Money Matters and More

Community Business Partnership

9th Annual Business Plan Contest

Two local business plan contests in the DC/MD/VA region make an offer no new entrepreneur should refuse:  enter and you can’t lose.

How is this possible?  Easy.

That’s because every registered contestant to the Community Business Partnership’s 9th Annual Business Plan Contest and Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) 7th Annual StartRight! Women’s Business Plan Competition is guaranteed at a minimum perhaps the most important win an new entrepreneur could achieve:  clear, detailed and written feedback from a panel of judges with the skills and experience to offer expert guidance.

And that’s just for participating!

And what if you win a prize?  Depending on the contest, you could win between $250 and $10,000 in cash.

Interested?  Check out the fine print at http://www.cbponline.org, or call (703) 768-1440, and www.RockvilleREDI.org (301) 315-8096.

Deadline for CBP:  Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.

Deadline for REDI:  March 26, 2010 (Executive Summary); March 31, 2010 (Business Plan)

Be sure to join me on News Channel 8 (in the DC region) today between 10 and 11:00 a.m., where I’ll talk more about the value of business plan contests.

Thanks.

Feeling discouraged and in need of inspiration as you launch your new business?

Consider the lives of forty 18th and 19th century black entrepreneurs who beat the odds and operated successful businesses despite incredible obstacles.

These entrepreneurs, like hair salon owner Christiana Carteaux Bannister, (pictured in inset) are the focus of a recent exhibit entitled, Black Entrepreneurs of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The exhibit, developed through a partnership between the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket and the Federal Reserve of Boston, features black business people who “seized opportunities to create enterprises and to participate in the commercial life of [America].”

To hear today’s interview, click on the BlogTalkRadio media player in the upper right corner of this page.

Let me know what you think.  Did their stories inspire you?

Ready to launch?  Think that business idea is ready to go, but you could appreciate some solid advice to ensure success?

Be sure to tune in for Part Two of my interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Small Business Editor  Colleen DeBaise today at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern)  DeBaise’s new release, The Wall Street Journal, Complete Small Business Guidebook, offers great practical advice.

From strategies for finding funding for your venture, on through creating and managing your business successfully, and beyond, the book provides a useful blueprint for prospective entrepreneurs.

In today’s interview, we’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of getting started, including the ins and outs of managing your finances, how to find great employees and balancing work and family time.

To tune in, click onto blogtalkradio.com.  It’s the Money Matters & More radio show.

Got questions for Colleen DeBaise?  Call into the listener line at (646) 929-1832, between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. today.

If you want to email questions, click onto moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com; for Twitter: moneyandmore; Facebook: moneymattersandmore.

Look forward to hearing from you.  Enjoy the show!

The link between passion and entrepreneurship can be one of the biggest factors in determining whether a start-up will be successful or not, according to Colleen DeBaise, the Wall Street Journal’s Small Business Editor.  Be sure to join me for a conversation with her today about, “Entrepreneurship 101:  What’s Passion Got to Do With It?”, on my radio show, Money Matters & More at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern) on blogtalkradio.com.  DeBaise will share stories of successful entrepreneurs, included in her new book, The Wall Street Journal’s Complete Small Business Guidebook and offer tips about how to get started.   Here are a few questions that she recommends that every prospective entrepreneur ask before taking the leap:

Are you passionate about your product or service?

What is your tolerance for risk?

Are you good at making decisions?

Are you willing to take on numerous responsibilities?

Will you be able to avoid burnout?

What 5 questions should be asked by every prospective entrepreneur before taking the leap, and starting a new business?

That’s what J. C. Hayward, CBS anchor on WUSA 9 in Washington, DC asked me in the Money Monday segment of the noontime news broadcast yesterday.    (To see the interview, click on www.wusa9.com/dvmourtime.) Here’s what we covered in a nutshell:

1.  Am I really energized and excited about my business idea?

The novelty of even the most wonderful new ideas or products can wear off pretty quickly if you’ve got few customers or weak sales.  The one factor that can keep you going during the startup phase and beyond is an unshakable belief in what you’re doing.  If you’re not excited about what you’re selling after awhile, it’ll probably be pretty hard to muster up the enthusiasm needed to market it to prospective customers.

2. How do I feel about risk? No matter how much you love your business idea, it’s important to remember that launching a business is a gamble.  Part of the excitement of becoming an entrepreneur is taking a new path to create a unique product or service.  At the same time, it’s critically important to anticipate the possibility of obstacles along the way.

3. Do I make decisions easily and effectively? Owning and operating a business is by nature one decision-making process after another, ie. How should you bring your product to market?,  How much should you charge?  How do you know if it’s time to expand your business?–the list goes on.   Test out your comfort level in this role.

4. How well do I multitask? As the sole proprietor of a business, you’ll need to be able to do a variety of tasks, including managing the books, serving as chief salesperson and marketer of  the product or service.  Try to hone the skills you’ll need before you get going.

5. What’s Plan B?  Even well-run businesses can lose their way.  Figuring out in advance what to do if things don’t go according to “Plan A” can save you alot of headaches and help shorten the time it takes for you to recover–both financially and emotionally.

That’s as much as we could fit into a 2 minute interview, but there are, of course others.   What other tips can you offer to budding entrepreneurs?  Email me at moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com, or communicate via Facebook (moneymattersandmore) or Twitter (moneyandmore).

Thanks.

(Photo credit:

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On today’s edition of CBS Affiliate WUSA 9′s newscast at 12 noon in Washington, DC, I’ll be joining award-winning anchor J. C. Hayward to discuss “Launching a Dream Business in 2010.” If you or anyone you know has ever considered becoming an entrepreneur, be sure to tune in for the 5 most important tips to consider before you get started.  (Hint: It doesn’t have anything to do with the product or service you’d like to sell.)

To check out the segment online, check out the video player at www.wusa9.com/dvmourtime.

Got questions?  Email me at moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com, or check out Twitter @moneyandmore, or Facebook, @moneymattersandmore.

Thanks.

(Photo from bing.com)

The excitement and anticipation we feel with the arrival of each new year deserves to be felt beyond the month of January.  Yet, too often the exhilaration and confidence disappear far too soon.  Whether it’s losing pounds, exercising more, starting new careers, breaking bad habits, or anything else, we seem to expend alot of time dwelling on what’s not going so well.

To help new and prospective entrepreneurs who want to break out of the cycle, this year the Money Matters and More blog will focus on helping readers live as if we all threw out the resolutions. No more bemoaning previous failures or disappointments (“Look how far my business hasn’t gotten”, or “Why didn’t things work out the way I planned?”).

Money Matters and More will serve as a coach, encouraging readers to develop a new perspective, one that emphasizes just how well we do the things that we do. Interviews with experts will provide solid advice and strategies for getting ahead in the current economy without getting burned out or discouraged.

How’s that for a no-resolution New Year?

(Photo by Luigi Diamanti)

The holiday season seems to offer the perfect time to dream, especially for the perenially optimistic, hopeful entrepreneur.  Whether due to a job layoff, or the desire to fulfill a lifelong dream, alot of us are seriously considering the possibility of starting a new business in 2010.

But given the challenges of developing a successful new business in today’s economic climate, before taking the leap, to smooth the business-launching process, it’s important to be able to answer the following 7 key questions.  How many can you answer?

Can I afford to start a new business?

Do I have a business plan?

Do I have the skills to sell my idea effectively?

Am I a risk-taker, able to handle rejection?

Am I prepared to work long hours (not just 9 to 5)?

Do I have a business mentor or coach to offer guidance?

What’s my “Plan B,” in case things don’t go according to plan?

For more information on preparing to launch a business, be sure to check out my interview on the Let’s Talk Live show in the DC region, airing on News Channel 8 between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. today.  (On the web:  letstalklive@news8.net)

Want to add your own pre-launch stories to the Money Matters and More blog?  Email us at moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com, or contact us at Facebook (moneymattersandmore) or Twitter (moneyandmore)

Have a great week!

When I headed into the chain bookstore earlier this week with a CD to return, I’d already prepared myself.  Although it was still securely wrapped in its packaging, the store policy was firm: no refund without a receipt.  I’d accepted what I figured was a flawed policy.  What I wasn’t prepared for was the refusal of the store to offer anything at all.

Without a receipt, the manager told me, after 14 days, there would be no return of any kind.  Without a receipt, I wondered, how did they know it was more than 14 days?

So–happy holidays to me…

The manager on duty tried to take the sting out of the store’s refusal by suggesting that I consider regifting my purchase.

Aargh!  I could hardly keep from gnashing my teeth together.

At just about this point, I started wondering if anything could get this store to change its mind.

How could this be handled from an entrepreneur’s vantage point?  Certainly the ability to return an “unreturnable” purchase is the equivalent of winning over a very tough customer.

A tough customer requires convincing, a reason to change his position from his/hers to yours.  Making it worth it to that customer can make that happen. Figuring out what charm offensive–not guile, not deceit–but a kind of rapport that puts you both on the same (forgive the sports metaphor) team can move mountains.

And in my case, a member of the sales staff.

And that’s exactly the approach I took.  I sought out a different manager and explained my situation in a calm, reasonable fashion.  And I let her know that I was a regular customer.  And to my surprise and delight, it worked.

A store credit that another manager had said wasn’t possible.

What charm offensive combined with a valuable asset (in this case, my value as a return customer) has worked for you?

Email us so we can share your story.

(Photo used by permission from freeimage4u.com)

How can entrepreneurs inhabit the brain of a client, without surgery?

That’s a question many business leaders find themselves asking, especially during a period of slow economic growth. Inhabiting the brain of a client simply means figuring out what it is that your company needs to do to get or keep that client.  Achieving that really comes down to answering the following basic questions:

What is my product or service and how will it benefit clients?  What problem does it solve?

What makes my product or service better than what’s currently on the market?

Have I positioned myself to sell what I offer, or am I prepared to sell a product or service that the customer wants to buy?

The answers to these questions make up part of what marketers call the Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  The folks at Entrepreneur.com define the USP this way:

The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.

So, there’s good news.  Once we clarify that objective, inhabiting the mind of a client really is (forgive the pun), a no-brainer.

What’s your USP?  Let us know with an email to moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com and we’ll share them.

Have a great week!