Entrepreneur, 1-12-2017 -- We asked readers: How do you make the most of everyone's least favorite work routine? Here's what they had to say.

1. Plan ahead. Set the agenda one week ahead of time. Allow employees to comment on it prior to the meeting so they have time to really think about it -- and then stick to the agenda. -- T.J. Allan, owner, Ageless Fitness, Gillespie, Ill.

2. Be holistic. We use the principles of sociocracy to make meetings valuable. It’s a whole system approach for inclusive decision making, effective governance and the ongoing evaluation and improvement of your organization. -- Abhishek Gupta, technical consultant, Creative n Innovative Research, Jaipur, India

3. Stand up. Have all-hands-on-deck meetings standing up. We stand in a circle at 9 a.m. every morning and one by one state our goals for the day. Because we’re standing, we’re energized and we move fast. We’re done in 15 minutes. -- Aidah Omar, consultant, Leads Gen Expert Pte Ltd., Singapore 

4. Make notes. Always have someone taking notes on actionable items -- who said they would do what, and when. Then have that person send the notes around after. It helps to move things along and make the meeting meaningful. -- Sandi Danilowitz, founder/CEO, The Health Engine, Toronto 

5. Get clear. I have people state concerns or questions beforehand. I call this “clearing.” Without it, people will be focused on their problem throughout the meeting -- and may derail it to get their point across. Clearing makes the team more focused. -- Dylan T. Dahlquist, research assistant, Canadian Sport Institute Pacific,Victoria, B.C.

6. Clarify tasks. Everyone writes their weekly must-dos into a Trello board for all to look over. Then we do a quick roundtable to reiterate and clarify. Sometimes verbalizing what’s written makes it appear more or less important. -- Cliff Harvey, founder, Holistic Performance Institute, Auckland, New Zealand

7. Ask and listen. I like to stick to an agenda, but that doesn’t work with every client. For the non-agenda types, I ask what technology problem has been bothering them. (We do IT solutions.) The client is able to vent about their previous experiences and then can communicate what they actually need. -- Mike Perez, founder and CEO, With Perez, New York 

Read the rest of the story HERE.

11-27-2017, Entrepreneur.com -- Failure, for entrepreneurs, is inevitable. This might come in the form of small losses, like losing an important deal to a competitor, or in big ones, like being unable to make payroll.

The best entrepreneurs, however, are not defined by these failures but rather by how they deal with them. Navigating difficult situations both externally and internally is crucial to being a successful entrepreneur. When faced with this failure, here are 10 ways to better handle it:

1. Be prepared.

You do not have to come up with full contingency plans for any type of failure. Although, being mentally prepared for failing and difficult times is critically important. If you have expectations that things are going to go perfectly according to plan, then, once they do not, those hard moments will be more difficult than you will expect.

Better understanding yourself and the outlets that you need to deal with difficulty is underrated. People who know what they need to feel better and think clearer are much more equipped for facing hardship head-on. This could be in the form of exercising, spending time with people that you care about, or going to an inspiring and isolating spot.

It is easy to make emotional decisions immediately after something negative happens. Doing so is often detrimental, though. Even if it means taking five minutes to go collect yourself, it is worthwhile. Making rational as opposed to emotional choices prevents your problems from compounding.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

2-12-2017, Entrepreneur -- By design, MIT's launch of "The Engine" last October gave aspiring entrepreneurs new hope. The venture offers startups funding, space and expertise. For companies in the scientific and technological sector, in particular, The Engine aims to put innovation ahead of profits by providing support to young companies with transformative potential.

MIT's program is a bright spot in an otherwise bleak funding landscape, but its scope is limited. And it's only a blip in terms of what's needed overall. Because the reality is that the banking system is broken, and it's keeping many entrepreneurs from turning their ideas into businesses.

Fewer banks mean fewer entrepreneurs.

The numbers are dramatic. Since the 1980s, the United States has gone from 15,000 banks to just 5,000, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Of the ones remaining, just 12 megabanks control nearly 70 percent of banking assets, former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard W. Fisher noted in a 2013 speech.

What's more, big banks tend to favor big business. Reliant on traditional (but outdated) underwriting models, these institutions find it difficult to assess the potential and risk entrepreneurial companies pose. And that's posed a hardship for those small companies, because instead of prompting banks to adapt, the consolidation trend has actually had the opposite effect: Banks simply aren't lending to many startups.

Need proof? Look no further than the declining entrepreneurship rate. Trending downward for decades, the percentage of new businesses fell below an important threshold in 2008. That year, more businesses closed down than new ones were created, for the first time since tracking began, according to Gallup. The decline has continued ever since.

For any new company to survive, then, it must explore the road less traveled.

The curious case of Amazon

While Amazon hasn't seemed like a "startup" or a "young company" for quite some time, the retail giant offers an interesting case study in current financing realities for new businesses that challenge the status quo. The company has a history of favoring growth and has spent years creating significant asset value, but not earning a profit.

The traditional financial underwriting model just wasn't able to appropriately assess an opportunity like the one Amazon represents. So, as a result, initial funding didn't come from a bank.

Obviously, Amazon found other avenues to execute its vision. And that vision worked: As of the third quarter of 2016, it posted its sixth consecutive profitable quarter, with several quarters setting company records.

Okay, not every startup is an Amazon. But when it comes to obtaining capital, aspiring entrepreneurs face hurdles that force most of them to scramble to figure out their financing. Such limited options can stifle innovation, risk-taking and the ability to get companies up and running.

Out with the old: financing fundamentals for 2017

The truth is, even if traditional banks can't be bothered to help, alternative funding options for startups exist. From bootstrapping or friends-and-family funding, to crowdfunding and venture capital, these options have reshaped the challenge for entrepreneurs: Today, they need to focus on not getting so caught up in accessing capital that their execution suffers.

Here are three keys to help maintain your own entrepreneurial momentum while you explore options and obtain financing.

1. Forget the 50-page business plan. Don't wait for the planets to align. Get started now. The days of writing an intricate business plan and getting a bank loan are over. Today, it's about focusing on developing a minimum viable product and continuing to iterate in parallel with building your company and securing the necessary financing.

Entrepreneurs like BarkBox co-founder Henrik Werdelin have been touting the virtues of the 100-day approach: If an idea can't be developed into a minimum viable product that garners customer interest within 100 days, it gets dropped completely.

In other words, given the speed of marketplace change, getting to market as soon as possible is imperative. Entrepreneurs who spend years developing an idea often find the market has left them behind. Instead, the easiest, fastest and most economical way to validate an idea is to put it into the market sooner rather than later. And speed has its rewards: Getting some market traction can work wonders for attracting additional financing.

2. Spend more sweat than money. In the early stages, spend carefully and use equity wisely when you're acquiring talent, vendors and service providers. Build -- and pay for -- only what's needed to develop and deliver the minimum viable product.

Poor cash-flow management is the reason 82 percent of young companies fail, according to Jessie Hagen of U.S. Bank. When cash is in short supply, consciously putting a heavier value on sweat equity helps keep spending in check and the business moving forward.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

2-15-2017, Forbes -- Gen Xers make up 55 percent of all start-up founders. They personify “driven” in the business world, but when it comes to their health, many Gen Xers are slacking.

People in this age group (late 30s to early 50s), including entrepreneurs, aren’t doing enough to take care of themselves, according to a recent MDVIP Health and Longevity Survey. For example, the study found only half of Gen Exers have had an annual physical in the past five years. Two out of three admit they should be exercising more, eating better and managing their stress. One in three actually avoids going to the doctor out of fear of finding something wrong.

Bret Jorgensen, chairman and CEO of MDVIP, a national network of personalized primary care physicians, knows the benefits of staying physically active while running a business. He recently told me about working through his 30s and 40s growing multi-million-dollar healthcare companies– all while making time to live an experience junkie’s lifestyle. And, he’s still going strong in his 50s.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

11-29-2017, Forbes -- Opportunities to truly connect with people can be rare. Sometimes, these opportunities present themselves in a moment of vulnerability or because you shared the right story. However they happen, such moments tend to pop up during the holidays, perhaps because of a higher sense of emotion during these months. Sure, some emotions are centered around worry or stress because your family is going to drive you nuts, but others carry a sense of nostalgia or positivity.

It’s important that brands and individuals take a step back and make sure they’re engaging people in the ways that will help them form a real relationship with customers and anybody else who is important to them. Recently, Cheddar.com reached out to me to discuss how companies should be engaging audiences during the holidays. Here are seven rules of engagement to help you form real, lasting connections during the holiday season:

1. Give up short-term gains to build long-term relationships.

REI was closed again this year for Black Friday to encourage people to go outdoors instead of shopping. The company could clearly profit in the short term by staying open, but it chose to make a statement that some things are more important. In reality, this approach creates a more meaningful connection with people in the long term.

2. Account for emotions running high.

The holidays are a time to be with the people you love and who love you — if you’re lucky. Someone you know may have just gone through a divorce; others may have lost somebody they loved this year. So be aware of such losses, and try to give people a break or be there for them when you can.

3. Have fun with your campaigns.

Get creative with your messaging to amuse your audience and keep them engaged. Dollar Shave Club’s marketing is pretty much always entertaining, but a few years ago, the company did a fun campaign featuring people who wouldn’t use their product, like kids, bikers who haven’t shaved for years, and so on. That campaign stood out to me because it made the brand amusing to people who weren’t even their target market. I have a beard that I haven’t shaved in five years, but I ended up buying a subscription for a friend.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

Forbes, July 11, 2016 -- Every upcoming generation is something of a mystery to those who born a decade or so earlier. Thus, baby boomers scratched their heads and wondered what to make of so-called “Generation X” and today anyone who is over thirty five is probably coming to terms with a world that is increasingly dominated by “millennials.”

If you’re a marketer, you’re probably trying to work out the best way to reach a generation that doesn’t play by the same media consumption rules as its predecessors. If you’re an employer, someone may well have told you that 18 to 30 years old are coming to the workplace with a new and unfamiliar set of expectations. So how exactly to you attract and (perhaps more importantly) retain the best young talent? And if you’re a business owner, how do you design products that will appeal to the hearts, minds and wallets of the first generation of exclusively digital age consumers?

But let’s look at it from another perspective. The millennial generation is not simply comprised of consumers and employees. The startup culture that is so much part of modern life is increasingly dominated by those who are still less than ten or fifteen years out from university or school. If you run an established business, it is increasingly millennials you will be buying from or partnering with. If you are an investor, they represent your opportunity.

4/13/2016, Forbes -- Advice and support can be just as important as funding in the early stages of starting up in business, which is why a good mentor is worth his or her weight in gold. They are sounding boards, voices of reason, and fonts of knowledge; all rolled into one, and can be a lifeline for those new to running their own business.

Some have played a decisive role in the startup stories of some of the most successful entrepreneurs, including Virgin founder Richard Branson. His mentor was legendary airline entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker, a man he had always admired, but who became a source of practical help and inspiration during the early days of Virgin Atlantic.

“Drawing on his experiences with his own airline, Laker Airways, his advice on how to set up the company was invaluable,” recalls Branson. “We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in the airline industry without Freddie’s down-to-earth wisdom. He helped shape our vision for high quality service at competitive prices, and was the first to bring my attention to how fiercely we would have to battle with other airlines to make a success of our airline.”

Virgin’s fledgling airline also lacked the big budgets of its larger competitors, and it was Laker who encouraged Branson to become the face of the company, and drive his own publicity for free.

“’Use yourself. Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won’t survive’. That piece of advice influenced my entire approach to business,” he says. “I took his advice on board and have been thinking up fun ways to stand out from the crowd ever since. I’ve found by standing out in fun and different ways, your chances of ending up on the front page of the newspaper, rather than the back, are much higher.”

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alisoncoleman/2016/04/10/why-mentors-can-be-the-making-of-entrepreneurs-like-branson/#5566c76c7be9