According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, investment by institutional venture capitalists in startups grew from less than $3.0 billion at the beginning of the 1990's to over $106 billion in 2000. Although venture capital volume has retreated significantly since the economic "bubble" years of the late 1990's, the present volume of around $ 19 billion per year still represents a substantial rate of growth. Venture capitalists will fund more than 2,500...more
You can meet your goals for your business this year. Consider these resolutions as ten steps to your success in 2005.1. Develop a business plan or strategic plan. You won't get where you're going unless you know where you want to be and let your employees know as well. 2. Constantly Promote Your Business. You can't execute one marketing effort each year and expect your business to grow. Plan marketing efforts quarterly or even monthly and plan...more
You have a head spinning with business ideas but you encounter difficulties in financing? Or you have recently started your great potential business but are not yet turning profit? A fundamental aspect for your business, financing is usually the most frequent obstacle in starting a business. You have the option of resorting to a business incubator on condition that your business idea seems viable and promising. Now if you wonder how they are going to find out whether your idea is worth investing, the answer is a very sensible (and predictable) one: by analyzing your business plan.What are business incubators? How many types are there?A business incubator is a system offering support for start-up businesses or recently founded ones. The facilities it offers go from financing, inexpensive office space, various business services (such as secretarial assistance) to management advice and support. Their role is to produce viable, standalone companies at the end of the program they are included in. Also, the selection they perform works like a measurement unit for the viability of the applicant business and gives entrepreneurs a chance to re-think their business strategy. The success rate...more
IntroductionOne of the easiest "things" that can happen in life is the ratcheting up of a large credit card debt. For whatever reason, making purchases with credit cards seems easier than spending cash to obtain a product or service.Maintaining high levels of credit card debt is not prudent. The interest rates associated with most credit cards is...more
Almost everything you have ever been told about the world's stock markets is probably wrong. Almost everything you have ever assumed about the world's stock markets is also probably wrong. You probably believe that share prices go up and down due to classic 'supply and demand' laws. You probably believe that over time, the world's stock markets...more
Any old policy and procedure format saves time by not having to start from scratch, right? Well, not necessarily. Using a weak starting point can hurt employee usability, introduce confusion and user-error, and may not assist in your compliance and control objectives. The result could set your project back further and cost you even more time to fix it later. But it doesn't have to.Drive Performance ImprovementIf your policies and procedures are incomplete, outdated or inconsistent, then you are probably not driving the performance improvement you intended. And by improving your business, you can save money and help increase customer satisfaction.Improve Your ResultsTo be confident you're buying a procedure template that gets the job done quickly and correctly, it's important to examine its basic elements. Take a moment to view the following features that you should be using, and also learn how to benefit with such crucial time-saving features as: An ISO 9000 compliant layout for easier readability A clear and concise header block to ensure a procedure communicates the purpose and scope Clear department responsibilities that identify who does what Key term definitions to reduce...more
Writing a business plan is a daunting task. If you do not know that by now, you will discover that soon after you have read your first set of instructions for writing a plan. While each of these preparations will require much of your time and...more
OUTSOURCING: AN OVERVIEWBusinesses of all kinds can and do benefit from the tool of outsourcing every day. Businesses large and small have been outsourcing every day projects for many years. The businesses that use outsourcing as a tool to enhance...more
The idea of a business plan competition first started in the 1980's at the initiative of some MBA students from Texas and has increasingly gained popularity. Such events happen yearly and rejoice a great affluence of contestants, which highly...more
BizTech 2.0 is an entrepreneur education program offering business assistance to students over 13. The program teaches business, information technology and life skills to young people via the Internet. It reinforces math learning, reading and...more
OK, as a manager, your goal is to show a profit for your business unit, or meet certain expectations of your association membership, or achieve your non-profit's operating objective. In each case, you'll need public relations activity that creates...more
Over the past several years credit repair organizations have gained a bad reputation due to unscrupulous companies stating that they can clear your credit report. Clearing your report was not the problem, but stating that they could give you a clean...more