Business Discussions

  Three years ago, two sisters on a mission to make a difference teamed up to start Sword & Plough — a social enterprise that works with veterans to repurpose military surplus materials that would otherwise be thrown away. Their unique tote bags, handbags and accessories, along with their passion for providing employment for veterans, recently catapulted them into the national spotlight as a top 10 finalist in Small Business Big Game, so we had to find out the story behind starting their business. Take it away, ladies! Names: Emily and Betsy Núñez Business: Sword & Plough Started: January 2012   Why did you both decide to build your business around the idea of giving back to the military? Emily: We were born into the military and it has always been a huge part of our lives. Our dad served for over 30 years, so we grew up on military posts. I'm currently an active duty U.S. Army Officer, stationed with the HUD special forces group. Betsy:&nbsp

Ryan always loved collecting old knick-knacks, but it wasn’t until he started repurposing them into unique lamps that his business was born. Now, he spends every spare hour outside of his 9-to-5 job reconditioning vintage pieces and selling them on Etsy or at local flea markets.  As Ryan gets ready to explore how to turn his successful pop-up shop into a real brick-and-mortar business, what are the key steps he needs to address first? Read on to learn more about Ryan — and add your tips for him below!   Name: Ryan Seagrist Business: Northern Electric Lighting Company Started: September 2013 How did you create your awesome job? I’ve always been interested in antiques and I run Northern Electric Lighting Company alongside my full-time job, partly as a hobby and partly as a business.  Monday through Friday, I work for Whole Foods Market as a Receiving and Maintenance Manager. During my evenings and on weekends, I run my Etsy antiques business. I basically have tw

     In 2011, Mike Brown was struggling to keep his upstate New York coffee shop open when he asked himself a question that would change the course of his business forever: "What is the world's strongest coffee, anyway?" Not long after, Death Wish Coffee was born. Touted as "the world's strongest coffee," Mike told us that it some third party resources even say it's twice the amount of caffeine in your typical cup of joe. Mike and his team of highly caffeinated coffee elves were honored recently to be the big winners in Small Business Big Game so we asked him to spill the beans on what his current challenges are as a small business owner and how he stays inspired day in and day out.   Name: Mike Brown Business: Death Wish Coffee Started: 2011   Why did you decide to start Death Wish Coffee? I've owned a small coffee shop in Saratoga Springs since 2008. Toward the end of 2011, I started  Death Wish Coffee in the basement of that shop with the go

        Brooke was struggling with getting sales in her Etsy shop until, on a whim, she tried selling something a little different — hand-painted dinosaur planters.   Three+ years later, Brooke has learned a ton about supply and demand after a big magazine feature kickstarted her sales and she experienced a rough period of burnout. We chatted with her to find out what her biggest pricing mistake was and how she manages her day-to-day during the busy holiday season. Take it away, Brooke!   Name: Brooke Hoerner   Business: Alyce Paul Crafting Studio   Started: November 2012   Where did you get the idea for creating and selling dinosaur planters on Etsy?   My ex-boyfriend was a dinosaur fanatic. We had dinosaur toys on top of the fridge, in the kitchen — just about everywhere you can imagine. I decided to paint one gold as a gift for him and added an air plant because I had lots of them at the time.   After making that firs

      "How you face your morning is how you face your life."   Sarah Harrison shared this bit of wisdom with us — and it immediately changed the way we start our day!   Through her own experiences dealing with burnout and leaving a full-time job to carve out her own path as a small business owner and consultant, Sarah has learned a ton about how to create systems that help her begin each day on the right foot.   Let's check out Sarah's five key tips for maximizing your morning ritual.   Are you ready?!         1. A successful morning ritual starts the night before   A self-professed "night owl living in an early bird world," Sarah struggled with her New Year's resolution back in 2014: to simply get up earlier every morning. She had recently made the leap from working a 9-to-5 to becoming self-employed and her daily schedule was changing every day. Some days were filled with energizing meetings, other days were empti

I thought I might reach out and ask if anyone has suggestions with regard to reaching / securing (software related) Accelerators and or VCs? We're beginning a funding round and all suggestions are welcome. Note, yes our pre-money valuation is complete, business plans, budgets, etc. and this is a new product we will be releasing. We recently added our company to Gust, but no others just yet.

  Finding the right beachwear at the right price was a conundrum that friendsGeorgie Pickering and Sophie Mill had separately encountered, so a chance conversation last spring led to a new business idea that (luckily!) enjoyed instant success. Sister Design’s rapid growth has taught the founders many a lesson in what it takes to design and launch a kaftan collection. Now, they’re curious to discover what next season will bring.   We caught up with Georgie and Sophie to chat about chasing the elusive promise of finding work-life balance, using focus groups to drive new product creation and their favorite tricks of the trade.       Names: Georgie Pickering and Sophie Mill Business: Sister Design Started: 2015   How did you create your awesome company?   Sophie: I have a background in fashion PR and have worked with brands including Versace, Paul Smith and Boden. But I struggled with giving up work after I had my kids. I

I'm curious what others have read about the art of writing a business proposal. Is there a book that you can recommend that does a great job teaching someone like a bookkeeper on how to effectively write a solid proposal?

    When he lost his job as an architect during the recession, stay-at-home dad David found that making and selling wooden toys was an easy way to support his family.  Now he now spends most of his time in his workshop or taking care of his kids. With up to 150 orders a day during the holiday season, we had to know more about his experience wholesaling his products throughout the year and what he's hoping to learn next from all of you!   Name: David Minnery Business: Manzanita Kids Started: November 2010   How did you create your awesome job? I got laid off from my job as a structural architect during the economic crash, just two weeks after my son was born.  It was difficult to come to terms with at first, but it ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to me. I got to spend more time with my son, and it gave me the chance to start fresh. My wife and I both decided that we didn’t want to put our kids in daycare, so we started lookin

I'm running a small business by myself.  I need to hire some help so I have time to expand the business.  I've talked to a few prospects, but it's clear I have no idea what makes a good employee.  In your experience, what should I be looking for in a long term part time employee?  Personality traits?  Experience? I don't have time to get this wrong.

Is it possible to set up a checking account for my business using only the EIN and not my social?

    Cathy Iconis hosted one of our very first live chats in OWN IT just for accountantsback in September. Not only were we impressed by her in-depth knowledge of how to use Twitter to get new clients, we love Cathy's fresh perspective on everything from work/life balance to building a personal brand.   We asked Cathy to share with us the whole story of how she moved from working for a CPA firm to running The Iconis Group, providing accounting, bookkeeping and technology consulting services for a wide range of clients. She's also building a devoted QuickBooks Online Twitter community — and she's doing it all from her home office.       Name: Cathy Iconis   Business: The Iconis Group   Started: 2009   Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you get started?   I was a political science major in college, and everyone kept asking me what I planned to do with that degree. I wasn't into read

  Here in QB Community we highlight real stories from small business owners just like you who are deep in the process of taking a new idea or product to market. We're shining a spotlight on QB Community member Celeste Ruberti to find out what she's learned so far about customer research and bringing a new product to market.   After years of air drying hair as a successful hairstylist, Celeste discovered a niche opportunity for creating quality hair products specifically for air drying. Now, she's determined to create a new line of styling products customized for women on the go — and build a sustainable business along the way.   We invited Celeste to share her story with us so that together we can crowdsource some answers for her — and help each other out along the way!     Name: Celeste Ruberti  Business: Mane Island   Tell us a little bit about this business you're in the process of launching!   I’m a hairstylist

   Chris Turner thinks that most success stories out there about entrepreneurs compare to people’s flawless Facebook façades: they leave you wondering what *really* goes on behind the picture-perfect smiles.   That's why he's sharing his story here with us.    At first, it seemed impossible for Chris to quit his job and launch a business without any tech expertise, so he took matters into his own hands and enrolled in a coding class. With his newfound knowledge, he decided to create Tenrocket and build web and mobile apps for businesses in under 10 days for only $10,000 — a lot less than what his competitors charge.   Chris believes that the sky is the limit for his business, but it hasn’t always been a smooth ride. We talked to him about how he got Tenrocket off the ground and why he's encouraging other small business owners like him to tell the truth about their startup struggles.     Name: Chris Turner   Business: Tenrocket   S

Today, August 1 is the annual startupday. Congresspeople meet startups in their communities to promote small businesses. The twitter tag I used as the subject is trending today. Check out various articles around the net to see how this is celebrated and how it originated. Is there anything going on in your communities? Or is this the first you are hearing of this?joe

  When Vana started Le Papier Studio in 2008, she thought it was just a side job that would allow her to spend more time at home with her kids while still indulging in creative work.   But after her shop was featured on a popular blog and mentioned on The Today Show, Vana decided to dive in and start thinking like a small business owner.   We couldn't wait to learn more about how she strikes a balance between work and home (hint: it might have something to do with outsourcing) and why she recently chose to lower her prices so that she could keep her customers happy.   Let's hear from Vana!    Name: Vana Chupp   Business: Le Papier Studio   Started: March 2008   How did you create your awesome job?   I graduated with a master's in architecture and worked for two-and-a-half years before giving birth to my son. I knew I didn’t want to go back to work full-time, so I became a freelancer. Although it was good to spe

I have no credit and am seeking the fastest ways to build.

I see that many say no collateral. I'm new to the whole thing. I expect they will require that you've been in business with profit for two years.What if I don't have any credit?

    What will your new year bring? Are you hoping to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign, hire your first employee or simply get better at balancing work and family? Whatever your goal, a new year is always a great time to dream big.   Thing is, we know it’s tough enough to clearly define business goals, let alone meet them.     That’s why we’ve asked business owner and consultant Sarah Harrison to share some practical ideas for turning business dreams into reality. Sarah’s wisdom comes from experience: This former product-team manager left her full-time job feeling burned-out and exhausted. When she decided to start working for herself, Sarah applied the same systems she used successfully during her career to to create systems for her own goal-setting, planning and accountability.   Here, Sarah explains her tried-and-tested strategies for setting and achieving goals in your business -- or even in your life.    1. Commit to creating sys

  Chris Cornatzer spent most of his career as a sheet metal worker. He came up with the occasional business idea now and then, but nothing really stuck. Then, after discovering Etsy, he decided to create a side business making hilarious coffee mugs — and things are taking off in a big way!   We chatted with Chris about why SEO is important when you have an online store, making the transition from full-time work to working for yourself and the big open question he has for all of *you.*     Name: Chris Cornatzer   Business: TheMugLoft   Started: August 2015   What originally inspired you to create your business?   I'm a vendor on Etsy who, until about mid-2014, had never heard of it! I'd been working in sheet metal construction for over 30 years and I had tried a couple of times to start a business, but didn't have any success. For 10 years, I gave up even attempting to get something started.    Then, one

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      Right after Chantel Adams became pregnant with her first child, she was accepted into medical school. Having already deferred her place for a year, she decided not to pursue medicine after all, and instead she filled her life with four children. It was just as well — because it was one of her children who would give her the idea for starting her business, Forever We.    Forever We makes special dolls for children who have cancer and Chantel donates 10% of the purchase price to childhood cancer research. Here, Chantel shares with us what she's learned a year and a half into launching Forever We and what she's hoping to tackle next so that she can take her business to the next level.   Name: Chantel Adams Business: Forever We Started: September 2014   How did you create your awesome job? I have a degree in biology, but I’ve spent the past 20 years working at various nonprofit organizations. I’ve been a hospice v

    Love can make people do the strangest of things — including finding a new passion for making gluten-free sourdough bread! Such was the case for Sadie Scheffer, who started baking to win the heart of a gluten-intolerant love interest. Although that relationship didn’t work out, her enthusiasm for gluten-free baking soon went from a hobby to a full-time business.    Over five years later, the Bread Srsly brand can be found in grocery stores across San Francisco, as well as at craft shows nationwide. We spoke with Sadie about the benefits of a getting a business education, the challenges of expanding your production and why you should recruit your mom to help spread the word!   Name: Sadie Scheffer   Business: Bread Srsly   Started: August 2011   How did you create your business?   I first started baking to impress a gluten-intolerant boy who I had moved to California for!    Things didn't work out between us, but I determinedly

      Carly Burson always thought her legacy would be rooted in giving children a home. But after spending time at the Ethiopian orphanage where she adopted her daughter, she realized that parents weren’t giving up their kids because they weren't wanted — they just couldn’t afford to keep them.   Inspired by this revelation, Carly began to figure out a way to target poverty in developing countries and keep families together. She eventually founded Tribe Alive, a fashion retailer that employs skilled female artisans to create handcrafted items.   We recently caught up with the ethical entrepreneur to talk about pricing complications and how she calculates a living wage for her staff.   Name: Carly Burson   Business: Tribe Alive   Started: June 2014   How did you create your awesome job?   My husband and I flew to Ethiopia to finalize our daughter’s adoption three years ago. While we were there, we saw birth parents v

  When Jamie Smith left her teaching job to pursue a creative career, she realized right away there was demand for a support network serving Vancouver artists like herself. She'd always been interested in bringing people together, so she started THRIVE Studio along with a series of motivational speaking sessions to that she could share her work and experiences with like-minded people.   A couple of years on, her crew of female artists is alive and growing in beautiful British Columbia. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to talk to Jamie about building a business based on community, making a living from hosting talks and why getting out of her pajamas is so important when she's working from home!     Name: Jamie Smith   Business: THRIVE Studio   Started: 2013   How did you create your awesome job?   I used to be a high school art teacher, but I always knew that career path wasn't for me. I am an artist first and for