Business Planning

How to Segment Your Customers for Higher Profits

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Like it or not, customers are not all created equal. Are they all equally profitable? No. Can your business afford to service every customer? No. Shouldn’t you treat them all the same? No. No. No. If you don’t know one customer from the next, wake up and smell the segmentation. In almost every business, just [...]

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Top 5 Pet Peeves of Venture Capitalists

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Venture Capitalists can be a tough group to please. Because they hear hundreds of pitches every year, VC learn to sort the best from the B.S. I had a chance to discuss this topic with Mr. Ed Goodman, General Partner and Co-Founder of Milestone Venture Partners in New York City. During his VC career, Ed [...]

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3.5 Places Where Angel Investors Hide

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You’ve probably heard stories of Angel Investors swooping in to help fund a company. In today’s tight financial environment, it almost sounds like an urban myth. But wealthy individuals who invest in private companies do exist. And they are more plentiful than you might imagine. You might already know several. Now, I wouldn’t count on [...]

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2 Websites Every Business Planner Must Know

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Whether you’re a launching a new product or a new startup, business planning and funding takes a huge amount of time. Now you can cut weeks – or maybe even months – off of the business planning and fundraising process of your new business idea. Before you do anything else, get to know these 2 [...]

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Don’t Grow Like Groupon: Why Growth is Bad for Your Business

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In today’s hyper-fast business world, we watch startups like Groupon go from zero to billions seemingly overnight. It’s tempting to measure yourself by these examples and to feel wholly inadequate. Personally, I have to wonder: Why aren’t my businesses growing as fast as these new-age juggernauts? What am I doing wrong? Is hyper-growth the new “normal”? The truth is, Groupon-style [...]

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Quit Your Job Now – While You Still Can

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A Harvard Business Review article (and podcast) called “The High Intensity Entrepreneur” makes this shocking claim: “To be successful, entrepreneurs should wait until they are in their 30′s before launching a business.” I almost dropped my iPod when I heard this. The article actually quotes a study that says most highly successful entrepreneurs worked for [...]

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The big piece of paper that changed my business forever

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It is said that writing things down creates a certain kind of magic. It must be true. In business, the most powerful magic I’ve ever seen came from a 24″ x 36″ piece of paper and a colored marker that became my business dashboard. After I created a business dashboard, nothing was ever the [...]

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Gimme a Latte … and a $50,000 Loan to go

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Starbucks just announced an innovative new small business loan program called “Create Jobs for USA”. Yes, along with doling out $5 cups of coffee, Starbucks will now fund loans of $50,000 and more for small businesses in the USA. The company has a history of “micro-finance” in developing countries; this is its first program here at [...]

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Ace Your Investor Pitch: “Say This Not That!”

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Few companies are invited to pitch to investors, even fewer will leave with a check. Winning an investment from VC, Angels or PEGs is tough because even a small mistake can sink your chances. In the high-pressure boardroom where millions hang in the balance, there are some things just better left unsaid. Here’s my 5 favorite phrases that no investor [...]

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VIDEO: “Why” Is the Reason Some Companies Rocket to the Top

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This is not a finance topic, but it’s the key to nearly everything else in your business. You already know the “TED Talks“, right? Well here’s one that is both Inspiring and Useful. Posted above is a talk that Simon Sinek should have called “The WHY of Market Leaders”. Take his advice to heart, and it will change your [...]

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The Internet is Making You Stoopid

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While most Americans were surfing funny pet videos on YouTube last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Internet is making us stupid and killing the kind of creativity that entrepreneurs need. But surprise! It’s not YouTube or LOLcats that is squashing entrepreneurship. In fact, just the opposite. Here’s the quote: “…while the Web [...]

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Business Plan Magic: Shrink a Harry Potter Novel to a Single Page

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The magic of Harry Potter recently found its way into business strategy and planning. In fact, author J. K. Rowling gave up one amazing secret to her creative genius that every entrepreneur would do well to learn. No, she did not conjure her 3,407 page chronology using black magic, a wand or a potion. In [...]

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Entrepreneurship: Now Available at Your Local University

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I’m thrilled that “entrepreneurship” is now a major you can study in school. In fact, you can get a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. College is a time for focused, intense learning no matter what subject you pick. Same holds for business majors and entrepreneurs as it does for doctors and lawyers. Dilbert creator Scott [...]

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How a Boy Billionaire Starts a New Business

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Boy billionaire Sean Parker got famous pretty young and pretty fast. If you are old enough to remember the original company called “Napster” then you know the kind of trouble Sean Parker caused in 1999. His amazing little file-sharing company kicked off a revolution in the music business and made (then 19-year-old) Parker an overnight celebrity… [...]

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Bank Loans: 7 Secrets to Crack the Safe Wide Open

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Lending is tight, but loans are available for the well-informed. If you are looking for a business loan, know these 7 keys to approval before you sit down with a banker. You won’t find these secrets anywhere else!

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Success Is Not An Accident

Business success comes to those who make better decisions than their competitors. As much as we'd like to think that entrepreneurs should "follow their gut" and "go on instinct", the fact is that great decisions -- the kind that will vault you past your competitors -- come from careful analysis and clear strategy.

That's where Rock Solid Finance can help. Enjoy some of our thoughts on strategy and finance on this website, then call us and see what we can do to make your business Rock Solid.

Call us today: 704-614-2701 or email: Ask@RockSolidFinance.com
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