Acceler8Success Cafe Tuesday 11.3.20

15 Big Hurdles You’ll Face as an Entrepreneur – And How to Beat Them

Throughout your career as an entrepreneur, you’re going to face obstacles. Roadblocks and setbacks like self-doubt, dropped clients and burnout come with the territory of owning a business, but they don’t have to get in the way of your success. Read more.

As Small Business Saturday is just around the corner we must keep in mind that franchises are also small business. Franchise owners are very much the same as Mom & Pop businesses across America having invested their life savings to achieve the American Dream of small business ownership. #ShopSmall and #ShopFranchise on #SmallBusinessSaturday. Thank you!

5 Tips to Keep an Open Mind

In the wake of an economic recession, being open minded can feel like a luxury. Our natural response is to tighten the belt and wait for the worst to pass. It’s in these times that our ability to remain receptive to new ideas, perspectives and solutions is not only important, but crucial. The world is never riper for innovation than in times of uncertainty. As an added bonus, those who choose to see the world as an abundance of opportunity see benefits beyond the economical. Read more.

How 2020’s Pandemic And Election Are Impacting Women’s Small Business

A recent study of 522 women small business owners across the 15 most populous states found 54% feared they’d have to close their doors for good because of COVID-19. The study, commissioned by Groupon and conducted by OnePoll, aimed to understand how women small business owners are meeting the challenges COVID-19 presents. Not surprisingly, 75% of women-owned small businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. A fifth said they either plan to or already needed to lay off employees — and less than 10% said they plan to hire more people in the next year. Read more.

How Successful Entrepreneurs Handle Rejection

If no one told you you’re going to hear “no” as an entrepreneur, here’s what you need to know: You’d better get used to it. Whether it’s telling your spouse about how you want to quit your day job and start a business, or you’re going after small business funding, the one thing most entrepreneurs have in common is rejection. Selling anything (whether it’s the idea of entrepreneurship to a skeptical spouse or the idea of a loan to your banker) is hard. It’s not the rejection that matters. It is how you handle it afterward that will make or break your business. As sure as you set out to achieve a goal, you are going to experience roadblocks. Big or small, each “no” could take a chunk out of your armor, if you let it. Read more.

Join us this week as we celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week. We will be showcasing our nation’s military and veteran-owned businesses all week long. This year’s theme is #VetBiz Resources in Your Local Community which highlights the breadth of free to low-cost entrepreneurial resources that veteran and military entrepreneurs can access right in their neighborhood. Each day during NVSBW, we will highlight different topics related to the veteran entrepreneurship journey. We will also host various national-level events to align with each topic area. You can find a full list of events taking place across the country here. Also, check out SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza’s video kicking off the week and read the Presidential Message on National Veterans Small Business Week.

Acceler8Success Cafe Monday 11.2.20

Proclamation on National Entrepreneurship Month, 2020

This month, we recognize the bold spirit of America’s entrepreneurs who continue to prove that the American dream is alive and more obtainable than ever before.  As we continue our great American comeback, we know that these innovative men and women will remain at the forefront of our efforts to create a brighter future for our country. Read more.

5 Tips for Entrepreneurs to Better Serve Their Potential Customers

If your startup or small business hasn’t been ocusing on customer service, the time couldn’t be better to put on a huge customer-centric push. However, you need to make sure you have the infrastructure, protocols and tools to be certain that your brand’s first impression is nothing short of powerfully awesome. Read more.

Business Unusual: 7 Unique Ventures to Consider in 2021

Do you want to be an entrepreneur? Join the crowd; in the United States alone more than 627,000 businesses launch every year. There’s something about the risk and reward that comes with entrepreneurship that remains attractive to many. Maybe it’s that we own a piece of the American dream along with our small business. Maybe it’s just that we’re finally our own boss. No matter, for many entrepreneurs, the gamble is almost always worth it, even if it requires the weight of small business lending to get started. Read more.

This Is Why Entrepreneurs Who Settle For ‘Good Enough’ Will Get Ahead

Sharon Peake, a psychologist and founder of Shape Talent, says that while a reluctance to delegate is not necessarily the preserve of entrepreneurs, when a business is ‘your baby’ with your name on the accounts, and your earnings directly impacted by the decisions you make, it is understandable that some founders don’t want to relinquish control. Read more.

Our goal is to help current and aspiring entrepreneurs architect a plan of continuous accelerated movement toward a pinnacle of desired success, even if and when previously thought to be unattainable. This process has been developed around our proven e-IDEA (explore, identify, develop, execute & analyze) methodology. Deployed effectively, it is key to sustainability and ultimately, to success… Acceler8Success! Read more.

How female entrepreneurs can deal with ‘mansplaining’ investors

One of the most common questions I receive as a female entrepreneur is if I am supported more by males or females in business. Throughout my journey, I’ve been blessed to have a network of supportive women, but also equally supportive men, from my mentors, family members, to colleagues who provided valuable advice and helped me take my business to the next level. Nevertheless, as might be the case with many female entrepreneurs around the world, we are often put in situations where we have to deal with “mansplaining”. The Oxford Dictionary defines mansplaining as: “the practice of a man explaining something to a woman in a way that shows he thinks he knows and understands more than she does.” Read more.

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Wednesday 10.28.20

83% Of Small Business Owners Report Optimism For 2021

A new sentiment survey of small and medium-sized business (“SMB”) owners describes their outlook for 2021 as optimistic despite the significant impact of COVID-19 on business performance throughout 2020. The report, authored by GGV Capital and Hello Alice, also suggests that business owners expect an uptick in hiring, technology purchases, and overall growth.

Read more…

She Launched To Help Women Become Retirepreneur’s (Podcast)

Joi Disroe is the Founder and CEO of consulting company Retirepreneur 5.0. She recently launched the The Retirepreneur Podcast to help women 50 and older transition from the corporate world into becoming a Retirepreneur.

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Coupled with a strong branding program, technology integration and low-investment level, Pepperoni’s is positioned to be the next disruption in the Pizza segment of Franchising.

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Venus Williams’ Advice For Entrepreneurs: Don’t Let Fear Take Over—Just Push Through It

Tennis champion and Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams has some advice for the more than 30 million small business owners and entrepreneurs across the U.S. struggling to find their footing in the new normal: Don’t let fear take over. It’s a lesson she learned at the age of 19 while competing with sister Serena, then 17, at the 1999 U.S. Open. Williams only made it to the semi-finals—her sister went on to win the tournament.

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How Incubators Help Entrepreneurs Succeed (Podcast)

Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires the right combination of factors, impeccable timing and often sheer luck. In her latest research, Wharton management professor Valentina Assenova examines what it takes to help entrepreneurs who need more luck than most — those who live in places where inequality is institutionalized and the obstacles to success are even higher to hurdle. Inspired by a trip to South Africa, Assenova tracked the improvement rates for small businesses in Soweto whose owners received help through an incubator.

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9 Tech Tools Your Small Business Needs to Scale

For entrepreneurs, any tool that helps do the job easier is a welcome addition. Choosing where to invest tech budget dollars and time to learn the applications are key decisions. As seen in the recent post, “Get Up and Grow: The Small Business Guide to Expansion”,  technology is a key area for business owners seeking to grow their business.

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15 Cities With the Most Successful Female Entrepreneurs

Nationwide, there are nearly 6 million female entrepreneurs who account for 7.7% of the female workforce, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For many of these women, entrepreneurship offers more flexibility than traditional jobs.

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The Return to Work: Which Employees Should You Bring Back to the Office?

Since the nationwide shutdown in March, states have slowly and carefully allowed businesses to reopen. But many corporations have opted to allow their employees to continue working from home. While some employees view being able to work from the couch in sweatpants as a benefit, others are dealing with higher stress levels and difficulty focusing. Their productivity is paying the price. If companies can safely bring some employees back to the office, it could benefit both employees and the bottom line. The challenge that remains is effectively identifying who should return.

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Fighting loneliness can be especially challenging for entrepreneurs. Here’s how to find community during the pandemic.

Entrepreneurs and solopreneurs face a unique challenge. Without the built-in relationships with colleagues we’d have as workers in large companies, we are usually on our own. This professional independence might attract us to this career, but it can lead to loneliness. 

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