Welcome to the first of Ready Set Startup’s Starting a business: Tools and Techniques videos on “What is Entrepreneurship.” Get stuck into the video right here. There is a text summary below for those of you that prefer reading, however it is missing the diagrams that I show on the video. What is Entrepreneurship? […]
What is Entrepreneurship? – 3 essential things you need to master to make your startup a success
Start up fast: How to grow your business out of the baby stage
Last week I said to my husband, that I feel like I have this little baby that keeps crying and crying and won’t shut up! The baby is Ready Set Startup. And the crying is telling me it needs nurturing to keep it alive. The way to keep a startup alive is momentum. Momentum is […]
The one thing that could make the difference between a successful biz and a failure
Okay! So it’s a bit of a dramatic title. But I want to get your attention because my topic today may sound boring but is really, really important to get to grips with if you want to build a successful business. Creating a startup is all about working in uncertainty. There are no guarantees and […]
Why having a bad business idea is a good thing
Aspiring entrepreneurs have two big questions: How do I come up with a good business idea? How do I know if my idea will make a successful business? In addition to this, most new entrepreneurs expect their first business idea to be a great one. I did too! However, now I know that in my […]
Does every startup need an investor?
Does every startup need outside funding? Absolutely not. We can tend to get the idea from news reports and places like TechCrunch and Y Combinator that every startup has outside investor funding. But that is a misconception. There are many successful businesses that don’t have investors. In fact, if you can bootstrap and build your company without […]
47 things you can do to achieve a better work/life balance this year

Because work life balance is such an issue for entrepreneurs, I thought I would compile a list of tips I’ve come across on the net on work life balance in the areas of family, relationship with your life partner, time for yourself and exercise. I hope you will find one or two that work for you, steal them for your New Year’s Resolutions, and turn them into simple routines that will make a difference to your 2011!
Why doing what you love is not enough

Have you heard statements such as “Do what you love and the money will follow” or “Be passionate and you will be successful” ? I think they are misleading. Not because they are not true, but because they are only a third of the truth. Here are the things I think you should keep in mind when choosing a business to start (or a career):
How to set simple goals to grow your business

Everyone knows that to start and run a business successfully you need to have clear goals. But in case your goal setting is not quite working for you, here’s something I’m trying at the moment.
100 ways to market your website and increase your traffic

I’ve just finished dissecting a post called 100 ways to increase your website traffic and picking out ideas that I think will work here. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed on how to marketing your website, implementing some of these practical ideas will give you a starting point and help you gain momentum.
6 Free (or low cost) ways to prove your business idea is a winner

I am a great advocate of testing your idea in the market if possible prior to launch. The benefits of doing this are that you get a lot of information that will help you build a strong business. Here are some ideas to help you do just that.