Too many business owners rush into registering their business without considering the significant long-term implications of initial critical choices, some of which can be fatal. The entity type you choose at the time of officially forming your company could have long term consequences.  While an LLC is a common structure, there are other options available,

Inc. Magazine recently published the article “4 Things Warren Buffet Says You Must Do To Become Super Successful In Life,” and I think they’re worth noting for entrepreneurs! Say no to almost everything Face down your fears Play the long game Surround yourself with people more successful than you I think three of his four

I’m often asked by business owners to help them improve some aspect of their operation. In order to get a sense of the current state of things, one of the first questions I ask is, “How is your business doing (overall)?” Regardless of their answer, I always have the same follow up question: “How do

I hear this question a lot. People wonder, sometimes out loud: “Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?” … as if there is an omniscient sorting machine in the hospital nursery that decrees upon infants “This one will be a business owner” and “This one, worker bee forever!” The truth is that

Have you ever heard this story turn out well…? Cameron walks into a bar. Quinn walks into the bar. Cameron says to Quinn, “Do you want to get married?” Of course not! And yet, when it comes to marketing (especially for online offerings), businesses make their move too fast all the time! In the online

Brad Feld is a partner at Foundry (a venture capital firm in Boulder, CO) and co-founder of TechStars. In 2011, he wrote an article for Reuters entitled, “Note to Entrepreneurs: Your Idea Is Not Special”. Since the article is no longer available online, I’ve shared some highlights below. After playfully mocking entrepreneurs who want experts

Accountants know a lot about what’s under the hood of your business…the good, the bad, and the ugly! So we asked Jay Faustin (founder and CEO of Qupid Tax & Accounting) to share with us the most common pitfalls he sees among small business owners. Here are the top 5 pitfalls he identified: Small business

Consider this familiar scenario. You’ve just released a new product or service and you’ve created some marketing materials to announce it to potential customers. You’re feeling proud of the accomplishment (as you should!) and excited about the new revenue potential. But how do you really know if you’re on the right track? Connection equals sales

It’s not easy starting a business from just an idea. That’s why we partner with entrepreneurial experts who can share their proven business methods with Brio Business Academy members. Tom Berger is one of our experts, as well as a seasoned senior operating manager and a former CEO of seven start-ups with exits in excess

For many employees, the Covid pandemic brought the ability to work remotely for the very first time. Two years later, the flexibility of the hybrid work environment comes with a price tag – the company’s expectation that employees should respond to requests and messages at night and on weekends. This is just one of the

So you’re thinking about starting a company with one or more partners. How will you allocate ownership? This is an age-old question, and one that plagues many companies for years if not answered properly. I recently had a friend lament to me that their partnership was on the rocks. Her partner promised a level of

We’ve all heard the proverb that “hindsight is 20/20,” and the quote that “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” (George Santayana) The very nature of being an entrepreneur or starting your own small business means that you will be traversing uncharted waters. The key to avoiding traps and pitfalls

Getting behind on your bookkeeping as a business owner is SO incredibly common. The story usually starts off something like this: “I kept telling myself I would get caught up over the weekend. Then it’s suddenly 9pm on Sunday and I was either too busy or too tired to deal with the books.” Five weeks

The idea of writing a business plan can make solopreneurs cringe and wonder: “Do I really need a business plan if I’m just doing consulting on my own and I already have clients? It’s not like I need one to secure funding or for a pitch competition – so it seems like writing a business