Startup Tip 59: Develop self discipline – like you develop your muscles – one day at a time

To be successful at executing your startup idea, you are going to need a lot of self discipline. I don’t know about you, but this is an area I can always improve. Developing self discipline is a lot like training ourselves to be fit physically. We don’t expect to go to the gym after not […]

Startup Tip 58: How I stuffed up my Facebook page name – & how to make sure you don’t!

Almost every business is creating a Facebook page now– both startups and established businesses alike. One of the most important decisions you will make when setting up yours is what you choose for your Facebook page name – because if you get it wrong, it can be hard to change. It’s particularly important to make sure that you are […]

Startup tip 57: Celebrate your achievements

Do you celebrate your achievements? Not only the big ones, but the little steps you take consistently day by day? In a startup, our to-do list never ends and it’s important to lift our nose from the grindstone and acknowledge that we are making progress. A few weeks ago, I was feeling really frustrated. I […]

How to build your startup like a serial entrepreneur: John Fearon and DropMyEmail.com

how to build a startup - find the right team

Sometimes starting a new idea in the middle of your current startup can be a distraction which leads entrepreneurs down an unproductive path. But in John Fearon’s case, the path lead to a successful new business. The business idea came while he was working on his current focus at the time, a startup called www.EatAds.com. While developing […]

Startup tip 56: Don’t become a wantrepreneur – Take Action

Wantrepreneur: n: someone who thinks about being an entrepreneur or starting a business but never gets started. Urban Dictionary   There’s a lot of people in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur at the moment. It’s seen by some as being a twenty-first century rock star. However, these people can be more talk than […]

Startup Tip 55: How to get started on Twitter

Twitter is an amazing tool for finding and getting to know interesting people including partners, suppliers and potential customers. But if you haven’t used it before, how do you start? Best thing is to dive in and give it a go, but this tweet below prompted me today to jot down a few thoughts. I […]

Startup Tip 54: How a small change can make a big difference to your confidence (and success)

Is your body language sabotaging your success? It could be. This probably sounds really out there to choose to talk about body language in a startup tip! I don’t blame you if you are thinking “Huh? What is she on about?” 🙂 But I wanted to share this with you because I think it’s one […]

Startup Tip 53: How big does your business really need to be? Small may be big enough

How big does your business really need to be? We hear stories all the time about startups that have raised millions or been sold for millions.  The media is currently obssessed with it. Our society tends to emphaise that bigger is better and that success in business is building something that is sold for millions […]

How I single-handedly raised almost $40,000 in crowdfunding: Kylie Gusset & the Ton of Wool project

Last week, I met Kylie Gusset, a yarntrepreneur who raised almost $40,000 in crowdfunding on Australian crowdfunding website Pozible.com to process a ton of Australian wool in Australia. Her motivation for the project is that processing wool in Australia is fast becoming a dying art, and wool needs to stay in Australia for creation from […]

Come and have a look round the new site. I’d love your feedback

As some of you may have noticed, the site has been down over the weekend. The elves (that’s me) have been working very hard on installing a new template. The reason for the change is to: make the site mobile responsive. So now all of you who browse on your mobile devices should have a much […]

Startup Tip 52: Why you need to find a business partner

Like life, business is easier (and more fun) when you are doing it with someone else. [Tweet this] Successful businesses are a team effort, not a lone ranger mission. [Tweet this] If you haven’t done so already, go and find a business partner. Here’s why: Make yourself take action Having two of you will force […]

6 (overlooked) US locations to consider when starting a business

  This is a guest post by Miles Hall Are you thinking about starting a business in the US? We all know about the attractions of Delaware, California and New York. Yet in these harder economic times, entrepreneurs have had to get creative in filling specific niches in the market where they are currently based. […]

Startup Tip 51: Set a failure point and stick to it

This is a guest post by Carolyn Kane. Failure isn’t something you want to think about for your startup, but it’s going to be essential to your success. I have never seen a startup that didn’t have at least one failed strategy or idea. The people who are still in business benefitted from their failures […]

Startup Tip 50: 4 reasons to create a community BEFORE you launch your startup

A lot of people build something, an app for instance, and then start marketing it to people to see if they are interested in buying it. This is the hard way to go about things. It’s like pushing a boulder uphill. Instead, start creating a community in your industry before you launch your startup. In […]

Startup Tip 49: New ideas can kill your startup

Entrepreneurs are often great at creating new ideas. It’s one of the things we do best. And it can become addictive. New ideas give us creative energy and fill us with optimism. We feel like we are on a high – buzzing. On the other hand, executing on our ideas seems kind of boring. The […]

Startup Tip 48: Give yourself a competitive advantage – Get organised & make your ideas happen

You want your startup to reach lots of people right? You’ve probably heard the saying in startup circles that startups are 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Or that execution is more important than the idea. Well, they are correct; organisation is just as important as ideas when it comes to making an impact. Why being […]

Startup Tip 47: Implement simple routines that create powerful change

This guest post by Laurent Vigneron is the last in a series on how to develop persistence.  We have discussed already about the importance of your motivation and your environment in order to be at your best every single day. These are two of the three keys of Persistence, which will enable you to move […]

Why VC money may not be a good idea for funding your startup

Lots of people are playing the startup game these days. It goes like this: Come up with a really cool idea (preferably involving technology) Make a prototype and start a beta trial Try to find a VC or Angel investor to throw lots of money at you so you can continue to develop the product […]

Startup Tip 44: Don’t monetise too early

Don’t monetise too early? Isn’t business all about making money? Am I insane or what? Yes, yes and probably yes! 🙂 There’s one point of view that says when you start a business, you should always know how you are going to make money out of it. I agree with that and I also think there […]

Startup Tip 43: 4 tips to keep your motivation high

This is a guest post by Laurent Vigernon.  As an entrepreneur, your ability to keep moving forward, no matter what adverse circumstances come up, is critical for the success of your enterprise. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of relying solely on their willpower to go through those circumstances, and they pay a high price for […]