Succeeding In Your BusinessTM

When you run your own business, you do not do what you want to do, or what you think the customer needs. You find out what the customers really want, whether you like it or not, and you find cost-effective ways to give it to them.

When you run your own business, you do not do what you want to do, or what you think the customer needs. You find out what the customers really want, whether you like it or not, and you find cost-effective ways to give it to them.

Frequently Requested Speaking Topics

Cliff is a professional speaker on entrepreneurship, business management, marketing, e-commerce, finance, and the legal and tax issues of running your own business. His clients include major corporations, publications such as Entrepreneur magazine, and small business/venture capital organizations and trade shows throughout North America. Cliff also speaks at outplacement centers, job fairs and SCORE chapters nationwide on the challenges of moving from a corporate job to an entrepreneurial or “nontraditional” career.

Here’s a list of some of Cliff’s most frequently requested speaking topics

Entrepreneurship – General​

  • Building a successful marketing plan for your business;
  • Internet marketing strategies; 
  • Successful selling on the Web;
  • The psychology of successful business owners; 
  • Building a successful business on eBay, Yahoo!, Amazon and Craigslist; 
  • Identifying and challenging your business competitors; 
  • Building a high performance management team;

Marketing Plans and Strategies

  • ​Marketing Strategies for the Startup Small Business
  • Pricing Your Products and Services
  • Knowing Your Customers Before You Know Your Products and Services
  • Selling Online: An Overview of Internet Marketing
  • How to Sell Anything to Anybody (You Can’t)
  • The Only Two Reasons Anyone Buys Anything

Competition

  • ​Sizing Up Your Competition
  • What Is Your Competitive Advantage?
  • The Four Kinds of Competitors and How to Crush Them

Management/Operations

  • Will Your Small Business Be Profitable? How to Find Out Before You Start
  • The Only Two Places Startups Find Money
  • The Three Objectives of Any Business Manager
  • When Good Partners Go Bad
  • Getting the Resources You Need to Start a Small Business
  • Building the Right Management Team for Your Growing Business

Finance

  • ​Pitching Investors: What Really Works
  • Where to Find Money for Your Startup Business or Nonprofit Organization
  • Five Ways to Make Your Bookkeeper or Accountant Happy
  • Capital Raising Techniques That Really Work
  • Understanding and Managing Cash Flow
  • Raising Capital on the Internet: What You Can and Can’t Do
  • Dealing with Deadbeats: How to Collect Overdue Receivables
  • Buying an Existing Small Business
  • Should You File for Bankruptcy?

Legal Aspects

  • Legal Aspects of Starting Your Own Business
  • Legal and Tax Aspects of the Online Business
  • What You Can and Cannot Do on the Internet
  • LLC or Corporation? Choosing the Right Form for Your New Business
  • Partner, Employee or Consultant? Getting it Right the First Time
  • Hiring and Firing People Without Tears
  • Dealing with Contracts and Other Legal Agreements
  • The In’s and Out’s of Consulting Agreements
  • Understanding Government Regulations and How They Apply to Your Business
  • A Primer on Small Business Taxes
  • Protecting Your Ideas and Trade Secrets

Other/Specialized

  • ​Negotiating Skills and Tactics for Business Owners
  • Should You Buy a Franchise?
  • Starting a Successful Import/Export Business
  • Starting a Business in the United States (for the non-U.S. citizen)
  • So You Want to Be a Consultant?
  • Starting a Successful Business on eBay