Bizzalley's Business Q&A

Q)How do I charge my friends for my services?
Bizzalley's Answer-In business, everyone must be treated equally. There are no compromises. Some friends might ask if they could get a “friendship discount" or if they could also do something for you in return. That is one of the biggest mistakes made in business, there should be no friendly trades and always try to prevent cases where your friends will delay payment for your services/goods. Immediately you start rendering your services to someone they become a client. External affiliations are null. All that is left is the “buyer-seller” relationship. You charge your friends the same way you would charge anyone else.

Q)What's the easiest way to turn my company into a million dollar company?
Bizzalley's Answer-It depends on what your definition of easy is. Is it putting in 40 hours of work a week? Elon Musk, one of the biggest names in tech, worked for 100 hours a week at the beginning of his career. You have to work relentlessly and consistently in order to stand out. The average employed, salary earning worker works 40 - 42 hours a week. As a business owner, the job doesn't stop when the office closes for the day. According to research, it' ll take three years or more for a business to become profitable. After this trial period, if you did everything right then the profits will begin to stack up.

Q)Where can I get funding for a startup?
Bizzalley's Answer-
Thankfully, the world has realized that supporting startups and individually owned businesses facilitates development by providing more jobs. It is true that acquiring funding for a startup is not as hard as it used to be, however, it is not easy because there are procedures and rules that must be adhered to. There are several ways to get funding, some are :
- Crowdfunding - Kickstarter is great for this.
- Loans.
- Bootstrapping
- Start-up grants and foundations - There are foundations that will give you money for your startup as long as your application is accepted. MassChallenge and Deshpande Foundation are some examples. Some of these foundations are peculiar to nations, therefore, it is important you do your research.
- To be qualified for any of these grants you must be genuine and must have a lucrative and ideal business idea. Terms and conditions defer for various foundations however you must adhere to the terms and conditions.

Q)Is entrepreneurship a safe choice?
Bizzalley's Answer-Entrepreneurship by definition is NOT a safe option in a literal sense. Look up any definition for the word Entrepreneur and you would find the word risk. It is often not a good idea to go into entrepreneurship because it is highly risky. Most entrepreneurs don't make it on the first try or the second or the third. Referencing a research done by SSRN, it shows that previously successful businessmen and women have a 30% chance of success in their next venture while first-time business owners have only an 18% chance of succeeding. Entrepreneurs who previously failed have a 20% chance of success. The difference between the numbers isn't as broad as expected. Using this research we can conclude that entrepreneurship is a risk, however, if successful, it is a risk that pays off.

Q)How do I end up on Forbes’ List?
Bizzalley's Answer-Forbes deals with the ranking of the best. They deal with business, entrepreneurship,
investments, technology, leadership and most importantly success. To appear on a Forbes List, you have to either be nominated or they'll find you themselves. During their search, if you come up severally and repeatedly there is a chance you'll appear on the list. Nominations, however, are a different ball game. It is not enough to merely be nominated. You have to nominated by someone highly influential (e.g. US senators or Forbes list alumnus).

Q)Is it possible for me to succeed without having to resort to networking?
Bizzalley's Answer-No. If you're going to venture into business, you're going to need all the help you can get and you'll have to accept it as gracefully as possible. Business is built on interaction. Perhaps when you're extremely successful you can decide to isolate yourself and not engage in small talk but for now, you'll do it with a million dollar smile on your face.

Q)As a business owner, how do I pay myself?
Bizzalley's Answer-First things first, the profit from your business is not your money. It is not yours. It belongs to your business. The profit the company makes is to be put back into the business (salaries, website building, inventory, and generally investing in the company) You should research on the flat rate for salaries for the field you're in and apply that to yourself.

Q)How long will it take for my business to grow?
Bizzalley's Answer-Growth is continuous. It is advised to pace yourself and set goals to be achieved in a given time. However, as you work with time on your mind it is important to also strive for excellence no matter how long it may take. For your business to grow, it must first persist. In 2011, of all the small businesses started, only four percent made it to the second year. Three percent made it to the third year and just nine percent made it to the fourth percent. The leading causes of failures were incompetence (46 percent), lack of managerial skills (30 percent), fraud & neglect (13 percent), and lack of experience (11 percent). The average time for trials and slow-paced growth is 1000 days (3-4 years). However, restaurants and food chains take about a year.

Q)Am I too young/old to start a business?
Bizzalley's Answer-No, not at all. In fact, research conducted with 700 startups show that 20 percent of the startups are by people in their 20’s, 50 percent in their 30’s, 32 percent are over 40 and almost 10 percent are in their fifties. Looking at the research, which was conducted by First Round, It is safe to say that you can open a business regardless of your age.

Q)Is it safe to take out a loan for my startup?
Bizzalley's Answer-It isn't safe to take out a personal loan if you aren't assured you'll be able to pay. If the funds needed to start up your company is less than 5,000 dollars the safest option would be bootstrapping. However, some microloan companies lend money to businesses, with a good & limited credit record, that need between 35,000 - 50,000 dollars. Stats from Startups.co show that most startups use personal funds/credit (57 percent), friends and family (38 percent), venture capital (0.05 percent), angel investors (0.05 percent), banks/loans (1.43 percent), and crowdfunding (0.96 percent). These statistics show that most small businesses are built with personal funds. However, if you cannot afford it, it is important to only apply for a loan you'll be able to settle. Lastly, it is safer to take a business loan over a personal loan.