Category: Entrepreneur

  • Smart Capital: Entrepreneurs Don’t Need Wall Street!

    Last week we had a great call with close to 300 signups! Smart Funding-Entrepreneurs Don’t Need Wall Street During the interview, we covered: Why Wall Street and banks are not equipped to fund small businesses What are the five crucial components that go into a smart capital raise How entrepreneurs can take matters into their…

  • 8 Steps to Achieving the UnReasonable

    8 Steps to Achieving the UnReasonable

    Bill McKibben is a serious environmental advocate.  As a founder of 350.org. he has helped coordinate 15,000 rallies in 191 countries since 2009. Time Magazine called him ‘the planet’s best green journalist’ and the Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was ‘probably the country’s most important environmentalist.’ McKibben and 350.org have stepped are now…

  • Five Steps: Get and Stay Organized… Quickly and Easily

    Five Steps: Get and Stay Organized… Quickly and Easily

    I don’t consider myself an organizer-type person.  But recently enough clients have asked me how I do it all and seem to manage it with ease I started sharing my personal system. The dozen or so that have tried my Bucket System reported their productivity and work-life balance improved 50-75% in just a few weeks.…

  • How to Manage the Too Busy to Fail Syndrome

    I did not want to write this week’s ezine.  Being on the “road”, raising a round of capital for the company, an investor meeting today to get ready for, finish negotiations on a TV show partnership, get ready for meetings, coaching and mentoring at Columbia University tomorrow, teaching in the evening… blah, blah, blah. It…

  • How’s YOUR QA?

    How’s YOUR QA?

    I woke up and nearly jumped off the table.  A stranger was putting needles into me. Still confused, as I must have fallen asleep yesterday while waiting over 30 minutes for my acupuncturist to start working on me, I asked the stranger why they were doing this and not my acupuncturist. She stammered, “she’s busy…

  • Top 5 Ways to Get That Big Meeting

    “Watch this, Stefan.”  John then picked up the phone and called a CEO of a Fortune 50 company, whom he did not know. When the CEO’s administrator answered, John said, “I’ll be in Paris next week and about 5 minutes from your office.  I’d be happy to stop by and speak to [the CEO] for…

  • 8 Components For Great Business Partnerships

    Monday was a tough day.  After the team of my newest company worked our tails off for six months with another startup, I had to inform the other company we were “out”. The reason was easy:  they had still not signed our contract agreement between our two companies.  The implication was hard:  the fallout, bad-will…

  • How to Manage Your Fear

    As the phone rang yesterday, I was hoping they were calling to cancel.  I had my reasons:  wasn’t ready yet, a serious list of projects to catch up on, and didn’t want to spend 2 hours traveling. My appointment was to be with the Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Columbia University, and the call was…

  • How to Get the BIG Things Done… First

    This past weekend I found myself very near Palo Alto, CA, where I grew up.  My aunt died suddenly and my family flew out for the memorial. On the way from the Bay Area to my aunt’s, I could not help but remember this story that happened to me in 1975.  To this day I…

  • The Key to Jolting Your Sales NOW

    The Key to Jolting Your Sales NOW

    Recently I was on the subway getting to a meeting in midtown Manhattan.  During 20 minute ride two sets entrepreneurs went through our subway car trying to sell something. One was successful, one left empty handed. From the following two scenarios, can you guess which one was successful?     #1:  came in and started…