Useful Reads of the Month

It's a blessing to find some time to keep up with what's happening around and luckily, I got the chance to read some really useful pieces lately. Here's what I found worth sharing:

• Learning from startups failure https://www.techinasia.com/insights-from-12-failed-startups-in-india-2017
• Experts tip on growing your startup big https://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2017/12/27/go-big-with-your-startup-in-2018-an-experts-tips/#4d2d715b3734
• With Over 50 Company Portfolios, This Investor Believes in a Family-office Setup https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/306627
• Mommies' guide to start a business on budget https://www.workingmother.com/g00/starting-home-business-on-budget-as-working-mom
• How to make money baking http://www.businesstrend.us/small-business/how-to-make-money-by-baking-at-home.html
• Why should you be starting a business while in university https://www.smallbusinesskit.co.uk/starting-a-business-while-at-university-a-hot-opportunity/
• And another one on university entrepreneurship http://www.careerslinked.com/5-reasons-students-college-and-university-should-try-entrepreneurship/

I am sure, this list will be of great value to you!

Check the Founder’s Profile carefully; Startup Investing Tip

When it comes to make most out of a startup investment, you must explore all the areas which can help minimizing the risk associated with the startup. One such area is “Founder’s profile”.

Drill into the track record of the founders; and it will certainly give you some hints about how successful the startup can be.

While doing appropriate due diligence, looking at the people behind the company is the most critical factor, especially for early stage companies. This is mainly due to the fact that products need to be iterated several times until they are able to find where they fit in the market.

As Jim Collins writes in his book “From Good To Great”, “it is all about having the right people sitting in the right seat”. As you explore the founders’ profiles, you will find the right direction to move.

In order to scan founders’ profiles effectively, focus on their background story, i.e. previous ventures, companies they have worked for, education etc. Also look into the business networking sites, like Linkedin to check what recommendations they have received!

Did you know that diversifying your investments can reduce the risk?

Small Business Success is All about Mindset and Positive Thinking

Every entrepreneur starts a venture with an aim to success, but many lose consistency and cannot make it. Well, there can be various reasons for failure, including budget constraints, idea not being valid, natural disaster or so on.  But many times, the failure happens just because of negative thinking and fears!

Explore just any small business help resource; staying positive is the first tip that every expert gives! It’s the mindset that helps you with the positive thinking, which leads you towards success with confidence.

“Our first three years were brutally tough… every day was about survival. Then I remembered a lesson from my father. Your mind is everything, yet it’s not what you know, but rather how you deal with it. It is about your mindset and positive thinking.”  – (Starts at 2:43) Clate Mask, Founder and CEO, Infusionsoft

10 Small Business Blogs You Must Explore for Amazing Ideas

Whether you are one of the wannabe entrepreneur or have already started up your venture, you always need guidance and advice to run your business efficiently and to get that, the best idea is to keep reading.

Here's my list of 10 amazing blogs to catch up on advice and tips for small and micro business operations:

1. Small Business Trends 
2. StartupsBuzz.com 
3. Young Entrepreneur Blog - Small Business & Entrepreneurs Blog 
4. Small Business Branding 
5. SmallBusinessClan.com 
6. bizSugar / Hot Topics 
7. Blogtrepreneur - Online Entrepreneur Blog 
8. CareersLinked.com 
9. Business Opportunities Weblog 
10. The Expand2Web Blog

Small Scale Vegetable & Fruit Mart in Rural Areas; a Profitable Opportunity

If you are living in a rural area or a locality in the suburbs of a city where the life is not as faster as it is in the city, you are lucky to have the opportunity to start your own business that addresses the problems of people with the locality.

If you happen to explore the lists of small business ideas for rural areas, you will find vegetable and fruits shop is part of almost every list. This is because, fruits and veggies are basic needs of almost every household and so the business cannot be a flop!

Moreover, it’s up to your entrepreneurial skills that how well you make your veggies and fruit mart different from those others; you may offer clean, well packaged, fresher and organic products to beat the competition!

The business is really simple to do and requires little startup capital, i.e. you can start from a small mobile kiosk even, but to turn it into a big success, you need to go an extra mile, i.e. you may offer free home delivery, weekly or bi-weekly packages etc.

Think out of the box to make your small veggies mart a big success. Here I am sharing some links to help you get started and run it more effectively.

Advice on starting veggies and fruits shop.

Organic food shop business plan.

Starting a fruits and vegetable shop.

Starting a Mobile Beauty Salon in Chicago

Doubts apart, women love to look good, even during the recessions they manage to save enough money to spend on their beauty regime. So, starting a business targeting such women is surely going be a successful idea!

This is the case in almost all big cities and such a business can go great in Chicago too!

If you live in Chicago and love to explore the beauty industry and want to start your own business and have explored tons of small business ideas for Chicago, you may find the idea of mobile salon simply awesome!

Most seniors and even stay-at-home moms will always love to look good without having to leave their homes for the salon. Moreover, the working women who find it difficult to manage time for salon because it’s far away, will love to try your mobile salon as it is spotted right in front of their office.

Here are some useful reads to help you start your mobile salon:

How to start a mobile salon business

Mobile beauty salon setup costs and overview

Beauty salon business plan

With the changing trends and ever enhancing technologies, people are more comfort loving and so they look for mobile businesses to buy products and services from. Probably, that’s the reason, Angelica is recommending a mobile food truck business for Chicago.

Pets Related Business is a Real Win in Cities Like New York

Well, that's what I believe at least..... as I have spent tons of hours on various researches and found that big cities have big opportunities, not just for humans related stuff but also for pets....

Thousands of people if not a hundred thousand own one or more pets, but life is so busy in big cities like this that they need services for their pets too, let it be dog walking, pet grooming, pet training or whatever else..... there're always opportunities and they are growing.

So, if you are actually looking for small business ideas for New York or for another big city like this, you must look into the opportunities pets sector is bringing for you. This link can help you with more insights on starting and running dog walking business.

Not for all, but for pet lover, it would be a breakthrough, for sure!

And yes, alternatively, you may choose for niche blogging as a business, as one of my friends suggest!