Your Questions Answered by Industry Experts

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Answers from Industry Experts

Online Retail E-commerce

Are customers willing to wait 8 to 10 days for goods?

Dylan Whitman answered: Really depends on the type of product and the standard within that industry. As an example, furniture items can take months to deliver. On the other hand, if you're drop shipping, and customers can get the product cheaper and faster from somewhere like Amazon you may have some challenges. The key in dropshipping is to distinguish yourself from an authoritative, content or other standpoint so that customers are willing to sacrifice cost or delivery efficiency for the security your "brand" represents.

5 answers • almost 10 years

Business Strategy Business Coaching Mentoring

Should we pay for an SaaS Business Coach or seek Mentors to minimize mistakes?

Dylan Whitman answered: I'd recommend finding a qualified operational advisor and offering some SMALL level of equity to keep all interests aligned, as well as bring further credibility to the business!

4 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising angel investing

How likely is an investor to support a marketplace which plans to raise $500K & acquire 200K registered users to generate 5 digits revenue in a year?

Tom Williams answered: I think Alessandro has read the question wrong. An angel investor rarely invests in a plan. They invest in the entrepreneur and any evidence that the entrepreneur is on the right path. This is ideally expressed in some form of early traction, or at least early external validation. Early validation in your case would show that you've already run customer acquisition experiments and proven a stabilized CAC. And that you've run some basic experiments to show that acquired users are willing to transact in some way. In other words, a plan is likely not enough to convince investors to invest.

3 answers • almost 10 years

angel investing Crowdfunding Fundraising

When seeking funding, should an entrepreneur commit to any milestones (more than one milestone) and what usually happens when milestones are not met?

clay young answered: Typically, establishing milestones and the credibility you can accomplish them is what enables an investment. People want to know what you are going to accomplish with their money. I find it's usefule to report your progress toward milestones and as well as any new information that would be useful in suggesting that new milestones may be more important than those on the current plan (pivots, new strategy pending, etc). I always assume you want your current investors to be future investors and that you should treat them the way you would wish to be treated in their shoes. On one hand its' seriously not OK to offer milesstones you have no intention of working to hit. On the otherhand, it's not OK to continue to work toward milestones you have learned will lead nowhere. Be forthcoming in what you want to achieve and put investors on notice that learning may change the milestones.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising angel investing

What are a few example milestones an entrepreneur is asked to achieve within their first year of being funded?

Rachel Sklar answered: This depends on your business, of course, but typically you will want to show that you are running as a viable business on the operations side (that you have clear processes and team members have defined roles and responsibilities). You will want to have established your market (i.e. have some customers) and demonstrate an ability to both retain and attract new customers (i.e. grow). If you do not yet have a product that is launched or ready to launch, you should probably show that you are working on an iteration or maybe even a pivot, if you're really not getting anywhere. How a startup deals with failure in the first year often says more than how it deals with success.

3 answers • almost 10 years

B2B Marketing Sales Funnel Optimization Online Marketing

Marketing tips for an explainer video business?

Andrew Angus answered: There are 100s of companies targeting the exact same market with a very similar product. Do you have a very different offering? Do you compete on anything other then price? I suggest picking a niche other then startups. Pick a market that is less well served and has larger budgets.

12 answers • almost 10 years

angel investing Growth Hacking

How to find all NYC angel investors?

Noam Kostucki answered: One of my clients received $500k funding ONE week after we did our pitch coaching session. What they learned from our session is to be 100% focused and not to follow the "scatter gun approach" that they had for the 9 previous months. If you're looking to fund a startup, or even an existing business, there is no chance you will interest all investors. Some investors are only going to be interested in seed funding, other will only be interested in medical, others in mobile technology, etc. The questions become: 1. Why do you want to find ALL NYC investors? 2. Who do you REALLY want to get investment from? 3. How much investment do you want? Another client was looking for 50 investors, and after our coaching in 3 weeks he raised 65% of the funds he needed from 2 investors! He said "After our coaching session, the big change was that I realized that I just needed to approach confidently the bigger investors first." And then you can start creating a more effective and efficient investors pipeline. Other questions that spark to mind become: 1. How do you create a dynamic in which angels and investors WANT to meet you... rather you wanting to meet them? 2. What is your strategy for meeting angels / investors, for having conversations with them and for building useful relations with them? 3. How do you present your pitch? 4. What kind of questions do you ask angels / investors? If you want to dive in further on how you can raise the money you're looking for... or if you're looking to create this list of angel for another reason, get in touch to arrange a call. Read more here: www.about.me/noamkos

3 answers • almost 10 years

KPI Dashboards Business Intelligence

Can you recommend a Business Dashboard or BI platform that integrates well with different services?

Bhoopathi Rapolu answered: You can try either Tableau or Qlick software. Both work amazingly well with diverse set of data sources.

2 answers • almost 10 years

Raising capital pitching

What are some publicly available tools that provide metrics on competition? Can these data be used on a pitch deck or mentioned when pitching?

Hernan Jaramillo answered: Alexa is probably the worst tool you could use specially if you are trying to gauge international traffic. Try something more advanced like similarweb.com to measure traffic volume and geo breakdown. Appannie.com will help you to analyze apps on itunes and google playstore.

7 answers • almost 10 years

Partnerships Legal Advice

If I have 51 percent and my partner has 49 percent of our company, what real decision making authority would I have?

Hernan Jaramillo answered: On paper you have the advantage but after several startups control resides in he who knows how to execute the vision of the company.

6 answers • almost 10 years

Funding Capital Raising Venture Capital

How can I find investors for a start-up in luxury fashion?

Hernan Jaramillo answered: Angel.co and gust.com are two places to start. I would also buy premium access to matermark.com provides a full list of Venture Capitalist by sector who has invested in what and what are their portfolios composed of

5 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising angel investing Advisory Boards

What are the best incentives a startup can offer to an advisor or to an angel investor that will guide the company with the fundraising process?

Trinadh Kotturu answered: Having been in the position as an advisor, this is what I think an advisor expects: a. Equity Ownership. This depends upon how much involved an advisor into the start-up. b. A flat fee and a percentage pie on every transaction the stat-up makes(Not the profit margin) c. At my early stage, all I want is a testimonial from start-up n how I helped this business. In my early stages of adviosrship, I want good customer testimonials. This is a win-win situation for both of us. I get to learn from him many things which I couldn't have done myself. d. It is strategic importance to my own idea and I would love this company to scale and raise the funding and in this case I would expect a contract from the company which I helped.

4 answers • almost 10 years

Marketplaces

How do I make a two sided marketplace work in the children's fashion and accessories niche?

Trinadh Kotturu answered: This is always a chicken and egg problem. You wont attract customers if you don't have sellers on your market place and sellers won't join unless they see numbers. This is how I would approach(I won't call it optimal as there is nothing like optimal here as strategies will change based on time, place and demand dimensions) 1. Start from a locality or a city with sellers who are known to be providing good service to their existing customers. Go and pitch to those customers on how they will benefit on their supply chain if they choose your market place. Now once they are on-board to your platform, go talk to their customers on how you are making their life simple by coming to their platform. 2. Slowly expand to other localities and make sure that you add varieties to your platform in the process. Choose the sellers who will provide a wide range of goods in the process. 3. Expand this at a city and then go for state, country and cross-country level. As you build up the model, make sure you respect the credit cycle of buyers and delivery cycle for customers.e are nuances you want to take care at each level.Setup a call and we will go over this in detail.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Small Business Strategic Financial Planning bootstrapping

Have you heard of the $1000 rule...Do you not need a business license until you make one thousand dollars?

Carl Willis answered: I have not heard of the $1,000 rule; however, the determination for the need of a business license will come more from the requirements of your local government. Check with your local economic development office to determine what licensing would or would not be needed for the particular type of business you have in mind. Another factor would be the type of legal structure you intend to operate under (e.g. Sole Proprietor, LLC, Corporation). The corporation and LLC would have to be registered, while the sole proprietor may not have to. Schedule a call to discuss your options in greater detail.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Tax Small Business Business Development

What taxes do business have to pay... what permits will I need to start a non food business?

Carl Willis answered: This all depends upon where your business is located. You may have to pay local, state and Federal taxes. You may also be looking at sales and use taxes as well, depending upon location, product and service.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Financial Modeling Business Development Small Business

How would you make this viable...but first..can a school own and operate a business?

Carl Willis answered: In theory they could own the business as long as the profit of that business were used to further the non-profit work of the school. The bigger question would be whether the school actually owns the business or whether you as a separate non-profit were operating within the facilities of the school.

5 answers • almost 10 years

Equity Trading Mobile applications Selling

How do I sell 5% equity on an iPhone app?

Rob Woodbridge answered: How did you come to the $10K number? Based on revenue? Each of your contributions? Tough to answer this without understanding if the app is on the upswing or on decline etc. So... Does he want 5% equity of the app or 5% residual royalties? My guess is that he wants to participate in the revenue. If that is the case, I would structure an X-year sliding deal that eventually worked him out of the app. It could be something like Year 1: 5% of PROFIT share. Year 2 3% of PROFIT share. Year 3 1% of PROFIT. Year 4? Nothing. It has to be based on PROFIT not REVENUE. Structuring a company and then issuing "shares" in an app is insane to me given the likely lifespan of an app. Too much hassle.

3 answers • almost 10 years

WordPress WordPress Development Wordpress Design

How would one aggregate news from certain sites and have it automatically populate a site? (with option to choose certain criteria before went live?)

Jason Kanigan answered: Some options off the top of my head: > Google Alerts and pick from there, to do it manually. > If you have specific source sites in mind, you could use iframes (though I would consider this "ugly". > Facebook widgets are used in Wordpress to pull FB content over. Using that as the beginning of a search term, I came up with this: https://wordpress.org/plugins/feed-pull/ > Look into "full content" rss feed plugins, which is likely what you want. From what I've read in my quick checking just now, the variables are a bit tricky to figure out if it's new to you.

3 answers • almost 10 years

SEO

What is the best service to hire to get SEO done for a website?

Ross Simmonds answered: I'm not sure of any service for hiring an SEO beyond the standard marketplaces like oDesk & Freelancer.com. I've worked with a handful of "SEO experts" over the last few years and can tell you that it's important to be careful. I've wasted thousands of dollars bringing in "experts" when things get busy and the results have been everywhere from horrid to exceptional. For me, the best approach is to take the time to scout out talent as if you're scouting for a professional sports team. Refuse to take the easy approach by putting an ad on oDesk and hoping that the right people respond. Instead, visit communities like Inbound.org, GrowthHackers.com, Moz.com or even Clarity to begin your hunt! The community on Moz.com is likely going to provide you with the easiest route to finding talent. You could upload a post in their community section asking for talent and likely have a decent response. On the flipside, you could also do the heavy lifting on your own by browsing comments and other threads to find people who responded with insightful & high quality information. I've hired SEO's and marketers everywhere from Europe to Canada - Happy to help out with resourcing or helping find the right talent if you ever want to chat.

6 answers • almost 10 years

Music Industry Music Licensing Recording

Does anyone have advice for a foreign band looking for gigs in the US or Europe?

Sarah Bedrick answered: While I don't specialize in band management or promotion, I have some second-hand advice as my boyfriend is a signed musician to a major label. From my understanding of your question, it sounds like they have some sort of following already - from here, I'd identify within the US or Europe where you strongest following is - then target that area first for a more local-focused tour. For example, an LA-focused tour, New England or Midwest tour. This will help keep costs low while creating more fans that can act as band promoters. If there is no following at the moment, you should consider shopping the band and their cover for press coverage to some major music blogs such as pitchfork, ear milk, indiecurrent, etc. Here is a great list of music blogs: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/03/26/20blogs. I also know that Perez Hilton often writes about covers that he knows will resonate with his readers. You could also identify music tastemakers for their style on Spotify and build a relationship with them to see if they're interested in including the band in some of their upcoming/new playlists. Many of these folks like being the "first to" knowledge and up-and-coming bands, so this can be a great and sort of easy go-to. Find some of the influencers who are a little lower down on the influence-scale (think a 6 or 7 instead of 10's like Pitchfork) and see if they're interested in interviewing the band via Skype, in person, or would provide coverage for "first access" to new releases. Great examples of these blogs are are "We Found New Music" or "Obscure Sound." Lastly, you could always try to have them signed to a booking agency that best represents their style. Some examples are Windish (https://twitter.com/windishagency) which is large and known for more indie bands. A some new ones like Boston Music Scene (https://twitter.com/bostonmusicscne). I hope this helps! Promoting music now-a-days is a totally different beast from what it was several years ago, but there are more channels/mediums now, which create more opportunities for them to get heard. Good luck!

2 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising angel investing Seed Capital

A question an entrepreneur gets asked from an investor is "How much are you raising?". Should the entrepreneur always know the exact amount?

James Haft answered: you should approach this question from the result you are seeking to achieve. Funds should be raised in quantum units which achieve the goal of raising the equity valuation of the company to set up the next funding target or to achieve break-even/profitability goals. This is not a one size fits all question...

3 answers • almost 10 years

Business Coaching Life Coaching Lifestyle Coaching

Where can one become a certified business and/or life coach?

Michael Eydman answered: I would recommend http://erickson.edu/

6 answers • almost 10 years

Career Development Career Advising Career Counseling

If you are exploring what career best suits you, what is your method to find the skills that others find valuable? A job that is enjoyable most days?

Thomas Griffin answered: As someone who has hired and fired quite a few people, the #1 skill that I find most attractive is self-motivation. Those are the people that you are not having to constantly look over their shoulder to make sure work is being done. It's not necessary that you always get it right, but that you work at it hard with creativity. That's incredibly valuable. As for an enjoyable job - if you don't like being indoors all day, don't get a desk job. I know it sounds obvious, but there are countless people that do this on a day in, day out basis. Don't necessarily look for a job that you want. Search for what you like to do that the job will provide. If you like to problem solve, maybe look at the software field where you can build software to creatively solve problems. If you like cultivating relationships with people, look to find a job where that need will be met, even if the job "title" or duties aren't glamorous. You've explained it well already - align your work with your values, and you can find joy in whatever you do.

6 answers • almost 10 years

Growth Hacking Growth Strategies Growth

What are some creative examples of leveraging other peoples networks (OPN) today?

Carl Willis answered: Offer to provide a course or training for the audience of a prospective JV partner. In my own business I have joined with real estate investors to teach internet marketing concepts to their students and then sold my products and services. I have also created a free course for a friend who is a motivational speaker to give to his audience. In exchange I did a live interview with him as an introduction to the audience. Schedule a call if you would like to delve into these ideas further.

4 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising Angel Investor

Which of the three platforms (AngelList, FundersClub, Gust) is the most effective alternative today when raising a seed round?

Tom Williams answered: It depends on the size of your round but the honest truth is that none of them are effective by themselves. They can be helpful in constructing the total round, but would almost never be able to raise 100% of the round, assuming you're talking about a true seed round of at least $750k. If you feel you're ready to raise a seed round, there are a handful of seed stage funds that like to lead deals. I have just answered another Clarity question where I list them: https://clarity.fm/a/6503 There are then a number of great funds who will follow in smaller check sizes (average $250k-$500k) behind those lead orders. These services you mention are best to "fill" a round, when you're looking for extra money, but can't be relied upon to "form" a round. Hope this helps!

3 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising

How to find a lead investor for a seed round?

Tom Williams answered: If you feel you're ready to raise a seed round, there are a handful of seed stage funds that like to lead deals. Here they are in no particular order: Harrison Metal Homebrew Floodgate Felicis Freestyle SoftTech Baseline MHS Fuel Capital First Round Boldstart True Ventures CRV You want to figure out how to get meetings with Partners at as many of these funds in the most concentrated period of time possible. The concentration of time matters significantly. The worst thing you can do in a seed raise is have time drag on, as it's a negative signal and decreases your leverage. In terms of how to get access to partners, the best way is through someone they know and trust, probably the easiest way is through companies they have already invested in. But here's the mistake I see time and again: Entrepreneurs often don't fully research each investors' portfolio looking for potential conflicts or similar companies that have failed. Look closely and only approach the investors where you know there's no conflict or "dead bodies." From a process perspective, if you don't get a follow-up from them within 2 weeks, you should consider them a pass, unless they set expectations of a longer time-frame and the next step should be a partner meeting or meeting at least one other partner in the next meeting, Hope this helps.

2 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising

What are a couple of books that explain the process of fundraising from an angel investor perspective?

Matthew Marcus answered: "Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups" by David S. Rose is a good place to start. It's written from the perspective of being an investor, but it's very helpful for those wishing to raise funds as well. http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Investing-Making-Having-Startups/dp/1118858255

3 answers • almost 10 years

Marketing Strategy Social Media Marketing Digital Marketing

What are some marketing strategies we can use to reach new customers?

David Berman answered: Start with creating your USP (aka Message). This message will be the statement that sums up the reasons for doing business with you from THEIR perspective based on what THEY want (versus why YOU think they should do business with you). It may feature a unique ability your company can provide - some feature or benefit or experience that they either can't get anywhere else or that you do better than anyone else - and I'd strongly suggest it NOT be based on your low pricing. To do this - get very clear about what pain (or problem) your business gets rid of (or solves) and what promise you make to your market. For example: When you say "excellent quality" and "affordable"... what exactly does that mean and why should your market care? -How will they KNOW it's "excellent" (according to them)? And do they want excellent? Maybe they want fast... -What does "quality" mean and how will they know? If you fix my cellphone and it works... How is that qualitatively different from anyone else fixing my phone? Isn't fixed the same as fixed? -What is "affordable"? And affordable for whom? Lastly - When you say "specialize" - and then say cellphone and tablet repair... Does that mean you specialize in ALL cellphones and tablets? Because when you say "cellphones and tablets" it sounds more like you generalize in a type of handheld electronic product. A specialist is an expert in a small area of products or services. Think deep and narrow. For example - You can specialize in repairing a certain brand - Such as "we specialize exclusively in the repair of Samsung cellphones and tablets"... Or you can specialize in the repair of devices running on the Android platform.... (you get the idea) Once you find your USP - use it in all of your inbound and outbound marketing platforms. I wish you the best of luck in your marketing efforts! -David

15 answers • almost 10 years

Online Marketing Online Marketing Strategy Blogging

I have a monthly continuity program (infoproduct/coaching based). How can I get 100 paying members at $37/month in the next year?

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered: Place your program on JVZoo or another affiliate marketing platform and pay an affiliate fee to the marketers for promoting your program. Give away a lot of free but valuable content to your online sphere of influence through twitter, linkedin, G+, FB, etc. If you would like to schedule a free call, I'd be happy to spend a few minutes to help you out. See my profile for a promo code. Regards, Kevin McCarthy kevinmccarthy.com

4 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising

Would you consider approaching angel investors from different geographical locations when raising seed capital for an ed tech startup based in NYC?

Tom Williams answered: Almost every angel investor is going to want to meet you in-person to make a decision, so it depends on the amount of capital and time you are willing to spend in meeting investors outside of NYC. I would personally go to any length to meet an investor who has expressed interest in meeting with me who I think would add value in the early stages. Really, that should be your definition of an angel. But if you're traveling, I'd look to qualify that interest as much as possible so as not to waste time and money. Hope that helps!

3 answers • almost 10 years

Financial Analysis

How do i figure out how to pay for college?

Shane DeMun answered: There are many options. You can apply for federal aid by filing a FAFSA application, you can apply for financial aid from the state in which y

5 answers • almost 10 years

Social Networking Business Networking Affiliate Marketing

Someone tried to recruit me for their sales team. What would you have done?

Mike Mason answered: This is what professional networking is about. Even if neither of your receive instant gratification on the objectives you're trying to push right now, the relationship could end up being profitable to both of you down the road. https://medium.com/@tipeveryday/the-disconnected-professional-2957568274d8

5 answers • almost 10 years

Marketing Strategy Market Research

How would you arrange to give a copy of a survey to the employees of local businesses like starbucks?

Ryan Draving answered: The easiest method is employee groups on Facebook (and sometimes LinkedIn). You'll be able to comment on company pages, for example here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/starbucks - but you'll have a bigger response on Facebook, for example here: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckspartners If you are required to do it on location, go to the business during their least crowded times and have a casual conversation with the employees. Make it feel friendly, and don't just start with questions - consider a compliment and small talk first. Ask your questions (So, I'm curious...) and record your answers afterwards. If you need lots of answers, or need them to fill out extensive surveys, ask the manager at these locations for permission - and tell them why it matters (for example: "I'm creating a startup that will do this really amazing thing, and I'm trying to figure out whether employees of Starbucks would use it"). Unless you are donating to the tip jar or charity, don't expect everyone to jump at the chance. If they express any irritation, simply thank them, apologize, leave, and go to the next location. In terms of survey platforms, SurveyMonkey, AYTM, or Google Consumer Surveys are ideal. The specific platform depends on what you are asking. If you'd like to deep dive and create a plan to make this work right, pick a few times that work well for you: www.clarity.fm/ryandraving

3 answers • almost 10 years

Email Management Email Marketing Email Strategy

How do I improve email deliverability from a neglected domain?

Ben Isaacson answered: It always starts with the list. You mention 'non opt-in' lists, which is certainly more troublesome than any domain name. Your best course of action is to get a new domain, re-confirm the lists you have (requiring the subscriber to click through in order to stay on), and only accept confirmed opt-in lists moving forward. It will decimate your mailing list in the short term, but long-term eliminate your deliverability concerns and improve ROI.

5 answers • almost 10 years

SEO Content Marketing local seo

What are some quick wins to get your business listed on google for your brand name?

Kyle Racki answered: You'll never get indexed by Google right away, it's going to take at least a few days or weeks, but there are a few things you can do to speed up the process as much as possible. 1. Create at least one simple landing page while your site is being developed and include a few paragraphs of text explaining what lead machine is. 2. Ensure your content can be crawled and indexed by Google. http://www.metatags.info/meta_name_robots - put the keyword in your title tag and meta description. 3. Create a Google Plus account for the business and Post a link to the website on the business account. Also submit a post on other social media accounts, like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 4. Not required, but running a small Adwords campaign for the keywords you're targeting will help. The fact that you have the domain name means you likely will be ranking for "leadmachine" fairly quickly, but the steps above will expedite the process. If you want more help, book a call. Cheers.

5 answers • almost 10 years

Fundraising Tax Seed Capital

What are the tax consequences for founders if the seed round investors take common stock instead of preferred?

Ben Savage answered: There shouldn't be any tax consequences for the founders if you've made 83b elections--the election meant you paid tax already on the full value of the stock at the time of the election (presumably zero) even though it was subject to future forfeiture. If you sell newly-issued stock there should be no tax impact. If you sell your own common stock, you'd pay tax on the gain, but I doubt that is what you mean here. Of course, you should not take the free advice dispensed on Clarity and consult your own tax preparer--this is not tax advice.

1 answer • almost 10 years

Team Management CEOs Networking

What is the difference between your team and a network and how should they be treated differently?

JoBen Barkey answered: In my companies I define a team as my in house leadership (I refer to them in all group communications as the LT or Leadership Team). My Personal Network is the collection of contacts and connections that I use to develop my business (Either through mentorship, advice or social/business connections) Our Company Network is our collective group of contacts and connections shared by the Leadership Team.

3 answers • over 7 years

Building Relationships Leadership Management

How do you recapture someone's focus?

Jason Kanigan answered: More details would help...is this an employee? A client? A prospect? Overall I'd say leave them alone to stew in their own juice, if they're tied up with a negative mentality. You cannot change people. When they're ready to change, they'll find you again. If it's really important, and you're willing to risk the relationship (however thin it may be), sit down with them in person if possible. If not, live by phone. Not by email. And confront them about it. Sounds like: "John, I really want to help you here. I hear you saying you want help. Do you really want help to get out of your situation?" (wait for answer) If positive: "Okay. Can I be kind of blunt with you?" (wait for answer) If positive: "All right. Promise you won't get mad?" (wait for answer) If positive: *sigh* "I've noticed something. You're free to agree or disagree of course...here it is. Every time I've tried to talk with you about this and get a solution in the works, you've blocked the conversation with super-high negativity. It's stopped me cold. I get the feeling you're really not interested in fixing this: that what you really want is someone to complain to. What do you think?" And pause. You're going to get a response here, one way or the other. Either the person is going to erupt defensively, or they'll sheepishly agree with you. In either case you now know for certain what you're dealing with. If positive: "I really do want to help you. Do you believe I can help, if we talk through this, come up with a plan of action, and you go carry it out? Do you believe you can change the situation?" Speak in a nurturing tone throughout. Never argue. What you're doing is uncovering the true motivation here. Either the person wants to change or they don't. You cannot make them change, or want to change. Just discover their real motive. If negative anywhere along the line, it's probably time to leave the conversation. You can do a takeaway, "All right, I guess this just isn't for you" and get up to leave, but it will probably remain that way. With prospects, it is best to "fight" up front rather than later on after money has changed hands. You want to know exactly who you're dealing with before you take them on. If this is a friend, you may want to go the "Leave it alone for now" route. Keep in mind at all times that you cannot change people; they can only change themselves. You can't want it badly enough for them that they'll make the change.

5 answers • almost 10 years

bootstrapping CEO Coach Sales

Is it illegal to cold call business and ask for a quick information interview with a manager?

Jason Kanigan answered: Of course calls for information interviews are not illegal. Information interviews are an important part of a successful person's job hunt or any target market research. You will find far more people will be open to this than you think now. Some just want to be helpful. Others want to show off how much they know. Either way, they'll be gratified you called. Here's a blog post I wrote about information interviews: http://www.salestactics.org/information-interviews/ If someone says No, they're just too busy or they don't have the kind of personality you'd want to be around anyway. But far more people will say Yes. This is all about them--not you. Remember that.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Advisory Boards Business Advisory Financial Advisory

We have an Advisor wishing to get involved - had 4 good meetings, he has an A1 track record in household name co,s just concerned about the deal...

lesa mitchell answered: First make sure you are vetting your advisor as much as he/she is vetting you. I would have a personal conversation with other teams that the advisor has worked with in the past. Get to a level of granularity on what worked and what did not. You don't disclose terms here which I appreciate but the percentages are important so I just want to make sure you aren't giving away too much. By "alot of weight in the industry" do you mean that this person will make introductions for you to key customers, suppliers? Or are they well known and you think adding them as an advisor makes you look credible. If you are adding an advisor make it count. You need to identify three to four areas where you are not confident in your teams skills/knowledge about your business model and make sure that advisors added are addressing those very specific needs. If this person is really good then you would want to spent a couple of hours with them every month. If you don't then you should ask yourself why you are taking on an advisor? If you need a more detailed discussion let me know.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Marketing Strategy Bootstrapping your business Small Business Coaching

Too much for a first date? What would you expect? Want to go to a hookah bar and take a picture of one of their pipes and bring them in a poster.

Ryan Draving answered: We've done something similar, but by delivering pizzas. You can get them talking about you before you come in if you have it delivered, wrapped in gift paper, with a mysterious, clever, anonymous note complementing their pipes. Then drop in and ask if they liked the poster. It will probably go something like, "What poster... oh, the wrapped one? We loved it! Was that from you? Hey Bob, here's the mystery poster guy." Tell them you love their pipes, and that the one on the poster was one of your favorites. Then figure out if they are able to produce pipes faster than they can sell them (if they want to generate more demand). If so, ask what they've been doing so far that's worked, and why. Then you are starting to get at the pain point that you may be able to address, and as you continue asking more of the right kinds of questions, they will eventually want to know more about you, how you can help them, what it costs, if similar clients work with you, etc. I'd need to learn more about you and your goals and customize a detailed flow chart we build for clients at Referable.com. It's a sales flow chart for these types of conversations, leading from establishing rapport to getting to closing a sale on the (typically) second meeting. If you'd like the extra help, schedule a call with me at www.clarity.fm/ryandraving

3 answers • almost 10 years

Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Networks

What affiliate software should I use - open source or paid SaaS platform? If either, which specific one?

Trinadh Kotturu answered: I would use pay-as-you-go model which lets me scale as and when required and pay accordingly. The traditional problem with Home grown software is you can't accurately predict the growth when you open the floodgates. So choosing a pay-as-you-go model works perfectly here. The other constraint I see with Open source software is most of the them expect a experienced user and clearly lack an established support system which you can get in a paid software. I would be more helpful if I understand the details in depth and happy to discuss that over a call.

4 answers • almost 10 years

Athletics Recruiting

How can I get interviews with professional soccer players in MLS? Or coaches, staff, etc. for a podcast?

Jason Kanigan answered: Ask them! If you don't have any similar interviews yet, get some done in a niche close to this one. Credibility is important, and if you show you've done some and they listen to just part of one interview, that can be what pushes them over the edge. Everyone likes to talk about themselves. So don't be afraid to make the connection. I work with a local pro soccer team and it was easy to connect with a senior management team member. From there, the players are all accessible. They're just regular guys, running around and wanting to have a good time. You could find the marketing director and ask who's the best talker of the bunch. Be sure to let them know they get to use the content as well. The teams are looking for reasons to be in the news. You're giving them one. Something they can share on their Facebook page, or in an email to their fans, that helps their followers feel closer to the team, is valuable. Don't get stuck thinking you're trying to "get" something from them. You're giving something, too.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Growth Strategies Growth Hacking Referrals

Growth hackers! We need your advice on setting up a top referral program

Joseph Peterson answered: Question ... If the lower end of the retail price range for your jewelry is $100, why would you be giving away $50 in cash? Presumably, the margin on a $100 piece of jewelry is such that its wholesale cost is roughly comparable to that $50 in cash. So if the choice is between giving away $50 in cash versus giving away $50 indirectly in the form of products worth more than $50, why would you pass over the opportunity to place your products with your customers? There are dozens of ways to spend $50 on marketing. But the best way -- surely -- is to put your branded jewelry around the necks or on the hands and wrists of people who will go out in public wearing / promoting you! I'm sure you could structure this in various ways to make it just as cost effective as giving away cash. At worst, the cash probably ought to be in-store credit. Yet you might also want to consider incentivizing a person to refer 2 people or 3 people or 5 people as a minimum in order to redeem free merchandise of various price points. Anyone who sees that they are 1 more referral away from a $500 piece of jewelry will be much more eager to bring in another friend than someone who has already been paid $50 apiece for each referral thus far.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Lead Generation Sales SaaS Sales

What are some resources for building a lead gen strategy for an investment club for accredited investors?

Joseph Peterson answered: I can't get you there, since lead gen isn't a service I myself offer; but I can point you in the right direction. Much of my work involves looking at online search traffic patterns and putting myself in the shoes of various kinds of corporate clients / customer demographics. Brainstorming should be productive.

4 answers • almost 10 years

CEO Coach bootstrapping Business Strategy

What would you do? What qualifications would you need to create this type of service?

Johnny McCartin answered: Typically people are going to want to see an example of your work. A success story. It sounds like you are still entertaining the idea though and most likely don't have a real-world example to showcase. If this is the case, I would suggest trying to start with a close friend or family member who happens to run a business or is in charge of training for a company. You simply need to get your foot in the door. Would it hurt to provide the service for free or at least severely discounted for the first client? You want to do whatever it takes to set the first example, so you can say "hey, look what I did for them." If you can prove that you are a producer, no one will ask for your qualifications, you've already shown them.

4 answers • almost 10 years

Clarity Telecommunications

What's the best/easiest way to combine video with a voice call over a phone line (in example, when using Clarity)?

Hernan Jaramillo answered: I probably use rabb.it api and integrate it clarity.fm

1 answer • almost 10 years

Non-profits Tax Charity

Are in-kind donations are tax deductible?

Jeremy Gregg, MBA, CAP, CFRE answered: Donations of in-kind services generally cannot be deducted. Donations of in-kind items (clothes, food, computers, etc.) are deductible. But the amount of the deduction is basically up to the donor; they declare the market value of the items. This is obviously very subjective, but there are some large national nonprofits that publish list of suggested values. For example, the Salvation Army has a list here: http://satruck.org/donation-value-guide One note -- vehicle donations are treated differently. I believe that the deduction used to be the Blue Book value of the car; I believe that is now only the case if the car is used by the charity in their operations or donated by them directly to a person in need. Most charities that receive donated vehicles will sell them in an auction; in these cases, the amount of the deduction is limited to the amount that the charity receives for the vehicle (i.e. if the Blue Book value is $5,000 but the charity only sells it for $2,000, I believe the deduction is limited to $2,000). NOTE: I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. If you seek such advice, you should consult with a lawyer who specializes in this area. My response is based on my 13+ years of professional fundraising.

3 answers • almost 10 years

Financials Finance Financial Reporting

How do most SaaS platforms track revenue? Realized revenue vs. sales.

Jason Cohen answered: In my experience, VC's always want to know GAAP revenue because it's a way to compare apples to apples. We both know it's not perfect in that regard, and that cash is king, and they know that too, but that's the primary, standard metric. The good ones want to see both, so they really understand the mechanics of the business.

5 answers • almost 10 years

Marketing Strategy Online Marketing

How do you attract and maximise people to your brand - a startup that promotes arts and all forms of creativity/artists and designers?

Jason Kanigan answered: This is interesting, but not interesting enough. Not yet. You need to work further on your branding. What KIND of promotion for artists & designers? How is what you do DIFFERENT from anything else? What do artists & designers GET from you that they don't get anywhere else? Your target market are social creatures. Are there withdrawn, shy artists? Of course. But most either want to meet other people, or are aware they must meet new people to promote their work. So some kind of party is what I recommend. Start thinking about how you can accomplish this virtually, online. A red carpet event, a premier event, a good old-fashioned mixer. It cannot be just about you; somehow, you have to build in a way for the participants to mingle and do what you say your brand allows them to do: promote their work. Facebook ads can help you attract the right people. The question is, what are you attracting them to; why should they be in the room? Where do artists and designers hang out? Online and offline? Where can you get in front of them that they already congregate at? Your brand needs a shot of panache and a big reason for artists & designers to be attracted to it. The ability to promote their stuff is great, but they have to see for themselves how it affects them personally. That's how to get their involvement. And you want them talking about it--before you have this event. Get them to build the buzz, because they will do a much bigger and better job about it than you can. In fact, go out and find celebrity spokespeople to shoot quick videos about why they're supporting your brand. What they're getting out of it. These don't have to be world-striding celebs: local will do. But begin. You can build on these. Show user adoption. Excitement from the target market. Narrow down on their reason for being in the room.

3 answers • almost 10 years