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6 Drivers For Aspiring Entrepreneurs To Finish School

Startup Professionals Musings

Take advantage of free startup programs and mentors. They provide peer group organizations, usually called incubators, with free resources, practice environments, and outside mentoring that can help you learn and pivot with minimal cost. Write a business plan and pitch deck for learning.

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7 Scenarios Where A Business Plan Is Still An Asset

Startup Professionals Musings

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. In fact, they are probably in such a hurry to give you money that they don’t want you to waste time writing anything down and passing it along to new investors.

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Huddlewoo Wants To Connect You To Mentors You Admire Through Online Video

Tech Zulu Event

Huddlewoo a live video platform set to launch early 2013 to give people the ability to access extraordinary people for one-on-one conversations and mentoring. Many times I think that it would be awesome to have a conversation with them, but typically write off the idea because the process for access is too difficult. Future plans?

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8 Tasks To Prepare You For Starting Your Own Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Based on my own experience as a mentor and angel investor, I find that as many as ninety percent of startups fail in the first five years, despite their best efforts. Make sure the name and trademarks you want are available, as well as web site address, social media tags, and any other intellectual property.

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A Perspective On When A Business Plan Adds Value

Startup Professionals Musings

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. Writing it down promotes both understanding and commitment.

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8 Strategies For Winning As A Freelancer Or Employee

Startup Professionals Musings

Use blogging, outside publication, and speaking or mentoring opportunities to establish credibility and stand out above peers. That means regularly scanning LinkedIn and job sites for roles and opportunities that you may quality for, and honing your skills and connections to be sure you are competitive. Develop the courage to move on.

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The Peter Principle Can Paralyze Your Startup Team

Startup Professionals Musings

Everyone must know how to listen, talk and write. Provide mentoring and self-learning opportunities. Most startups don’t have the time or resources to send team members to formal training classes, either in-house or off-site. As the founder, you won’t have a finance chief, a marketing staff or a requirements manager.

Startup 99