Weekly Roundup: 5 Must-See YouTube Videos for Entrepreneurs (May 15, 2015)

What does it take to revive a fallen brand? What are the biggest mistakes young entrepreneurs make? Should you follow your passion? These are some of the questions discussed in this week’s roundup of must-see videos for entrepreneurs. Plus, Maria Forleo offers up three branding ideas for small businesses and Forbes delivers a succinct primer on writing better emails. Enjoy!
Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke on What It Takes to Turn Around a Fallen Brand
Jeff Clarke become CEO of Eastman Kodak in early 2014, roughly two years after Kodak filed for bankruptcy after over a century in business. Clarke had his work cut out for him to make Kodak relevant again. In this 17-minute video, Clarke sits down with the folks from Spartan Up! Podcast and discusses the importance of being not only a leader but a mentor to employees, how maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial in dealing with stress, and why you have to learn to adapt. Lots of great insights here.
Networking, Nielsen Ratings, & Mistakes Young Entrepreneurs Make
In this 12-minute episode of #AskGaryVee, Gary Vaynerchuk answers a host of questions from his followers about everything from networking to the best pizza in New York City. He also ruminates on the biggest mistakes that young entrepreneurs make, helping viewers avoid those same mistakes in their own business ventures. As always, Vaynerchuk pulls no punches.
3 Branding Ideas Small Businesses Can Learn from Artifact Uprising
Using Artifact Uprising as an example of a company doing branding right, Maria Forleo discusses three branding ideas that any small business can use to their advantage. Forleo’s Smart Strategy #3 is especially relevant in this increasingly disconnected digital age: Highlight Your Humanity! It’s a welcome reminder that if you’re a small business, you don’t have to try to seem big and corporate—instead, let your customers know that your business is run by real people who care.
DON’T Follow Your Passion?
This is Evan Carmichael’s response to Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame saying that people should not follow their passion. Carmichael cautions his viewers by saying, “I think you should be careful who you’re taking advice from,” and then showing speeches about the importance of following your passion by superstar entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, and Jay Z. Who are you going to take advice from?
How to Write Better Emails
I think we could all use a little refresher on writing better emails. This 1-minute 38-second primer from Forbes gives tips that should be obvious to most people but probably aren’t. How many times have you sent a business email during off hours or over the weekend, only to have it ignored or lost? Maybe you don’t need this but surely you work with someone who does!
READ MORE FROM AMERICAN COMMERCIAL CAPITAL
What’s a UCC-1 Filing, and Why Does My Factor Need One?
Part of our Honest Answers series — straight talk about financing a growing business.
Somewhere in the factoring agreement, usually right about where you’re feeling good about the deal, you’ll hit a line that says the factor will file a UCC-1 against your business. And for a lot of owners, that’s the moment the stomach tightens. A lien? Against me? I thought I was the one getting paid…
How to Record Factoring Transactions and Keep Your Books Accurate
To record factoring transactions accurately, your books need to handle four things a standard accounts-receivable workflow was never built for: the factor’s advance, the withheld reserve, the fee, and the release of that reserve when your customer pays. This guide shows you how to record factoring transactions using three dedicated general-ledger accounts and four simple journal entries — and how to choose between the gross and net-of-discount methods of presenting…
Recourse vs. Non-Recourse Factoring: What’s the Difference, and Which One Is Right for You?
When business owners start looking into invoice factoring, two words come up fast: recourse and non-recourse. They sound like fine print, and plenty of owners nod along without really knowing which one they’re signing up for. But this is one of the most important choices in any factoring agreement, because it decides who eats the loss if your customer doesn’t pay. After decades of financing small businesses, I…
