My personal basic tips for starting entrepreneurs. A remake of my old presentation, to practice the new Netlash styleguide...

1. 10 TIPS FOR
STARTING
ENTREPRENEURS

2. Hi, my name is Bart.

3. I work at web agency Netlash.
... and a few other companies:

5. http://slideshare.net/netlash

6. STARTING YOUR
OWN BUSINESS
10 tips from my personal experience

7. Listen carefully...

8. PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE

9. It might not apply to you.
Or your business.

10. MY 10 TIPS

11. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

13. Your accountant

14. Your accountant
Choose him carefully.
Make sure his office is within a 15 minute drive.
Do not go for the cheapest!

15. Your accountant
And whatever you do...

16. Your accountant
And whatever you do...
Do NOT take a friend or a member of your family
as your accountant.

17. Your accountant
And whatever you do...
Do NOT take a friend or a member of your family
as your accountant.
... Just don’t.

18. By extension
Find yourself a good bank manager, and join that
bank.

19. By extension
Find yourself a good bank manager, and join that
bank.
The personal relationship with the bank manager
is far more important than the brand of the bank.

20. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

21. Watch your cash-flow

22. Watch your cash-flow
No matter how profitable you are, if you
run out of cash, it’s...

23. Watch your cash-flow
No matter how profitable you are, if you
run out of cash, it’s...
GAME OVER.

24. Billing
Send out your bills asap.
Follow them up for payment.
Be firm but friendly!
Ask advances.

25. Oh, and should I mention:

26. Oh, and should I mention:
You HAVE to have a business model.

27. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

28. Mensch (Yiddisch: ‫ מענטש‬mentsh) means
“a person of integrity and honor”.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch

29. Build your rolodex

30. Networking
Don’t network to build business.
The network of your network is far more important!
“Pay it forward.”

31. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

32. Availability

33. Availability
Answer your phone, answer your e-mail.
Reply to RFP’s within the hour!
Be reliable, make good on your promises.
Communicate often and clearly.

34. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

35. Cooperation

36. Cooperation
More value-creation through cooperation.
Share your ideas.
Be open.

37. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

38. Sparring partner

39. Get a partner
It’s very hard to build a bigger business on your own.
Find an opposite.
It’s like cycling...

40. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

41. Just say NO!

42. Niche
Create your own niche, and dominate it.
“Blue Ocean”
It’s ok to say NO - sometimes it can win you clients!
Focus.

43. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

44. Don’t steer - look

45. Launch your ‘torpedo’
Know what you want to be: consultant, entrepreneur
or manager.
Define the numbers.

46. SMART
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time Framed

47. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

48. Precious diamonds

49. Diamonds
Hire people that are smarter than you.
Hire for diversity.
Even the biggest diamond has to be cut - push them!
Balance your 3P: People - Profit - Planet.

50. A diamond is nothing more than a chunk of
coal that is made good under pressure.
Henry Kissinger
US Statesman

51. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

52. You can not outsource passion.

53. Outsource passion?

54. You can not outsource passion.
(Some people might not agree.
Like pimps. And advertising agencies.)

55. Passion
There can only be 1 real drive for
entrepreneurship: passion.

56. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

57. 11. Free extra tip

58. Your home base

59. Your home base
An entrepreneur can only be succesful if his partner
supports his plans.
(I can only thank Gudrun, Wolf & Kobe that they do, and love them for it.)

60. 1. Your new best friend 6. Get a sparring partner
2. Show me the money 7. Find your niche
3. Be a ‘Mensch’ 8. Set your goals
4. Be easy to work with 9. Cherish your talents
5. Build alliances 10. Follow your passion

61. Start your own business!

63. Start your own business!
It’s a rollercoaster, but a fun one.

64. And remember...

65. Don’t give up.

66. There’s only one difference between
an amateur and a professional.
The professional is an amateur
that did not give up.

67. Good luck!

68. QUESTIONS?

69. twitter.com/netlash
bart@netlash.com
www.netlash.com