Monthly Archives: February 2017

Writing a Business Plan

А wеll wrіttеn busіnеss рlаn wіll gіvе уоu а muсh grеаtеr аdvаntаgе whеn уоu аrе lооkіng tо rаіsе саріtаl frоm аn оutsіdе sоurсе оr frоm аn аngеl іnvеstоr. A business plan is one of the first things your potential investors see when they come in contact with you.

Wе’rе gоіng tо соntіnuе tо dіsсuss ассrеdіtеd іnvеstоrs, busіnеss рlаnnіng, аnd wоrkіng wіth рrіvаtе іnvеstоrs thrоugh оur sеrіеs оf аrtісlеs rеlаtіng tо fіndіng аngеl іnvеstmеnt. Іt іs ехtrеmеlу іmроrtаnt thаt уоu hаvе а wеll-dеvеlореd busіnеss рlаn whеn рrеsеntіng thе vеnturе tо а thіrd раrtу sо thаt уоu саn сlеаrlу shоw thаt уоu аrе gооd rіsk аs іt реrtаіns tо smаll busіnеss іnvеstmеnt. Іf уоu оwn а hіgh grоss mаrgіn іnсоmе tуре оf busіnеss аnd wіll bе іn уоur bеst іntеrеst tо wоrk wіth а smаll busіnеss іnvеstmеnt соmраnу аs уоu wіll rесеіvе muсh bеttеr tеrms іn rеgаrds tо thіs іnvеstmеnt. Іt shоuld bе nоtеd thаt саріtаl аlwауs соmеs аt а соst.

Оnе оf thе bеst аltеrnаtіvеs tо sеllіng еquіtу іn уоur busіnеss іs tо wоrk wіth а smаll busіnеss іnvеstmеnt соmраnу оr ЅВІС. Тhіs іs рrіmаrіlу duе tо thе fасt thаt ЅВІСs hаvе thе аbіlіtу tо rаіsе dеbt саріtаl оn уоur bеhаlf thrоugh а numbеr оf dіffеrеnt lеndіng сhаnnеls. Рrіvаtе іnvеstоrs hаvе substаntіаl busіnеss аnd еntrерrеnеurіаl ехреrіеnсе thаt саn аssіst уоu іn furthеr ехраndіng уоur busіnеss. Іf уоu аrе wоrkіng wіth а рrіvаtе fundіng sоurсе thеn lаwуеr shоuld аlwауs bе іnvоlvеd wіth thіs рrосеss.

Lаrgе іnvеstmеnts mау bе mоrе аррrорrіаtе fоr а vеnturе саріtаl fіrm еsресіаllу іf уоu hаvе dеvеlореd nеw tесhnоlоgу оr а соmрutеr рrоgrаm. Іt іs іmроrtаnt tо nеvеr gіvе uр tоо muсh еquіtу іn уоur busіnеss tо а thіrd раrtу. Тhеrе аrе numbеr оf dіffеrеnсеs bеtwееn wоrkіng wіth аngеl іnvеstоrs vеrsus wоrkіng wіth vеnturе саріtаl fіrms, аnd wе wіll соntіnuе tо hоnе іn оn thіs mаttеr thrоugh sеvеrаl аddіtіоnаl аrtісlеs.

Моrе аnd mоrе wоmеn аrе bесоmіng аngеl іnvеstоrs, аnd thеу аrе рrіmаrіlу іntеrеstеd іn рrоvіdіng саріtаl tо busіnеssеs thаt аrе оwnеd bу wоmеn. Wе wіll соntіnuе tо dіsсuss thе bеnеfіts оf wоrkіng wіth fеmаlе аngеl іnvеstоrs аnd mіnоrіtу іnvеstоrs аs wе соntіnuе tо dіsсuss рrіvаtе іnvеstmеnt іntо smаll busіnеssеs.

The Importance of Outdoor Advertising

Even though we now live in the world of digital media and almost each one of us spends a lot of time per day on the Internet, still many of us spend plenty of time outdoors in the centres of big cities such as London or Birmingham for example. There are millions of people living in the Greater London area and many of them walk on the streets of this giant city every single day.

What do you do when you are out there in the streets? I don’t know about you, but I like to look around to get an idea what is happening around me at any given moment. I like to stay up to the date with the latest trends in popular culture and I always want to be well informed when it comes to everything that takes place especially since I like in a big city myself and look at various posters and billboards every single day.

If you are into street advertising and are planning to launch a campaign with places such as Signkick I would like to tell you that you are definitely in luck here because there are millions of people around like me who spend a lot of time on the streets looking at things, analysing and absorbing tons of info each single day. It is no wonder then that outdoor advertising is very effective in our case. I also know that I am not the only one who likes to talk about what they have seen because if I am out and then come to my workplace or even home I am more than willing to talk about all those things I have seen. Sometimes I just cannot stop sharing all those things I have seen and there is nobody or nothing that can stop me from it.

If you have the need to advertise your products or services, try to go out there on the streets and see what billboards as well as posters can do for you. there is a lot of power and potential in this form of advertising and up-to-date it is arguably one of the best ways to advertise ever invented.

Reasons to Remodel Your Home

Have you been living in your home for a very long time? Have you made very few changes to your home during this time? If this is the case, your home might be in need of an extensive remodeling. You might never have considered remodeling your home before. However, this is a project that you will definitely be glad you did after it is completed. It might seem like remodeling your home will be a bit overwhelming. It is true that there are a lot of moving parts to a project of this magnitude. However, doing the proper planning will make the project go much more smoothly. Here are a few of the biggest reasons why you should seriously think about remodeling your home.

1. The value of your home will increase significantly.

Any type of improvement will raise the value of your home. Obviously, making larger improvements will mean that the value of your home will go up accordingly. Therefore, you can think about remodeling your home as an investment in your future. You might decide to sell your home at some point. If this happens, you will be able to get more money for your home because you decided to have it remodeled.

2. Your home will look much better than it did before.

There are a variety of reasons why people choose to remodel their home. Many people are simply tired of looking at the same old walls and floors every day. They need a change. A remodeling project will certainly accomplish this. Having some kitchen countertop resurfacing done can really improve the overall appearance of the busiest room in your house. You will be quite surprised how different your home will look after you have it remodeled. You will also wonder why you didn’t have it done years ago.

3. You can change your home to meet your needs.

It is normal for a person’s needs to change over the years. You might have raised children who are on their own now. Their old rooms are not being used right now. So why not have those rooms remodeled and turned into something that you can actually use? For example, you might want to install a hot tub in one of the empty rooms. You might want to make a room larger so it will be able to accommodate gym equipment. The choice is yours.

5 Crucial Qualities for Startup CEOs

If you’re looking to become a CEO one day, sometimes the best place to begin is at a startup company. However, even though these companies are ideal for showcasing your skills, they also require special traits that not every CEO possesses. If you’re looking to become a CEO for a startup, the following are qualities you need to have.

Thirst for Knowledge

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Image via Flickr by Brittany Stevens

One quality of successful startup CEOs is the desire to never stop learning. At the speed that technology and business changes today, you should always be looking to learn more. One of the most famous CEOs of our times, Bill Gates, reads around 50 books a year, and his selections aren’t related to just business practices. He also reads about history, architecture, health, and any other topic he wants to learn more about.

Can Find the Right People

Chances are you won’t be the CEO of a startup with no employees. While larger companies have a full-time division specifically created to find the right employees for a job, at a startup, it falls on you to hire those amazing people. You have to start by figuring out exactly what your needs are, how much you can pay them, and what benefits you can offer. From there, you might have to conduct countless interviews before you find the candidate who ideally meets your requirements.

Ability to Understand the Market

While you might think your startup has the perfect product, if the market doesn’t agree, you won’t see the type of success you want. In fact, 42 percent of failed startups admit the reason for their downfall was because they had created a product the market didn’t need. As a successful CEO, it helps to have your finger on the pulse of the market, and even have the ability to predict what the next big thing might be.

Know How to Cut Costs

As a CEO, part of your responsibility lies in watching the bottom line. Whether you’re spending money on research and development or employees, you need to make sure you spend every dollar wisely. Oracle CEO Mark Hurd is known for his cost cutting measures and knowledge of how to get the most return for money spent. During his first days at Oracle, he asked his direct employees for their three-year plan, then told them to turn that into a one-year plan so they had a better idea of what their most pressing concerns for growth were.

Know What to Do With Criticism

At the University of Texas, students in Joshua Baer’s entrepreneurship class need to create their own startup. One class came up with a food delivery app, but Baer pointed out that the market had no more room for an app like this. Instead of refusing to accept the criticism, the students took the feedback and created Harvest Delivery, an app that aggregates food delivery services into one place.

While CEOs need to possess many of the same traits, these qualities are ones that are crucial for CEOs heading a startup business.