Entrepreneurial

6 tips for startups to take advantage of the recovery

– Chris Lynch is vice president of economic development at the Irvine Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed are his own. –

With recent reports the economy is becoming stable and showing signs of upward growth, the question is what are entrepreneurs going to do about it?

The answer is simple, they can take advantage of the upbeat perception that the economy is in recovery and benefit from the opportunities they didn’t have before. The following are some tips on how entrepreneurs can take advantage of the recovery, based on years of experience coaching successful startups.

1. Get a good start on the recovery. Right now the market is solid for proven ventures, but in about 18 months the market will be ready for riskier ventures. This is a critical time for when opportunities will be made, so start making new contacts, solidifying your business model and creating potential business relationships right away. Look into entrepreneurial or business workshops, such as what we provide at the Irvine Chamber of Commerce and the Irvine Entrepreneur Forum. An economic recovery is a good time to capitalize on the optimistic mood of investors and put your business out there in front of the right people. So make sure to perfect a quick elevator pitch and consolidate all your financial information.

2. Take advantage of the opportunities. It’s important for entrepreneurs and startup businesses to pay close attention to the opportunities and general attitude towards investing during a recovering economy. The fact that investors are becoming more willing and openminded towards investing is a good place to start. This means that the money is starting to flow back into venture capital and other investment options. People are looking for new places to put their cash and every entrepreneur should take advantage of the opportunities by getting their innovation out there to potential investor groups.

3. Consider the entrepreneurial landscape for 2011. Successful investors try to anticipate the future of business growth and need to have foresight as to where the demand will come from. They will look for new ideas and industry innovation, from major corporations that have shifted to doing R&D internally, to looking for acquisition of new technologies. A startup business will have to fulfill a demand, and the fewer number of options out there will result in a greater demand. Coming out of a conservative past few years, it’s advantageous to position your business more as a necessity for 2011 and not as a luxury.

4. Consider the hot industries for 2011. While some of the strongest markets of 2010 are going to get stronger, there is still more room for growth. For example, the hottest industries of 2015 probably won’t revolve around the same leading companies of 2010. In 2005, we weren’t looking at Facebook, Twitter or digital streaming entertainment by Netflix. For the most part people were just getting into MySpace and still renting DVD movies at Blockbuster. I suspect the leading companies in 2015 will likewise surprise us since we might just be hearing about them now.

Mix it up: Trends and fads in email marketing

– Melanie Attia is the product marketing manager for Campaigner email marketing. The views expressed are her own. –

In business, there are fads and there are trends. While fads help pay the bills in the short-term, a good small business understands the longer-term viability of its products and services that will be for sale in the seasons to come.

The same holds true for marketing. It’s essential for growth and these days marketing trends continue to shift from offline to online programs.

According to the “2010 Lead Generation Optimization Key Trends Analysis” from CSO Insights, budgets for direct mail declined 29 percent, while 54 percent of businesses increased budgets for email marketing.

Campaigner, an email marketing company that works with small businesses, recently surveyed its customers and found similar results. Thirty-three percent responded they were going to continue with their email programs in 2011 and 61 percent responded that plans were underway to increase the use of email in their marketing efforts.

That said, there are trends small businesses should consider when devising best practices for their email programs. In addition, there are fads that are fun tactics to add some flavor to individual email marketing campaigns.

GO MOBILE

12 steps toward reinventing yourself in 2011

– SecondAct contributor Michelle V. Rafter covers business and workplace issues for a variety of national publications. She is based in Portland, Oregon. The views expressed are her own –

Reinventing yourself at midlife is no simple undertaking, especially if it involves switching careers. It takes equal parts planning, stamina and guts.

But everybody’s got to start somewhere. Here are a dozen first steps, based on advice from SecondAct interviews with authors and other experts on careers and midlife transitions.

1. Take it one step at a time. If a career overhaul seems too overwhelming to take in all at once, break it down into multiple steps to make it easier to accomplish. “Have your second act build on your first,” said Davia Temin, a women’s leadership expert and head of a New York City marketing consulting firm.

2. Test the waters. A midlife switch is a big deal, and you’ll want to try it on for size first. Do a reality check by taking a class, volunteering or signing up for an internship in a field you’re exploring, said Bruce Frankel, author of “What Should I Do With The Rest Of My Life? True Stories of Finding Success, Passion, and New Meaning in the Second Half of Life“. Remember, internships aren’t just for college students anymore.

3. Find a mentor. What better guide to a new career than a mentor, someone who’s already been there, done that? But there are right ways and wrong ways to approach a would-be mentor. The purpose of the relationship may be for the experienced party to share accumulated wisdom, but it’s not a one-way street. Be prepared to give as much as you get. If you’ve identified a possible candidate, don’t ask “Will you be my mentor?” Anything so direct is off-putting, Temin said. Invite a would-be mentor for coffee and see how it goes. Be genuine. If a bond forms, you can gradually turn more of the conversation to your career goals.

4. Start by moonlighting. Before you quit your day job, get a little something going on the side. If you plan to moonlight, schedule at least two hours a day to work on your new business, try to adjust your full-time job schedule to accommodate a sideline venture, and make sure that your family is onboard, advised Melinda F. Emerson, entrepreneur, author and SecondAct’s Careers Columnist.

Top 5 changes for small business in 2011

– Jason Beahm is a contributor to FindLaw’s “Free Enterprise” blog. FindLaw is owned by Thomson Reuters. –

The cliche is true: the one constant is change.

This year a series of regulatory, compliance, and legislative changes will occur that will affect small business owners. Paychex, Inc., recently put together a list of the most influential business regulations in 2011. We narrowed the list down to five that we found the most interesting.

1. Tax changes – In 2011, taxes are going to get even more complicated for small business owners. (What did you think, it was going to get easier?) However, as a plus, there will be a retroactive extension of some of the tax incentives that expired at the end of last year.

2. Healthcare reform – Obviously healthcare reform is going to have a big impact on small businesses in 2011. Under the reform, small businesses will receive tax credits to purchase health insurance. Health plans that existed on or before March 23, 2010 will be grandfathered in, but you cannot make any significant changes to the plan.

3. Employment law – There is going to be an increase in measures requiring greater transparency to workers on the wages they are owed. Specifically, there will be an emphasis on minimum wage and overtime requirements laws.

4. Federal Trade Commission requirements – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, StumbleUpon, blogs… they all are areas lacking regulatory guidance. The FTC is looking into creating a “Do Not Track” tool for the Internet, based on the concept of the “Do Not Call” registry.

Top 10 tech investing trends for 2011

– Dave McClure is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and the founder of Internet seed fund 500Startups. He has worked with companies such as PayPal, Mint, Founders Fund, Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, Twilio, Simply Hired, O’Reilly Media, Intel and Microsoft. The views expressed are his own. –

Over the holidays Silicon Valley is a ghost town while most geeks and venture capitalists are busy hitting the slopes at Tahoe or playing Angry Birds Holiday Edition.

If you haven’t had enough football or eggnog yet, stop reading this blather and go watch some grown men beat the snot out of each other while drinking yourself into yuletide stupor. If that doesn’t sound more appealing then you’ll just have to settle for my crazy tech predictions for this year.

With no further ado, I bring you the top 10 tech trends for 2011:

1. (Way too many) Groupons, social games, photo-sharing, and “fart” apps.

Unimaginative VCs — which is to say, all of us — tend to start the new year off throwing good money after bad on last year’s tired and expired ideas. 2011 will be no exception for “innovation imitation” with more group-buying ecommerce plays, more social game startups, and yet even more ways to do photo-sharing on Facebook and Twitter, now new and improved with 37 shades of yellow-gray filters. Bah humbug. My first easy and obvious prediction is that VCs will waste a ton of money chasing hundreds of new “me-too” startup ideas. Nothing new here Kmart shoppers… let’s move along.

2. Commerce and coupons for location-based services (LBS), aka “The $5 check-in”

5 marketing tips to grow your business in 2011

– Stephanie Chandler is the author of “LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business”. She is also a business advisor to Project REV – a small business marketing lab by Deluxe Corp. The views expressed here are her own. –

As the year comes to a close, now is the time to assess business performance for the previous year while you develop plans for a successful 2011. Because marketing is so essential to business growth, the following are some strategies to help you get a strong start for the new year.

1. Give your website a makeover

Like a house that needs periodic maintenance and improvements, your website should improve and change over time. Take a close look at your site and make a plan to refresh or add content, upgrade site design, or improve the experience for site visitors. Your website can be the first introduction potential customers have to your business so it’s important that it makes the right impression.

2. Commit to blogging

Blogging is one of the most powerful tools available to small businesses. It allows you to connect with your audience, attract new customers, and improve search engine rankings organically. For best results build a schedule that includes blogging at least two to three times per week. Also, share new posts with your social networks for maximum content marketing value. Most importantly, be patient as you build your audience. It takes time to build momentum with blogging, but with consistent effort the benefits will inevitably follow.

3. Hang out with smart people

SMBs make hopeful New Year’s resolutions

– Lisa Barone is a contributor for Small Business Trends. This article originally appeared here. –

While it may have been an unfriendly economic climate over the past few years, small business owners are hopeful heading into 2011. Sixty percent of small business owners polled said they expect their business to swell over the next 12 months, signaling not only good spirits, but a 6-percent increase over December 2008. That’s according to a recent Intuit, Inc poll of 1,000 small business owners from across the United States. And what do SMB owners plan to do with the increased cash flow their businesses attract?

According to the survey:

• 56 percent will focus on retaining and growing current customers
• 41 percent will look to expand marketing and attract new customers
• 30 percent will look to reduce costs and save money

It’s not surprising to see that many small business owners will be looking to use the surge of cash to try and attract new customers. One of the largest pain points for small business owners is often trying to keep a steady flow of customers. In fact, Intuit’s survey found that 54 percent of SMB owners experienced a declining customer base over the past year, with another 32 percent naming delayed payments as their sore spot.

Just because they’re having a hard time finding customers, though, doesn’t mean SMBs are necessarily being proactive about seeking them out. The survey gave some startling numbers about small business owners’ usage of social media–or should I say, their lack of usage.

While 71 percent of small business agreed that social media is an effective way to keep customers engaged, they don’t seem to actually be using it.

Top 10 challenges for CEOs in 2011

– Charley Polachi is the co-founder of Boston-based executive recruitment firm Polachi, Inc. The views expressed are his own. –

1. In 2011, CEOs will be challenged with balancing expectations for earnings per share (EPS), which in most cases are already set, and their investors’ growing impatience for top-line growth. To grow, CEOs have to invest again. But if they invest, they could miss EPS estimates. The CEOs who walk this tightrope successfully will pull away from the pack and outperform their peers.

2. Maintaining momentum in the slow growing market. Solution is innovation.

3. European governments and their economies continue to perplex – look at Greece and Ireland. Who’s next? Finding efficient ways to get revenue internationally through distributors and partners instead of employees may be the way to go.

4. 2012 presidential election season starts in Q1 2011, how will Republicans and Democrats deal with the economy? What happens to capital gains treatment will definitely impact investors in the venture capital and private equity worlds. This will cause CEOs to look at alternative sources of financing, so hoarding cash will be even more important.

5. The next generation of workers don’t care. They’ve seen what happened to mom and dad in the last two years. who can they count on/trust? CEOs will need to work extra hard to attract and retain Millennials who tend to want to move up quickly or move on.

6. Housing market will continue to be a problem, people can’t sell their houses and relocate to where there are jobs. So CEOs will need to be flexible, allow more telecommuting – let technology work. Video, Skype, unified communication platforms, etc. will become common.

Hot healthcare investing trends for 2011

– Dr. David J. Brailer is the chairman for San Francisco-based venture firm Health Evolution Partners and served as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President George W. Bush. The views expressed are his own. –

2011 will be a chaotic and unpredictable year for investors.

We will see the first big changes of health reform play through – regardless of what the incoming Congress does. No one can predict what health reform means, particularly alongside the dwindling of the financial crisis and the ongoing jobs bust. The only sure thing is that 2011 won’t be a replay of the last two years where safe deals got done and a lot of companies traded from investor to investor.

Here are a few trends – and a few pitfalls – to pay attention to:

1. Please, no more meaningful use. Health information technology has been hyped into the stratosphere, and every entrepreneur is trying to raise capital while they can. Many are spinning their wheels because they mistake the investment bubble for their own shrewdness. The market will figure out in 2011 that federal subsidies will happen far slower than planned or that they may be cut back by a deficit-hawk Congress. Once the bubble pops and people get their feet back on Earth, deals will start to happen again. There are some very good health information technology companies coming to market in 2011 and they are going to rock healthcare in the coming years.

2. Life science is still alive – barely. The venture pullback and a draconian FDA have thankfully euthanized many me-too bio-therapeutic and device companies. But a lot of promising new treatments got killed in the onslaught as well. Disease hasn’t stopped trying to eradicate the human race, so the unmet demand for new treatments is still growing. And, regardless of what else is happening, Americans won’t tolerate being sick when there are treatments that may help them. Look for a crop of new life-sciences companies – therapeutics and devices in particular – to get traction. They will be different from their predecessors – way more cash-efficient and more attentive to demonstrable clinical value (i.e., if it needs a statistician to prove that it works, it probably doesn’t). Look for the shakeout of biomarkers to continue. The ones that a clinician would really want to use will get funded and others will fall apart.

3. Accountable care wannabes. Investors are searching the globe now for physician groups and other health providers who will be recognized as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Not to matter that the Government hasn’t told us what ACOs are yet, or that some real group of physicians could actually do it. And, let’s remember that many people had the great privilege of losing their fortunes the last time investors funded physician management companies in the 1990s. A sub-trend here is the search for the next generation primary care network. Everyone is on the lookout for the doctor-meets-retail iteration of basic medical services now that more Americans will have health insurance.

5 year-end tax planning tips for small businesses

–- Glen Wielandt is head of franchise business development at Fiesta Auto Insurance and a veteran in the income-tax services industry with more than 20 years of operational experience in the tax center franchise industry. The views expressed are his own. –-

It’s the end of the year, and you know what that means: tax season is right around the corner. Recognizing the positive impact that early tax-season planning can have on the small business community, below are five practical tips to better prepare yourself and your business for the 2011 tax season:

1. Keep a calendar. Deadlines differ depending on the type of business and when your tax year ends. Meeting filing deadlines will minimize penalties and interest.
2. Organize your records. Good organization may not cut your taxes, but there may be other financial rewards. Maintaining regular bookkeeping of your financial records year-round will make tax season a less daunting time of the year. Plus, your tax accountant will spend less time organizing your records, and you will pay less money for his/her time and services.
3. Contribute to a retirement plan. The benefit to this can be two-fold – if your business is profitable and you have employees. You can shelter income in a qualified retirement plan that will provide you with a tax deduction for your contributions. This will defer tax on earnings on those contributions, which ultimately becomes paid for when you start taking money from the plan. In addition, providing employees with a retirement savings opportunity can gain employee loyalty.
4. Defer income and accelerate deductions. There are several steps you can begin taking now to put off income into the next tax year and increase your deductions in the current tax year. Send your bills out a few days later, in the last month of the year. This means that you will get paid a few days later in January of the next year, and you will be able to defer the income, instead of having to declare that income immediately. Similarly, see what bills you have due in January and pay them before the end of December. This way, you can take that deduction during the current year.
5. Business tax credits. Keep in mind that there are many tax credits that your small business may be eligible for, including: Alcohol Cellulosic Biofuel Fuels credit, Alternative Motor Vehicle credit, and Disabled Access credit, to name a few. You can view a complete list of available tax credits by visiting the IRS website.

As you begin wrapping up your year, take these tips into account now and you will be pleasantly surprised by how much easier you’ll get through the tax season and the savings you’ll find.