How to Start a Business in a Crowded Market

Stop Saying You Don’t Have Time to Start a Business

Once you’ve made the decision to start a business — or even if you’re still deciding — it’s all too easy to find yourself making excuses that you’re “too busy,” or you have this or that obligation, or it’s not the right time. Here’s how to make inertia your friend and get momentum on your side – all by setting aside only 15 minutes a day. In this episode you will learn: 1. How to turn inertia from an enemy into a friend. 2. How you only need 15 minutes a day to start a business. 3. My 5-step strategy to kickstart your business. Resources: * Breaking Down Big Goals Into Baby Steps [https://startupdistillery.com/baby-steps-are-key-to-business-success/] * David Allen’s Getting Things Done [https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0143126563/] * Step Back and Think About the Big Picture [https://startupdistillery.com/your-business-needs-an-annual-review/] * The Virtue of Limited Resources [https://startupdistillery.com/innovation-with-limited-resources/] SPECIAL OFFER: * Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call. Connect: * Visit [https://startupdistillery.com/] my website * Subscribe [https://startupdistillery.com/subscribe] to my newsletter * Work with me [https://startupdistillery.com/services] one-on-one * Tight budget? Check out my Business Plan Kit [https://startupdistillery.com/diykit]

Why People Over 40 are More Likely to Succeed When Starting a Business

If you listen to the media, it’s easy to get the impression that if you’re not in your 20s you’ve missed your chance and it’s too late to start a new business.  While the media may put most of their focus on younger entrepreneurs, in the real world, successful founders definitely skew older. In fact, research from the Harvard Business Review shows the average age of a successful startup founder is 45. In this episode you will learn: The 5 things entrepreneurs over 40 have going for them that younger people don’t. Age truly can be an advantage in starting a business — so don’t listen to the media. Resources: * Harvard Business Review [https://hbr.org/2018/07/research-the-average-age-of-a-successful-startup-founder-is-45] * Stop Worrying About the Other Guy [https://startupdistillery.com/stop-worrying-about-the-competition/] * Take the Time to Figure Out the Important Details [https://startupdistillery.com/business-plans-are-not-waste-of-time/] * The Secret to Getting it Right the First Time [https://startupdistillery.com/startup-secret-to-get-it-right-the-first-time/] * DIY Business Plan Kit [https://startupdistillery.com/diykit] SPECIAL OFFER: * Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call. Connect: * Visit [https://startupdistillery.com] my website * Book [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] a FREE discovery call * Subscribe [https://startupdistillery.com/subscribe] to my newsletter * Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit [https://startupdistillery.com/diykit]

How to Fund Your Business Without Selling Your Soul

In this episode you will learn: * How myths and biases influence your funding goals. * So much of the advice out there is about the “right” way to raise funds — but that advice is only focused on a very small group of businesses that are on a very particular trajectory: scale (or grow) incredibly fast, then sell. * Securities lawyer Jenny Kassan [jennykassan.com] pulls back the curtain on ways to raise funds that other people don’t even know about. Resources: * Jenny Kassan [jennykassan.com] SPECIAL OFFER: * Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting with Diane [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call. Connect: * Visit [https://startupdistillery.com] my website * Book [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] a FREE discovery call * Subscribe [https://startupdistillery.com/subscribe] to my newsletter * Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit [https://startupdistillery.com/diykit]

How to Start a Business in a Crowded Market

It’s one thing to enter a new or underserved market where simply being there is enough. But to start a venture in a saturated market? How can you compete against dozens — or hundreds — of businesses that basically do the same thing?  In business there’s room for everyone... as long as everyone is different. But you have to be a special kind of different. Nail that, and you won’t really be “competing” against anyone. Find out how in this episode. In this episode you will learn: 1. What is a same-same business. 2. What is a same-different business. 3. How to make your business same-different. Resources: * A Capella Books [https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-one-independent-bookstore-succeeds-in-the-amazon-age-11556503740] * How to Interview Customers to Find Out What They REALLY Want [https://startupdistillery.com/how-to-interview-customers-to-find-out-what-they-REALLY-want] * Stop Worrying About the Other Guy [https://startupdistillery.com/stop-worrying-about-the-competition/] SPECIAL OFFER: * Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call. Connect: * Visit [https://startupdistillery.com] my website * Book [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] a FREE discovery call * Subscribe [https://startupdistillery.com/subscribe] to my newsletter * Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit [https://startupdistillery.com/diykit]

Want to Hook Investors? Do These 2 Things

When it comes to attracting investors, it takes more than painting a rosy financial picture. Investors need to be romanced. To do that, you have to connect with investors on two levels: the head and the heart. When you do that you not only grab their attention, but keep it. They sit up and take notice. They become interested. And ideally, they connect so strongly with the vision for your business that they want to get involved and fund it. If you want to make that happen for your startup, here’s how to do it. In this episode you will learn: 1. How to PERSUADE. 2. How to create an emotional connection. 3. How to create an objective connection based on reason and logic. Resources: * Financial Projections Explained (even if you’re not a numbers person) [https://startupdistillery.com/financial-projections-for-beginners/] * How to Interview Customers to Find Out What They REALLY Want [https://startupdistillery.com/how-to-interview-customers-to-find-out-what-they-REALLY-want] * How to Make Educated Guesses for Your Financial Projections [https://startupdistillery.com/talk-to-people-for-your-business-plan/] * How to Get It Right the First Time [https://startupdistillery.com/startup-secret-to-get-it-right-the-first-time/] SPECIAL OFFER: * Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call. Connect: * Visit [https://startupdistillery.com] my website * Book [https://startupdistillery.com/calendar] a FREE discovery call * Subscribe [https://startupdistillery.com/subscribe] to my newsletter * Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit [https://startupdistillery.com/diykit]