Stay Hungry: 3 Ways to Reawaken Your Entrepreneurial Drive on OPEN Forum
The tedium of owning a business can get to even the most die-hard entrepreneur. Use these tricks to get your passion back and be re-inspired.
1. Value Trivial Motivations
2. You, Here and Now
3. “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!”
Click here to read more on these suggestions to help re-start your business drive and invest your heart and soul into every project and task.
(via Stay Hungry: 3 Ways to Reawaken Your Entrepreneurial Drive | | The New OPEN ForumThe New OPEN Forum)
This image is not what The Startup Curve looks like according to Paul Graham and Fred Wilson, VC and principal of Union Square Ventures.
“To all those entrepreneurs whittling away in their offices trying to find out when to release their product to the market, I say “get on with it”. You are going to have to go on the roller coaster ride at some point. Might as well start now.” - Fred Wilson
(via A VC: The Startup Curve)
Click here to embiggen (see full infographic)
With so many mom and pop shops opening, and then quickly closing, the way to win in small business is endurance and outlasting the competition. This infographic provides data on the longevity of small businesses and how your business can live into it’s old age.
(Via Intuit)
6 Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales on OPEN Forum
Your skills aren’t holding you back from making big sales. Your low emotional IQ is. Here are the six mistakes you’re making:
Mistake 1: You don’t make an emotional connection.
Mistake 2: You talk too much.
Mistake 3: You lack self-awareness.
Mistake 4: You can’t adapt.
Mistake 5: You’re not authentic.
Mistake 6: You lack humility.
Are you making these mistakes? if so, read more on how you can right these wrongs and increase your sales.
(via 6 Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales | | The New OPEN ForumThe New OPEN Forum)
good:
Turns Out Bike Lanes Are Really Good for Local Business
- Meghan Neal wrote in Business, Transportation and CitiesGood news for bike activists: Making a safe place on streets for cyclists (and pedestrians) boosts sales for the small businesses in the area.
This according to a recent report from the New York Department of Transportation. The study found that on commercial blocks where new bike lanes were built, the businesses saw a nearly 50 percent increase in sales.
Join us for our Fix Your Street Challenge on the last Saturday of May. Click here to say you’ll Do It and be sure to share stories of transportation innovation all month.
With Citi Bike launching in NYC, we are happy to hear that new bike lanes increase sales for small businesses!
If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.
The 99% Success Formula on Inc.com
1. Know where you’re starting from (A).
2. Know where you want to be (B).
3. Build a plan to get from A to B.
4. Take massive action based on that plan.
5. Observe whether you’re closer to B.
6. If the plan is working, double down on step 4.
7. If the plan isn’t working, go back to step 3.
Why It Pays to Be Humble by Gary Vaynerchuk on OPEN Forum
These days, starting a new company, pivoting or bringing your existing company into the tech field is common fare for the small-business owner. In this video, expert and experienced entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk offers his best advice on how to succeed when you’re entering unknown territory. Hint: it’s much more discreet than you’d think.
(via Why It Pays to Be Humble | | The New OPEN ForumThe New OPEN Forum)
Introducing the “Lean” Meeting on OPEN Forum
“Death by meeting” is a common complaint, the lament usually being one of frequency, length, or lack of productivity.
Start with a simple three-point strategy to make your meetings more lean:
1. Limit yourself to keep it under 12 minutes.
2. Only have meetings around a single purpose or goal.
3. Unsocial meetings.
(via Hold More Meetings–Just Keep Them Short | | The New OPEN ForumThe New OPEN Forum)
Click here to embiggen (see full infographic)
Is email marketing still relevant and useful for small businesses? According to this infographic it is; 67.8 billion dollars in sales will come from emails. Use this infographic to motivate and double check that your email marketing strategy is on point.
(Via Visual.ly)