Tag: rural-marketing-Agent-Pune

Nurturing the Dream

Sometimes growth and development comes from afar in the form of one person’s vision. Take the youngster Ryan Allis who shares his entrepreneurial secrets in a new book called Zero to One Million: How I Build My Company to $1 Million in Sales . . . and How You Can, Too. He launched an email marketing firm called iContact. Recently, I sent Ryan some questions to answer for this blog. Here’s part one of our Q&A:

LGL: What are the must-have team members? In other words, what makes up the core group that an entrepreneur must assemble to have a chance at success?

RA: There are definitely a few must-have team members that all entrepreneurs should surround themselves with to build a successful company.

I recommend that, in the beginning, you find a good business partner who can compliment your skills and who has strengths where you may have weaknesses. Finding a good business partner who will become fully vested in your company can be a long process that takes a lot of research and time, but can often make the difference between your company’s success or failure. My business partner, Aaron Houghton, and I were able to create something greater than either of us could have created separately.

As far as the core group needed for a successful business, I believe you need a few key people to make up your Board of Directors: CEO, company Chairman, CTO, CFO, Marketing and Corporate Communications Directors, a Director of Customer Service and a Human Resources Director. Often when you are starting out, the same people will fill multiple management positions, as was iContact’s case when it began in 2003.

LGL: What about growing a business? When is the right time to hire employees and tap the services of outside consultants?

RA: Let me start off by saying that when you are initially creating your business and can afford to bring on your first employee, do so. If not, you will simply be creating a job for yourself rather than building a sustainable business.

Before you launch your company, you may want to bring additional people onto your Board of Directors. These people could be veterans in your industry or key investors. As your company grows, you will have to add certain professionals and outside consultants to your team. You will want to have a good accountant, attorney, financial advisor, insurance agent, and banker. These advisors can be instrumental in helping your company succeed. Eventually, you may be able to develop a secondary layer of management depending on the needs of your business.

Networking your Business Contacts Globally

Mary: “Ray, is that you? I thought that was you! I’m so happy to bump into you here at HQ! You owe me dinner, you old scoundrel, remember?”

Ray: (Thinking silently to himself) Who is this woman? Sherri? Kari? Dinner?? “Hi you, you crazy kid, you… How are you?”

Mary: “Never the same since the Marketing convention in San Francisco! How are the kids?”

Ray: (Still trying to figure this out, thinks to himself) Wow, she knows I have kids… I must have talked to her. There has to be a way out of this. “Dahhh, good! Kids are good… San Francisco, eh?”

Mary: “Of course, remember? You said if I were ever in town to look you up and you would help me sort out our division 3 sales contacts and organize them by cost center! You told me we’d do it over dinner! You’re buying too, mister. You can’t get out of this one.”

Ray: Holy crap, now I remember. I didn’t think she’d ever actually come here. Now what, I haven’t had access to those contacts in months. “Sure, uhhh…..”

Awkward…

What if you had one place to go where you could keep tabs on all of your contacts, where they were, what their schedules held, and where they were going to be? What if you knew precisely what events they planned on attending and who they planned on meeting when they got there?

What if you wanted to broadcast your own schedule to an array of your own contacts? Perhaps you’re taking a trip to four different cities and you’d like to plan on shaking some hands and doing some quality networking in each one. Wouldn’t it be easier if they could see your itinerary as it changes, rather than re-messaging them all whenever your schedule changed?

Enter the SkyLounge. At SkyLounge, you take a very brief moment to register and you enter a world where you can maintain contact with a vast array of people. Registration is deceptively simple, no home addresses or phone numbers are required, Just name, gender, nationality, and email. You must be 21 also.

Whether you want to broadcast your changing schedule to your friends and family, “Where’s Waldo” style, or you have network contacts around the country that you’d like to keep in touch with, SkyLounge can help you. Check it out!

Running a startup: should you consider renting a storage unit?

Home » Business Model » Running a startup: should you consider renting a storage unit?
July 26, 2018 Frank Bullock Business Model
Generally, people rent one or more storage units when they renovate their current space, move to a new home, need a secure place for their vehicles or expensive equipment, leave the residence shared with the partner, run out of space or store business archives. Indeed, storage units can prove to be very useful in numerous situations, but did you know that you can even use such a space to run your startup? We all know that all young businesses face the same challenges, which refer to the lack of space and the lack of money. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to find ingenious ways to get their small venture off the ground without breaking the bank. It is no secret that many large companies started in garages, which following a minor transformation project, can easily become a new office space. However, if you do not have the luxury of already owning a garage, you should definitely direct your attention towards another solution, in this case, a storage unit.

Benefits provided by renting a storage unit for your startup

All startups need to go through the most difficult phase, namely the beginning, in order to grow. The beginning means a vital stage for such ventures, which must focus on penny-pinching in order to enjoy increased profits. Managing a business from inside a storage unit might sound absurd, but the reality is that it comes with major benefits including enhanced productivity in comparison to working from home, expansion opportunities, a separation between work and home, convenience and obviously, lower costs. All you have to do in order to get your own office is to search “storage units near me” online and explore the various results displayed on the screen. In order to choose the right storage unit for your startup needs, make sure that you take into account several important factors like the size, the costs, the security and the services provided by the facility. You should meet and discuss with the manager of the facility regarding your intentions of using the rented space to run your startup; you might have to observe certain rules.

Using a storage unit for business purposes is very cheap

If you still associated renting a storage unit with a divorce or downsizing, then continue reading the article in order to understand the convenience and advantages of using such a space for professional purposes. The truth is that storage units have become more and more popular not only among individuals but also businesses due to the fact that nowadays, such facilities put a great accent on security and protection. Furthermore, they provide numerous services like unmatched flexibility, low overheads and extra facilities. Do you already see yourself sitting at your desk in front of the computer with a cup of coffee in your hand in a quiet and peaceful environment? What more could you ask from a storage unit that offers you a cheap and clean workspace? Since most storage units are located in the suburbs, you will not have to pay as much as on the high street.                                                                                                                                                  

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