Under30CEO

Small Business Owners Win a Chance to Travel for Free on British Airways

under30ceo — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:00:37 +0000

It is time for the 2010 Face-to-Face program at British Airways. Basically the contest will give 250 US small business owners and entrepreneurs the chance to build relationships and their businesses abroad. This provides a great opportunity for businesses owners to have the ability to travel and meet clients and customers who normally are out of their reach financially. The program also offers up a great group of advisors to assist the businesses who end up winning.

How to Submit:

Beginning today, entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to expand or enhance their business internationally may submit a video or essay of their best “elevator” pitch at www.ba.com/contest. Entering the contest provides a chance to earn a free flight to London or anywhere in the British Airways network to facilitate face-to-face meetings with potential and existing customers and business partners.
Prior to the New York to London flight early next year, all 250 winners will have the exclusive opportunity to attend British Airways’ Face of Opportunity event on Wed, Feb. 2, 2011, in New York City, where they will receive firsthand tips and advice from influential international business experts while networking with venture capitalists, renowned entrepreneurs, media and other small business owners.
Three selected winners also will have the chance to present their business plans to a panel of celebrity entrepreneur judges, including Bill Rancic, Barbara Corcoran and Bethenny Frankel, for a chance to win a British Airways Business Opportunity Grant, featuring additional free flights to London, or anywhere in the British Airways global network.

The Advisory Board:

Rhonda Abrams, best-selling author and Founder/CEO of The Planning Shop
Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Business Trends LLC
Kevin Daum, author and columnist for Smarter Business
Adam Ostrow, Editor and Chief, Mashable.com
Nancy Ploeger, President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Andrew Sherman, legal and strategic advisor for small businesses, Partner, Jones Day
Rich Sloan, Co-founder of Startup Nation
Steve Strauss, Best-selling author and senior USATODAY.com business columnist

This is a great chance if your a small business owner and do any type of business overseas. Or maybe you are looking to expand over there but the costs have held you back.

Get all the details here

9 Hip Hop Artists Crushing It Under 30

Roy — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:13:14 +0000

With the relatively low barrier of entrance into the Hip Hop world these artists standout among the crowd. Combining their passion for music with sound entrepreneurial principles they have each created a unique brand for themselves. Will their business savvy continue to develop and will they become the next Hip Hop moguls of tomorrow? Either way they have taken their passion and turned it into successful business ventures. They are all paving their own path in their industry and influencing today’s and tomorrow’s generation.

Wale, Age 25

Starting out as an aspiring artist from D.C exhibiting complex rhymes and flows on free mixtapes, Wale began touring with Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse, and Lily Allen and then got signed to Interscope Records. A star on the rise, well known among celebrities as a huge sneakerhead you can find Wale on the Jordan Brand: Holiday 2010 look book.

Lupe Fiasco, Age 28

Chicago native has enjoyed his share of success with his single Kick Push being featured in the video game NBA Live 2007. Aside from music he is also working on using his story telling skills in a more traditional format to write a novel. It’s been said his lyrics rank among those of Eminem and Jay-Z.

J. Cole, Age 25

An up and comer on the list, J. Cole is the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation and is one of the new artists who many are counting on to carry the torch for hip hop. Anxious fans shouldn’t have to wait much longer with his debut album Cole World being released in October 2010.

Bow Wow, Age 23

The artist formerly known as “Lil Bow Wow” began his music career at age 13 with his debut album Beware of Dog. Dropping the “Lil” in 2002, Bow wow has been featured on the HBO series Entourage as Charlie an up & coming comedian and recently starred in the movie Lottery Ticket
Only taking breaks to challenge fellow celebs in “Madden” Bow Wow is always hard at work releasing his 7th solo studio album later this year.

Drake, Age 23

Originally only known by our friends up north as Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation Drizzy made his way into the music scene completely unsigned. His mix tape So Far Gone received 2,000 downloads in the first 2 hours of its release. With his 1st studio album Thank Me Later released earlier this year Drake has already managed to work with some of the biggest names in the industry; Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Dr. Dre. With a total 34 award nominations ranging from the JUNO Awards in Canada to Grammys in the US he has no intentions of slowing down with a new mix tape due later this year.

Kid Cudi, 26

Signed to Kanye West’s Label GOOD Music Cudi made his way into the music scene with his single titled Day n Night reaching the top 5 of Billboard’s Hot 100. Clothing brand B.A.P.E awarded Cudi his own shirt in reward for his music and past employment. Now making it on his own he is also starring on the HBO series How to Make it in America a show which follows two young men on their goal to drop the 9-5s and make it in New York City’s fashion scene.

Asher Roth, 25

If we all had this much fun in college we probably would have never made it out. But Asher Roth took the alternative route after creating a buzz big enough to gain the attention of the marketing VP of So So Def Records putting his Elementary Education major on the shelf and picking up his microphone to promote his debut album Asleep on the Bread Isle and single I Love College. His witty rhymes full of punch lines and catch phrases have catapulted this artists career with his sophomore album The Spaghetti Tree due out later this year.

Travie McCoy, 29

Lead singer of the alternative Hip Hop group Gym Class Heroes. “I wanna be a billionaire so f@#$%*! bad” Bruno Mars sings on Travie McCoy’s hit single Billionaire from his solo album Lazarus. Need I say more

Black Milk, 27

One of the young artist putting the Detroit Hip Hop sound back on the map. Fueled by the late J Dilla’s inspirational legacy, Black Milk produces and raps over his own beats. Many artists emerge as the new young leaders of hip hop but few always remain. Black Milk has stayed relevant by remaining focused on creating music that endures. If you’re interested in listening to one of the best producers around combined with sharp lyricism and stylish delivery then check out his album 365 Album of the Year.

Who do you think the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO will be?

I vote @Wale for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @LupeFiasco for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @JColeNC for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @BowWow for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @drakkardnoir for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @asherroth for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @TravieMcCoy for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

I vote @Black_Milk for the next great Hip Hop Under30CEO [Tweet This]

Written by upstart entrepreneur and Under30CEO intern Roy Roca. Follow him on Twitter @Roy_Roca

The Small Business Technology Tour 2010

under30ceo — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:00:49 +0000

Under30CEO invites you to attend the Small Business Technology Tour 2010 ( http://www.smallbiztechtour.com )!

The Small Business Technology Tour is a great stop for anyone looking to learn more about using technology to grow their business. The tour is produced by Smallbiztechnology.com which is a media company that aims to educate companies small and large on how to better use technology in their business. Part of that education is through events which is where the tour comes in!

You’ll learn from experts in business and technology and leave with more information on how to strategically leverage technology for the growth of your business. At the tour you’ll learn how to save time, save money, be more productive, increase revenue and enhance relationships all by using technology.

Complimentary Tickets!

We encourage you to register today. Have a look at the cities and dates below. We have a limited number of complimentary tickets, you can register as our guest by using the discount code “UNDER30CEO”

Find out more information and register today at http://www.smallbiztechtour.com

Mountain View, CA (Sep 28)
Salt Lake City (Oct 14)
Boston (Oct 25)
Washington DC (Nov 5)
Atlanta (Nov 9)

You’ll network with your peers. Learn from experts. Speak with technology vendors. Participate in discussions. Eat. Win Prizes. And more – all with the goal of seeing how you can leverage technology and empower your business for growth.

Matt Mickiewicz on Creating Some of the Most Popular Websites in the World

under30ceo — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:00:32 +0000

Photo Source: Mixergy.com

Matt Mickiewicz is not your average 27 year old. He started the popular website Sitepoint.com when he was 14, today it is ranked in the top 1000 most visited sites in the world.

He did not go to college because in high school he was already making more money than his teachers. He also co-founded the popular design site 99designs.com which has generated over 50,000 designs some of which include the cover for Tim Ferris’s best seller “The 4 Hour Work Week” and also the t-shirts for the LA and San Francisco marathons. To top it all off he founded flippa.com which sold retweet.com for a quarter million.

Matt is a passionate entrepreneur who hopes to continue to build more companies by being the first to market. Read below to see how he got started and what advice he has for people venturing into the business world today…

How did you get the idea for SitePoint? Were you always looking to start business?

Back in 1997 I designed websites as a hobby. Back then the internet was still very primitive and there was not a lot of information online on how to start a website. This meant I had to do a lot of research to figure out how to get things up and running. During this process I compiled all that I had learned and decided others could benefit from the same information. So I started Webmaster-Resources.com in 1998 to display all the information on how to build a website for everyone to else see. The name then changed to Sitepoint.com shortly after.

So basically the research for my hobby led me into creating the massive resource we all know today.

SitePoint quickly became a force online..What do you think was the key factor to that? Do you think people can still do that today or is it to crowded online?

SitePoint’s success was a combination of good timing, PR from newspapers and magazines, great content, hard work – including answering every email sent to me and helping countless people get up and running with their own websites.

Everything was personalized and I spent day and night creating content and responding to questions. Also SEO back then was much easier than today. Organic search engine traffic grew quickly because competition was very limited.

Today it is much more competitive online. You have to be the top few sites in your industry to really have any leverage.

What is the revenue model behind SitePoint? What do you think about the online space today and making money…has it changed?

Originally we were able to sell advertising and sponsorship for the site. This worked well until the NASDAQ bubble popped and all our advertising clients went bankrupt. We had to move quickly.

We saw that developers wanted the materials next to their keyboard while doing web development work (this was before many people had double screens). So we decided to see whether people would pay for a printed version of our most popular tutorial, which was about PHP & MySQL. We used a print-on-demand company to limit our risk and started marketing the book online – it went on t to sell 20,000 copies.

In the past few years there has been a major shift to eBooks and digital content. People rather spend $5 on an ebook than $40 on a hard cover. Recently 5 for 1 PDF sales have created SitePoints largest sales days. We have switched to cheaper products but distributed to a wider audience.

Also online training is now up & coming as a major revenue stream for the business.

Tell us about 99designs.com….How did that idea come around?

99designs.com started in early 2008 as a crowdsourced marketplace for graphic design. We flipped the industry by lettings designers submit work 1st. The customers submits a project description & prize offer first and then designers submit deigns to win the money. The model eliminates risk by letting you see the finished product first.

The idea came from the forums on SitePoint. People were requesting designs and designers began making them for the people in the Forums.Eventually we started charging people to post a forum thread with their design project request, then we built some basic software to facilitate the process outside of vBulletin and eventually we created a new brand.

What would you say has been the biggest lesson you have learned while starting these companies?

Get stuff out the door quickly and learn from the customers. Perfection is the enemy of progress. Especially at startups, you need to make money first and perfect your offering over time as you learn from your visitors and customers.

What advice would you give to a young entrepreneurs today?

Create long-term value for others. We’ve done that by helping people sell over $40,000,000 in websites on Flippa, teaching hundreds of thousands of people about new technologies and helping them improve their careers & jobs and pay paying out over $10 million to the designers on 99designs.

What are your future plans?

Grow 99designs and continue to help small businesses get affordable logo, brochure & product packaging design. We hope to start additional companies in the future as well, which will create new categories by being first-to-market.

To Call or Not to Call, That is the Question

under30ceo — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:00:23 +0000

In order to maximize revenue your business needs to be able to reach its target audience effectively. There are a number of different ways you can gain exposure so that more people recognize your brand and associate you with a particular product or service. The incorporation of social media is becoming more popular as businesses are choosing to associate more directly with prospective and existing customers. While online marketing continues to grow many businesses still rely on telemarketing techniques. While telemarketing isn’t a new strategy, it does remain a viable option for certain businesses and organizations.

Telemarketers have faced increasing challenges from the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registry since it was enacted 7 years ago. According to the most recent numbers, over 200 million telephone numbers have been registered. With so many opting out of telemarketing services and cell phone numbers automatically assigned to no call status, those placing sales calls need to be extra cautious as to just who they’re dialing.

There are, however, exceptions to the registry which include charities, political groups, telephone surveyors, and businesses you’ve engaged with in the last 18 months. Because companies can be fined for violating the do-not-call list many are choosing to do away with telemarketing altogether. While this may be good for some businesses, it remains true that telemarketing (including b2b telemarketing) can be useful and without it a lot of businesses wouldn’t be able to reach their current sales numbers.

If calling isn’t particularly in your company’s best interest you might want to consider text messaging. A lot more companies are choosing texting over calling these days. Text messaging isn’t just for teenagers anymore. According to a 2010 Pew Research Center report, 72% of all cell phone users text. Indeed, the majority of cell phones today are designed as text-friendly because texting is now an industry standard. A text marketing campaign is not a bad idea as it’s more anonymous and can save both your company and the customer time. Many nonprofits prefer texting for its ease of accepting donations directly from donors without the need to staff many of their own volunteers.

Essentially it’s your target audience who will determine if the benefits are likely to outweigh the risks when launching a telemarketing campaign. An often overlooked strategy is to picture yourself on the receiving end of the line. What kinds of things would you want to hear? Because you should already know your target audience it will be easier to anticipate what they want to hear from you. Telemarketing may have a stigma around it, but there are ways to get around it so your company isn’t brandished as one of the bad guys who ruins dinnertime with a poorly-timed sales pitch.

Michael Dykstra is an expert writer on phone systems based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as VoIP service at Resource Nation.

Learn how online marketing can help you find customers, make sales and grow your brand.

Startup Hot Seat: Epic Fury Clothing vs Gen Cubed

under30ceo — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:34:29 +0000

Today we have two startups looking to be the next big thing. One is Epic Fury Clothing which is a casual clothing line for men. The other Gen Cubed is a company that focuses on educating and developing the younger workforce in larger corporations. Both companies have been around for a about year but have established an image and future goals. Both ideas took minimal startup capital. More importantly they took the drive from the founders to make their ideas happen.

Check out the two companies and take a second to address the questions they have asked!

What is the story behind your company?

I founded the company on the basis of a need in a niche market. Epic Fury Clothing is the perfect merger of fashion and functionality. The motive was to create a casual brand for active males; whether they are avid weight lifters, world class athletes, MMA enthusiasts or just your average gym rat, they have a clothing line to call their own without having to sacrifice fashion or their “look”. It truly is all about the look and feel. Our target market puts so much emphasis on the way they look and how they’re perceived, so Epic Fury Clothing developed a v-neck t-shirt made from the best fabric available; pima cotton.

What makes your company unique in its industry?

Our company is unique in every aspect of its composition, from our signature designs right down to the fabric. In addition to shirts, we also sell a lifestyle, a mantra of sorts; wearing Epic Fury means you are always looking to improve yourself and the world around you.

Future plans for the company?

Make Epic Fury a household name all the while trying our hardest not to lose our exclusivity or the upscale mens boutique brand perception.

URL:

epicfuryclothing.bigcartel.com

Founders and Ages:

Rob Zerrenner, 25

Help answer their questions!

Question 1: Finding honest web developers.
Question 2: Trying not to sell off stake in the business for investment opportunities.
Question 3: Reaching my target market.

What is the story behind your company?

Both of us have marketing backgrounds, but from very different places. I (Genevieve) came from the Fortune 500 corporate machine, and Peter came from the rogue underground entertainment marketing industry on the East Cost that only operated in cash. We were both doing freelance type marketing and PR in Portland, Oregon when we met at a week-long Rotary Leadership Conference. After determining that our personality styles were very dynamic and worked well together, I said to Peter, “We can either find a way to work together, or we can be formidable competition, what do you think?” That’s how the partnership was born. We started off marketing, but anytime we were speaking or working with people, all their questions pertained to young employees. We found a major demand in larger established companies for this type of unique insight and perspective, and Gen Cubed was born.

What makes your company unique in its industry?

We offer a unique perspective on the conventional ideas of management, human capital management, and what it means to be an employee in today’s world. But we balance this with a very keen understanding of how conventional businesses operate, where they are in today’s world, and what exactly it is they are looking for to gain the edge in terms of being a top employer. In addition, we have taken the values that we instill in clients and projects (forward-thinking, innovation, triple bottom line, culture and vision) to create the Oregon Next Generation Companies Award and recognize companies that are going beyond the formula for simply being a “good employer” and are truly looking forward and pushing the envelope (and actually operating as such) to being a “Next Gen” company. We also put on multiple other events and conferences to help instill our message as well as teach and train people to think the “gen cubed” way (check out our “Bizology” conference).

Future plans for the company?

I was accepted to the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business’ EMBA program this fall, and I intend to leverage this opportunity to it’s maximum potential for Gen Cubed. Aside from revenue and growth goals, Gen Cubed plans to publish a book that is currently in the works, as well as expand the Oregon Next Generation Companies Awards to more states/cities, possibly through our alliance with the Business Journals. Within the next 5-10 years Gen Cubed will be recognized as the leader in innovative multi-generational management practices.

URL:

www.gencubed.com

Founders and Ages:

Genevieve Beatty-Tinsay, 26
Peter Lund, 24

Help answer their questions!

Question 1: How do more established professionals and CEO’s etc. truly view young people and young entrepreneurs particularly?
Question 2: What is the biggest and most common (real) mistake that successful business owners today made?
Question 3: If they could go back and do it again, what would successful entrepreneurs worry less about?

Learn how online marketing can help you find customers, make sales and grow your brand.

A Surefire Method to Experience Joy in Your Life

under30ceo — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:45 +0000

Galileo got it wrong.

The earth does not revolve around the sun. It revolves around you and has been doing so for decades. At least, this is the model you are using.

You live in a “me-centered” world in which you interpret everything that happens in terms of “What is its impact on me.” Your spouse gets a great job offer and you wonder what effect this will have on your relationship. Your daughter drops out of high school to begin an in-depth exploration of controlled substances and you wonder what your friends will think about your parenting. Your boss leaves the company and you wonder whether you will be promoted or what your relations will be with the next person to take that position.

You are constantly preoccupied with “me” and what you like and what others think of you and why things aren’t going your way. It reminds me of the joke about the gorgeous girl who spoke about herself endlessly and then tried to make amends “But enough about me. Lets talk about you. Tell me what you like about me.”

Do you think I am exaggerating? That this is certainly not true of you because you are a concerned citizen and care about the environment and poverty and have actually campaigned against land mines? Oh, Yes, Victoria. This is true of YOU, yes you!

Think back on the last few conversations you had with a good friend. Did you sometimes lose thread of what your friend was saying because you were busy crafting the perfect response in your head? Have you ever been introduced to a person and, ten seconds later, forgotten his/her name? Go back in time and recall the most boring class you took in college. Do you, or do you not, remember the one time you made a comment that was brilliant — or at least you thought it was.

Here is something for you to know — if you live the vast majority of your time in a “me-centered” universe, then you are going to get more than your share of depression, angst, sorrow and all of the things that make life terrible. That’s just the way it is.

If you want to experience joy in your life, you have to be able to step outside yourself and become part of a cause that is much larger than you; one that brings a greater good to a greater community. You have tremendous flexibility in defining both the greater good and the greater community. If you don’t succeed in this, then you will continue to pull that heavy wagon up the mountain and despite the fact that you are pulling it, it will somehow run over your foot.

Try this experiment — the next time you have a conversation with a good friend, do not use the words “I”, “me” or “my”. This simple device prevents your from expressing your opinion and many are astonished both by how difficult it is and by how much the depth of listening goes up when you are no longer preoccupied by thinking of what you are going to say.

Now try another experiment. Try living for a week in an “other centered” universe. In this universe others are not put in this world to serve your needs so you cannot legitimately get frustrated by the elderly lady ahead of you on the checkout lane who takes forever to put her change away or the stout man who stands in the aisle of the plane blocking you while he removes his magazine from his bag and tries vainly to stow it in an overhead bin that is patently too crammed to accept it.

See what you can do to serve others. Smile cheerily at the elderly lady. Point out to the stout man that the bins further on are empty and offer to put his bag there as you move on. What is it that you can do to brighten their day somewhat?

Have you ever had a random encounter that was so refreshing that it made your day? I was on a message board yesterday admiring a comment made by a reader about a rant posted by another. It was a very reasoned statement that pointed out the flaw in the ranter’s reasoning and asking why he felt compelled to say what he did. Another reader jumped in and said something to the effect that “Without saying anything on the merits of the case I really like the way in which you responded to his post. Thanks for keeping civility in the debate.” With this opening others chimed in as well and she replied with a heartfelt “Thank you” and that this had made her day.

The same thing has happened to you many times. Perhaps the stranger who cracked jokes and kept everyone upbeat in the slow-moving line. Perhaps the jovial taxi driver who told you that you were looking really gorgeous when you were feeling bedraggled after a five time zone flight. Perhaps the salesman in the clothing store who told you that you looked really handsome in that suit and you knew that he was not merely trying to make a sale.

Do the same yourself. Deliberately, each day, do something to make someone’s day. Plan it. Exercise your creativity. This is one of the exercises in my program and I am amazed at what participants come up with when they set their minds to it. An executive in a European city saw a group of foreign students anxiously counting change to see if they had enough for train fare and anonymously bought tickets for all of them by putting it on his credit card and instructing the ticket attendant to run the charge. He said he hadn’t felt that good for years.

So make someone’s day, every day. Strangers, colleagues, friends, parents, your spouse, children, relatives — even the ones you don’t particularly care for!! — and all fellow travelers on this spaceship we call Earth. Do it deliberately. Invest emotional energy in making it happen. Do it anonymously whenever you can. Don’t expect thanks — what you do and the opportunity you have to be of service is its own reward.

Srikumar S. Rao is the author of Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful — No Matter What (Published by McGraw-Hill). Please visit www.srikumarsrao.com for more information. You can also follow him on Twitter @srikumarsrao, join the happiness community on Facebook: Facebook | Srikumar Rao, and watch his videos on the McGraw-Hill YouTube Channel.

Getting Your MBA? 10 Courses You Must Take to be an Entrepreneur!

under30ceo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:01:05 +0000

Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Now we all know that nothing replaces real world experience. No course will truly show you what it takes or teach you every lesson you are going to encounter when starting a business. However if you are in school and getting an MBA the best thing you can do is take courses that will help you in some way on your journey.

Business Insider put together a list of the top 10 courses you should take if you want to be an entrepreneur. Most of these courses are taught at schools that offer an entrepreneurial major and program.

The list includes:

Feasibility Analysis
CEO/Founder Cases in New Venture Management
Investing in New Ventures
Technology Commercialization
Practicum in Entrepreneurship
New Venture Planning
Core Finance Classes
Entrepreneurial Leadership in Turbulent Times
Mergers and Acquisitions for Small Firms
Buying a Small Business

Read the full article here

There is a lot of discussion out there about the necessity of getting an MBA. In most cases you will not need one to successfully start a company. The biggest thing an MBA will do for most people is give them the ability to continue to make connections at their school and develop a network that can assist them in building a business. But if you are looking at the MBA path for any reason than you might as well look for the best classes to take while you are there!

What are the best classes you have taken that have helped your business? Do you think an MBA is necessary in anyway for starting a company?

Learn how online marketing can help you find customers, make sales and grow your brand.

Learning to Bend With the Wind While Starting a Business

under30ceo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:00:25 +0000

One thing that I have learned over the past few years is that when you build your business you may have to adapt and reshape your idea. So many businesses have experienced this when starting out their business in the first stages and many of them don’t change a thing that is actually hurting them in the long run. Things change all the time and when you may have this great idea, over time you will learn that you have to bend with the wind and if you don’t you will break.

When starting your business or running with your idea you always need to get feedback. Everyone has an opinion these days so see what others think and take it all in. Some may not understand your concept or what it is that you do and you need to figure out how to better explain it to those who may not get it. You will have those that say “why would I need or want to use your product or service?” Some of these things you work out in the beginning yes but you have to learn to adjust as time goes on. You also may even have to change who your target audience is as well. We all think we know who the target audience is but truthfully you may be targeting the wrong crowd and you didn’t even know it. So don’t just focus on one audience when you could be missing out on a huge opportunity with others. This is a great time to turn to your entrepreneur friends or community and ask them their thoughts. There is nothing better than to ask those that have been there or know exactly what you’re going through will trying to work out the kinks in your business.

With their being so many opinions out there of course there will be people who don’t like your business or may even think you’re too young to be doing what you do. Whatever the comments or feedback is make sure and listen to it all whether it’s good or bad. Some of it may even spark a great idea to add to your business you never thought of before.

Even big brands over the course of time have changed in some ways with their product, service or even how they market it. It’s learning to adapt and to continue making your business strong where someone says “I can’t live without this business.” So many things will change over time while you run your business and that’s okay just don’t change too much where others are confused about your brand and who you are. Stay true to your original idea but always learn from mistakes, listen to others input, never give up, focus and make it the best it can be.

If you are passionate enough about your idea or business then you will have no problem learning to bend with the wind.

Ahsley Bodi is the founder of BusinessBeware.biz where they expose bad customers and are your accounts receivable hero.

Please Take a Minute to Fill Out Our Survey

under30ceo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:38:55 +0000

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