Author Archives: Tom Ryan

5 Tips For Identifying And Connecting With Prospective Customers

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-3If you want to your business succeed, you really have to know who your customers are — and what they want. Creating a great company isn’t just about having a brilliant idea for a product or service. It’s also about delivering something that people not only need, but also something that they are willing to pay for.

No matter how astonishing your business concept is, it will be dead in the water if it can’t connect to customers. Often, the difference between a success and a flop isn’t some huge gulf in how a product works or a service is priced. The thing that usually tips the scale is how well that product fits the needs of the customer. Continue reading →

5 Tips For Telling Your Startup Story

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-2In my role as a Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur in Residence, every day I get to work with some truly awesome people. These are the founders of startups and early stage companies, men and women who are willing to take a risk on turning an idea into a business. As a business coach, I’m in the unique position of being able to see the their struggles from a more detached vantage point. It doesn’t take long before some common patterns — and problems — start to emerge.

The most common challenge I see with startups, for instance, is raising capital. Another common issue most early stage companies struggle with is getting traction and increasing sales. And then there’s the third biggest problem most startups struggle with: Storytelling. Continue reading →

The Profitable Mindset, Part 4: Don’t Bet Your Business On Home Runs

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Source image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/roncantrell/

Source image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/roncantrell/

In the world of baseball, power hitters are usually the most exciting players to watch. These are the guys that can knock the ball out of the park, creating those iconic, inspirational and game-changing moments. The power hitters are usually remembered as heroes, wowing the stadium crowds and living on for decades in the highlight reels.

But here’s the thing about those big home run hitters: They usually have a high strikeout percentage, too. In fact, those epic homers rarely decide a game. It’s the less-than-thrilling base hits that put runs on the scoreboard. Continue reading →

The Profitable Mindset, Part 3: Forecast and Verify Performance

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-5During my time as a business coach, I’ve made it a point to talk about the importance of sales. Not just the act of meeting with a prospect and finding ways to align their interest with your products or services — although that is a huge part of the job — but also developing the processes that make up the business sides of sales. Without these core competencies, you can’t create those measurable and predictable results that are so key to consistently generating profits.

The more accurately you can measure your sales performance, the easier it becomes to both forecast future results and verify your current trajectory. To do this, you not only need a method for reliably generating that data, you also need a dashboard of some kind to help you make sense of it. Continue reading →

The Profitable Mindset, Part 2: Bootstrap For As Long As Possible

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-3“Bootstrapping” is a term that gets tossed around a lot in startup and investment circles. The idea of “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps” is familiar to most people as a metaphor for creating your own success, but what does it actually mean in a business context? Exactly what you would expect, actually.

When a company starts out with very little financial capital or other resources, it has to get creative to stay in the game. That means pinching pennies, taking a conservative attitude towards any additional expense, finding other kinds of resources to use without spending a bunch of money. That’s the bootstrap mindset. Continue reading →

The Profitable Mindset, Part 1: Creating A Clear Path To Profitability

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-5Profits are pretty simple to understand. It’s just revenue minus expenses. If you make a lot of sales and manage your expenses well, your business will be profitable. So why do so many entrepreneurs struggle when it comes to creating profitable businesses?

To start a successful business, you need to have a really solid understanding of how your business is going to make money. This means constructing and stress-testing your business model from a profit-focused perspective. Here’s something you might not realize: Most entrepreneurs never bother to do this. Continue reading →

The Pros and Cons of Funders for a Concept-Stage Startup

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-3When you’re trying to find money for your startup, particularly when the business is still in a conceptual stage, serious investors can be hard to come by. Talk and ideas are cheap, and sophisticated investors want to see a track record, hard numbers and real results. The earlier in the startup process your business is, the harder it is to even get a meeting with a serious investor.

This doesn’t mean you have a lack of options when it comes to raising money. It just means that you need to consider some alternatives, and be aware of their pros and cons. In this post, I’m going to examine five common sources of funding for startups in the earliest stages of development. I’m also going to explore some of the risks associated with each one. Continue reading →

6 Methods for Raising Money for Your Startup (and Their Tradeoffs)

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-2At some point, your business will need to raise money. Maybe it’s because you’re running out of startup funds, or perhaps it’s because you’re looking to expand your operations. Whatever the case, you’re going to need to bring in some more cash.

Now, you’re faced with an important question: Which source of capital makes the most sense to pursue? It’s important to not only understand what your options are, but also what the cost/benefit trade offs are for each of those options. To put it another way: What will it ultimately cost you to raise different forms of capital relative to what you get out of it? Continue reading →

5 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Learn Sales

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-5Cash is the lifeblood of your business. It’s how you keep the lights on, your employees coming in every day, and your mortgage paid. How does your business get cash? You sell your stuff — those products or services that constitute your business. No sales means no cash. No cash means no business.

If sales is so important, why is it that so many entrepreneurs shy away from the sales side of their business? If you don’t have a background in sales, it’s all too easy for sales to seem intimidating. Sales means facing rejection, and calling people who don’t want to talk to you. It involves asking people for money. It’s seems easier just to hire someone else to take care of it. Continue reading →

5 Tips for Creating Great Business Partnerships

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SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-3What partners do you need to successfully grow and build your business? You’re going to need suppliers, for a start. These are the people who provide the materials you need for creating your product or delivering your service. You’re also going to need vendors — from consultants and lawyers to software providers and office supply companies — to support your operation.

Other partners you will eventually need to bring in might not be as obvious. Continue reading →