Twenty years ago, I was trying to raise venture capital for a Silicon Valley startup venture I’d launched with a female partner. We had Fortune 100 sponsors and a huge bank ready to invest a million dollars. They had just one requirement: we needed a venture capitalist (VC) to also invest. We thought we had …
Museum Store Sunday Transforms Holiday Shopping
Let’s face it. By the Sunday after Thanksgiving, you’re exhausted. You cooked. You ate. You cleaned. You watched football and parades. And you absolutely need to escape the relatives. On Black Friday, you braved crowds for disappointing sales. You had a great time shopping on Small Business Saturday, but you still have a few hard-to-shop-for …
Instagram Updates for Small Biz
Two years ago, I wrote a column on how small businesses could best use Instagram to grow their businesses. Geez, does that seem a long time ago now. Social media changes faster than Beyoncé changes outfits. There’s a lot you need to catch up on if you want to take advantage of the benefits of …
You Built It. Now What?
Few things in life beat the excitement of starting a new business or launching a new product. Creating a startup is thrilling. Sure, there’s risk—but risk can be exciting. There’s also challenge and creativity—figuring out how to build something from nothing, finding money, solving problems. But what happens when the startup is started? You built …
8 Tech Tips for Small Biz
Today, every business is a technology business. Whether you have a one-person consulting company or a 500-person manufacturing firm, every business must use technology and use it well. Small business owners don’t need to be early adopters of technology, but you do have to be adopters. But tech can be overwhelming to a small business …
“Be a Tiger” in your Small Business
This past Sunday, the great golfer Tiger Woods gave entrepreneurs and small business owners an important lesson: no matter how hard you fall, how much you fail, you can come back. Woods has had more than his share of problems, humiliation, and, let’s face it, plain bad judgment. But on Sunday at the Tour Championship …
29 Businesses to Start Over Age 29 and One to Avoid
Are you a millennial stuck in a job you hate? Got kids but not earning enough to make ends meet? Still haven’t paid off that student loan? Maybe it’s time to start your own small business. I’ve got 29 great business ideas for those of you over 29—and one business to avoid. Whether it’s a …
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Women Biz Owners: Give Yourself a Raise
Just about everyone knows women employees earn less than men—about 80 cents for every dollar. That’s one reason many women start a small business or become self-employed. When you set your own fees, you’ll make the same as men, right? Not so fast. Self-employed women still make a lot less than self-employed men. Ladies: it’s …
Run your Small Business from your Phone
Once upon a time, if you wanted to start a small business, you needed a whole bunch of stuff. You needed an office or store, office equipment, staff, a website. Even when I started my own one-person business from my home, I needed an expensive computer and software, not to mention a printer, copier, and …
