August 2024

Be Part of this Founder’s Revolutionary Plan to Harvest Energy from the Moon

Be Part of this Founder’s Revolutionary Plan to Harvest Energy from the Moon


Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

Nuclear fusion has the potential to provide centuries of nearly limitless, renewable power to the world. But there’s one problem – the ideal fuel to make nuclear fusion a reality, Helium-3, is only accessible on the moon.

That hasn’t stopped Chris Salvino and his team at Lunar Helium-3 Mining (LH3M) from planning a moon mission and patenting the technologies to make it successful. Better yet, you can invest in the company as they prepare.

Here’s why this is more than just an exciting moon mission, but a strategic investment in the future of energy worldwide.

Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC’s clean energy vision.

Until now, the main way we’ve used nuclear energy has been dirty, unsafe, and dangerous. Nuclear reactors can explode, as seen with the disasters at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011. Additionally, radioactive waste from these reactors must be stored for up to 100,000 years. This method is not the answer to green energy.

However, there is another process called nuclear fusion, which has a key advantage: it cannot explode. The ideal fuel for fusion reactions is Helium-3. When used in nuclear fusion, Helium-3 is said to produce more energy than other options, cause much less harm, and doesn’t create waste that needs long-term storage. Future nuclear fusion reactors powered by Helium-3 could be our first true green energy source – safe, with a high energy yield, and no hazardous waste.

Helium-3 can’t be made on Earth and comes from the sun, getting trapped in our atmosphere. Luckily, there are more than an estimated 1 million tons of Helium-3 on the moon, enough to power green nuclear fusion reactors for hundreds of years.

And Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC has just the man to tap into this $40 trillion nuclear fusion market opportunity.

Meet LH3M’s future-forward founder.

Chris Salvino, founder and CEO of Lunar Helium-3, has seen it all – from a high-pressure career in trauma surgery to the cutting-edge field of space mining. With more than 30 years of experience as a trauma surgeon and director, Salvino is accustomed to navigating complex problems and making critical decisions.

With degrees in Biology, Engineering, Aerospace Medicine, and Mining Engineering, Salvino is now pursuing a Ph.D. specifically in lunar Helium-3 mining at the University of Arizona. A variety of expertise in aerospace engineering, planetary geology, and mining makes him just about the only candidate qualified to lead LH3M’s lunar mining mission.

The company has already achieved significant milestones under Salvino’s leadership. Specifically, they’ve filed for seven patents with an eight coming soon and have received notice from the patent office that their first two applications have been approved. LH3M has also assembled a team of experts and has short term plans on expanding its patent portfolio with 10 to 20 additional patents. LH3M feels that a robust patent portfolio will increase company valuation and strength for future strategic partnerships.

With global investments in fusion technology climbing, the demand for Helium-3 has the potential to soar in the not-so-distant future. Seize this exclusive opportunity to partner with a visionary team poised for success.

The Lunar Helium-3 investment opportunity.

The global nuclear fusion market, is projected to reach an astounding $40 trillion as fusion technology becomes commercially viable. LH3M’s strategic approach to mining Helium-3 positions it to capture a significant share of this emerging market.

This is a rare chance to invest in a company that is not merely dreaming of the future but actively building it.Their mission aligns with global efforts to combat climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. With Chris Salvino’s leadership and the company’s innovative technology, this is not just a dream but an achievable goal.

Learn more on how you can invest in LH3M and be involved in a project that is set to transform the energy landscape for generations to come here.

Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC Reg CF offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.lh3m.com/.



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‘Elevator Pitch’ Finale: Tell-Tale Sign You’ve Got a Winning Idea

‘Elevator Pitch’ Finale: Tell-Tale Sign You’ve Got a Winning Idea


It’s the season 11 finale of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, and contestants are fired up for their final chance at winning life-changing money from our board of investors.

Watch as hopeful entrepreneurs step into our elevator and have just 60 seconds to pitch their big ideas. If our board of investors likes what they hear, the elevator doors open, and negotiations begin. But if the investors don’t like what they hear, the elevator heads back to the ground floor, game over. “I’m not in the business of wasting time,” says investor Rogers Healy, owner and CEO of Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners.

Yes, it can be brutal, but don’t get it wrong — investors might quickly turn down pitches, but when they see something they like, they pounce. “I cannot wait to see what happens if he gets into the boardroom!” says investor Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, after hearing one particularly intriguing concept. Here’s the thing: In the entrepreneurship game, when big money meets big ideas, everybody wins.

Related: Here’s the One Word That Makes Investors Want to Hear More About Your Business

Find out who scores and who strokes out — plus learn how to get featured on a future episode. “I can’t wait to see who shows up next season!” says serial entrepreneur and investor Kim Perell. Think you have what it takes to win in the elevator? Apply now!

Season 11, Episode 8 Board of Investors

Season 11, Episode 8 Entrepreneurs

  • Kyle Schiedemeyer, founder of Birdie Bombs, grip-n-rip alcohol shots made for golfers
  • Brian Horowitz, founder of Creative Wagons, a veteran-owned small business that makes creative, functional outdoor gear
  • Brian Wholeman, founder of EZ Shade, an inexpensive and easy way to hide bare bulbs

Related: Is This Business Idea Too Good Not to Steal? Find Out on This Episode of ‘Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch.’

How to Watch

Season 11 of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch is presented by Amazon Business. New episodes stream on Wednesdays on Entrepreneur.com and EntrepreneurTV. Follow Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch on Facebook, YouTube and IGTV.





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This Educational Franchise is Ranked #1 in its Category by Entrepreneur Magazine

This Educational Franchise is Ranked #1 in its Category by Entrepreneur Magazine


3 Benefits of Owning a Kumon Franchise:

  1. Recognized as Entrepreneur magazine’s #1 education franchise, enhancing business credibility.
  2. Globally recognized brand with a long standing reputation for delivering effective educational programs.
  3. Comprehensive support with training, marketing, and materials provided to drive business success.

Kumon Math & Reading Centers provide children with after-school learning opportunities, focusing on self-learning and mastering math and reading through a unique method that develops key skills such as focus and confidence. As a franchise owner, you contribute positively to the community by nurturing academic growth and building a business with the support of a proven global educational brand. Click Here to connect me with Kumon.

Key Facts:

  • Minimum Initial Investment: $73,783
  • Initial Franchise Fee: $2,000
  • Liquid Capital Required: $70,000
  • Net Worth Required: $150,000
  • Veteran Incentives: $10,000 toward build-out/grand-opening costs



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Alex Cooper, Call Her Daddy Podcast Moving to SiriusXM

Alex Cooper, Call Her Daddy Podcast Moving to SiriusXM


Alex Cooper, famed for her candid discussions on sex and relationships on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast, is leaving Spotify for a lucrative engagement with SiriusXM, according to several sources.

The deal reportedly spans multiple years, possibly three, and is worth more than $100 million, per Bloomberg, while other reports say closer to $125 million. Cooper’s Spotify deal was worth $60 million.

Alex Cooper attends The Prelude To The Olympics on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis | Getty Images

Related: This Is the Winning Formula for Starting a Successful Podcast, According to a New Analysis

The new deal reportedly gives exclusive advertising and distribution to SiriusXM, plus the right to host additional content and events branching from Cooper’s brand.

“Call Her Daddy” was positioned as Spotify’s No. 2 most listened-to podcast in 2023, second to “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Other offerings under the Unwell Network umbrella include “Hot Mess with Alix Earle” and “Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy.”

Despite the shifts, Cooper, who skyrocketed to stardom after her 2018 debut, has assured her audience, known as “The Daddy Gang,” that they “will always be my top priority, and with SiriusXM, we will continue to find new ways to evolve and provide my listeners the best experience.”

Related: Why Every Entrepreneur Should Consider Starting a Podcast



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Do People Report Your Emails as Spam? Here Are 6 Mistakes You Could Be Making

Do People Report Your Emails as Spam? Here Are 6 Mistakes You Could Be Making


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If your emails are getting lots of spam reports, you’ve probably developed the reputation of a spammer. Email service providers (ESPs) may start to filter your emails into spam folders, reducing your engagement metrics. What’s more, coming across as a spam sender can erode the trust your audience has in your brand. That can lead to lost customers, negative word-of-mouth, and, ultimately, a decline in your business growth.

But how do you know if you’re receiving too many reports? Large ESPs like Yahoo and Gmail have established a clear benchmark: your spam complaint rate shouldn’t exceed 0.3%, with the ideal metric being 0.1%.

For many companies, it’s easy to rack up reports:

  • Some subscribers may find it more convenient to report your email as spam instead of unsubscribing.
  • Others mark your emails as spam by mistake.
  • 78% of consumers report an email as spam simply because “it looks like spam.”

If your spam complaint rate looks worrisome, it’s in your power to correct things and maintain good email deliverability. So, where do you start? Here are six common mistakes that could be causing your emails to be marked as spam.

Related: 5 Simple Tweaks for Better Email Deliverability

1. You never asked for permission

Sending emails without permission is one of the riskiest things you can do in your business. People don’t appreciate receiving emails they didn’t sign up for, and they’re likely to mark them as spam. This can quickly tarnish your reputation and hurt your deliverability.

To avoid this, get explicit permission before adding someone to your email list. Use the double opt-in method where subscribers confirm their email addresses so you can be sure they’d like to get emails from you. Respecting your subscribers’ preferences helps you build a long-lasting relationship with them.

2. People can’t unsubscribe

It’s a common reason consumers will mark an email as spam: they can’t find a way out. So, make it simple for recipients to unsubscribe if they no longer wish to get your emails.

“You shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to stop receiving unwanted messages from a particular email sender,” wrote Neil Kumaran, Google’s Group Product Manager, Gmail Security & Trust. Furthermore, he added that unsubscribing “should take one click.”

In February 2024, Google and Yahoo established new email-sending rules stating that:

  • All emails must have a visible, functional unsubscribe link.
  • User should be able to unsubscribe with just one click.
  • Senders must remove unsubscribed email addresses from their lists within two days.

While common-sense in the email industry for decades, these guidelines are now hard rules if you send emails to Gmail and Yahoo users.

3. You use misleading subject lines

Your subject lines are the first impression your emails make in someone’s inbox, so it’s natural you want to make them catchy. But if they’re misleading or don’t match the email content, people will feel deceived and report your email as spam.

To avoid confusing your subscribers, think of subject lines as newspaper headlines. What’s the most newsworthy or compelling element in your email? Capture that in the subject and also remember to add preview text. Oftentimes, the preview text — which is the copy that goes right after your subject — can entice clicks more than the subject line itself.

4. You’re sending too many emails

Bombarding your subscribers with too many emails can overwhelm and irritate them, so they’re even more likely to hit the “mark as spam” button. Find a balance in your email frequency to keep your audience engaged without being intrusive.

An easy way to determine the number of emails you send is to go back to what you promised your subscribers when they signed up. If they opted in for your weekly newsletter, avoid sending them a deluge of additional promotional emails.

5. You send everyone the same email

Sending generic emails to your entire list without considering their preferences or behaviors can lead to disinterest and spam complaints. If subscribers don’t feel like your emails are speaking specifically to them, you’ll lose their attention within seconds.

Segmenting your list and creating more personal experiences for each group of customers and prospects is a much better approach. Once you set up these segments, you can easily continue adding new prospects to your funnels and sending them relevant emails.

Related: Inboxes Are Getting Overloaded. How to Keep Your Emails Out of Spam.

6. Your email design needs a revamp

It takes just seconds for someone to form a first impression about your email, and every element matters. Poorly designed emails with excessive images, no clear call-to-action, or too much text can appear unprofessional and trigger spam filters.

To avoid coming across as a spammer, pay attention to details like your sending email address, branding, layout and the image-to-text ratio. If you don’t love your email templates, chances are your subscribers won’t either. Consider revitalizing your design, ensuring everything is on brand, and making your emails easy to read.

Final tip: remove complainers immediately

I’m always astonished when a company emails me again after I report an email as spam. It’s a big no-no, as the only possible result is yet another spam report. So, set up a process that removes complainers from your mailing list right away. Stop reaching out to people who let you know your emails bother them and instead focus on those who open and click through your content. This is how you achieve better email deliverability and more successful email campaigns.



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3 Key Strategies to Ground Yourself When You Start Questioning Your ‘Why’

3 Key Strategies to Ground Yourself When You Start Questioning Your ‘Why’


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Living with regret is one of the greatest fears we all share. Even those who seem to have a careless way of navigating life are no doubt compensating for a fear of living in conformity. But what do you do when the way you approach business — or even your identity as a business leader — shifts so much that you lose your equilibrium?

Here are three strategies to help you keep your balance even if the core of your motivation — your “why” — changes.

Redefine your vision of success

Socrates is quoted as saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” It’s important to reevaluate your core values on a regular basis and make sure they line up with the goals you are diligently pursuing. You get to define what success looks like, so make sure you aren’t following someone else’s blueprint. I knew from my early years that I would not be happy crunching numbers in a cubicle or writing lengthy articles in a coffee shop. My happy place is helping people, and my job in broadcast media allows me to do that regularly.

Knowing your personality and your preferences is only half the battle, though. When life happens, you may need to alter your original vision. Having a family, for example, may mean taming the thrill-seeker or the trophy hound in you. Navigating a disability may impose limitations, but you may also need to get out of your comfort zone, overcome your fears and take the stage.

It’s important to recognize when your model for success isn’t working and adjust. I’ve learned that every business is a process, and the road to success is not always a straight line. Along the way, my team and I have found the rhythm, whether filming a television show or preparing for a keynote speech. Be willing to adjust as your experiences inform you.

Related: Why You Are So Resistant to Change — And How to Overcome It

Network with people who challenge you

Just as you don’t have to build Rome in a day, you also don’t have to build it yourself. Once your business is up and running, make it a habit to connect with a variety of people who can help you analyze what is working and what is not working for your company. Although you certainly can’t take everyone’s advice, be willing to listen to what they have to say. You may discover a key to a problem in a single conversation.

One of my biggest dreams was to become a corporate keynote speaker. I worked really hard reading everything I could on how to captivate an audience, how to build a following and so on. A media coach told me, “Nancy, you can’t have it both ways,” meaning that my business wasn’t keynote speeches; my business was me. My uniqueness was my journey through life and business navigating vision loss. It’s vital that you know what makes you stand out, but you should be ready to seize that bit of magic dust — or good advice — that will take a good idea and manifest it into a great career.

One way of encountering transformative ideas is to get out of your comfort zone and network with people who are not in your field. Tech gurus sharing their insight with creatives; management checking in with the employees on the front lines; marketing working with accounting to devise a program to track expenses — a single key concept can revolutionize the way we think about a business plan. If you’re launching a new initiative, don’t be afraid to run it by friends or find mentors who could help you avoid costly delays or confusion.

Related: Why Discovering Your ‘Why’ Is the No. 1 Business Move

Have a “nothing is sacred” attitude

We’ve all worked for bosses who couldn’t give up tradition for more effective ways of doing business. If we’re not careful, we can hold onto “sacred cows,” or particular methods of doing business rather than staying open to change.

This stubborn need for stasis can be reflected in the goals you set when you started your business. Your original dream may have been to open the biggest drive-in-only restaurant chain when you first started. But in the age of online order and delivery services, you might have to pivot.

I was a real estate agent in Los Angeles when my vision began to rapidly deteriorate. This revolutionary change meant I could no longer drive. It also meant that on the day of an open house, I had to take multiple buses across town and arrive several hours early to memorize the layout of the place. Soon, I had to admit to my clients that not only was I unable to drive, but I also might need their help navigating sunken living rooms or rough terrain.

Related: Bouncing Back After Tragedy Isn’t Impossible — Three Ways I Found Meaning Again as a Legally Blind CEO.

Eventually, I had to come clean and share my disability with my clients. To my surprise, they volunteered to drive us around the neighborhood or help me gather yard signs. Your willingness to become vulnerable will inspire others to help you; it will also free people to share their own struggles. When people in business connect at this level, it is often a most productive environment because every staff member and every client feels they are being heard.

As in life, your perspective in business will shift many times, and it is important to sense the new season. When the winds change direction, you may have to find your “why” all over again. This kind of self-evaluation is an opportunity to think about where you started, how far you have come and whether your original destination is still a place you want to go.



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75% of Workers Say AI Is Hurting Productivity

75% of Workers Say AI Is Hurting Productivity


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Three in 4 workers say AI reduced productivity and increased workloads. That’s according to a recent survey from the freelancing platform UpWork. But what the reporting on this is not sharing is why.

In my reporting and research, I have found that AI is fueling burnout, not reducing it. To turn the tide, workers and entrepreneurs need to take a different approach to understand the unspoken causes and solutions.

Related: How to Achieve Superhuman Levels of Focus with Nutritional Psychology

In the above video, I dive deep into the productivity paradox and provide four simple future-orientated solutions for leveraging AI to its full capacity, while navigating the challenges.

Download my free ‘AI Success Kit’ here (limited time only). And you’ll also get a free chapter from my new book, The Wolf Is At the Door – How to Survive and Thrive in an AI-Driven World.



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How to Start, Sell a Million-Dollar Company: TaskRabbit Founder

How to Start, Sell a Million-Dollar Company: TaskRabbit Founder


Leah Solivan was an IBM engineer, working on business collaboration tools like Lotus Notes, when she found her million-dollar startup idea: an online marketplace connecting customers with “taskers” who could run errands or do household chores for them at a price.

The idea arose from Solivan running out of dog food one night and asking why she couldn’t connect with someone at that moment who could pick it up for her. It was 2008 and the first iPhone had come out a year prior. Solivan saw the potential in her iPhone for a location-based business.

Leah Solivan. Photo: Chance Yeh/WireImage

In an interview with entrepreneur Jeff Berman last week, Solivan said when looking at the problem as an engineer, she saw these three technologies: social, location, and mobile.

“I thought, there’s a lot here,” she said.

Related: This Former Model Used Her Personal Savings to Start a Thrifty Side Hustle — Then Taylor Swift Became a Repeat Patron: ‘People Really Responded’

Solivan decided to leave her engineering job and cashed out the $27,000 she had earned in her IBM pension plan to get her idea off the ground. Ten years later, Ikea bought TaskRabbit for an undisclosed sum after the startup carved out a valuation of about $50 million from multiple fundraising rounds.

TaskRabbit was Ikea’s first acquisition in the U.S.

It wasn’t easy to get to an acquisition though. Right after quitting IBM, Solivan started coding. For six to eight weeks, she worked on her idea and built the first version of it, working from a coffee shop at times and asking random people at the shop for feedback on what she had created.

When the site was ready, Solivan put out an ad on Craigslist for taskers — the people who would run errands through the site. She gave each person who responded to the ad a 30-minute interview at the coffee shop and ended up with 30 taskers for the first launch in Boston.

The launch taught Solivan that she needed to “be the first tasker.” She ran errands too, all over Boston. The experience still prompts her to ask founders: “Can you be a part of the process?” Solivan says being part of the company’s day-to-day is key to learning what customers really want.

Related: The Largest Franchise Operator in the U.S. Owns 2,800 Locations — And He Just Added 83 Wendy’s to His Portfolio

Ikea, meanwhile, known for its must-put-together furniture, acquired TaskRabbit in 2017 after an in-store partnership in London proved lucrative. Customers could opt to have TaskRabbit deliver and assemble Ikea furniture for them instead of doing it themselves, which increased the average order value for Ikea and brought in new customers for TaskRabbit.

Ikea decided then that they wanted to own TaskRabbit.

“It was bittersweet,” Solivan said. “It had been 10 years… It feels so good to me to know that even without me, it lives on.”

For entrepreneurs with jobs at Meta, Microsoft, or other companies who come to her to ask if they should quit their jobs to work on their ideas, Solivan says that it’s difficult to be all-in on a startup with a day job, but she knows that not everyone has the privilege to be able to pursue their idea without a safety net.

“My advice is, if you really have conviction around something, you are going to find a way to go for it,” Solivan said.

Related: She Batched a Beloved Product at Home, Inspired By a Black-Owned Business From the 1960s. Then It Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand: ‘We’d Never Intended This.’



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UK Entrepreneur Mike Lynch Missing After Storm Sinks Yacht

UK Entrepreneur Mike Lynch Missing After Storm Sinks Yacht


British tech magnate Mike Lynch, 59, is among six people missing after a freak storm struck their superyacht, the Bayesian, off the coast of Sicily, per Reuters.

The BBC is reporting that Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter is also missing. Lynch’s wife and 14 other people survived.

The luxury yacht was carrying 22 passengers. Italian authorities confirmed that the incident unfolded in the early hours of Monday when a waterspout hit the area where the British-flagged vessel, Bayesian, had been anchored close to Palermo.

A coast guard vessel and a private sailboat assist the search for missing passengers after a yacht capsized on August 19, 2024, off the coast of Palermo, Italy. Several people, including four Britons, two Americans and a Canadian national, are missing. Italy’s coastguard and firefighters brought 15 people to safety with rescue and recovery efforts ongoing. (Photo by Vincenzo Pepe/Getty Images)

The 56-meter Bayesian is approximately $215,000 per week to rent.

Rescue efforts are ongoing.

Lynch and his wife’s combined wealth is reportedly around $649 million.

This is a developing story.



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5 Money Insights I Wish I Knew About Navigating the Financial Landscape as a Black Woman

5 Money Insights I Wish I Knew About Navigating the Financial Landscape as a Black Woman


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Entrepreneurship is the greatest self-discovery adventure you could ever embark on. But even when you know so many things and are an expert on a subject, there are money insights only someone who has been there can tell you about, and financial growth’s key aspects are one of them.

When I started my financial education platform to teach women entrepreneurs about money, few entrepreneurs looked like me, and that limited my opportunity to examine and follow more than they did on social media. As a finance professional, I thought I could figure it out as I “had everything” I needed to grow financially without any hiccups on the way; after all, I went to university and have been involved with the finance world since high school, but I couldn’t be further from reality.

When you are a Black, brown or female entrepreneur of color, your financial journey is directly correlated to different factors like your identity, your and your family’s beliefs around entrepreneurship and money, and the way that you fit in all of those subconscious habits with money, including your relationship with money. But that is something no one is talking about, and it costs us years of trial and error that hinder our ability to grow a business and our confidence and create a strong basis as an entrepreneur.

Here are the five key insights I wish fellow entrepreneurs had shared about navigating the financial landscape as a Black founder.

Related: She Launched Her Black-Owned Beauty Brand with $1,500 in Her Pockets — Now Her Products Are on Sephora’s Shelves.

My relationship with money impacts financial growth

How we relate to money — the meanings, beliefs, interpretations and ways of doing that create what we call a relationship with money — are essential in your journey to grow financially as a Black female entrepreneur. Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I didn’t fully grasp how my beliefs, perspective, and financial identity would influence my business decisions that were directly connected to money, like pricing, or those that indirectly had to do with money, such as showing up to promote my programs.

Take a moment to analyze: Are you one of those who go on automatic pilot, executing every strategy in the market, but have a hard time talking about money, looking for a proper way of pricing, seeing your bank account and doing money planning? Then, it’s time to look at your relationship with money.

Family’s beliefs around money and entrepreneurship need to be filtered

Your relationship with money, how you think about opportunities in entrepreneurship, how you manage money and many other skills you need when growing a business have been in the making since you were too little to remember. From the way you feel about money to the way you face risk, setbacks and other mental and emotional rollercoasters with money, you’ll need to become your best advocate when it comes to filtering the opinions or advice that comes from your close social circle that isn’t in alignment or doesn’t support where you want to go.

The best way to filter those views out is to assess, according to your vision and financial goal, what advice, beliefs, behaviors and opinions are useful to listen to (and will most likely support you in advancing toward your goal). If they are not applicable, then they will not have space for you to consider them.

For instance, what use can you find in “You have to give us family prices?” I haven’t seen any use for this opinion in my career. Instead, it is quite the opposite. It brings a lot of guilt and shame. Thus, it has been filtered out since year one of business.

Related: 5 Trailblazing Black Women Entrepreneurs Share How They’re Breaking Barriers — And How You Can Too

Having a community that supports is key

As an entrepreneur, you’re doing what most of the people we know are not, and to grow financially, you need to start having the proper discussions with the right people.

The matters that preoccupy your mind and the insights you may need to find a better, more cost-effective system or to get out of your head are found in a community.

Surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors who understand your challenges and can offer guidance, but most importantly, as a Black entrepreneur, a community that understands your unique challenges that go across putting yourself together and feeling the reality of paying the bills simultaneously. Join networking groups, listen to podcasts and join their community, attend industry events and participate in online forums that reflect what you want to become financially and where you want to take your business.

Financial planning is non-negotiable for financial growth

One thing I knew from school that this path only reconfirmed was that financial planning is not negotiable from the get-go if you want to grow. With your desire and motivation to grow your business, much of that emotional side of money gets triggered. It could be to buy that next course, subscribe to a platform, buy the next piece of equipment or spend on advertising when it wasn’t the right timing; for all of these cases and the ones, your money planning will be your best ally. It is essential to have a base where you can come to and ground yourself when those urges to make the extra purchase or the extra investment mean faster financial growth.

Don’t be overcomplicated. Just shift the focus from “I just need to make money” to assigning and tracking your numbers.

Related: ‘I’m Black. I’m a Woman. Let’s Talk About Raising Venture Capital.’

Your management goals are as important as your revenue goals

One of the habits I work the most on shifting with my community is to change the focus from a revenue-oriented way of thinking to amplify the spectrum and consider how you manage what you earn. As an entrepreneur, you get a lot of marketing, information and sometimes standards stressing revenue as the way to measure growth; however, learning how to manage that revenue that is not pocket money, a one-time off lucky shot or an “I’ll never have this amount of money again” becomes your financial key.

Balance your drive for revenue with a solid plan for managing and growing your business sustainably.



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