One Simple Idea for Startups and Entrepreneurs: Live Your Dreams and Create Your Own Profitable Company


Stephen Key - 2012
    Now, the next step is to take action--and that's exactly what One Simple Idea for Startups and Entrepreneurs is all about.Stephen Key, one of the world's leading experts on getting business ideas off the ground, revealed in his groundbreaking book One Simple Idea just how simple it is to make a fortune by selling or "renting" your great ideas.Now, he helps you live the entrepreneurial dream by delivering a proven, straightforward process for starting, growing, and running a business--without the need for an MBA or millions of dollars in funding. As an inventor and successful business owner, Key brings a unique and fully rounded perspective to the subject, teaching you how to:Develop, test, and protect your ideaPlan and launch your businessManufacture, package, market, sell, and distribute your productManage and grow your businessPrepare for and implement your endgameKey draws on his own experience as a billion dollar inventor to offer how-to's and other takeaways you can use to get off the ground and into the black. Case studies, tips, and advice from other successful entrepreneurs underscore key principles to make it easier than ever for you to achieve your business and life dreams.You don't need millions of dollars or a business, engineering, or manufacturing background to develop, produce, and sell your own product idea. All you need is one simple idea--and the passion to make it happen.Praise for One Simple Idea"This book is straight-forward, no-nonsense information for how to start a successful company. Read it!"--Barbara Corcoran, investor/shark on ABC's reality hit Shark Tank"The ideas in this book are key to creating the kind of enterprise that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the future. The goal of entrepreneurship is to reduce the risk of failure as detailed in this book."--Nolan Bushnell, inventor of Pong(R) and founder of Atari(R)Kudos!! One Simple Idea for Startups & Entrepreneurs is brilliant !! A must read for those that have the courage to dive into their dreams. This is a true Road Map for those that have the passion to achieve their Freedom. Truly something that I wish would have been there for me 33 years ago.--Russ Hornsby, toy industry veteran, 2010 Toy of the Year award winner in seven different countries, and creator of hit toys ZhuZhu Pets(R), XiaXia Pets(R), DeGeDar(R) and others"I took one of those simple ideas and turned it into a company that now has its products in over 35,000 doors of retail distribution. With One Simple Idea for Startups & Entrepreneurs, Stephen gives us the tools we need to take an idea from your Head to the Store shelf." --Todd Basche, inventor of Word Lock(R), the #1 selling word combination lock"Any inventor or entrepreneur who wants to make money without risking hundreds of thousands in design, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution would be well served to take advantage of the practical wisdom offered up in Stephen's most recent work, One Simple Idea for Startups & Entrepreneurs." --Ron Hazelton, former home improvement editor for ABC's Good Morning America and leading authority in the do-it-yourself home improvement field

The Handmade Entrepreneur-How to Sell on Etsy, or Anywhere Else: Easy Steps for Building a Real Business Around Your Crafts


Dani Marie - 2015
     What if you could start your day out with an excited shout instead of a frustrated sigh? Unfortunately, selling handmade goods online is no longer as simple as throwing together a product listing and waiting for sales to roll in. There are now millions of people with handmade products and they are all eager to build a sustainable income. The Handmade Entrepreneur uses precise methods based on proven marketing techniques to set you above the competition. It teaches you how to create a genuine business you can count on rather than a bundle of shop pages and social media accounts built on a foundation of guesswork. What You Can Expect to Learn from This Book: • How to take DIY pictures that get clicks and sales • How to set up a shop that turns visitors into buyers in under two seconds • How to price your items • How to write titles and descriptions • How to brand your business with DIY techniques • How to rank your pages • How to find targeted audiences • How to build up your list of followers • Where to promote your listings • How to sell without selling • How to form relationships with people who can send you extra sales • How to start a "buzz" about your products • Which tools to incorporate into your business The goal of this book is to free you from having to rely on any third-party website for your sales. Yes, you can take advantage of platforms like Etsy, and you should, but websites come and go, and if all your sales come only from that website, you run into trouble every time there are algorithm changes, a saturation of sellers, or cheaper products to compete with. You are trying to generate sales, which means that you are trying to run a business, which in-turn means that you need a real business plan. Brick and motor stores don't just buy a bunch of goods, throw them in a building, and hope people will come. They plan, study their target market, pick a perfect store location, and prepare to market themselves. Just because you sell online does not mean that you can skip all of these steps. You have billions of products to compete with online and a crowd of shoppers who have an overwhelming number of options before them. You must prepare your storefront, get your products ready, know your audience, and then know how to market to them. Optimizing Your Shop for Sales Dani starts out showing you how to prepare your products with photos that attract clicks and sales. It doesn't just tell you how to do it, though. It SHOWS you. Thanks to the help of many carefully selected Etsy sellers, there are many example photos for each point. In addition to this, the author only shows you DIY photos to prove that you can do it all on your own. Next, Dani discusses how to optimize your shop. She goes through every aspect such as banners, profiles, descriptions, tags, and titles. You will learn how to optimize your pages so that people stay there instead of leaving instantly. This can be done by creating an inviting environment with images and content that buyers can skim through in under two seconds. If buyers can determine that your page is worth staying on in less than two seconds, you have won the battle. Finding Targeted Audiences and Marketing The issue with selling online is finding people who would be interested in your products.

The Game Changers: 20 extraordinary success stories of entrepreneurs from IIT Kharagpur


Rahul Kumar - 2012
    The entrepreneur shuns the comfort of a cushy corporate job and a seven-figure salary to set sail on unchartered waters with a single-minded zeal and only an idea as an anchor. But it is this idea and passion that makes all the difference and catapults him into a world of infinite possibilities.The Game Changers brings to you 20 success stories of IITians who went on to live the big dream. These include: Suhas Patil, Vijay Kumar, Vinod Gupta, Sam Dalal, Sridhar Mitta, Arjun Malhotra, Kiran Seth, Prabhakant Sinha, Ranbir Singh Gupta, Bikram Dasgupta, Praful Kulkarni, Sunil Gaitonde, Anand Deshpande, Arvind Kejriwal, Harish Hande, Anuradha Acharya, Venkata Subramanian, Bikash Barai, Vikram Kumar, and Krishna Mehra.With a Foreword by Dr Duvvuri Subbarao, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and an Introduction by Dr Damodar Acharya, Director, IIT Kharagpur, this book marks sixty golden years of India’s finest institute. Come, be a part of their journey, get inspired to dream, and make your own story.

Burning Entrepreneur: How to Launch, Fund, and Set Your Startup on Fire


Brad Feld - 2012
    Renowned tech investor and start-up guru Brad Feld lights YOU on fire with this insider's book that will teach you how to launch, fund and run your own company. If you're already an entrepreneur or have always dreamed of being one, douse yourself in “Feld Thoughts” and catch the spark. You'll be burning, entrepreneur, with this e-book!. Brad's blog is a backstage pass to the 24/7 rock show that is tech startups. It is a master class in startup investing for givers and takers of funds. It is a rolling critique of tech products vast and simple (with enough edge to make the most scathing restaurant critic in Manhattan blush). And it is the journal of a peripatetic marathoner who still believes he will crack the four-hour mark someday. From such Feld Thoughts, we have constructed “The Burning Entrepreneur,” the e-book on startups that you would take to a desert island if it had electricity, a decent Internet connection and angel investors. “The Burning Entrepreneur” illuminates the actions and attitudes required to launch, fund and ignite your startup. Brad Feld is on fire. Find out what happens when you stand too close. TABLE OF CONTENTS - Introduction - Be on Fire - Be In Love With Your Business - Don't Be in the 99% - Ignorance Is Success - Meet the New Boss, NOT the Same as the Old Boss - Hire the Right People - It's the Product, Stupid! - Learning to Program: A Case Study - I Don't Hate Marketing: Neither Should You - OK, It's Really the Money, Stupid - Keeping Your You-Know-What Together - Burning Examples - Conclusion - Recommended Books for Burning Entrepreneurs GREAT EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK It was during that car ride that my dad hit me with words that would prove to be fundamental for me: “If you aren’t standing on the edge you are taking up too much space.” Thirty years later that line continues to be a defining characteristic for how I live my life. I’m constantly pushing, looking for the edge of whatever I do. (pg 14) Over time, I’ve learned that none of the short-term moves in the stock market matter at all in my life. It’s occasionally entertaining to turn on CNBC and see my friend Paul Kedrosky in the octobox telling all the other people that they don’t actually understand macro-economics, but it’s no different than watching McEnroe when he’s announcing a Nadal–Federer match. It’s just sport. (pg 33) I don’t create products anymore (I invest in companies that create them), but I’m a great alpha tester. I’ve always been good at this for some reason — bugs just find me. While my UX design skills are merely adequate, I’ve got a great feel for how to simplify things and make them cleaner. (pg 58) If you are someone who spends 30 minutes or more a day “organizing yourself,” I encourage you to step back and think about what you could change and how that might shift you from focusing on organizing to working toward outcomes. It’s liberating. (pg 103) ...buy a copy to read more!

How to Write a Great Business Plan


William A. Sahlman - 2008
    Yet nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, often the more elaborately crafted a business plan, the more likely the venture is to flop.Why? Most plans waste too much ink on numbers and devote too little to information that really matters to investors. The result? Investors discount them.In How to Write a Great Business Plan, William A. Sahlman shows how to avoid this all-too-common mistake by ensuring that your plan assesses the factors critical to every new venture:· The people—the individuals launching and leading the venture and outside parties providing key services or important resources· The opportunity—what the business will sell and to whom, and whether the venture can grow and how fast· The context—the regulatory environment, interest rates, demographic trends, and other forces shaping the venture's fate· Risk and reward—what can go wrong and right, and how the entrepreneurial team will respondTimely in this age of innovation, How to Write a Great Business Plan helps you give your new venture the best possible chances for success.

Soap Making Business Startup: How to Start, Run & Grow a Million Dollar Success From Home!


Suzanne Carpenter - 2017
    You can find that information anywhere, don’t have to buy my book to learn that. Wait! Oh! I did that in this book. I did explain how to make soap, I also did give you a few simple recipes too. But I hope that is not why you bought this book.In this book my goal is to explain to you in simple terms how to CREATE great natural and organic soaps and not just MAKE soaps, there is a difference. You will get to see and understand that difference when you understand each ingredients and how they interact and react with each other.& You will not have a great business if you are just making carbon copy of few soaps of other people which your customers can go buy from any local stores. What will make you unique is when you create a blend or two of your own and people start liking your creation. That is when you can hit the home run in business.Imagine growing your soap company into a local, regional and ultimately a national brand, where your soaps will be sold at every Whole food, Body, Bath and Beyond, Home Goods and many other great retailers.&This is a Two Part Book. In the first part I show you how to get started with soap making, I show you every steps you need to take to make your first batch of soap. Then I show you how to test your creation and how to figure out what works and what does not.On the second part of the book, I teach you everything you need to know about turning your new found passion into a successful business. I share my own story and how I turned my passion into a 6 figure business. Though this book is not about my success but yours, but I think you may find it inspiring that an average housewife like myself was able to build the business and then was able to sell it for a good profit. In the First Part I will Show You: Why you should your own Soap Making Business What Soap Making Equipment you will need How to get Started in Under a 1K How & Where to Buy Soap Making Supplies for Cheap What makes a soap Natural and Organic? What is the Difference between Fragrance and Essential oil How to use Various Natural Botanicals in your Soap and Make them Unique How to be Creative with various Soap Molds What and how to Use 32 Various Oils in your Soap How to Scent Your Soap How to Color your Soap with 11 Natural Colorants All the Soap Making methods Step by Step Soap Making Safety Rules to Follow Best & Easiest Recipes to Start with In the Second Part of the Book I Will Show You: Startup Costs for your New Homemade Soap Business How to get started, Step by Step Expected Average Monthly Revenue Average Monthly Expenses How to Start from Home and Save Money How to Find and Develop a Niche for your Soap Business The New Market Trends in the Soap Industry How to Price your Soap for Sale How to Calculate

Founder’s Pocket Guide: Startup Valuation (Founder's Pocket Guide Book 1)


Stephen Poland - 2014
    This guide provides a quick reference to all of the key topics around early-stage startup valuation and provides step-by-step examples for several valuation methods. In more detail, this Founder’s Pocket Guide helps startup founders learn: What a startup valuation is and when you need to start worrying about it. Key terms and definitions associated with valuation, such as pre-money, post-money, and dilution. How investors view the valuation task, and what their expectations are for early-stage companies. How the valuation fits with your target raise amount and resulting founder equity ownership. How to do the simple math for calculating valuation percentages. How to estimate your company valuation using several accepted methods. What accounting valuation methods are and why they are not well suited for early-stage startups.

Pyjama Profit: The Millennial's Guide to a Sustainable Freelance Career


Varun Mayya - 2018
    The book talks about in-demand online skills and the different paths one can take to become an expert in these fields. A stable income from freelancing in college was the bedrock that had allowed the authors to explore their ambitions further and get to where they are today. In the process, they've worked with many of their own batch mates, colleagues and friends to help them set up highly successful freelance careers. The author duo decided to detail their story of what worked for them and how anyone in the country could thrive without being tied down to a full-time job. The authors feel the timing of the book is perfect because of the growing freelance economy and growing aspirations among millennials to find a job they love and not just something that pays their bills.

Tesla Motors: How Elon Musk and Company Made Electric Cars Cool, and Sparked the Next Tech Revolution


Charles Morris - 2014
    The most trusted sources in the auto industry have called its Model S the most advanced, safest and best-performing car ever built - and it doesn’t use a drop of gasoline. Tesla has changed the way the public perceives electric vehicles, and inspired the major automakers to revive their own dormant efforts to sell EVs. However, even amidst the avalanche of media coverage that followed the triumph of the Model S, few have grasped the true significance of what is happening. Tesla has redefined the automobile, sparked a new wave of innovation comparable to the internet and mobile computing revolutions, and unleashed forces that will transform not just the auto industry, but every aspect of society. The Tesla story is one part of an ongoing tide of change driven by the use of information technology to eliminate “friction” such as geographic distance, middlemen and outdated regulations. Tesla is simply applying the new order to the auto industry, but the automobile is such a pervasive influence in our lives that redefining how it is designed, built, driven and sold will have sweeping effects in unexpected areas. Just as Tesla built the Model S as an electric vehicle “from the ground up,” it has taken an outsider’s approach to the way it markets its cars. Its direct sales model has drawn legal challenges from entrenched auto dealers, who fear that their outdated business model will be destroyed. Its systems approach to the software and electronics in its cars has highlighted how far behind the technological times the major automakers are. It’s easy to see why readers find Tesla irresistible. CEO Elon Musk is a superstar entrepreneur, a “nauseatingly pro-US” immigrant and the leader of two other cutting-edge companies. Tesla dares to challenge the establishment behemoths and, so far at least, has handily beaten them at their own game. In this history of the 21st century’s most exciting startup, Charles Morris begins with a brief history of EVs and a biography of Tesla’s driving force, Elon Musk. He then details the history of the company, told in the words of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who made it happen. There are many fascinating stories here: Martin Eberhard’s realization that there were many like himself, who loved fast cars but wanted to help the environment and bring about the post-oil age; the freewheeling first days, reminiscent of the early internet era; the incredible ingenuity of the team who built the Roadster; Tesla’s near-death experience and miraculous resurrection; the spiteful split between the company’s larger-than-life leaders; the gloves-off battles with hostile media such as Top Gear and the New York Times; and the media’s ironic about-face when the magnificent Model S won the industry’s highest honors, and naysayers became cheerleaders overnight. And the story is just beginning: Tesla has breathtakingly ambitious plans for the future.This book was updated May 1, 2015 to include the latest on the Gigafactory and the D package.

Niche Down: How To Become Legendary By Being Different


Christopher Lochhead - 2018
     Inspirational technologist Shaku Atre, who rose from second-class citizen in an Indian village to prominence as one of the first women in technology AND, the legendary Hal Elrod creator of the bestselling Miracle Morning series of books. Exclusively for you at: http://nichedownbook.com/thankyou “Be known for a niche that you own. This is a powerful idea. One that transforms how people think about their lives, careers and business ventures.” — Hal Elrod, author of the best-seller, The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life Do you have the courage to stand out? From the inventor of cubism Pablo Picasso to Spanx founder Sarah Blakely, the people we admire most in the world are original, unique, different. They take risks, claim new ground. They do not fit in, they stand out. And they do not compete for attention in the traditional sense. Most of us are tricked into believing that achieving personal and professional success means fitting in. What it really takes is the courage to stand out. Are you ready? In this dynamic, direct and succinct book, Lochhead and Clancy describe a research-based approach to thinking about your life and business called “category design.” Through a narrative stuffed with inspiring stories, they examine how legendary people — especially legendary entrepreneurs — introduce the world to new ways of thinking and solving problems. They reveal how to exploit the exponential value of what makes you different vs. the incremental value of what makes you better. And they show how to conquer a market category that you design, becoming its de facto queen or king. After reading this ground-taking book, you’ll gain the insights required to become known for a niche that you own.

YouTube: The 2018 Essential Guide to Grow Your YouTube Channel, Make Money Fast with Proven Secret Techniques and Foolproof Strategies (YouTube Marketing, ... Channel, YouTube, YouTube for Beginners)


John Anson - 2018
    Let me be honest with you, this guide was made EXCLUSIVELY for 2018 so that even a beginner can start and GET THOUSANDS of subscribers in the shortest period of time possible! Learn how to get RAVING FANS that will pay you MONTHLY just to get to interact with you MORE! Would you like your subscriber count to grow by up to 245 NEW subscribers every single day? Would you like MORE views? MORE profit? MORE Subscribers? MORE fame? If you answered “YES!” then you’ll want to download this book NOW When You Download This Book Today You’ll Also Learn... How to EXPLODE your YouTube Channel's Growth in Less Than 3 MONTHS! The TOP TECHNIQUES for making QUALITY CONTENT on YouTube The Secret Formula to Hardwire Your Channel For Success A Step By Step Guide on Collaborating With Big YouTuber's for Massive Growth The Best and Most Current Vlogging and Gaming Equipment for small, medium and high budgets Exactly How To Pick a Niche You're Passionate About The Success Mindset You Need To Become a YouTube King Much, much more! Download your copy today! Take action today and discover just how far you can take your YouTube channel. I hope to see you on the most subscribed list after! This book is on a LIMITED TIME discount for just 0.99! I've helped grow a MULTITUDE of YouTube channels past 5000, 10000 and even 50000 subscribers and I want the same for you. What are you waiting for? Take what's rightfully yours and become a YouTube God NOW!

How To Destroy A Tech Startup In Three Easy Steps


Lawrence Krubner - 2017
    When inexperienced entrepreneurs ask my advice about their idea for a tech startup, they often worry "What if Google decides to compete with us? They will crush us!" I respond that far more startups die of suicide than homicide. If you can avoid hurting yourself, then you are already better off than most of your competitors. Startups are a chance to build something entirely original with brilliant and ambitious people. But startups are also dangerous. Limited money means there is little room for mistakes. One bad decision can mean bankruptcy. The potential payoff attracts capital, which in turn attracts scam artists. The unscrupulous often lack the skills needed to succeed, but sometimes they are smart enough to trick investors. Even entrepreneurs who start with a strong moral compass can find that the threat of failure unmoors their ethics from their ambition. Emotions matter. We might hope that those in leadership positions possess strength and resilience, but vanity and fragile egos have sabotaged many of the businesses that I’ve worked with. Defeat is always a possibility, and not everyone finds healthy ways to deal with the stress. In this book I offer both advice and also warnings. I've seen certain self-destructive patterns play out again and again, so I wanted to document one of the most extreme cases that I've witnessed. In 2015 I worked for a startup that began with an ingenious idea: to use the software techniques known as Natural Language Processing to allow people to interact with databases by writing ordinary English sentences. This was a multi-billion dollar idea that could have transformed the way people gathered and used information. However, the venture had inexperienced leadership. They burned through their $1.3 million seed money. As their resources dwindled, their confidence transformed into doubt, which was aggravated by edicts from the Board Of Directors ordering sudden changes that effectively threw away weeks' worth of work. Every startup forces its participants into extreme positions, often regarding budget and deadlines. Often these situations are absurd to the point of parody. Therefore, there is considerable humor in this story. The collision of inexperience and desperation gives rise to moments that are simply silly. I tell this story in a day-to-day format, both to capture the early optimism, and then the later sense of panic. Here then, is a cautionary tale, a warning about tendencies that everyone joining a startup should be on guard against."

The San Francisco Fallacy: The Ten Fallacies That Make Founders Fail


Jonathan Siegel - 2017
    Most importantly, it's about how to avoid making these same mistakes yourself.In The San Francisco Fallacy, serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Jonathan Siegel looks at the 10 biggest fallacies that run through startup culture. Over his many years launching companies, he's fallen victim to what he now recognizes as a series of common errors, misconceptions that bedevil startups to this day. But he also learned how to sidestep and surmount many of these challenges.After multiple eight-figure exits and other startup successes, Jonathan began to see the deeper fallacies in which his failures took root. His biggest career successes, on the other hand, seemed to come when he and his teams went against the tide and did everything "wrong."This book is an examination of the popular belief system about startups. At its heart is a series of challenges to years of accumulated startup orthodoxy. What emerges is not just a critique but an inspiring call--to anyone trying to build a successful business--for a broader kind of critical thinking.

Culture is Everything: The Story And System Of A Start-Up That Became Australia's Best Place To Work


Tristan White - 2017
    He had a dream to work in a job that inspired him. He didn’t find that job, so he created it. In 2004, The Physio Co (TPC) was born with one team member: Tristan White. In the thirteen years since, TPC has become a remarkable healthcare success story based upon fast growth and a thriving, systemized company culture. Tristan’s obsession with creating an inspiring place to work for himself and others has resulted in more than a decade of learning, testing and refining. If you’ve ever wondered how to build and sustain a thriving company culture, the Culture Is Everything system developed by Tristan White and The Physio Co team is your answer. The Physio Co story and Culture Is Everything system explained in this book will give you the confidence and knowledge to create a strong culture in your very own business or team.

The Marketing Blueprint: Lessons to Market & Sell Anything


Jules Marcoux - 2015
    Whether your goal is to grow one of your side projects into a marketable business, to improve the revenues of your current brand, or to better the brand of the company you work for, The Marketing Blueprint is what you need. This step-by-step guide compiles all essential marketing strategies, such as: • How to market, from forming marketing strategies, to business development, to improving your selling skills • How to become a more efficient marketer, by understanding and using leverage effectively • How to market yourself and your brand's people, to ensure better business opportunities • How to create brands and products that make people talk and stay relevant for years To top it all off, this book has more than 30 lessons of practical content that you can use right away in your business. Longer hours and bigger textbooks aren't the answer to your success. By being the smartest marketer around, you can ensure you will grow your business' revenues. That’s exactly what The Marketing Blueprint is all about.