Business

How Startups Succeed The number of small businesses that fail in their first five years is astronomical – 75% to 80%. What are these businesses doing, or not doing, to cause this failure? At Building Bridges for Business, we want to give you the information you need in order to succeed. Here are a few tips to get you thinking, and help startups succeed. Start off with a Business Plan that is complete. Don’t skip over any of the details. Know what you are getting yourself into and know how to fix the problems before you even get started, and help startups succeed. Startups succeed with thorough planning. Make sure your business plan includes a Marketing Plan. Know who your clients are and what kind of products and services they are looking for. Market to these people in the places they go. If your new business is selling cupcakes for weddings, don’t advertise in a home improvement magazine. If your new business is providing weight loss coaching, make sure your put up flyers at your local gym. Keep up with the newest social media platforms and always have an up-to-date website with new information. Remember, if your clients can’t find you, they can’t support you. Make it easy for them. In addition to your marketing plan, make sure you complete your expense reports. Calculate the amount of Capital you need to not only start a business but to remain in business. Keep in mind that your business may not make enough money to cover your expenses for the first few years. Many new business owners burn through their start-up money before their cash flow is positive. Seek the advice from financial experts in order to get these calculations correct. As a solo-preneur you have a big job in front of you. Not everyone can be all things to a business. You need various skills in order to succeed. Most importantly you need to be a Leader. Know what you are able to do yourself and hire others with the proper skills to do the rest. But don’t stop there. Continuing education for all concerned is mandatory to keep up with emerging technology and trends. Don’t assume you can do it all by yourself. Self-sabotage of a business is not pretty. By starting with these suggestions you may be well on your way to success. Don’t be a statistic. Be a business that succeeds because you did the proper planning and took the advice of experts. Let’s make it so ALL startups...

Sam Patti is the founder/owner of La Prima Espresso Company, an operation comprised of two espresso bars and one wholesale roasting facility. Sam is a veteran US Army officer. He has done graduate work in Italian Studies at Pitt and the University of Pennsylvania. For almost 40 years he has held a continuing interest in the field of Italian American Studies. He and wife Debra have raised three educated, purposeful young women. In 1988, Sam decided to open a storefront on 21st Street in the Strip District of Pittsburgh with the intention of selling and servicing commercial espresso machines. Over time, his store attracted locals who were drawn by the ambiance and authentic Italian-style espresso. The showroom evolved into an espresso bar which is still located at 205 21st Street. A second La Prima espresso bar has been providing Carnegie Mellon’s campus with high quality coffee for over twenty years at its kiosk in Wean Hall. As the company gained momentum, Sam purchased small batch roasters to begin roasting coffee out of the 21st Street location. Roasting needs grew and eventually the roasters were relocated to the Pittsburgh Produce Terminal on Smallman Street. The wholesale side of the company operated in the Strip District until 2013 when La Prima Espresso Co. purchased a building in the historic Manchester neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s North Side. La Prima Espresso Company strives to have a positive impact on the Pittsburgh community, partnering with organizations like Grow Pittsburgh and The Rachel Carson Homestead by donating one dollar for every pound of their individual blends that are sold. In 2007, La Prima became a certified organic roasting facility by Pennsylvania Certified Organic and Fair Trade certified by...

The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem – Part 2 As stated in a previous Building Bridges for Business article, the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem is a network of elements that have an interest in there being more entrepreneurs in their region. But do all the elements work for all entrepreneurs? In this post we will give you some examples of how certain elements of the ecosystem do not work for all entrepreneurs. Let’s start with financing. A bank is a crucial element in the ecosystem, but not in the beginning. It is a known fact that banks usually do not finance start-up businesses. So how then are they a crucial part of the ecosystem? Once a business has a sound financial background to work with, banks are more likely to talk to them about expansion. As the business expands it strengthens the community and gives new businesses the confidence they need to succeed. The educational system is also a major player in the ecosystem, but not a necessity. There are more and more courses being taught on entrepreneurship but they did not always exist. An entrepreneur is someone with creativity, foresight and the courage to take a chance. You don’t get these things from an education. However, you can strengthen your accounting skills, learn how to effectively write a business plan and how to market your business through an education. It is said that co-working spaces and incubators help the ecosystem. This may be true but not necessarily as a major player. Some entrepreneurs feel these types of working spaces stifle their creativity, while others feel they are highly motivated. It really depends on the personality as to which way they go. The entrepreneurship ecosystem needs all the players in order to succeed in strengthening the regional business climate. But not all parts of the ecosystem are needed for all the entrepreneurs. Each player will use the parts it needs in order to succeed....

Glen Meakem Forever Featured on Coffee With… Glen Meakem, Founder & CEO of Forever.com, is a successful entrepreneur and business leader who has founded and built a number of companies, but his passion for preserving important information and memories goes back to 1991 when he returned from serving as a U.S. Army officer in the First Gulf War. That summer, Glen and his wife, Diane, recorded videos of their grandparents talking about their lives and values. Watch Glen Meakem discuss Forever now! Ever since, Glen has thought about how to permanently preserve and share those videos and other family treasures. After many years, these thoughts led to the founding of Forever in May of 2012. It might have been a picture in an old shoe box, or a story told by a beloved grandmother, or a recipe card that’s starting to tatter, but there comes a time when we think about our loved ones, the mark they’ve left on the family, the things they’ve left behind. What will happen to those old albums and home movies? With Forever™, you can secure and share those precious moments for generations. Forever is the world’s first permanent online photo storage and sharing service. Forever guarantees it will save and enable sharing of photos (and soon documents and videos) in Permanent Member’s Accounts for the member’s lifetime plus 100 years, with the goal of thousands of years. Forever does not sell or disclose its member’s personal information to advertisers or any unwanted third parties; you retain complete ownership rights. Permanent members of Forever pay a one-time membership fee and also pay up-front into the Forever Guarantee Fund for permanent storage. The Forever Guarantee Fund acts as a permanent endowment, generating income and gains which pay for storage, sharing and data migration to new file formats over time. Sign up today for your FREE 90-day Intro Membership! Visit Forever.com for more information or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or...

In order to successfully navigate the path to owning your own business, understanding the definition of the entrepreneurship ecosystem is essential. Knowing you are not alone on this path will provide you with the confidence needed to succeed. The entrepreneurship ecosystem consists of various individuals or organizations outside the prospective business owner or entrepreneur that help him thrive in his business endeavor. These individuals or organizations are called stakeholders and might consist of support organizations, big companies, research organizations, universities, service providers, funding organizations, government, private foundations, investors, the private sector, social leaders or labor representatives. The entrepreneur himself is part of the ecosystem but he is not the driving factor. The ecosystem is a network, working together, consisting of many parts. As all businesses are unique, not all businesses need the support of the entire ecosystem. Each business will rely on the parts of the ecosystem needed for success. Location, education, financial requirements, and government regulations will all play a part in determining what is needed and what is put into action. When the necessary stakeholders come to the table and network with the entrepreneur, a bond between the parties can be formed to help the business succeed. By definition the entrepreneurship ecosystem is a network of elements that have an interest in there being more entrepreneurs in their region. By working together, their regions will flourish and...

Funding Your Venture So you have a no-fail business idea. All you need is the funding to get it off the ground. But where do you go to get what you need to get started? A lot of new small business owners start with their own savings accounts, credit cards and home equity loans. This works great for smaller ventures. Just be careful as you are putting your own credit rating or retirement fund in jeopardy. If you use your home as collateral for the home equity loan, you risk losing that if your business does not succeed. Friends and family are the next step for funding. If you choose this method, make sure you have it in writing as opposed to agreeing on a handshake. Work with an accountant or lawyer to draw up an agreement that specifies amounts, payback dates, etc. Check the wording of your agreement to make sure it is clear to your friends and family that this is a loan and not a business partnership. A bank loan is harder to get for a new small business as most banks will require some sort of tangible asset for collateral. As you are just starting out, you don’t really have a business yet for that purpose. A lot of banks also require you to be in business for two years before they will give you a loan. But if you are a member in good standing with your bank, they may take a chance on your new business. Crowdfunding is a new method that has proven successful. This method works by investor donation through various internet sites such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Usually a donation will be made in exchange for a small token from your business – a t-shirt, free meal, coupon for services, etc. The competition for a government loan or grant is very steep. If you are a non-profit business or minority, or if your business will improve your community, you may have more opportunities to take advantage of this method. Check out the Small Business Administration website for further information. http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/loans-grants No matter what method you choose to pursue, you will need to have an updated business plan ready to go. Make sure you know everything there is to know about your new small business so you will be able to answer the necessary questions in order to get funding. Funding is difficult to obtain for a new small business. But once you have your funding in place, you will be well on your way to fulfilling your...