Apr
8th
How to Get Good Talent Before You Have Funding
By Georgina Barrera
The Question: I need to find core team members. How do I find
experts and get them involved with my pre-funding stage startup
while they are still working their day jobs? Once I find them, what
can I offer them?
– Martin, AZ
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council, an advocacy group founded by serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber that works to take action against youth unemployment by teaching young people how to build successful companies. The council’s members include Generation Y entrepreneurs and experts in a variety of fields.
1. Start an advisory board “The best way to get experts involved in your business is to build out an advisory board that’s compensated with shares or options in your business. Many industry leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs will join advisory boards and make introductions, offer advice, and promote your business if they have an ownership stake and are interested and passionate about what you are creating.”
– Matt Mickiewicz (@sitepointmatt), 99designs 2.
2. Be social “Go to MeetUp.com groups, network on Twitter (search hash tags that apply to your work), search for Facebook Fan Pages & Groups where the experts you want hang out. You just have to be genuine — if your project is solid, well-developed, and you’re passionate, you’ll attract the team naturally. Offer them a creative outlet and leadership experience; be upfront about hours needed. Just be authentic!”
– Tammy Tibbetts (@tammytibbetts), She’s the First
3. Put the computer down and look outside “My current partner and I connected at a conference. But it wasn’t at that conference that we formed our business relationship. It was over time. Over lunches, some afternoon beers, some business ideas, and even just talking about life. It was at this point that I knew I could work with him on any project and be happy with where we are at. Partners on a ‘need right now’ basis have never worked for me.”
– Greg Rollett (@gregrollett), Radically Ambitious
4. Build your street cred “You need to figure out a way to make working with you seem less risky. You say that you’re looking for experts, but YOU need to be an expert, too. Focus on building your credibility as a thought leader. Blogging about your industry is a good place to start. Also, get involved in communities where people in your industry are interacting with each other. Start talking and see who talks back.”
– Ryan Paugh (@ryanpaugh), Brazen Careerist
5. Compensate them when you get funding “It’s time you start joining meaningful networks in your new industry. Find sub-groups on LinkedIn, join associations, and ask friends for referrals. If you don’t have cash to offer for compensation, you’ll have to offer equity. Another option is to offer these experts deferred payments, which you’ll pay immediately upon funding.”
– Tina Wells (@fashiontw), Buzz Marketing Group
6. Show them you have a concrete plan “You are going to have to work out an equity or compensation plan. The more concrete the numbers and percentages, the better. This will allow people to see the big picture. Have a clear vision of the future and a specific game plan to make it a reality.”
– Nick Friedman (@NickFriedman1), College Hunks Hauling Junk
7. Pay on performance “If you believe in your idea and can’t pay them as employees, then treat them like partners and pay them performance-based equity compensation. Once they achieve certain milestones with certain time periods they will receive x shares in your company.”
– Lucas Sommer (@audimated), Audimated
8. Passionate people get better access “If you really believe in what you’re doing 100% and have a plan of attack, it’s hard to ignore passion. Start by reaching out to experts and commenting on their blogs. Then go to industry conferences and introduce yourself to them afterward. Experts are busy so you have to do more than just send an email. Be persistent but not annoying.
– Adam Gilbert (http://www.twitter.com/mybodytutor), My Body Tutor
Article from BNET
– Martin, AZ
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council, an advocacy group founded by serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber that works to take action against youth unemployment by teaching young people how to build successful companies. The council’s members include Generation Y entrepreneurs and experts in a variety of fields.
1. Start an advisory board “The best way to get experts involved in your business is to build out an advisory board that’s compensated with shares or options in your business. Many industry leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs will join advisory boards and make introductions, offer advice, and promote your business if they have an ownership stake and are interested and passionate about what you are creating.”
– Matt Mickiewicz (@sitepointmatt), 99designs 2.
2. Be social “Go to MeetUp.com groups, network on Twitter (search hash tags that apply to your work), search for Facebook Fan Pages & Groups where the experts you want hang out. You just have to be genuine — if your project is solid, well-developed, and you’re passionate, you’ll attract the team naturally. Offer them a creative outlet and leadership experience; be upfront about hours needed. Just be authentic!”
– Tammy Tibbetts (@tammytibbetts), She’s the First
3. Put the computer down and look outside “My current partner and I connected at a conference. But it wasn’t at that conference that we formed our business relationship. It was over time. Over lunches, some afternoon beers, some business ideas, and even just talking about life. It was at this point that I knew I could work with him on any project and be happy with where we are at. Partners on a ‘need right now’ basis have never worked for me.”
– Greg Rollett (@gregrollett), Radically Ambitious
4. Build your street cred “You need to figure out a way to make working with you seem less risky. You say that you’re looking for experts, but YOU need to be an expert, too. Focus on building your credibility as a thought leader. Blogging about your industry is a good place to start. Also, get involved in communities where people in your industry are interacting with each other. Start talking and see who talks back.”
– Ryan Paugh (@ryanpaugh), Brazen Careerist
5. Compensate them when you get funding “It’s time you start joining meaningful networks in your new industry. Find sub-groups on LinkedIn, join associations, and ask friends for referrals. If you don’t have cash to offer for compensation, you’ll have to offer equity. Another option is to offer these experts deferred payments, which you’ll pay immediately upon funding.”
– Tina Wells (@fashiontw), Buzz Marketing Group
6. Show them you have a concrete plan “You are going to have to work out an equity or compensation plan. The more concrete the numbers and percentages, the better. This will allow people to see the big picture. Have a clear vision of the future and a specific game plan to make it a reality.”
– Nick Friedman (@NickFriedman1), College Hunks Hauling Junk
7. Pay on performance “If you believe in your idea and can’t pay them as employees, then treat them like partners and pay them performance-based equity compensation. Once they achieve certain milestones with certain time periods they will receive x shares in your company.”
– Lucas Sommer (@audimated), Audimated
8. Passionate people get better access “If you really believe in what you’re doing 100% and have a plan of attack, it’s hard to ignore passion. Start by reaching out to experts and commenting on their blogs. Then go to industry conferences and introduce yourself to them afterward. Experts are busy so you have to do more than just send an email. Be persistent but not annoying.
– Adam Gilbert (http://www.twitter.com/mybodytutor), My Body Tutor
Article from BNET
Apr
5th
Do's and Don'ts of Securing a Domain Name
By Georgina Barrera
From Entrepreneur
online
Consider these six tips from small-business owners and experts before deciding on a website name.
By Jane Porter | March 31, 2011
Navigating the world of domain names can be a daunting task if you're not up to speed on how to get one. With countless caveats and hosting companies out there, it's easy to be overwhelmed or worse, make a mistake that could ultimately cripple your business. Consider these do's and don'ts from small-business owners and experts to help secure your company's domain name.
Do: Include a location or keywords in your domain name, if you can. If your business focuses on a geographic region, try to put the location into the name of your domain, says Jean Bedord, a Silicon Valley-based search consultant and author of the book I've Got a Domain Name--Now What??? When Mikalai Krivenko needed a domain for his painting business in Hoboken, N.J., in 2009, his son Yuriy, a Jersey City, N.J.-based search-optimization specialist, suggested he put "Hoboken" in the name. For $11, Krivenko bought hobokenpainter.com, which shows up at the top of keyword searches that include "Hoboken" and "painter."
Whether it's location, or what your company does, Krivenko advises: "Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name."
Do: Register yourself as the owner of the domain name. Some business owners make the mistake of not checking to ensure whoever registers their domain name does so under the business owner's name. It's very important to be sure you are the domain owner and administrative contact, says Bedord. "It's just like a piece of property. If you don't own the property, you can't sell an existing business," she says. It's an obvious, yet common, mistake made by business owners.
Three years after Graham Hunt, 44, started his real estate firm Valencia Property in Spain in 2000, the two-person web design team he hired to build his site split and he had to choose between them. Hunt soon discovered the partner he didn't choose had registered himself as the owner and administrative contact for the domain name, so Hunt didn't own his own website. It took three years and he ended up paying the disgruntled partner nearly $6,000 in sales commission fees to get back ownership of the domain, which originally cost just $15.
Do: Remember to renew your domain name registration. When Nick Hoffmann, 32, missed the renewal of his networking company's domain name inetguru.com in 2000, it was a crippling business blow. The name got bought by someone else and without email access through the site, Hoffmann lost contact with clients. Eventually, he folded the company. Now working as chief operating officer for an aftermarket marketplace for domains, Hoffmann suggests buying a registration for five or 10 years upfront, or setting up an annual auto-renew payment. Just make sure the credit card on file doesn't expire, another common mistake that might lead to losing a domain name. "The whole aftermarket industry is based on names that drop off," he says. "It happens every day."
Don't: Use dashes, abbreviations or numbers in your domain name. Instead, come up with a catchy name that's easy to remember and captures your business. Fan Bi, co-founder of Blank Label, a Boston-based online custom dress shirt company learned that lesson when settling on a domain in 2008. At the time, blanklabel.com was out of his price range at $15,000. Bi chose blank-label.com for a much cheaper $250. But as the business grew, he realized the hyphenated name was far from the best choice. "You get much more word-of-mouth if it's a name you can easily say without having to spell out," Bi says. Last year, after months of negotiation with the domain owner, he was able to purchase blanklabel.com for $6,000. Just three months after the change, website traffic shot up 25%. Don't: Waste money on extensions other than .com. When you register your domain name, you'll be bombarded with offers to purchase other versions like .net and .co. For most small businesses, that's not needed. Investing in other extensions becomes important when patenting something or protecting a trademark, says Bedord. If you think a competitor might want the .net version of your domain name, for example, consider taking it first. "The reality is you have to pay for every one of those," Bedord says. "The value is really in the .com."
Don't: Buy a domain without checking into its past. Even available domains can be exposed to legal trouble if the name is too similar to another company's trademark. Nearly a year after launching New York-based LEEDTeacher in 2009, Zachary Rose learned the domain LEEDTeacher.com infringed on the registered trademark of a massive nonprofit. Rose, now 29, received a cease-and-desist letter demanding he change the name of his green jobs training firm, and shut down the website. He ultimately paid $2,000 in lawyer fees, renamed the company Green Education Services and switched the domain to GreenEDU.com. * Related: Protecting Your Business with a Trademark Aside from consulting a lawyer, check www.whois.net, which lists registered domain names, for other possible legal landmines, suggests Rose. The site also includes expired domains up for grabs, and you can learn what problems a name comes with. For example, if a previous domain owner violated a Google term and was banned from Google searches, you'll want to know before investing in the name, Rose says.
Consider these six tips from small-business owners and experts before deciding on a website name.
By Jane Porter | March 31, 2011
Navigating the world of domain names can be a daunting task if you're not up to speed on how to get one. With countless caveats and hosting companies out there, it's easy to be overwhelmed or worse, make a mistake that could ultimately cripple your business. Consider these do's and don'ts from small-business owners and experts to help secure your company's domain name.
Do: Include a location or keywords in your domain name, if you can. If your business focuses on a geographic region, try to put the location into the name of your domain, says Jean Bedord, a Silicon Valley-based search consultant and author of the book I've Got a Domain Name--Now What??? When Mikalai Krivenko needed a domain for his painting business in Hoboken, N.J., in 2009, his son Yuriy, a Jersey City, N.J.-based search-optimization specialist, suggested he put "Hoboken" in the name. For $11, Krivenko bought hobokenpainter.com, which shows up at the top of keyword searches that include "Hoboken" and "painter."
Whether it's location, or what your company does, Krivenko advises: "Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name."
Do: Register yourself as the owner of the domain name. Some business owners make the mistake of not checking to ensure whoever registers their domain name does so under the business owner's name. It's very important to be sure you are the domain owner and administrative contact, says Bedord. "It's just like a piece of property. If you don't own the property, you can't sell an existing business," she says. It's an obvious, yet common, mistake made by business owners.
Three years after Graham Hunt, 44, started his real estate firm Valencia Property in Spain in 2000, the two-person web design team he hired to build his site split and he had to choose between them. Hunt soon discovered the partner he didn't choose had registered himself as the owner and administrative contact for the domain name, so Hunt didn't own his own website. It took three years and he ended up paying the disgruntled partner nearly $6,000 in sales commission fees to get back ownership of the domain, which originally cost just $15.
Do: Remember to renew your domain name registration. When Nick Hoffmann, 32, missed the renewal of his networking company's domain name inetguru.com in 2000, it was a crippling business blow. The name got bought by someone else and without email access through the site, Hoffmann lost contact with clients. Eventually, he folded the company. Now working as chief operating officer for an aftermarket marketplace for domains, Hoffmann suggests buying a registration for five or 10 years upfront, or setting up an annual auto-renew payment. Just make sure the credit card on file doesn't expire, another common mistake that might lead to losing a domain name. "The whole aftermarket industry is based on names that drop off," he says. "It happens every day."
Don't: Use dashes, abbreviations or numbers in your domain name. Instead, come up with a catchy name that's easy to remember and captures your business. Fan Bi, co-founder of Blank Label, a Boston-based online custom dress shirt company learned that lesson when settling on a domain in 2008. At the time, blanklabel.com was out of his price range at $15,000. Bi chose blank-label.com for a much cheaper $250. But as the business grew, he realized the hyphenated name was far from the best choice. "You get much more word-of-mouth if it's a name you can easily say without having to spell out," Bi says. Last year, after months of negotiation with the domain owner, he was able to purchase blanklabel.com for $6,000. Just three months after the change, website traffic shot up 25%. Don't: Waste money on extensions other than .com. When you register your domain name, you'll be bombarded with offers to purchase other versions like .net and .co. For most small businesses, that's not needed. Investing in other extensions becomes important when patenting something or protecting a trademark, says Bedord. If you think a competitor might want the .net version of your domain name, for example, consider taking it first. "The reality is you have to pay for every one of those," Bedord says. "The value is really in the .com."
Don't: Buy a domain without checking into its past. Even available domains can be exposed to legal trouble if the name is too similar to another company's trademark. Nearly a year after launching New York-based LEEDTeacher in 2009, Zachary Rose learned the domain LEEDTeacher.com infringed on the registered trademark of a massive nonprofit. Rose, now 29, received a cease-and-desist letter demanding he change the name of his green jobs training firm, and shut down the website. He ultimately paid $2,000 in lawyer fees, renamed the company Green Education Services and switched the domain to GreenEDU.com. * Related: Protecting Your Business with a Trademark Aside from consulting a lawyer, check www.whois.net, which lists registered domain names, for other possible legal landmines, suggests Rose. The site also includes expired domains up for grabs, and you can learn what problems a name comes with. For example, if a previous domain owner violated a Google term and was banned from Google searches, you'll want to know before investing in the name, Rose says.
Apr
5th
How Introverts Can Excel..
By Georgina Barrera
I am subcribed to an
online newsletter from SmartBriefs and they have
some very awesome articles so I wanted to share one from today.
Even though geared to the job environment, the information applies
to anyone. For those folks that are not introverts, I
hope this article serves to give you a glimpse of who they
are and also helps you see differently the person that is
completely opposite of you. Take the time to get to
know them... you might be surprised!!
Jennifer Kahnweiler, Ph.D., is the author of The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength and the founder of AboutYOU, a career and leadership consulting company. Smartbrief recently asked Kahnweiler questions about the challenges and advantages of being an introvert. An edited version of her responses follows.
Why do introverts often get overlooked in the workplace? According to my research—a two-and-a-half-year national study— introverts are routinely ignored, overlooked and misunderstood at work. The good news?
When introverts confront their key challenges, they can learn to manage them. The top three:
1. Project overload. Introverts tend to have difficulty saying no and find it equally hard to ask for help or direction. As a result, they frequently feel overloaded with projects and deadlines—hurting their on-the-job performance.
2. Underselling. Introverts typically stay mum about their accomplishments—seeming to abide by the old Southern adage, “Don’t brag on yourself.” Yet today careers are made or broken by what others know about a person’s skills and potential. Introverts, therefore, regularly miss out simply because they don’t sell themselves.
3. Failure to “play the game.” Introverts inherently retreat from office politics. Sure, politics can be nasty, but much of the game is natural and necessary, particularly for building relationships up and down an organization. Introverts, with their desire to be low-key, often fail to sniff out important politicking opportunities and wind up watching their extroverted colleagues get ahead.
What are some ways that an introvert can leverage his or her disposition? Entertainer Victor Borge said, “A smile is the shortest distance between two people.” As an introvert, you can overcome perceptions of being standoffish or too serious by smiling, laughing, and letting your humor come out. Also, ask great questions (being an introvert, you already know how to listen and learn from the answers), use your depth to help engage and connect with people, and show your smarts by contributing earlier in meetings and conference calls.
How can social networks help an introverted person? Social networking Web sites let your fingers do the talking—allowing you to communicate with people how you want to, when you want to. You can prepare for first-time meetings, send helpful “news you can use” items, and warm up cold leads—all in a low-key, yet friendly way. You can also create an online “brand” that has a wide reach.
Jennifer Kahnweiler, Ph.D., is the author of The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength and the founder of AboutYOU, a career and leadership consulting company. Smartbrief recently asked Kahnweiler questions about the challenges and advantages of being an introvert. An edited version of her responses follows.
Why do introverts often get overlooked in the workplace? According to my research—a two-and-a-half-year national study— introverts are routinely ignored, overlooked and misunderstood at work. The good news?
When introverts confront their key challenges, they can learn to manage them. The top three:
1. Project overload. Introverts tend to have difficulty saying no and find it equally hard to ask for help or direction. As a result, they frequently feel overloaded with projects and deadlines—hurting their on-the-job performance.
2. Underselling. Introverts typically stay mum about their accomplishments—seeming to abide by the old Southern adage, “Don’t brag on yourself.” Yet today careers are made or broken by what others know about a person’s skills and potential. Introverts, therefore, regularly miss out simply because they don’t sell themselves.
3. Failure to “play the game.” Introverts inherently retreat from office politics. Sure, politics can be nasty, but much of the game is natural and necessary, particularly for building relationships up and down an organization. Introverts, with their desire to be low-key, often fail to sniff out important politicking opportunities and wind up watching their extroverted colleagues get ahead.
What are some ways that an introvert can leverage his or her disposition? Entertainer Victor Borge said, “A smile is the shortest distance between two people.” As an introvert, you can overcome perceptions of being standoffish or too serious by smiling, laughing, and letting your humor come out. Also, ask great questions (being an introvert, you already know how to listen and learn from the answers), use your depth to help engage and connect with people, and show your smarts by contributing earlier in meetings and conference calls.
How can social networks help an introverted person? Social networking Web sites let your fingers do the talking—allowing you to communicate with people how you want to, when you want to. You can prepare for first-time meetings, send helpful “news you can use” items, and warm up cold leads—all in a low-key, yet friendly way. You can also create an online “brand” that has a wide reach.
Mar
9th
Why Georgina is the Real Deal by Liz Acosta
By Georgina BarreraI have known Georgina Barrera for two years and she has been an investor for two and a half years.
I was the co-founder of the Orlando Investor Community where I first met Georgina. Georgina always helped at the registration table for every event and coordinated the location of the events.
Today Georgina is an integral part of Success Club International (SCI). SCI is a real estate investors club, which was founded by myself and co-founder Stew Spence. Stew and I are very happy with Georgina and her motivation, not only to serve but also to learn. Her desire to learn is the key ingredient needed for the MMM challenge. She will do what is needed to get the job done to the letter as you request it. Georgina is very coachable and very determined to make it to the top candidates.
Georgina also has deep connections with some of the top Real Estate Investor Guru’s like Gerald Rogers, Augie Byllott, Rick Puglisi and Bill Duquette to name a few.
Please consider Georgina Barrera for the MMM Challenge. It is always an honor to work side by side with her. If you have further questions for myself or Stew regarding Georgina, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for putting together this awesome program.
Liz Acosta
Mar
5th
Why Georgina Barrera is the Real Deal
By Liz AcostaI have known Georgina Barrera for two years and she has been an investor for two and a half years.
I was the co-founder of the Orlando Investor Community where I first met Georgina. Georgina always helped at the registration table for every event and coordinated the location of the events.
Today Georgina is an integral part of Success Club International (SCI). SCI is a real estate investors club, which was founded by myself and co-founder Stew Spence. Stew and I are very happy with Georgina and her motivation, not only to serve but also to learn. Her desire to learn is the key ingredient needed for the MMM challenge. She will do what is needed to get the job done to the letter as you request it. Georgina is very coachable and very determined to make it to the top candidates.
Georgina also has deep connections with some of the top Real Estate Investor Guru’s like Gerald Rogers, Augie Byllott, Rick Puglisi and Bill Duquette to name a few.
Please consider Georgina Barrera for the MMM Challenge. It is always an honor to work side by side with her. If you have further questions for myself or Stew regarding Georgina, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for putting together this awesome program.
Liz Acosta
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