Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall/Winter 2020 i Entrepreneur's Startups

To hire or not to hire? That is the question in the mind of the new entrepreneur. You see, hiring even one employee changes everything. Suddenly, you need payroll procedures, rules regarding hours, and a policy for vacation pay. You’re hit with a multitude of legal requirements and management duties you’d never have to deal with if you worked solo. To decide whether you need employees, take a closer look at your ultimate goals. Do you want to create the next Starbucks, or do you simply want to work on your own terms without a boss looking over your shoulder? If your goals are modest, then adding a staff may not be the best solution for you. If you do need employees, there are plenty of ways to meet your…

1 ATTITUDE. Attitude makes all the difference. Sales champs set priorities and keep things moving forward, ending each day with a sense of accomplishment. Sales champs don’t let losing a deal get them down. If they can’t change a situation, they change their attitude about it. In sales, you’ve got to make things happen for your business—and the best salespeople can’t wait to get started every day. 2 TENACITY. When sales champs know they have something of value for a prospect or client, they don’t give up. They learn more about the situation, the potential customer, and the customer’s company. They study what went wrong and improve their approach for the next time so they can come back with new ideas. They are not easily defeated. However, sales champs understand…

The brand story is almost too perfect: One day in Portland, a 31-year-old woman stands in her kitchen, eight months pregnant, DIYs a natural deodorant, pours it into a mason jar….and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business acquired by Unilever for nine figures. No sweat. Or if there is sweat, it smells like ylang-ylang, or maybe rose. Well, not quite. Jaime Schmidt didn’t have a business plan in 2010 or VC funds ever. But she knew who she was, and that propelled her through the handicaps and copycats, the hard decisions and costly mistakes, the broken machines and crumbling products, on the way to building Schmidt’s Naturals into a personal care line sold in Walmart, Target, and Costco. Today, she’s still involved in Schmidt’s, but she also has a new…

Key Kiosk/express option DEALERSHIPS/DISTRIBUTORSHIPS Individuals or businesses are granted the right to buy wholesale and sell retail the products of Business XYZ, but are not entitled to use XYZ’s trade name. An authorized Apple Computer dealer, for example, may have an Apple sign in her window, but she cannot call her business Apple Computer. While the terms distributors and dealers are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two: A distributor may sell to a number of dealers, while a dealer usually sells to a retailer or consumer. LICENSING OPPORTUNITIES Trademark/product licensees receive access to the seller’s trade name as well as specific methods, equipment, technology, or products. If Business ABC has a special method for detailing cars, it will teach you its method and provide you with…

Laura Spaulding is used to dirty jobs. The former cop and Army vet started Spaulding Decon in 2005 after spotting an opportunity in crimescene cleanup, and she has turned the company into a growing franchise specializing in everything from methlab cleanup to mold remediation. And she knew, upon first hearing of coronavirus, that her business was about to boom. “We got $30 million worth of requests in estimates the first two weeks when it hit,” the CEO says. “In a normal week, that figure would be $100,000.” But consumer demand isn’t the only thing increasing for Spaulding Decon; incoming inquiries from prospective franchisees have increased tenfold in recent months. Now Spaulding—who currently works with 11 franchisees across 39 locations—is preparing for continued growth, and working to make sure all of…

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 makes it illegal for employers with 15 or more employees to refuse to hire qualified people with disabilities if making “reasonable accommodations” would enable the person to carry out the duties of the job. That could mean making physical changes to the workplace or reassigning certain responsibilities. While the law is unclear on exactly how far an employer must go to accommodate a person with disabilities, what is clear is that it’s the applicant’s responsibility to tell the employer about the disability. Employers are not allowed to ask whether an applicant has a disability or a history of health problems. However, after the applicant has been given a written or verbal explanation of the job duties, you may then ask whether they…

STATE YOUR BUSINESS. Clearly tell prospects who you are and why they should be interested in talking to you. “Hello, my name is Jane Smith, and I’m with the Smith Company. We’re the people who conduct one-day Sales Power seminars all over the country. Our seminar is coming to your area, and I’d like to tell you about it.” OFFER GOOD NEWS. After identifying yourself and your business, say, “I have some good news I’d like to share with you.” BE COURTEOUS. Use the phrase “I’d appreciate a return call at (number) at your convenience.” Be careful of your tone of voice so that you don’t sound condescending. FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL. Send an email that says, “Mr. Wilson, I’m following up on the voice mail I left earlier.”…

Burger King had a big announcement to make: It was removing artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives from its Whoppers. But the company was in a bind. The other burger chain had already, how shall we say, McDone the same thing. If Burger King simply ran ads pushing its fresh food, that wouldn’t have much impact. At worst, it would be seen as trailing its competitor. What could it do to steer the conversation? Burger King’s marketing team started confabbing on WhatsApp, their chat tool of choice, where some of their most creative brainstorming takes place. That’s where they pulled in three agencies and worked out a plan. You likely saw the result: On February 19, Burger King released ads of its famous burger, now liberated from additives, rotting over 34 days—growing fuzzy…

Use the internet to help you find employees: CAREERBUILDER (careerbuilder.com) offers advice, webinars, leadership development, and hiring solutions to employers and job recruiters. MONSTER (monster.com) helps you screen résumés so you can find the right candidate quickly. INDEED (indeed.com) and ZIPRECRUITER (ziprecruiter.com) give you more exposure to job seekers; the former is the top jobs site by traffic and the latter will target candidates in its résumé bank that fit your job description. LINKEDIN (linkedin.com) is increasingly the place where employers go to search for and recruit professional employees. Two reasons for the rising popularity: You can search profiles to find strong fits, and you can reach out yourself. WANT MORE HOW-TO ADVICE? TAKE OUR COMPREHENSIVE “START YOUR OWN BUSINESS” ONLINE COURSE AT ENTREPRENEUR.COM/SYOB.…

No matter what business you’re in, if you’re an entrepreneur, you’re in sales. “But I hate to sell,” you groan. You’re not alone. Many people are intimidated by selling—either because they’re not sure how to proceed or they think they don’t have the “right” personality to sell. Well, guess what? Anyone can sell—anyone, that is, who can learn to connect with the customer, listen to their needs, and offer the right solutions. In fact, as your business’s founder, you’re better positioned than anyone to sell your products and services. Even if you have a team of crack salespeople, there’s no one else who has the same passion for, understanding of, and enthusiasm about your product as you do. And once you finish reading this chapter, you’ll have plenty of sales…

Don’t rely solely on résumés. Good salespeople sell themselves so well, they might not even need résumés. Try placing a classified ad that says, “Send résumé to (address) or call (number).” Don’t even look at the résumés; just interview the people who call. These are the people who won’t be afraid to pick up the phone and make cold calls for your company. In the first phone contact, if the applicant doesn’t ask for an appointment, stop right there. If the person doesn’t ask for an interview now, they won’t ask for orders later. Does the person sound like someone you want to spend time with? If you don’t want to, neither will your customers. When they first call, tell them you’re busy and will call them back. Then don’t.…

Let’s say you go onto Grubhub, see that there’s a new franchise in town called The Captain’s Boil, and order a shrimp basket for delivery. Score! But here’s what you don’t see: Your lunch was actually made inside a Ruby Tuesday. This is the magic of Franklin Junction, which bills itself as a mixture of Airbnb and Match.com—but for restaurants. The platform finds kitchens with extra capacity and matches them with brands that want to expand into new locations. It was conceived by Aziz Hashim, founder and managing partner of NRD Capital, which owns more than 700 franchise units in North America. He launched it in January and originally intended it for his own stores (including The Captain’s Boil and Ruby Tuesday). But once COVID-19 hit, he opened it up…