StartupNation Blogs

We are women. Watch us Manage!
I have people ask me, usually men, how do you do it all? How do you take care of the family, and your business, and be so management oriented?  Did you study business management in college, get an MBA? No sir, I did not even finish high school. I even [...]

To follow up on a previous post requesting feedback on topics and offering to highlight members of the community, I learned of the BTS Blog started by Tom Blue, co founder of Lead411— BTS stands for Business, Technology and Sales.  The BTS Blog is dedicated to discussing startups, business trends, bootstrapping, tech companies, sales and [...]

Tory Johnson, frequent reporter on ABC’s Good Morning America show and anchor of the ABC NewsNow series focusing on careers asked for a little StartupNation love recently. One of her faithful fans, Natalie, of ChicSweets, asked for ideas about how to move her business forward on a variety of levels, especially in the transition from part-time [...]

Given the global recession, real estate presents new challenges and opportunities for business owners. Businesses especially are affected by the pressures of reduced demand and tighter lending criteria. The fact is, you’re challenged to do more with less.
I just moderated an expert panel on video as part of the Wells Fargo Webcast Series on this very topic [...]

Looks like the Obama’s should have registered their last name to enjoy ongoing royalties. Some interesting examples of halo branding. Where businesses capitolize on the brand elements of another entity. Examples: ATT + TOMs Shoes, Obama Red Wine (below)
Maybe I should pick up some Obama Red to wash down my Freedom Fries…
From Speigel Online:
French Vintner [...]

I wonder if products have the same experience people do, that when they meet their match, they feel like they are “home?” I’ll bet the product manager of this doosey has earned his bonus:
Hillshire Farm ham and turkey + reusable Gladware
= Green, Money Saving, The-Big-Corporation-Proves-It-Can-Still-Listen-To-Customers

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What partnerships could you consider in your business?
Example: B&B could supply guests with brunch [...]

When you consider your business model (which includes your marketing efforts), you generally concentrate on these core components:

Why will people pay you? (money, votes, donations)
What does it cost you to sell your item…margins?
What protects you from competition, price-feature battles?
How will you turn an agnostic audience into loyal customers?

Early on when transactions had no costs, doing [...]

I picked up a book in the airport recently: Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. It’s a fast read and has enough tabloid photos to keep you interested. Her come-sit-by-me-and-dish point of view is disarming and I genuinely enjoyed her tales, her vulnerability and her wit. More importantly, I respect what she is doing.

Wishful Drinking

Carrie Fisher [...]

Recently, I was contacted by a PR firm (Attention) and asked if I would profile Blake Mycoskie on my blog(s). I’m ashamed to say how long it’s taken me to turn this piece around, however seeing the latest ATT commercial featuring Blake after a long day of meetings (at my day job) shamed me into finishing. My [...]

A friend of mine is thinking of starting her own insurance business, but she can’t leave her full time job until she’s tested the waters and determines if she has what it takes or if there is enough demand for her offering. We talked about the kind of marketing practices she could dabble in that [...]