In the course of serving our nation, veterans learn valuable skills and self-discipline that they can carry through to their post-military careers. One professional path that many veterans take is entrepreneurship.
According to the most recent U.S. Census data, in 2012, the number of veteran-owned businesses was 2,521,682 (9 percent of all companies in the U.S.). Those businesses employed over 5 million people. Continue reading
by Mary Marshall, CEO Coach
The most successful entrepreneurs figure out early on that they are not alone, that they are not infallible and that they need people better than themselves to do certain things.
However, we often have this vision of the entrepreneur as a superman or woman, slaying all the obstacles on the path to greatness all on their own. I’m here to tell you that image is simply not true. If it were, we would only be building companies of one and the term solopreneur would be all the rage.
Entrepreneurs do have good ideas and often strategies for putting their plans into motion. They often have a unique or different vision that others have not imagined yet but what they cannot do is single-handedly make it happen.
I’m reminded of this as I start the new class of Seattle Emerging Leaders at the SBA. These are businesses who have been operating for at least 3 years but at some point, became stuck and could not get past a certain stage of development. As this year’s class introduced themselves to one another, two very similar narratives emerged.
First, they were greatly relieved to be with other entrepreneurs like themselves who felt more or less alone. Realizing that everyone in the class was having the same experience was an eye opener for all of them. Secondly, they realized that part of their struggle was that while working in the business they rarely, if ever, had time to work on it so accountability for that went out the window with the pressing challenges of each day.
Many startup small business owners take pride in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and not using financing to get their companies off the ground. But that approach can backfire, a new study in the Journal of Corporate Finance suggests.
The study, conducted by Florida Atlantic University faculty, assessed what happened to companies that took on debt during their first year of operation.
The authors discovered businesses that took on debt are more likely to succeed (as long as they use business debt as opposed to taking on personal debt).
What’s more, they’re also more likely to achieve higher revenues. Continue reading
by Mary Marshall, CEO Coach
Good leaders know that inspiring people has a lot to do with focusing on the positive vs. the negative. Unfortunately, many of us are predisposed to focus on the negative and give it more worth or value than the positive. Alison Ledgerwood, a social psychologist does a great job in this TED talk showing us how that works.
Essentially, once we focus on the negative, we are much less likely to believe anything that proves otherwise. When asked how our day was we generally start with the negative. When asked how a project is going, we typically respond with what is not working. When asked how a team is performing, we often reply with explanations of how it’s not. Who knows why we do this? Preservation perhaps?
The end result is that we are discounting that which is good and leaving opportunities for happiness out in the cold.
by Kelly Deis of SoundPoint Consulting
A dollar is a dollar. That’s true. And, all revenue is equal. Right? Well no, not in an investor’s or potential buyer’s eye. So what makes some revenue good and other revenue not quite as good?
Recurring revenue is highly desirable because is it known and predictable. The best example of this is an auto-renewal fee or service charge periodically charged directly to a customer’s credit card. Once the initial sale is complete there are no more costs to acquire a customer. The revenue stream is much like an annuity. Continue to provide the goods or services as promised and the revenue keeps coming in.
Great examples of this are insurance premiums and streaming fees. Once customers have decided to purchase the product – and assuming they remain content, they are happy to have their credit card billed automatically.
In contrast, consulting and attorney fees are often one-time in nature. Revenue ceases when the project is complete and the engagement ends. Continue reading
by Ken Sethney, Kitsap SCORE Branch Manager
I was a business owner myself for many years. Now, I’m a volunteer business mentor with the Kitsap branch of SCORE.
SCORE is a non-profit organization that’s been around for many years. We have more than 10,000 volunteers nationwide, and we’re committed to helping people start, grow, and successfully exit their businesses.
In Kitsap County, we have 7 volunteers who meet with people from Kingston to Port Orchard, Bainbridge Island to Silverdale.
In the last 4 years, we’ve focused on face-to-face mentoring. Most of the people we’ve met with have been thinking about starting a new business.
Since meeting with us, many of them have. And their businesses range from food trucks to restaurants. Healthcare providers to general contractors. Retail shops online or right here in your town.
In 2018, our start-up mentoring services will continue, but we are starting a new program designed to help people who own businesses that are up-and-running. Continue reading
Capital One polled small business owners about their hopes and fears, and here’s what the latest Small Business Growth Index has to say about their responses.
All told, small business owners feel good about their finances. Nearly half (47 percent) say their businesses’ sales rose in the past six months—the highest percentage recorded by the survey since the second quarter of 2013. Some 37 percent say their financial position has improved from one year ago, too.
But it’s not all sunshine. While small business owners are happy with their finances, they’re also wondering how long the good times will last. In fact, two of the top three concerns cited by entrepreneurs in the survey are financial in nature. Continue reading
