We have no Competition

Posted in Business Plan Tips, Entrepreneurship, strategy
By David Kaplan -
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Entrepreneurs sometimes think it is great idea to claim that they have no competition.  They suppose that investors will be impressed with the originality of their business idea and its potential to make money where there are no pesky competitors to take market share.  Don’t ever write that in a business plan.  Nothing could be […]

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The Ground Floor Trap

Posted in Entrepreneurship, strategy
By David Kaplan -
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Entrepreneurs naturally look for growing markets. The opportunity to “get in on the ground floor” in a fast emerging market is certainly attractive. Still, fast emerging markets also present a set of predictable strategic risks that entrepreneurs will want to consider with care.

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Best Practice for Online Marketing

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Marketing
By David Kaplan -
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The fast-moving world of online marketing has taken giant strides with the advent of social networking.  SEO and SEM are now the basics and MySpace, Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter are all the rage.  As new tools come on line, I pay close attention to what Guy Kawasaki is saying and doing.  He not only stays right on […]

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Look at Your Venture as an Investor Would

Posted in Business Plan Tips, Entrepreneurship
By David Kaplan -
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When you buy candy, you think of it as something sweet. When you sell candy you think of it as a product. A similar dynamic is at play when entrepreneurs write business plans, except that all too often it works backwards. The seller (entrepreneur) sees the sweet upside and the potential investor views the risk […]

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