Once you’ve made the decision to start a business — or even if you’re still deciding — it’s all too easy to find yourself making excuses that you’re “too busy,” or you have this or that obligation, or it’s not the right time.

Here’s how to make inertia your friend and get momentum on your side – all by setting aside only 15 minutes a day.

In this episode you will learn:

1. How to turn inertia from an enemy into a friend.
2. How you only need 15 minutes a day to start a business.
3. My 5-step strategy to kickstart your business.

Resources:

• Breaking Down Big Goals Into Baby Steps
• David Allen’s Getting Things Done
• Step Back and Think About the Big Picture
• The Virtue of Limited Resources

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Work with me one-on-one
• Tight budget? Check out my Business Plan Kit

If you listen to the media, it’s easy to get the impression that if you’re not in your 20s you’ve missed your chance and it’s too late to start a new business. 

While the media may put most of their focus on younger entrepreneurs, in the real world, successful founders definitely skew older. In fact, research from the Harvard Business Review shows the average age of a successful startup founder is 45.

In this episode you will learn:

The 5 things entrepreneurs over 40 have going for them that younger people don’t. Age truly can be an advantage in starting a business — so don’t listen to the media.

Resources:

• Harvard Business Review
• Stop Worrying About the Other Guy
• Take the Time to Figure Out the Important Details
• The Secret to Getting it Right the First Time
• DIY Business Plan Kit

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

In this episode you will learn:

• How myths and biases influence your funding goals.
• So much of the advice out there is about the “right” way to raise funds — but that advice is only focused on a very small group of businesses that are on a very particular trajectory: scale (or grow) incredibly fast, then sell.
• Securities lawyer Jenny Kassan pulls back the curtain on ways to raise funds that other people don’t even know about.

Resources:

• Jenny Kassan

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting with Diane by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

It’s one thing to enter a new or underserved market where simply being there is enough. But to start a venture in a saturated market? How can you compete against dozens — or hundreds — of businesses that basically do the same thing? 

In business there’s room for everyone... as long as everyone is different. But you have to be a special kind of different. Nail that, and you won’t really be “competing” against anyone.

Find out how in this episode.

In this episode you will learn:

1. What is a same-same business.
2. What is a same-different business.
3. How to make your business same-different.

Resources:

• A Capella Books
• How to Interview Customers to Find Out What They REALLY Want
• Stop Worrying About the Other Guy

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

When it comes to attracting investors, it takes more than painting a rosy financial picture. Investors need to be romanced. To do that, you have to connect with investors on two levels: the head and the heart.

When you do that you not only grab their attention, but keep it. They sit up and take notice. They become interested. And ideally, they connect so strongly with the vision for your business that they want to get involved and fund it.

If you want to make that happen for your startup, here’s how to do it.

In this episode you will learn:

1. How to PERSUADE.
2. How to create an emotional connection.
3. How to create an objective connection based on reason and logic.

Resources:

• Financial Projections Explained (even if you’re not a numbers person)
• How to Interview Customers to Find Out What They REALLY Want
• How to Make Educated Guesses for Your Financial Projections
• How to Get It Right the First Time

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

“There’s never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.”

When you’re starting a new business, one of the most basic human urges is to dive in without stopping to think, evaluate and consider all the “details.” Here’s how to get it right the first time.

But if you want to succeed, you’ve got to rein in that urge. Admittedly, this can be tricky for entrepreneurs. We’re all smart, creative people with high levels of drive and passion — and that passion often leads us to put the cart before the horse, acting before we fully understand what we’re getting into.

In this episode you will learn:

1. What you lose by rushing in full steam ahead.
2. How to do it right (and what you gain).
3. What artificial deadlines are and why they’re a trap.

Resources:

• The 3 Groups of People You Need to Talk To
• Biggest Little Farm movie

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

To get the critical real-world data needed to build a thriving business, you have to get out of the building and talk with 3 key groups of people. 

Each group has valuable information that will ensure your business plan is a blueprint that’s firmly grounded in the realities of your market.

In this episode you will learn:

1. The 3 key groups of people you need to talk to.
2. What you need to find out from each group.
3. How they can change the future of your business.

Resources:

• How to Avoid Running Short on Cash for Your Business
• Know Who Your Ideal Customers Are

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

There are a few of those preventable mistakes that fall into the “greatest hits” category — and that don’t always reveal themselves until your doors are open and you find yourself struggling.

Why not head 'em off at the pass?

In this episode you will learn:

1. Three (3) things that can sabotage your startup.
2. How to minimize other mistakes you might make.

Resources:

• 7 Business Plan Mistakes You Need to Avoid
• Where to Get a Well-Crafted Business Plan
• How to Find Out What Your Customers REALLY Want
• How to Find Your Target Audience
• Your Startup Need Solid Critical Thinking Before Launch
• Where to Get a Business Advisor

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

Yes, writing a business plan is a lot of work. And it demands a healthy dose of legwork and critical thinking, especially in some areas of business that may be unfamiliar to you. 

But one thing is certain: Business plans are not is a waste of time. 

They’re actually the best thing that could happen to your startup, and in this episode I’ll share 5 important benefits.

In this episode you will learn:

1. How a business plan can save your startup from failing.
2. Why winging it is not a strategy – and how that hurts your odds for success.
3. Why a business plan attracts investors... even if they don’t read it (and they likely won’t).
4. Why a business plan done right is flexible, not rigid.

Resources:

• Are your financial projections realistic? [link: How To Estimate]
• Are customers will to pay for what you’re selling?
• Your business plan needs an annual review
• Take a look at my Business Plan Kit
• Talk to me about writing a custom business plan for you.

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit

I think we can all agree that financial projections are a key tool for any startup. And good estimates are your secret weapon for heading off unpleasant “rookie mistakes.”

So instead of viewing them as a “necessary evil,” let’s take a look at how to (realistically!) forecast your revenues and expenses and set your business up for success.

In this episode you will learn:

1. How to estimate revenues and expenses, even if you have no idea where to start
2. How to build financial projections that help win over investors.
3. My 5-step strategy for making really good estimates.
4. Two extra tips to keep your projections realistic.

Resources:

• Financial projections explained (in plain English)
• How to find out what your customers REALLY want

SPECIAL OFFER:

• Listeners can get 1 FREE hour of consulting by using the code “startup” or mentioning this offer when they book a call.

Connect:

• Visit my website
• Book a FREE discovery call
• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Tight budget? Check out my DIY Kit