Entrepreneurship Tips — Business Tips

So many to choose from that deceive people and can even cause the failure of a company. Here are just a sample: 1. Your “idea is worth millions”. There is no such thing. As by definition, anyone can steal an “idea” and do it better, with more capital and/or a better team. Anyone with just an idea will not raise any capital. You need a team, plan, traction. Even a patent (exclusive on the implementation of an idea, not an idea) only gets 5% royalty. The other 95% goes to the people who invest and execute. How many people had the...

The short answer is you never should. You should slightly adjust your business model or target market to be differentiated. Read this article to learn how.  A startup should never really have a direct competitor. Its target market, where it can do something that others cannot, must be unique at the start to establish a beachhead in a niche. You need to target another niche market (often an intersection and application and industry sector) where you have a Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). Sometimes geography can be this difference if a service is delivered locally, or you are going after a country where...

This is sort of like asking, “How do I create a masterpiece of art?”. The answer is so complex it involves years, maybe decades for most, of experience in strategy, product development, intellectual property, operational excellence and more. Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage, which is the only thing that drives higher exit values, is art. And involves many disciplines. I created a web page titled The Entrepreneur's Journey which lays out the 25+ skills, and arts really, that are required to build a valuable company that can grow rapidly and provide a strong exit for investors here: The Entrepreneur's Journey If you...

Very rare and almost impossible except in the startup days. Owners need to master other skills like this list to scale a company. Sometimes they help build the first product but usually people with far more talent come in and improve it greatly, as they have 15, 20 or more years experience. Because being a CEO of a startup is the most complex job there is today. People greatly underestimate what it takes to be successful. It takes at least 10 and more likely`5+ years' experience to accumulate the experience needed for a high chance of success. Here is a...

  Absolutely not. The President is a legally defined position with all kinds of legal rights and responsibilities. Every other officer serves “her pleasure” maybe with some contract for termination rights. Many President rights and responsibilities can vary by state and/or the company’s charter, but always way above any other Officer. It is where the “buck stops”. Anyone who is a Vice President or Officer can sign a legal contract or document for a company, binding the company legally. And should have mostly discretion in their area of the business, but that has limits, and a President can always override...