Have you ever tried to pull yourself up by your bootstraps? Do your boots even have straps? Being a Mainer for the last 20 years, I of course own a well worn pair of LL Bean boots, and they do have a loop on the back that is a strap to help pulling on the … Read more
A recent data release by Sageworks shows private company profitability surging by 52% versus recent averages. Typical US private companies have experienced a net profit margin of 6.3% for the four years of 2013-2016. That means for every $100,000 of revenue, these companies net $6,300 to the bottom line, after taxes. Net profit margins have been creeping … Read more
I made lots of Money Mistakes during my years as an entrepreneur. I’m probably making some now! That might surprise some people who know I was a VC, and I’ve been helping entrepreneurs with funding and other issues for a while. But I was a venture capitalist without an MBA. My one accounting class in college was … Read more
Ben Franklin crafted some wonderful pearls of wisdom for business owners. This quote is one of them: If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone. The internet is filled with fake Ben Franklin quotes, but this is a real one. It’s one of many gems from Poor Richard’s Almanack. … Read more
You can’t run out of cash or your business will fail. The first step to make sure you won’t run out of cash is creating a monthly cash flow forecast in a spreadsheet. If you haven’t done this yet, read on. A Simple Monthly Cash Flow Forecast Here are some of the problems this simple … Read more
There are three basic reasons why business growth eats cash: Not all businesses experience all three types of cash-guzzling growth. And some don’t really experience any of these. Understanding which of these three applies to your business will help significantly in planning your funding future. Building Capacity Some businesses require that you build before you … Read more
Building a startup is hard, and it’s tempting to think that throwing money at the problems you’re facing will make them go away. Lots of hard earned wisdom says that won’t work. Plenty of failed unicorns had tons of money that didn’t fix fatally flawed business models. Money alone can’t fix a marketing plan that spends more … Read more
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, poet and lecturer. This oft-repeated quote of his is a mere snippet of a very long essay on “Wealth,” which in turn is one of nine essays in his 1860 collection entitled “The Conduct Of Life.” Emerson is ruminating on personal wealth and its pursuit when … Read more
As your company grows, corporate partnerships may become an option to expand into new markets or deepen penetration of existing markets. While corporate partnerships are usually thought of in the context of sales and marketing, they also have significant impact on funding. Corporates already have deep customer relationships. A corporate partnership can dramatically lower marketing … Read more
Did you know that your chance of success on Kickstarter, as well as the amount you can expect to raise, varies a lot by what type of business you have? We analyzed Kickstarter’s own published data on every successful (and unsuccessful) crowdfunding campaign they’ve ever had. On average: You Aren’t an Average Kickstarter Success The problem with looking … Read more