smallbiz's tag archives
How To Pick The Perfect Name For Your Startup
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
I’m often asked by young entrepreneurs whether it’s important to find a strong name for a new startup. The name is important, but the process to come up with a unique name can easily distract you. For example, it took us nearly 50 hours to come up with “crowdSPRING” –...
How Often Do You Ask Why?
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
Why do birds fly? Why is the sky blue? Why do you drive a car? Why do I have to wear shoes? Why do I have to go to bed? Toddlers are relentless in asking “why?” questions. The questions are driven by sheer curiosity – they want to know about everything and it’s not unusual...
Startup Tip: Marketing One-To-One
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
When most people talk about marketing, they talk about broad, strategic tactics focused on large groups of customers or potential customers. Adwords, banner ads, print ads, email marketing – these are all common tactics used by many businesses to market their products and services. It’s...
Goals, Strategies and Tactics
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
It’s not uncommon for young entrepreneurs to focus on tactics at the expense of also setting appropriate goals and developing core strategies. It’s easy to fall into this trap when you see someone else successfully executing a tactic – and trying to duplicate their success by...
To Succeed, Don’t Obsess About Reasons You Might Fail
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
A few months ago, I talked about why startups must focus first on the problem, not the solution. A few days ago, I talked about the need to refocus from time to time. There’s another side to focus that’s rarely discussed – focusing (and often obsessing) on reasons you might fail...
What is Your Core Business?
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
Too often, startups risk getting misdirected by the media and customers to add features and functionality to a product or service that turn out to be collateral to the core business. I believe this is happening now with Gowalla and Foursquare, among others. Both services have recently become media...
Startup Tip: Dealing With Customer Resistance To Change
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
Whether you are a small or a Fortune 50 company, customers typically resist attempts to change products or services they perceive work well. People prefer to deal with the things they already know rather than get used to something new. But innovative companies must constantly find ways to improve...
Startup Tip: The Dirty Secret About Features
This post is syndicated from Ross Kimbarovsky.
I have little doubt that every investor has heard an entrepreneur touting how their new product or service will “crush” the competition with great features that the competition hasn’t yet seen. Many entrepreneurs – especially aspiring entrepreneurs – believe that...
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