How to raise money for your tech startup

written by Kris Appel

As a first-time entrepreneur, raising the money to launch launch a medical device was a significant undertaking.

I am not only a first-time entrepreneur, but I chose to start a company in an unfamiliar field. I have a background in linguistics, but my company develops medical technology for stroke rehabilitation.

So I started this endeavor with two strikes against me. This month, I will close my Series A round, and my first product was launched this summer, a rehabilitation device that improves arm function in survivors of stroke and other brain injury. Here is how I was able to attract investment:

• Humility -- Everyone knows something I don’t. Why wouldn't I want to learn from them? I am thankful that people care enough about me to offer their advice and give me their time. I'm sure they have other things to do, but they've chosen to spend this part of their day with me, and I'm going to listen to what they have to say.

• Be nice to everyone, all the time -- I’ve met people everywhere who might turn out to be investors or important advisors. You never know when someone is going to help you, it could be weeks or even YEARS away, but you want them to remember you fondly, and to want to help you succeed.

• Meet with everyone who asks -- Especially early on, I met with everyone who requested a meeting with me. And I didn’t mind asking each person for something -- a referral, a market report, scientific data I couldn’t afford to buy, business advice. Some of those casual meetings turned into major investments later.

• Enter business plan competitions -- I entered, and won, a few business plan competitions. In addition to winning cash for my business, I made a lot of contacts, got some very positive press, and got a TON of free advice about my business plan.

• Let people get to know you -- All of my investors were strangers to me when I started this company. But I sought them out in the beginning as advisors, and spent time with them over months and years, talking about progress I’ve made and where I’m headed. It helped to build trust and credibility, and they eventually invested.

• Be patient -- Every single aspect of this business has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. But so far everything has happened exactly as expected, just at a different time.

• Surround yourself with supportive people -- This is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do. I needed all the courage I could muster, and support from friends and family. I dropped friends who couldn’t support me, and found new ones who understood. It made a difference.

• Keep your business plan current -- This seems obvious but it’s harder than you think. Almost every month STILL I take time to update my business plan. You never know when you’ll need to email it to someone, or enter it into a business plan competition, or use parts of it for a grant or loan application.

Kris is the founder of Encore Path, a medical technology start-up in Baltimore.

Retrieved on 11 October 2009 from http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/technology/2009/10/how_to_raise_money_for_your_te.html

10 Ways To Make Your Freelance Business Fail

written by Laura Spencer

As I wade through the many blog posts and articles written about freelancing, I notice a very definite trend. While there are ample materials written for the freelancer who wants to succeed, there seems to bevirtually nothing written for the freelancer who wants his or her freelance business to fail.

It seems a bit unfair, really. I can picture some poor freelancer miserably trapped in his or her success and desperately wanting to get out. Where can they turn to for advice?

Before today, resources for freelancers wanting to fail were scarce. Today, however, we’re going to fix that problem right here at FreelanceFolder.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself this business would be perfect if it weren’t for all of my clients, then this post is for you. We’ll give you a list of tactics that will drive those pesky clients away and quickly lead to your ultimate goal: freelancing failure.

Ten Easy Ways To Fail at Freelancing
Failing at freelancing is not nearly as difficult as many people think. In fact, you can probably find ways to avoid working without ever leaving your home or investing any money.

Here are ten easy ways to fail at freelancing with hardly any effort:
1. Take deadlines as a loose suggestion. If you can meet a deadline, great. If not, well don’t sweat it. You’ve heard of the saying “fashionably late?” Well, when it comes to freelance failure that saying applies to projects too.

2. Take your time when replying to clients. Why reply today when you could reply tomorrow? Keeping them waiting is one of the best ways to fail. The longer the wait, the better your chances of scaring them away.

3. Don’t answer your phone either. There could be a client or potential client on the other end of that line. You have better things to do with your time than talk to a client. Let it ring! Best of all, don’t invest in an answering machine or any kind of voicemail system, that way you’ll never even have to get back to them.

4. Don’t deliver what the client wants. You’re probably smarter than your client and your taste is probably better than theirs too. When your desires conflict with the client’s wants, choose to do what you want to do. You’ll be happier, and they’ll get a better project.

5. Let your emotions out, all of them. If you’re mad at a client, let them know about it. There’s no sense in letting all that anger build up inside you where it could possibly spoil your day. Why not let it spoil your client’s day instead?

6. Run errands. If you work at home, you’re probably surrounded by household tasks that need doing. Why not take a break from work and do them? After all, your priorities are at least as important as the priorities of your clients, right?

7. Fast track your failure with video games. Video games are awesome if you’re trying to fail at freelancing. You can spend hours, even days, playing video games instead of working on your projects.

8. Get wrapped up in daytime television. You’ve probably heard people say that “there’s nothing on during the day.” Well, they’re wrong. Turn your television set on and you’ll quickly discover that there are programs that air during the day.

9. Take up a hobby. Be sure to choose one that has nothing at all to do with your freelancing business. Devote as much time as possible to your hobby – even time that you would normally reserve for client work.

10. You have a bed, use it. Don’t bother to get up in the morning. In fact, if you don’t feel like it, don’t get up at all. When you’re trying to fail your rest is much more important than your freelancing business.

Share Your Tips for Freelancing Failure
All right, I have to admit it. Nobody here at Freelance Folder really wants your freelance business to fail.

However, we freelancers sometimes behave as though we want our business to fail without realizing it. Recognizing and eliminating these failure-causing behaviors can actually help you find freelancing success.

Did you recognize yourself in any of these failure tips, even a little bit? Are there other freelance failure tips that you would add to the list?

About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts

Retrieved on 13th October 2009 from http://freelancefolder.com/how-to-make-your-freelance-business-fail/

When Work Doesn't Make You Happy

written by Gill Corkindale

Thanks to everyone who responded to last week's post about whether work should make us happy. There are some great insights and suggestions from readers on how they manage this difficult balance, from the philosophical to the personal and practical. Your responses were further confirmation that this is an important subject and I shall certainly be reflecting on them in the weeks ahead as I work with my clients.

One of the reasons why I am especially interested in this subject is because I became unhappy at work some years ago and felt I had to make a change. I had been a journalist for 16 years, when suddenly I knew I'd reached the end of the road. As I began to examine my dissatisfaction, I realised that it was a combination of several things: no clear sense of my next career step; restlessness with the role; the need to broaden my skills; the need for a break and, most importantly, a desire to connect with people.

The effect of my unhappiness became clear as I became irritable with my colleagues and demotivated with the job. But I hung on for a year before I made a move — I found it very difficult to listen to my inner voice telling me I had to give up a successful career. I was lucky, though, because I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to become an executive coach. Even so, the path was certainly not easy. The contacts and friends I thought would support me disappeared, my master plan fell apart, my savings evaporated and two long, dispiriting years passed before my business took off.

Looking back, three sound pieces of advice got me through the hard times:

· Find your own community and support system

· Be prepared to rip up your most cherished plans

· Stick with it for at least two years

I was lucky enough to have friends who helped me emotionally and financially. I went back to university and found a bunch of people who were in the same boat, and later a supportive group of colleagues. I had to give up my plan and roll with the changes. The important thing was that I didn't give up even during the really difficult moments (and there were many!), and as a result clients and associates acknowledged that I was in it for the long term.

I guess the big question now is, am I happier? Well, as we have seen, that's a difficult one to answer! I am certainly happy to be in charge of my own destiny, to have more freedom and to be more engaged with people than before. But it's not all plain sailing: there have been some very difficult moments to weigh against the happiness and satisfaction I now derive from my career. I don't think I would have learned or experienced as much had I stayed in my old job, but on the other hand I miss the camaraderie and fun of the office and the intellectual stimulation from my colleagues.

It all comes down to choice, and this is where I believe happiness lies. In choosing — as far as you are able — what you want to do and how you will do it. While not all of us can choose our work and colleagues, we can all choose how we approach things — with an open, optimistic, and positive outlook or with a frustrated, irritated one. To this end, I suggest you look at the work of positive psychologists such as Martin Seligman and Tal Ben-Shahar, whose course on happiness at Harvard has been inspirational for many students.

Ben-Shahar's six tips for happiness, which include accepting your emotions (positive and negative), engaging in meaningful activities (at work and outside), understanding what you are focusing on, simplifying your life, living healthily, and regularly expressing gratitude are simple and practical.

More personally, the work of Srikumar Rao has been exceptionally helpful to me in defining my life and work. I strongly recommend Professor Rao's down-to-earth yet uplifting approach, which is both refreshing and practical. In a series of exercises he shows the way to build your personal happiness and resilience, including putting an end to your mental chatter, being appropriately selfish, and taking charge of your personal happiness.

What do you think? Do you have any experiences to share about managing your career or changing direction? Or do you have any simple suggestions for putting your life and career in perspective?

Gill Corkindale is an executive coach and writer based in London. She works with managers and leaders from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East to develop strategies for business effectiveness and personal change. Formerly management editor of the Financial Times, she uses her journalistic skills and business insights to bring a new perspective on global management and leadership.

Retrieved on 8^th October 2009 from http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/corkindale/2009/09/when_work_doesnt_make_you_happ.html

Making First Contact With A Client

written by Jan K

The day has arrived! You’ve started your business and you’re about to discuss a project (or order) with your first client.

So…what do you say?

Forget the fact that you really want or need this client. Forget that you’d do just about anything to get the job. Remember that you are now a business. Remember that you are in business to make money (and, hopefully, a profit).

Don’t Be Too Personal

You should definitely be friendly and personable, but don’t be too personal. Your client doesn’t need to know your life’s story. Keep all conversations on track by sticking to business. Answer questions with truthful answers---don’t promise the moon, because you’ll be expected to deliver it.

Congratulations! It Looks Like You Are Going to Get the Job!

Communication with the prospective client is going very well, and you are confident that you are going to get the job. Now is the time to have the “How am I going to get paid?” conversation.

Always keep in mind that you are a business. You want to be paid. You have an expectation as to how and when the client is going to pay you. Don’t be bashful about beginning the discussion:

“I’m looking forward to this opportunity to work with you. I do want to talk about how I’m going to be paid. My expectation is that you’ll pay me immediately after I deliver the finished job. I normally send an invoice along with the job, and ask that you pay me upon receipt of the invoice. Is there any reason why you won’t be able to make immediate payment?”

If the job is going to be on-going for several weeks, you might like to broach the subject of being made on an interim basis:

“For jobs like this that are going to last more than 3 weeks, I ask to be paid for work done to-date at the end of each week [or “for each segment of the job as it is finished”].” Is there any reason why I would not be able to be paid weekly [or “after I send each segment”]?”

The objective here is that you cannot shy away from having this conversation. Again, remember that you are a business and you are in business to make money. That means you expect to be paid. Don’t make the mistake of working for a client who is unwilling to talk about making payment. You can be flexible and understand that sometimes companies have a set procedure for paying invoices, but the bottom line is to have a clear understanding of how and when you are going to be paid before you take the job.

Should You Take a Job that You Don’t Think You Can Handle

Regardless of how “hungry” you are for the work (or how desperate the feeling that you really need to get the job), you do have to be mindful of your limitations. If the client is asking for the impossible, and you have some immediate doubts that you can deliver, then be realistic enough about yourself and your capabilities to turn down the work.

It is also possible that you could do the job, but the client wants it sooner than you know you can finish it, or wants to pay far less than you are asking. Once again, don’t be afraid to say that you can’t take the job with the time or money restrictions imposed by the client.

Know How to Negotiate

Try to maintain a positive attitude, while you are turning down the work:

“I understand that you need it by Thursday, but I cannot have it done by then. I can get it to you by Friday afternoon. Will this work for you?

“I appreciate the fact that you are working within a tight budget, and I’d like to accommodate you, but I’ll need at least $XXX to be able to the whole job. Perhaps there is a specific section that you definitely need to have done, and we can work out a deal for that.”

As you can see, the idea is not to actually turn down the work. Try to negotiate for a different deadline or a different portion of the job that you can do. This indicates to the prospective client that you have some flexibility and that you are making a good effort to accommodate the need for your service.

Should You Take a Job that You Really Don’t Want to Do?

There’s no bigger mistake that you can make. If your brain starts to raise warning flags about the job before you get to the end of the conversation with the client, then you should pay attention to them. For whatever reason, if you don’t feel immediately comfortable about taking the job, you should walk away from it.

Don’t feel as though you need to justify your decision to the client. If you just would rather not take the job (too challenging, too much work, not enough pay, you get a feeling that you might not get paid, etc., then simply state that you are unable to take on the job:

“Now that I understand the entire scope of the job, I find that I just won’t be able to do it for you. I do appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about this project.”

If you don’t think there is a middle road, then don’t even attempt to negotiate for a different deadline or to tackle just a portion of the job. Your first impression is almost always your best impression.

Be An Instant Success!

Follow through on your promises and meet your deadlines, be confident about yourself, and be reasonable about your abilities. Don’t be shy about being business-like when dealing with prospective clients. Take the jobs that you feel comfortable taking, walk away from jobs that give you a bad feeling. You’ll establish yourself as being reliable and as the “go-to” person who can get the job done!

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Jan K., The Proofer is freelance proof reader and copyeditor. Visit http://www.jansportal.com for more information about Jan’s proofreading and copyediting services and Jan's other free resources. Please visit Mom's Break(http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.

Retrieved on 16^th September 2009 from http://www.freelancemom.com/Freelancing_JK.htm

Stop Procrastinating!

Are you burying yourself in busywork to avoid really starting your business? These 10 tips will help you change your attitude--and get going.

written by Carolyn Hueston

Call it what you like. Procrastination. Fear. Necessary preparation. Regardless, the fact is that many new business owners fall into the trap of spending days, weeks and months staying "busy" without actually doing business. Designing business cards and setting up spreadsheets are just some of the tasks that, though necessary, make it tempting to put off doing business. After all, it's more fun to choose fonts than to make cold calls.

It's true that starting a business requires a certain amount of preparation, or as Robert Spiegel, author of The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to the Best Home-Based Businesses, prefers to call it, "pencil sharpening." Luckily, we're here to give you 10 specific ways to move past pencil sharpening and put those pencils to work.

1. Make a List
Making lists is a common denominator in businesses that have moved forward during the startup phase. "People take time-management classes and use various electronic tools, daily planners and software, but all these tools essentially [help make] lists," says Spiegel. "Having a list [is] the most important way to keep procrastination away."

Keep the list in front of you so it's always visible. Says Spiegel, "What worked for me was to color-code the list, drawing [colored] lines beside items [to denote] whether they were to be done today, tomorrow or this month."

2. Take Baby Steps
It can be overwhelming when your to-do list is changing and priorities seem to be wrestling each other, but starting with small, manageable jobs can help thwart fears and minimize anxiety. Focusing on what really matters often comes down to having discipline and a clear vision.

Ruth Ellen Miller, 43, and her father, Jack Miller, 76, had a lot of time on their hands in the early '90s when they started NoUVIR Research in Seaford, Delaware. The company produces a light that helps museums preserve artwork and historical documents. During more than three years of R&D and pending patents, the partners knew where their priorities lay. "It was always our goal to stop the damage happening in museums," says Jack, "but while awaiting patents, we had to pay the rent, so we did some consulting." Annual sales are now $1 million to $5 million.

NoUVIR's philosophy is also framed on the wall for everyone to see: "Plan big. Start small. Don't borrow." Says Jack, "That's our motto, and we never forget it."

3. Find a Customer
If you don't have customers or clients, you don't have a business. Yet finding and committing to that first customer can be a difficult hurdle for many entrepreneurs.

Don Fesenmeyer, 44, owner and founder of Don's Custom Countertops in Longmont, Colorado, recognized the value of customers from the get-go. He says, "Without a customer, you are simply not in business. You have to bring in business first, then build the rest. The biggest thing you can do is try to get customers and business, then use it for leverage in financing. We started with a single customer whom I'd been working with at another company. The second customer came from a referral, and so on. With current sales at $2 million, we are growing at a 30 percent to 35 percent rate."

4. Forget Perfection
It might seem ideal to have everything in place exactly as you envisioned, but perfection doesn't pay the bills.

Barrie Shepley, 42, and Sheldon Persad, 38, co-founders of Personal BestHealth & Performance Inc., an integrated health and performance management, coaching and training firm in Toronto, Ontario, knew that being perfectly prepared in the beginning was not an option due to a shortage of capital, even though their business plan and corporate goals were clearly defined.

"Ideally," says Shepley, "we would have loved to have high-tech equipment available to conduct extensive physical testing for our clients. But rather than waiting, we jumped right in, working from a small office with little more than basic testing equipment, a desk and a telephone." That's about as far from perfection as a business could be.

"After a couple of months," says Shepley, "we were finally able to buy a computer and a testing bike."

Less than perfect paid off for Shepley and Persad. Now their business averages more than $1 million annually and includes corporate facility management, seminars, high-performance testing and training camps.

5. Talk Business
Believing in yourself and your business might sound like hokey advice, but if you don't believe you're truly in business, as opposed to "starting a business," how can you expect anyone else to believe it?

Change your choice of words when you're out in the world. Talk about your company like it is a business, not like it's about to be a business--"I'm trying to start a business" sounds noncommittal. Even if all you've done is print your own business cards, saying things like "I own my own business," or "I have to get back to work," will get the word out that you are serious.

Shepley humorously recalls how he incorporated this idea: "When people would call me at the office, Sheldon would answer the phone and ask them if they could wait while he checked to see if I was in my office. In reality, I was sitting right next to him, but we wanted our new clients to visualize a large, stable business, so having to wait 60 seconds for me would lead them to believe we were a larger organization."

6. Reward Yourself
Rewards--we all love them. But it's time to get honest with yourself. On a weekly basis, ask yourself if you've really done anything worthy of a reward--something that will have a tangible impact on your business in the near future. Then choose your reward carefully and make it only as grand as the task completed. For example, landing a major client might be worthy of a celebratory champagne dinner, whereas getting the brochures in the mail probably only merits a handful of chocolate-covered strawberries.

7. Be Accountable
Find a partner, organization or another business owner to hold you accountable. This was helpful during startup to Jill Duval, publisher and founder of Albuquerque, New Mexico, business magazine New Mexico Woman, now published monthly, with annual sales of $275,000 and 42,000 readers. "I was sidetracked by things like phone calls, record keeping and organizing," says Duval, "but a group of us got together and decided to be accountable to each other at regular meetings. We each had a list of things to accomplish by the next meeting, and if those things were not accomplished, we had to pay $5 into a fund that we later donated to nonprofits or used to celebrate birthdays."

Whether you choose to buddy up with another business owner or be regularly accountable to a friend or family member, be sure to pick someone who won't let you off the hook too easily if you don't meet your goals.

8. Predict the Future
A sure way to determine if what you are doing right now is furthering your business is to look ahead. If you stay in the pencil-sharpening stage, where will your business be next week or next month? Chances are, you'll be in debt.

Guy Kawasaki, author of eight books, including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries and How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, suggests that entrepreneurs use the following test to determine if what they are doing can be considered progress: "Would you call your spouse to tell him or her it's done? For example, you wouldn't call your spouse to [say] that you ordered stationery."

Do something today that makes you want to call home, and your odds of future business success dramatically increase. Or if negative motivation is more your style, picture your future if you don't take some steps forward now.

9. Remember Your Dream
When the going gets tough and it's time to tackle those things outside your comfort zone, keeping your initial dream in mind might be the motivation you need.

Jeff Jump, 38, president of Prentice Products, a custom print shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana, says, "It had been my lifelong goal to have my own business . . . it didn't matter what I had to do. I could have been taking out the trash, [but I was] still excited about it because I finally owned my own business. Now my vision is to grow the company so I [will] have a print shop in each region of the United States."

Changing goals and creating new dreams can keep your excitement as fresh as it was in the beginning.

10. Do the Hard Stuff First
When Jump purchased his business in 2001, it was clear early on that there were tough decisions to be made if he was to achieve his financial goals. "I had to eliminate some long-term employees in order to be profitable," says Jump. "I almost drove my business into the ground by waiting too long," he recalls. "I overcame [the problem] by taking the emotion out of my decisions." Jump had $2.1 million in 2005 sales and projects $3 million in 2006 sales.

Emotion can kill a business before it even gets off the ground. Human nature dictates that we are first drawn to the things that bring us pleasure, and business tasks are no different. By getting responsibilities that seem distasteful out of the way rather than avoiding them, we can more fully enjoy the other parts of business ownership.

Put Out the Welcome MAT for Success
Guy Kawasaki recommends you prioritize by weaving a "mat"--milestones, assumptions and tasks--for yourself. here's how.

· Milestones: "The first priority is achieving milestones," says Kawasaki. "Milestones are the handful of steps like finishing the design, shipping and collecting the first check."

· Assumptions: These, says Kawasaki, "are the key guesses you are making about your business. For example, how many sales calls a person can make in a day might be considered an assumption. As milestones are achieved, assumptions can be tested and revised based on results."

· Tasks: "Do [tasks] only to achieve a milestone or test an assumption," says Kawasaki. "Everything else is of secondary importance."

Carolyn Hueston keeps busy as a Cochrane, Alberta, freelance writer for a number of national and international magazines.

Retrieved on 22^nd October 2009 from http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/article159820.html