It isn’t easy being an Internet entrepreneur, at least a successful one. This is especially the case when your young, and a rough economy sure doesn’t make it better. Between the business ignorance inherent with youth, collectors calling everyday about those private Discover student loans you took out, and a lack of lines of credit, getting an enterprise up and running right out of college is certain to be one of the most enormous challenges you’ll ever undertake. In order to succeed, you’ll need every advantage you can get.

Because of this need for streamlining your operations as much as possible for the sake of costs, consider the benefits of starting out with a virtual office if you’re looking to start an Internet business:

Salaries can be lower: Remote employees connected through the cloud aren’t required to commute to their workplace everyday. Subtract an estimated annual cost-of-commute from starting salaries in order to save yourself some serious cash starting out. It’s a completely justified way to reduce payroll strains in the tumultuous first months and years of a startup.

Overhead is reduced: No office means no rent. No office means no utilities. No office means no office furniture or supplies. These are monthly cost that, if taken away, can give you a substantial boost in available funds for further investment. Even when you add in the costs of cloud systems and space on remote servers that come with a virtual office, you still come out on top by skipping the materials and energy involved in keeping a brick & mortar office up and running.

The talent pool is expanded: If your workers can be anywhere, then you can hire workers from anywhere. That means that even if you live in Flint, Michigan, you could still have a workforce operating out of California, New York, or even from another country. When you have little to go on at the start of a small business, it’s nice to know you can count on an enormous applicant pool. It may take more work poring through resumes, but it’s well worth it.

Operations are more flexible: Deadlines are always going to exist, but having a loosely regulated culture means that workers can be more relaxed. Management can focus on growth rather than making sure people are following the rules. In fact, studies have shown that those who work from home or from somewhere else of their choosing besides an office are not only happier, but are more productive.

With all that stands between you and entrepreneurial success no matter how big your ambitions and strong your determination, why make it even harder on yourself by throwing hundreds of dollars away every month to keep a brick & mortar office open? To streamline your operations as much as possible, in order to make available for investment as much money as possible, consider going virtual. Besides the expenses of an actual office, you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

This Guest Post is written by Samantha Peters, an active blogger who enjoys writing about anything of interest to entrepreneurial hustlers and business start-ups. Sam is based out of San Diego, California and always looking to pursue new ventures in the online world.

A quick introduction – I’m Justin, CEO and Co-founder of PerBlue, a video game developer based in Madison, WI. I started PerBlue in 2008 with my friends while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I’m delighted to join the conversation here at Young Go Getter and I hope
you find my blogs to be valuable. I’m passionate about entrepreneurialism and look forward to
sharing my view with you.

A couple weeks back, PerBlue Founding Employee Forrest Woolworth and I participated on
the “Campus Entrepreneurism: Fad or Fixture” panel at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium . We had a great time, and I’d like to share with you some of the great entrepreneurial advice that came from the event. Watch the full video from the panel at the end of this post.

How did PerBlue start?
Justin: When we first started, the idea was really simple. We wanted to make another game.
There were 4 goals in mind: the game would be played on the phone, it had to be fun, it had to
make money, and just for kicks, it would use the phone’s GPS. We were bored with homework
at about 4 am, and decided to start right there and then.

What was the key turning point of success for PerBlue?

Justin: My key moment was November 23rd, 2009. At that point most of us were still in school,
we had been working insane hours for no pay. We were trying to ship a new age, one that
would integrate our Virtual Good business model and finally make us money. I remember telling
myself, “If we don’t make any money tomorrow, we’ll shut the whole thing down and I will be
very happy. This has been fun, it was a great adventure, and we did our best.”

We woke up the next morning and we had made about $5,000. That was the turning point of
success for PerBlue and Parallel Kingdom , because revenue is my biggest metric for success.
It showed that my time spent productizing something, and then putting it on a shelf and selling
it, was ultimately worth it. Earning revenue after productizing time and talent, was a key
benchmark of success for me and the company as a whole.
Read the rest of this entry »

At the start of every school year, bright-eyed freshman walk the grounds of college campuses filled with enthusiasm and potential. However as time passes, an ever-present lurking question begins to appear behind those eager eyes: If I don’t know what to do with my life, what major should I choose? Many college students harbor doubts about whether their major is right for them or if it can lead to a profitable career. However, by doing some research, exploring, and engaging in new experiences, college students can make a decision on their major and prospective career choices.

Tips for Picking a Major
Picking the “right major” is a tricky question that has no right or wrong answer. However, choosing a major that is best suited to your interests and personality is highly important. The following are some tips for the prospective freshman or the older college student seeking advice:

1. Set Some Goals:
Before rushing to the nearest computer and changing your major, you should first sit down and ponder over your goals. What do you want out of your major, or out of your experience in college? What are your ultimate goals in life? Perhaps you want to cure diseases, help people abroad, or simply make a lot of money. By answering these questions, you can create a structure by which to shape your college experience.

2. Explore your Options:
College is the best time to meet people, make mistakes, and learn about new interests. Therefore, try to experience all you can while on the path of “finding yourself”. Whether by taking a class not in your requirements, joining a sport, or participating in an internship, college is an opportunity for you to explore different options and career choices. In other words, try not to stress yourself out asking this question. Sure, it’s extremely important, but you may surprise yourself throughout your time in college.
Read the rest of this entry »

This post was originally on canuckseo.com by Jim Rudnick, one of the mentors at the event!

Yup, the best weekend I’ve ever spent in #HamOnt is over and I can tell you that it was “best” not only for me, for the 100+ attendants and participants but for the city of Hamilton itself!

Everyone won and the big news is that everyone will continue to win!

First, the sponsors deserve credit for their participation and belief that holding our first ever StartUp Weekend here in Hamilton would be an event that they could take a-hold of and use to promote our city and our new culture of startups! So a big thanks to Innovation Factory, to Intelex, to McMaster Innovation Park, to Inceptive Solutions, Mohawk College, SoftMills and SoftwareHamilton too….their ability, skills and yes cash helped get this event up and running!

Next, I must also thank especially the team at our RIC, the Innovation Factory for their efforts and attention to details that made the registration, running and judging of the contest once again, the best I’ve ever been at hands down! I must mention Stephanie, Tammy, Mike, Keanin, Peter Smith, Robin Hopper and especially Ron Neumann too, who all worked very very hard both behind the scenes and out front too to make exactly the right “feel” happen for our more than a hundred participants and startup founders too!

Beginning last Friday nite, with an open mic call to any entrepreneur in the audience who had an idea, we saw I believe over 25+ such ideas for startups broached and expounded upon by contest participants. They showed their passion and their belief that what they wanted to build in 54 hours over the weekend would be both an attainable goal as well as an actual up-and-running company by Sunday night judging time! And what a wide assortment of ideas we all heard….many for hi-tech apps, new social media ideas, communitys and more!
Read the rest of this entry »

With so many women in the workplace today, it’s no wonder that many have decided to seek their fortunes as entrepreneurs. As a young, professional woman, you can acquire the exact knowledge and experience that will propel you into the future. If you haven’t had the luxury of pursuing an MBA, online research may be the best place to start for answers. By carefully selecting the appropriate product, demographic, and marketing strategies, you will be in a great position to expand and grow with an unlimited earning potential. Having the correct resources is the key to developing your business.

Top Three:
Ladies Who Launch can assist you with certain aspects of your business like promotions, connections, special offers, and events. There are two levels of membership, gold and platinum. The gold level offers access to join their online community and share in the latest information and opportunities. The monthly rate is $19 or $199 per year. Platinum members receive all of the aforementioned benefits and support as well as access to local, in-person meetings, and exclusive members-only events. The monthly rate is $39 or $399 per year.

Also known as the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), the Office of Advocacy can assist women-owned businesses with all types of research, act as a voice and advocate, and provide statistical records. Many laws for women in business have been changed for the positive due to the consistent work of the SBA, so it’s a good idea to keep them in mind.
Read the rest of this entry »

You have a great idea, the drive and energy to make it happen, but your savings are
light. You need to find capital to get started, but you feel that the strength of your idea
and your persuasive marketing talents will surely make investors grab their checkbooks
and start signing. If only it were that simple, but, unfortunately, it is not.

Gone are the free-flowing nineties when investors would literally throw millions of
dollars at a good idea. Angel and venture funds are still licking their wounds from the
bursting of the Internet bubble a decade back, and what funds they do raise primarily
go to shoring up the previous “mistakes” in their portfolios. These investors tend to be
very risk averse in today’s environment, preferring rather to buy struggling companies,
repackage them, and then sell for a profit, corporate “flipping”, if you will. While they
may see hundreds of potential deals a year, they are very selective, choosing perhaps
two or three from the lot to support.

Within this context, a “budding” entrepreneur should avoid the temptation of seeking
money from highly structured angel or venture-type funds. The competition is too great,
and the demands for a “sure deal” will severely discount the value of your business
model. The more prudent path is to focus on less demanding funding sources, namely
friends, family, business partners, vendors, and locally sanctioned state development
funds.
Read the rest of this entry »

Do you think your business idea can become the next Google, or the new Facebook? Does your idea have what it takes to become the successor to Amazon? In order to get your idea off the ground, you’ll need funding to get started. One of the most important steps that startups will undertake is the process of finding investors for their business ideas. There are many angel investors and venture capitalists out there just waiting to hear a pitch that will convince them that they are looking at the next successful business—you want to be this business.

You can increase your chances of obtaining funding with careful preparation and practice. The following are some tips that can help you successfully sell yourself and your idea:

5 Tips to Master before the Big Presentation

1.Be Easy to understand
Presenters pitch their business plans to investors in the hopes of obtaining funding. However, this task will be near impossible if investors cannot understand what you are explaining. This may sound obvious, but many find that speaking to investors is more nerve-racking than they anticipate. One key tip for any presentation is to be articulate and concise, so the investor can easily follow your business plan. Other general tips include: don’t speak too quickly, avoid announcing to your audience and keep away from informalities.

2.Be Prepared with what you are going to say
This again teeters on the brink of obvious, but many people think they know everything about their idea without research; this is almost always untrue. Know everything you can about your idea and industry. One of the quickest ways to turn away investors is if you appear to be unprepared and unqualified. In order to prevent this, presenters should be as informed and knowledgeable as possible. Provide information on the competition, the market, operations, finances, and possible long term plans. In other words, know about more than just your specific idea. Investors will try to understand everything they can about the pitch, so be ready to deal with any potential questions thrown your way.
Read the rest of this entry »