Garage Entrepreneurs

Laurie Hawkins is an energetic, world-class Certified Business Coach and leader, with an extraordinary range of business expertise. Laurie is the owner of Hawk Inspired, FocalPoint Coaching. As a FocalPoint certified coach, Laurie can transform your business, as well as your professional and personal life through long-term, one-on-one coaching – the most effective method in which to affect lasting business improvement and skill development. Eric: Laurie, tell me about yourself and your business background. Laurie: I have spent twenty years in […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Interview with Small Business Coach Laurie Hawkins

Recently we’ve been receiving quite a few member requests for more information on how to manage the online presence of a new business. A major component of that online presence would be building a website. To help our members, we asked expert Avery Swartz (www.AverySwartz.com) to write a TWO PART series on Website Tips for Entrepreneurs. Avery is an award-winning print and web designer. Avery works with entrepreneurs to ensure that their message is conveyed simply, clearly, and elegantly through their […] Continue Reading Website Tips for Entrepreneurs Part Two

Recently we’ve been receiving quite a few member requests for more information on how to manage the online presence of a new business.  A major component of that online presence would be building a website.  To help our members, we asked expert Avery Swartz (www.AverySwartz.com) to write a TWO PART series on Website Tips for Entrepreneurs.  Avery is an award-winning print and web designer.  Avery works with entrepreneurs to ensure that their message is conveyed simply, clearly, and elegantly through their […] Continue Reading Website Tips for Entrepreneurs Part One

The absolute best way to find a good idea is to look for a good idea. As an EIT (Entrepreneur-in-Training), you need to realize that a great business idea will never just ‘fall into your lap’.  In my experience, and from speaking to successful young entrepreneurs, you must actively partake in an ideation process. There are many places that you can look for a good idea, but some of my favorites have been included in a past post that I wrote on Entrepreneurial […] Continue Reading Young Entrepreneurs: To Find a Good Idea, LOOK For One!

Can someone learn to be an entrepreneur? Whether or not someone can learn, in a class room setting, the skills to become a successful entrepreneur is intensely debated. There are those who say you cannot learn how to be an entrepreneur, you simply have to learn by doing. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are those who say you can learn basic entrepreneurial skills, and you can study the mistakes of others to avoid making them on your own. […] Continue Reading “Learning” Entrepreneurship

Marketing for entrepreneurs isn’t as simple as it used to be. Marketing media is changing daily, and under the influence of social media, marketing will never be the same. This post is not a cutting-edge way to advertise your new business, it’s a look at the information you need to know to make marketing decisions. Marketing is the connection that you have with your customers. You need to understand your customers in order to reach them effectively. To change things up […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 6 (Entrepreneurial Marketing)

Twitter is the fastest growing social networking platform. Businesses are quickly learning that they have to be on Twitter. It is perhaps one of today’s most important (and free) platforms for building your brand. Once you have a twitter account it’s time to get your name out there and get creative. Here are 13 suggestions for your business: · Customize your twitter page with your brand’s logo and colours so that your page doesn’t look like every other twitter page. · […] Continue Reading 13 Things Your Business Can Do On Twitter

Whether you realize it or not, cash is the lifeblood of your business. During the ‘prove it’ stage having no cash could be a godsend. Having little cash forces you to make tough decisions, and really think about how you spend every dollar. However, you must also ensure that you have enough money to cover the cash demands of the start-up phase: Can you pay your website developer on time? Can you repair your lawnmower to continue providing your lawn care […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 5 (Managing Cash Flow)

If you’ve been following the Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series, we’ve taken you through generating an idea, assessing good ideas, and validating your idea – now it’s time to get operational. The majority of businesses never raise capital from a venture capitalist or angel investor – in fact, VC’s and angels fund less than 1% of businesses. However, this does not mean that you have to be in this 1% in order to become successful. From the INC. 500 list […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 4 (Prove and Get Operational)

So you’ve found an idea that you feel comfortable with and done a bit of research to decide if this is worth taking to the next step – next you’ve got to validate your idea. Having a great idea isn’t what makes great new businesses. No one ever got rich from a great idea; they got rich from turning that idea into a profitable business. In addition, no investor will give you money for a good idea – you’ve got to […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 3 (Validation)