What Percentage of Profits Should You Reinvest In Your Business?

What Percentage of Profits Should You Reinvest In Your Business?

Managing your business’s finances might not feel intuitive. Many of us begin our entrepreneurial careers with a great idea. We spend the rest of that career trying to understand all the moving pieces that will make it profitable. There are people that will give you numbers. The truth is that there’s no clear rulebook. These profit and investment calculations are individual to each business.

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Tech Entrepreneurs Can't Do Everything (Lesson #7 of 8 Lessons Growing 8 Companies)

Tech Entrepreneurs Can't Do Everything (Lesson #7 of 8 Lessons Growing 8 Companies)

Being part of building a seventh company taught me many things. It taught me that tech entrepreneurs can’t do everything — more than that, I learned that honesty about how your skills and expertise line up with what you’re trying to build is much more important than a passion for what you’re selling.

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The Passion Trap — When to Let Emotion Take a Back Seat

The Passion Trap — When to Let Emotion Take a Back Seat

Many entrepreneurs believe that being led by their passion is a prerequisite for starting a successful organization. Definitely for starting one that they’ll enjoy running. The problem with this narrative is that passion does not equal success. In fact, I would argue that too much passion in a business leads to failure.

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Building a Business With Partners: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Building a Business With Partners: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We recently facilitated a panel of four pairs of co-founders/partners. They shared their experiences in building a business together - exploring benefits and challenges, offering advice and personal perspectives. Putting business partners on stage - including friends, siblings, and spouses - also made for great entertainment (watch the video). If you’re going to make partnership successful, have a good sense of humor :-) Here are some of the lessons learned and insights:

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What is your Double Doink for 2019?

What is your Double Doink for 2019?

If you happen to be a football fan, you’ve probably now heard about the Double Doink. Let’s have some fun and create a general purpose definition for a double doink: the accomplishment of an improbable feat or an achievement from an impressive effort that results in failure or negative consequences. I’m not sure if I’ve had a double doink yet this year, but I know I’ve had plenty over the course of my career. I’ve been contemplating some of the things that you should do to recover from a double doink. Here are five things to consider after a mistake or failure.

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All the Videos from Trajectify’s Business Growth Conference

All the Videos from Trajectify’s Business Growth Conference

2018 brought Trajectify’s inaugural live business growth conference which brought together dozens of leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals. We held Trajectify Live on September 13, 2018 at the Science History Institute in Old City, Philadelphia, featuring four Trajectify coaches plus a line-up of guest speakers and presenters while filled the day with insights, lessons and experiences

If you missed the opportunity to join us in September, we’ve got you covered. Here are videos we took of ten presentations from the conference. If you’re interested to attend the next Trajectify Live, please sign up here to be notified about the next Trajectify Live.

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"Why Didn't I Realize That" Lessons Shared by Growth Stage CEOs

"Why Didn't I Realize That" Lessons Shared by Growth Stage CEOs

As a CEO, there is an expectation of fearlessness. Does not mean we need to pretend that we have all of the answers? Vulnerability is an important leadership attribute. We welcomed CEOs and Trajectify coaches to the 2018 Trajectify CEO Leadership Retreat a few weeks ago. We discovered and worked on many of the challenges in growing a $1M+ business. Each CEO took the hot seat in a mastermind session, most discussing with their peer struggle they are facing. Everyone gained new insights and perspectives. After a day long event of content and mastermind sessions, we asked each attendee for their biggest takeaway from the event.

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Six Practices of Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs

Six Practices of Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs

Starting or building a business is exciting, though comes with challenges and roadblocks that can even scare veteran entrepreneurs. You're not alone. It is rare that the difficult challenges that an entrepreneur may face have not been previously encountered by others. That’s where the Bootstrappers Breakfasts step in - to facilitate entrepreneurs working together to exchange learning and information that grow the skills and confidence it takes to build a successful business.

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Fear and Thinking Too Lean

Fear and Thinking Too Lean

My challenge with “Lean” is that as much as it’s a great philosophy for when you are starting out, you lose the ability to leap when you think about really big things. How do you do things that can’t be done in a one or two week sprint, the things that are too big to put on a little post it and stick to your bathroom mirror? In order to grow, you need to have a mindset of leaping, planning and doing big things, and then to figure out how to land after you take that leap.

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So Much Learning in Trajectify's Five Years

So Much Learning in Trajectify's Five Years

This month, August 2018, is the 5th anniversary of Trajectify. Words cannot express how grateful and lucky I am to have been able to build this business and accomplish all that we have. HOW A BUSINESS IS BORN. I decided to leave startup #7, Real Food Works, in May 2013. I had turned 50 a few months earlier and found myself wondering, “what do I want to be when I grow up.” I told myself no more startups. So I embarked on what turned out to be a three month discovery mission that led me to create Trajectify in August 2013.

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A NYC Space for Entrepreneurs Who Are Growing Their Business Organically, 7 Tips from April

A NYC Space for Entrepreneurs Who Are Growing Their Business Organically, 7 Tips from April

The NYC Bootstrappers Breakfast is back… with new mentors to help facilitate serious conversations about starting and growing a business. Thanks to our friend Alex Portera, Co-Founder of Nowhere Men Media, here are a few quick and valuable points from the inaugural NYC Bootstrappers Breakfast comeback.

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4 Valuable (and inexpensive) Business Tips from Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs

4 Valuable (and inexpensive) Business Tips from Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs

Bootstrappers Breakfast is a mastermind-style meetup where we have serious conversations about growing a business. This group offers a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability and support in a group setting to sharpen your business and personal skills. As a group, we diagnosed the following four topics: referral marketing as a powerful lead generation tool, the importance of practicing your pitch, learning not to stand in the way of your own success, and validating product ideas through user research.

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3 Challenges Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs Face When Building a Business

3 Challenges Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs Face When Building a Business

When starting a business, it’s no secret there are going to be risks involved and difficult decisions to make. It may take a while to find a steady stream of revenue. One mistake could end up costing you lots of time and money. You’re aware of the relatively high possibility that your company could eventually fail. But most entrepreneurs know this and are prepared to take challenges head-on with grit and determination. Here we share three common challenges entrepreneurs face when building their own business.

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Peer Groups are more than just Words With Friends

Peer Groups are more than just Words With Friends

Peer groups are not a new concept. One of the notable first suggestions of the benefits of business peers working together was by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich (1937). In his huge best seller (some say as many as 20 million copies), he wrote about a “master mind alliance… with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.” In a later book, Master Key to Riches. Hill writes “every mind needs friendly contact with other minds, for food of expansion and growth.”

Why a peer group is the most powerful business and leadership development tool.

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