Landing page summary: 

The number of minority-oriented equity capital funds grew significantly during the period of the 1990s. Early financial performance was positive; but more recently, these funds have invested in fewer minority-owned businesses and have increased their non-minority-owned high-tech investments. This research examines these equity capital funds and public support for these funds to evaluate these changes.

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These three stats reveal why now might be the best time to buy into an existing franchise.

In a time of economic uncertainty, starting a new business can be scary. Entering into a market with the backing of a tried-and-true business model and brand recognition, however, can be slightly less nerve-wracking. Therefore, it's no surprise that for the first time since 2007, the number of franchise establishments is on the rise.

With the opening of more than 10,000 establishments in 2012, the franchise industry saw 1.5 percent growth, according to a 2013 outlook report from the International Franchise Association (IFA). The increase, which puts the industry back at its 2009 level, is only expected to continue.

Here are three reasons to consider franchising:

1. Franchises are job creators.

While the number of franchise establishments is still trying to reach its pre-recession levels, the 2012 employment within existing franchise establishments has surpassed the 2008 level of eight million jobs.

In the last year, the employment in franchise establishments grew by 2.1 percent, from 7.9 million to 8.1 million.

According to a 2007 Economic Census Franchise Report released in 2010, franchises make up more than 10 percent of U.S. businesses with paid employees across 295 industries.

2. In the last five years, franchise sales have grown by 13.9 percent.

Starting at $675 billion in sales in 2007, franchises have seen their sales grow to $769 billion by the end of 2012. According to the IHS report, sales are likely to increase by 4.3 percent during 2013 to a projected $802 billion.

3. Small business lending to franchises has increased by 13.4 percent for 2013.

According to a recent report by IFA, in 2013, franchises will be provided $23.9 billion of the $34.8 billion available to finance franchise unit transactions.

"The surge in lending to franchises since the recession reflects the continued popularity of franchising as a means for investors to go into business for themselves, but not by themselves. Many lenders often view franchising’s proven, structured, and scalable business model as a lower risk profile due to the support many franchisors are offering franchisees during the economic recovery,” said IFA President and CEO Steve Caldeira in a statement.

However, since franchise demand for loans has increased by 5.7 percent during 2012 there will still be a shortfall of financing. IFA estimated this shortfall to be 9.7 percent, or $2.6 billion, which might result in 6,400 franchise units not being created.

Most start-up founders accurately predict how they'll make money, and how much it will cost. But there's one thing they almost always get wrong.

I've built five businesses. I teach business. I regularly judge business plan competitions. And I advise both mature and start-up businesses. And there is one thing that everyone always gets wrong about a new venture: timing.

I've lost count of the number of spreadsheets I've perused, each one attempting to outline in minute detail how money will flow in, eventually exceed costs, and then head to the heavens. In many cases, the general idea is sound, the estimate of expenses is more or less right. What isn't right is how long it will take for the company, or the product, to gain traction.

I used to advise new business owners to double the horizontal access of their graphs: imagine that incomes takes twice as long to come in as you anticipate. Nowadays, I might suggest that three times longer is a safer bet. The reason for my conservative advice derives from a few observations:

1. It takes longer to get products right than anyone imagines.
Software, notoriously, never ships on time. But even services take longer to refine, explain, and match to market need. All products, whether goods or services, rely on people who rarely turn up at exactly the moment you need them. That said, the best are worth waiting for.

2. It takes longer to get positioning right than anyone imagines.
You may imagine you're unique; that could be because you haven't done your research, or it may be because no one wants (or will pay for) what you're offering. It takes time to find your sweet spot. One Inc. 500 company took 10 years to find it.

3. Money comes in more slowly than even the worst pessimist imagines.
Even with no real interest payable by banks, every customer delays paying its bills. Even if you have the cash flow or the credit line to weather this, waiting for money can slow down hiring and innovation. So the whole business grows more slowly.

4. Decision makers take their time.
In most companies, any new product or service is adopted only after numerous meetings. Organizing the right people to get together with adequate information takes weeks. Even if the decision is straightforward, you are dependent on the schedules of other people who have a lot of other things on their plate.

5. Reputation, the best marketing device you will ever have, takes time to build and circulate.
You can't do anything about this except ensure that every relationship is positive. But momentum requires hundreds of encounters.

That the business grows more slowly than you would like is a problem only if you haven't the cash to sustain yourself in the meantime. Innovation is great--but cash and faith are the cornerstones of all successful companies.

For small businesses looking to grow, the focus is on technology and the economy--here in the U.S.

A whopping 84 percent of American small businesses and start-ups see greater growth opportunities at home than abroad, according to research by Dell and Intel released Monday.

Of the business owners surveyed, more than half expect their sales and finances to improve, and 77 percent say their growth is largely dependent on technology. The data, gathered during Dell's nine-city Business "Think Tank" tour, was gleaned from more than 940 interviews with U.S. small business decision makers in nine cities across the country.

While 89 percent of small businesses and start-ups reported being satisfied with how their technology needs are currently being met, 41 percent report struggling with tech needs that are increasingly complex. One-third said they consider a dedicated IT staff to be crucial for success, yet only 15 percent have actual IT personnel on staff. Instead, 47 percent handle IT themselves and 42 percent outsource those needs to freelancers.

"Small business owners are now more dependent than ever on technology for growth since their customers and employees are so geographically dispersed," said Barry Moltz, small business consultant and author, in a press release. "This technology challenge is becoming increasingly difficult with customers and employees expecting to be able to access information from anywhere, and on any device."

Another big concern, according to the business and start-ups surveyed, is the U.S. economy's impact on small business. Concerns about inflation plague 28 percent, while 33 percent eye interest rates and 39 percent are wary about the global economy.

With economic and technology concerns in mind, across all metro areas most start-ups and small businesses are holding steady, with 76 percent neither hiring nor firing. The hiring outlook is brightest in Chicago, where one in four small businesses are looking to take on new employees, and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the report. Seattle reported the lowest rates of hiring over the last three years (24 percent), as well as the lowest rates of business looking to hire in the future (16 percent).

"Entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to be most comfortable hiring freelancers or interns that they can 'mold' into potential full-time employees as their business grows, but many struggle when they get to the stage of needing someone with more experience who can take over some of their own duties," said Abbie Lundberg, president of Lundberg Media, in a press release. "The key to success is to identify the constraints that are holding the business back and to design a job around that."

The fast-growing organic baby food company hands over 90 percent in equity to Danone for hundreds of millions of dollars. Founder and CEO Shazi Visram couldn't be happier.

Mother's Day will always be significant for Shazi Visram. It's the day the CEO and founder of Happy Family launched her organic food company in 2006, and the day that dream sold for hundreds of millions of dollars nearly a decade later.

This week, Danone announced plans to acquire an equity interest of over 90 percent in Happy Family, which sells a range of organic foods from yogurt to fruit crisps. With presence on five continents, Danone's name is synonymous with food, and the acquisition has the power to turn Happy Family into the next Gerber.

Happy Family already holds over 4 percent of the market, with gross sales of more than $60 million and high growth projections for 2013. According to the company, its revenue nearly quadrupled in two years from $13.3 million in 2010.

But the future wasn't always so bright for the fast-growing company. "I was so broke that I remember going down to the High Street Station to catch the C train to go back to Jersey City, and my credit cards were all so maxed out that I could not buy one single swipe on the subway," Visram told Inc. last year.

Visram's company is known best for replacing glass jars with squeeze pouches, that gained traction at Target. Within two weeks Visram said she had one of the store's most popular products. That selling point enabled her to raise $3 million and then another round of $18 million to produce the 15 million pouches that would ultimately catch Danone's eye in fall 2012.

Happy Family placed 68th on the Inc. 500 that year, and Visram--who is now 36 and mother to a three-year-old boy--is selling her products across the U.S. in more than 20,000 stores such as Whole Foods, Amazon.com and Target, as well as in Turkey, Trinidad and China, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Visram, who expressed a desire to be acquired by Danone while still a student at Columbia Business School, said she couldn't be happier. "This agreement will allow us to further our goal of providing organic nutrition to more children, both by making our products more available and by continuing to provide new innovations to the baby and toddler category."

The transaction is expected to be finalized in the coming months.

Landing page summary: 

This study investigates whether the age of a business is linked to innovation and productivity, specifically whether young firms have an edge on  older firms. Previous research on innovation has shown that small businesses are more efficient at innovation than large businesses.

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For some lucky people, self-confidence comes naturally. The rest of us have to work at it. Here are three keys for creating and sustaining belief in yourself and your abilities.

Ah, confidence: That elusive yet essential quality that we all need to help fuel action and excellence in running a business. Confidence is tricky because it’s not entirely in your control. You can feel it one day, and then, just when you need it most, find that it’s left the premises.

That’s because, while we may think its an innate quality, building confidence requires daily practice, no matter your level of achievement. The most successful people experience failures. In fact, they fail more than others because they’re constantly pushing themselves to the next level. That’s half the fun. But it also means they’re constantly battling issues with confidence. They question themselves every step of the way.

If you want to grow, you’ve got to become an expert in strengthening your confidence muscle from within. It’s no different than working out at the gym. You have to practice convincing yourself that you have what it takes to create and explore uncharted territory. Belief that you are capable of achieving a certain goal is a prerequisite for making it happen. So how can you build and sustain your confidence muscle? Here are three key steps:

Know what you do best.

Your innate talent, as I define it, is your unique approach to the work you do. It isn’t the job that you do, but the particular skill or approach that makes you so successful at it. Identifying your “superpower” is the first step toward identifying the kind of work that you will excel at. Knowing you will be exceptional--and knowing why--builds confidence.

Identify your purpose.

Your purpose is connected to the activity or outcome that provides deep fulfillment. Knowing your purpose is like tapping into a reserve of energy that you didn’t know you possessed. Most people think a purpose is something that is associated with a lucky discovery. Contrary to that, your purpose is related to a core challenge that you have conquered in your past. Invariably, any work that is related to helping others with this challenge will result in you feeling endlessly fulfilled. Having purpose catalyzes creativity and innovation. When you are energized beyond measure with the work you are doing, confidence just oozes. A great example of this is Oprah Winfrey, whose purpose is helping others be their best selves. Winfrey has endured trials and tribulations in her life and has become more than she thought was possible. She is helping others conquer a challenge that she can relate to, which provides her with endless fulfillment. It also gives her confidence because it speaks to her soul. As long as all activity or business opportunities are connected to others being their best self, she is going to be confident and fulfilled.

Believe in yourself (every day).

Confidence can disappear at a moment’s notice. In order to maintain the great confidence you have from following the first two steps, you need to believe in yourself. Create a daily practice that works for you. This could be creating a mantra, writing in a journal, or just taking a moment to pause and reflect on what you are doing. In these moments you have to tell yourself that you believe in your own capabilities and that you know you are fully capable of doing all that you desire. Belief in yourself is one of your most powerful allies.

Too few people take the reflection time to build self-knowledge and figure out what it is they do best, better than anyone else. If you put time and energy into knowing and believing in yourself, you'll quickly find yourself moving in new and positive directions--with confidence.

By compartmentalizing and addressing a problem on a triage basis your business can emerge from disaster unscathed.

When I was born in 1970 my father was a flight surgeon with the U.S. Air Force. One of the lessons that has stayed with me from my father's experience in the Air Force is how fighter pilots are taught to deal with crisis. Why? Because it is a lesson that transcends survival in the air and can be used in every aspect of your life and business. When we are presented with a crisis situation, here are the steps that I always use to work my way through the problem.

1. Don't Panic

The first rule is often the most difficult to learn: never panic. This can take years of practice and often involves shifting or muting personality traits. When we panic our mind races. It becomes cloudy and rational decisions are harder to come by. Consequently, poor decisions, or even worse, no decisions at all, may be made. As such, you must teach yourself that with every challenge there either is, or is not, a solution and that you must calmly go through the following two steps to resolve the crisis.

2. Compartmentalize

Once you have identified what the problem is take time to segment out what could be the possible root causes and the potential solutions. Think broadly about everything that could be linked to the problem and have any causal effect on it. Then compartmentalize each one of those potential targets and begin the progression set forth below.

3. Analyze Progressively

Methodically search for a solution by progressively analyzing the potential compartmentalized issues. In short, be it a mental list you have created or a written list, go through each potential cause testing your hypothesis about each until a solution presents itself.

How does this work in application?

In 1972 one of my father's friends in his fighter wing was flying a mission over Northern Vietnam. During his mission his aircraft was severely damaged by enemy fire. As the wing turned and headed back to base his ability to control his aircraft was diminishing by the minute due to damage to his tail and, to make matters worse, one of his two engines was on fire threatening to ignite his main fuel tank thus ending his mission in a very abrupt and permanent fashion. If he ejected over Northern Vietnam he would be captured and sent to a prison camp, not something that was very appealing at the time.

So what did he do? First, per his training, he didn't panic. He could eject, but he hung on to compartmentalize his issues and progressively analyze his options. His goal was clear: get the aircraft to the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, so that when he ejected he could be recovered by friendlies and not by the Northern Vietnamese.

Second, he compartmentalized. His primary issues were 1) a loss of control of the aircraft by and through damage to the primary flight systems, 2) progressive loss of altitude due to the damage to one of his engines, and 3) the risk of the fire reaching his main fuel tank and the aircraft suffering a final and catastrophic failure prior to his being able to eject.

Third, he progressively analyzed his options and set a course of action. He had enough flight control remaining that he could at least nose the jet towards the DMZ. Then, in addressing the other two issues he powered down and cut fuel to the engine on fire in an effort to starve the flames long enough to buy him enough time to get to the DMZ.

Finally, he calculated his altitude loss rate quickly in his head against the distance to the DMZ and his crippled speed to determine that he could make it provided the jet did not erupt in flames prior to his objective bail out point.

So did it work? Fortunately, yes. He piloted the damaged aircraft, losing altitude all of the way, with almost no ability steer the same, to the DMZ. Moments after he crossed the line he pulled the lever on his seat ejecting him out of the cockpit and into the sky over Vietnam. As his parachute deployed and the shock of hitting the air alleviated he watched his plane burst into flames moments before it disappeared into the dense jungle below. He was picked up by friendlies and returned to base by the end of the day.

So how does this apply in business?

Many years ago I was sitting at the desk of one of my first companies. The lights began to flicker on my side of the office. No big deal I thought until the power to all of our computers began shutting down because of these intermittent power issues. To make matters worse, the flickering eventually turned into long blackout periods randomly occurring without warning. For every minute we were without power we were losing money. Eventually the periods became one long period as the lights went out and did not go back on. What could we do?

First, we didn't panic. We had to keep calm and figure out what was going on with an eye on getting power back as soon as possible so the company could function. Second, we compartmentalized our primary issues: 1) How do we get power to our office as quickly as possible? 2) How do we figure out what the problem actually is? 3) How do we solve it?

Next, we went through our progressive analysis to address the situation. We quickly noted that a neighboring floor, and all of the other floors in the building, had power. So while I went and explained the situation to our downstairs neighbors asking for a little help, another team was dispatched to Home Depot to buy numerous long extension cords. Within the hour we had re-powered our floor with temporary power borrowed by our neighbors by simply running the cords throughout the building.

Next, we needed to address the larger issue of figuring out why we had dropped power. After consulting with three electricians, the power company, as well as the electrical equipment's manufacturers on the issue, the problem was finally discovered and repaired. It was simply a loose connection at the main breaker for our office in the power distribution room.

But by employing these three simple steps we had the power back on in our office within one hour. The larger fix took two weeks. If we would have panicked and lost focus a two-week inability to conduct business would probably have spelled the end of our company. But by compartmentalizing and addressing each issue on a triage basis our business barely missed a beat.

So the next time you have a crisis in your business just think, what would a fighter pilot do?

As a last-ditch effort, giving a potential client the guilt-trip might work. But it also might not.

About a year ago I met with a wonderful woman who runs a company that helps non-profit organizations with technology for running their businesses. Since my e-mail marketing company VerticalResponse, gives our service away free to nonprofits, we both agreed that our companies could and should do a deal together.

But sometimes it all comes down to timing doesn't it? If there are any resource commitments from either side it's got to be the right time for both. And unfortunately timing on our side just wasn't right. For much of the last year we've been really busy rebuilding a ton of what we offer to get it ready for a major launch, so my mindshare and almost every resource we've got has been diverted to things that support this. But the potential partner kept in touch on a frequent basis with e-mails about our shared desire to work together.

Then I got it, the e-mail zinger.

Just wanting to be practical here, since I haven't seen or heard back from my many messages to you, I have to assume it will be impossible to bring your offerings to our audience.

I hope I may be mistaken, but the long silence prompts me to think I should just take you off this list. While I would love to see the great solutions you create as part of our world, have to accept that silence likely means no. If I'm mistaken, do feel free to let me know, but if I don't hear from you, I'll be clear with our team that working with {Company Name} isn't of interest to VerticalResponse here.

Wishing you all the best (and hoping to be very wrong,)

Whoa! I felt like crap! I instantly e-mailed her back, apologized and told her what was going on behind the scenes and why we've been a bit quiet. She understood and we'll keep in touch for when our new stuff comes out.

Did a little guilt work? You bet. I think being totally honest is a great tactic to get someone's attention.

What do you think?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, sign up for the free VR Buzz weekly newsletter and check out the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog.

Fresh numbers from Intuit shine a light on where consumers are spending the most--and where you might want to look for new business ideas.

One way to find a hot business idea is to follow the money: Where are consumers spending the most?

If that's your approach, consider Intuit's recently released findings from its Consumer Spending Index. It's based on anonymized and aggregated data from more than 2 million Mint.com (an Intuit-owned budgeting tool) users who have agreed to share their demographic information such as age, gender, income, and location. The index measures spending habits from January 2009 to April 2013 and shows consumer spending is up nine percent from four years ago, and significantly so in certain sectors.

Here's where people are spending their money today, along with several interesting start-ups operating in those hot spaces.

Gourmet Food and Restaurants

Grocery spending is up by 17 percent, partly because of the cost of premium groceries. Intuit found, for example, that Californians particularly like to buy food at more expensive grocers, such as Whole Foods Market. At the same time, spending at "general grocers" is down by three percent.

Restaurant spending is up 11 percent, although eating out is the first thing people eliminate when they want to save money. Folks younger than 36 especially like dining out--they're spending 40 percent more now, compared with several years ago.

A few noteworthy start-ups are taking advantage of the fact that people love good food and the economy is healthy enough to support them buying it.

Alex Lorton and Zach Yungst believe food-tech is one of the hottest trends going right now. In 2010 the duo founded Cater2.me so as to bring gourmet food from farmers' markets and passionate chefs into the office. The start-up connects high quality local food vendors and restaurants with companies that have hungry employees in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago and so far has served more than 500 businesses and worked with over 400 food vendors.

Recent Y Combinator grad Goldbely is a different food delivery concept. The Sunnyvale, California-based company curates gourmet dishes from all around the country and can ship them to you within as little as 24 hours. On the menu: bagels and smoked fish from Zabar's in New York, a cheesesteak sandwich from Campo's Deli in Philadelphia, poche shrimp etouffee from Poche's Cajun Market in New Orleans, among other items.

And SiteApps Mobile is a new free tool that joins Open Table and Google in helping restaurants create a mobile-compatible website that includes a description, phone number, address, Google Maps view, and hours. São Paulo, Brazil-based SiteApps says nearly half of consumers say they would use a restaurant's mobile site if it existed. The trouble is, only a small percentage of independent restaurants have a mobile-optimized site.

Think you might want to start a company that can take a bite out of the food industry? Here are 10 reasons it's the next big thing in business.

Gasoline

Intuit says people are shelling out close to double for gas compared with fuel expenditures back in 2009. Specifically, Americans spent an average of $198 a month on gas in the first quarter of 2013. In Q1 2009, that figure was only at $110 a month.

The good news is there's a gadget that will soon hit the market that promises to save you money at the pump.

The Automatic Link is a company that makes an iPhone app that works with a little piece of hardware to monitor your driving habits. The device doesn't come out until July, but you can pre-order one now at Automatic's website for $69.95. The company says its technology can save you between 30-35 percent in fuel costs just by training you not to do things like accelerate too quickly, drive too fast, or brake abruptly.

Healthcare

How the Affordable Care Act--a.k.a. Obamacare--will affect insurance premiums remains to be seen, but spending on healthcare has skyrocketed by an average of more than 30 percent. Intuit says people between 41 and 55 years old spend more than $300 a month on healthcare, but younger folks are actually seeing the biggest increase in health-related costs. People between the ages of 26 and 31 now pay an average of $252 a month on healthcare, compared with $179 a month in the first quarter of 2009. That's an increase of more than 40 percent.

One notable start-up working to reduce healthcare costs is New York-based Audicus, an online seller of affordable hearing aids that range from $299 to $699. Those are incredible numbers considering hearing aids can run into the thousands of dollars. In fact, the company says since launching 10 months ago it has saved customers more than $1.5 million and grown to a run rate of more than $1 million a year.

Kinsa, another New York start-up, is currently well on its way to a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Its first product is "the world's smartest thermometer," a slim device that doesn't have a battery, display, or processor, but instead harnesses the technology in your smartphone. The Kinsa Smart Thermometer and the free accompanying Kinsa mobile app let you track an illness history to share with your doctor, find open appointments at nearby clinics, and see on a map where the most people are coming down with fevers. The idea is that if people are more informed about what sicknesses are going around they will be better able to avoid them.

There's also HealthTap, an online and mobile platform through which you can ask a network of 35,000 doctors medical questions for free. You can follow questions and answers that relate to specific medical concerns, follow the answers given by particular physicians and even store and share medical documents with your doctor in a private and HIPAA-secure conversation.

Esther Dyson is one prominent angel who has invested in HealthTap. Check out why she says healthcare start-ups are the next great innovators as well as 17 game-changing health start-ups.

Gender Differences

It turns out that men spend $600 to $700 more a month than women, specifically on things like alcohol, entertainment, eating out, and gas. However, women outpace men by 21 percent when it comes to spending on clothes and apparel.

That said, if you're thinking about gender-specific marketing, a recent Nielsen report says "women will control two-thirds of the consumer wealth in the U.S. over the next decade and be the beneficiaries of the largest transference of wealth in our country's history."

If you want access to the dollars females are spending, video is a great medium in which to invest. Compared to men, U.S. women watch more video and spend more time online, representing the majority of visitors to career, shopping, and social media sites.

Nielsen also gives advice on how marketing should be slanted to resonate with women. The research firm advises:

"Women remember more and differently than men do, so talk to both her emotional and rational sides and acknowledge her attention to detail. Layering emotional decision-making opportunities with rational information will increase purchase intent and will have strong 'sticking' power. According to Nielsen NeuroFocus, the female brain is programmed to maintain social harmony, so messaging should be positive and not focus on negative comparisons or associations."

Giving

As a true indication that the economy is recovering, Intuit found that Americans have become 47 percent more generous than they were in 2009, specifically when it comes to buying gifts and making charitable donations.

One notable start-up in this space is Wrapp, a social gift-giving app that lets you give free and paid gift cards to Facebook friends. The free gift cards typically are for a few dollars to spend at retailers such as Gap or Sephora and if you want, you can add more funds onto them to make it a more significant gift.

Wrapp, which is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden but staffs an office in San Francisco, now boasts more than a million users.

Read more about why social gifting is hot on Facebook.

The mission statement at this company might possibly be the one by which all others should be judged.

When I worked for R.R. Donnelley there was a huge mission statement poster hanging on the wall by the door to the bindery. I walked by it every working day for almost 17 years.

The fact I can't remember anything about it other than that it existed tells you all you need to know.

Most mission statements are like that. Well intentioned? Sure. Intended to set direction? Absolutely.

Waste of time? Sadly, most of the time.

Here's one that's not.

Culture Code: Creating A Lovable Company from HubSpot All-in-one Marketing Software

That could be because the deck is the result of over 200 hours of work (including thinking and discussion time) by Dharmesh Shah, the co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, the inbound marketing company that has gone from $2 million in revenue in 2008 to over $50 million in 2012, placing it at #314 on the Inc. 500.

"In the early years of HubSpot we didn't talk about culture at all," Shah says. "A couple of years ago I started a simple document that talked a bit about culture, describing the kinds of people that seemed to do well at HubSpot and that we wanted to recruit. Then I started getting feedback from the team that it wasn't going far enough: It described the who but didn't address any of the how or why."

So he decided to go farther--a lot farther. Here's Shah on why feels all the time and effort was worth it:

1. Culture improves decision-making.

Culture helps make a large body of small decisions quicker--and a small body of large decisions easier.

2. Product is to marketing as culture is to recruiting.

Just like attracting customers is much easier with a great product, attracting amazing people is much easier with a great culture. The goal is to create a culture that appeals to the rights kinds of people and gets them to self-select.

3. The interest on culture debt is really high.

Culture debt is when you take a shortcut and hire people because they have the skills you need and you're "hurting" for people... but they're not a good culture fit. You let the "culture bar" down. When you bring on people that aren't a fit they infect other parts of the organization; even after a culture misfit moves on, their corrosive effects on the company live on.

4. You're going to have a culture anyway.

You can and should influence it--so why not build the one you love?

So where should you start if you want to create a mission statement that actually means something--and that helps you run your business by establishing and codifying goals, practices, and principles you both follow and measure?

"A common question I get from my start-up friends," Shah says, "is how much time they should spend on culture given everything else going on (like building a business.) I'm not sure what the optimal number is, but I can say with confidence that the number is not zero.

"I'd suggest 20 hours," he says. "Just enough time to think about it, talk to your team, read some stuff, and describe it. You don't need to put posters up on the wall. Just something--even if it's a one-pager that captures your current thinking on the kind of company you want to be.

"Quick hint: You want to build a company that you love working for. The rest will work itself out."

Note: If you're interested in how Dharmesh feels HubSpot "walks the talk" of its culture code, check out this post where he candidly grades the company's current performance against its 10 key tenets.

At Facebook, IT issues are easily fixed: Employees just get a new computer. Sound expensive? Here's why it's worth it.

How do most companies deal with IT problems? They either have in-house support staff or outsourced remote help to either make repairs or walk employees through the steps--the many steps--it can take to get them back to work.

Not so at Facebook. The company's focus on productivity shapes the IT strategy, according to the Wall Street Journal. What do you do when an employee calls a few times about a computer problem? Get that person a brand new machine:

[CIO Tim] Campos said that some companies try to squeeze every last penny out of laptops that aren't working properly and employees bear the burden of that approach. The cost of a laptop, $1,500 to $2,000, is minor in comparison to hampering the productivity of an employee who makes $100,000 per year, he said.

There are vending machines where people can use their employee badges to help themselves to cables, keyboards, headphones, batteries, and the like rather than calling the help desk and waiting for someone to send over the component whose lack keeps the employee from working.

Sure, it's more expensive from one view to run things this way. But if you take a more encompassing view of a business, it can be far more costly to work on saving the nickels, dimes, and even dollars by having a bureaucracy dole out items--after the proper paperwork in triplicate, of course. Companies need to watch expenses obviously, but no business ever made a bundle by keeping down the costs of number 2 pencils.

The mistake that managers and entrepreneurs often make is one of value. To put as much attention into protecting office supplies or low-level computer gear as you put into honing business processes is to mistakenly think that all things are equivalent. But they aren't. That person who makes $100,000, or even $40,000, is probably responsible in some way for multiple times his or her salary in overall revenue. Look at it that way, and a few hours of employee time suddenly don't seem so cheap.

Don't stop with IT, by the way. How much time do you have employees spend on expense reports? Sure, you need to document things for tax purposes, but how much fast and effective can you make the process if you don't assume that each and every employee is out to game the system? (And that's a stick in the old morale to boot.) Do service representatives have to go through layers of management to get a problem corrected for a customer? If so, you've not only lost employee time, but possibly the customer as well.

Every time you put an obstacle in the way of an employee, you've put a roadblock in the path of a business process, because you've diverted people from their jobs to minutiae. Sure, you could assume that employees will put in the extra hours, but in an improving job market, that's almost asking them outright to find a better place to work. Like at a competitor.

Now, there are times when you can go too far in the other direction. For example, there's that well-worn adage that you should pay others to do many ordinary things for you because your time is too valuable. And that is true sometimes. Other times, it isn't. The assumption that your time is too valuable presupposes something better you could do at a particular time. That may not be the case.

Similarly, there may be messy amounts of t-crossing and i-dotting that are necessary to satisfy regulatory requirements or to keep track of what is being done in a company so you don't waste more time and money redoing work.

But all too often, prudence trumps efficiency. Don't let officiousness undermine the important things your company needs to do.

This year, when checking in with my New Year's resolutions, I changed one way I'd been thinking. It might make all the difference for your business.

How are you doing with this year's goals and resolutions? Remember those?

The things you committed to back in fourth quarter and on New Year's Eve? Here we are, mid-second quarter already; it's a good time to assess your progress--or, to try something different altogether.

There's something about that final quarter of the year that gives us new hope. We see a lot of wonderful, inspirational posts and articles on creating new and next-level goals for the New Year. Being a coach, I'm a sucker for that sort of thing and, like you, I have my annual process and in place. In past years I mapped out what I called my 10 Most-Wanted List. Naturally, I would aim for the sky. Needless to say, disappointment often set in when all of those wishes didn't come to fruition. So this year, I did something a little different, and it's working!

Instead of my 10 Most-Wanted list I created a Who Do I Have to Be? list. First, I listed my dream goals. Then, I asked "how does this goal fit in to my life and business plan?" Does it take me off path? Will it enhance my life or add to the bottom line in my business? Many of my goals did not fit my big picture vision; they were just things that I thought I should do. Did I really have to take on another volunteer position? Did I really have to attend three networking events a month? No, I didn't.

Now I had a list of crucial goals that serve me well. As I examined each goal I then asked, "Who do I have to be to make this happen?" This question opened the door to exploration, imagination, and new hope. I explored the reasons that some of my important goals remained undone. When I explored the one thing on my list that was most important to me I learned that I had to become a person who will ask for help, share my dream, and expand upon this already sizeable goal. That's right. I had to make my incomplete goal even bigger!

Beginning each goal statement with "Who do I have to be to _________" gave me a different perspective on my aspirations. Here's how it worked for me.

For the last two years I have dreamed about launching a series of women's conferences. I even had a name and logo, but that's as far as I had gotten. This year, instead of bullying myself into a commitment to make it happen, I asked "who do I need to be in order to create this conference in 2013?" This question opened the door to exploration and honest communication between my left, logical brain and my right, creative brain. After writing, thinking, and a bit of talking to myself, I realized what I was missing. I faced the fact that I simply didn't want to do this alone. It's an exciting process and I wanted to share it with someone.

Prior to asking my magic question I thought I was just making excuses about not having enough time and energy to do the conference. But the deeper I looked, the more I understood. This conference is bigger than I am. The idea needed to be set free to grow and reshape itself. It was time to collaborate with someone who could lend her expertise and talents to expand upon the vision. This idea was no longer my own. It was time to find a "Make It Happen" partner and set my idea free!

Reframing this huge goal to a question about change helped me to look the problem right in the eye and find a solution.

Problem: I felt alone and overwhelmed at the thought of producing and presenting this conference on my own.

Solution: Find someone who has an equal passion and talent for helping people succeed and share the journey.

And that's exactly what I did. Today we are on track to Make It Happen on September 20, 2013! (You are invited! If you are a woman with a dream, please join Deb DiSandro and me on September 20.)

I feel a weight off my shoulders because my dream is coming true and it's filled with fun, creativity and collaboration. How can you reframe your goals and turn them into something that excites you and will not lead to disappointment in a year from now?

Who do you have to be to make it happen? Please share!

Here's why your company's Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other social media campaigns aren't performing as well as they could be.

Over the past five years, social media has become an increasingly important part of many companies' marketing strategies. But there are still some misconceptions about how to use social media to drive sales and which services are worth the investment of company time and resources. Here are the six myths I hear most often:

Myth No. 1: If it doesn't go viral, it wasn't worth the effort.

When people think of social media success stories, they usually think of giant campaigns with millions of views, such as the Old Spice campaign or Blendtec’s Will It Blend. Yes, those campaigns were very successful, but that's the wrong way to think about social media. Social media marketing isn't about a big one-time hit. It's about adding value over time. The best campaigns are interesting and unique, disseminate content that passes the litmus test of "would you bother sharing this yourself", and help you organically grow your audience over time.

Myth No. 2: My customers are older, so social media won’t work for my company.

A whopping 56% of Internet users 50 years or older use Facebook. Your clients and future clients are absolutely waiting for you to find them on Facebook--as well as Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and other social tools.

Myth No. 3: Google+ is a waste of time.

If you define Google+ as a social network, then, no, it's not a force to be reckoned with. But that’s not really what Google+ is. In actuality, it's a social layer on top of Google’s other services, such as search, Gmail, and even YouTube. When someone uses Google to search for anything from restaurants to pet food, the results include social endorsements generated from those ubiquitous +1 clicks made by the user's Gmail contacts. And those social endorsements get way more clicks than regular search results. Having a solid Google+ profile for your business and an ecosystem of customers that have given your company or products a +1 has a measurable impact on both searches for your brand and conversion rate on visits to your site.

Myth No. 4: Twitter only works for celebrities and big brands.

Sure, the Ashton Kutchers of the world command huge followings, but Twitter can be relevant and valuable even for local businesses that have a small but targeted following. However, to make Twitter matter, you need to make your tweets timely, relevant to your customers, and not entirely self-promotional. Also, make sure that you use Twitter to monitor and engage with Twitter users who reach out to you or mention your company or products. (We search for mentions of #wpromote daily.)

Myth No. 5: Facebook advertising drives "likes" but not customers.

Several years ago, a lot of big advertisers jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. They spent money on ads to increase their fan bases without really understanding the value of a like or fan--and without even thinking about their return on investment. But when done correctly, advertising on Facebook can help your company increase its online footprint, fans, and customer engagement--for the express purpose of attracting new customers and bringing back current customers more often. It's also an incredibly powerful tool for encouraging existing customers to refer new ones and to build loyalty to your brand.

Myth No. 6: The more often you post to Facebook, the better your campaign will perform.

More than one post a day is probably too many. Posting too often can lower your overall average of likes, comments, and shares per post. And since Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm tends to favor posts from companies that have higher engagement rates, posting too often may mean that fewer people will see your future posts. For a truly successful Facebook campaign, make sure your posts are unique, interesting, and engaging. And always include pictures or links, since these sorts of posts have much higher engagement rates than static text.

Hiring the best and brightest can be surprisingly tricky. These things are catnip to young talent.

The recent news that America has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the developed world may be horribly discouraging, but it's hardly surprising. For years we've been bombarded with stories of young people--even college educated ones--languishing in parents' spare bedrooms or menial jobs.

It shouldn't be hard to hire the best and brightest, but paradoxically many business owners report it is.

"The biggest single challenge will be recruitment, as the world's population ages and companies seek specialists in fields such as technology," concluded a survey from Odgers Berndtson and Cass Business School cited by CNN. Meanwhile, plenty of entrepreneurs have shared stories of their heroic efforts to attract the cream of the crop, particularly grads with in-demand tech skills.

But while unemployed young people may seen like a dime a dozen, highly talented Gen Y job candidates willing to come work for you can be a rare commodity. How can you attract more of them?

A good place to start is your job ad, Jason Dorsey, a self-described Gen Y expert, told the blog SmartRecruiters. Sure, you're probably working your network, using social media and perhaps reaching out to local colleges, but you're almost bound to put out a good, old fashioned notice when you begin hiring. Do it poorly, and the best of Gen Y will ignore it. Do it well, and you'll reap the rewards.

Here are three things that draw Gen Y to a job ad, according to Dorsey:

Real pictures: "Everybody shows fake pictures. It’s a total turn off."

Stories: "Interview your ACTUAL employees of different ages talking about what it’s like to work there and what they really like," he says.

Challenges: "In your job descriptions, talk about the challenges candidates will face in the first year," says Dorsey. "Everybody talks about responsibilities, or they talk about pay or all this stuff. Gen Y is very challenge-driven, so they want to know when they show up what kind of challenges they’ll have to face."

It may sound counter-intuitive to put the good and the bad on display, but Dorsey insists that by telegraphing accessibility and authenticity, you'll end up with a younger--and awesome--pool of talent.

Do you buy his ideas?

T-shirt mogul Johnny Earle explains how he went from a teenager selling gag gifts and candy to launching a multimillion-dollar "baking" business.

Your mother knew you wanted to be successful, so she taught you these timeless rules.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so I thought it would be useful to review the timeless lessons about business (and life) that your mom shared with you, probably more than once. I wrote something like this a while back, but I like this list better:

1. Look both ways before crossing the street.

Taking risks is a big part of life, but it's always a good idea to think twice before you take them.

2. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Never badmouth your competitors, your customer's competitors and especially your other customers.

3. Anything worthwhile takes effort.

While opportunities may drop in your lap, taking advantage of them always requires hard work.

4. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

Most workplace hassles are the result of people NOT following this simple but universal rule.

5. Eat your vegetables, they're good for you.

What's the point of having money if you don't have your health? Eating healthy foods should be part of every success plan.

6. Go play outside! It's a beautiful day!

Whenever possible, spend at least some of your workday out of your office and breathing the fresh air.

7. Turn off that light. Do you think we own the electric company?

It's all too easy to ignore the small expenses that, when added up, can destroy your profitability.

8. Don't sit so close to the TV, it'll ruin your eyes.

Most of us spend WAY too much time glued to our computer screens, our tablets and our cell phones. Take break!

9. Are you going out dressed like that?

Like it or not, people judge you by what you're wearing and how you wear it. Be mindful of the effect you're having.

10. Life isn't fair.

The world does not owe you a living and you'll have to play the cards that you get dealt, so make the most of it.

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Helping others isn't just nice--it's good for overall productivity. Here are three easy ways to make teamwork central to your culture.

Think a little rivalry never hurt anyone? When it comes to in-house competition between employees, you may want to reconsider.

According to a recent white paper from McKinsey & Company, “giver” cultures--where employees help each other, share knowledge, and offer mentorship without expectation of anything in return--produce higher quality work than cultures that encourage competition and duplicity between employees.

Here are a few tips on how to foster a “giver” culture in your workplace from Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant, author of the book Give and Take: Revolutionary Approach to Success.

Let them cry, “Help!”

The first step in eliminating unhealthy competition is creating an atmosphere that allows employees to feel safe admitting that they don’t know it all.

“Giver cultures depend on employees making requests; otherwise, it’s difficult to figure out who needs help and what to give,” writes Grant in the paper. He explains that creating a question-friendly atmosphere requires some proactive coaching from those in leadership positions.

Grant cites the consulting firm Humax Networks’ “reciprocity ring” exercise as an example of the kind of tools leaders can use to encourage their employees to seek collaborative help. Humax Network, which is run by husband-and-wife team Wayne and Cheryl Baker, conducts an exercise in which employees are gathered into a group where each member must make a request, while their colleagues use combined skills and expertise to grant those requests.

Ditch the selfish creeps.

When it comes to your office talent, it's true that one bad apple can spoil the bunch. “Takers often do more harm than givers do good,” writes Grant, citing additional research conducted by Patrick Dunlop and Kibeom Lee.

So how do you weed out job candidates who are more likely to help themselves than others? Listen to how they speak, Grant suggests.

“Takers tend to claim personal credit for successes,” he writes, “Takers were substantially more likely to use pronouns like I and me instead of us and we.” Grant advises interviewers to ask questions about successes and screen for self-glorifying responses. Pay particular attention to those who “describe accomplishments in collective rather than personal terms.”

Follow the golden rule.

The final and most crucial step in establishing a giver culture, Grant writes, is to put your money where your mouth is. He cites an anecdote from the film company Pixar’s early days as an example of what “giver” employees expect from their bosses.

In an effort to cut costs, the president of the Pixar’s parent company demanded that the managers conduct layoffs within their division. The division heads resisted, and the president gave them a hard deadline: A list of names on his desk by the next morning.

When he received the list, it only contained two names--those of the managers themselves. No layoffs were conducted, and the employees were grateful that their bosses would put their own jobs on the line for the good of the team.

“When it comes to giver cultures,” Grant writes, “the role-modeling lesson here is a powerful one: If you want it, go and give it.”

Small business support for mandatory employment-eligibility verification, such as E-Verify, may be short-lived. Here's why.

As the immigration bill makes its way through the Senate, some proposed amendments are setting off heated scrimmages between civil liberties advocates and conservatives. One such proposal calls for the nationwide expansion of an electronic employment eligibility verification system called E-Verify.

E-Verify, an internet-based program, helps employers determine if the name and social security on an I-9 form and other documents provided by an employee match the information in the Social Security Administration's (SSA) database.

Already implemented in handful of states, mandatory participation in E-Verify is supported by the majority of small businesses, according to a recent study by National Small Business Association (NSBA). Currently, a quarter of small businesses use E-Verify, while 57 percent of small businesses support use of E-Verify. Even more of them, 67 percent, support the use of an improved E-Verify system "with certain safe harbors for small business." The safe harbor provision protects employers who followed E-Verify instructions, but still end up employing an undocumented worker.

However, the program, which Washington hopes will apply some pressure on employers to refrain from hiring undocumented immigrants, may have the adverse affect of costing some eligible workers their shot at employment. According to NSBA, 17 percent of small businesses employ immigrant workers.

Currently, four states--Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi and South Carolina--require that all state agencies, private, and public businesses use E-Verify to confirm the legal status of their employees. In Utah, all businesses with more than 15 employees are required to use E-Verify. Additionally, a number of states such as Colorado and Louisiana require contractors to use the program in order to receive government contracts. Only California and Indiana prohibit municipalities from passing mandatory E-Verify ordinances.

One of the crucial points blocking E-Verify's from nationwide implementation are erroneous tentative non-confirmations (TNC). Erroneous TNC can occur when potential eligible employees do not update their naturalization status with SSA or do not inform SSA of changes in name. Data entry errors, either on part of the employer, employee, or SSA can also be responsible for mistaken TNCs.

Such erroneous TNCs can cost eligible workers their shot at employment. And "because such TNCs are more likely to affect foreign-born employees, they can lead to the appearance of discrimination," noted a 2010 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

Eligible employees are given an opportunity to contest the TNC and have the chance to correct the mistake if one was made. In the last fiscal year, only 0.26 percent of TNCs--52,500 cases--were corrected after being contested, reports USCIS. GAO report found that the E-Verify system has a 98 percent accuracy rate.

The devil is in the details, Molly Brogan, vice president of public affairs at NSBA, told Inc. According to her, the percentage of erroneous TNCs might be low, but if the use of E-Verify is mandated nationally and is required of all employers, that small percentage will come to represent a significant number of employees.

According to USCIS, more than 409,000 employers, seven percent of all businesses, including public and private sector businesses, used E-Verify in the last fiscal year. Overall, out of the 20.2 million cases that were processed, 221,155 cases were found "not work authorized."

In states, where use of E-Verify is required, noncompliance penalties help shift responsibility onto the employer by forcing them to verify potential employees' eligibility. For instance, Alabama businesses that do not use E-Verify to confirm their new hires risk suspension of their businesses. Previously, employers were not held accountable for hiring employees whose documentation did not match or was obtained through illegal channels.

Todd McCracken, NSBA president, said in a statement that with many leading proposals containing "penalties of up to $75,000 and 10 years in prison," small business support for nation wide expansion and implementation of the existing program is likely to decrease.

The world's biggest video site will start charging viewers to watch some premium content. Here's what it could mean for your business.

For some content on the world's biggest video website, the era of freemium is over.

On Thursday, YouTube started charging viewers a monthly fee ranging from $2 to $7 to access "premium" channels like HD Net and National Geographic.

For the last two years YouTube, which is owned by Google, has offered many Hollywood movies for rent (usually for about $4.99 each). This latest move clearly will put it more squarely in competition with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant to become an online source of high-quality content. But I find it interesting for another reason: What kind of business opportunities will paid channels offer savvy entrepreneurs?

What's In It for Brands

With the paid subscriptions, content creators will split the revenue with Google, although the details of this arrangement are still unclear and channels must be approved first. To be sure, YouTube isn't the only video site offering such a deal. Vimeo announced revenue-generating plans for video publishers last fall, including a tip jar (viewers can submit donations) and a pay-to-view option where creators get 90 percent of revenue after transaction costs. But at about 160 million viewers per month, YouTube wins the popularity contest hands down--Vimeo says it has over 70 million unique visitors monthly.

The question is, if you're not a Hollywood entertainment company, do you stand a chance of generating revenue with your content?

Some companies plan to try their luck with how-to videos.

"As a developer of instructional video content we have found that our enthusiasts aligned with what we produce are quite willing to pay for targeted quality content," says Neil Rice, the vice president of TN Marketing, which now operates a golf channel and one on woodworking on YouTube.

Cars.tv has created a paid channel to watch live car races. Another start-up, iAmplify.com, already sells yoga and fitness videos on its own site, so YouTube provides another potential revenue source, and one that offers the ability to include its own branding.

Try, Try, and Try Again

In the beginning anyway, your best bet is to keep your expectations low and try to learn as you go. In fact, you can learn a lot about how to approach the video platform from Google itself.

Roslyn Layton, a Ph.D. Fellow at Aalborg University, Center for Communication, Media and Information Technologies in Denmark, studies business strategy models. She notes that Google itself is like a vast research project that can pivot at will based on the data it gleans from users.

As with any marketing strategy, you should do the same.

"Small businesses can take advantage of free and low-cost analytics and multivariate tools [like Google Analytics]," she says, to create content around a channel that will resonate with viewers.

Know What You're Getting Into

YouTube hasn't yet spelled out the details of the revenue split, but you can count on one thing: You may make money, but YouTube will make more.

Dennis Duty, who runs the video marketing company CastleForge Media, described the new paid channels are another form of content curation for the video site.

"By allowing [its] audience and customers to create the content, [YouTube] can profit massively by hosting the venue," says Duty. "Youtube allows others to create content and they get to make money off of it. Privatizing your membership/paid subscription is a better practice than relying on a massive third party to jump in and take a cut."

The Bottom Line

Will a paid channel work for you? The financial arrangement will matter, for sure, but so will your content. One thing I've noticed already is that many of the paid videos from brands such as Comedy.tv and TYT Plus, aren't that different from what viewers can get for free on YouTube. To get a critical mass of viewers, you're going to have to offer something more, so that they appreciate why it comes with a fee.

You can experiment for yourself. The application to start a channel is right here.