Have you ever tried to sign up for an e-mail account, a WordPress blog platform, or a website — and been frustrated to find that the online username or domain name of your choosing has already been snatched up by somebody else? For small businesses and start-up companies, this kind of thing is more than [...]
Howard Thurman wrote, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is morepeople who have come alive.” This is good advice when you are thinking about your startup business, about your career, and about most aspects of your life. It is also good advice [...]
This week, entrepreneur and owner of Amsterdam Printing, Christopher Wallace fills us in with a guest blog post about how to go about selling your business. For many Wicked Starters, the prospect of selling a company is way down the line. But think of this #foodforthought you can ruminate on now as you plan your [...]
Operationalizing your business means getting your act together. This is the place where all the planning you’ve done starts to become very real. Operations includes setting up suppliers, vendors, and other key relationships for your business. You may have found some of these connections at earlier steps, but any you’re missing must be filled in [...]
Every company has a brand, from the largest companies like P&G to the smallest mom and pop store. Small business branding is about creating an experience or a promise that resonates with your customer. Your brand is what customers consider when shopping or doing business with you. It encompasses your look, your logo, your reputation, and the [...]
There are many choices when you’re looking at finding a payroll service for your startup company. First, you might ask, “Why do I need a separate service?” The answer is simple: Payroll is complicated. There are state and federal taxes, rules and regulations, and things that must be accounted for. It can be a real [...]
We discussed hiring and documentation in my last column. But hiring employees at a start-up is probably the most important step of any business’ growth. The people you hire are the eyes, ears, hands, and mouth of the company. They will create the products and perform the services, listen for feedback and customer complaints, respond [...]
Hiring at a a start-up is probably the hardest task of anything we’ve talked about. It may be harder than deciding how much equity to give up to investors, or deciding on product features. There are two factors here – one is hiring the right people, and the second is hiring them legally, with the [...]
When you start a business, it is always useful to create a board of advisors. A board of advisors is a group of business people who can help you with your company, by providing advice you may be missing from key roles or staff. Such a group may include accountants, lawyers, marketers, or other entrepreneurs in later [...]
You may be tempted to set up your company with “loose” roles. There may be a few core people who are capable and willing to “do what it takes” to succeed. These kind of people are great, and often invaluable. But it is critical to “organize your organization” with an organizational chart and a list of [...]