Did you know how absolutely wonderful of a resource LinkedIn is for entrepreneurs? Well if you did, good for you and pat yourself on the back. If you didn’t, now you do, so get to gettin’! Mashable recently posted an article from the American Express OPEN Forum on how small businesses can reap the benefits of the social networking site. Here’s 5 ways Mashable believes that LinkedIn can help you and your small business grow (they’re pretty smart, so listen to them):
Stay Top-of-Mind
Find New Talent
Crowdsource Solutions and Get Feedback
Promote Special Event You Host or Attend
Lead Local and Industry Thought
Be sure to read the rest of the article for the nitty-gritty know how.
Why You Should Start a Company in… Portland, Oregon
I came across this article on Fast Company’s website and decided, given our location (yes this is a reference to my last post), I had to post it. According to Fast Company these days, location DOES matter. For Part Ten of Fast Company’s series about where to start a business (Why You Should Start a Company in… Portland, Oregon), Laura Rich interviews Jive’s Chairman of the Boards, David Hersh, in a very honest article about why one would want to start a company in the Pacific Northwest’s “Silicon Forest.” So for all you Portland based entrepreneurs, why did you choose the Rose City?
In a world that has been become flattened, where companies can have employees working around the globe, one must ask themselves, does it still matter where you start your company? According to Ben Parr, it still does. In his article “Web Entrepreneurship: Does the City You Live in Matter?”, from Mashable, he argues that entrepreneurial support communities, talent pool around location, in-person meetings, partnership, talent, and ultimately, happiness, are among the things one needs to consider when starting a company.
For me the biggest take away from the article was this quote: “Location matters for your startup, but it doesn’t define success. Hard work, smart execution, and the right team are far more important. Don’t compromise those things in your quest to find your perfect startup city.” On that note, what were some of the factors that played into you choosing a city to start your business?
This new trend of geolocation through social media is something that even a young whippersnapper like me is having trouble understanding. Names like Foursquare and Loopt are becoming more and more common buzz words in regards to the next platform of social media. Even Twitter and Google Buzz now have geotracking capabilities. So what does this mean for small businesses? As Bob Reed mentions, “…businesses are going to have to be search engine optimized, social media optimized, and geographically optimized.” Check out the full article from Mashable and the American Express OPEN Forum, HOW TO: Make Your Small Business Geolocation-Ready, to see how this fad can help your business.
I’m all about those cool, new, flashy tech innovations that businesses “need” (or at least I pretend to be and just admire them from afar). However, this article gives a refreshing perspective on businesses that thrive by using simple productivity enhancers. Some of these suggestions might seem overly simple, random, or blatantly obvious, but every little bit of advice counts.
You may think I’m wasting you’re time by posting some silly little tips about organization and efficiency, but think again. In the words of the author, Joe Ippolito, “The people who are succeeding are those who’ve found ways, methods, and routines to help them get things done.”
Check out the interview with some of the author’s favorite entrepreneurs from GOOD’s Diary of Social Venture Start-up. So all you entrepreneurs out there, get ‘er done (sorry, I couldn’t help myself)!
If you got fired from your job because of the current economy, what would you do? This was the situation with the “stars” of a documentary called “Lemonade”, available on Hulu. “Lemonade” follows around a handful of employees that got laid off from a well-know (and undisclosed) advertising agency two years ago. Some saw it coming and some were blindsided. Regardless, these people had to move on, refresh, and start over from an industry and job that had once defined them. What did all of their solutions have in common? They all became entrepreneurs, all influenced by the things that they loved most in life or were inspired to do given their blank slate. Just remember, if this happens to you, remind yourself: “It’s not a pink slip. It’s a blank page.” (this being the tagline of the documentary…I couldn’t help myself).
Being someone myself who will be unleashed into vast unknown (a.k.a., the scary job market) this June, I found this movie refreshing and inspiring. I hope you do too.
My aunt sent my a post from ReadWriteStart, a resource for entrepreneurs and start-ups from Microsoft BizSpark. “Why We Need Tech Events for Women” addresses the very essence of the title. The technology industry is a male dominated one, so why not create conferences and workshops to educate and encourage female participation? Some conferences tackle blogging, others address the general topic of technology and its opportunities for women, some are for kids and young adults, and some are for professionals. Check ‘em out; who knows, you could become the next Bill Gates…
Larry Kaplowitz (co-founder of of Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss) will share his personal story about how he and his co-founder (Luna Marcus) started, grew and sold their business in less than 6 years. Hear how they started the business with just $10,000, how they quickly became cash-flow positive, how they built their team, marketed their business, hit their first million, explored partnerships — and ultimately sold their business.
Larry has truly come full-circle. He’s now excited to become an angel investor and share his knowledge and skills with other local start-up companies. Larry is a member of the Willamette Angel Conference investor LLC. You won’t want to miss hearing his amazing story!
Following Larry’s talk we’ll begin the “Speed Pitch” competition (where Larry is one of the investor panelists – see other investors below…).
Calling Oregon-based Start-up Companies to Deliver a Speed Pitch! There’s no fee to submit, no fee to present and presenting companies do not pay a fee to attend — so you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain!
Includes food and beverages | Note: Seats are limited!
Speed Pitches: 3 minutes each to pitch, 3 minutes of real investor feedback
The audience will vote for the winner – and the one winner will receive a free hour of coaching from the Executive Team for the Willamette Angel Conference (includes investors, entrepreneurs, and lawyers). Note: Any start-up in Oregon is eligible to submit to pitch at Smart-ups — including those who submitted to pitch at the WAC and those who have not submitted to pitch at the WAC. All investors from the WAC will be invited to attend this event, and the investor panel are members of the WAC Investor LLC – so this allows for a great educational and networking opportunity.
Create a single slide (slide should include your company logo, tag line, and no more than 7 bullets describing what’s unique about your business)
Submit your single slide to Smart-ups by clicking here – you will be contacted if selected to deliver a speed pitch at the pub-talk. Note: Up to 10 companies be be selected to deliver Speed Pitches
Deadline to submit is 5pm, April 9th.
If selected to deliver a Speed Pitch you will be given 3 minutes to pitch your business (you will be timed).
Tips for what to say in your 3 minutes include: your name/title, the problem in the market you’re product is addressing, 2-3 sentences that describes your business, your target market, how you will generate revenue, your competitive advantage/value proposition, and key team members/advisers
The investor panel will take 3 minutes to ask you questions/share suggestions.
The audience will vote for the company they feel delivered the best pitch. The winner will receive one free hour of coaching from the WAC Executive Team
Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!
Thanks to our great sponsors for supporting entrepreneurship in our community!
This is a slide deck Caroline Cummings delivers to first-time entrepreneurs. It includes the “top 10 resaons start-ups fail,” and some wisdom and humor to share with fellow entrepreneurs.
$20 ($25 at the door) – includes food and one complimentary beverage
$15 for Eugene Chamber/Corvallis Chamber/OEN members (or $20 at the door)
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As entrepreneurs we experience different levels of fear – fear of taking the leap, fear of taking a second mortgage on our homes, fear of finding the right customers, fear of finding investors, fear of partnering with investors – and on and on…
Our keynote speaker for the Summer Pub-Talk event is Len Blackstone. Len is going to deliver a powerful presentation about how “Fear can be your Friend, not your Foe.” You won’t want to miss this inspirational talk.
Len will talk about how fear can protect, teach and motivate us. He’ll share how avoiding harmful fear and embracing helpful fear can improve your performance and increase your effectiveness.
At work, fear stifles innovation, prevents organizations from fully understanding customers, hinders the effectiveness of teams, and ultimately leads to a cancerous culture. In our personal lives, fear blocks our growth and isolates us from healthy relationships.
Len delivers an entertaining, inspirational and thought-provoking presentation – Skydiving with Chickens. It’s filled with captivating stories (yes, including chickens and skydiving).
Don’t forget – we’re saving the last 10 minutes of the Pub-Talk to allow one local entrepreneur to brave the stage for “10 Minutes of Start-up Fame!” Don’t forget to bring your business cards to enter the drawing….
Thanks to our great sponsors for supporting entrepreneurship in our community!
