So, how do you develop a business pitch that keeps your audience at the edge of their seat? That’s what we’ll explore today as we explore 8 expert-recommended ways to make your business pitch one of a kind.

Practice Thoroughly

Practice is always essential. Your business pitch idea doesn’t really matter if you can’t deliver it effectively.

So, get in front of the mirror and practice your pitch repeatedly. Then, do it again in front of your family and friends. Note their reactions and take their criticism seriously. Rewrite your pitch if you have to, and exercise it regularly until your whole pitch comes out organically.

It might be tiring to review the same speech time and again, but the little bumps and errors you’ll identify will benefit you in the long run. Remember, you can hear your speech thousands of times, but you’ll only get one shot in front of your audience, so why not give them the best business pitch you can come up with. These guys attend to hundreds of pitches daily, so they can tell if your pitch sounds blatantly robotic or forced.

Have a Pitch Deck Ready

A pitch deck is a digital presentation that outlines your business values and proposals in a more visually appealing format.

Not only should you include one of these in your business pitch, but you should also use it to demonstrate your knowledge about the market. You can use it to present specific points that wouldn’t land through vocal delivery. This could include any statistical or technical research you’ve done on your industry or market potential.

Fill your pitch deck with relevant graphs and charts that display your expertise in the field, but don’t overdo it. Use the power of visuals to decorate your presentation with colorful and engaging graphics that can spice up the tone and keep your audience entertained.

Tell a Story

One exemplary technique entrepreneurs use to stand out is adding a sense of wonder and imagination to their pitch. In other words, they introduce their ideas as a story.

You can use two types of stories to introduce your business pitch idea.

The Customer’s Story

First, there’s the customer’s journey. Design a relatable scenario where a typical customer would need your product. This imaginary customer would be the protagonist of your story, and your service would solve their problems.

Try to add a human element to your story by emotionally emphasizing the conflict instead of focusing on the solution. If you use this format effectively, you’ll be able to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of your target demographic.

Your Team’s Story

Secondly, you can tell the story behind your business team. Here, your business founders can play the protagonist as they go through an inspirational journey involving a revolutionary idea, a set of obstacles, and a point of success.

This format can act as your origin story, as it narrates how your business came to be in a more engaging tone. Investors are more likely to be impressed if they know your personal story, how you started, and what roadblocks you had to overcome.

Highlight Your Mission and Values

Although investors will care about what you do and how you do it, they’re particularly eager to hear about why you’re doing it. Remember, there might be a dozen different entrepreneurs offering the same services that you do, but they could be coming up with unique goals. This is where you get to be creative and unique.

Let’s say you’ve developed an AI application that helps users organize their tasks and set a functional daily routine. With this game-changing technology, you could talk about how you plan to change the landscape of self-improvement and human productivity.

Similarly, consider what happens when your business adopts endangered animals and creates shelters for them. You can add a touch of humanity to your project by outlining your moral vision of a safer and healthier environment for all wildlife.

The ideal strategy is to come up with a goal that’s either revolutionary or noble. Highlighting what you stand for can persuade your audience to support your cause from the heart.

Show Them that You’re in Demand

Of course, engagement isn’t everything. Even a promising idea with potential for active sales and growth only sways some investors and customers. If they feel your business pitch idea won’t attract customers, they’ll pass it along. So, how can you prove your worth in the market? By marketing, of course.

Get to know your target audience and determine whether they’d be interested in your products. If you’re working in a competitive industry, you should explain how you’ll get people to notice you.

Without a promise of demand and traction, any investments you receive will be in vain. Use your research on industry trends and proven marketing tactics to assure your audience that you can become the next big thing on the block.

Don’t be Too Ambitious

A study by Crunchbase shows how 48% of funding rounds managed to raise over $1M between 2018 and 2020. This might tempt you to set high funding requests, which could poison your pitch. The last thing you want to do is make your business look like another money-making scheme.

So, set some realistic expectations for how well your pitch will sell. When discussing your funding needs, start your requests with low and reasonable costs. Investors want to see how well you can operate on a small scale before they help you expand further.

Don’t make them roll their eyes by declaring unrealistic goals in sales and revenue that don’t seem plausible. It doesn’t matter how much confidence you have in your idea; your audience will only have so much without solid data backing you up.

Interact as Much as You Can

Your presentation might not go as planned when all is said and done, regardless of how much you practice. Since investors expect you to be prepared for anything, they’ll openly test your capabilities by asking questions during your pitch.

Don’t mistake your audience’s input for disruption. Take it as a sign of interest and curiosity and an opportunity to connect with your potential backers. Answer their questions vigilantly and confidently. Let them comment on your points, and don’t leave any communication gap in your pitch.

Look at Ryan Robinson’s email pitch template, where he makes room for feedback by providing his customers with additional resources.

Finish off with a CTA

How do you keep your investors just as captivated as they were initially? By giving them a reason to continue and telling them what to do next. A Call to Action (CTA) statement is short, catchy, and inviting. For example:

“Order your first apple pie and make your holiday ten times more delicious.”

“Join our fitness program to see your body transform.”

Closing statements like these indicate that your business pitch idea isn’t just a dream but something you’ve already worked hard on. It also adds a sense of urgency for the investors, who feel compelled to explore your services immediately.

This personalized social media pitch encapsulates the power of a CTA with a clear closing statement that invites the client to register through the added link.

Conclusion

Putting yourself out there in front of industry experts can be tough, but if you stay prepared and plan ahead with the tips we’ve discussed, you’ll raise funds for your project in no time.

Being able to change course and pivot can be the difference between growth and stagnation in today’s corporate environment. In a constantly changing world, pivots are necessary to keep firms growing and adapting. Joining us on today’s episode of The Small Business Show to share his perspective is George Deeb, author, Forbes contributor, and managing partner at Red Rocket Ventures. 

Deeb is a successful serial entrepreneur and the managing partner of Red Rocket Ventures, a firm that provides growth consulting, executive coaching, shared executive, and financial advising services. Since establishing Red Rocket in 2010, Deeb has mentored a staggering 500 companies.

Key Takeaways:

1. Deeb explains, “A pivot is essentially reimagining your business in new ways to make a bad situation a good one.” For example, pivoting can be a different product in the same market or the product you started with but in another user-market industry. 

2. Small business owners can sense when a pivot is necessary as fast as they can sense when sales or revenue is declining. If their marketing or sales efforts aren’t benefiting their products, SMB owners can often quickly realize that they need to change course.

3. Examples of companies who pivoted: Groupon started as a business-to-business (B2B) funding platform, but due to its failed marketing, it’s now a business-to-consumer. 

4. YouTube started as a dating platform, but now it’s the number one video platform for uploads to date. 

5. Deeb advises entrepreneurs, “Before you pivot, ensure your marketing and sales are not the problems. … If you’re going to pivot, ensure you’re leaning into your top assets.”

Is age just a number when it comes to building a successful business? We’re about to discover if there is a correlation between age and entrepreneurial success. George Deeb, Author, Forbes Contributor, and Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures, joins us on today’s episode of The Small Business Show to share his perspective.

Deeb is a renowned Author of 101 Startup Lessons-An Entrepreneur’s Handbook, Forbes Contributor, and Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and has provided consulting services to over 750 startups. From 18 to 48, Deeb launched six successful startups and found the last startup he established generated the most success.

Key Takeaways:

1. Studies by the Funder Institute, Duke University, and the Coffin Foundation, among others, have revealed that the average age for launching a new business is 40. 

2. Deeb maintains, “Age doesn’t matter; it’s the experience that counts.”

3. According to research, companies founded by individuals over 55 have twice as high likelihood of making a tangible profit than companies founded by people under 35. Deeb points out that “this may not correlate to age, but rather experience.” 

4. On an age scale, enterprises like Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple were founded by people in their 20s, as opposed to Walmart and McDonald’s, which individuals in their 40s established. 

5. When assisting a person’s age on their potential success, there are a few factors to consider. Such as:

• There’s an increase in risk factors because investors are wary of putting their time and resources into those who lack experience. 
• Also, entrepreneurs’ energy levels change based on where they are in life. 

6. From a marketing perspective, venture capitalists are more conservative today. Therefore, it’s imperative to be mindful of the current economic conditions when starting a business because it could make it harder to increase capital.

Ever wonder how nonprofits play a role in business success? On today’s episode of The Small Business Show, we’re joined by Melissa Bradley, Serial Entrepreneur and Keynote Speaker. Melissa is a Founder and Managing Partner of 1863 Ventures, a nonprofit and for-profit organization that helps Black and Latino owners grow their businesses.  

1863 Ventures is a Black-led national business development nonprofit accelerator and venture capital fund for New Majority Founder- historically underserved individuals, such as Black and Latino men and women. The District of Columbia-based nonprofit assists over 3,200 entrepreneurs nationwide by utilizing capital investments, proprietary curricula, grant money, and corporate and philanthropic relationships to scale enterprises from high potential to high growth.

Key Takeaways:

1. The 1863 organization, founded before Geroge Floyd and COVID, is now in its eighth year of operation. It was created to help committed minority black and brown entrepreneurs launch and expand their businesses. The company is well aware of entrepreneurship’s significant role in creating wealth and assets in these communities. 

2. There are several grant programs available, but they are slightly competitive. Therefore, Bradley identifies the three ways her company encourages others to navigate through it:

1. 1. Determine if the grant aligns with your business
   2. Understand a grant should act as a catalyst for your business.
   3. Determine if the grant is worth your time because time is the one asset you cannot get back. 

3. Bradley outlines the key factors minority-owned businesses can secure a grant:  

• Any business showing a tangible product being delivered is an easy measurement for grant organizations to lend your company the necessary funds. 
• It’s not recommended but highly preferred that your business has traction; your customers can easily recognize your brand. 
• Have clarity in knowing what success is. 

4. It’s imperative to remember that investing in underrepresented communities has a direct opportunity and a direct opportunity cost. 

5. The main objective of 1863 is to create over $1 billion in wealth by and for minority entrepreneurs by 2030.

If you want to raise capital, it’s essential to consider what is more important to investors: a product OR proof of concept. On today’s episode of The Small Business Show, we’re joined by George Deeb to share his perspective on this question and what investors are looking for. 

George Deeb is a renowned Author of 101 Startup Lessons-An Entrepreneur’s Handbook, Forbes Contributor, and Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures. Deeb has a passion for entrepreneurship, and since creating the firm in 2010, he has provided consulting services to over 750 startups.

Key Takeaways:

1. Ensure you have a clear end goal of building a successful long-term business and understand the requirements of the investors from the very start. 

2. Learn to differentiate between the product, the good, or service, and the proof of concept.

3. Before starting, consider the investor community and build a plan surrounding those benchmarks.

4. Account for every dollar that goes out of your business, and gather how many dollars you expect will return.

5. Understand B2C and B2B have different protocols regarding sales-driven stories.

Although you should still invest your business funds wisely on ways to make your business more successful and profitable, businesses running on a tight budget should still look for ways to reduce their running costs. Fortunately, there are many smart strategies to do so. Here are five of the best strategies to cut costs for startups and small businesses.

1. Allow Employees to Work From Home

Remote working is becoming increasingly common around the world, especially since the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to adapt. With that said, this isn’t a bad thing. In many cases, remote working makes employees happier, healthier, and even more productive as they can work when and where they feel comfortable.

There are various other benefits of allowing remote employees. For instance, instead of going on an expensive search to find the best local recruits, you can hire people from all over the country. You could even find global employees. All of these things can lead to a more affordable and more productive business.

2. Use Free Business Tools And Apps

Too many businesses spend too much money on overpriced apps, tools, and programs. Although it’s sometimes worth spending money on the software you use for your business, for instance in high-quality business security software, you can also cut costs by using the many affordable business tools and apps available.

There are tons of cheap or even free apps and digital tools available for businesses. For instance, instead of paying for an expensive Microsoft Office package, you can use Google Workspace instead. This gives you all the free tools you need for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and even gives you the ability to collaborate with your employees remotely.

You should also look into the many free tools available for things like budgeting, bookkeeping, marketing, social media scheduling, and pretty much any other daily business operation. Instead of paying for expensive business software, try out as many free options and free trials as possible and only pay for the ones that you find bring enough value to your business to justify the costs.

3. Outsource Business Operations

Another incredibly effective way to cut costs and save money for your business is to outsource business operations. While you don’t need to outsource every operation, outsourcing certain tasks to experienced business-to-business (B2B) services can save you a lot of money, time, and hassle.

Hiring new people to handle certain tasks can be incredibly costly and time-consuming. You have to spend a lot of money to advertise the role, bring people in for interviews, and train the candidate you hire. This can become even more costly if you’re trying to hire for an entire department, such as a marketing department.

Instead, you can save yourself all of that money, time, and hassle, and simply outsource the task to a professional service that’s experienced in handling it. Small businesses often outsource their marketing, accounting, bookkeeping, and even human resources, just to give you a few examples.

4. Downsize Your Office

One of the biggest costs that many startups and small businesses face is the cost of their office or business premises. Not only do you have to pay to rent or buy the commercial property itself, but you also have to pay for utilities, maintenance costs, and things like monthly office supplies. These can all add up quickly.

As such, it’s often a smart idea to downsize your business premises. This is especially smart if you’re working with a small team as you can often save hundreds by paying for a small office in an office block instead of renting an entire building. It can also end up saving you a lot of money on utilities, supplies, and maintenance costs.

To save even more money, you might even want to make your business fully remote. Instead of paying for an office, you can simply pay for a virtual office to use as your business address then operate entirely from home. This is especially helpful for businesses who are already working with their team remotely or outsourcing most of their operations.

5. Use Free Marketing Methods

Marketing is the best way to bring new people to your business and boost your sales. With that said, many businesses end up spending too much money on ineffective marketing methods. Instead of pouring your money into advertising or paying a marketing service that isn’t working well enough, you might want to try some free digital marketing methods.

For example, if you have your business website up and running, you can create targeted, search engine optimized (SEO) content to attract viewers from Google and turn them into customers. It’s also completely free to start social media pages for your business and use them to promote your products to potential customers.

Other free digital marketing methods you can use include email marketing, referral marketing, and video marketing. Although it’ll take more of your time, it’s an excellent way to get your business off the ground without spending too much money. You can then spend the profits you gain from your marketing on getting the expert help you need.

Conclusion

Operating a startup or a small business doesn’t have to be expensive. These five strategies can help you cut your costs significantly and run a successful and lucrative business on a budget. That way, you can boost your profits and start to reinvest them into whatever it takes to keep your business running smoothly.

Remember to always record everything you spend for your business. That way, you can keep track of how much you’re spending and where you can cut costs. Over time, allocating your business funds wisely will become second nature and your business will be efficient, productive, and profitable.

However, the biggest challenge of bringing your idea to life is getting funding for it. Many entrepreneurs who aren’t fortunate enough to have a financial safety net during the initial stages of their business find it difficult to get investors to choose them. 

This is where an angel investor can help.  

An angel investor is someone who provides initial capital for a startup. If a startup has not yet established its product and business, it will need an angel investor to get them off the ground. Like any other investor, you have to prove that your business is worth investing in. If your pitch and product aren’t compelling enough, you may be turned down. 

Learn to avoid this by reading up on some of the major reasons why an angel investor will walk away from your proposal.  

1. Your Business Idea Doesn’t Have A Clear Market

One of the basic requirements of a successful proposal is to make sure you have identified a problem and a market for your product or service. You cannot jump into the entrepreneur game without knowing what you’re selling and who you’re selling to. 

You need to be able to clearly explain to your investor what the need or pain point is that you are solving and why this problem needs to be solved from the perspective of your customers.

Make sure you understand the market and its size. In addition to understanding your customer, you need to take the time to prove that you fully understand the market and its size. 

2. Make Sure There Are No Barriers To Entry 

Let’s say that you have defined a problem, demonstrated an understanding of the market, demonstrated how big the opportunity is, and then highlighted why it’s important to solve this problem now, but you have forgotten one very important thing: your competition. 

What if another company comes along in six months with a similar idea or approach but with enough cash on hand from other investors before it ever gets off the ground? 

If they already own most of the market share and have deep pockets, then how can you convince an angel investor that their money would be better spent investing in your startup instead of just giving more money to the larger company? 

If there’s anything unique about your idea outside of patent protection, something like how you plan to execute it or a first-mover advantage, then now is the time to mention it. 

3. You Don’t Have A Business Plan Or Financial Projections  

Angel investors expect you to have a clear vision of your business’s growth and how you will reach that point. Your business plan or projections are essential compilations of information that will show your long-term growth plans and help the investor decide whether or not to back your business. 

Without these, they will find it difficult to find a reason to back your ideas and are likely to walk away. 

Always Keep Working To Improve Your Pitch  

After you’ve met with an angel investor and received feedback, head back to your office or home workspace and think about what you could change about your pitch to make it better.  

Don’t get discouraged if an angel investor turns you down. In the world of business, you should always be prepared for rejection. 

Whatever the reason is, you should not take it personally. Taking key lessons from each proposal will bring you closer to finding the best investor to back you and your vision. 

When you’re ready, try pitching to another angel investor or even a group of them. The more practice you get, the better your chances will be of attracting the right investors for your business.

Jumping into the world of startups and entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. However, as long as you arm yourself with the right vision, skills, the right team, and someone to back you and your idea, then you are taking the first steps to success.  

Welcome to another episode of the Smally Business Show with your host Jim Fitzpatrick. In today’s segment, we are joined by Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition, to discuss more about the incredible program. Black Ambition is a non-profit initiative founded by recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, and fashion designer Pharrell Williams, who is opening doors, capital, and access to Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs.

Felecia Hatcher prides herself on being an ecosystem builder supporting diverse startup ecosystems. Before her ecosystem building, Hatcher worked for marketing firms for top companies such as Nintendo, Sony, and WMBA. She has committed herself to being an entrepreneur while simultaneously building communities supporting the innovation potential, especially for diverse founders. 

Biggest challenges:

According to Hatcher, she notes, the “biggest issue for entrepreneurs just starting out is that there are faced with the lack of appropriate resources and the lack of investments.” For minority entrepreneurs, finding access to opportunities alone is one of their toughest challenges. Therefore, Pharrell has established an organization that prides itself on alleviating those opportunistic barriers, generating massive wealth for the diverse communities- Black Ambition.: whose mission is:

The truth is Black Ambition is unlimited, but access isn’t. Ambition is a non-profit initiative working to close the opportunity and wealth gap through entrepreneurship. They contribute money and resources to fast-growing firms run by Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. They believe today’s entrepreneurs are creating tomorrow’s businesses. 

Black Ambition started three years ago to invest and mentor early business owners at the highest level of Black, Hispanic, and HBCU startup founders. Hatcher emphasizes, “We are supporting early startups at the beginning stages, while Parrell’s other non-profit supports K-12: Yellow.” She adds, “Our continuation of support drives from our five C’s: community, capital, content, connection, and culture.” 

PRIZE Competition

Additionally, Black Ambition has a PRIZE fund for bold ideas and companies led by Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. Whereas Prize is a testimonial showing exponential growth and a quick turnaround when supplied with support, capital, and the appropriate resources. Although executives on the creator’s board have to shift through thousands of applications annually, they have the help of 200 experts that revisit the applications two to three times. From there, they compile the top 10% of finalists, who then take a three-month mentoring course that announces the winner. “Which is where the real work comes in,” notes Hatcher.

To illustrate, last year’s winner, “Pound Cake,” is a Black and Hispanic-owned cosmetic company revolutionizing how color gets made for darker skin. With their proprietary Tone Varient technology, they successfully launched the first-ever line of red lipsticks for different lip tones.

If you think you or someone you know has a diverse innovating idea that needs resources from Black Ambition, applications for the 2023 Prize competition are now open. You Can apply online at www.blackambitionprize.com/apply-now. 

New business owners may often feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of rules and laws they must acclimate to. David Muchow is a corporate lawyer and serial entrepreneur with a long history of starting successful companies. On this episode of The Small Business Show, he sits down with host Jim Fitzpatrick to discuss his recent book “The 7 Secret Keys To Startup Success” and other advice for young professionals starting a new company.

Muchow notes that many businesses fail early due to the owner’s lack of familiarity with proper management. Without the right knowledge, entrepreneurs can easily destroy the company they tried so hard to build. “You have to know what the business killing mistakes are so that you don’t make them,” remarks Muchow.

One such mistake is starting a business with friends but without a proper plan or structure in place. While friendships may work well outside of work, “familiarity breeds contempt,” as the saying goes. This can lead to disrespect, overstepping boundaries and create a hostile work environment. It can even lead to a situation where the CEO has to fire their friend. It is exceedingly difficult to navigate personal relationships without rules in place to dictate how communication occurs, what standards all employees must follow and what actions to take in certain scenarios. Thus, when first time business owners start their companies in partnership with individuals in their social circle, Muchow recommends that all members write and agree to a set of guidelines.

Muchow notes that many first time business owners also make the mistake of mixing personal relationships with business relationships. While some friend groups can make it work, setting boundaries with professional acquaintances is essential to avoid awkward or even damaging scenarios. Dating employees as a CEO is one such example, since the uneven power dynamic can create problems for everyone involved.

Another mistake one can make is failing to protect their intellectual property. While most may view intellectual property as a protected work, this phrase refers to more than just copyrighted materials. It also refers to the elements which make one’s product unique. Hopeful entrepreneurs, excited with their new business plan, often fail to keep it a secret, causing the idea to be stolen. Muchow explains that this can also happen when professionals develop a new product, and start bragging about it online. When these individuals go to obtain a patent, however, they find that their proposal gets rejected. Since protection can only be given to brand new inventions, the entrepreneur ruined their chances by introducing it to the public too early.

Which is more important–the strategy or the execution? On today’s Small Business show we’re joined by George Deeb, the Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures, to answer that question for us as he shares his expertise on startup success.

In order to achieve the highest level of success, Deeb emphasizes that it’s the intersection of mixing the strategy with the execution. He notes, “if you’re not delivering results then you’re not going to have anything to reference success.” Therefore, the execution team accentuates any strategy, whether it be an A or  B plus strategy. Whereas, Deeb references the time he used to work at a bank when his boss told him, “I’d rather have a great execution team with a mediocre strategy than vice versa.”

In comparison, the other team was aware of what to anticipate, understood the rhythm and timing, and successfully grew their business. But, Deeb notes, “you really need a good combination of both to pawn it home.”

Deeb urges anyone who wants to launch a successful startup to “put the ego aside. First and foremost, you are not the only intelligent person in the room.” He also suggests that if you believe your current team is the right one, go full speed ahead. But, if you don’t, it’s crucial to recruit those individuals and have them in charge because they are the ones with the expertise, experience, and dependability. Additionally, Deeb  says, “You might have the right approach, but if you have the wrong team, it could end up being a strikeout instead of a home run.”