Last week we had a great call with close to 300 signups!

Smart Funding-Entrepreneurs Don’t Need Wall Street

During the interview, we covered:

• Why Wall Street and banks are not equipped to fund small businesses
• What are the five crucial components that go into a smart capital raise
• How entrepreneurs can take matters into their own hands for getting funded
• What are the key stumbling blocks to raising capital and how to avoid them
• What goes into an action plan for raising smart capital
• Tips to keep focused and held accountable to raising capital while running your business

Click Here to listen to the 75 minute recording

Learn exactly what to do to take matters into your own hands to capitalize your company… smartly!

Stefan Doering
Founder
BEST coaches, Inc.

This week I started facilitating another FastTrac NYC class of about 30 entrepreneurs.

I like starting this intense seven days of training with a powerful guest speaker.  A good friend, David Kistner, was kind enough to visit the class.

What was supposed to be about 60 minute presentation ended up with me having to kick him out after 2 ½ hours.

The participants just wouldn’t let David leave.

Mainly because David was telling them the real skinny on what is going on out there on how best to grow their businesses.

And he would know.  David has raised millions of dollars for his chain of green dry cleaners, Green Apple Cleaners, one of the greenest and cost effective dry cleaners in the US.

On the topic of raising capital, in addition to the millions in outside capital David has raised, he also has put in a very large chunk of his own money.

But most entrepreneurs don’t realize the difficulty in getting funded.

We have all heard how some banks are lending, SBA loans are available, investors are investing and so on.  What these guys don’t tell you, though, is how difficult it is to actually get the money from them.

Now that I have helped four green businesses raise over $3MM for their businesses in the past 10 months, here’s my checklist to get you ready:

Top 10 Checklist for the Road Show (in order of importance):

1. Passion— #1 thing investors look for is your passion for what you do.  Because they know entrepreneurs with passion will work hard at doing what they love.  You cannot fake this.  It’ll be obvious.  Stay real.
2. Conviction— small business owners who know they will ultimately be successful are less likely to run for the hills and when things get tough.  You are more likely to keep at it until you figure it out.  And less likely to lose your investors money. (Read more…)

Last week I was making my rounds with several clients, each involved in the alternative energy space.

A couple of the companies are doing extremely well, with one successfully raising a round of capital.  One is struggling.

Even so, they are all concerned with the incredible uncertainty in the alternative energy space.

Not only because of 104 degree temperature we had on Friday in New York (112 with the heat index), and what that means in the realm of global warming, but also because of the uncertainty with government regulations, corporate and consumer acceptance of alternative energy solutions, and the challenge of integrating all the moving parts into the smart grid, to name just a few.

Because of all this, each of my clients are stressing out.  They are working hard to get their company into a better position.

I told them all the same thing:  “Uncertainty is your friend. Embrace it.”

Why embrace uncertainty?
(Read more…)

Late last week I found myself in New Jersey in a deep conversation with a friend, Ron Bergamini, CEO of Action Carting, a waste management company.  Their several hundred employees and 100+ trucks on the streets makes them one of the largest in NYC.

The conversation turned to marketing his company and how to promote it as being “green”.  Ron has not fully leveraged this as of yet.

I was really surprised.

Surprised because he has one of the greenest waste management companies I’ve ever seen!  Not only do they do use extremely detailed and intensive recycling of materials for their customers in their recycling center, they also collect about 35-40 tons of compost… a day!  This diverts a significant amount of NYC waste from ending up in our already overloaded landfills.

Some of Action Carting’s clients are the largest and best-known businesses here in the City.

So, why isn’t Ron fully leveraging all this in his marketing?

What he knows that most don’t is how tricky it is to market a company as being green… in a way that won’t trip his company up later.

Pros to Green Marketing

• Reputation—people love to know how your product or service is helping communities and the environment.  Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop, made her company so incredibly successful on this principle before she sold it.  The more the authentic value the potential customer gets from the story, the less they focus on the price.
• Leadership— when you take a lead in your industry for being the first, the best, or the most engaged in being green, you most likely will be seen as the expert and/or leader.  Soon you’ll have the industry including you and coming to you for advice and input.
• Loyalty—the more involved your business is with your stakeholders and taking on environmental issues that you can relate back to your business goals, the more people will want to support you.  To a degree.  Make sure you keep this in check and are clear on what the benefits and costs are for what you are doing.
• Leverage— by engaging your community, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders, you will create a team who will more likely help promote your business.  Also to leverage the fact that you are authentically green will often times attract new sets of eyeballs.
• Efficiency—in many cases, but not all, your costs will decrease by going green.  Reduced expenses often occur in ways difficult to predict:  reduced sick days of employees, less expensive energy costs or smaller invoices for garbage collection, for example.
• Growth—existing products or services can (sometimes) demand a higher price.  Additionally, you might have access to new vertical markets as well as create new applications of your product/service.  Perhaps even develop a new one or two to complement your existing line.

Cons to Green Marketing

• Skepticism—with so many companies promoting their “green-nes”, when often times they are not that green—known as greenwashing—its no wonder consumers are trusting less these claims.  Managing this can be quite tricky, even when you are authentic about your claims.
• Engagement—getting your stakeholders on board with your green company is usually time consuming and can be expensive.  Social media can help, but can take a tremendous amount of time and often has limited results if not well planned.
• Complexity—to really address and take responsibility for your company’s impact on the planet is by far not an easy task.  It takes research.  And it takes commitment to fully understanding the core issues.
• Perception—your product is more expensive and/or not as effective than “non-green” alternatives.  Usually this is not the case, and getting your customers to understand this can be costly and challenging.
• Resistance—in trying something new.  From investors to customers, getting stakeholders to embrace your company going green may not be a smooth ride.

To implement a green marketing campaign is your choice.  It comes down to if you have what it will take to navigate these complex waters of promoting your company as green.

And whether you have a passion for it or not.

In Ron’s case, his commitment to his business and the environment is obvious.  And while the results in increased revenue and reduced costs are still being tabulated, they promise to be significant.

So Ron has decided to take on telling the world about how green his carting company really is and the impact it is having on New York City.

Perhaps you should do the same?

NOTE:  My newest company, the Shift Group, helps small-to-medium sized companies get the most out of their “green ways”.

Action Steps for the Week

Been thinking about marketing your company as being green?  Great!

First, take a hard look at what you are committed to.  Are you authentically committed to integrating your company with your community and taking responsibility to improving the environment?

Or are you doing it because you see a way to make more money?

Or both?

Depending on your answer is how you should proceed.  If you’re doing it just for the money, you will most likely fail.  Because without the authenticity and passion, you will either be discovered in the marketplace and be labeled as a greenwasher, or you’ll quit early on as you try to do it correctly.

Once you are clear on your commitment, examine how to integrate your involvement with your local community.  How do you engage them?  Get them to want your involvement?

Do the same for environmental issues you feel fit your company’s brand, mission and vision.

Once together, start to implement your strategy.  Don’t forget to engage your stakeholders along the way.

And tabulate the results of your green marketing campaign.

Yesterday I confused my packed class of new entrepreneurs.  We just started a seven-day intense entrepreneur start-up course and they were bouncing off the walls with their new business ideas.

And it was like I just poured cold water on them when I asked them how and when they are going to exit their company.

They hadn’t even started it yet!

Knowing your role and when your part is done is crucial in building a successful company.

Too many founders don’t know when to sell, turn the reins over or quit, and therefore often times the company suffers and can even unnecessarily be brought down.

And exit strategies are not just for leaving your company.

For example, what is your exit strategy for the year 2010?  Wrapping up a decade is no small feat and knowing what you will end it with and how you’ll start the next one is crucial in positioning a small business in this economy.

Too busy focusing on working IN the business and not focused enough on working ON the business?  Here’s a chance for you to stop for a moment and set things up powerfully.

Top 7 Ways to Wrap Up 2010:

1. Brand Overhaul—with the economy and competition closing in so quickly these days, it makes sense to review your branding.  For example, just in the past couple of years in my industry of coaching, everyone and their mother now calls themselves a life, marketing or business coach.  How are you better, different or distinct from the pack in your industry?
2. Marketing Makeover—with a clear sense of your brand, marketing is the next major component to review.  Social media is taking off in ways no one could have imagined a couple of years ago.  Along with the demise of many other forms of marketing, like print and email blasts, how will you stay ahead of the curve?  What is that balance that keeps you “heard” out there?
3. Revenue Revamp—with new branding and marketing, what is your revenue model?  With the economy in a sluggish recovery, a completely different way of thinking is necessary for generating revenue.  For example how can you integrate a new vertical market (different industry) for your products and/or services?
4. Talent Retrofit—you are only as UnReasonable as the team you build around yourself.  This means it is crucial to have top players to holds you accountable, inspire you to move ahead of the pack and energize you beyond what you can imagine.  How you bring in top talent with a limited, and sometimes non-existent, budget is two-fold:  1) a powerful company vision and 2) conviction of your success.
5. Sustainability Renovation—most of my clients in the “sustainability sector” are growing faster than they care to admit.  As they grow, both customers and the industry catch onto what they are “up to”.  It gets exciting when this encourages them to innovate and create even more “sustainable” business practices.  This in turn raises the bar on all their primary and secondary competitors.  When was the last time you checked in to see what your competition is doing in this regard?
6. Tech Transfer—what technology have you been sitting on and have not done anything with?  Yes, that idea still in your head.  Something you’ve created and thought a lot about but the world has not seen a piece of yet.  Transfer that technology into reality by making a game plan to get it out the door.  Could turn into a serious competitive advantage for your company.
7. Blast Factor—everyone knows the best companies to do business with, work for, and/or promote are the ones that are having a blast as they go.  When you amp up the juice on having fun, your energy shifts.  When your energy shifts, who you are being in meetings shifts.  And that can be contagious.  So what will you do to amp it up?

Still too busy to focus on working on your year-end exit strategy?

I suspect you will be even busier if you continue with that mind set.  Because you are less efficient and working in a vacuum.

So, take 5 to figure out your exit strategy for 2010.  Heck, take 10!  It could save you between 10 and 100 times this in the short term.

And that is not a bad ROI!

Action Steps for the Week:

A key to creating the “what’s next” in your company is to clear off the decks from distractions for a long-enough period for you to figure out a basic game plan.

You can do this in a serious of “meetings” with yourself and/or team, if necessary.

When planning this out, focus on making as specific and measurable outcomes as possible.  Get as specific as possible in what type of outcome you want and by when.

For example, when working on Brand Overhaul, you can decide to create a new image that incorporates much of your newly researched industry analysis based on where your competition has been going.  You can declare you’ll recreate your brand by the end of January, 2011.

Work through these seven ways to ramp up your business for the end of the decade.  Doing so will provide you with a renewed sense of excitement, clarity and inspiration.

And isn’t that a good way to start the next decade?

By the nature of what I do for a living, I’ve seen some pretty cool and ambitious businesses and business plans.  But the one I saw last Friday blew me away.

I had just finished listening to a presentation for the first 100% solar powered city in the world, about to be built in southwest Florida.

Syd Kyston is the founder of this UnReasonable vision, Babcock Ranch.  On Friday he was presenting to the Roundtable for Sustainable Mobility at Columbia University as our newest member.  The Roundtable is seriously considering working with him to help build this amazing city of tomorrow.

In a geographical area larger than Manhattan, Babcock Ranch will take into account many local environmental factors, be completely off-the-grid by using solar energy, use a sustainable transportation system, build strong communities in the city, utilize intense recycling and integrate many sustainable business practices among many other features.

Syd told us it wasn’t so long ago he almost lost a seven-figure amount of money they had put as a down payment before saving the day (and the money) at the a last-minute.  He also told us about how he was able to use his vision to get local, state, and federal permits together at almost record speeds.

And towards the end of his presentation he mentioned Babcock Ranch would be only the first of the completely sustainable cities he plans on creating around the world.

Syd knows how to think really big.

The Importance of Thinking Big

Most of us get stuck in our way of thinking.  We forget that what we think is not necessarily the only way to think and many times not the best way to do something.  Yet it is familiar to us and we just go along with it.

Very predictable and safe.  In business, especially these days, this trap in thinking is a serious liability.  With globalization in full-swing and competition increasing all around us, big thinking:

• Creates powerful solutions—By shifting your way of thinking, most likely you’ll cause others around you to shift their way of thinking. The combination of which usually creates powerful solutions.
• Creates excitement—big thinking creates energy.  Energy creates momentum towards your vision.  And the combination of momentum and excitement generates more excitement and energy.
• Attracts a big team—People love being around people with great visions of tomorrow.  With your team thinking big with you, exponential results ensue.
• Causes you to step up—since it was your big thoughts, you are much more likely to step up and do it.  The energy and excitement will feed you to make it happen.
• Transcends the pettiness—when thinking big, the little that had been tripping you up falls by the wayside.

UnReasonable VS Unrealistic

When most people think big, they think beyond their capabilities.  Nothing wrong with that unless the unrealistic thinker shuts down if/when their expectations are not met.

To think big and then make sure it happens requires two things:

• Passion—obsession of your vision.  You think about it as much as you can.
• Conviction—you absolutely know you will be successful.  May not know how, but you know you will.

Now I don’t believe for a minute that Sid Kyston would ever have been able to get the first solar powered city in the world to the point where it is ready to be built if he did not know the power of his thoughts, passionate about his vision and convince he will ultimately succeed.

The same applies to your thinking.

Action Steps for the Week

Tired of thinking the same old way?  Breaking out of your mindset requires being clear on what you are committed to.

First get clear on what you are committed to in the area you are mentally stuck.  For example, if you are not sure how to ramp up your business, get clear on what your vision is for the company.  Make sure you are passionate about it and convinced you will succeed.

Those two components are absolutely necessary to be successful.

Next determine what you need to make your vision happen.  Resources like your team, coach, experience, time and capital.

From here you build your strategy and plan.  Make sure to break it into manageable segments.

Then get started immediately.  Have your team and coach support you as you go forward.  They will be crucial in helping you deal with your obstacles and unknowns.

The woman was handed the mike in our small room of about 150 people.  She was nervous about her question to the man on the panel just a few feet away from us.  And she had every right to be, given whom she was about to speak to.

And even though the woman was not 100% clear with her question, the man was extremely kind, patient and understanding what she was really asking.  For he had been through it himself before.

The woman needed a mentor or key angel investor to help her take her new green product packaging company to the next level.  In her voice you could hear her passion and commitment to her business idea.  And her frustration.

And Sir Richard Branson, the founder and chairman of Virgin Group, and a multi-billionaire, got this passion and frustration.  He was smiling at her as she spoke.  When she was done he briefly encouraged her to keep at it using her passion.  And she is doing just great so far.

And even though he had to leave this week’s Business Climate 2010 panel for green businesses, on his way out Sir Branson waived to the woman who had asked the question to join.

And with a huge smile of someone fully realizing she would remember this moment the rest of her life, she quickly got out of her chair and joined him.

Now it almost doesn’t matter what happened next with her and one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.  But what does matter is the fact she had the courage to step up and act.

How many of us have memories of when we should have just acted, said or done something differently in the heat of a moment, how different things might be today?  I certainly do.

In business you can be dead in the water if you fail to quickly step up.

Particularly right now.  With the economy and environmental challenges we are facing, and as the Business Climate 2010 event clearly illustrated, here are the top three areas all entrepreneurs can seriously step up ASAP:

1. Profitability—.  Playing small and thinking small gets you more of the same:  small results.  Sir Branson and other key speakers were saying all day how incredible, and challenging, the climate is for new, green businesses.  It is our duty as entrepreneurs to find ways to step up and build a profitable business model that works long term.  Thinking you are already playing big?  Keep in mind there is a difference between playing big and playing busy.  Understanding the differences can create a whole new world for you.
2. Environmental integration—if you have not explored taking your product/service-based company green, you are rapidly outdating yourself.  In order to avoid being the manufacturer of buggy-whips at the turn of the 20^th Century, you must step up in this area.  Find what environmental issues you can address and challenges you can solve.  It is no longer an acceptable excuse to say you’re too busy, or not a priority or you don’t know where to get started.  Stepping up will dramatically re-position your company.  Think you’re already stepping up?  Where have you NOT worked on?  Those areas of your business that is not helping to improve the planet’s natural resources is the place to start looking ASAP.
3. Social—in his wonderful book, Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken explains how incredibly inter-connected both society and the environment are.  Additionally, it makes good, solid business sense to integrate the communities into your business practices.  It helps to create powerful brand loyalty, no matter how big or small your business is.  Without it, you will struggle.  Engage it through social media or events for your community and business will soar.  For example, I am most recently getting involved in two:  being a mentor at the Eugene M. Lange Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia’s Business School and helping Fabien Cousteau (grandson of Jacque Yves Cousteau) with his Plant a Fish non-profit based in NYC.  Because of this, both have expressed an interest in promoting my next Green Entrepreneur Summit in November.

And when you decide to step up, I mean, really step up and stop playing small, things will start to shift dramatically for you.

Once you do you will look back some day, just like that woman will most likely do with her encounter with Sir Branson, and say, “That was the turning point for me in my business!”

Action Steps for the Week:

Where have you been playing small?  Holding back in your business?  Telling yourself the time is not quite right yet?  When x, y or z is in place, then I’ll be ready?

Well, stop it!  If it doesn’t happen now, it becomes exponentially less likely it will happen in the future.

Get clear on the following:

• What are you most committed to?  Be clear on how much you are willing to do to make it happen.  Really happen!  Play nothing but full-out!
• What will it take for that to happen?  Plan what you are going to present to the world.  Ask yourself powerful questions to ensure the likelihood of your success.
• Implement your first steps.  Take any action.  Small and manageable “baby steps.”
• Use a sounding board.  A mentor, coach, advisor, someone neutral and experienced that can help you play really, really big.

Lastly, manage the voice in your head.  You know which one I am referring to.  The one that tells you that you are crazy to go for it.  Just say, “Thank you for sharing, and now excuse me, I have work to do!”

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez’s office just asked if I can recommend some Latino owned and/or operated green-based business here in Brooklyn.  She wants to showcase them in mid-September at the CHCI Public Policy Conference and Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.

Congresswoman Velazquez is a senior House of Representative and Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Chair of the House Small Business Committee and a senior member of the Financial Service Committee.

Her office is looking for Latino green businesses from her district in Brooklyn and has asked me for recommendations.

If you feel you qualify or know someone who qualifies, please respond ASAP at: Stefan@bestcoachesinc.com so we can determine if it would be a fit for you/them.

Thanks,

Stefan

PS:  in order to attend the conference in September, you do NOT need to be a green-based business from Brooklyn.  This announcement is for those that would like to be showcased by a powerful congresswoman from Brooklyn.