially in the area of increasing your business profits and the overall success of your company.

When you’re considering a business partner, the key is to make sure you find someone who shares your business passion, vision and excitement. Remember, if you select a partner, you will be spending a great deal of time together, so it’s important that you’re on the same page.

Business owners bring on a partner because the individual is going to bring something complementary to the company: different skills that you don’t possess, such as marketing, sales, financing, etc. In addition, a new partner might be bringing their existing client base with them, which would immediately help increase business and revenues.

However, there are some reasons why a partner may not make sense.

You’re not the sole decision maker. With a partner, you’ll need to discuss specific matters before you move forward. What happens if you disagree with a new partner? What steps will need to be taken if you suddenly don’t get along? If the partnership is in peril, the business will slowly suffer.

A friend of mine started a new retail business with a partner. Their business grew every month and expanded into new markets. Within a year, they started a complimentary wholesale company and sold products to their competitors. One ran the retail business, while the other ran the wholesale business. They met daily for lunch to discuss matters. It worked great!

However, we can’t all have perfect business partners, so you need to be selective, careful and evaluate all the positives and negatives that come with bringing a partner into your business.

Evan Vitale – Starting a Woman-Owned Business

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By Evan Vitale

More women continue to leave the corporate world and start their own business.

Sometimes, it’s because they want to be able to start or raise a family and have more flexible time to spend with their children without having to sacrifice their careers. In other cases, women want to break free and escape the glass ceiling of the corporate world or, as some as found, re-entering the job market is tough for everyone, so a good alternative is being your own boss.

Whatever the case may be, there are plenty of opportunities for women to start, own and be successful at running their own business.

Women are equal to men with similar positives and negatives when it comes to business startup and ownership. However, some feel there is a much harder hill to climb for female business owners in what is traditionally a male-dominated sector.

Unfortunately, some women business owners aren’t taken as serious as their male counterparts. So, be strong ladies!

Here are some tips on getting started:

  • Be active in local networking groups. Connect with other business owners. Network!
  • Join and participate in a women-based networking group. If one doesn’t exist, consider starting one!
  • Be community minded.
  • Improve and polish your communication skills.
  • Don’t be intimidated by male business owners.
  • Never use “working-at-home” as an excuse or a liability. If the topic comes up, let your prospective customer or client know you work from home to save on overhead costs and to keep your fees affordable for new clients.
  • For moms and dads with an at-home business, explain your business to your children and that even though you’re not “at the office,” that you’re home is your office.

For any business startup, remember to choose and form a great team of consultants, who will work for you and help you. They include your banker; your accountant and your attorney.

Evan Vitale – Starting a Minority-Owned Business

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By Evan Vitale

When starting any business, owners must plan, obtain financing, earn clients and much more. Minority business owners face similar challenges in raising capital, marketing, hiring staff, etc.

However, there are federal, state and other local programs designed to help minorities become successful entrepreneurs. For example, many agencies can help you get started with beginning tasks as you formulate your business idea and build the groundwork for applying for financing. Many of these services are free of charge for minorities. They can include:

  • Helping you write your business plan. As you may know, a business plan is a valuable document as it provides a guide on how your business will operate. A minority-owned business counselor will help you craft the plan in determining everything about your customers, competition, vendors and more. Remember, a business plan shows potential investors that you’re serious about your business.
  • Setting up your business structure. For example, will your business be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation? Your minority-owned business counselor can help you with some information in this area and they may be able to connect you with low-cost or free legal assistance in setting up your business structure.
  • Advice on financing. Obviously, this is an important stage in starting your minority-owned business and, since there are many financing options available, your business counselor can help you select the right financing package for your business. Remember: most government agencies do not provide direct loans to any business. Instead, they will guarantee the loans once the business owner has met certain criteria. As you begin your search for financing, it’s always a good idea to have several options available including bank loans, venture capital opportunities, family, friends, etc.

As you begin to formulate your minority-owned business idea, always remember to seek out local, state and federal assistance and guidance. There are probably some great local resources waiting to help you!

Evan Vitale – Your Business Blog (Part II)

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By Evan Vitale

Now that you’ve started a business blog, the real work is ahead of you: coming up with blog ideas and writing blog posts on a regular basis.

Generating good blog ideas is something that all businesses struggle with when it comes to writing blog posts. However, in this blog post, we’ll take a look at some simple, “right-in-front-of-you” ideas that will help keep the juices flowing and the content coming!

Ready? Here we go:

  • Write an historical blog post on how your company got started.
  • Introduce your team and feature each one of your company’s employees (with a picture). Tell your readers what they do every day to help them. Customers like to learn more about the person they are talking to every time they call in an order or receive an e-mail.
  • Write a piece on your facility. Is it new? Is it historical? Are you located in a unique area of town? One of my friends opened his first office in a building that was on the Historical Registry as it used to be a steamboat captain’s residence. The building featured a historical marker and was considered to be haunted by locals.
  • Update readers about what’s new in your industry. Any industry news can be valuable information to your customers.
  • If you attend any trade show events or conferences, you now have a ton of information for potential blog posts. Take pictures and publish them in your blog.
  • Publish a weekly tip in your blog about saving money or time, etc. Consider making this a regular feature each week on Tuesday, for example.
  • Write about your business neighbors. This creates goodwill towards other local businesses and helps potential customers find your location.
  • Write about local events. One company always writes a Friday blog post about local weekend activities. It has nothing to do with his business, but he always shares local things “to do” with his regular blog readers. Guess what? People read it!

There are a million-and-one blog post ideas waiting for you. Time to start writing!

Evan Vitale – Your Business Blog (Part I)

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By Evan Vitale

Blogs have been around for several years now, so you’re probably way past due if your business doesn’t have a blog – or an active blog for that matter.

Don’t worry, the train hasn’t left the station. However, now’s the time to get on board and start writing a blog for your company.

By reading this, you already know what a blog is. Some consider it to be a diary or sorts for both individuals and businesses. Most businesses write and publish blogs in order to better communicate with their customers and prospects.

A blog can either be a stand-alone website or be incorporated as part of your own company’s website. As part of your company’s website, your blog should be the page that stands out, gets updated on a regular basis and earns the most traffic.

Here are some major considerations when it comes to writing a blog for your company:

  • Customers read them. Blog posts should be informative and entertaining and help your customers solve a problem, save time, save money, etc. Blogs shouldn’t be about how great your company is or that you are the best heating and cooling company in town.
  • Blogs make you and your business the top authority in your field. Here, by being helpful and informative, it helps prospects feel more comfortable with their purchasing decision.
  • Search engines love blogs, especially those that are updated regularly with fresh and unique content. Don’t worry about stuffing your blog posts and headlines with keywords. Instead, focus on writing and publishing the best content for your readers. Again, make it interesting, informative and entertaining.
  • Promote your blog and blog posts through your company’s social media networks. As soon as blog post is live, you’ll want to make sure you share it on your company’s Facebook Page, in LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Once you get a blog started, the “hard” part is keeping it alive with fresh content. Begin by writing at least one blog post per week, but eventually try to write two or three blogs per week. Rely on staff, interns or local freelance writers to help you write blog posts.