Entrepreneurs, Got An Idea? iStart Connects You To Investors, Mentors, More |  |
- Entrepreneurs, Got An Idea? iStart Connects You To Investors, Mentors, More
- 14 Ways to Incorporate Social Good Into Your Startup Culture
- Brian Littleton On The State Of Affiliate Marketing #AMDays
- SumAll: Financial Analysis by Tracking Your Website Traffic
- Microsoft Changes Logo for First Time in 25 Years
| Entrepreneurs, Got An Idea? iStart Connects You To Investors, Mentors, More Posted: 30 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT When starting a business, a great idea is a terrific start, but it’s just the beginning. To turn it into a business and get it to market, more is needed. A great idea can easily fail without the right mentoring, investment, partners, technology or execution. But now, a new online resource has surfaced that aims to make it easier for entrepreneurs to connect with potential partners, receive feedback, and build a network of professionals who can share advice and support. iStart, a program of the Kauffman Foundation, is an online resource for new business ideas. It features business plan competitions and has now added business profiles to its site so that entrepreneurs can add information about their projects and connect with an entire community of those who are involved in startups. Using the new website, entrepreneurs can share their ideas and let others know what they need to start or further their business venture, such as partners, analysis, legal assistance, mentoring, information technology, consulting or marketing — as this screenshot shows:
Other entrepreneurs, prospective mentors, business founders, investors, and corporate venture directors can use the site to browse entrepreneurs and their ideas, view their business profiles, and then contact entrepreneurs through the website if they'd like to get involved. iStart also gives entrepreneurs a venue to test their ideas through business plan competitions. These competitions allow prospective entrepreneurs to groom their ideas before a full launch while receiving advice from others in the business community. To date, entrepreneurs have shared more than 8,000 ideas and more than 650 connections have been made between those entrepreneurs and others interested in getting involved. iStart has also hosted more than 130 business competitions. There are other online communities that allow entrepreneurs and business professionals to share ideas and help one another build businesses. Idea communities powered by IdeaScale come to mind. But a successful and vibrant “idea community” is more than mere technology — you need commitment and active engagement by entrepreneurs and supporters alike. One of the advantages of iStart is that it has active involvement by entrepreneurs and many of the ideas shared seem to be serious thoughtful concepts. Those attirbutes can sometimes be hard to come by on other idea sites, which may end up abandoned or get taken over by spam. Due to the business-plan competition connection, iStart appears to be heavily student-oriented, and focused on nascent ideas in the pure “concept” stage. From Small Business Trends |
| 14 Ways to Incorporate Social Good Into Your Startup Culture Posted: 30 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT Gen Y employees don’t necessarily distinguish between personal and professional anymore. They choose companies with perks over paychecks, form strong bonds with their coworkers, take advantage of that corporate gym membership and answer work emails at dinnertime without complaint. It’s not only part of the job, but it’s part of the modern work-life balance that this generation craves.
One core value of Gen Y is social good, and more and more employees are looking to make a positive difference with their profession. While not all millennials are looking for employment with social entrepreneurs, they are considering opportunities with companies with an office culture that prioritizes this value in some way. We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation only nonprofit organization comprised of the country's most promising young entrepreneurs, the following question to find out their advice for giving back as a startup team:
Here's what YEC community members had to say: 1. Do What You Do Best for Free “Our company’s goal is to become an information dissemninator who delivers powerful messages to the masses. We do this well through the speeches that we book for different organizations. One way that we implement social good is to use our influence with famous people to do events for non-profits, free of charge or at a much reduced costs. We stay within our core qualifications while helping others.” ~ Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers 2. Let Your People Volunteer “Don’t make your employees take vacation days if they want to help build a house. Letting people volunteer “on the clock” is good for morale and your brand. Whether they’re giving blood, mentoring a child, or stock a food bank, allow time off for these good deeds. They’ll return to work refreshed and thankful.” 3. Build Products That Do Good “Volunteer work is great, but if you want to build a culture around doing good, it must be the core of your business. Companies like REI and TOMS are so successful because their culture is built right into their products. At LabDoor, our core product makes people safer and healthier — for free. There’s no better way to unify a team around social good.” ~ Neil Thanedar, LabDoor 4. Select ‘Social Good’ Vendors “We recently changed our new customer welcome gift in order to use a company that sells Fair Trade, organic, carbon-free coffee. Plus, they also help community-based programs in coffee-growing countries. Therefore, by using only ‘social good’ vendors, we’re indirectly giving back to the community.” ~ Phil Frost, Main Street ROI 5. Establish a Company Foundation “We’ve been really focused on ways to give back lately. We’re integrating part of our new platform with Donor’s Choose, which allows them to give back to their local communities. We’ve also recently started The WorkoutBOX Foundation, which allows us to take a portion of our profits and build free outdoor weather-proof gyms in urban, low-income communities to help get kids and their parents active.” ~ Travis Steffen, WorkoutBOX 6. Give Back Through Your Mission “There are so many opportunities for a company to give back to the community, but your efforts should match your mission as a company. We are a gaming company, so we decided to give back in a playful way. During the holiday season, we collected board games and donated them to a local children's hospital. In the end, we donated over 40 games to kids who weren't able to spend the holidays at home.” ~ Justin Beck, PerBlue 7. Create Deep Partnerships With Non-Profits “Many companies will create 10 percent give-backs to charity, but when we partner with a non-profit, we commit holistically. First, we provide all of the proceeds from a sale to that organization. Second, we try to build awareness for their cause through our blogging and social media outlets. To make a true social impact, sending a small amount of cash is not enough.” ~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches 8. Make It Part of the Business Model “One easy way to give back is by making corporate social responsibility an important part of the business model. We’ve created two projects fostering social good: OUR Schools program to teach energy conservation education free in public schools and our Agents of Change have been heading up the Cleats for Bare Feet initiative that collects second-hand cleats and sends them to youth across the world.” ~ Jason Jannati, greeNEWit 9. Business As Usual, Sans the Fee “Use the resources you already have. Businesses are designed to trade value for money. Figure out a way that your product or service can benefit a particular group of people in need. Then, give that value to them for free whenever possible.” ~ Nick Friedman, College Hunks Hauling Junk 10. Startups Helping Startups “I think the best way for small businesses to give back is to utilize their greatest strength — extensive knowledge of what it takes to start a business and make it profitable. There’s a fantastic community to build around a passion for entrepreneurship and we serve as a pro-bono advising team to local startups and university programs like 10-xelerator and Columbus Startup Weekend.” ~ Eric Corl, Fundable LLC 11. Give a Personal Touch “Charity goes beyond giving money, props, or even time. Give your very self, and make it a personal encounter, one person at a time. Start close. Invite your UPS driver to a company party. Write a Mother’s Day card to one of your vendors. In short, take an interest in other peoples’ lives, and share your own with them. Little things done quietly — with love, and without publicity.” ~ Luke Burgis, ActivPrayer 12. Pay Attention to Your Community “Altruism is one of our core values. We pay attention to the community and frequently discuss ways to help. Sometimes, it's via individual efforts, while at other times, everyone participates. One way small businesses can help is by volunteering at a local food bank — they always need help, and people always need to eat.” ~ Brent Beshore, AdVentures 13. Give Offenders a Chance “This is a work-in-progress for us, and it's one of my main goals for 2012. We hire a lot of ex-convicts and help them become productive members of society. Somewhere around 90 percent of offenders will reoffend if they don't have jobs, so we like to help them get back on their feet for the good of everyone.” ~ Jordan Guernsey, Molding Box 14. Start the Positivity Internally “The most important contribution that a business owner can make to social good can be answered by one simple question: “How was your day at work today?” When each of your employees finishes their workday, they go out into the world and share their happiness or discontent with others. Do whatever you can to make sure that the portion of their lives spent on your watch is positive.” ~ Christopher Kelly, NYC Conference Centers Volunteer Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Brian Littleton On The State Of Affiliate Marketing #AMDays Posted: 30 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT Editor's Note: Last year we provided coverage of the Affiliate Management Days conference (a conference for businesses that offer affiliate programs) and this year we will be doing the same. The interview below features Brian Littleton, Founder and CEO of ShareASale, one of the world’s major affiliate networks, by conference founder Geno Prussakov.
Brian: Generally speaking, it is the speed at which the industry evolves and develops. Affiliate marketers are quick and smart and those are really positive things – but there are negatives that go along with it. An affiliate manager needs to be able to stay on top of the negative trends as well, in order to maintain positive momentum in the channel. One of the best examples of this is the cloaking of search results (showing one result to the search engine, but a different one to a user). With any cursory glance at an affiliate engaged in cloaking it will appear just as a product link – but with further research and a knowledge of trends the affiliate manager can spot the issue quickly. Question: What do you view as the main affiliate program growth opportunities? Brian: While it may not represent the majority of the volume going through the affiliate channel now, I still believe that the longest term positive growth opportunity is in the acquisition of new customers that were previously untouched. If affiliate managers and affiliates alike focused on this target, I believe the growth opportunity is significant. But it takes a combined effort starting with the affiliate manager. Question: In April 2012, an Illinois Circuit Court Judge ruled the affiliate nexus tax unconstitutional. However, in September the law is set to be reinstated in two other states (Pennsylvania and California). Two questions: Is there a good solution to this snowballing affiliate nexus tax situation? How can affiliate networks help merchants to continue working in the states with the affiliate nexus tax legislation? Brian: Yes, Senator Dick Durbin (IL) and others have proposed a Federal solution to the problem that would be fair and even for all States. This is the only way to accomplish their goal (allowing States to collect an already due tax) while preserving jobs in the affiliate industry. To answer your second question, I don’t believe that there are any legal ways to get around these laws. I have heard possible solutions floated around such as filtering out commissions based on the State of the customer, which came up long ago in the first passing of the law in New York. I don’t believe it to be a solution based on my reading of the laws. In my opinion, they just put the merchant in a worse legal position. Question: What about the “Do Not Track” legislation? Is the affiliate marketing industry in danger here? And does ShareASale have relevant solutions? Brian: Yes, the industry should be aware and have a lobby for the issue. This is something that is being accomplished through the Performance Marketing Association. As for solutions, certainly we are looking at the issues closely but there isn't anything definitive that I would be able to share. I also think it is important to remember and respect the privacy of a user. Ultimately, if they ask that their information not be shared – it is important to respect that. At the same time, we may not be able to provide to them some of the services that would be supported by the advertising dollars involved in tracking purchases… so it goes both ways. The important step here is to make sure that the industry is well represented in our viewpoints which are critical to online commerce. Question: In October of this year, you’re speaking at Affiliate Management Days East 2012, participating on “The Role of the Network” keynote panel. What are the top 3 things that affiliate managers (and merchants) should be looking at while choosing an affiliate network? Brian: A network is a partner. As I alluded to earlier, there is a lot of danger in putting too much trust into an affiliate. An affiliate manager needs a network that is going to help them understand the pluses and minuses of certain traffic techniques, that is step one. Step 2 is all about technology and flexibility. An affiliate manager needs a network that can provide to them the tools that they need for organization, segmentation, attribution, contact, etc. The network needs to be flexible enough to adopt to trends and develop technology around them as well. Ask specific questions about exactly what you want to do. For example, if you want to pay half of your affiliates only for transactions on certain products, and the other half in a different manner – make sure it is easily handled. Unless you ask specifically for what you are looking for, there is no way to tell how flexible the solution really is. Step 3 is trust. There are quite a few affiliate networks who have been in the space 10-15+ years and have developed years worth of knowledge and trust of the community. I would not place my affiliate program in the hands of a brand new network without serious consideration. Question: Over the next 4 years Forrester predicts a steady growth for affiliate marketing. What are the top 3 areas of opportunity for affiliates these days? Brian: Opportunity exists, as I stated earlier in finding new customers for retailers. This, to me, is the long term value of the channel and what affiliates should be focused on. In terms of top 3 areas I think "Local Search" is probably the most obvious – as users move more and more towards their mobile and tablet devices. Trailing that I would say both "Social Gaming" and "Consumer Review" are both really open for opportunity although both carry with them some caution. Question: If you were to leave affiliate managers with just one bit of advice today, what would it be? Brian: Use your instinct. When it comes to finding a really good affiliate, don't be fooled simply by statistics or language. Use your instinct and knowledge of your own product and website to help you. Too many Affiliate Managers are forced into relationships either by lack of understanding or through automatic approval. Unfortunately, their programs can suffer due to it. If you are going to actively manage a program – make sure to use your #1 asset. * * * * * Affiliate Management Days takes place October 9-10, 2012. More information about Affiliate Management Days being held in Ft Lauderdale, can be found here. Or follow the hashtag #AMDays on Twitter. Register using code SBTAM150 to receive $150.00 off your pass. Check back here for more interviews with the speakers. From Small Business Trends |
| SumAll: Financial Analysis by Tracking Your Website Traffic Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT Google Analytics is free. We all know that, but we also know that it isn’t always easy to use. Small business websites are not cheap to build or manage (not usually) and then we expect those sites to deliver magnificent results. In reality, few of us are watching the analytics meter because it is not user-friendly, but that changes when you flip the switch on business reporting tool SumAll.
To be fair, Google Analytics cannot do what SumAll does, but it pulls data from it and displays it well. It also pulls data from your ecommerce store. Current integrations include Shopify, BigCommerce, eBay, PayPal, and Magento. What This Means Having your analytics tied to both website traffic and ecommerce sales, you can quickly see what your top selling products are, which days are busiest for which of your products, and how much revenue your top products are generating. Website traffic analytics can help you in your marketing, but having financial details tied into those reports make them much more useful. What I Really Like:
 What I'd Like to See:
Frankly, SumAll is an amazing service for small business owners who struggle with keeping up with the information firehose. The team at SumAll has created an elegant way for you to see your mission-critical data in ways that make sense and help you run your business. The basic service alone is worth the effort. I'm expecting that the premium levels will be affordable for most of us. From Small Business Trends |
| Microsoft Changes Logo for First Time in 25 Years Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT A company’s logo and brand make a difference. Though they won’t convince anyone to buy or consume a substandard product or service, they can tell a business’s story, set it apart from competitors by communicating it’s unique value, and create an important association for customers between a company’s message and what it creates. Whole New LookA sea change. The new Microsoft logo is a major shift for the company, its first significant change since 1987. Combining the multicolored symbol found on Windows products with Microsoft’s traditional wordmark, the logo is intended to combine tradition with company heritage. The Verge Running the risk. Changing your logo can be riskier and a bigger deal than many might think. Marketing expert Barbara Kahn, professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said a logo must be “distinctive, clearly identified with the brand, and consistently used over time.” The Seattle Times Better BrandingColorful communication. There is a reason why humans associate red with hunger, green and blue with calm, and very specific colors with specific brands. Color communicates psychologically with customers on a primal level, but consistent use of colors with a logo or brand also makes a powerful impact on them. Effective use of colors is not just a matter of first impressions. UPrinting Signs and symbols. The degree to which branding is effective may depend not upon the amount of money your company has to invest in marketing, but upon the consistency you use in applying graphics, suggests graphic design expert Emily Brackett. In this post, Brackett looks at how an idea as simple as a bike rider logo painted on the road can communicate quite a bit. VisibleLogic What WorksMobile motivation. With the increased popularity of the smartphone, brands must increasingly integrate with the mobile world. However, marketing consultant Gary Bembridge believes it unlikely brand specific apps will be the way to go. On the other hand, failing to integrate a brand into the world of apps used by potential customers may isolate a business from its market long term. Marketing Mix Man Brand building basics. There are many things that go into a brand besides simply a snappy looking logo. From high quality products to positioning and even re-positioning, there are many ingredients that go into the mix. Other elements include good communication and being the first-mover in the marketplace before competitors arrive on the scene. Expert Business Advice In RetrospectMaybe they should have hired this guy. Even if Microsoft never took graphic designer Andrew Kim up on his idea for a new logo, this post should give any thoughtful entrepreneur insight into the logo creation process. Brands that tell a company’s story and support its products and services generate loyalty from existing customers and win over new ones. Minimally Minimal From Small Business Trends |
Question: What are the major challenges you see affiliate managers struggling with?
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