Tag Archives: Startup

The Gender Gap in Venture Capital: How Female Business Owners Are Proving Themselves

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Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

As much as we push for equality, women still face many uphill battles in the business world. The industry is primarily dominated by men and with that comes challenges for female entrepreneurs. For one, women face barriers when it comes to accessing capital to start and grow their businesses.  In fact, solely female companies accumulated only 2.3 percent of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US. 

Thankfully, female entrepreneurs are starting to gain ground in venture capital and make strides to create equal opportunities in the industry. If you are a woman in business and plan to search for venture capital, wow them with some of these leadership skills to make you stand out. Continue reading→

10 Commandments of Good Coworking Spaces, Mistakes and Problems Solving

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Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Whether it’s the one dude beside you always trying to get a glance at your screen like he’s trying to catch you doing shady stuff, or the lady on the phone apologizing to a client for failing to meet a deadline, a coworking space has a certain ambiance that distinguishes it from a regular workspace. A coworking space is basically a workspace used by different people with different jobs or from different companies. 

This arrangement provides for shared office utilities like kitchens, coffee booths and many more. So, if you are going to sign up for coworking spaces, you might as well get used to the idea of not having a personal space because while you’re in the kitchen trying to make a private call, you could find out someone is just by the corner possibly listening in on your conversation the whole time. 

Coworking spaces are usually booked by individuals who were hitherto, working from home, freelancers, telecommuters and sometimes startups who want to take advantage of relatively cheap workspaces. As of 2019, there are close to 19,000 coworking spaces worldwide. Therefore, as every day passes, more coworking spaces are springing up to cater to the needs of a growing number of digital nomads and young entrepreneurs.Continue reading→

How to Start a Business in the US in 6 Steps

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Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Incorporating in the United States can increase the credibility of your business on the international front, and it is invaluable if you’re selling to Americans. It is even possible to open a business in the United States if you aren’t an American citizen, and you may not even need to be a legal resident. This allows people from around the world to take advantage of business structures like the limited liability corporation. Let’s discuss how to start a business in the US in 6 steps.

Choose the Type of Business You Want to Form

There are two main types of business structures open to those who are not U.S. citizens or long-term residents: the LLC and the corporation. An LLC is a limited liability corporation. It limits your liability in case of a lawsuit. The main benefit of an LLC is that it doesn’t pay corporate income taxes; you only have to pay personal income taxes on your share of the revenue from the business.Continue reading→

11 Networking Tips to be Connected by Mari-Lyn Harris

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ml_fresh2 copyTo meet new people is sometimes very scary, especially when you don’t like doing it or you are new to town or shy.

Let’s say, you have just moved to a new city what do you do?  This is a great question,  Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank..asks this of people when there are offers on the table. “What are you going to do?”

When I moved to San Francisco CA,  I just knew I wanted to launch an idea/project here. Of course the weather and it’s beauty does help too!

What you need to do, is figure out who you want to meet..when I arrived I knew no one, even though people may say, “hey look me up and…” I think they just said this out courtesy don’t depend on them..some may actually  mean it, some really don’t. I was fortunate that my sister lived here for a long time and hooked me up with a few people..that I could meet or get to know. One of the gals was Liz –  Bette just said “Meet Mari–Lyn for coffee and pretend it’s her (Bette).”  We did, we hit it off, and I always keep in touch or find ways that we can socialize.

I’ve been here for almost 2 years..boy it’s hard to imagine.. I have some great connections in the Food business and still finding ways to meet more people.

My 11 Networking Tips:
1. Pick a focus or vertical of people that you want to meet, this will shorten your time.

2. Go to each city’s Chamber mixers – just to get a feel for the people and the area your are in. Living in Fremont, my roommate would tell me about it, introduce people to me, it will give you time to discover who you would like to get to know better. Each chamber has it’s own focus.

3. Volunteer – I actually volunteered for an organization that I liked what they were doing – Community Gardens.. I was offered a contract for a Project Manager as they received a grant. I said, yes! I was just so happy to have something while finding my way.

4.  Go to Church – Normally it’s not something someone says..find a church that believes in the values as you do.  That will fill your spirit. Why? Because, you’ll depend upon your Spirit or your God within to help you on your new adventure or journey.

5. Check out Meet-Up.com, they have many meetings listed, pick a couple that could help you in your job search, for socializing or just interests. There are lots of business networking groups.

6. Take a class. Learn something new and meet people at the same time.

7. If you are looking for a Tech job, check out this website (www.techjobscafe.com) for jobs. One thing that is funny here, people post jobs on Craigslist.com. Also be active on LinkedIn. Search Indeed.com, you can connect using your LinkedIn account.

8. Be proactive in meeting new people, ask them where they go.  If they are active, they will invite you as a guest. When you find a group you like, reciprocate.

9. Be consistent in networking. I met this gal who was a financial planner I asked her how she keeps up with all the networking she does. Her answer was, she goes to a women group every month and volunteers for committees. The rest of the time, she has five groups that she attends once a month on a consistent basis.

10. Start your own group, whether it’s online or meeting in person.  You never know who you are going to meet. Or join a group like Rotary that would be of interest to you.

11.  Be a hostess/host of the event. Even if it’s not yours. It’s a great way to get comfortable, you are helping other people who are shy and you meet more people. Years ago, I was coaching a gentleman who wanted to meet new people, he was rather shy, I just suggested that he become a host of the event. He reported back to me, saying it worked really well.

Try these 11 tips out see how they work for you. I love to hear which tips that have worked for you.

You can also be a guest blogger by writing a blog about you or your business for this website:  http://www.scrappywomen.biz/blog

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mari–Lyn Harris advises Food Startups – how to energize their Marketing. She blogs, writes about Marketing, Social Justice issues and a few things in-between.  Food 4 Social Change is a Producer Cooperative, provides many services to support food startups. A complete food-eco system. Check out http://food4socialchange.org