I have just recently partnered with a network of 800 Family Offices around the world that are interested in acquisitions and investments for US based companies. If you send me a pm with the details of your company I could evaluate to build a first connection.

One of the most toxic ways early stage companies fail is picking bad co-founders. Building a business is hard, and if you expect to ever make it anywhere worth mentioning, you're going to need help. Anything past a cute business that makes you a couple hundred bucks a month is going to have more work than you think. There is simply too much to do alone. My suggestion: Do your best to find someone you can work with. The best business leaders find ways to bring in diversity of thought. Assemble your team to fill in your gaps. If you think you have none, you're being dishonest with yourself. Take your time with the search. Picking a bad co-founder will take you nowhere fast, like you've seen. Start with Angellist, ask a lot of questions. Good luck!

Yes, the IRS does recognize their role as non-profit volunteers and I'll list some of what they can deduct from their taxable income. They can choose between deducting gas/oil used or mileage. If they don't have their own transportation they can deduct subway, bus, or taxi fare. They can also deduct food and uniform cost, and other expenses they incur and out-of-pocket costs while volunteering.

Demos and free trials seem to be the only ways SaaS vendors can think about selling. Funny thing: the same issues that plagued the IT field ten years ago (!) continue today. The answer is in education. I don't mean teaching the prospect for free; I mean as the seller educating yourself on the true state of the target market so you can begin the sales conversation on ground they already believe in...and using education as a tool to bring the prospect around to your point of view. I've made a couple videos and written a couple blog posts on the topic. Here they are: Why Demos Fail to Sell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKK5Anu9keM Blog post: http://www.salestactics.org/why-demos-fail-to-sell/ SaaS Sales Problems: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDZQ_8Srt7g Blog post: http://www.salestactics.org/how-saas-vendors-get-it-wrong/ If you want to develop an effective sales funnel for your SaaS, book a call and let's get started. Given the jump in expertise required, it's probably not something you're going to figure out correctly on your own in a short time, and I can save you that time--and those lost sales.

HelIo, I personally recently raised $1.2M seed investment for my own startup after one year of networking events, startup competitions and pitch sessions. Today I work for a network of 800 US Family Offices as external advisor. We are looking to invest in US based companies for series A,B,C rounds. If you send me more information about your project/pitch with a PM I can evaluate if I can help.

Without question you can! I've put out over 150 apps into the app store without knowing how to code and have gotten over 1 million downloads in the consumer space. You just need to find the best people to help you see your vision through. Start by putting together a clickable prototype so that people can see your vision. Tools like POP are great for doing this. https://popapp.in/ It's hard for people to get a grasp on an idea until they can see it in action. If you want a more high fidelity prototype, get a professional designer and use Invision . https://www.invisionapp.com/. This is especially important when talking to developers or investors. Is it a SaaS (Software as a Service) type product? If so, you can try to get some pre-sales by showing your target customer your clickable prototype to help validate your idea before spending money to get it developed. This alone can save you a lot of time and money. It sounds like you're a good salesman if you've got 1 M in revenue. If you have any questions about how to find people to build it, how to oversee the process, how to quickly validate the idea, or talk through anything else related, I'm happy to jump on a call. Thanks, Greyson

Hi, What you're contemplating is a licensing model. It's like 'franchise lite.' There are several questions you need to answer for yourself before you go recruiting any licensees. For example, are there any business systems that will come with the franchise in addition to the brand name? How will you control the systems and guarantee the client experience? The more 'controlling' your agreement is, the more you may be deemed to be selling a franchise which introduces complicated compliance requirements. I've helped many others work out licensing schemes before. Arrange a call if you'd like to chat. Also, you should read Franchise Warnings. Available from Amazon. David Barnett

I am not a lawyer or an attorney and this is not "professional advice." Hire an accountant who is familiar with licensing. Stay away from the franchising route if you can: it's expensive, the lawyers are expensive, and you are open to attack from inside and out (franchisees and customers). I was a senior executive at an Inc. Top 1000 franchise firm and saw this from the inside--though we didn't have an issue with our franchisees, I saw plenty of franchisors who did. Learn about licensing. Figure out how to write the contract so you have control over some measurable variables, eg. customer count, revenues, # of complaints, etc. As long as the licensee remains in tolerance, they're fine, but if they go outside you drop them. You are going to have to invest in an attorney to create the boilerplate contract, and an accountant to manage the process (which you should probably do first.) Don't cheap out. You're protecting yourself here. BTW looks like Jeff Retchman in this thread could help you as well: https://clarity.fm/questions/1258/how-to-license-with-a-revenue-based-model

Tying your compensation to your performance can not only increase your revenue stream, but also your chances of closing new deals. Instead of replacing your pricing model, you can keep your current monthly rate, but add one or more of the pricing models discussed below. This should not endanger the closing of a deal, since the performance-based portion of the price not only conveys confidence and honesty while limiting the client's financial exposure, but also makes the fixed (e.g. monthly rate) portion look like a good deal because it gets viewed as only a portion of the total cost. Furthermore, doing so will encourage you to keep offering more value, since more value (not just more work) will translate to more revenue. Over the years, I have dealt with many advertising agencies as well as providers of advertising tools. Some typical pricing models from my experience are listed below. Not all apply to every situation: some are good for e-commerce and other advertising campaigns that are directly tied to revenue, others are more suitable for advertising efforts less directly connected to revenue, e.g. publicity campaigns, some social media work, etc. I have tried to detail them here, but if you have any questions, I am happy to discuss them on a call, or in this thread. GROSS PROFIT SHARE: The agency takes a share of their gross profit, which means that it would pay attention to advertising products and services with higher margin, and allocate advertising funds accordingly. This can be tracked by asking the client to assign a gross profit margin to each product/service that the agency helps advertise; then the agency takes a set percentage of that profit. Essentially is like a revenue share agreement, but a variable commission, based on profitability of each product or service for the client, as follows: Formula: Item revenue x item profit margin x agency's rate = agency income For example, the agency shifts spending to campaigns for product A and those like it, because: Product A: $1000 x 50% x 15% = $1000 x .5 x .15 = $75 Product B: $1000 x 10% x 15% = $1000 x .1 x .15 = $15 With larger accounts, it is possible to have a profit share that goes beyond just gross profit, but that is a dangerous territory for an agency, unless its relationship with the client is well established, since even more things that are out of the agency's control can reduce the amount of such profits. REVENUE SHARE: This works just as a profit share agreement does, but is much more common, and certainly easier to track. Since the agency only takes a percentage of the revenue that its advertising produces, regardless of what the profit margin is. PAY PER ACTION/LEAD/ETC.: The agency sets a price that it collects per conversion, which it should track using web, call and other analytic software. The further down the pipeline the conversion, the higher the agency can charge for it. For example the price of a regular website form lead, can be far higher if the provided phone number is answered when called back. Some advertising services make tracking this easier than others, e.g. Google AdWords Call Tracking https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6100664?hl=en. BONUS FOR MILESTONES: It is possible for an agency to set arbitrary or rational milestones for receiving bonus payments, e.g. certain level of revenue generated for the client, or certain level of social media clout/followers/etc. achieved. COST PERCENTAGE: By far my least favourite, some large providers that offer tools to centralize advertising campaigns, as well as some advertising agencies, charge a percentage of the advertising expenditure (Ad Spend). From a client's perspective, the more they spend on advertising campaigns, the more they must pay the agency, regardless of the level of success achieved by those campaigns.

I have worked with some success on upwork.com. I would suggest to lower the budget but pay them in time right after they send you the project and you have properly tested it.

Don't worry, everyone starts off 'drawing what they see' (basically copying). You do that for a while before being able to create your own original work. You'll feel better after reading the New York Times Bestseller, "Steal Like an Artist". From a neuroscience perspective: After some time, the brain circuits that have formed from you copying things (i.e. taking in sensory input, and outputting your attempted accurate version of it) will start allowing you to start putting your own twist on things. This is because 1) the circuits are being influenced by all the different things you've copied, and 2) the circuits are never perfect. Thereafter, when you see new things your brain will put its own twist on it, and your 'original output' will start coming out. It will be, like your brain circuits that produce it, influenced by a combination of 1) all the things you've seen and copied in the past (i.e. the things that have influenced you), and 2) have some unique twists put on it due to your unique and personal brain circuits. That's what original work is.

Create an investor list who have a history of investing in similar lines. It may lead to deep research. Reach out to them via mails/calls for an introductory call. I am sure someone might be interested in your product but patience is the key. I helped a similar client in the past with some back ground research. If interested, I can help you too.. Good luck.

Yo are talking apples and oranges. Capital gains are related to your basis not the form of payment. If you are a cash basis taxpayer, you pay taxes when you receive cash beyond your basis. We can help you with structure.

You'll get more individual attention with a single person, but unless you're paying a full-time salary, you won't be that person's only client. CRO work can be billed hourly or by project. For someone really good, you can expect to pay $100-150/hr, probably. Look for stats. Not all campaigns are the $300,000,000 button— https://articles.uie.com/three_hund_million_button/ —but showing you stats means that CRO person or agency is doing their dilligence to track their own progress. YOU should define the goals, not them. But they should definitely be able to explain in great detail how they plan to achieve your goals. No smoke and mirrors. Get specifics. Be skeptical of promises or guarantees. Be accepting of softer language like estimate, experiment, trial, variable, likelihood, etc. And to answer your last question, if you have good traffic but few leads, yes CRO is what you need. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

One of the best incentives for employees is recognition, reward them by communicating face-to-face about how great of a job they are doing. They will continue trying to please you. Another great incentive is to give them flexible hours. Other incentives that worked were giving employees prime parking, pizza parties, flip flop/jeans day, day off work pass and new office chair. Just be creative how you reward your employees and they will work hard. An incentive I don't recommend is cold hard cash.

I own a digital marketing agency and I LOVE helping people with technology solutions! There are soooo many different inexpensive/free tools and technology solutions out there that can really benefit your business! Some of the ones we use are Facebook's Power Editor, https://www.leadpages.net/, and Rebrandly. If you'd like some more suggestions, please reach out to me! You can also look at our awesome blog, which has lots of info: http://www.bloominari.com/blog

There is a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding content marketing and its need within a brand’s overall marketing strategy. Doing content marketing is much more than publishing on your blog occasionally and posting your thoughts on social media. “Do stuff and maybe it will work” is not a strategy, it is a gamble. A risky and expensive one, at that. Even so, many brands have yet to create an effective content marketing strategy. What does such a strategy look like? Where are the examples of brands doing it well? What is Content Marketing: Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it. This generation of customers are taking drastic steps to avoid marketing messages. As consumers, we use DVRs to skip television ads, pay internet radio subscription fees to avoid commercials, mentally block out — or use plug-ins to avoid — internet click ads, and gloss over road-side billboards, rendering them useless and ineffective. So how are marketers supposed to combat this shift? Education. Consumers are still buying and making purchases, but the way they go about making a decision has changed. With all of the world’s information at their finger tips, savvy consumers are doing enormous amounts of learning and self-education before stepping into a showroom or talking to a salesperson. Knowing this is a huge opportunity for brands. If you know consumers are looking for information, be the source of that information. Not with sales-y content that puts your priorities before theirs, but information that the buyer really wants and needs. The Marketing and Sales Departments must align to create a buying path for this new era of consumers that provides authentic and transparent information about a product or service (the mission of Marketing) and closing the sale (the mission of Sales). Content marketing closes this gap by using brand-created educational content to satisfy the prospective buyer while helping the sales team convert anonymous visitors into buyers. Thought leaders and marketing experts from around the world, including the likes of Seth Godin and hundreds of the leading thinkers in marketing have concluded that content marketing isn’t just the future, it’s the present (see the video below on the history of content marketing). The key ingredient to using content to attract new customers is in the advanced planning. The strategy. What is a Content Marketing Strategy: A content marketing strategy is a roadmap; a “User’s Guide” to how your brand will do the following: - Meet the customer at their specific point within their buying cycle - Align the customer’s needs with your knowledge and expertise - Use your brand’s assets to meet these objectives Business-to-Business marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy are 66% more likely to consider themselves effective compared to only 11% of those without a documented strategy. A content marketing plan helps you see the end-game before you have even started. Further, it gives a clear, articulable vision for your entire team and keeps you on track throughout the campaign. Just like New Years resolutions often fade into a foggy memory, our intentions are good – but we allow resolutions to fail. To be successful in any strategy, we need to be intentional. For proper sales and marketing alignment, and for the success of your bottom line, you must have a plan in place. How to Start Your Content Strategy: The framework of a content marketing strategy is fairly straight forward: - Who are you targeting? What are their needs? - How are you going to reach them? (Attract new and nurture existing) - What content do you have now to get started? - What is your plan to develop and share more - How will you measure your efforts 1. Personas Take some time to consider who you are targeting. Are they male or female? Does it matter? Do they have a career? Children? Are they affluent? Coupon cutters? What are their goals? What happens if they do not reach them? Is their a monetary penalty for them? Will meeting this goal further their career? Will it make them happy? Clearly defining your targeted personas will save you a lot of time, energy, and money as you continue your business. With this person in mind, your content marketing strategy will begin to fall into place and you will feel that you are having a conversation with this “person”, rather than blindly throwing stuff out there. 2. Outreach Content marketing and social media are often used synonymously. This is a mistake. Content marketing is a broad method of marketing whereas social media is a tool that complements getting your content seen. Imagine your website as your online hub, where all of your brand-controlled content resides, your social media profiles are spokes that lead back to your home base. Social media has the power to reach incredible numbers of potential customers, influencers, existing customers, and even the opportunity to convert customers from competitors. Social media, in and of itself, is not content marketing. It is one of your outreach tools. 3. Available Content Next, take stock of materials you have on hand already. Many of us sit in offices filled with brochures, flyers, handouts, manuals, and documents loaded with helpful information, but we do little to extend that information to potential customers on the web. Make a list of the content available to you immediately and start identifying which persona is most aligned, where they are within their sales process, and what pain point they are currently facing. Getting started, you can use what you have on hand. But I recommend expecting this low-hanging fruit to run out. You should plan on developing your own, unique content. For a number of reasons, search engines reward fresh, unique content. Further, your prospective customers will be looking for information that is not available everywhere. Your unique perspective and “voice” (the tone in which you talk, the way you communicate, and what you share) may be the first experience a prospective customer has with you. This is the beginning of a long business relationship. 4. Schedule and Share Your Content After you have compiled your educational materials, grab a calendar. I recommend looking out 3-4 months to start. Mark holidays, special events, and milestones. Working backwards, prepare your marketing message for these campaigns. For example, one client of ours hosts 4-5 annual sales. They all surround major US holidays (New Years, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving/Black Friday). By knowing this, it is easy for us to prepare everything from banner ads, Pinterest images, blog posts, Facebook Status, videos, and even newspaper ads (don’t shoot the messenger). Once you have those events marked, consider a “theme” of the week for those 3-4 months. With that theme, and your personas in mind, write out the following for each week: - 2 Blog Posts - 8-10 Facebook updates - 20-30 Twitter updates - 4-5 product photos for Pinterest - 3-4 Instagram ideas - 1 Video By no means is this list all-inclusive. It is a starting point to get you thinking about how to plan content. To get a specific content marketing plan designed for your brand, I need to interview you and understand your goals, personas, and timeline. 5. Analytics Finally, how are you going to measure your work? Remember when we set up our goals earlier? Were you specific in identifying how many leads you want to generate? “Get more leads” is a horrible strategy, better is “Gain 50 new leads by September 1st” or “increase from 6% conversion rate to 12% conversion rate” These types of goals are easily measured and tracked. Do you have a mechanism in place to measure, monitor, and gauge your efforts? Further, do you have the right people on your team to help you know what is working and what is not? Can you explain why certain marketing dollars are generating a return on your investment while others fall flat? Final Thoughts Just like runners know the course of the race before they start, your brand should know the route you will take to your finish line. Having a strong content marketing strategy in place will ensure your team is setup for success. Using content is a great way to use search engines to bring people to your website/blog. Then use that content to share on social media where your ideal reader is hanging out. If you'd like help, please drop me a note here. All the best, -Shaun

Hey! The first thing that you should consider when trying to rebrand is identify your market's most common objections. Why are consumers hesitant to purchase second hand clothing? Once you've identified these problem factors, you can start developing a strong marketing strategy. For example, second hand clothing often triggers thoughts of "old", "worn out", or even "out of style." None of these are very appealing, and will force consumers to look the other way. Consider how you can effectively combat these thoughts. A possible solution may be how you're marketing your products. If you're selling products piece by piece, you could try marketing entire outfits. By showcasing the second hand pieces as an entire outfit, you can show consumers that the items are very much in style. As someone who has always struggled with being stylish, buying second hand clothes can be very intimidating. This is especially true for people who don't feel they have the fashion sense to accurately pair unique items and create a great outfit. By selling the pieces as entire outfits, you take the guesswork out of the styling process and make it easy for these people to buy. I hope this begins to spark some creative ideas for you as you rebrand your marketplace. I'd love to speak with you about this some more, and develop a strong strategy together. Please feel free to give me a call!

www.internshala.com

According to Sensor Tower volumes Snapchat has no signs of desperation. Rebranding usually has nothing to do with desperation or failing products, more likely with a different market positioning. Snapchat could be sold tomorrow for around 15 billions with just 330 employees. To me this looks pretty successful !

You need to do two things to get calls. First, optimize your profile so it is clean and professional. Make sure you have a picture of yourself and images to go with each expertise offering. Complete all parts of your profile so potential callers aren't turned away by an incomplete, haphazard appearance. After all, without any reviews, your profile content and images are all they have to go on. Read up on copywriting to understand how to make what you are presenting compelling. Second, spread the word and get your name out there. Answers questions on here for topics you can help people with. Add a link back to your Clarity profile on anywhere you have a presence such as Facebook, Twitter, your website, email signature, etc. Also mention your Clarity profile when you help them with something too so they can follow-up and book a call. If you need help with any of this, I'd be glad to chat further, just shoot me a message.

Hi, this is an issue faced by many entrepreneurs. I've sold two businesses and have been a business broker where I helped to sell over 35 others and I've learned from my own experiences and from observing others. Here's what you need to ask yourself: 1. Is there another project I wish to take on right away? 2. Could I use a rest? Employees are better able to forget the workplace once they leave the office. 3. Do I have a sense of duty to the employees to ensure the transition has a solid foundation? Even though you're no longer the owner you may still care deeply about the business and wish to see it succeed. Deciding to stay is not a 'forever' decision. Keeping active and earning while truly enjoying weekends and vacation can give you a rest while leaving your finger in the pulse to identify your next opportunity. Me, I left. In one case I was too excited for the next thing. In the next, there was no place for me. Cheers, Arrange a call if you'd like to chat. Dave

There are a number of blog writing / content creation & management resources: Zery's, ion, Ceros, Kapost, for example. However, your best bet is to handle this process in-house on behalf of your clients. Use LinkedIn to connect with freelance writers. Your best results will come when you can partner with a freelance writer who has a basic understanding of the topics you are looking to have covered. Let me know if you need any more guidance. I've operated an agency for 15+ years and now consult on the topic of running an agency (specifically outsourcing such tasks). -Shaun

Use Wordpress if you're familiar with Office tools like Word. Watch some videos on Youtube to learn about it. Advantage: you own the domain. If you're not, there are plenty of drag-and-drop builders available out there. Disadvantage: you don't own the domain; it's a subdomain of the host eg. yoursite.wix.com