Eight Resources for Michigan Entrepreneurs

We’ve already seen how the recession has provided some benefits for small business startups in Michigan through lower rents, a larger pool of talent available at affordable rates and good deals on advertising.  Now there’s more good news for budding entrepreneurs - a wealth of fantastic resources available at no cost or low cost.

Here’s a list of eight organizations offering support, counseling and training for small business owners and budding entrepreneurs in southeast Michigan – especially the Metro Detroit area. (more…)

Premature Articulation

There it is again, the business version of  driving your car into a tree.  A small business owner announced a “major development” that now has been shelved.  He broadcast the “news” repeatedly, in fact, to anyone and everyone; so caught up in the excitement that he never considered whether it might be best to get further along before blurting out the details.  He spent months talking it up – and now it’s just “oops, never mind.”

Enthusiasm – even outright zeal – is important in small business, but it’s not as important as credibility.  It’s devastating to have to “un-announce” something or just slink around hoping no one will say “hey, what’s happening with that ___ you said you were launching in a month?”

Fight the urge to generate excitement by revealing too much, too soon.  It’s so much sweeter – and safer – to announce a new product, partnership, service, whatever, once it’s a done deal.

There’s a Chinese proverb to keep in mind when find yourself aching to share a juicy bit of news about your future business plans: “Think twice - then say nothing.”

Fatal Distraction

As a small business owner, you’re intimately connected with the daily survival of your business.  You make the decisions, you write the checks, your focus is the driving force behind your success. It can be wonderful having your life so tightly interwoven with your business.  But what if some important life event took you either physically or mentally out of the game for a while?  Would your business survive?

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Your Business Needs You – NOW

There’s a business killer that we all battle every day – every small business owner, every budding entrepreneur, every freelancer.  It’s more destructive than a down economy, lack of funding, bad unhappy clients and bad marketing combined.

Procrastination kills from within.  It will suck the life out of your company. It will break you.

You procrastinate about starting a business at all.

Not the right time…Maybe when things settle down…When the kids are older…When the economy is better…
When I have a little more money saved…

Procrastination can effectively kill your business before you even begin. (more…)