By Michael Glauser, Next Avenue Contributor
The Silicon Valley approach for building companies has become the main strategy taught at many business schools. It goes like this: You create a prototype you can quickly test, preferably in the tech industry. You find a group of users and gain proof of concept. You raise capital and scale the business as rapidly as possible. You plan an exit strategy that may include going public or selling to an industry buyer. You shoot for a 10X return to investors. [...]
I greatly respect Necole from the now former necolebitchie.com. First, for her consummate effort in learning all aspects of doing a blog on her own, which is on INCREDIBLE amount of work, second for being a successful black entrepreneur and MOST for having the courage to walk away when it's no longer fun. She has told her story several times as to how she was unemployed in a very dark space after losing both parents and in the process of being homeless before she started her incredibly successful blog. [...]
Entrepreneurs: We Don't Know Everything But Can Learn More When we Listen. Small Business Advice Can Come from Anywhere
I don’t care what kind of business you have if you don’t present it, yourself and/or your documents right, you are almost destined to fail. I learned my greatest lessons from doing business with people in New York. I like to call it “Being NYP” that stands for “New York Prepared.” That means whatever you present, it better be undeniable. [...]