Each founder gets access to 5 hours per semester of one-on-one mentorship. Schedule at your convenience, either in person or via conference call. 🕒 #BusinessAdvice#MentorshipMatters
Who should apply? If you're a founder or a C-level manager at a startup, this program is tailored just for you! 🎯 We're committed to assisting in the development of your project and company. #Entrepreneurship
think this just a joke account you do. but on you the joke will be when i finally launch my startup with a $25m series a just on the back of 2+ years of posting star wars memes.
StartUp Brew, a weekly meetup in #Fargo celebrating and supporting #entrepreneurship. Wednesdays at 8am at Drekker Brewing. Today's speaker was the director of the #documentary Show Her The Money, which is showing at Fargo Film Festival this week.
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"Your hands are capable of creating magic, your mind can weave dreams into reality. Craft with love and build your empire, one masterpiece at a time." - Anonymous
“Americans are drinking less, and younger Americans are drinking the least. 62% of adults under 35 drink, down from 72% two decades ago, and Gen Z drinks the least of any demographic. ”
One of the fun things I get to do is work with students and teach them #entrepreneurship. One of the proudest moment of this is celebrating the achievements of tomorrows #entrepreneurs and #startups!
I so very much agree on what they are saying about #entrepreneurship and the #fediverse: it feels like the world is suddenly wide open, and so many things we couldn't do in at least 15 years are entirely possible again. And, because tech advanced and users advanced, we can do far more.
I wouldn't go as far as predicting the demise of the platform monopolies, but certainly their model seem to be running out of room where to go.
The Fediverse gives @coachtony “early internet vibes.” The Medium CEO joins Flipboard CEO @mike to discuss what’s wrong with the attention economy, why human curation still matters, and how decentralized social media is enabling entrepreneurs to “rethink everything.”
My father-in-law is a farmer, and has always supplied his crops to farmer cooperatives. Year after year, the cooperatives' financials improve, but the margins for farmers shrink. Reading the financial statements (which are public but well hidden, of course), it's discovered that each year the executives' salaries, the president's, and the employees' increase, and bonuses are awarded to them when the harvests or profits are better than previous years. In practice, the farmer doesn't benefit, except marginally, from a particularly good year for the cooperative. He's been a board member for years and, when he tried to raise this issue, he was gradually and 'elegantly' dismissed from his position, replaced by figures less agricultural and more bureaucratic.
Many Italian public entities own private but publicly owned companies. These entities are obliged to use these companies, often with lower service quality and higher prices than the free market. In theory, this should be an advantage for the community, but in practice, it leads to a decrease in the competitiveness of service prices and lower revenues for local companies, made non-competitive by the obligation. The result is that, year after year, the costs of services increase and we hear about 'record budgets', but, in fact, the only ones earning more are the presidents, board members, officials, and employees. The citizen, however, sees the cost of the service increasing year after year.
I read everywhere about controversies related to the CEO of Mozilla's compensation, and I'm not surprised. It doesn't matter whether it's about distributing 'sugared water (quote)', hardware, public services, agricultural products, or anything else: when there's a lot of money involved, the figures 'at the top' are very, very far from what really happens below. It's pure business.
Regarding this, I will tell an experience related to the BSD Cafe - but I will have to phrase it well as I don't want to be misunderstood or generate controversy and/or bad feelings.
Much of Italian entrepreneurship (especially post-war, but not only) has been tied to people passionate about a product, who have built empires (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Del Vecchio with LuxOttica, Ferrero, and many others). When the boss is actually a Leader with vision and passion, things can work. And it's not a matter of money. Money may come, but as a consequence, not as a target.
When, instead, a 'generic' entrepreneur is put in charge, the product loses its importance - like when a computer company was led by someone who, until the day before, sold 'sugared water', precisely.
In the fluid world of business, staying ahead means embracing continuous learning. Entrepreneurs can leverage platforms like Coursera & MasterClass for cutting-edge knowledge. Bite-sized podcasts or audiobooks on Blinkist offer wisdom on-the-go—a key for agile decision-makers.
The USD/JPY gained downward momentum after the U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC Statement, indicating a change in monetary policy. Interest rate cuts are now expected in spring 2024. The currency pair is currently trading near 141.800, testing values last seen in late July. Traders should be cautious as conditions remain volatile. Breaking below 143.000 and sustaining values below would signify further downward momentum. Support levels to watch are 142.000, 141.500, and 141.000.
New entrepreneurs: if you want to be good at sales, research your prospects before you ever contact them. SO MANY sales people, usually younger but always inexperienced, send me a LinkedIn DM and ask me a question that’s plainly answered in my bio. If only they would bother to read my bio…!
It used to irritate me, but now I realize that they’re trying – they just don’t know any better. So, I’m telling you.
“Spray and pray” doesn’t work. Do this instead:
Research your potential prospects. Your contact list should consist only of people who need your product or service. Example: someone who sells cybersecurity training courses tried to contact me today. If they had taken the time to read my bio, they’d see I’m a bit beyond the entry-level stuff they’re peddling to people who are trying to begin a career in cybersecurity.
Push the indirect approach far away. Don’t use it. Don’t touch it. Don’t even think about it. Much better: “This is the product or service that I have to offer. Are you interested?” The indirect approach is great in speeches, books, and movies. When you use it in sales, it makes you appear deceptive. Maybe you don’t mean to be deceptive. Maybe you’re just new to sales. Be proud of your product or service – it’s all you’ve got to sell. So get it out there, first thing.
DO NOT keep pestering a disinterested prospect. Example: “Did you get my last message?” Yes, they did, and you know it. Email systems and LinkedIn DMs are both very reliable. The prospect didn’t reply because they’re not interested. Your unsolicited message doesn’t create a social obligation for them to reply. The prospect owes you nothing.
If you’re running out of targeted prospects and feel like returning to the “spray and pray” method, either one of two things is happening.
THE FIRST POSSIBILITY is that your target market is too small. Some products simply aren’t viable. A very niche product or service can only be sold at a very high price, because there are so few customers. If you’re selling a low-cost niche product and can’t make enough sales, the person who hired you is using/abusing you. Get out now.
THE SECOND POSSIBILITY is that you need to stop, think, and get creative. There may be an adequate number of qualified prospects out there, and you’re new enough that you haven’t developed the skills to find them. “Spray and pray” isn’t an effective substitute. You’ll sell a lot more by targeting qualified prospects than you ever will be blasting everyone who comes up in a keyword search. “Spray and pray” is for selling canned soup on TV – not for the high-caliber product or service that you’re offering. Be resourceful and figure out how to find those good prospects.