We’ve invited this select group of small-business experts and entrepreneurs (see their bios below) to share their sage advice for overcoming common startup business hurdles. Through our 1,000 Stories research project, we often hear about the challenges female entrepreneurs face when launching their ventures. Click through the following columns to see what our panel advises.
Secrets of Growth: How to Build Brand Awareness
Secrets of Growth: Offering Top-Notch Customer Service, on a Budget
Secrets of Growth: How Do I Develop My Product?
Secrets of Growth: How to Be an Expert
Secrets of Growth: How to Hire the Best
Secrets of Growth: How to Make Sure Cash Reigns Supreme
Secrets of Growth: 10 Expert Tips for Growing Your Business
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JJ Ramberg is the host of MSNBC’s Your Business which focuses on small business and entrepreneurship. She is also the co-founder of Goodshop.com which provides the best coupons at thousands of stores including Best Buy, Macys and Target and donates a percentage of virtually every purchase back to the shoppers’ favorite cause.
Follow @jjramberg
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Nell Merlino created Take Our Daughters to Work Day, started Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and launched Make Mine a Million Business with Hillary Clinton. Nell is the founding chair of the Personal Data Independence Trust, the brainchild of Personal BlackBox, a new company on a mission to protect people’s data and to unlock its value.
Follow @nellmerlino
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Julio Melara is an entrepreneur, publisher and author. He is president and co-owner of LBI, a multi-media company that publishes the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. He is the founder of Time For Action, a motivational and skills-building training firm. He is the author of several books on leadership and success, which can be found here.
Follow @julio_melara
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Lori Hoberman is a well-known force in the in the New York City venture community. She advises entrepreneurs and investors on how to build successful businesses and strategically guides them through the emerging, later stages and exits of their companies. Read our profile here on how Lori founded the Hoberman Law Group in 2014.
Follow @lorihoberman
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Divya Gugnani is founding partner of investment firm Concept to Co., where she brings more than 16 years of investment and entrepreneurial experience. She is a serial entrepreneur and has co-founded five companies, including luxury cosmetics brand Wander Beauty and e-commerce site Send the Trend, which was sold to QVC in 2012.
Follow @dgugnani
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Jerry Mills is an author, speaker, and founder of B2B CFO, the largest company providing chief financial officer services to small and mid-market companies. Jerry leverages his three decades of business experience in his books, the most recent of which, “The Exit Strategy Handbook,” focuses on exit strategy.
Follow @jerrylmills
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El Brown, a former classroom teacher, founded KinderJam in 2009 and has grown the company to more than 60 instructors spanning 10 countries. KinderJam’s Early Education program combines kinesthetic and tactile learning while promoting fitness. Read our profile on El, who was honored as the 2012 Army Spouse of the Year.
Follow @kinderjam
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Laura Zander started Jimmy Beans Wool, an online and brick and mortar yarn shop, shortly after learning how to knit and relocating to Lake Tahoe from the dot-com madness of San Francisco. Since opening in 2002, she and husband Doug have grown Jimmy Beans Wool debt-free to nearly 50 employees and $8 million in annual revenue. Watch our profile of Laura here.
Follow at @jimmybeanswool
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Sarah Kunst is an investor and tech executive who has worked at Apple, Red Bull, Chanel, Mohr Davidow Ventures and several venture-backed startups. She is currently a partner at Fortis, venture partner at FPV and contributing editor at Marie Claire Magazine. See our profile of Sarah here.
Follow @sarahkunst
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Emily Blumental is the founder of Handbag Designer 101 and the creator of the Independent Handbag Designer Awards. The author of “Handbag Designer 101,” Emily understands the insatiable appetite for emerging designers. She teaches entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she was the first female hire for the business department.
Follow at @HandbagDesigner
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