What can businesses learn from Silicon Valley’s success?

What can today’s start-ups looking to accelerate their growth learn from Silicon Valley’s high tech boom of the 1970s and 1980s? In the space of just a few years, this southern portion of the San Francisco Bay area – centered on Santa Clara Valley – became home to so many high-tech computer companies that it earned the nickname “Silicon Valley” after the silicon chips these organizations were using. It has in turn become shorthand for the US digital technology industry itself.

Today, Silicon Valley has grown to encompass the entire San Francisco Bay Area. It remains a leading high tech hub and focus of a strong start-up ecosystem – attracting as much as 43% of US venture capital funding, and home to dozens of “unicorn” start-ups, worth over US$1 billion. Yet around the world, other clusters of start-up innovation have also sprung up – so many that Slate magazine jokingly created a map listing all the places dubbed “the new Silicon Valley.”

So what was it that turned Santa Clara Valley into Silicon Valley? Why here, in this once-remote and rural part of America? According to Bryan Pearce, Global Leader EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, and Jeff Grabow, EY’s US Venture Capital Leader, there are five key factors that converged to transform this part of San Francisco Bay into the world’s leading technology hub. Entrepreneurs can look to leverage these components of success in order to accelerate growth within their businesses.

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Five Steps to Becoming Self Employed

If there are only five steps to becoming self employed, why doesn’t everyone do it? Here’s the thing: everyone can become self employed if they have discipline, drive, and the ability to overcome some tough working situations. Learn how to find self employment opportunities, and find success.

There may be five steps that lead to self employment, but everything hinges on one simple skill: the ability to find work. Through self-promotion, die-hard job seeking, ad placing or a combination of efforts, everyone who wants to succeed as an independent contractor has to succeed at finding paying customers. Learn how to make the process a little easier.

Becoming Self Employed

Step 1: The Self Employment Resume

Obviously, the first step to becoming self employed is to have a resume that highlights skills, education and experience in the professional’s chosen field. It does very little good to start any type of job hunting without having a great resume ready, so get one ready!

Often, success in self employment isn’t about finding opportunities but seizing them…and it’s pretty hard to self-sell without a resume that shows off skills and accomplishments. Even those with very little work at home, or independent contractor, experience can highlight other job experience they’ve gained, skills they’ve acquired and education they’ve completed. Remember that a resume should always stay professional, read in the third person and be presented on a single typewritten sheet – no colors, images or added embellishments necessary. Continue reading “Five Steps to Becoming Self Employed” →

Self Employment is the Loneliest Job

For professionals who feel cooped up and hemmed in by an office environment, the thought of work at home seems sweet. But for those who have actually experienced self employment, working alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Self employment is really the loneliest job, one that brings a lot of stress and boredom. Can you handle being self employed, and working alone?

Self Employment

Work…Alone

For busy parents, work alone might sound like an ideal dream. Daily distractions often make it difficult to reach self employment goals. In these cases, working alone suddenly becomes desirable, needed. Successful self employed professionals have to learn to work even with home-oriented distractions. The phone will ring. Roommates and spouses might want to chitchat. People may come to knock on the door. And, if there are kids in the house, they’ll be sure to demand their fair share of attention. Continue reading “Self Employment is the Loneliest Job” →

The Truth About Being Self Employed

It’s difficult to find the self-employment facts when so many myths, scams and complete cons get in the way of honest workers. There’s a lot of incorrect information out there, and it’s very easy for even extremely intelligent, hard-working professionals to fall prey to the false data. Find out what it means to work alone, and learn the truth about being self employed.

Self-Employment: The Facts

Knowing certain facts about self-employment makes it easier to avoid all those scams, helping professionals learn how to identify myths rather than fall prey to them. Everyone should know a few things about self-employment before pursing this career path.

Independent contractors must cover their own health care. This is a fact that every self employed professional must face. Individual policies don’t often provide the best coverage at the most affordable rate, so it’s extremely important to shop around to find the best policy. Continue reading “The Truth About Being Self Employed” →

Importance of effective Brand Management

You only have to look around in today’s marketplace to see the importance of effective brand management. Having a solid, recognisable, desirable brand is downhill momentum towards a successful business – providing you’re jumping on board for the ride, of course!

Occasionally this kind of brand recognition might happen nearly in spite of itself… but you’d be foolhardy to bank on achieving this without planning and strategy. But when it comes to brand management it can be tough to know where to begin, how to begin, what to brand. And this is where a branding agency could be the right move forward for your business.

Brand Management

What could a branding agency do for you?

A branding agency worth its weight will be able to consult and advise you on the best path forward for your brand. Brand management might involve anything from market research and knowledge to the more creative aspects of designing a brand. It’s vital for branding services to incorporate a clear strategy for growth and might also cover areas such as conception, research, launch, follow up, as well as identifying and reaching previously untargeted clients. Continue reading “Importance of effective Brand Management” →

How to get Quality Content without breaking the bank

In the online world of today, its essential to have quality content on your blog, website, social media profiles and more. However, developing quality content can be costly. There are ways in which you can get better quality content without breaking the bank. For example, you can find a professional dedicated website content writer on Web.ThePensters.com. You can also use these tips to get more content at a higher quality for less money.

Offer Regular Work

Freelance content writers have to juggle varying deadlines, payment schedules, and their own budgets. If you can offer work every week and guarantee it, your writer may be prepared to accept a lower rate. They’re also far more likely to be available to complete your projects when they can schedule space for it in their regular weekly or monthly schedule.

Quality Content

Offer Regular Payments

Again, freelance content writers have their own bills to pay. Regular payments such as weekly or monthly deposits can be very attractive to some writers. If they know they can rely on your payments, they may offer a discount on their normal rate. Continue reading “How to get Quality Content without breaking the bank” →

How Businesses can Save Money on Shipping

Shipping overseas is incredibly expensive, which is why many small businesses don’t do business across the pond. In addition to cost, there’s also the general hassle; the customs forms, the difficulty of saving foreign addresses in some databases, and simply having to go to the carriers site can cause a headache. The good news? For motivated business owners, there are ways to make shipping overseas easier.

First, you cant be afraid to ask for a discount. No matter what the carriers website might say (unless its the US Postal Service), those shipping fees aren’t set in stone. For example, FedEx offers a flat 15 percent discount just for signing up for an account. There are many hidden discounts out there, so don’t be shy about asking about them.

save money on Shipping

Here are a few more ways to save on shipping.

Get to High Volume Status

Those big stores like Wal-Mart can offer free shipping to customers because they ship so much stuff. Most carriers offer a high volume discount, which can vary from carrier to carrier. If your business is already there, this is the ultimate way to save money. Comparison shop and see which carriers offer the biggest discounts. Continue reading “How Businesses can Save Money on Shipping” →

How to Safeguard Essential Business software systems

If you are in business today it is almost certain that much of your day to day operations are reliant on a suite of software applications that are essential to every aspect of its smooth running.

Depending on your area of operations, it might well be the case that at the heart of your business there is a customised or even fully bespoke IT system that fulfils your unique requirements. Whatever the case may be, it is now essential to safeguard your software as much as it is any other asset.

safeguard Business software

Update

Any commercial concern needs to be constantly aware of developments in its field of operations and toady that can mean keeping up to date with new versions of software. Whether it is for reasons of security or operational enhancements, most system providers release regular updates and upgrades to address problems that emerge.

Depending on the type of software of the arrangement you have with the provider, these kinds of updates can often be free to use, so it is important to make sure that any software your company uses is the very latest version that is available to you. Continue reading “How to Safeguard Essential Business software systems” →

The right way to start a business

I imagine that everyone has at some point contemplated starting a business of some kind or other; either spurred by a detailed and analytical diagnosis of current market trends or having a cool idea whilst sat in the pub.

The good news is that a lot of the best business ideas have come from impromptu ideas, although equally a lot have come from months of tireless and expensive consumer research too. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where the idea has come from – what matters is that you know what to do with it.

start a business

Ideas

You must have something to offer which is not currently available. If there is already a market for it then your idea has to be significantly better, simpler or cheaper. You will not be able to take on Nike or Microsoft overnight so regardless of how good your idea is, be prepared for a long journey and look for niches to target to get your foot in the door. Continue reading “The right way to start a business” →

Factors to consider when switching your Accountant

If you are self-employed already you will know the value of having an accountant and if you are about to start working for yourself, you will soon become very familiar with the sound of your accountants voice.

Having an accountant who is right for you and your business can mean the difference between doing OK and fulfilling your true potential. Often considered as a passive partner simply responsible for number-crunching, an accountant can have a truly significant impact on your success.

Accountant

Unfortunately, its all too easy to simply stick with the accountant you have, just because its easy. But if you don’t feel like they really understand what you and your business are trying to achieve, perhaps its time to consider a switch.

We run through some of the factors you should bear in mind when you are looking for a new accountant.

Relevant experience

Not all construction workers are the same: there are electricians, plumbers, carpenters and plasterers and many more types of specialist knowledge too. No-one expects a construction worker to understand every aspect of another persons expertise; the same principles apply to accountancy too.

Whilst all accountants certainly have a grasp of the basics, there are many different types of accountancy. Finding a firm that can offer you the right experience is vital if you are to get the most out of your business. Continue reading “Factors to consider when switching your Accountant” →