Entrepreneurship

ASK STEVE - What makes a good entrepreneur?

I expected comments on entrepreneurship to be highly colored and open ended. That is entrepreneurship. In 1999 my business was destroyed by a tornado. In that moment I became engulfed in who I was, what I stood for and where I would go next to survive the disaster. I was described as an entrepreneur by many and expected to recover and reinvent without a hitch. I really did not feel that way in my head or heart. The reason I had been able to succeed against the odds in diverse

Steve Clute

Dec 7, 20252 min read

ASK STEVE - What advice do you have for professionals considering launching a startup?

Many of the challenges in the start-up process are very predictable. You need a good idea, a market that has at least marginal interest in that idea. You need good partners, lots of money, and the ability to smile in the morning and beat people silly in the afternoon. Start-ups are a way of life. It's not a job, it's not a career, it's a way of life. You start a business for the sense of accomplishment and the trouble becomes that real accomplishment takes a while to happen

Steve Clute

Nov 16, 20253 min read

As a small business owner or established entrepreneur, what's the single most important lesson?

The lesson that I have learned and that has been reinforced time after time is that you must know and understand who you are, what you want, what is your passion and how much you are willing to give in order to succeed before you make any decisions about entrepreneuring. People who do not do this are far more likely to fail. They are far more likely suffer in their career. They are also likely to search constantly for a better deal without finding the right one. Once you have

Steve Clute

Nov 2, 20251 min read

Raise Your Game.

Today we need simplicity and “2020 Vision” to stay in the game. Finding focus and energy amidst extreme fear and complex inconsistencies is hard. Personal and professional faith guided experience with startups, healthcare issues, natural disasters, five recessions, the ‘Dot.com’ bust, turnarounds, exits, and now COVID-19 inspired me to share the simplicity that might help. I said, “everyone likes to follow simple steps” and here are four. First, trust and know that God is wi

Steve Clute

Oct 26, 20251 min read

Is it harder to start a business when you are older?

I would guess that every experienced entrepreneur and/or consultant would provide a different opinion on this question. I have been on all sides of this question and have started businesses at a variety of stages of life. As a young, inexperienced entrepreneur one has the advantages of not knowing what you cannot do and so you may challenge and overcome limitations imposed upon older more seasoned businessmen/women by their background, experiences and environment. That same

Steve Clute

Oct 19, 20253 min read

Investor Presentation Preparation

Things you need to be prepared to address when entering investment meetings: 1. What do your customers need and how do you know for sure? 2. What evidence can you provide of prior business success? 3. Who’s on your team? 4. How well do you know your competitors? 5. What's your competitive advantage? 6. How do you define your target market? 7. What is your business most sensitive to? 8. What's your sales and distribution model? 9. What have you already accomplished? 10. What d

Steve Clute

Oct 12, 20254 min read