Understanding the work involved in starting a business is necessary for a successful launch
The importance of proper planning cannot be understated, as these decisions are core to how your business takes shape
Making good decisions early in can help ensure continued growth
Starting a business can be stressful. It often feels like there are 1,000 things to work on all at the same time. There’s no avoiding this reality for new small business owners, but with a little planning, it’s possible to manage expectations and take actions with a sense of purpose toward building your business.
Beyond giving it your all, it’s important to direct your energy to the right tasks – especially at first. Experts say some good first steps in starting a business are researching competitors, assessing the legal aspects of your industry, considering your personal and business finances, getting realistic about the risk involved, understanding timing, and hiring help.
1. Do your research.
You want to make sure you understand the industry you’ll be involved in so you can dominate. No matter how unique you might think your business idea is, you should be aware of competitors.
“Just because you have a brilliant idea does not mean other people haven’t also had the same idea. If you can’t offer something better and/or cheaper than your competitors, you might want to rethink starting a business in that area.”
Assess the market before opening your doors. Understand the industry you wish to enter, as well as its major players and your future competitors.
2. Determine your audience.
Spend time considering who your target demographic is. This audience will be the driving force in each decision you make. Understanding who needs your product or service can help fine-tune your offerings and ensure your marketing and sales strategies are reaching the right people. Part of this decision is understanding if you are a business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) enterprise. Within those parameters are multiple categories, including but certainly not limited to age, gender, income and profession. You can’t earn a profit without your customers, so understand who they are and make them your priority.
“It is crucial to make sure you are delivering what your customer wants, not what you want. This will give you insight into your customer’s buying decision and save you lots of experimenting down the road.”
Know who you’re talking to. A defined target market will help you better acquire new and repeat customers.
3. Have a strong mission.
Standing out is no easy feat, and no one magic formula guarantees results. However, knowing your business’s purpose is central to guiding these decisions. By recognizing your business’s strengths, differences, and purpose, you can make informed choices to expand your services and markets down the line in a way that is harmonious.
Knowing your purpose guides important decisions you’ll make along the way, so be sure that your mission is clearly defined.
4. Choose a structure.
A key initial step to take when starting your business is choosing its legal structure. It will dictate the taxes, paperwork, liability of the owner(s) [and] other legal aspects, as well as whether or not the company can have employees.
Additionally, you must acquire the proper local and state registration required to open your business.
“This means the entrepreneur will need to create the articles of incorporation, obtain an employer identification number and apply for necessary licenses, which will vary by state and industry.
Call on legal help to best advise you on the structure to take and the necessary paperwork that needs to be filed.
5. Map your finances.
Starting a business requires money that you likely won’t have right away. This is why you need to seek out ways to acquire capital.
“Most entrepreneurs start a business with a very limited amount of capital, which is a large hurdle to many. However, there are plenty of options available to a budding business owner. The first and most common place to seek capital is with friends and family. If that is not enough, expand the search to angel investors and venture capitalists. Should these options not provide the amount needed, then apply for business loans through banks and small business associations.”
Make a plan for how you will fund startup costs, whether that’s your own funds, asking friends and family for money or borrowing from a financial institution.
6. Understand your tax burden.
Entrepreneurs should be organized with taxes and fees. There are multiple payments to make, and filing any of them late could result in severe consequences.
“You have to figure out how much your payroll is going to be in order to make your tax payments timely. The timing can vary depending on your payroll. You also have to figure out other business taxes, such as city, county and state.
Understand when, how and to whom you pay taxes and fees.
7. Understand the risk.
Of course, there will always be a level of risk with launching a new business venture. Calculating, understanding and planning for risk is an important step to take before you start working on your business. This means assessing your industry’s risks before moving forward with a business plan.
“Entrepreneurs should know their industry’s risks before purchasing business insurance,” said Jeff Somers, president of Insureon. “For example, accountants will want to consider professional liability insurance in case a client files a lawsuit, claiming there was a costly error on their tax return. Restaurant owners are more likely to need general liability for slip-and-fall accidents and liquor liability insurance, which can pay for lawsuits.”
Be honest with yourself and business partners about the risk involved, as this can help you prepare by obtaining the right types of insurance that can protect your new business.
8. Put together a business plan.
A business plan outlines the steps you need to take for a successful launch and continued growth. This document is important for establishing a focus for your business, attracting C-level professionals to work for you, and seeking and retaining capital. A business plan ensures you put your best foot forward with other professionals who are evaluating your company, so be sure to have this document on the back burner and ready when requested.
Take the time to put together the main components, including:
Your mission statement
A description of your business
A list of your products or services
An analysis of the current market and opportunity
A list of decision-makers in the company, along with their bios
Your financial plan so those who review can understand the opportunity
Even if you don’t think you need it, put together a professional and polished business plan that’s ready to go when it comes time to recruit executives, fundraise or expand.
9. Time it right.
Timing is an important element of building a business. Sure, you want to start your business at a time when the economy is healthy and your prospective industry is expanding, but there’s also a flow to decision-making that’s important to be aware of.
Launching at the wrong time can make it challenging for your new business to succeed. Take the leap when the timing and circumstances suggest it’s right.
10. Look for a mentor or advisor.
Starting a business should not be an independent journey, no matter how tempting that sounds. Finding those who have made this journey before can help set you up for success. Network with other professionals in your industry, attend industry-specific workshops and events, and reach out to thought leaders in your industry to learn their approach. Alternatively, you may want to consider hiring a coach who can give you pointed advice.
Learn directly from someone else who has gone through the process to help you set up your new business for growth.
11. Bring in the professionals.
It’s impossible for entrepreneurs to know everything about running their new venture. Tapping into the experience of seasoned professionals can make sure you’re starting on the right foot.
It’s especially important to have legal assistance to ensure you are protected and going about the process the right way.
“We often make the assumption that legal counsel is for when we get ourselves into trouble, but preventative and proactive legal preparation can be the very best way to set your business on the path to long-term success. “When you call on legal counsel after you’ve run into a problem, it’s often too late or could critically impact your business in both the short and long term. Investing in their insight at the start of your business can pay a huge return later on by keeping you out of trouble before you even get into it.”
Another smart hire is an accountant. It’s nearly impossible for one person to handle every aspect of a company, and above all, your finances should not be put at risk.
If you ever decide to forego a “real” job in favor of starting your own company, you’re bound to make at least a few rookie mistakes. If you’re lucky, most are the kind that are easy to fix and learn from.
But most entrepreneurs, in hindsight, agree that there are some things you’re better off being prepared for. Hindsight is definitely 20/20—especially when you’re the boss. Consider these lessons you don’t have to learn the hard way.
Changing how we approach and build modern solutions to personal dilemmas and satisfying intrinsic human needs is everyone’s passion.
We’ve picked up many, many useful tips and wanted to pass some knowledge along. Below is a list of 10 things we wish everyone known before creating a startup.
Solve Your Own Problem
Many businesses and failed numerous times. When you finally find success, it is because you created a solution to your own problems and turned that into a business. Many launched many new companies and websites to foster their business and help people.
Do Your Market Research Early On
Like most entrepreneurs, you must be passionate about many ideas and opportunities. Many have also launched and funded many startups only to realize later on, as they learned more about the market, that they should have done more extensive market research early on. It is important to understand the industry you are playing in, your competitors, and the market forces at play. Even more so, it’s important to understand your customers–their behaviours, pain points and decision making processes.
Be Extremely Focused
There is a tendency for entrepreneurs to try to do too much at once. But the key to success in the beginning lies within having laser focus. If your product or service solves a big problem, try to focus on a niche instead. Facebook started out as a social network for college students. Only when they were successful with that niche did they open their service to the general public.
Keep It Simple
One may think that offering customers a large number of choices is the smart thing to do. Yet, more choices lead to decision making paralysis. It is usually the company that provides users with fewer choices that wins. Examples include: In & Out Burger’s simple and limited menu, as well as Apple’s limited number of choices for most of their products. As a startup, resources are limited. Focusing on providing a simple product or service with less choices, less steps, less features may be the way to go.
Bootstrap Whenever Possible
Raising money to launch a startup is very common among entrepreneurs. In doing so, you give up valuable control of your business. When entrepreneurs had to do it all over again with their company, many decided to bootstrap. Writing the software code yourself, hosting the service with a cheap ISP and using free marketing resources at your disposal, you would be able to launch the business with your own money.
Think Carefully Before Taking Money
Whenever possible, venture capital (VC) money should be considered unacceptable except in specific circumstances where VCs can add significant value to your business. Being a young founder in your mid-twenties, you may be asked to take on an experienced CEO. Times are now tough after the dot-com crash when online advertising went from $20 CPM down to under $2 CPM. Instead of sticking with your strategy to revamp the company’s business model. So it’s better to fund your own money and it’s advisable not to be dependent on any third source.
Focus on Intellectual Property Early On
Entrepreneurs may not focus too much on intellectual property in the beginning, but copyright and trademarks are important and will be increasingly crucial in protecting one’s product, service or brand once some success has been achieved. When you launch, one of the first things anyone does was to apply for a trademark. The trademarks which have since acquired secondary meaning, have come in handy as many competitors try to encroach upon our space.
Screen Your Hires Well
Some of the worst hires have been always experienced with first few employees. Back then, people lacked the resources to perform detailed background checks. They have too experienced many fraud degree holders whom we hire unconsciously and later they prove to be a setback for the company.
Leverage Free Marketing Opportunities
As an entrepreneur with a limited budget, spending money on marketing can be a very costly proposition. When launching, many looked into free marketing opportunities. First leveraging free online resources such as Craigslist, then moving onto PR opportunities to get free media coverage for their service. A controversial product or service may shun away investors but it was a gold mine when getting lots of free media coverage.
Have Strong Agreements Up Front
One of the most important lessons to have learned over the years as an entrepreneur, is that whenever there is the possibility for misunderstanding put expectations down clearly in writing. A strong agreement with partners, investors and employees are crucial.
Let’s begin with the most common distinction between these two terms. In general, we think of growth in linear terms: a company adds new resources (capital, people, or technology), and its revenue increases as a result.
By contrast, scaling is when revenue increases without a substantial increase in resources. Processes “that scale” are those that can be done end masse without extra effort – if I send an email to 10 people or 1 million, my effort is essentially the same. Which is why enterprises use email marketing so heavily. It scales so effectively. Or for another example – an insurance company that scaled business operations by simply switching to a cloud business phone system.
But this is just the technical distinction between the two words. Let’s look a little closer at what each looks like in practice.
Growing a business
Generally seen as the definition of a successful company, growth refers to increasing revenue as a result of being in business. It can also refer to other aspects of the enterprise that are growing, like its number of employees, the amount of offices and how many clients it serves — these things are almost always linked to growth of revenue.
The biggest problem, however, is that it takes a lot of resources to sustain constant growth.
Take for example an advertising agency that currently has five clients, but which is about to take on five more clients. Increasing the number of companies, it sells to will bring in more money, but chances are it won’t be able to get the work done without hiring more people.
Because of this, financial growth can only be achieved while making larger losses, too.
Companies that offer professional services, like the advertising agency above, will always have to deal with this problem. Taking on more clients leads to hiring more people to support them — while it increases revenue by adding clients, it has to increase costs at the same time.
Scaling a business
Because of the costs associated with growth, modern founders have become obsessed with the idea of scaling.
The key difference with growth is that scale is achieved by increasing revenue without incurring significant costs. While adding customers and revenue exponentially, costs should only increase incrementally, if at all.
A great example of a company that’s successfully figured out how to scale is Google, which in recent years has been adding customers (either paying business clients or ad-supported free users), while being able to keep costs at a minimum. As of 2017 it had seven products with over a billion active users each, while only employing about 88,000 people.
The difference between growth and scaling becomes clearest when a company isn’t a startup anymore, but is not a large corporation yet, either. At this critical stage the business will have to decide between growing at a regular rate or switching over to faster company scaling.
If it wants a shot at making a lasting impact on the industry and perhaps even society as a whole, it has to be done without accumulating a high amount of overhead.
Unfortunately there’s no clear-cut path to successful scaling — if there was, it would be much less impressive to build a million-dollar company. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, however.
Startups vs scaleups
Here we have two more terms that are often confused. You probably already have a firm grasp on what a startup is, but how does that compare with a scaleup?
An entrepreneurial venture that has achieved product-market fit and now faces either the ‘second valley of death’ or exponential growth.”
To put that another way, once a startup has proven that it has a product people want, it’s time to take that product to the masses. This usually requires massive investment in new people, offices in different markets, and lots of advertising in the form of hosting educational webinars, attending tradeshows, prospecting and closing leads, and other tactics.
Which actually sounds sort of counter to our earlier definition of “scaling” – increasing revenue without increasing investment. But if successful, a scaleup will add exponential growth with only linear or marginal investment. Essentially, if they can unlock new markets and reach new audiences, a scaleup will grow faster than previously possible.
Key challenges for scaleups
For the sake of argument, let’s imagine a business moving from startup to scaleup overnight. What was previously a local company with around 50 people in one cosy office is likely now moving international.
If it were simple, every company would do it. So what are the difficulties most scaleups face?
They need investment
This is the most obvious prerequisite: today, most young companies need significant investment (usually from venture capitalists) to scale up. This often comes in the form of series B or C funding.
Earlier funding rounds are used to build a minimum viable product (MVP) and establish market fit, and if they’re able to secure further funding, it’s to expand quickly.
They need scalable processes
Typical scaleups have a product that scales well – it appeals to buyers far greater than the current market served. But, because they’ve moved quickly as a startup, a lot of internal processes aren’t designed to scale.
The most obvious of these are company expense policies. As a small company, you don’t really need an expense policy. If someone needs to travel or buy something, they can sort it out with the founders directly. But once you have multiple offices and handfuls of people traveling at once, this is simply no longer an option.
It’s tempting to believe that diversification will be the catalyst for you to scale. Introduce a new product range or add extra services and this will unlock a flood of new revenue.
But “if a business is growing through an ad hoc series of actions and decisions, those start to fall apart as you grow larger. Small gaps will become chasms. Confusion and inconsistency will become chaos. And if employees are operating from their own playbook, there’s no way to deliver a consistent product or experience.
Achieving scale requires a level of repeatable and predictable systems. Refining and developing these systems is how companies are able to go from thousands of customers to millions.”
Tell us about yourself
Katarina Strandberg – Swedish Business lawyer in love with investments and building companies. Love people with grit and passion, love to solve problems and team up with great persons for great results. Learning and training are always a core of my every day.
How many hours a day do you work on average?
“Smiles” it depends how you define work, but up to 14 hours
Can you describe/outline your typical day?
Very varied, from standing on stage, writing guest articles and doing workshops to sitting in complete isolation with focus on producing top quality legal documents such as shareholders agreements and finding legal and business solutions.
How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
It has
i) made me a very happy and inspired mom and its clear that this positive energy that you can really create your own life as impacted my children in a positive way,
ii) it has given me great freedom, even if I work a lot I can most often choose where and when I preform.
What motivates you?
Solutions, building and scaling – seeing positive results – interactions and meeting great people, gaining their respect and confidence and getting to connect people.
How do you generate new ideas?
I train. Thai fighter. It´s 100 % focus mind and body.
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
My greatest fear is to die without enough passion in my life.
How did you come up with the name for your company?
The Swedish Villa.
It was all to the credit of my amazing co-founder Leila Falkenberg. She did it as a reference to the Swedish childrens story about Pippi Longstocking and her creative and inclusive house Villa Villekulla.
How did you raise funding for your venture?
Through outreach and network with business angels, and through presenting us as founders in a very honest, passionate and transparent way.
How do you build a successful customer base?
First and foremost by word of mouth, networks and recommendations, and of course through digital communication about our experts, and showing the results the
Experts produce which has made international brands, big and small, turn to us trusting us to really deliver as a loyal creative partner.
How does someone get you excited and willing to commit?
Showing a great work ethics, doer mentality where you find solutions and act on them directly without “busy-work”.
As a entrepreneur, how do you see the market is growing in your country?
Very-very exciting and positive! Sweden as a great eco-system, great understanding for sustainability and a great stable and safe society why it is good for risk spreading for international investors to look to Sweden and that creates even more synergies.
How do you advertise your product/service?
Nr 1 is organically and transparent through our social media channels. Linkedin and instragam are what we focus on.
To what do you attribute your success?
My and Leilas dedication, hard work and non-stopping respect and admiration for each other as persons and professionals in our different fields. We focus and love competence and doing a great job on each and every project.
What was the reason to start an IT company ? Are you from the same background?
I would say we are a hybrid – IT and personal service in one. And that is one of our Unique Selling Points. We saw a need for that, where we function as digital nomads and can provide the top creative unique services to every corner of the world in a transparent, result oriented and cost efficient way.
What do you look for in an employee? The most important thing to us is that they fit into our corporate culture!
Hard worker, in love with responsibility and delivering great results – need to like accountability. Action, solution, and positive are features that are a must.
What made you choose your current location?
As digital nomands our key point is that we can sit from anywhere and to the best work ever – so the location should be less relevant for us. We do however love to travel and meet clients and organizations in person when Mr Covid so allows again.
What kind of Corporation is your business?
Service, B2B, within marketing and communication. We take the side of the brand and help them procure the right talent and projects for their specific needs. We are brand advisors and we have put together a unique community of top level creative experts is all areas of marketing and communication so that the client always gets the best without having to hire or pay a non-transparent hug project fee to an advertising agency.
Do you work locally or internationally?
Internationally
What’s your company’s goals?
To peacefully disrupt the marketing industry by making creativity king again. And to show that sustainability and financial results go together.
What are your responsibilities as the business owner?
Oh where do I start. First and foremost, to show what we stand for. Secondly to be transparent and show us and what we do. We are part of many international NGO communities and contribute through also our professional experts work communicating for the brands their social responsibilities.
Does your company help the community where it is located?
Yes! We are dedicated to diversity and inclusion.
Have you ever turned down a client?
Yes!
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Be ready for challenges and mentally focus on grit and focus. Hard work pays off. Never feel sorry for yourself always see the possibilities and work for them.
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Although there’s no secret recipe to balancing work and motherhood, there are thousands of women out there who have learned to do it successfully, women who’ve taken on this challenge before us and have come out on top.
I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to interview many, many entrepreneurial moms.
And without fail, at some point during our conversation, they all say the same thing: “When I’m working, I feel like I should be with my kids. But when I’m with my kids, I feel like I should be working.” But that guilt doesn’t stop us from striving for success in both work and as a mother–we want to be able to do them both and do them both well. And if you ask any mom entrepreneur, they’ll probably tell you what they’re doing now is the most rewarding thing they’ve ever done. It’s certainly not easy, but it’s worth it.
I know for a fact that any one solution won’t work for everyone. But I’ve found some common themes among the successful working moms that I know, and here are their tips for being both a terrific mom and business owner.
Get–and stay–organized. Your work time is precious and not as dependable as it would be if you worked in a traditional workplace. You can’t afford to waste time looking for files, sorting through junk mail or even finding a pen.
Keep everything clean and organized from the start. Have supplies available and in a place where you know you can immediately put your hands on them.
Have a plan. Some mompreneurs use paper organizers and some use tech gadgets, but all of them use some sort of planner to balance their work life with their family life Ideally, you should keep both personal and work appointments on the same calendar so you don’t overbook or double up.
And while it doesn’t always work, you need to set aside hours for when you’re going to get your work done. If you just wait for it to happen, it never will. Of course, you’ll have to be flexible as your child-care provider will inevitably cancel, your kids will get sick and your spouse may occasionally need to work late.
Work with your family, not against them . When your children are little, make sure your office is kid-proof. Get covers for your computer and child-safe drawers on your filing cabinet, and keep your paperwork out of reach if you don’t want your reports and invoices covered in crayon.
Some women I’ve spoken with set up a child’s office space within their office so that crayons, paper and activities are available to keep their kids busy. As your children get older, find ways to get them involved in your work. When they’re old enough, let them stamp envelopes, fold fliers or shred paper. Just never let them answer the phone!
Think nap to nap, not 9 to 5. Break out of the 9-to-5 office hours’ tradition. Your hours as a mompreneur might start before your family wakes up, continue during nap times and go on into the wee hours of the night.
Prioritize appointments that need to be accomplished in person during the traditional day time hours. But understand that e-mail, filing, reading, and a lot of your other office tasks can be done at any hour of the day or night.
Stay ahead of the game. By the time evening hits, yes, you’re exhausted. But take a few minutes to set out school clothes, set up the coffeepot, prepare lunches and clear your desk. You’ll be so grateful to have a less chaotic morning if you do all this the night before. You might also want to consider getting up a little before your family does so you can exercise, take a shower or get some work done.
Communication is Key
Proper communication helps everything in life and it’s no different in making this situation work. Whether it’s with a business partner (if you have one) or with a business relationship, some are very open and honest about work situation. This ties back into how you set up your schedule for the day, but there are only certain times during the day where willing to hop on the phone for an extended time, for example.
And even in arranging this situation from the beginning, think you have to be open with your business partner about how your daily schedule might look, but that everything can still get done – just possibly at different times of the day!
Be Realistic
File this one under, “Sounds obvious but is actually a whole lot harder than it seems.” At the end of the day, you have to be very realistic and tolerant with yourself on what CAN actually be accomplished and what is unrealistic.
Obviously, you can’t be all things to all worlds at all times – there are honestly a lot of days where it feels like an awesome mom but a let-down to business.
And there are days where It feels feel like crushed business goals but been a disappointment on the mom side. It’s something still work through, but have redefined what consider “success” to look like at the end of day and then work towards it.
Before taking on current role, worked in an office environment doing the 8-5 thing, and think it’s fair to say that people who are in an office during the day still have periods where their productivity isn’t sky-high.
Consider the water-cooler talk or endless meetings that seem to go on forever. When compare day-to-day to that environment, genuinely don’t think productivity in this arrangement is significantly different. It might be more tiring, but it’s also more fulfilling. Think actually far more efficient during the day now than when was working in an office cubicle.
Know When to Bring in Help
Just because you want to have your child home with you during the day, doesn’t mean that you can’t EVER get a little help! There’s no reason you can’t have a babysitter come over a few hours a week OR certain times of the month when you know that your schedule is more demanding.
Maybe there’s a neighbour, a family member, or a student who could help you during the times you start to feel like you’re drowning a little bit.
Find a Support System
Like any situation in life, there’s going to be tough days and tough times. You can’t avoid it. But that doesn’t mean that your situation is broken, or something has to change. Sometimes you just need someone to remind you how good of a job you’re actually doing AND that this too shall pass!
There are times seriously feel that disappointing everyone, and depend on support system to highlight all the things that have gone well! That’s usually enough to re-inspire faith and get back to it the next day!
DivaGo a beautiful fashion brand from Serbia making amazing cloths for women
Tell us about yourself
My name is Gorana. My mother gave me that name after my father. His name is Goran, it was a great love between two of them. Unfortunately, their love ended shortly after my birth.
I was born in Serbia, a country in central-east Europe, I have been living here all my life. People in my country are known as stubborn and defiant, most of our history we spent in war, always fighting for various different reasons. During my lifetime, the country I was born in has changed its name 4 times. I am 46 years old.
How did the idea for your business come about?
All my life I made drawings. I have started when I was just 4 years old, trying to draw the Christmas tree. I was stubborn and I tried more than 200 times in one day before I succeed. When I grow up I graduated from the University of Art, but never had chance to work in my field of education. I found myself in marketing business, working as an Account manager for various global brands.
My friend Vasa Fekete and I were discussing one day about problem that we have with a dress that you wear in one occasion and after that, it loses its charm. We started to think about the idea to design such dress that can change its appearance and could be worn more than once.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
I love to be an entrepreneur! I really love it. It gives me an opportunity to overcome my boundaries. Every day you have different struggles, but when you win the fight, you feel stronger. I am a very passionate person and I don’t see myself working for a brand or job I don’t believe in.
How did you come up with the name for your company?
Company name is DivaGo. It means diva in motion – you can feel like diva during your everyday activities. But this name is also consisting of first two letters of our names “Go” stands for Gorana, and „Va” for Vasa.
How did you raise funding for your venture?
My business partner and I have invested our own money, earned from the previous jobs.
How do you build a successful customer base?
Our first client base came from social media only! We were very active in communicating with ladies, not only in our network. We were very supportive for other women entrepreneurs in different area of business so our network became wider.
How did you get involved with fashion business?
As a woman, fashion plays an important part in my life. But I don’t see myself as fashion designer. I believe that there are a lot of educated fashion designers who work their job really great. I could better describe myself as business-oriented person.
How do you advertise your business?
We have two channels for our advertising: first one is based on internet and social media – we use this as a communication tool for different kind of promotions. Second one is corporate marketing – we are active in small business support and women entrepreneurship.
To what do you attribute your success?
Our first collection was produced and ready for sale on the same day when Covid lockdown was pronounced in Serbia. We had to wait for two months before we launched our dresses. After the launch, we had few very bad sales months. Then, suddenly, our videos started to share all over the internet and the sales increased. Our success was probably pushed by the overall Covid situation, and the end of isolation.
For my personal success, I have to thank my Mum who taught me to fight for myself and never to be satisfied with the ordinary.
What do you look for in an employee?
The most important thing to us is that they fit into our corporate culture!
The most important thing to us is that they fit into our corporate culture! Passion is the most important thing! Every member of my team has to be passionate about his job.
What made you choose your current location?
We are stated in Serbia and plan to produce only locally. New business opportunities we offer for our suppliers make them stronger and we are very happy to be involved in their growth.
Do you work locally or internationally?
During the last year of our business we have focused on the local market. We are now working on concurring the other markets. It is not an easy job, but it is a challenge we are looking forward to.
What’s your company’s goals?
Our goal is to encourage and support different approaches in representing self appearance. Every person is unique and, as such, beautiful. Trends change, but what we carry inside us is ours and unrepeatable.
We want to give the women the opportunity to create their own style that is consistent with their inner feeling. We believe outward appearance should not be an obstacle but a source of confidence.
What is unique about your business?
In Serbia, we are the only brand that designs convertible clothes.
What are your responsibilities as the business owner?
I am focused on new business opportunities, as well as a communication strategy. Those are the most inspiring areas for me. Good thing is that my business partner Vasa and I don’t share the same inspiration source. She likes to work on different positions than me, so we are perfectly compatible.
What made you choose this type of business?
Fashion business gives you the opportunity to be creative and to really enjoy your work. At the same time your creativity can make happy someone else, in our case those are women.
Does your company help the community where it is located?
We share our knowledge with business beginners. We also support women entrepreneurs in many ways.
Have you ever turned down a client?
I would not be honest if I say no! You have to be able to see mistakes as a part of the business. What showed as good practice for us is that, if you admit that you made a mistake, a client sees you as a human being, and more likely he will accept your apology. Of course, the apology is not the only thing we offer. We always show that we care for our ladies, so they become a part of our brand family.
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Before you start, research every aspect of your business idea. It will take hours and days, sometimes months. Search the internet, talk to the people, collect information… Once you start with realization, don’t give up when obstacles start to hit you. Believe in your idea and remember the passion you had in the beginning. You will succeed!
Thank you Danijela Golić & Bianca Tudor for the connect.
My name is Mathias Mancha Pwol CEO Fresh From The Farm Agric World Ltd. An agricultural startup in Nigeria who believes in bringing the harvest to the people with no Hussle. I am a university graduate, a lover of music and entertainment.
How did the idea for your business come about?
2018 when I went to Lagos Nigeria to do my compulsory youth service as directed by our government, I realised access to food was a serious issue due to the high population and demand. To cut the story short, since I was coming from the northern part of Nigeria where we farm a lot, I seized the opportunity and started supplying farm produce from my hometown to the cities (lagos). I smile deep Anytime I remember how i started this business with just 3 bags of irsih potatoes.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
In Africa, there is this believe by our parents that as long as you are not an office worker, you are unemployed. To change this narrative in my family and community at large, I decided to work on a dream of being and employer not an employee.
How did you come up with the name for your company?
Since my intentions was to supply fresh farm produce to the market, someday whispered “FRESH FROM THE FARM” in my ears; but since the name was not available for registration and I really needed something like that, I now added “AGRIC WORLD” to it.
How did you raise funding for your venture?
Before going into the Agric business, I was and I am still a music/sound producer in which I produced music, jingles, adverts, documentaries etc. Since I had some funds saved already, I just risked it all and started chasing my new dream.
How do you build a successful customer base?
When I was on my customer base research, I realise that integrity and trust was what every potential customer spoke about. So I took it upon me to make sure I supply any product as agreed without compromising the quantity or quality.
How did you get involved with Agri business?
As I said earlier I saw the need and demand of food in the cities and I decided to seize the opportunity. Not withstanding, I came from a family where we farm almost everything we produced. I just used my education to turn the family hobby into business.
How does someone get you excited and willing to commit?
I always love people of integrity, let your Yes be Yes and No be No. I hate when you want to play smart on me when transacting business. I believe in a win-win situation.
How do you advertise your business?
So far it has mostly been word of mouth where by I go to the markets and ask them what they want. Also we have been active on all the social media platforms promoting our brands. We hope to someday advertise on TV, magazines and Radio soon.
To what do you attribute your success?
First of all to God and to my father who has been a mentor in this journey. Then to myself who believes that my generation needs people like me to succeed.
To be yourself and be willing to sacrifice a lot for the success of the company.
What do you look for in an employee?
Be willing to work as a family not am employee.
What made you choose your current location?
The surplus availability of farm produce and low cost of labor.
What kind of Corporation is your business?
Private limited company, from Locally (Nigeria).
What’s your company’s goals?
To be the most available and trusted farm produce supplier in Africa”.
What is unique about your business?
We believe in bringing the harvest to the people with no Hussle and at an affordable price.
What are your responsibilities as the business owner?
Brainstorming, idea formation and execution, paper works, search for customers and contracts. As a startup with little funding, I am involved in almost every activity in the business.
What made you choose this type of business?
Experience and need.
Does your company help the community where it is located?
Yes, we partner with smallholder farmers where by we buy directly from their farms then we supply to the market. Also, we also have plans of massive employment in our community soon once our rice mill factory is completed.
Have you ever turned down a client?
Yes, and the reason has always been because of either price or payment terms.
As long as it is your dream, chase it until it turns to reality.
Now that the new year has arrived, many eager new entrepreneurs are ready to hit the ground running with their start-ups and hopefully experience a year less challenging than the previous one. Whenever launching a new business, it’s important to consider what business tools and core essentials small businesses need in order to thrive in today’s “new normal.”
Helping Entrepreneurs incorporates and form limited liability companies, so I generally tend to share advice on legal must-haves for small businesses, like business formations, trademarks, and tax IDs. However, It’s not going to so that this time around.
Let’s assume you have obtained these items already. Whatever others tools see necessary to help your small business actively grow and succeed in the next normal?
Started with these businesses toolset and core business essentials
Business website
Amid they Covid-19 pandemics, websites are among one of the most important tools for startups. A websites provided your businesses with much-needed visibility, allowing customers to find you online and learn more about your business during the pandemic.
A small business website also provides a way to communicate with your customers. Of a customer can’t reached you throughout your social media platforms, visiting the website allows them to connect through a phone call, sending an email, or filling out a contact form.
Therefore, are a few times options available for buildings a small business website. Sometimes entrepreneurship do it themselves with the help of a website-building software service. Many of These services gave variously website templates to choose from, depending on the type of business; they also have stock photography options and offer customer support in the event you get stuck.
Of you don’t feeling comfortable doings it yourself, consult a professional website developer for assistance.
Strong domain name
A domains named goes hand-in-hand within a small business website. This is the name of your company URL. Moreover, 370 million domains named have been registered at the federal level.
Your domains named, especially within this may registrations already in file, should be as close to or as specific as your business name as possible. Many smaller businesses trying to aim forms an exactly match, especially those within a business model that relies on the internet, and to create a domain name that is memorable, short, and easy to spell and pronounce.
Thus is also a greater opportunity today created keyword-rich domains names. Consider keywords that pertain specifically to your business and your geographic location. If you’re a Pizza Shop based on Portland’s, Oregon’s, for examples, you may consider using “pizza” and “Portland” to better optimize your domain name for SEO purposes.
What about the domain extension? Most businesses try to choose a dot-com (.com) extension when possible. However, this’ll extensions is nothing always available, and depending on your industries, it may not be a preferred extension. If a dot-com option isn’t available, try dot-us (.us) or dot-co (.co) instead. Then, conducted a named searching on your domain name to make sure it is available for use.
If it’s free, file a domain name application to register the name.
Employee collaboration software
As this year’s begins, many of us are stills working remotely and uncertain as to whenever we may be able to return to a traditional office. Fortunately, workings from homes for the betterment part of the year has allowed most to transition into this workflow and learn how to use collaboration software and business tools that allow for the best possible productivity.
Prepare your team to collaborate together with proper collaboration software. Some options may include project management software like Trello and Asana. Management of documents and shared filed across teams with the help of Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Dropbox. Take notes and share them with Evernote.
Keeping in mind-set that while some collaborations tools are free to use, others may require signing up for premium plans depending on the size of your team. Investment in the proper collaborations toolset for your team members to ensure the best possible WFH readiness and security.
Flexible business plan
Once of the highest tools entrepreneurship need to succeed at any stage in business is a business plan. In the times of Covid-19, this’ll can be a tricky document to put together. Businesses plans oftentimes evaluates a business from three to five years out into the future and require additional details, such as sales forecasts and projected profits and losses, that maybe nothing be fully fledged out within a startup.
However, do you created a businessman plan in an uncertain time? Considering drafting a business’s plans that acts as a hybrid between a traditional business plan and a lean startup plan. This types of businesses plans will give your enough room today evaluate the followings areas of your startup:
• Business description and value. You should be able to articulated what your business does, its industry, and how it earns money. Then, shared the values that this business can bringing within its market. What kinds of problems can these offerings and services solve for customers?
• Strategy. This sections should have offered furthermore insights into the business and its offerings. How do these offerings and services work? If you are still in development stages, when will the business be ready to launch? Strategic goals that the business plans to reach should be outlined along with projected timelines. If the businesses had partnerships or additionally resources it is using today reach these goals, outline these details as well.
• Customers. This section takes a deeper dive into the target market of the business. Who is your customer base? What do these customer demographics look like? However, will your businesses be able to captured, engage with, and retain this market? However, do they businesses planning to reach emerging demographics over time?
• Company overview. Used this sections to detailed the leaderships in the company. Includes the biographies off each membership and their responsibilities in the startup. You may also share additionally informational about the business including its location and entity formation.
• Financial plans. Ones of the most critically parts of a business’s planning is its financial projections. Businesses plans are generally written to attraction investors that’s are interested in investing capital into the company. Used this sections to shared existing cash flow projections in the start-up as well as the expenses budget, sales forecast, and break-even analysis.
As well gradually entered the next-generation normally, you may find that your startup is able to transition out of a flexible business plan and move towards a more traditional format. If that happens, great! If not, keep with the flexible plan. In either cases, remembering that all businesses plans are easy to revised and edit over time. You’re maybe editing your plan for the futures, but keep the flexibility that’s gave it room to grow during an unprecedented time.
If 2020 taught us anything when it comes to gardening, it’s that you should buy your seeds early. Last spring saw seed companies inundated with unprecedented demand, as gardening grew in popularity as a pandemic pastime.
While seed sellers are already starting to get busy this year, time is still on your side. If you plan ahead, you can get the seeds you want and start your garden as soon as the winter frost subsides.
Not exactly sure where to begin? Here’s our guide to buying seeds for the upcoming growing season.
Take Inventory and Make a List
You wouldn’t go to the grocery store without knowing what you already have and what you need. It’s the same thing with seeds for your garden. And while it might be tempting to focus on what you want to put in the ground in the spring, it’s important to think ahead about cool weather crops for the fall, such as greens and root vegetables. Check out our list of seven crops you can plant for a fall harvest, if you’re in need of some inspiration.
Know Your Environment
Make sure you know what your growing conditions are like. Does your garden have a space for full sun or is it mostly in a shaded space? This will determine what you put on your list. For example, vegetables such as tomatoes, peas and cucumbers thrive in full sun while leafy greens can handle shadier spots. Lots of root vegetables can grow with at least a half a day of sun.
It’s also important to know your hardiness zone. If you’re not sure what it is, go to the USDA site and enter your zip code to find out. Descriptions on seed packets will sometimes include the ideal hardiness zone. If you opt to purchase your seeds at your local garden center, what you’ll find is a selection that’s appropriate for your region.
Understanding Seed Varieties
If you’re a new gardener, sometimes, the terminology for types of seeds can be overwhelming. Here’s a breakdown.
Open pollination: Open-pollination seeds come from varieties that are pollinated naturally with wind or insects. These are seeds that can produce plants that look and taste like their parent plant, meaning that you can save seeds from these varieties year after year. One benefit of using open-pollination seeds is that they can slowly adapt to growing conditions and climate over the years.
Hybrid (H1): Hybrid seeds are the product of professional plant breeders. They are made using controlled pollination methods (as opposed to open pollination) by crossing two varieties with favorable characteristics such as disease resistance, higher yields or improved flavor. Hybrid breeds might have characteristics that allow your plants to thrive, but you can’t save these seeds and grow them again because they will produce plants with traits different from their parent.
Heirloom: Heirloom varieties are older plants that have survived for more than 40-50 years. These seeds have been saved to preserve genetic diversity and cultural traditions. Heirloom seeds have either a unique appearance, taste or resilient traits that have led to their endurance.
Organic: This is a USDA designation for seeds of plants that were grown organically without synthetic fertilizer, pesticides or fungicides. Although these seeds are usually more expensive, if you plan on gardening using organic practices, you might produce better yields.
GMO: These are plants that have been altered in a lab using gene modification. This tends to involve using genetic traits from another species to add desired characteristics. There are very few GMO seeds available for home gardeners, but it’s still a good term to understand in case you come across some.
Know Your Sources
Make sure that you are purchasing your seeds from a trusted, well-known source. If you’re a new gardener and you’re looking online, sometimes, it’s hard to tell.
Here’s a list of common places where you can replenish your seed stock online. A majority of these stores also have print and electronic catalogs for the 2021 growing season.
Clear Creek Seeds: This is a family-owned business, based in Oklahoma, that started in 2010. Its speciality is heirloom, non-GMO, open-pollinated vegetable and herb seeds.
Fedco Seeds: Fedco is a co-operative seed company, based in Maine. It has existed since 1978 and is known to be the best source for cold-hardy selections, specifically the northeastern climate. In addition to seeds, it also sells bulbs and trees. About 30 percent of the seeds in its stock are certified organic.
Seed Savers Exchange: Seed Savers Exchange has existed since 1975. It is a nonprofit organization and one of the largest non-governmental seed banks in the United States. Seed Savers Exchange is based in Iowa and has a collection of more than 20,000 different varieties of heirloom and open-pollinated plants from which to choose.
Seeds of Change: This is an organic seed and food company that was founded in 1989. It has a wide range of crops marketed in categories such as container friendly, annuals, biennials, hardy varieties, full-sun crops, partial-sun crops, edible flowers and heirlooms.
High Mowing Organics: High Mowing Organics began in 1996. Today, the organic seed company sells more than 600 types of heirloom, open-pollinated and hybrid seeds. This includes vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Sow True Seed: This North Carolina seed source has a collection of more than 500 types of GMO-free vegetable, herb and flower seeds. This includes heirloom, open-pollinated, organic plants and what it calls “small farmer grown” varieties. The company also has a number of growing guides and a page to help you determine what you should plant each month, according to your USDA hardiness zone.
Renee’s Garden: Renee’s Garden seeds offer heirloom, certified organic and specialty crops, specifically marketed for the home gardener. The seeds are selected from a number of growers around the world.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company: Baker Creek is a Missouri-based company, known as one of the top sources—if not the top source—for rare heirloom seeds. The company was started in 1998 and sells around 1,000 heirloom varieties in its seed catalogue. This collection includes 19th-century varieties from Europe and Asia.
Botanical Interests: Botanical Interests began 25 years ago in the state of Colorado. It carries more than 600 specialty varieties for home gardeners. This includes heirloom, organic and open-pollinated crops. The company staff say they test all their seeds to ensure they are varieties with high germination rates.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange: This company, based in central Virginia, offers heirloom and open-pollinated varieties that specifically grow well in Mid-Atlantic and Southeast climates. It has roughly 800 varieties of vegetable, flower, herb and cover crop seeds.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds: Johnny’s Selected seeds has existed for more than 47 years. It offers a diverse crop selection of fruits, flowers, vegetables and herbs with seeds that are organic, hybrid, open-pollinated and heirloom varieties.
Territorial Seed Company : This is an Oregon-based company that has been around for more than 40 years. It sells seeds of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs in organic, heirloom and open-pollinated varieties. On its site, it has also created a number of growing guides and garden planning activities for those who need it.
Sustainable Seed Company: Sustainable Seed Company is located in Utah. The company was founded in 2008. It sells more than 875 non-hybrid, organic vegetable, flower and heirloom seeds, as well as specialty crops such as cotton, grain and tobacco.
If you’re looking for some additional guidance, master gardeners at your local extension service will no doubt be able to answer your seed questions and can offer a helpful perspective that is unique to your area.
Use a Critical Eye
Check the date on the packaging or in the online description to make sure the seeds you’re buying are for this year. While seeds can last for many years (with the exception of onions, leeks and parsnips), it’s important to know that their ability to germinate declines as they get older.
It’s also important to be mindful of shipping fees. This can increase the final cost of your bill substantially, doubling or tripling it in some cases. Another small detail that new gardeners often miss is the number of seeds that are included in each package. So be aware of what you’re buying, as you might end up with way too much seed.
Customers services can be challenging, especially whenever it’s through an e-commerce website; however, it is essential to establish trust and, in turn, increase business.
Therefore, are advantages and disadvantaged to selling on-line, but the biggest disadvantage is the inability to interact face-to-face with customers, which may result in poor customer service.
Whenever selling on-line, it’s important to learning how to make customer service personable; the goal is to sell great service, not just a product.
While e-commerce sites can be extremely convenient, they may come up short in certain areas. Most notable is the inability to provide the same personal customer service you would find in a brick-and-mortar store.
If you wanted to surpass the competitions, though, your business can still find ways to improve online customer service.
The value of customer service
Whether you realized it or not, customer’s services play’s a Major role in most of the purchases you make. Thinking about whenever you’re looking to buying a particular item that multiple brands sell for roughly the same price. Whatever sets there one your selection apart from the ones you pass up? Whole brands equity and familiarity oftentimes play a role, it often comes down to how quickly you’ll get the product, what support it comes with and how comfortable you are with the brand.
Each of These aspects fall’s under customer’s services and indicates the importance of selling services to customers instead of just products.
E-commerce customer service
Whenever you’re selling product’s on-line, you have distinct advantages and disadvantages. Whole the prospect typically outweighs the cons by far, your inability to interact with customers face-to-face is usually viewed as a negative.
However, e-commerce site’s can stills offer good customers services; it just takes a little extra work. Here’s are a few times tips to helping you improvement the way you interaction with Customers through yourself online storefronts.
1. Ask for feedback.
Your need to development the habit of asking for feedback. While it mighty not always be positive, it is always helpful. If you truly wanted to offer the best customer services, knowingly what your Customers think about your brand, businesses, products and services is of the utmost importance.
2. Offer options.
The facts that a customers is shopping for your product’s online is proofed in itself that they enjoy having variously options. When it comes to customers service, make sure you give then the same opportunity to chosen. Instead of giving the person a boring contacting form, offer choices such as live chatting, Skype support and toll-free numbers to call.
3. Be clear.
According to Magic Dust, a full-size ice internet marketing and web design firm, “Unhappy customers are unfortunately inevitable in any kind offer business. To avoid any conflict, included as much information on orders as possible.” This means providing detailed information on such matters as shipping and return policies, warranties, guarantees, and other information that couldn’t affect the customer’s experienced.
4. Invest in quality site search.
Much of your customer services relates to how you design your e-commerce site. Top keep Customers happy and convert shoppers, invest heavily in high-quality site search functionality. This will help to keep customers satisfied, and you will avoid unnecessary interactions that’s waste your timeline.
5. Provide valuable follow-up.
We’ve all receives those annoying emails from companies after we’ve purchased one thing from their site. Don’t be that company! Instead off sending lazy promotional for months after a purchase, shooting out valuable deals and offers immediately after they buy. People aren’t more likely to convert when you are still fresh in theirs mind. Additionally, good deals and free offers show you card about keeping them as a customers.
6. Offer free shipping.
One of the best e-commerce customers service tactical is to offer free shipping. It costs your a couple of extra dollars, but it goes a long way in impressing customers and persuading them to make that first purchase and maybe others down the roadside.
7. Improve customer interactions.
Although your team has the skill set necessary to interact with customers, they also need to relate to the customer. For instance, try to identifying common ground with the customer, such as shares interests. This step helps your team’s members to understand conflict and humanized the rep-staff relationships for the customer.
8. Follow up after the problem has been solved.
It is essential that Customers feel as though you were on their side when a problem occurred, so follow up to make surely the problem was full-time resolved and that the customer is satisfied with the service. You can do this through and email or a feedback survey – the goal is to let the customers know you are on their sides.
9. Actively listen to the customer.
Whenever talking with Customers, it’s important to clarify and rephrased what they are saying to make surely you understand them correctly. Showing empathy and deflecting their feelings will also help to turn the conversational in the right directions.
10. Be available.
Part of the personality touch that is necessary for customers satisfactions is making sure your Customers can reach you. For instances, if you’re in different times zones, be available on their time; this will help to build their trust and reminded them that the businessmen isn’t programmed.
Customers service may not be most companies’ favorited activity, but it should’ve be a major point of emphasizes. When you’re looking for ways to improvement your e-commerce site, analyze your customers service and look for areas wherein you can improvement.
Attracting customers to the shopping portals by just establishing an on-line Presence is nothing enough. Rather, ones shouldn’t put efforts to booster the e-commerce holiday sales so that the store gets identified by the visitors in the festive season.
The holidays seasons is the mostly make rewarding time for the e-commerce store owners in terms of increasing overall sales. But it turned out to be difficulties as they need to toil hard for converting the visitors into conversions. The times has arrived today be prepared for the Christmas, where website owners can capitalize on targeted customers who are hungry for big deals.
Today, mostly of the peoples’ expression their love on festivals by sending gifts and wish cards to their loved ones. And for that, they’re consideration online shopping the best and easiest option. The Holiday season is the perfectly timed when e-commerce stores can earn customers and conversions at the same time. Allows they needed to do is to implement proven e-commerce SEO strategies that are best suited to provide optimum e-commerce conversions.
Here’s are sometimes widely implementer tips that help e-commerce webmasters to increase conversion rates during festive days.
Easy tips to boost holiday sales
1. Engage Broadly with Mobile Customers
At present, desktops e-commerce had become a good choice for the users. On the others hand, Mobile e-commerce is growing at a higher pace. Stats say that’s the e-commerce holidays sales during last year’s Holidays increased by 59%. This is because of the wide usage of mobile devices. Surprisingly, approx. 50-60 % of search queries usually comes from Mobile services.
Technology’s is getting improves day-by-day which encourages people to take advantageous of it. If you are in a dilemma of how to optimize an e-commerce website, engaging more with mobile users is the initial step you can start with. To starting with, makes sure that your websites is mobile responsive. Connecting officially without these smartphones users is a great way to earn more customers during the festive season.
2. Sending Automated Holidays Sale E-mails and Website Push Notifications
Spending pre-sale promotional e-mails to targeted customers is a powerful strategy which anyone can utilize to increase the chances of getting more conversions.
Similarly, if you wished to spread awareness for yourself upcoming e-commerce festive, you first need to target the audience via attractive emails and festive alerts. There promotional campaigns created a sense of urgency and instil a fear of missing out something important which compels the users to click and view the deal.
3. Recovery Abandoned Carts with Festive Special Discounts
Accordingly, to stats, 99% of audiences don’t make purchased at the very first time when they visit the store. As a result, they chosen to abandon the cart. It might be scary but true somewhere. But now, there are chances that you can bring back the users who abandoned their carts by sending festive sale offers to their selected items. It cannot be possible that you could be at the right place with the right offer. Hence, you should be ready to retarget the visitors whenever possible. Festive days are the high time when you succeed in this venture. Check out this article where they have beautifully explained why users abandon their carts.
4. Given Landing Page a Complete Festive Makeover
Guidelines your web designers to create a theme bases festive backgrounds which is embellished with bright banners. It’s up to you how you’re want to decorated your landing page so that customers get attracted and feel like making a purchase. Fascinating visitors Through the exquisitely designed offer page provided better e-commerce website optimization during Holidays. This not only attracted customer’s and created a joyous mood, but also results in betterment conversions.
5. Created Convenient & Festive Targeted Products Navigation
Many time’s, people are not able to find the product they are looking for. This is the reasons which can result in low visibility of your store’s product’s. A simple and smooth products navigation is there key to generated enhanced conversions. It directs visitors to the most relevant products they are searching form and that too without seconds. When you are renovating the banners and landings page layout for grabbing the highest festive seasons opportunity, make surely to concentrated more on building easy product navigational. Suppose, you wanted to redirect the customers towards the Christmas combos like dress, tree, and chocolates then make that page more fascinating and easy to access for users.
6. Initiated Provision for Thank You Gifts
Facilitating loyal customers with “Thank You” gift is the techniques which never fails whenever it comes to increasingly holiday sales & conversions of an e-commerce sites. It is truest that when you regard your customers with additionally points or cashback offers, they come back to your website again. Higher are the changes that they make more purchases in the hopes to get better reward points next time. Gift cards are the best ways to grab potential customer’s. In this context, creating a distinct message of how your product can turn out to be a perfect gift is the techniques which you need to integrated to increase Holiday sales.
7. Acquired Customers Before the Sale Starts
Peoples follow a tendency to be preparedness for everything before time. They applying the same logic when it comes to gift shipping. Users buy products sooner to preparedness and deliver gifts to their friends and family in advance. If you don’t prepare your store in advance for the upcoming holiday, no one will recognize that your store is also providing mega festive offers to the customers. There are many shoppers who visit e-commerce stores before the festive season just to check which one is giving the best deals on products. This definitely increases the conversion rates of an e-commerce website.
Final Thoughts:
When festive sale arrives, people are supposed to shop like crazy. This is all because of the bumper deals and offers e-commerce stores offer on all products. E-commerce website owners often think that it is easy for them to earn optimum profits during the holiday sales. Remember, there are e-commerce pioneers who keenly execute SEO for an e-commerce website. And these pioneers always win the race of getting excellent conversions during festivals. Now, it is your turn to implement the above-mentioned tricks to earn better than the others.
A Guide to Venture Capital Financings for Startups:
Startups seeking financing often turn to venture capital (VC) firms. These firms can provide capital; strategic assistance; introductions to potential customers, partners, and employees; and much more. Venture capital financings are not easy to obtain or close. Entrepreneurs will be better prepared to obtain venture capital financing if they understand the process, the anticipated deal terms, and the potential issues that will arise. In this article we provide an overview of venture capital financings.
To understand the process of obtaining venture financing, it is important to know that venture capitalists typically focus their investment efforts using one or more of the following criteria:
Most venture capital financings are initially documented by a “term sheet” prepared by the VC firm and presented to the entrepreneur. The term sheet is an important document, as it signals that the VC firm is serious about an investment and wants to proceed to finalize due diligence and prepare definitive legal investment documents. Before term sheets are issued, most VC firms will have gotten the approval of their investment committee. Term sheets are not a guarantee that a deal will be consummated, but in our experience a high percentage of term sheets that are finalized and signed result in completed financings.
The term sheet will cover all of the important facets of the financing: economic issues such as the valuation given to the company (the higher the valuation, the less dilution to the entrepreneur); control issues such as the makeup of the Board of Directors and what sorts of approval or “veto” rights the investors will enjoy; and post-closing rights of the investors, such as the right to participate in future financings and rights to get periodic financial information.
The term sheet will typically state that it is non-binding, except for certain provisions, such as confidentiality and no shop/exclusivity. Although it is not binding, the term sheet is by far the most important document to negotiate with investors—almost all of the issues that matter will be covered in the term sheet, leaving smaller issues to be resolved in the financing documents that follow. An entrepreneur should think of the term sheet as the blueprint for the relationship with his or her investor, and be sure to give it plenty of attention.
There are varying philosophies on the use and extent of term sheets. One approach is to have an abbreviated short form term sheet in which only the most important points in the deal are covered. In that way, it is argued, the principals can focus on the major issues and leave side points to the lawyers when they negotiate the definitive financing documents.
Another approach to term sheets is the long form approach, where virtually all issues that need to be negotiated are raised, so that the drafting and negotiating of the definitive documents can be quicker and easier.
The drawback of the short form approach is that it will leave many issues to be resolved at the definitive document stage, and if they are not resolved, the parties will have spent extra time and legal expense that could have been avoided if the long form approach had been taken. The advantage of the short form approach is that it will generally be easier and faster to reach a “handshake” deal (and some VCs prefer a simple short form of term sheet because they think it will be more appealing to entrepreneurs).
In the end, it is usually better for both the investors and the entrepreneur to have a long form comprehensive term sheet, which will mitigate future problems in the definitive document drafting stage.
The valuation put on the business is a critical issue for both the entrepreneur and the venture capital investor. The valuation is typically referred to as the “pre-money valuation,” referring to the agreed upon value of the company before the new money/capital is invested. For example, if the investors plan to invest $5 million in a financing where the pre-money valuation is agreed to be $15 million, that means that the “post-money” valuation will be $20 million, and the investors expect to obtain 5/20, or 25%, of the company at the closing of the financing.
Valuation is negotiable and there is not one right formula or methodology to rely upon. The higher the valuation, the less dilution the entrepreneur will encounter. From the VC’s perspective, a lower valuation (resulting in a higher investor stake in the company) means the investment has more upside potential and less risk, creating a higher motivation to assist the company.
The key factors that will go into a determination of valuation include:
While each startup and valuation analysis is unique, the range of valuation for very early-stage rounds (often referred to as “seed” financings) is often between $1 million and $5 million. The valuation range for companies that have gotten some traction and are doing a “Series A” round is typically $5 million to $15 million.
The founders of a startup typically hold common stock in the company. Angel investors or venture capitalists will usually invest in the company in one of the following forms:
Venture investors will want to make sure that the founders have incentives to stay and grow the company. If the founders’ stock is not already subject to a vesting schedule, the venture investors will likely request that the founders’ shares become subject to vesting based on continued employment (and then become “earned”). Standard vesting for employees is monthly vesting over a 48-month period, with the first 12 months of vesting delayed until 12 months of service are completed, but founders can often negotiate better vesting terms.
The key issues that the founders negotiate in this regard are:
In our experience, some vesting in early-stage startups is typically required, but the founders will usually get credit for time spent with the company, as long as a meaningful amount of equity is still subject to vesting.
The makeup of the Board of Directors of the company is important to venture capital investors as well as to the founders. VCs, especially if they are the “lead” investor in a round of financing, will often want the right to appoint a designated number of directors to be able to monitor their investment and have a meaningful say in the running of the business. From the founders’ perspective, they will want to maintain control of the company for as long as possible. Although circumstances vary, in general Board seat allocation usually follows share ownership, so if the investors have 25% or less of the company’s stock, they will usually accept a minority of the Board seats, and if after multiple rounds the investors own most of the company’s stock, they will often control the Board.
After a Series A financing round, typical Board scenarios might include:
In lieu of a Board seat, some investors may request Board “observer” rights, granting the investor the right to attend Board meetings in a non-voting capacity with the right to receive financial and other information provided to Board members.
The actual Board composition will be subject to negotiation, factoring in the amount invested, the number of investors, the level of control sought, and the comfort level of the founders.
A “liquidation preference” refers to the amount of money the preferred investor will be entitled to receive on sale of the company or other liquidation event, before any proceeds are shared with the common stock. VCs insist on a liquidation preference to protect their investment in “downside” scenarios; for happier scenarios in which a company is sold for an amount that would generate big returns for the investors, investors can always convert to common stock.
The liquidation preference is typically expressed as a multiple of the original invested capital, usually at 1x. So in the event of a sale of the company, the investor will be entitled to receive back $1 for every $1 invested, in preference over the holders of common stock.
In situations where the company is particularly risky or the investment climate has turned adverse, investors may insist on a 1.5x, 2x, or 3x liquidation preference (this was more common during the downturns of 2001-2002 and 2008-2009).
Venture investors will sometimes request that their preferred stock be “participating preferred.” This means that on a sale of the company, the preferred would first receive back its liquidation preference (typically 1x of the original investment), and then the remaining proceeds would be shared by the common and preferred according to their relative percentage share ownership.
For example, if the pre-money valuation of the company is $5 million, and the VCs invest $5 million into the company with a 1x liquidation preference, here is what the founders/common holders would receive on a $50 million sale of the company:
Participating preferred is relatively rare. In addition to claiming it’s “not market,” founders can try to resist participating preferred on the theory that it will hurt the Series A investors down the road if later financings also incorporate that term. If founders are forced to accept participation, they can often negotiate for the participating feature to go away if the VCs have received back some multiple (for example, 3x) of their investment.
After a financing is completed, venture investors will often hold a minority interest in the company. But they will typically insist on “protective provisions” (veto rights) on certain actions by the company that could adversely affect their investment or their projected return.
The types of actions where a veto right may apply include:
Investors will normally receive a right to purchase more stock in connection with future equity issuances, to maintain their percentage interest in the company. These participation rights often go only to so-called “Major Investors” who own a certain amount of stock, and typically terminate on a public offering. As with anti-dilution protection, these rights are typically designed to apply only to bona fide financings, and usually are drafted not to apply to employee equity, equity issued in acquisitions, or “equity kickers” issued to lenders, landlords, or equipment lessors.
Venture investors will want to ensure that the company has a stock option pool for future equity grants, typically 10% to 20% of the company’s capitalization, with later-stage companies having smaller pools. The options are used to attract and retain employees, advisors, and Board members.
VCs will almost always insist that this option pool be included as part of the pre-money valuation of the company, and it is standard to do so. However, founders should realize that any increase in the option pool will come at their expense, reducing their percentage ownership of the company. If the size of the pool becomes an issue in the term sheet negotiation, it is a good idea for the founder to produce a grounds-up “budget” for future options, estimating the options that will be needed for future hires until the next round of financing.
Venture investors will also typically expect that future option grants will be subject to a “standard” four-year vesting schedule: one year of employment required before any vesting for 25% of the options (referred to as the “cliff”), and then monthly vesting with continued employment for 36 months after the one-year cliff vesting.
Occasionally, VCs request a provision allowing them to cash out of their investment through a redemption feature (assuming the company has the cash). A typical redemption provision would say that the investors may, by majority vote at any time starting five years after their investment, elect to be redeemed (repurchased at their original purchase price), with payments made over a three-year period in equal installments. Redemption rights are uncommon, and even in the rare case where they are put in place, they are almost never triggered—but they can give leverage to a VC that wants liquidity.
Series A investors will not typically push for a redemption feature, knowing that such a provision may show up in future rounds of financings to the detriment of the Series A investors.
Venture investors will typically get the right to obtain certain financial information, as well as inspection rights with respect to corporate records. The term sheet will typically specify that annual, quarterly, and often monthly financial statements are to be provided, as well as an annual budget or business plan. These rights often are restricted to “Major Investors,” and are typically not a source of controversy or much negotiation.
The term sheet may specify that the company will be obligated to maintain directors and officers liability insurance, covering the officers and directors of the company in connection with litigation with respect to duties they are performing for the company. The term sheet will specify the dollar amount of coverage (often $2 million to $10 million).
Venture investors occasionally also require the company to maintain “key man” life insurance policies on the lives of the key founders, policies that will provide the company with cash in the event a founder dies. The idea behind this kind of policy is that the cash generated in the event of a tragedy can give the company time to rebound and hire new talent to replace the deceased founder.
It is common for investors to have a right of first refusal on any stock to be sold by the founders. This will usually require the founders to first offer the shares to the company, and then to the investors (on the same terms as on the proposed sale) before they can be sold. Such a right will allow the company and the investors the opportunity to keep the founders’ shares within the existing shareholder base. Founders are usually able to negotiate exceptions from the right of first refusal, for transfers to family members or trusts for estate planning purposes, and, less often, for the sale of small (5%-15%) stakes.
The investors will also expect to get “co-sale rights” with respect to founder stock sales. This will give the investors the right to participate (on a pro rata basis) in a sale by the founders of their shares. (These rights are typically exercised when the founder has negotiated a very high price for his or her stock, too high to warrant a purchase pursuant to the right of first refusal.)
Drag-along rights give the company the right to force all shareholders to participate in and vote for a sale of the company if the sale has been approved by specified groups. For a Series A financing, the drag-along is typically triggered if approved by the Board of Directors, holders of a majority of the common stock, and holders of a majority of the preferred stock. The idea is not that one group can force another to sell, but rather that if all major constituencies of the company want to sell, all shareholders are required to participate in the sale. This prevents small shareholders from creating a roadblock to an acquisition by objecting or exercising appraisal or dissenters rights under applicable law.
In later-stage deals, drag-alongs may be structured to give the venture investors alone the right to invoke the drag-along right.
Typical issues involved in drag-along rights include:
Drag-along rights present a number of complicated legal and drafting considerations. But they can be important to ensure that 100% of the company can be sold without delay.
Registration rights entitle the investor to require a company to list (“register”) its shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC) in a public offering so that the investor can sell the shares. Registration rights are divided into “demand” rights and “piggyback” rights.
Demand rights require the company to pursue the registration of its shares, likely also including the shares held by the demanding shareholder. Piggyback rights give the shareholders the right to include some or all of their shares in a registration statement the company is already filing with the SEC.
As a practical matter, registration rights are seldom if ever exercised, and an early-stage startup should not waste a lot of time negotiating the terms (they will often be renegotiated anyway by later-stage investors).
Venture investors will usually include a binding provision in the term sheet preventing the company from entering into or negotiating with any other party regarding an investment in the company, for a designated period. This is a reasonable request, as the investors will be investing time, legal fees, and resources to complete the transaction. The company will want the exclusivity period to be as short as possible. The typical period agreed to is 30-45 days.
The investors will also ask that the company promptly notify the investor of any inquiries or proposals by third parties with respect to financings or sale of the company, and furnish the investor the terms thereof.
Venture investors will typically insist on a binding provision in the term sheet that the existence and terms of the term sheet, and the fact that negotiations are ongoing with the investors, are strictly confidential and may not be disclosed to anyone without the investors’ consent, except to the company’s directors, officers, and attorneys. The company will need to notify any party that it properly discloses the term sheet to that they are subject to the confidentiality obligation.
In the unlikely event of a dispute between the company and the venture investors over the term sheet or the definitive investment documents, it is often beneficial for both the company and the venture investors to resolve the dispute through confidential binding arbitration (and not through public litigation).
The term sheet will likely provide that all past, present, and future employees and consultants are subject to a Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreement. The purpose of this Agreement is twofold: (i) to obligate the employee or consultant to keep all confidential information of the company confidential and (ii) to ensure that any intellectual property developed by the employee or consultant will be deemed solely owned by the company.
This obligation in the term sheet is non-controversial (although it sometimes turns up in diligence that past employees or consultants who have developed key intellectual property have not signed these agreements, and that can cause significant investor concern).
Term sheets will typically include a commitment from the company to reimburse the reasonable legal fees of the investors plus any due diligence or out of pocket costs incurred, payable at the closing of the transaction. This obligation is typically “capped” at a specific dollar amount, but if the deal takes longer or requires more legal work than was expected, the cap is often revised to take that into account.
Entrepreneurs should anticipate that the venture investors will perform significant due diligence before they consummate an investment. Some of this will be done by the VCs, and some by lawyers for the VCs.
The types of diligence will include:
Venture capital financing can be crucial to the success of a startup. By understanding the key issues in venture financings, entrepreneurs can increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.
It’s a dilemma all startups face. Your needs to spend to grow your business, but if you spend at a higher rate than your revenue, you might end up burning through your available cash. Your beginning to wonder if you are overspending, and your investors start to get nervous. Do whatever is the safe amount of cash burn for a startup?
Is It Necessary to Burn Cash?
For startups, this is almost always the case. It’s takes times to turn a profit, and most companies have to burn cash as they build their customer base and increase revenue. Moreover, burning cashmere can source tremendous growth for a startup. Thus is especially their cases when a company needs to quickly establish itself before its market becomes too competitive. However, forward a company without limited revenue and no profit, there is a danger in spending too much of its cash.
Watching the Runway
Simply put, they runways is are how long a company has until it runs out of cash to burn. For example, if your company has £750k in cash and is burning £25k a month, your runway is 30 months. There closer you are too the end of the runway, obviously, the less freedom you have to keep spending. Your can extended your runway by increasing your available cash through investment. However, thus required you to prove that your business is worth investing in despite the current lack of profit. Thus is possible’ of yourself revenues is likely to increase substantially as a result of your spending, but finding investors who are open to this risk can be difficult.
How Much is Too Much?
Thus depends largely in their amounts of cash a company has and its access to more capital, both of which affect the amount of risk it is willing to take. Venture capitalists offers some guidelines for startups to determine how much they can responsibly burn:
Watch your runway.
Avoid dipping below 6 months of cash in the bank.
Be mindful of spending venture debt. Maintaining opening communications with your VCs regarding the level of burn they are comfortable with and the available options for more funding, if necessary.
If you have cash, rapidly growing revenue, strong support from VCs, and are in a position to pull ahead of your competitors, increasing your burn rate can be a powerful move to expand your business successfully. In this case, keep a close eye on the market. Your ability too scales back quickly in response to changing market conditions affects how much risk you can take safely.
Are Your Existing Investors Over Their Skis?
Thus is another’s things strongly advised entrepreneurs to understand and even talk with their VCs about. Let’s mere play opening books so you can understand the situation better.
At Upfront Ventures 90% of the first-check investments we do are seed or A-round (and 2/3rd of these are A-rounds) with about 10% of our first-checks (in number) being B-rounds.
As a primarily A-round investor with a nearly $300 million fund our average first-check size is about $3.5 million. We invest about half of our fund in our initial investments and we “reserve” about 50% of our investments to follow on in our best deals.
Obviously of a company’s is doings phenomenally well we’ll try to invest more capital and if a company is taking time to mature we’ll be more cautious. Bit event companies that’s take time to mature will usually get at least a second check of support from us as long as they are showing strong signs of innovating and as long as we believe they are still committed to the long-term viability of the business and as long as they show financial prudence.
How Strong is Your Access to Capital?
Taking about existing investor’s is one way of talking about “access to capital” because if you already have VCs then you have “access.” And then you’re just assessing whether you can’t be getting accessible to new VCs or Whether your existing VCs can help you in tough times.
So talk about “access to capital” in the context of fund raising because it is the biggest determinant of your likelihood of raising. Of your sent to Stanford within a bunch of VCs who you count as friends (and who respect you) plus you worked at the senior ranks of Facebook, Salesforce.com, Palantir of Uber — you gave very strongly access — obviously.
But many people aren’t in this situation. Of yourself companies had raised angel money and may be something capital from seed funds that are less well known or are new — then your access to capital may be less strong.
What is Your Risk Appetite?
It is alone impossible too tell your the right burn rate for your company without knowing your risk tolerance. Quite simply — something people would’ve rather “go hard” and accept the consequence of failure if they don’t succeed.
Otherwise people’s are more cautiously and have a lot more at stake if the company doesn’t succeed (like maybe they put in their own money or their family’s money).
Do whenever people’ asked me for advice I normally start by asking:
• How much time have you put into this company already?
• How much money have you personally or your friends/family invested? Is that a lot for them?
• How risk averse are you? See your generally very cautiously or prefer to “go all out for it or die trying?”
There is no right answer. Only you can know. But check your risk tolerance.
Again, know this sounds very obvious but in practice it isn’t always. Sometimes companies maybe be abled to become “cockroaches” or “ramen profitable” but cutting costs and staff substantially and getting to a burn rate that last 2 years. But that’s could impact the futures upside of the company.
So you might have a company that is “medium valuable” in the long-run because with no capital it was hard to innovate and create a market leader.
That’s ok form something entrepreneur’s (and investor) and not for others.
Also. Your may thinking that it’s ok to “cut to the bone” but you may find out that your team didn’t want to join that sort of company so you maybe cut background really far only to finding that the remaining people leave. Simply out — of your goings to cut to the bone make sure that the team you intend to keep is aligned culturally with this decision.
Bringing ramen profitable is the rights decision for some team and the wrong decision for others. Only you know. Keeping your Burnt rate in line with yourself: Access to capital & risk tolerance levels.
How Reasonable Was Your Last Valuation?
There are two other factors you may consider. Once is how reasonableness your last round valuation was. If you raise $10 millions at a $40 million pre-money on a company with limited revenue and if your investors are telling you that they’re concerned about your future because they doubt that outsiders will fund you at your current performance level, then would be more cautious with my burn rate — even if it means slashing costs.
There are only four solutions to this problem:
• Confirm inside support to continue funding you — even if outsiders won’t
• Cut burn enough that you can eventually “grow into” your valuation; or
• Adjusting your valuations download proactively so that outsiders can still fund you at what the market considers a normal valuation for your stage & progress
• To hard and hopefully that’s the market will validate your innovation even if the price may be higher than the market may want to bear
How Complicated is Your Cap Table?
Cap Table issues are seldom understood by entrepreneurs. Again, best advice is to talk with your VCs openly or at least the ones you trust the most to be open.
If you raised a $2 million seed round at a $6 million pre then a $5 million A-round at a $20 million pre then a $20 million B-round at a $80 millions pre and if you’re companies had stalled, you may have a cap table problem. Let us explain.
The $20 millions investors may now believed that you’re never going to be worth $300 million or more (they invested hoping for no less than a 3x). Do if they’re on their mind-set that they’re better off getting their $20 million back versus risking more capital then they may prefer just to sell your company for whatever you can get for it. Even if you would for $20 millions they’d be thinking “I have senior liquidation preference so I get my money back.”)
The early stage investor probably still owns 15% of your company and thought he or she had a great return coming (after all — it got marked up to $100 million post-money valuation just 12 months ago!). But there are “over their skis” in ability too helpful you because they’re an early-stage investor so they’re dependent on your B-round investor or outside money.
They’re don’t want you to seller for $20 million because they may still believe in you AND they know that they’ll get no return from this (and your personal return will be very small).
You are in a classic cap table pinch. You don’t even realize that’s the later-stage investors don’t support you anymore.
Solutions: Form starters getting yourself sees & A investor’s helping. They may be able to persuade your B-round investor to be more reasonable. They may push you to cut costs. They may suggestions cap table adjustments as a compromised. Of they’re maybe ferrets out that’s yourself B-round investor just won’t budge. But at least you’ll knowledge wherein your stand before deciding what to do about burn.
Note that not making any value judgments about seed, A or B (or C or growth) investors. Just trying too points out that’s at times they’re not always aligner and most entrepreneurs don’t understand this math.
The growing uncertainty amongst investors, consumer hysteria and the disruption of supply chain caused due to the spread of coronavirus around the world has proven catastrophic in more ways than one. In the worst-case scenario, the pandemic is expected to cost the world economy a whopping.
The occurrence of businesses getting back in track remains ambiguous unless a breakthrough in the Covid-19 vaccine is achieved in the short term, followed by human trials and widespread administration of the vaccine.
In these cases of India, although the implementation of a nationwide lockdown has prevented the mass spread of the virus to a large extent, at this moment some experts have argued that India is likely to witness a second wave of the infection in the monsoon season. Of such a scenarios occurs a secondary phase of the lockdown is likely to be undertaken which would further disrupt the daily business operations of the economy depleting India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth even further. In the last release by DataLabs By Inc42 — COVID-19 Startup Impact Report 2020: Threats & Opportunities For The Indian Economy — the government has calculated the total loss to start-upsDP inflicted by the 40-day lockdown to be $320 Bn.
In additional to the negative impact on the major sectors of the Indian economy, the tech startup ecosystem of the country is not immune to the havoc wreaked by Covid-19. A recent survey by Praxis Global Alliance concluded that 37% of the Indian startup CEOs interviewed only had 6 to 12 months of cash reserves left in their bank. The widespread uncertainty in the market clubbed with the curbing of Chinese capital inflow in the economy has resulted in an overall slowdown in the venture capital deal flow in the Indian startup ecosystem. Although some sectors such as— media and entertainment, Edtech, Hyperlocal essential services and fintech has witnessed unprecedented growth in demand the overall impact on the ecosystem has been quite devastating.
Amongst the numerous sector’s impacted by the pandemic, the worst hit is the MSME sector, which is often called the backbone of the Indian economy. In FY16, MSMEs provided employment to over 123 Mn people whereas the total GVA (gross value added) of the MSME sector was $568 Bn which was nearly a third of the total GDP of India in 2016.
In additional to this’ll, negative sentiment toward the market is evident among the purchasing managers of all the major economies in the world. The PMI index of India(which is calculated on the basis of five major indicators: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment) witnessed a 2.7 point dropped from 54.5 in February’s 2020 to 51.8 in March 2020. Indicating the negative impact the pandemic has had on the country’s manufacturing sector.
From boostings the technical adoptions in India to creating new employment opportunities, Indian startups have played an important role in the all-round development of the country and the digital economy. One way to assess the value-addition of Indian startups to the Indian economy is the aggregate employee benefit expenditure of the startups — in FY’19 the aggregate employee benefit expenditure stood at $1.25 Bn, an increase of 33% from the previous fiscal year.
On recently month’s we haven’t witnesses payoffs, hiring freezes and salary cuts across some major startups in the country ranging from unicorns like OYO, Blackbuck, MakeMyTrip to other startups such as Limeroad, Fabhotels, Shuttl and many more. On out latest reports in the impacts of Covid-19 on the Indian startups, we have concluded that over 246 Indian startups have already undertaken layoffs whereas 278 startups have announced hiring freezes.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Redpoint Capital’s Tomasz Tunguz had compared the current state of fundraising to the financial crisis of 2008. In 2008, the investment velocity fell down by 50% in the three quarters following the stock market crash. Markets did grow back to their original levels, but it took nearly two years to get there. Many expert’s estimated a similarly timeline for the current pandemic-led crisis. Furthermore, accordingly today Sequoia Capital India managing director GV Ravishankar, what will change is that VCs will raise the bar for investments, so those companies that do not have a unique model might not get capital anymore. Therefore willing be rougher question’s from VCs to founders, funding rounds may take a little longer than usual to close. “People are going to slow down investing, for the most part, but there will be some that will continue to be active.”
Much of us face obstruction with public speaking, which usually involves standing in front of your peers, whose eyes are glued on you (and only you), and trying to remember the key points of your presentation. Doesn’t matter whom you’re speaking to, you need a lot of preparation and practice to effectively create and deliver a professional talk.
What’s more, delivery is just one part of the process. If you want to capture your audience members’ attention and prevent them from dozing off or wishing they were elsewhere, you need to step up your presentation’s overall quality, thorough your delivery style to your slide decks (which should be awesome). Such uploading a lot of new information on them, so try to keep them entertained and engaged.
All useful information couldn’t be remembered.
Here’s how you too can create thought-provoking, captivating presentations that will win over any audience — regardless of size.
It can’t express how much appreciation presenters who possess the rare skill of getting to the point in as little time as possible. Hence, if the presentation is laced with fantastic content, your audience won’t find it easy to sit and patiently listen to you speak for an extended period of time.
Stretched, meandering speeches sap an audience’s energy, and it won’t be long before you start losing listeners. The most successful speakers in history understood the importance of brevity in presenting their ideas, so do what they’ve done: aim for a shorter, punchier speech during your next presentation.
Sitting through countless presentations that had a solid foundation, with good data and concluding takeaways, but the delivery must absolutely be mind-numbing. Situations get even worse if you rant or spiral off into tangents that lead to a chaotic mess of data, branching points or topics with no sense of flow or connection.
So, focus on the core concepts of your presentation and engage your audience with relatable storytelling. People like success stories and case studies, and the use of storytelling makes all the information — as well as your key points — super relatable to the average audience member.
Avoid telling the entire story up-front. Instead, tell it in chapters as you take your listeners on a journey throughout the presentation. Creating a natural sense of flow to keep your audience interested. In way, they’ll eagerly consume the information from your presentation while anticipating the next part of the story.
Not include a ton of graphs and charts in hopes of making your presentation appear more credible. If the audience can’t interpret your visuals just from looking at them, then you’re trying too hard.
When you see a presentation that’s full of unreadable graphs and tables, what goes through the nothing goes inside the head. We’re not in third grade, and we don’t need you to show your work. What we do need is for you to show us what’s relevant and tell us what your point is.“
It’s not uncommon to see presentations made for a single individual — like the bigwig in the room or a small group of influencers attending a larger event. The obstacle with this approach is that you’ll be missing the mark with the majority of your audience, and that will waste time. So you shouldn’t have much influence or ability to persuade your listeners one way or another.
To avoid this, target the message of your presentation to the wider group, or to the average person in your audience. You’ll form much better connections, the audience will be more responsive and you’ll see a much higher return once you’re finished.
You must not use any text smaller than 30-point font. The bigger the type, the more your text will pop and grab the attention of the audience. Those people are probably so used to seeing data-packed slides that a single, prominent slide will create the perception that the information it contains must really be important.
It’s rare that a presentation has to be 100 percent serious. So you certainly want your audience to understand the core concepts of your presentation, which can require a serious tone and delivery style, you also want to entertain. Diving in wit, in the right doses, such as a couple of humorous images, can make your presentation memorable and encourage laughter. People like to laugh because it makes them feel more comfortable.
At the end of the day, that’s what you’re looking for — the audience to remember the takeaways, link them to your personal brand and carry that information on in their lives. Incorporating storytelling often presents unique opportunities to add humour and sound smarter during your presentation so you can knock it out of the ballpark.
So practice will help you deliver better presentations, but there are other ways to refine your skills besides trial by fire. Getting in, doing it and measuring the audience response to your presentation elements will help you refine and improve your delivery style and overall approach. With these recommendations, you’ll eventually be able to present like a pro. And your audiences will be riveted.
There is no dearth of start ups that work on a brilliant idea with a huge scope of scaling. In order to scale widear, we avail the process of incubation. A one stop solution for start ups to grow continuously. A path of innovation continuously provided for the growth and development of start ups.
From a common parlance, we know incubation to be a process wherein an individual or an organization supports the establishment and growth of a start up. Those supporting the start ups or new companies are called incubators.
Basically, incubators snatch the growth potential and measure the opportunity before funneling funds into any startups. In order to select a start up, high level of research is done in order to take any decision to fund the start up.
In a nutshell, the goal of incubation is to increase the success chances of business.
If you want advices on:
Assistance in building management teams
Developing business marketing plans, funds,
Professional services
Shared equipment
Managing finances
Ensure no wastage of resources at the initial level
Then this summit is a place where you should be.
We have prominent speakers from all around the globe having an experience in their field of knowledge for more than 5 years; every respective speaker will be giving meticulous advices on incubation and co working.
If you want your start ups to become the next silicon valley, then world leader summit is the place to be.
Our meritorious speakers includes:
Sir raja r choudhary from india- director of universal business school,he’ll be speaking on leadership in the new age of normal, we all know after this worldwide pandemic, we all need a plan to get our business going on a stable pace. Thus, even if someone has incubated an idea of start up in his/her mind, this is where it’ll get an opportunity to know how to lead its budding team to a master company.
Sheara emerson form sri lanka- an outspoken and ambitious women who is not afraid to let out her voices.Having a vast experience in management, she will be advising the budding and fresh start ups from scratch on how should they conduct themselves in their work places.
Sumeer walia from india- he is a person who thinks like a wise man and communicates in the language of speakers. A prominent speaker from the land of cultural diversity who has got the opportunity to interview personalities like dalai lama, owner of the famous giant- “keventers”, indian fashion designer and padma shri awardee wendell rodricks and many more. Hearing wise words from him on innovation and diversification for your business for a better place in a world will be an opportunity.
Faijia parween from nepal- a business enthusiast, a well and prominent speaker in her home country as well as marked her role globally. She has offered her meticulous words and experiences in various events and news channels in nepal which had made a lot of change. Ma’am will be speaking on networking and partnership which again is necessary for your start up top earn recognition and earn market recognition.
Pranay gupta from india- the co founder of 91spring board whose idea is to create biggest co working committee and the idea of which is put a lot of people together, an iim alumni who is known and accessible to his mentees anytime anyday, who encourages youth for their startups after giving them a work experience and further offer advice on their ideas too, one humble and honourable man with a vast experience and ample ideas will be talking about the loopholes about why start ups struggle to get proper funding in the current market scenario and all their idea which has potential but due to lack of resources shuts down.
This seminar provides you with utmost opportunity to interact and learn from these prominent speakers who are covering a wide variety of differentiated topics for your startup to grow.
So what’s there to wait for. Register now!
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