|
Startup Partners, Inc. 234 Crocker Drive, Unit B // Bel Air, Maryland // (443) 619 - 4968 info@startuppartnersinc.org |
|
Providing SPI’s Innovative, Copyrighted Entrepreneurism and Intrapreneurism Programs
....Collective Action for Collective Impact...1 |
|
Next Event: Bigger and Better !! Stay Tuned to this Site for info
Call 443-619-4968 — email: info@startuppartnersinc.org |
|
© Copyright 2011— 2013 Startup Partners, Inc. |
|
“...complex problems can be solved only by cross-sector coalitions that engage those outside the nonprofit sector….”
1 “Collective Impact”, John Kania & Mark Kramer, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011 |
|
Recognition and Support (in order of Receipt) |
|
The Honorable C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger U.S. Congressman 2nd Congressional District, Maryland |
|
The Honorable Barry Glassman State Senator Legislative District 35, Harford County, Maryland |
|
Home |
|
Mission |
|
Programs |
|
Partners |
|
About Us |
|
Contact Us |
|
SPIBlog |
|
Recognition |
|
The Honorable Andy Harris U. S. Congressman 1st Congressional District, Maryland Citation |
|
The Honorable Benjamin Cardin U. S. Senator State of Maryland Citation |
|
The Most Recent Event An Absolute Success!
APG Veterans Entrepreneur Day 15 November 2012 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD |
|
The Honorable Michael Bennett Mayor City of Aberdeen, Maryland Proclamation |
|
The Honorable David Rudolph State Delegate Legislative District 34B, Cecil County, Maryland Letter of Support |
|
Entrepreneur’s Journey A new Topic each month, critical to Entrepreneurs, is brought to you by experienced Entrepreneurs...we have been there...done that...and hope this information helps you avoid some of the mistakes we have made.
You….Your Team….and Consultants Surround yourself with The Best. People who share your vision and will work with you to reach your goals.
YOU are the passionate driver of your business. YOU are the Chief Salesperson. YOU are the Team Leader. YOU cannot outsource this.
Anyone who wants you to pay them is either an Employee or a Consultant. Lets repeat that: anyone who wants you to pay them is either an Employee or a Consultant….they had better have a plan to add value to your business...and deliver the value. And YOU must document what they are to deliver, and how much they will charge — exactly— for delivering it. Finally— you must ensure that before you pay anyone — they deliver according to the agreed up on Results.
You must conserve your cash. Ask potential employees to take a commission on sales or shares of stock until you get some sales. For Consultants, ask them to defer and reduce their charges in return for a few shares of stock— no more than 1% of your company if they work for you for 5 hours each month for 3 years.
The Sounds of Consultants: If someone comes to you and says something like: “I really like your business idea and I want to help you.” (sound good so far?) They continue: “I can help you by showing you how to fill out X form or Y registration” or “I can work on your Business Plan” or “I can open doors for you” or “I can get you meetings” or “I will do my Best Effort’……….. or anything that sounds like this.
Then they say: “I charge $mmm per hour”. Or, they will say: “for $x,xxx per month, I can cut your time to contract by 50%, with Y agency or Z company”.
Your response? Here it is: à Forms or Registrations: I will take the time to learn to do these for myself, and will continue to do this until I get some sales. I will spend a few hours in the evening or weekend to get these done. à Business Plan: only I can work on and complete my Business Plan. à Open Doors: I will make the call and get in the door myself. à Meetings: ditto. I will make the call myself. I have to do the homework anyway on what the potential customer needs and will buy. à Cut your time to Contract: Ask them for 3 clients that you can call to confirm that statement. Ask to talk to their worst client. Then go to the next steps below. à Best Effort: There are only Results. A startup or small business cannot afford a best effort without results. à Charge Per Hour: Change this to ‘Charge Per Results’. And pay only when results are delivered. à Charge Per Month: this is called a monthly retainer. STAY AWAY from these arrangements unless your sales are at $10 million per year or more.
Tell them “I pay on results”, and only the good ones will stay.
Prepare: The internet is chock full of FREE information for you. Contracts: a) make sure you have a Consultant Contract that you can tailor to your needs….for the consultants that work for you, and for you to use when you are consulting; b) Before any work is done: be careful to detail all work to be done, by what date/ time, and what the charge will be after results are delivered.
If you have any questions, would like to tell your story, or want us to discuss your topic, email me: acorr@startuppartnersinc.org
This Entrepreneur’s Journey by:
Angela Corrieri, President, Startup Partners, Inc., and President, Mobile Digital Systems, inc. John Gaughan, Vice President, Startup Partners, Inc., and Program Manager– Aberdeen, Data Matrix Solutions, Inc. Dennis Hiebert, Vice President, Startup Partners, Inc., and Entrepreneur, and Awarded STEM Mentor
Please Note: This is not intended as legal advice, but, rather Operational and Startup Information of past experience. Your situation may be different than those explained here. |
|
Why is this website so plain looking? There are two reasons: 1) We use all funds raised for Veterans Programs. One Veteran who serves on our Advisory Board will be paid to work on and improve our website. 2) For the present, this is an informational website, therefore the ‘brochure’ look. There are no plans to advertise with someone jumping up and down telling you about some drug or weight loss secret.
There will be access to videos on relevant topics, as well as coverage of our Entrepreneur Programs and Events.
|
