10 tips for starting entrepreneurs

10 TIPS FOR STARTING ENTREPRENEURS

Hi, my name is Bart.

I work at web agency Netlash. ... and a few other companies:

http://slideshare.net/netlash

STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS 10 tips from my personal experience

Listen carefully...

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

It might not apply to you. Or your business.

MY 10 TIPS

1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner 2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche 3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals 4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents 5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

Your accountant

Your accountant Choose him carefully. Make sure his ofﬁce is within a 15 minute drive. Do not go for the cheapest!

Your accountant And whatever you do...

Your accountant And whatever you do... Do NOT take a friend or a member of your family as your accountant.

Your accountant And whatever you do... Do NOT take a friend or a member of your family as your accountant. ... Just don’t.

By extension Find yourself a good bank manager, and join that bank.

By extension Find yourself a good bank manager, and join that bank. The personal relationship with the bank manager is far more important than the brand of the bank.

Watch your cash-ﬂow

Watch your cash-ﬂow No matter how proﬁtable you are, if you run out of cash, it’s...

Watch your cash-ﬂow No matter how proﬁtable you are, if you run out of cash, it’s... GAME OVER.

Billing Send out your bills asap. Follow them up for payment. Be ﬁrm but friendly! Ask advances.

Oh, and should I mention:

Oh, and should I mention: You HAVE to have a business model.

Mensch (Yiddisch: ‫ מענטש‬mentsh) means “a person of integrity and honor”. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch

Build your rolodex

Networking Don’t network to build business. The network of your network is far more important! “Pay it forward.”

Availability

Availability Answer your phone, answer your e-mail. Reply to RFP’s within the hour! Be reliable, make good on your promises. Communicate often and clearly.

Cooperation

Cooperation More value-creation through cooperation. Share your ideas. Be open.

Sparring partner

Get a partner It’s very hard to build a bigger business on your own. Find an opposite. It’s like cycling...

Just say NO!

Niche Create your own niche, and dominate it. “Blue Ocean” It’s ok to say NO - sometimes it can win you clients! Focus.

Don’t steer - look

Launch your ‘torpedo’ Know what you want to be: consultant, entrepreneur or manager. Deﬁne the numbers.

SMART Speciﬁc Measurable Achievable Relevant Time Framed

Precious diamonds

Diamonds Hire people that are smarter than you. Hire for diversity. Even the biggest diamond has to be cut - push them! Balance your 3P: People - Proﬁt - Planet.

A diamond is nothing more than a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure. Henry Kissinger US Statesman

You can not outsource passion.

Outsource passion?

You can not outsource passion. (Some people might not agree. Like pimps. And advertising agencies.)

Passion There can only be 1 real drive for entrepreneurship: passion.

11. Free extra tip

Your home base

Your home base An entrepreneur can only be succesful if his partner supports his plans. (I can only thank Gudrun, Wolf & Kobe that they do, and love them for it.)

Start your own business!

Start your own business! It’s a rollercoaster, but a fun one.

And remember...

Don’t give up.

There’s only one difference between an amateur and a professional. The professional is an amateur that did not give up.

Good luck!

QUESTIONS?

twitter.com/netlash bart@netlash.com www.netlash.com

http://www.firma-biznes.pl	2818
http://www.flandersdc.be	325
http://www.bogotabistro.com	63
http://firma-biznes.pl	46
http://bogotabistro.com	35
http://www.slideshare.net	30
http://ww.firma-biznes.pl	16
http://creatievegasten.nl	14
http://www.medioaktywni.pl	9
http://www.bitc.org.uk	4
http://www.emotools.com	4
http://blogzondernaam.typepad.com	4
http://wiki-test:8080	3
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	3
http://static.slidesharecdn.com	1
http://www.brijj.com	1
file://	1
http://www.olafmolenaar.com	1
http://edwinhardy.tumblr.com	1
http://ls-bi.blogspot.com	1
http://cc.bingj.com	1
http://www.flandersdc.be:80	1

10 tips for starting entrepreneurs

by Bart De Waele on Feb 16, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

22 Embeds 3,382

Statistics

10 tips for starting entrepreneurs — Presentation Transcript