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Don’t Go With Your Gut. Let the Market Tell You What It Needs.

Every person who has had the courage to start a business has done so with imperfect information. There are always unknowns. We all wonder, “Is this even a good idea? How can I be sure? What can I do to prevent my business from failing? What direction should I take next?”

These are critical questions — questions that I’m betting have kept you tossing and turning at night more than once. Are they fundamentally unanswerable? I don’t think so. What successful entrepreneurs do is let the market tell them what it needs. When you need answers, that’s where you should turn.

Amazon Rolls Out New Marketplace for Startups

Amazon unveiled a new program geared towards startups called Amazon Launchpad, which will help entrepreneurs “launch, market and distribute their products.”

Similar to other ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Bigcommerce, entrepreneurs will be able to use the platform to set up a storefront, providing users a simple onboarding process, custom product pages, inventory management and marketing materials.

Since its inception, the Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) has assisted thousands of North Florida businesses from startup to company growth.

In recognition of its profound impact on Florida’s small business community, the Center’s Associate Director Aundra’ McGlockton Sr., was recently honored at the Florida SBDC 2015 Performance Excellence Awards. McGlockton received the “Florida Star of the Year” award. The Star Award is the highest given by the SBDC to employees who have made extraordinary contributions to their state network.

8 Costly Startup Expenses That Are Actually Worth the Investment

Many entrepreneurs believe that bootstrapping is the best way to start a company, giving you the freedom you wouldn’t have if you had to report every expense to a venture capitalist or angel investor (though that’s not to say those parties aren’t concerned with costs either).

However, some expenses are important — even when they’re costly. Here are eight in particular that are actually worth the investment.

1. Free Swag 2. Powerful Data Analytics Software 3. Legal Advice 4. Financial Advice 5. An Accountant 6. Market Research 7. Customer Service 8. Technical Support

10 Effective Offline Marketing Ideas for Startups in 2015

Most of us believe that these days, digital marketing is the only way to get results. While this may be true for a specific target market, some of the best marketing ideas happen offline. The best marketing strategies are those that combine both online and offline ideas seamlessly, in one complete package.

If you haven’t been putting much effort into your offline marketing tactics, then it’s time that you give your start-up a boost with the following tips. Inspiration has always been within your reach, you just need to know where to look.

Is your business idea sustainable?

Chances are, you’ve come up with a business idea at some point in your life, whether you realize it or not. Some people come up with a possible idea for a solution to a common problem and dismiss it, never to address the subject seriously again. Others generate an idea for a business and fixate on it, trying to take action but never getting off the ground.

Ideas come in many shapes and sizes, and while most bad ideas are recognizable as bad ideas immediately, not all “good” ideas are created equal. A “good” idea, in theory, is one that solves a problem adeptly, with no major drawbacks. But not every good idea can sustain a good business.

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Embracing failure in order to be successful in your next business venture

In his book Fueled by Failure, entrepreneur and philanthropist Jeremy Bloom shows readers how rebound and reprogram themselves after defeat and how to use the lessons from those failures to achieve winning results. In this edited excerpt, the author explains why acknowledging and accepting your failures can make you a stronger and more successful business owner.

Webster’s dictionary defines failure as “the nonperformance of an assigned or expected action” or “a falling short of one’s goals.” I consider the first definition to apply to the short-term failures we all experience often when trying to do something, such as missing a sales quota for the quarter. The second definition, however, has far greater impact on us since our goals can be very closely tied to who we are as individuals.

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Startup Quest, CareerSource Capital Region Table of Entrepreneurship

Startup Quest with CareerSource Capital Region! The program that strengthens communities by creating new pathways for citizens’ employment — giving highly educated participants the tools and training they need to create new businesses and stimulate job creation. Any individuals who are underemployed or unemployed with a college degree should definitely look into to this awesome opportunity.

Startup Quest provides public universities and NASA with a valuable outlet to commercialize publically-funded technology innovations into a new high-tech business and positively impact our local economy. You should sign up to participate if you: are registered in the Employ Florida Marketplace, have a college degree, are underemployed or unemployed and can commit to a 10-session program that will provide the tools and training to create new businesses and stimulate job creation.

How to Pitch Your Business by Email

When I think of pitching, I think of presentations (unless we’re talking about baseball, of course).

But, pitching can come in different forms, and one of the most common ways to pitch your business—even in our technologically advanced age—is the “pitch email.”

Email is everywhere. It’s used by nearly everyone, it’s more personal than social media, and it’s less obtrusive than a phone call. When you need to introduce yourself and your company to someone, email often just makes the most sense.

5 Golden Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From ‘Entourage’

I saw the Entourage movie on its release date and I can say I wasn’t disappointed — it delivered exactly what I expected. After watching the movie I started to think about how there are some valuable lessons mixed in with the partying and wild lifestyle that the series depicted. Here are five entrepreneurial lessons we can take away from Entourage.