Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brandon Madden, Founder of InventYou, located in New York. NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
InventYou® is primarily a strategy consulting firm. InventYou® helps clients maximize profit, reduce cost, or evaluate new market/new product opportunities. To date, InventYou® has consulted on projects in various industries, such as trucking, co-working spaces, food catering, hospitality, real estate, and e-commerce, to name a few.
Tell us about yourself
I was born in Queens, NY, and am of Trinidadian and Jamaican descent. I dedicated my life to helping others achieve financial success. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in accounting from UCONN, I started working full-time at a Big 4 consulting firm in New York City. This gave me the opportunity to truly understand how business and money worked as a result of my consulting billion-dollar corporations on strategy, accounting, and finance.
I founded InventYou®, a strategy consulting firm, to help founders strategically launch, fund, and grow businesses.
I graduated with my MBA in Finance from the Peter J Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University in May 2022. I am a proud member of Phi Beta Signa Fraternity, Incorporated. You can follow me on Instagram: @BusinessByBrandon.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
As a business owner, our team was able to write the strategic plan and financial forecasts to help our client open a 3000 Sqft co-working space in Milwaukee called the Ambition Center. Additionally, we helped our clients raise almost $500,000 in funding for their business ventures.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Consistency is the hardest thing in business and in life. As a business owner, your branding, lead pipeline, and revenue should be consistent. However, sometimes they are not. Recognizing these inconsistencies and adjusting accordingly is the hardest thing in business.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
My top 3 tips for anyone looking to start, run, and grow a business would be to first understand who you want to help and why. Knowing your WHY is important because when times get tough, you can reflect on your purpose for being in business, and that will give you the confidence and resilience to keep going.
My second tip would be to understand how much funding you need to run this business efficiently. Most times, startups and small businesses are undercapitalized. Business owners cut corners in the beginning by trying to do everything themselves, and as a result, the business doesn't grow. My advice would be to understand your numbers and raise capital as soon as possible. This can be in the form of equity or debt, but your business needs cash to operate. This is the lifeblood of all businesses. A great way to raise capital is by pitching your business to friends and family, investors, or lenders. Most times, these individuals will want to see a business plan, pitch deck, and/or financial forecasts. Our team at InventYou® can assist you with these deliverables.
My third tip would be to document the processes in your business. These are known as SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), and you'll be able to train future employees by using the documented procedures you created in the business. SOPs will help streamline onboarding and ensure employees have a written guide to follow when they run into difficulties on the job.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.inventyou.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/businessbybrandon/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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