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10 Things You Must Do Before Quitting Your Job to Start Your Company

You have a dream but you need a checklist to achieve it. So you've decided you're ready to take the plunge, quit your job, and get your own company up and running. You have an amazing  ">businessidea  you are ready to launch. You're probably excited and nervous at the same time, which is perfectly understandable. If this is the case, you need to take a step back and remember that you simply can't walk into work tomorrow with your resignation letter. Being impulsive could be a huge mistake so you need to create a list of the advantages and disadvantages you will face when quitting your job. If you decide it's still what you want to do, there are a few things you must put in place before you quit.  To help you get ready before your big day of freedom, I've highlighted 10 things you should do before quitting your job and starting your own company. 1. Do research. Quitting your current job before getting your company off the ground may se

4 Lessons Learned in Getting Bank Financing

Lending isn’t quite as tight as it was after the recent economic downturn, but it’s still a delicate process. Many small- and medium-sized businesses find it difficult to obtain bank financing because they don't know how to navigate the process. But, if you’re persistent enough, however, raising the necessary capital is still possible. At Blank Label, we were offered over $500,000 in debt financing. To help you secure the financing you need, we’re going to share the four important lessons we learned about getting bank financing. 1. You might not need financing. The most important step in the process is figuring out if you even need financing. Moreover, make sure debt financing is right for you. If you don't have the cash-flow to support interest payments, but anticipate high future growth, equity financing might make more sense for you. At Blank Label, before we raised our debt, we first   raised a $1 million equity   round. Some reasonable things to take out a bank

Great Businesses Scale Their Learning, Not Just Their Operations

Ronald Coase nailed it back in 1937 when he identified scalable efficiency as the key driver of the growth of large institutions. It’s far easier and cheaper to coordinate the activities of a large number of people if they’re within one institution rather than spread out across many independent organizations. But here’s the challenge. Scalable efficiency works best in stable environments that are not evolving rapidly. It also assumes that the constituencies served by these institutions will settle for standardized products and services that meet the lowest common denominator of need. Today we live in a world that is increasingly shaped by exponentially improving digital technologies that are accelerating change, increasing uncertainty, and driving performance pressure on a global scale. Consumers are less and less willing to settle for the standardized offerings that drove the success of large institutions in the past.   Ourresearch   into the long-term decline of return on a

Three Reasons Why You Should Be Patient In Business

  It may be a bit of a generalization, but I don’t think that I’m out of line when I say that entrepreneurs, on balance, are an impatient bunch. In order to build a successful business, you have to hustle and be somewhat of a hard-charger. Impatience, unsurprisingly, is a common byproduct of the entrepreneurial mindset. I know that I certainly used to fall into this category. It was only after several years of running  BodeTree  that I came to realize that in business, patience truly is a virtue. Avoid “ready, fire, aim” syndrome I have a tendency to rapidly evaluate situations as I encounter them, which is both a blessing and a curse. In the best cases, this rapid assessment enables me to quickly grasp a situation and plot a path forward. In the worst cases, however, this rapid-fire though process creates a chasm between me and the people I’m working with. When this happens, I find myself jumping forward to a conclusion while others are still processing the informa

3 Social Media Marketing Tactics to Help Improve Your Conversion Rates

Social media is in virtually everyone's hands at this point. And that pun was intended. Social media is in virtually everyone's hands at this point: With a phone or tablet, you're connected. In fact,   there are 2.3 billion active users   on social media presently and those numbers are on the rise. This is great news for any business owner who is social media savvy. It means that as the number of people logging into social media increases, so does your potential client base. But, there's a problem: How can you convert these social media users to become your clients? The answer is simple: With an effective social media marketing strategy, you can increase your conversions and boost your sales or signups. But, first you must acquaint yourself with the tips, tricks and tactics to make high conversion rates a reality. Here's how you can get started. Boost engagement. It's called "social media": You're expected to   socialize . Tha

10 best-performing mutual funds to invest in India this year

Mutual funds are arguably the best investment options available for investors in terms of ease of investments and different risk/return paradigms available. Depending upon your risk profile and longevity of holding period, you can chose between various debt, equity and balanced funds. Mutual funds are arguably the best investment options available for investors in terms of ease of investments and different risk/return paradigms available. Depending upon your risk profile and longevity of holding period, you can chose between various debt, equity and balanced funds. However, “choose the fund that best suits your time-frame and risk appetite. Remember that equity funds require a holding period of at least 5 years, balanced funds need 3-4 years, and debt funds 2-3 years,” says Bhavana Acharya, Analyst–Mutual Fund Research, FundsIndia.com. For those looking for funds to invest in this year, FundsIndia.com has prepared a list of 10 best funds available in the market today. The li