100 Must See Interviews With the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs

At Under30CEO we think big. We recently published a list of our Top 50 Most Motivational People on the web and things got a little nuts. The article created incredible buzz all over the web and most importantly we fired up our audience to go out and make something happen.

As young entrepreneurs it’s important that we keep swinging for the fences. Super successful investors like Ron Conway say they’d rather invest in an 18 year old Mark Zuckerberg than a 31 year old seasoned entrepreneur because the young Sean Parker types truly think the sky is the limit. At Under30CEO we’re going to carry that mentality into the interviews that we conduct on the site.

The list below is the most incredible people to learn from as entrepreneurs and we intend to interview them all…somehow.  If you can land us any of these interviews email: matt @under30ceo.com and we’ll give you the credit!

Introducing our Top 100 Entrepreneurs to Learn from and their best interviews from around the web…

1.) Warren Buffett– Billionaire Investor
Buffet with Bill and Melinda Gates

2.) Bill Gates– Founder of Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates sit down at the All Things Digital Conference.

3.) Larry Ellison–Founder of Oracle
Oracle founder on Achivement.org

4.) Mark Cuban–Owner of the Dallas Mavericks and HDNet
”When I die, I want to come back as me” at TechCrunch

5.) Oprah Winfrey–Media Entrepreneur
Larry King Interviews Oprah on The Secret.

6.) Tony Robbins–Peak Performance Coach and Entrepreneur
Tony Robbins’ TED Talk “Why we do what we do and how we can do it better”

7.) Richard Branson–Billionaire founder of Virgin
15 Small Business Lessons with Branson at Open Forum

8.) Mark Zuckerberg–Founder of Facebook
60 Minutes Interview

9.) Jack Dorsey–Founder of Twitter and Square
Kevin Rose interviews Jack Dorsey

10.) Ted Turner–Media Entrepreneur
Interviewed by Mashable’s Pete Cashmore at the UN

11.) George Soros–Billionaire Investor
Eric Schmidt Interviews George Soros at Google

12.) Jeff Bezos–Founder of Amazon.com
Wired’s Chris Anderson Interviews Bezos

13.) Sergey Brin and Larry Page–Google Founders
Ted Talk on Google

14.) Elon Musk–Founder of Paypal, Tesla and SpaceX
Entrepreneur Mentor Interview at Mahalo

15.) Ron Conway–Venture Capitalist
Hour long interview with Ron Conway at Stanford Business School

16.) Michael Dell–Founder of Dell Computers
Mastermind interview with Michael Dell

17.) Marc Andreessen–Software Entrepreneur
”We’re not in a bubble” at the Wall Street Journal

18.) Paul Graham–Founder of Y-Combinator
How Y Combinator Helped 172 Startups Take Off

19.) Jay-Z–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
Interview on Forbes with Jay-Z and Warren Buffet

20.) Michael Bloomberg–Entrepreneur and Mayor of New York
Bloomberg Speaking at Techstars New York Demo Day

21.) Tony Hsieh–Founder of Zappos
Under30CEO talks about company culture with Tony Hsieh.

22.) Sean Parker–Internet Entrepreneur
Jimmy Fallon drills Sean Parker on tech.

23.) Tim O’Reilly–Software and Media Entrepreneur
Jason Calacanis interviews Tim O’Reilly at SXSW

24.) Steve Wozniak–Founder of Apple
Founders at Work with Woz

25.) Phil Knight–Founder of Nike
Exclusive Interview by Oprah on Nike

26.) Howard Schultz–Founder of Starbucks
The Harvard Business Review Interviews Starbucks Founder

27.) Carl Icahn–Billionaire Investor
Ichan’s Drexel University Commencement Speech

28.) Pierre Omidyar–Founder of Ebay
The Guardian does a rare interview with Omidyar

29.) Ralph Lauren–Fashion Entrepreneur 
Oprah interviews RL

30.) Charles Schwab–Investor
Money Magazine talks investing with Schwab

31.) Reid Hoffman–Founder of LinkedIn
Billionaire Founder gives 5 tips to startups on WSJ

32.) Peter Thiel–Founder of Paypal and Venture Capitalist
Billionaire on BigThink

33.) Steve Case–Founder of AOL
Talks Job Creation via Startup America on CNBC

34.) Jimmy Wales–Founder of Wikipedia
John Stewart interviews Jimmy Wales on the Daily Show

35.) Andrew Mason–Founder of Groupon
Bloomberg Interviews the Founder of Groupon

36.) Ariana Huffington–Founder of The Huffington post
Talks about breaking into blogging at Technorati

37.) Donald Trump–Billionaire Real Estate Investor
Under30CEO Interview with Donald Trump

38.) John Doerr–Billionaire Venture Capitalist
Mark Zuckerberg with John Doerr

39.) Wayne Huizenga–Founder of Blockbuster, Waste Management and Pro Sports team owner
Talks on CNBC about the Art of the Deal

40.) Barry Diller–Media Executive
Diller talks to CNN at SXSW

41.) Herb Kelleher–Founder of Southwest Airlines
Has a series of interviews on I am CNBC

42.) Bob Parons–Founder of GoDaddy
Parson’s Recession Guide in true GoDaddy Fashion

43.) Diddy–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
ABC News calls Diddy the Modern Mogul

44.) Ev Williams–Founder of Twitter
Interviewed by Charlie Rose

45.) Fred Wilson–Venture Capitalist
Chris Dixon interviews Fred Wilson

46.) David Cohen–Founder of Techstars
ReadWriteWeb interviews Techstars founder

47.) Chris Dixon–Venture Capitalist
Here is an in depth interview with Chris Dixonon Mixergy

48.) Michael Arrington–Founder of Techcrunch
A day in the life of a $10million a year blogger

49.) Gary Vaynerchuk–Media/Wine Entrepreneur
Jason Calacanis interviews Gary in one of the best This Week in Startups ever.

50.) Jason Calacanis–Internet Entrepreneur and Investor
Jason Calacanis gets interviewed on This Week in Startups

51.) Jason Fried–Internet Entrepreneur
Big Think Interviews Jason Fried about ReWork

52.) Dharmesh Shah–Founder of Hubspot
Interviews Dharmesh at SXSW

53.) Mark Suster–Venture Capitalist
Gets interviewed by Jascon Calcanis before he takes over This Week In Venture Capital

54.) Dennis Crowley–Founder of Foursquare
Kevin Rose interviews Dennis Crowley

55.) Pete Cashmore–Founder of Mashable
How Pete Cashmore grew Mashable on Bloomberg TV.

56.) Brad Feld–Venture Capitalist
Vator News asks How to Get Funding

57.) Matt Mullenweg–Founder of WordPress
Inc Magazine features Matt in their greg series “The Way I Work”

58.) Kevin Rose–Founder of Digg.com and Podcaster
Interview at Web2.0 Summit 2011

59.) Peter Shankman–Founder of Help a Reporter
BlogCastFM Interviews Peter Shankman

60.) Eric Ries–Entrepreneur and Author
On Techcrunch: “Don’t Be In A Rush To Get Big, Be In A Rush To Have A Great Product”

61.) David Tisch–Director of Techstars New York
TechCocktail interviews David Tisch and David Cohen

62.) John Reese–Internet Marketer
Tony Robbins interviews Frank Kern and John Reese

63.) Keith Ferrazzi–Author of Never Eat Alone
WSJ asks Keith Ferrazzi “Who’s Got Your Back?”

64.) Gina Trapani–Founder of Lifehacker
Tim Ferriss interviews Lifehacker Gina Trapani

65.) Neil Strauss–Author and Marketer
Speaks in the series: Authors @Google

66.) Chris Brogan–Blogger and Marketer
Talks about helping small businesses at CES2011

67.) Daniel Pink–Author and Journalist
CBS Moneywatch asks Daniel “What Really Motivates Workers?”

68.) Ivanka Trump–Entrepreneur
Huffington Post interviews Ivanka in the Trump Tower

69.) Ben Huh–Founder of Cheezeburger Media Network
Brad Feld Interviews Ben Huh in his Do More Faster series.

70.) Ben Lerer–Founder of Thrillist
Under30CEO interviews the Ben Lerer

71.) Kenneth Cole–Fashion Entrepreneur
Kenneth talks to CNN about the inspirational storiesin his book

72.) Naveen Jain–Internet Entrepreneur
Jain on Bloomberg talking about Google Lunar X Prizerace to the moon

73.) Lance Armstrong–Founder of Livestrong
Fast Company Interviews Lance Armstrong for the coverstory

74.) Guy Kawasaki–Author and Entrepreneur
Talk at Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Corner. “Entrepreneurship is for you young people”

75.) Magic Johnson–Entrepreneur and NBA Hall of Famer
Our friend Tiffany Black Interviews Magic Johnson on Inc

76.) Ryan Allis–Founder of iContact
Our friend Maren Kate interviews Ryanon going from Zero to $3.3M

77.) David Karp–Founder of Tumblr
David Karp on TechCrunchTVsays Blogs Don’t Work

78.) Ashton Kutcher–Early Stage Investor
What Ashton Kutcher looks for in tech investmentson TechCrunch

79.) Tyra Banks–Media Entrepreneur
On going to Harvard Business Schoolat CBS News

80.) Steve Young–Venture Capitalist
Talks about his investment strategy on Bloomberg TV

81.) Ryan Leslie–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
This Harvard Grad interviewed on Fox Business

82.) Rob Dyrdek–Action Sports Entrepreneur
Inc calls Fantasy Factory America’s Coolest Workspace. Q+A With Dyrdek

83.) MC Hammer–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
Interview at Web2.0 Summit

84.) Chamillionaire–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
Michael Arrington talks social currency with Chamillionaire

85.) Darren Rowse–Blogger
Gideon Shalwick interviews ProBlogger

86.) Gina Bianchini–Founder of Ning
Talks to Techcrunch at the World Economic Forum

87.) Sara Blakely–Founder of Spanx
Talks about Resiliency on Entrepreneur

88.) Russel Simmons–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
NPR Interviews Entrepreneur Russel Simmons

89.) Wendy Kopp–Founder of Teach for America
Talks about Teach for American on the Colbert Report

90.) Kevin Plank–Founder of Under Armour
How I Did It with Inc Magazine

91.) Anita Roddick–Founder of The Body Shop
Anita tells their entrepreneurial story

92.) Robert Kiyosaki–Entrepreneur and Author
Under30CEO Interviews Robert Kiyosaki

93.) Justine Ezarik–Media Entrepreneur
iJustine on BlogTalkRadio

94.) Barbara Corcoran–Real Estate Entrepreneur
Under30CEO Interviews Barbara Corcoran

95.) Rev Run–Hip Hop Entrepreneur
Huffington Post Interviews Rev Run

96.) Blake Ross–Founder of Mozilla
How to Make Millions

97.) Tim O’ Shaughnessy–Founder of Living Social
Business Insider interviews Living Social founder

98.) Dave Morin–Founder of Path
Interview at Techcrunch Disrupt with Dave Morin

99.) Brian Solis–Marketer
The Rise to the Top Interviews Brian Solis

100.) Robert Scoble–Blogger
Watch Scoble at Stanford Business School

Read more at http://under30ceo.com/100-must-see-interviews-with-the-worlds-most-successful-entrepreneurs/#xWg4ySPFXMTU7Lqw.99

Calculate This! 100 Financial Calculators Every Entrepreneur Needs

By Eliza Morgan

Many entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of having a separate accounting department, instead doing their own number crunching. It’s not always easy, but you can make it less difficult by making use of the huge number of free financial tools for businesses that are available on the Internet. Here are 100 calculators that can help you get and keep your finances in order.

Business Operations

Don’t get caught off guard by the unexpected financial pitfalls of owning a business. Keep one step ahead with these useful business calculators.

1. Break Even Analysis: Figure out how much you’re going to need to sell with your business just to break even. This can be helpful in creating a starting point for your sales goals.
2. Business Valuation: Whether you are just curious, or want to sell your business, this calculator can help you determine the value. Just enter your cash flow and your expenses to get an estimate.
3. Working Capital Needs: Find out what your business will need to keep going with this helpful calculator. It will take into account your short-term monetary obligations and figure out how much capital you’ll need so you won’t fall short.
4. Financial Ratio: Sometimes there are areas of your business that will need special attention relative to others. Figure out what those are with this financial ratio calculator.
5. Cash Flow: No matter what type of business you are in, keeping your cash flow in check is essential to a healthy business. See how much your business is generating with this calculator.
6. Buying vs. Leasing: Sometimes it can be tough to figure out whether simply buying equipment you need will leave you better off in the long run than leasing. Put your costs into this calculator to find out which would suit your business’ needs best.
7. Profit Margin: This calculator can help you determine how much you should be selling your products or services for to achieve a desired profit margin.
8. Inventory Analysis: Keeping a not-too-little, but not-too-much balance of inventory can be tricky business. This calculator will help you figure out how to time your orders and how much to keep on hand.
9. Sales Per Employee: Figure out what your salespeople are averaging with this simple calculator.
10. Operating Profit Percentage: This calculator will help you compare your sales with what is left after the cost of your goods and operating costs.
11. Return on Assets: See how well you’re managing your company with this calculator that compares net income to total assets. You’ll be able to find out how much you’re getting for every dollar.
12. Debt to Assets: This calculator can help you determine to what extent your company is financed by loans and other sources of debt. The lower the number, the better your chances are of staying afloat financially.
13. Starting Costs: Figure out the starting costs for your business idea before you start so there won’t be any surprises and you’ll know how much you’ll need to get things off the ground.
14. Conversion Rate: Unsure how updating or changing your website will or did impact your business? Use this calculator to see how improving your online sales can affect your business.
15. Pay Per Click ROI: Are your pay per click ad campaigns really paying off? See if your advertising is worth the investment with this calculator.
16. Email ROI: The same goes for your email ad campaigns. This calculator will let you know if you’re generating enough sales or if you need to find another marketing strategy.
17. Business Location, to Rent or Buy: Use this calculator to find out if your business would profit more from renting a location or buying one outright.
18. SAP Value Calculator: The SAP Value Calculator for midsize business reveals how strong your business is today and how much additional value you can gain by improving your infrastructure.
19. Double Your Money: Determine how long it will take you to double your money with this simple calculator.

Loans

Unless you’re bootstrapping it, or you’ve come into quite a financial windfall, it’s likely that your business will need a few loans to get up and running. Here are some calculators that can help you figure out how much you can borrow and what your payments will be.

20. Commercial Loan: This calculator can help you determine your debt service coverage with a new loan, which can in turn help you determine if you’ll be approved.
21. Alternative Payment Frequencies: If you’re not sure what payment method will work out best for your loan, try out different combinations with this calculator.
22. Amortizing Loan: Use this calculator to determine how much money you can borrow based on the monthly payment you can afford.
23. Balloon Loan: This calculator can help you determine if a balloon loan (short term but payments are based over 15 year period) might be better for you than a standard loan.
24. Credit Line: Not sure how much money you can qualify for? Your line of credit is based on the value or your business or home and this calculator can do the math for you.
25. Enhanced Loan Calculator: This calculator makes it easy to change all the elements involved with getting a loan (monthly payment, amount of loan, interest rate) to find the best combination for your business.
26. Existing Loan: If your business already has an outstanding loan, you can use this calculator to determine how much longer you’ll be paying on them based on your balance and the amount of your monthly payments.
27. Loan Comparison: Don’t let loans confuse you with different rates and terms. Compare loans directly with this calculator.
28. Loan Prequalification: Use this calculator as an initial step in determining what kind of loans you can qualify for.
29. Small Business Loan: Determine the best monthly payments on your small business loan with this useful calculator designed especially for businesses.
30. Loan or Line of Credit: Use this calculator from Bank of America to find out if you should get a loan or a line of credit for your business start up or expansion.
31. Term of Loan: Determine what length of loan you should apply for using this simple calculator.
32. Blended Rate Calculator: Calculate the effective interest rate on multiple loans.
33. Loan and Line Payment: Use this calculator to determine the amount of money you’ll be making as payments on your loan or line of credit.

Debt Management

Don’t let your loans get out of hand. Use these calculators to figure out the best way to pay back your loans and other debts.

33. Business Debt Consolidation: Have multiple business credit cards or loans holding debt for your company? Use this calculator to find out if you’d be better off consolidating your debts into one monthly payment.
34. Credit Assessment: Get a quick credit assessment with this easy-to-use calculator.
35. Accelerated Debt Payoff: Get rid of your debt even faster using this calculator which will help you create a debt payment plan that can potentially save you money in interest fees.
36. Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator: While it might seem easier to just pay the minimum on your credit card balance, it can end up potentially costing your business thousands more. This calculator can help you determine the true cost of minimum payments.
37. Credit Card Optimizer: This calculator helps you create the best distribution of your credit card debt to minimize how much you’ll pay out.
38. Credit Card Payoff: Want to eliminate your credit card debt? This calculator will show you what it will take to pay off those cards.
39. How much do you owe?: Not sure how much debt you actually have? Use this calculator to figure out where to begin paying off your debts by finding out where you stand.
40. Credit Card Debt Roll-Down: You can get your debt under control and keep your business afloat. Here you’ll find a calculator that will help you determine what debts to pay off first to get you on the road to financial freedom.
41. Credit Card Calculator: Choosing the right business credit card can make a big difference in the financial future of your business. Use this calculator to make the decision a little easier.

Investment

Make your business and personal investment tracking easy with these investment calculators.

42. Asset Allocator: Whether you’re investing for your business or handling your personal finances, this calculator can help you determine the best way to spread out your money.
43. Compare Investment Fees: Investing can pay off in the long run, but it often comse with some fees that can add up over time. Use this calculator to see what you’ll be paying over the lifetime of your investments.
44. Investment Loan: Thinking of making a substantial business investment? Use this calculator to help you figure out if it’s a smart move.
45. Investment Returns: See the big picture with this calculator that shows the impact of inflation, taxes and time horizon on your investments.
46. Taxable vs. Tax Advantaged Investments: If you’re not sure what kind of investment is best for you, use this calculator to see the different between taxed, tax deferred and tax-free investments.
47. Investment Savings and Distributions: Whether you’re designing retirement plans for yourself, clients or employees, use this calculator to determine how long your investment will last once you start cashing in.
48. Interest Rate Converter: Compare the dividends from several interest rates at once with this calculator.
49. Investment Offering: Use this tool to see both sides of the investment coin. You can calculate what investors in your company will get and what your company will have to give up to accommodate them.
50. Landlord Calculator: Real estate can be a good investment, but is it the right one for you? Use this calculator to find out if being a landlord could be a moneymaker for you.
51. Self Employed Retirement Calculator: This calculator will let you determine the maximum contribution you can make to your self employed 401(k).
52. Risk Tolerance: Determine what kind of investments will be best for you based on how much of a risk you’re willing to take with this online calculator.
53. Investment Goal Calculator: Make sure your investments are on track with this calculator.
54. IRA Stretch Calculator: Stretch your retirement savings as far as they will go with this calculator.

Taxes

Unfortunately, taxes are an inevitable part of any business’ day to day life. These online tools will help make paying them just a little more painless.

55. 1040 Tax Calculator: Keep up with your personal taxes using this calculator.
56. 457 Payroll Deductions: Not sure how much of a difference changing your withholding will make? Use this calculator to figure out the difference before you make the change.
57. Estate Tax Planning: Don’t let your children or grandchildren get burned by the estate tax. Determine what you’ll be liable for long before it becomes an issue.
58. Net to Gross Paycheck Calculator: This calculator will help you learn what you need to earn each paycheck to meet a net amount.
59. Self-Employment Taxes: Self-employed individuals are subject to different taxes, so use this calculator to figure out what you can expect to pay.
60. Home Office Deduction: For those running a business from home, this calculator can help you determine if you can use your home or business costs as deductions on your taxes.
61. Marginal and Effective Tax Rate Calculator: Estimating what percentage of your income old Uncle Sam is going to demand at the end of the year is essential to avoiding that end of the year tax surprise. Instead, this calculator will allow you to estimate the amount which will give you time to sock the necessary amount away.
62. Gross Up Calculator: Use this calculator to determine the payroll taxes that should be deducted from bonuses and taxable benefits given to employees.

Personnel

Make the business of doing your payroll easier with these free calculators.

63. Paycheck Calculator: Help calculate your or your employees’ take home pay after taxes and other deductions.
64. Wage Conversion: Save yourself the mental acrobatics when converting wages from one periodic term into another (weeks, days, months, etc), making comparison and rates easy to calculate.
65. Aggregate Bonus Calculator: Figure out an employee’s annual bonus with this calculator.
66. Flat Percentage Bonus Calculator: Another bonus calculator, this one is based on a flat percentage instead.
67. 401(k) Planner: Get your financial future on track with this 401k planning calculator.
68. Salary Wizard: Find out if you’re earning what you’re worth as a freelancer or if you’re paying your employees enough with this salary calculator.
69. Office Space Calculator: Not sure how much space you’ll need? This calculator will let you know how many square feet you’ll need for your business based on the number of employees you have.
70. Annual Stock Option Grants: Use this calculator to see how your and your employees stock options might improve over time.

Personal Finance

Don’t lose track of your personal finances because you’re too busy with your business finances. Make use of these simple tools to manage your finances at home.

71. Checkbook Balancer: Keep your personal budget balanced with this quick and easy calculator.
72. Home Budget Analysis: Keeping track of where your money goes can be hard as it often goes out as fast as it comes in. Use this budget analysis tool to get a handle on your spending.
73. Life Expectancy: Get an idea of how much you’ll need to plan for with this life expectancy calculator. Based on your health and lifestyle it will give you an estimate of your life expectancy.
74. Net Worth: Determine your net value and how it can change with this calculator.
75. Should my spouse work?: For many couples, especially those with children, the decision for one spouse to stay at home can be a hard one. See if your spouse can afford to stay home or should go to work with this calculator.
76. Social Security Benefits: Get an estimate of your potential social security benefits with this calculator.
77. Roth IRA Calculator: See how investing in an Roth IRA compares with taxable investments.
78. Retirement Planner: Keep your retirement plan on track with this easy-to-use calculator.
79. Retirement Income: How much will you have to live on when you retire? Use this calculator to figure out what your retirement savings will provide you with.
80. 457 Savings Calculator: Use this calculator to figure out if a 457 savings plan can help you create a better retirement.
81. Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the cost of living between different cities in the United States.
82. Earning Potential: This calculator can help you estimate how much you can expect to earn over the course of your lifetime and what you can do to make the most of that money.
83. Human Life Calculator: Use this calculator to determine how much life insurance you should be carrying.

Miscellaneous

It seems like there’s a calculator out there for everything, and here are a few more that can help you with your business.

84. Basic Calculator: Meet your most basic calculator needs anywhere you have internet access with this online calculator.
85. Basic Financial Calculator: This financial calculator can do all kinds of simple financial calculations.
86. Compound Interest: Determine the compound interest on your holdings in a savings or investment account.
87. Future Value: This calculator is used to determine what a sum of money deposited today will be worth at some point in the future based on a specific discount interest rate.
88. Present Value: This calculator is used to determine what a sum of money to be received in a future year is worth in today’s dollars based on a specific discount interest rate.
89. Music Business Profit/Loss Calculator: For those trying to make a music business or band the sole source of income, here’s a calculator that will help you determine which gigs are worth it and which you should pass up.
90. Postage Calculator: Figure out how much you’ll need to spend on postage for bulk mailings or to send products to customers with this calculator from the US Postal Service.
91. Carbon Dioxide Calculator: Environmentally conscious businesses can use this calculator to figure out the amount of carbon dioxide released by business operations and take measures to offset it.
92. Best Workplace for Commuters Calculator: Also for the green business, this calculator will give you an estimate of the financial, environment, and traffic benefits of joining the Best Workplace for Commuters program.
93. Small Business Safety Calculator: Workplace related injuries can be costly. This calculator can help you understand just how much you’ll owe even with accident insurance in place.
94. Calculator.com: Find all kinds of calculators on this one convenient site, everything from lease calculators to feet into inches.
95. Currency Converter: Doing business overseas is easy with this currency conversion calculator.
96. How long til you become a millionaire? Use this calculator to find out how long it will take you to make the millions you’ve been working so hard for.
97. Time Value Calculator: Figure out what your time is worth with this calculator that takes into account your spending habits and taxes.
98. Gas Guzzling Calculator: Commuting to the office or to meet with clients? Find out how much the price of gas is hurting your bottom line with this calculator.
99. Movie Star Comparison Calculator: See how your business revenues compare to the salaries of the biggest celebs with this just for fun calculator.
100. Coffee Habit: See how much that morning Starbucks is really costing you with this calculator; money you could be putting in your business or your savings account.

7 Tips for Earning the Trust of New Customers

As an entrepreneur launching a new business, one of your fiercest opponents is distrust…more specifically, the distrust held by your target customers. Today's customers are savvier than ever before. They know the internet is full of fly-by-night companies that are just waiting for an opportunity to rip them off. And since your company is new and has no name recognition, it's your job to prove to your customers that they can trust you.

Make no mistake. This takes time and commitment on your part, but you can do it. You can start earning the trust of your target audience by following these 7 helpful tips.

1. Publish your contact information on every page of your website. By posting your phone number, email address, or whatever other contact info you have, you let customers know that you're here and they can get in touch with you whenever they want. In short, it legitimizes your company and helps put your customer's mind at ease. Of course, just make sure you actually respond to emails and pick up the phone when customers try to get in touch.
2. Have a detail-rich about page. The "About Us" page gives you an opportunity to share your credentials and experience with interested customers. It's a page where you can build trust with your customers, and you can use it to add a human, personal element your company.
3. Post any testimonials you have from your customers. Did you know customers place more stock in what their peers (fellow customers) say than what you (the company) say? Customers trust other customers, and by posting testimonials on your website, you let your visitors hear positive things about your company from their peers. Tip: Post the customer's picture or use video toenhance the credibility of these testimonials.
4. Eliminate risk by offering a money-back guarantee. You want customers to feel like they have nothing to lose when they do business with you. The best way to convince them of this is to offer a money-back guarantee on their purchase. Zappos built an entire company around their industry-leading 365 day return policy. You don't have to extend your money-back guarantee for that long, but just make sure you don't bog the policy down with too many rules and restrictions.
5. Start a blog to highlight your expertise. Blogging is a great way to position yourself as an expert in your industry. It lets your customers and colleagues see that you know what you're talking about, helping you earn their trust. Just make sure you don't come across as a blogging noob.
6. Have a well-designed website with quality content. We like to think people "don't judge a book by its cover", but that's just not the case. If you have a poorly designed website with incoherent, typo-riddled content, no customer is going to take you seriously. Design and content often create the first impression a customer gets of your company, so make the most of this opportunity.
7. Post your privacy policy. There's a reason services like LifeLock have become so popular. Customers are still wary of giving out their personal information online because they don't know who all will have access to it. By posting your privacy policy in clear terms, you reassure customers their information is totally safe with you.

What I Learned From A Chinese Billionaire

In the last decade more new billionaires emerged in China than anywhere else in the world. There are now at least 79 Chinese billionaires. China’s rich are fueling the country’s 15% annual growth in luxury sales, which have reached $9 billion a year, making the country the world’s second largest market for top-end products. You can wait a year for a new Ferrari in China. Porsche launched its Panamera sedan there before it did so in the U.S. Long lines often stretch outside Louis Vuitton and Hermès stores.

Who are the superrich Chinese? What are they like? How did they get so wealthy?

To find answers to those questions I’ve talked to a half dozen Chinese billionaires. Some of them made their money by taking Internet companies public in the U.S., others by investing in real estate or beverages. Unlike many of today’s American billionaires, such as the Rockefellers or the Waltons of Wal-Mart, China’s are almost all self-made. Half of the world’s 14 self-made billionaire women are Chinese. They all overcame hardship and failure, and they all are highly optimistic about China’s future.

One Chinese billionaire, a real estate mogul, met with me more than a dozen times over five years to share his lessons for succeeding in business. Sometimes we met at his palatial home in Beijing, sometimes at my much smaller one in Shanghai. We ate clams the size of footballs on a beach in Australia, and one time we went to McDonald’s for french fries. I liked spending time with him not only because I could briefly live the life of a billionaire but also because it became obvious why he was so successful. He actually embodied the lessons he taught me. He didn’t just preach them.

There was one condition to our talks and my writing about him, though. He insisted on remaining anonymous. Therefore I will call him Mr. Chen. Like many wealthy Chinese, Mr. Chen prefers to fly under the radar, because he doesn’t want to accidentally get on anyone’s wrong side. Lest you think his fears are exaggerated, realize that 70 of the people who have appeared on the Forbes China Rich List in the last decade have publicly gotten into trouble. China’s affluent now sometimes half-jokingly call the ranking the Death List.

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Mr. Chen’s first lesson is to believe that anything is possible and the only thing that can stop you is yourself. He never ceased to believe that he would make something of himself. As a poor peasant child with no high government connections, he had the odds stacked again him. He had to drop out of school in his teens because his family had no money.

Yet he believed in himself and refused to give up. With no powerful family behind him, he had to take out loans at five times the normal rates of his well-connected competitors. He had to do smaller projects that no one else wanted and endure derision and slights from others. Slowly, over time, he developed a reputation for doing what he said he would, and his projects got bigger and bigger.

Now he pays for the food, medical costs and living expenses of more than 80 members of his extended family. He donates millions a year to set up schools in rural areas, and he often walks the halls of hospitals with his offspring and pays for the medical costs of uninsured patients. But before he could do any of that he spent decades in sheer perseverance, ignoring all the better-educated, wealthier people who disdained him.

The second lesson Mr. Chen taught me is that to get what you want you have to respect everyone and sometimes eat humble pie. A decade ago, when nearly everyone in China was poor, it took less than $10 million to make the China rich list. Last year you needed $120 million. The creation of wealth has been staggeringly quick. As Mr. Chen says, you could be a waiter today and the head of a food and beverage conglomerate tomorrow–so you’d better respect everyone, or your attitude may come back to haunt you. Practically everyone in China knows someone who a decade ago raised pigs and today drives a Mercedes and buys Tiffany jewelry.

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Finally, Mr. Chen believes in sharing wealth. He lets business partners make more than he does, so that the next time they secure a good deal they’ll think of working with him first. He sees no point in ever trying to shortchange business partners.

He is right. I have been in meetings with him with different partners with projects all over the country. I asked several of them why they worked with him rather than anyone else, and every one of them said it was because they knew he’d take a smaller piece of the total pie. But so many small pieces add up to a whole lot of pie.

Mr. Chen believes in sharing wealth also in the sense of ensuring good working conditions for rank-and-file employees and letting the most productive ones get rich. He does not believe in letting lieutenants scrape by while a CEO is paid absurd sums. And he believes that companies like Apple and Dell need to improve the conditions at the factories where they source their products.

Mr. Chen built a fortune out of dogged determination and a reputation for being assiduously honest, fair and respectful. He sees no reason why the same shouldn’t work for anyone else. As he told me once, “If I can do it with as little as I had growing up, anyone can do it.”

Shaun Rein is the founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group, a strategic market intelligence firm. He writes for Forbes on leadership, marketing and China. Follow him on Twitter @shaunrein.