Good news! The United States is adding jobs. The bad news is that the competition for office space is driving up the cost of real estate. Rising real estate costs are especially impacting places like the Bay area, New York City, DC, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago. “People, followed by real estate, are a company’s most…
Startups know that connecting, networking and collaborating are key to success. Accelerators, incubators and coworking spaces all facilitate interaction in different ways. So how do you know what is right for you? The answer is, of course, it depends. To start your evaluation process, you need to know how each works and what value they…
It seems workers either love open offices or hate them. If you love them, you gush about the increased energy, collaboration, creativity and transparency that comes from impromptu conversations and lack of silos. If you hate them, you complain about decreased productivity, distractions and lack of privacy. The reality is that real estate prices are escalating,…
Three kinds of equity investors support entrepreneurs: venture capitalists, angels, and friends and family. While friends and family want to make money, their investment in your business is also motivated by love. This article is focused on investors whose motivations are less complicated: angels and venture capitalists. They just want a return on their investment. These…
When I think of agility, I think of entrepreneurs responding quickly and deftly to marketplace conditions. I think of entrepreneurs bringing new products to market or modifying existing ones. I think about entrepreneurs targeting new markets, expanding geographically and changing pricing or distribution strategies. I didn’t think about the space in which a business is…
Entrepreneurs aren’t just passionate about their companies, they’re passionate about making the world a better place. Doing well by doing good is second nature to many entrepreneurs, especially women, according to 2013 U.S. Trust’s Insights on Wealth and Worth. Successful women are more likely than successful men to own a business so they can pursue…
Focusing on “Why” your company does what it does powers up your passion and your business. Inspirational leaders understand this. Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King and the Wright brothers all started with why, according to Simon Sinek, an ethnographer and author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Sinek’s TED…
Entrepreneurs solve problems by creating new products or new ways of doing things. It takes a very special person to do this well—one with very specific personality traits. Based on personal observations and interviews, I’ve come up with six must-have traits for success as an entrepreneur. Agile learner: I recently wrote about the agile mindset of…