Andrea
Cockerton, business plan and pitch expert has assisted over 350 entrepreneurs
realize the dreams for their business in her career. Andrea has hosted workshops
and networking events for business and entrepreneurs in the U.K interested in
venture funding and the critical ideas surrounding business. She has assisted
companies such as Microsoft further develop their business plans. Cockerton has
also successfully launched her own businesses www.brickhandbag.com, a self-defense
training system taught by women and Dowsing for Sound, a genre specific music
service.
Lori
Greiner, shark from ABC’s hit show Shark
Tank and Queen of QVC, has made a name for herself as a prolific business
woman and inventor of retail products. Lori has created over 450 retail
products and holds U.S. and international patents for over 120 products. As a
shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, she helps
entrepreneurs realize their dreams by investing in the business pitches that
she believes in. Lori features her products as well as the products of the
businesses she has invested in as a shark on her personal website.
Cockerton
and Greiner have offered much advice to entrepreneurs though seminars, magazine
features, interviews and several books. The tips the business gurus have shared
are meant to help entrepreneurs realize their goals and be successful in
business. Cockerton suggests that a business plan with a well developed
executive summary and thoroughly researched financial plan is key in persuading
an investor to fund a business.
Greiner gives the following tips to
entrepreneurs: work from home as long as possible; don’t hire additional staff
until it’s a necessity; keep low inventory numbers and avoid borrowing money
from family members. Working from home will save new business owners the
expense of paying for additional overhead in the form of an office space and
any additional expenses that may come with that such as utilities. Keeping a
lower staff will help the business owner to put more money back into the
business as opposed to paying wages to workers when earnings may be lower. Keeping low inventory on hand will reduce
storage cots as well as keep the business from paying for units that are
unsold. Finally, not borrowing money from protects your personal relationships
in the event that you are unable to pay your loan back.
