Sales and Marketing Skills for Entrepreneurs

Posted by on January 30, 2012 under Advice, Podcasts | Be the First to Comment

1. Setting Objectives
SMART objectives -the most well known method for setting objectives. S.M.A.R.T refers to the acronym that describes the key characteristics of meaningful objectives, which are:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-Bound
http://youtu.be/0MpfWT92mIU

2. Positive Mental Attitude
Each of us develops communication techniques for trying to get our way in life. You are involved in selling when you want someone to do something every single day, so use your use persuasion skills to persuade someone to act into purchasing your products or services. Most people fail in sales as they are not resilient to people saying NO. If your target customer is only 1% of the market, then you should expect to receive 99 no’s before you get one yes. So expect and be resilient to those negative messages.
http://youtu.be/CjAIWzyMwC8

3. The Importance of Product or Service Knowledge
Have you ever been into a shop to buy something only to be disappointed when it is clear none of the assistants can answer your questions simply because they do not know the products? Product knowledge or lack of it makes a huge difference between those who make the sales and those who miss out. Everyone agrees, that without having a good understanding of what you are selling you are going to fail.
http://youtu.be/iiOvLJshcxQ

4. Figuring out your Target Market
http://youtu.be/MdLJoSsrsg0

5. Making Telephone Calls
Successful cold calling essentially relies on your own attitude towards cold calling. Cold calling is traditionally the most challenging part of the selling process, yet can be the most profitable.
http://youtu.be/9633aa5Xljg

6. Finding New Business
http://youtu.be/YJnKk5vUoaI

7. Time Management
It’s important that you develop effective processes for managing your time to balance the conflicting demands of time for generating new leads, networking, account management and following up.
Sort out your environment!
http://youtu.be/DRD8iph4890

8. The importance of keeping today’s customers
Everyone in your business should focus on today’s customers without exception. These customers pay the bills and therefore are key to your survival. New sales should be a small part of a successful business and therefore should be done by and only consume a small number of people.
http://youtu.be/dSNkhSoKcWY

9. Meetings & Appointments
Thorough preparation before a sales call is critical to achieving a good conversion rate of potential clients into firm orders. You need to make sure you’re knowledgeable about your client’s needs as well as your own. In the sales meeting, if you struggle to answer any objections or queries or appear to be underprepared, you will almost certainly lose any potential sale.
http://youtu.be/-Xw7FaorHOk

10. Non Verbal Communication
93% of our communication is nonverbal communication and is broken down as follows:
· 7% verbal
· 38% tonal
· 55% physiological
Given that selling is largely about communication and that 93% of that is nonverbal communication it would make sense for you to examine nonverbal communication as a persuasion technique, wouldn’t it?
http://youtu.be/oVcG18Vxves

11. How to Sell Yourself
Take for example the insurance industry. There are so many insurance agents out there. Say you know Charlie, Louise, and Daniel and all three of them are from the same insurance company. All three of them approach you to tell you about their company’s insurance products. All three of them are selling to you the same product. What makes you buy from Charlie rather than Louise and Daniel?
Basically, one thing… you like and trust Charlie much better than the other two. As you can see, selling yourself is much more important that selling your product.
http://youtu.be/pS9qLRAnX9Y

12. Why People Buy
We can split the reasons why people buy into a number of factors which you need to understand before starting to sell. A person will have one or more of these factors which you can then base your sales strategy on.
http://youtu.be/Jty00aL94mA

13. Questioning Skills
Questions are the best way to find out information about your prospective client and ensure you understand their needs and develop a firm relationship with them. If you ask the wrong questions, you’ll probably get the wrong answer, or at least not quite what you’re hoping for, so think about the questions before hand and plan them into the meeting.
http://youtu.be/QyG2TmEhG3g

14. Effective Listening Skills
The most important skill you can develop as a sales person is the ability to listen and understand what your prospective clients are telling you. There are two forms of listening active and passive. Most people develop lazy passive listening skills which mean they hear the words, don’t process the aural sounds into understanding and follow through with feedback.
http://youtu.be/C8zNx_IarUw

15. Identifying Needs
You will need to help the prospective client recognise all aspects of their needs. At the end of this stage, the customer must be able to define all their needs and be able to discuss them in a prioritised order. A successful entrepreneur will be the one who can get the customer define his/her needs in a way that closely matches with the solution he/she is trying to sell.
http://youtu.be/cOndTLWNSiI

16. Selling Your Benefits
A well created benefit is a psychological trigger that compels a person to some action to purchase, due to their nature and the needs they have. It should be used to manipulate the sales encounter so that action is taken to buy a product or service by overcoming all possible sales objections and enticing the buyer to take action NOW.
http://youtu.be/kcpicxs7_vs

17. Powerful Presentations
This is the time where opportunity meets capability and you have to meet the challenge. The presentation contains seven powerful points to get across to your prospect.
http://youtu.be/nVz4qYbyxjQ

18. Turning Quotes into Orders
If you are dealing with a committee who need to have a democratic process in deciding to purchase your product, you have to understand who and what you are dealing with. So research the problem and ensure you can influence the outcome.
http://youtu.be/7dx-QLDdoVQ

19. Objection Handling
Objections are a normal step in the sales process, in fact if you don’t get them you should worry. As they are normal, you should plan for them and be controlled in your handling of them. Therefore we have a simple step by step process to handle objections.
http://youtu.be/XLUX_5NVZwg

20. Dealing with Multiple Decision Makers
http://youtu.be/3NuGhtslwdU

21. Providing Pricing and Discounts
One of the hardest tasks as an entrepreneur is deciding on what to charge people. You want to make a profit, gain market share and develop a meaningful brand which consumers respect. However, this doesn’t come out with a number which you can enter into paypal or your customers hand.
http://youtu.be/6ty9iBrw8Ps

22. When to Close the Sale
The aim of the sales process is to move the suspect to a prospect to a customer. This stage is about moving them towards the customer by closing the sale.
http://youtu.be/Y8N6sjMIqUQ

23. Closing Techniques
There are over 99 closing techniques, so here are just three techniques you can remember, use and develop as your own to sell your products. The key factor is to make it your own and be able to use it in the heated sales situation, thereby ensuring your success.
http://youtu.be/prRFhWSd_1c

24. Organising the Next Steps
The sales presentation and your handling of meeting objections should deliver a positive response. However, we all know there are three possible outcomes: Yes, Maybe and No. You need to be prepared for these and ensure you can manage each outcome in a highly professional manner which will ensure they want to continue building a relationship wih you.
http://youtu.be/fv7OpZSeOno

25. Consultative Selling Techniques
Consultative selling is about getting an in-depth understanding of the problem and then creating an intelligent, effective and creative solution. It’s about collaboration, building trust, adding value to the relationship. You will need to enter the relationship with the mindset of a consultant and base your Q&A sessions on finding their key drivers. You will need to focus on them and not wining the sale, so you can create solutions. Don’t be afraid to say not for me, pass on contacts who could help or provide expert advice.
http://youtu.be/LPGPzwmaCIA

26. Negotiation Skills
Negotiation is the art of reaching an agreement by resolving differences and leaving the other side intact and positive.
http://youtu.be/qqQGNFdo8sg

27. Sales: What could go wrong?
We know that things will go wrong, they just do, but you need to understand where the risks lie and how to ensure you manage the customers expectations and continue to build the relationship.
http://youtu.be/Og5uPP2m9vw

28. Account Management
The easiest sale you will ever get is from an existing customer. The fastest way to get new customer referrals is from from existing customers. The best way to improve your business is by getting feedback from existing customers. Ok, I think you understand, you have to build a good relationship with your existing customers.
http://youtu.be/9MqyQztNF_0

Investment society event this Tuesday

Posted by on January 28, 2012 under Events | Be the First to Comment

 This Tuesday, 31st January 2012, RHUL’s Investment Society are hosting a guest speaker event:


Mr. Jonathan Pfahl - Director of the Rockstar Group (Venture Capital & Private Equity)

Entrepreneurs Mentoring program director

Former Advisor at Goldman Sachs

The event is going to take place at 6pm at Management Building Lecture Theatre

Everyone interested to hear more about his inspiring experience and is warmly welcome.

Boost your Career Development Skills

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Here is how you can start your year genuinely investing in your career development by tapping on your marketing and creative skills!

Participate in either one or both of Entrypark’s two new exciting Challenges and win amazing prizes, including a trip to Stockholm! The deadline for receiving applications is February 15th 2012.

Are you creative?
Participate in the quick Photo Challenge and win an interview with a selected top employer, or one of 10 CV coaching sessions!
Start here: http://www.entrypark.com/en/cms/cb2012photochallenge?utm_source=royal

Are you ambitious?
Take part in the more demanding Guerrilla Marketing Challenge and win a trip to Stockholm, or one of 10 interview coaching sessions!
Start here: http://www.entrypark.com/en/cms/cb2012guerrillachallenge?utm_source=royal

Good luck!
Your Entrypark Team

Realise your Social Enterprise

Posted by on January 27, 2012 under Competitions | Be the First to Comment

What is McKinsey Innovate?
McKinsey Innovate is a social enterprise competition for UK students. It aims to promote creative and entrepreneurial spirit by supporting student teams in launching successful social enterprise in their communities. It is sponsored by McKinsey & Company, a global management consultancy firm who provide support and guidance to the client organisations in all sectors and industries.
Who can take part?
The competition is open to all UK undergraduate and postgraduate university students regardless of the subject they study. We are looking for groups of 2-8 creative and enthusiastic individuals with a great idea and a desire to create change. You can enter with a social enterprise that is at any stage of development: from a brand new idea, to a business that is already running and you are trying to grow. In 2011, the vast majority of entries (and our winner) were very early stage ideas.
Why should I get involved?
This is a unique opportunity to create real difference to your community. All teams will receive feedback to help develop their enterprises; our semi-finalists will be offered the opportunity to attend a workshop with some of the UK’s social enterprise leaders, and the winning team will receive seed funding and ongoing support from McKinsey consultants to transform their idea into a real social enterprise.

Realise your social enterprise: and have fun!

http://www.innovate2012.mckinsey.com/apply

Win £1000 with Arora Awards for Enterprise

Posted by on January 26, 2012 under News | Be the First to Comment

Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs launch the annual Minigrants competition today, the Arora Awards for Enterprise.
Apply for anything between £100- £1000 to kick-start your business!

Stage 1- Apply here

The best applications will be invited to
Stage 2- Interview (all interviews will take place on 27 Feb)

An Awards ceremony will be held on 19th March in the evening, which you must attend in order to find out whether your application was succesfful. 

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION 25TH FEB

Open to Royal Holloway Students Only
Email me at president@royalhollowayentrepreneurs.com if you have any questions or would like some help with your application

Kick-Start your business with Venture Lab

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We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Emerge Venture Lab’s 2012 cohort. 

The Emerge Venture Lab kick-starts the UK’s best social ventures run by students and recent graduates, together with a powerful network of mentors and professional organisations. Past partners have included the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Student Hubs, Barclays Capital, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte and the Young Presidents’ Organization.
The Lab provides its teams with critical support in generating, testing and implementing business models; evaluating impact; building successful teams; structuring organisations; and raising finance.
Apply by February 17th at www.theemergelab.org and you could get:
  • Expert-led residential bootcamps in London and Oxford, delivering a best practice curriculum in social entrepreneurship
  • Regular meetings with an advisory panel of expert mentors who will oversee your progress and advise your team on venture development strategy
  • Access to an extensive network of business leaders, institutional partners, seed investors and peer entrepreneurs
  • Three months of guaranteed participation in the programme plus up to 15 months of additional support for the top-performing teams
What we look for
We look for the UK’s brightest students and recent graduates (up to 2 years out of university) who are dedicated to solving a social or environmental challenge. If you have an idea for a venture that could both produce profit and create significant social impact, as well as a strong team and an unwavering commitment to turning this idea into reality, then head over to our website and apply!
The Lab is supported by: 
Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship || Student Hubs || Barclays Capital || Boston Consulting Group || Deloitte || Hogan Lovells || Young Presidents Organization || UnLtd || HEFCE || Chelwood Capital

Tech StartUp Events

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“Apple: World’s Largest Startup” – a special presentation by Adam Lashinsky, senior editor at large, Fortune magazine.
6-9pm, Monday 30th January, Innovation Warehouse, 1 East Poultry Avenue, EC1A 9PT
Adam has been following Apple for over 15 years and, through interviews with the company’s staff over the years, has uncovered many of the secrets that have made Apple the success it is today – and he’ll be passing that knowledge on during his talk.  This event is absolutely ideal for students interested in product design, innovation, business modelling and learning effective leadership tactics.
Students have a discounted rate available here: http://insideapple.eventbrite.com/

BeMyApp Mobile App Hackathon
6pm Friday 24th Feb – 8pm Sunday 26th Feb.  Venue TBC, London
Participating in a hackathon is the absolutely perfect way for students to get a real taste of what it is like to build a product prototype that is sell-able in the global marketplace.  Students from all backgrounds can participate in the event as a developer, designer, marketer, business developer or app idea generator.  Many people who have participated in hackathons have described the experience as life-changing and we have two participant stories for students who might not know about the benefits of joining an event like this:
http://techmeetups.com/2012/01/20/bemyapp-participant-story-1/
http://techmeetups.com/2012/01/20/bemyapp-participant-story-2/
http://techmeetups.com/2012/01/24/why-be-a-part-of-bemyapp/
student can book for the event here: http://techmeetups.com/bemyapp/

RHUL Conference

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Finance in Feb with Capital Enterprise

Posted by on January 25, 2012 under Advice, Events | Be the First to Comment

In February, Capital Enterprise will be running or involved in a series of free events and special offers designed to inform entrepreneurs on the best and latest ways to finance a high growth business and subsequently provide those  with the  support and contacts to raise the money they need .

1. Leading for Business Growth:                  

2nd February                  

2pm-5pm                  

@ UCL

Do you have a business model and management team that can achieve the type and amount of finance to fund high growth.  Not sure then you should consider signing up to this workshop led by specialist from  the world renown Warwick Business School  http://capitalenterprise.org/event-details/?eid=123

2. Angel Fun: 

13th Feb                 

4pm-7pm                 

@ The British Library Conference Centre

The British Business Angel Association in partnership with Capital Enterprise will be running through why now more than ever is a good time to look at Angel Finance to fund growth-http://www.bl.uk/bipc/workevents/angelfun.html

We will look at the how the Government’s new Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) initiative will work in real life When launched in April this year SEIS will offer angel investors up to 50% tax breaks for a total of £100k invested in start-ups and each start-up that meets the criteria can receive up £150k equity investment under this scheme. There will be also an opportunity to question Angels on what they look for, how best to approach them and how they value an early stage business. On the latter point I do recommend you look at a recent blog by Seed Camp  or the following slide-deck

3. Next Generation of Finance – Launch Event

17th Feb

10:30-12:30

@UCL

Capital Enterprise, Angel Capital, Crowd Cube, People Fund it, CDFA and North London Community Finance have all come together to launch a series of events that will give you the insider know-how and fast track routes to finding non- traditional bank finance to fund your entrepreneurial venture. Not to be missed so to get your free ticket here http://ngfle.eventbrite.co.uk/

4. Business Bootcamp Lounge

21stFebruary

6-9pm

@O2 Workshop Tottenham Court Road.

The next Business Bootcamp Alumni Lounge will feature short presentations and a Q&A sessions with a number of London entrepreneurs who have recently raised investment funding from Angels and VC’s. If you have not been before and enjoyed the drinks, nibbles and good company then please check up out here.  http://www.meetup.com/BB-Lounge/events/49243982/

5. The Beginners guide to the “Lean Start-up”. (or How to bootstrap a high growth business).

23rd February

10am- 12-30pm                  

@ O2 Workshop Tottenham Court Road  

The Lean start-up method is now the preferred method used by Silicon Valley start-ups and high growth USA entrepreneurs. If you want to know what it is, why it could give you a way to reduce the risk and cost of starting an ambitious business and how you can use tools such as the Canvas Business Model to get going, then enrol now for this free introductory workshop.

6. Pitching for Management:

27th Feb     

5-7pm                                    

@ Nabarro’s Holborn WC1.

Capital Enterprise has joined forces with Angel News to co-sponsor a pitching for management event for those potential high growth companies that need to find the right management with the right customer contacts to enable them to scale their business.  To find out more please check out http://pitchingformanagementlondon17-eorg.eventbrite.com.

7. Special Offer- Free  1-2-1 Business Planning support

Capital Enterprise has secured a deal with its member CEME, to provide registered businesses in London who are looking to raise money, with a business consultant in order to help them complete their financial forecasts and finesse their business plans and pitches. If you are interested then please e-mail john@capitalenterprise.org

100 offers of support for London Start-Ups

Posted by on under News | Be the First to Comment

To access the following links please visit http://www.thebusinessbootcamp.org/100-offers-of-support-for-london-start-ups-2

 

  1. Bootcamps- Capital Enterprise’s sector specific bootcamps that will give entrepreneurs serious about starting or growing a high growth business an opportunity to get the insider knowledge, contacts and resources they need to get ahead. The Bootcamp extras are free seminars where you can meet funders and fellow entrepreneurs looking for money to start-up or scale their “brilliant” new business.
  2. Guide to Raising Finance-  A list of links on available sources of finance for a growth focused business.
  3. Free advice and support- Check out the members section of Capital Enterprise to find your local or specialist business support agency.
  4. BootLaw – free events where you can get your legal questions answered (and be entertained, too!)
  5. Microsoft BizSpark – startup community offering free Microsoft software. Or if you are one of the millions now using open source software to run their business why not check outUbuntu
  6. Launch48 – meet potential co-founders and try to start a business in a weekend
  7. Board of Invention- Check out 20111 10 best business models- The software is cool also.
  8. Bootcamp Alumni Offer- Dream stake- the touch down space/club for creative entrepreneurs- is offering 20% discount for the first 6 months membership.
  9. Quirky- Ok it is not free but it is a innovative way to get an idea to be developed into a product and
  10. Minibar – see entrepreneurs pitch their startups while you drink free beer
  11. Start-up Britain- a good place to navigate yourself around new services and activities on offer for new entrepreneur and a great one-stop shop
  12. London Business School Entrepreneurial Leadership Lectures – hear experienced founders talk
  13. Bootcamp Alumni offer- Free mentoring for High Tech start-ups from Rapid InnovationApply through Capital Enterprise.
  14. Knowledge Peers – get nuts and bolts advice from owners of small businesses
  15. SeedSummit Term Sheets – see how the investment terms you’ve been offered stack up against ‘standard’ one.
  16. Pop-up shops- Fancy a temporary shop to launch your company or this seasons collection then check out Rosie Canns excellent website.
  17. Don’t Make Me Think – learn how to make your website easier to use
  18. Visual Website Optimizer – run A/B tests easily and get more from your website
  19. Google Apps (free edition) – host up to 10 email accounts for free
  20. Ajax Whois – quickly check whether domain names are available
  21. MailChimp – send mass emails and track what happens to them.
  22. Viral Marketing – a nice article on the Maths behind viral marketing
  23. Super Conversion Button – create good call-to-action web buttons
  24. Load Impact – easily run load tests on your website
  25. Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords – learn how to run Adwords campaigns
  26. Business Model Generation – The beloved canvas business model – You can download a free outline version or buy the whole thing.
  27. Bootcamp Alumni offer – ½ price website for £199 with http://www.varihost.net/contact/  Quote Business Bootcamp Deal
  28. Fiverr – get small tasks done for $5 (try this out for fun at the very least!)
  29. Lean Startup – methodology to help figure out whether you’re starting the right business- There is a new bootcamp organized by Sal Virani that uses the lean method to help people bootstrap am ambitious new business.
  30. Mixergy – learn from interviews with successful entrepreneurs
  31. Shell Livewire- Under 30 and fancy a £1000 to start your business- if you do then shell livewire gives out 6 such grants to new businesses each month. The pitch is very simple so well worth a look.
  32. Hacker News London – meet techie startup people in the flesh. Drink beer with them
  33. Business Link – find official government information about business regulations
  34. WordPress – build all sorts of websites quickly and cheaply (definitely not just for blogs) and also check out Wix.com if you want your site to be built in flash.
  35. Woothemes – get a great-looking theme for your website
  36. Clicky – get realtime analytics for your website
  37. SurveyMonkey – run surveys easily
  38. Amiando.com- We use it to take on-line fees for events etc but now recommend their arch rival Eventbrite.
  39. SendGrid – make sure your emails get delivered
  40. TechHub – work surrounded by fellow entrepreneurs at this startup-centric office space. Capital Enterprise gets offers of discounted space all the time so do e-mail us if you are looking.
  41. Bootcamp Alumni offer- Get your business plan developed and partly written by experts from the Centre Engineering Management Excellence . Only available for tech businesses looking for funding- apply through Capital Enterprise
  42. Innovation Warehouse- London’s version of Plug and Play where you can receive accommodation, support and investment. Bootcamp Alumni Offer- further 20% sign-up discount to those who join before the end of 2011.
  43. Camden Collective- Subsidised incubator space in Camden for creative start-ups. An opportunity to be at the heart of London’s Creative sector. Just to show that London is not all about Tech, if your a fashion businesses then check out CFE, Jewelry  business -Hatton Garden, a new Bio Tech company LBIC and  a new High Tech ManufacturingCEME if you want incubator space specific to their sector.
  44. OpenSoho – have drinks with startup and digital media folks
  45. HUB Westminster- The new incubator / accelerator for the ethical business.
  46. Facebook Developer Garage – find out the latest goings-on in the world of Facebook
  47. Mobile Monday London – find out the latest goings-on in the world of mobile
  48. LRUG -meet smart Ruby developers and learn clever coding tips and techniques
  49. TweetDeck – track lots of things at once on Twitter- Also do check out buffer if you really want to manage the sending of your tweets.
  50. Magento – set up a powerful e-commerce website
  51. Bit.ly – see how many times people click on the links you share
  52. British Library Business & IP Centre – get free access to market research reports
  53. Out-law.com – find legal information about IT and e-commerce
  54. 99designs – get a logo designed
  55. 2 Display.com- The cheapest place on the web to get display stands. I was going to recommend the cheapest place to get good quality business cards and stationary but it changes so often you are best place searching for yourself but you might want to start with Moo.com
  56. London Business Angel Network- The first, the biggest and one of the best Angel Networks in the UK. Not far behind is Envestors and Oxford Innovations
  57. SeedSummit – find seed investors
  58. Indiegogo.com – A paste and wait investment site where creative with ideas paste up their projects to attract 100’s of small scale investors to fund their new ventures. Alternatives are Kick starter  and Crowd Cube
  59. The E-myth Revisited – learn why you should create a system
  60. Getting Real – read how to build web apps faster and more easily
  61. The Ultimate Sales Machine – read ideas about how to sell more effectively
  62. Passport for Export- Guides and support offered by the government funded UKTI to those in the UK looking to sell overseas.
  63. Appsumo – save money on stuff for your startup
  64. Enterprise Nation- Emma Jones is one of the best UK bloggers on all things connected to running your own business.
  65. Google Alerts – find out whenever someone mentions your startup online
  66. SEOMoz Search Ranking Factors – learn what’s important for appearing high up in search engine results
  67. The Four Steps to the Epiphany – read the original bible of the Lean Startup movement
  68. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development – read the cheat-sheet version of the Lean Startup bible
  69. Ogilvy on Advertising – understand advertising better
  70. Linkedin- Probably the best B2B contact list – join me and maybe I can get to 500+ and be officially a well networked person.
  71. Twitter – it’s big already. Follow me if you’d like to hear about more resources like this- You might also want to check our Twitter page http://twitter.com/#!/capenterprise
  72. Paul Graham’s Essays – pick up entrepreneurial wisdom from the guy behind Y-Combinator
  73. Futuristic Play – learn more about online marketing
  74. A Smart Bear – absorb entrepreneurial wisdom from an experienced founder
  75. Adwords Keyword Tool – find out how many people are searching for something
  76. Stack Overflow- Looking for a coder, want to talk to a programmer, want to go where programmers go then check out stack-overflow. There is also an version for start-ups looking to post questions and receive answers from the assembled crowd- check it out and if you put UK after your question I for one will be putting my suggested solution for you to consider.
  77. PickyDomains – challenge people to find you a great domain name or slogan
  78. Enternships – hire entrepreneurially-minded interns
  79. HELO- Get a team of students from UCL and London Business School to carry out a research or development project for free. Great if you want a business plan developing, an idea beta-testing or your competitors checked out. Also check out UCL’s free mentor scheme for high growth companies- SMILE
  80. Mentors- The BBA has set up a portal called Mentorsme for inexperienced entrepreneurs looking for a mentor willing to share their experience and insights. If you are in London then check Capital Enterprise who will try to find you a mentor from amongst our members.
  81. Seedcamp – get money and coaching in return for a share in your business
  82. UserTesting – find out whether anyone can use your website
  83. PSD2HTML – convert that slick PSD your designer created into CSS and HTML
  84. Technology Strategy Board- The TSB is offering to part fund the R&D cost of businesses with innovative new products and services. They run competitions that offer substantial grants to businesses who can offer technology solutions to a challenge facing UK industry as well as offering “Proof of Concept” grants to businesses with cutting edge ideas who need help with R&D.
  85. VirtualBox – run a virtual Windows machine so you can test old and annoying versions of IE, even if you have a new and shiny Mac
  86. Dropbox – share documents with your co-founders
  87. Google Docs – share documents with your co-founders and edit them together
  88. London Creative Labs- A great place to check out if you want to get involved in the Capital’s booming social enterprise networks. You should also check out Un ltd and our member Red Ochre if you want support to start a social enterprise
  89. Social Innovation Camp – do something good with your talents
  1. Bootcamp Alumni offer- Poq Studio is offering a Free App for any fashion retailer- well is not exactly free and its only available for Alumni but do check it out.
  2. Marketinvoice.com- A relatively new venture set by our friend Anil Stocker that has a host of funders looking to forward fund your working capital needs.
  3. Toastmasters – become more confident talking in front of an audience
  4. Soft Loans for Business Growth- Mainly for businesses with trading history but well worth checking out organisations such as ELSBC, GLE and HBV to see if you could be eligible for these £2000-£50000 loans.
  5. Enterprise Finance Guarantee – get backing from the government to help you get a loan
  6. The Gary Halbert Letter – improve your copywriting
  7. PatternTap – web UI design patterns.
  8. NESTA- the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts is an independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative. It provides investment, guides and the attest insights to early stage businesses who are attempting to drive the UK into the 21st Century.
  9. R&D Tax Credits- If you have not worked out that you could be eligible to get back 200% of the money you are spending on R&D then what are you waiting for?- Check out Terry Toms guide and book for a free consultation and book on www.for a free Bootcamp Extra event on www.capitalenterprise.org/whats-on
  10. The Equity Kicker – read views from Nic Brisbourne, a London VC
  1. Looking for a grant?- Check out J4B- the best place to see if there is grant available in your sector or postcode. Alternative Capital Enterprise has access to the UK funders database. So if you want a bespoke funding search please arrange a 1-2-1 with Carly-cary@capitalenterprise.org

 

 

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