Tag Archives: how to start a business

Claire Young Founder of TeenBiz, an Entrepreneur Development Program for those Under 18

Claire Young, an apprentice finalist and youth enterprise trail blazer, is launching TeenBiz in November.

TeenBiz is the UK’s first business start up scheme aimed at teens 13-18. It will launch 1st November, to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Month.

From the 1st January every month one student will receive up to £500 funding (they must match what we give them), a mentor and a start up pack. TeenBiz calls it’Business in a Box’ because it equips students with the items they need...

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Every Startup Needs An Advantage: What’s Special About You?

To be successful, your startup needs to offer a benefit to people that they need or want. In every case the benefit you want to deliver to people has been met by some other product or service before you came along.

Before the cell phone there was the land line, before the land line there was the telegraph, before the telegraph there were letters. If you develop a new brand of laundry detergent you are competing with every existing brand on...

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A Pound Saved is a Pound Earned According to Doug Richard

If you’ve ever attended a School for Startups event live, you’ve heard Doug Richard wax philosophic about the incredible importance of keeping startup costs down.

Entrepreneurs in the early, terrifying days, of starting a business often take out their credit card or open up their savings account to spend money on things that “might help” get their business off the ground.

Sometimes they spend money on office space, computers, software and advertising. Sometimes they hire programmers, graphic artists and sales professionals. Almost...

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An Entrepreneur’s Guide to The Fastest Way to Build a Good Business

Want to have a successful business? Want it to be relatively quick and easy to build? Here’s what you do.

First, look around and identify the largest group of people you can reach easily. If you are a member of the chandler’s union and you know how to reach several thousand candle makers free, they’d be a good group to start with.

Second, study those people and figure out what one thing they want most. For example, your candle makers may need...

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Sales & Marketing: A Primer for Artists

Every great artist who has ever lived has redefined the media in which they work. Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Picasso said, “Anything new, anything worth doing, can’t be recognized.”

For artists who need to find a way to eat as well as do their best work, and for those who want to support artists by helping them sell what they create, this...

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Doug Richard to Instruct & Mentor UK Writers, Artists, Filmmakers & Other Creative Professionals for 1 Year

Doug Richard, serial entrepreneur and angel investor, has announced an aggressive one-year training & mentoring program for creative professionals called School for Creative Startups. The aim of the program is to teach the critical skills that new creative businesses must have to survive and prosper, and to provide them with monthly mentoring to support them as their businesses take root and grow. Complete details about the program can be found at http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/school-for-creative-startups/mentor-programme/

This class is open to writers, fine artists, actors,...

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Naked Business: A Startup & A Small Business are Two Different Things

When you work for School for Startups, you learn something new every day. It’s one of the best parts of the gig. Sometimes we’re running events here in the UK, sometimes we’re off to other countries to help aid economic development, sometimes we’re working with sponsors, and sometimes we’re developing curricula. That kind of task diversity results in new insights all the time.

Well, this week…

Doug Richard has said a thing to me about thirty times in the last few months and...

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An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Proof of Concept

For most startups, and university spinoffs, developing a “proof of concept” is a critical step on the path to pre-launch funding.  In most cases, new entrepreneurs focus on creating a proof of concept that demonstrates that they have created a solution which meets one or more technical requirements.  They are often surprised that these prototypes rarely inspire people to give them the support they need.

While high-tech startups are usually based on some kind of technological innovation, what strategic partners and...

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Absolutely Amazing Scholarship Program for Bright Business Stars

The Marketing Academy Scholarship Program: Over 80 industry leaders and 28 executive coaches have agreed to give their time for free, including CEO's, CMO's and MDs of both agency and client companies, trade organisation and academia. The 2011 mentor line up includes Mikah Martin-Cruz CMO of Microsoft, Charmaine Eggberry SVP Marketing at Nokia, Amanda McKenzie CMO of Aviva, Moray MacLennan Worldwide CEO at M&C Saatchi, Cilla Snowball Chairman & CEO of AMV and Yasmin Diamond Director of Communications at the Home Office.

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Questions to Ask Your Web Development Team Members

After you understand the process of building a commercial website to market and sell your products and services, you may elect to hire someone to build it for you. Choosing the right developer isn’t difficult if you know the questions to ask and how to structure the project to ensure that you get the results you want quickly and for the budget you are prepared to pay.

IMPORTANT: There are several reasons we mention Elance so frequently as a source for...

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