Entrepreneurship – The Plato Project

Everyone can adopt an entrepreneurial mindset

We all have ideas. We all see opportunities. At heart, we all have the foundations of the entrepreneurial mindset. We just don’t always see ourselves that way, or realise that the entrepreneurial mindset is relevant even if you’re not starting your own business. The Harvard Business School definition of entrepreneurship is ‘the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled’. This is where the key challenge lies. The entrepreneurial mindset requires not just a great idea, but a willingness to take action. It means chasing down opportunities with a level of determination and creativity that overcomes the challenges and restrictions currently in.

How to raise $50,000 in 50 hours.

An eye-catching video first put social enterprise Who Gives a Crap on the map. Word of mouth kept it there. In our Business Boosters column entrepreneurs share the secrets of their success and what they did in order to achieve scale. When social enterprise Who Gives a Crap set up in 2012, its founders needed $50,000 to begin production. An eye-catching crowdfunding campaign garnered international attention. From there, word of mouth meant the directors could barely keep pace with demand. Co-founder Simon Griffiths tells the story of a start-up with heart. Social enterprise Who Gives a Crap, an environmentally friendly.

How to write a great elevator pitch

Thirty seconds isn’t a lot of time, but that’s all you have for the concise, compelling business summary that is an elevator pitch. Convincing the right person at the right time might make all the difference for your startup. Which is why it pays to master the punchy summary. While it may be short, an elevator pitch is by no means small. Crammed into that 30 seconds is an explanation of what your business is, what makes it unique and what it hopes to achieve. On top of this, an elevator pitch needs to capture someone’s interest and ensure it’s.

‘Getting Shit Done’ with Adam Jelic of Mi Goals

It's the beginning of the year, and the momentum is high. Everyone we know is setting New Year's resolutions and creating new habits with the hope that a fresh start will change their old ways. Before we know it, it’s February, and our motivation has waned - sound familiar? ________________________________________________________________________ Meet Mi Goals, a Melbourne-based inspirational stationery brand, empowering people to set meaningful goals that they will stick to and achieve. Mi Goals started as a side project, and was created by Adam Jelic who came up with the idea as a result of being frustrated with the fact.

Six signs it’s time for your business to expand

Not too soon, not too late – learn to read the signs before growing your business. Expanding a business can be the best and also the worst thing to happen to an enterprise. Do it too soon and you’ll be overstretched and under resourced, but leave it too late and you’ll be left behind. Knowing when to take the leap isn’t just guesswork. Here are six sure-fire ways to tell if now is the right time to expand your business. Steady profit and cash flow Consistent profitability is both an indication that you’re doing something right and a warning not to.

3 Reasons Purpose is the Next Disruptor

At the turn of the millennium, “digital disruption” was well and truly an established term in the marketplace. Despite the dot-com bubble bursting in 2000, the businesses that dared to invest in digitisation of products and process, such as CommSec and iTunes, created the precedent that businesses who invested in digital were likely to achieve more long-term sustainability and security. Nowadays, “a digital presence” is a status-quo for the majority of businesses around the world – it’s not even considered “disruptive” anymore. “Going digital” fundamentally changed the way we do business with each other and shifted the consumer landscape on.

Building a business that will last

Innovative leadership is not a comfortable style of leadership. It is not meant to be. It involves the weathering of uncertain conditions, artful handling of creative conflict and leading people with a vision that might be considered a little too bold. But what makes it difficult also makes it great. _______ This is an adapted version of an excerpt from Plato Project's Starting a Start-Up unit. _______ Innovative leadership means some degree of ‘creative destruction’ and starting afresh. Leaders will abandon old, familiar ways and boldly engage team members and stakeholders in new thinking. It is a spirited approach that seeks ideas and.

Building an ethical business model

_______ This is an adapted version of an excerpt from Plato Project's Starting a Start-Up unit. _______ Anchoring the business model in strong ethical principles from the outset means those values are infused in the venture’s culture. It sets a precedent for what is expected in operations and influences decision-making and behaviours. This may mean investigating supply networks to assess impact on the environment and human rights, or creating value in all components of the value chain by making socially-conscious choices. This approach raises morale and gives meaning to an organisation’s offering. While it is right, it also makes good business sense. Ethical.

Ethical practices help fashion labels stand out from the crowd

Iconic Australian brands such as Veronika Maine and R.M. Williams are just some of those signed up to the Ethical Clothing Australia charter. At the Plato Project, we believe that the best businesses create social and environmental value as well financial profit. Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) provides independent accreditation to Australian textiles, clothing and footwear brands who care about their workers. ECA protects the rights of both local factory-based workers and outworkers, and in doing so, gives brands a chance to add value to their business story. ECA’s Sigrid McCarthy fielded our questions. Who created Ethical Clothing Australia and how.

Funding your new venture

Funding is often an ongoing challenge for entrepreneurs and founders. While sources of finance are more varied and ubiquitous than ever before, the proliferation of new ideas and startups means there is increased competition. Here are some funding sources you should consider: _______ This is an adapted version of an excerpt from Plato Project's Starting a Start-Up unit. _______ Bootstrapping Bootstrapping is a popular choice for entrepreneurs in the early stages of a new venture – as they maintain full control of their vision and ideas. In essence, the business self-funds or finds innovative ways to generate capital or access resources. The founder might.