The advisory board is an informal panel of experts and other people who are interested in seeing the new venture succeed. They are a useful and less costly alternative to a formal board of directors, Advisory boards can range from those that meet once or twice a year and do […]
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The decision to have a board of directors is influenced by the legal form of a business venture. If the new venture is a corporation, a board of directors is required and is elected by the shareholders. If the business needs venture capital, a board will be necessary, and the […]
Most entrepreneurs overlook the value of a relationship with a competent insurance agent, but a growing venture will require several types of insurance: Property Medical Errors and Omissions Life (on key managers) Workers’ Compensation Directors and Officers Unemployment Auto (on the firm’s vehicles) Liability (product and personal) Bonding Major insurance […]
[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form] There is a saying that all banks are alike until you need a loan. Today, this is truer than ever, so having a qualified banker on the advisory team will put a new venture […]
A lawyer is an advocate, but an accountant is bound by rules and ethics that do not permit advocacy. Whereas an attorney is bound to represent his or her client no matter what the client does, an accountant cannot defend a client who does something that violates the accounting industry’s […]
When a new venture is in its infancy, it generally doesn’t have the resources to hire in-house professional help such as an attorney or accountant. Instead, it must rely on building relationships with professionals on an “as needed” basis. These professionals provide information and services not normally within the […]
It is becoming more and more common for entrepreneurs with either large and small companies to outsource all or parts of their product development to third parties. This decision is due in large part to today’s requirements for fast-paced innovation with shorter windows of opportunity. Most start-up companies don’t have […]
Most large corporations have departments responsible for research and development, engineering, and testing. In many cases, the budgets for these departments are astronomical, because new products development and the continual improvement of existing products and processes are among the most important challenging tasks of high performing, world-class businesses. In the […]
One of the most difficult tasks facing the entrepreneur is forecasting demand for the new product or service, particularly if that product or service has never existed previously in the market place. Much of this difficulty is due to the lack of historical data and to issues of seasonality […]
It is useful to build a business model in stages. Stage 1: Identify the entrepreneur’s position in the value chain The first step in developing a business model is to identify the entrepreneur’s place in the value chain. If the entrepreneur’s company is a supplier or producer of raw materials, […]
