Would you pay for startup advice?

[yekara]

As a cash-strapped startup entrepreneur, would you be willing to pay for instruction from experts? Why or why not?

For more info on this topic, checkout this recent article: The Latest Craze in Incubators: Pay-to-Play Accelerators? | YoungEntrepreneur.com

[Crank]

No. I think many mentors are motivated to help for other motives, while there are plenty of bad paid advice givers. If you are starting a company and have an adviser that gets % for his involvement, than I think that's a different thing and I'm for it.

[sourabhbajaj]

No, your mentor should be one who is teaching you for you not for money, there is plenty of free information available about almost everything so i dont think you should pay for advices or answers.

[jakeocean]

Depends on my budget.

[chuff1026]

many people do not have the money to pay for the training or mentoring but i think it is worth it
many of the people who say that they will not or looking for other reasons why they shouldnt usually do not have the extra cash to pay

[JoshSD]

Absolutely assuming you have money set aside in the budget. If you can find someone very experienced in your area of business, they may be able to give you some valuable information / ideas which will save you / make you $ in the long run!

[codetoriches]

Find a mentor. Mentors, especially entrepreneurs, really like giving back. There is no need to pay for start-up advice if you are bootstrapped start-up. Otherwise, you are actually paying a consultant. If I were a noob, I'd find someone who has done something similar, and hit him up for advice. Find out how I can help him, so he can help me.

If you can't find a mentor, go to Audible and download books from the brightest minds in business.

[Harbor]

There are plenty of free mentoring resources out there, such as SCORE. That said, there are certain startup expenses with which you should not be cheap, such as an attorney to review your legal documents or an accountant to file your initial tax returns. You should also make sure you are incorporated to protect your assets and take advantage of tax benefits. Harbor helps entrepreneurs register their businesses at the lowest price guaranteed. For more information please visit us at harborcompliance.com/startbusinesspa.php. Best of luck!

[domino66]

Yes, I'd be willing.
BUT I'd also be particularly wary of people offering to help for a price. Not sure their motivations are in the right place. In my start-up journey to date, we've hired certain experts but some of the very best advice we've gotten has been from those friends and peers who cared enough to call us up and give us suggestions. Not for money. But because they cared about seeing us succeed.

[HeadHunterEC_UK]

Read read read and read some more.

Not the self help books, but the books like Sir Richard Branson's

[gfrye13]

Cash strapped I would try to get as much free advice as possible. As money started coming in I would look for other advise that was reasonable

[zxc]

Hmm, if you have to pay a consultant to learn more about your business' market, you likely do not know enough to begin business in the first place. Capital and business modeling down the road as a 'tune up' may be helpful and welcomed, but shelling out cash to learn more - Id rather be in business with the guy you are paying. Having said that, it is often very valuable to give equity to experts in the business to keep you on the right track.

Z

[YAGOOFT]

Good question,

As one who is an information sponge, always looking for the next best marketing strategy, I have paid for advice, and in most cases it saved me time and hassle to learn from somone who is experienced in whatever I was researching. Sadly, most of the information which many are charging for can be sourced for free with a little effort and time, but since time is money, this is decision each has to make for themselves. I have more money than time, so yes, I would be willing to pay for specific information if I could trust the person providing it. Live and learn is what I always say.

[pandaindebt]

Definitely. Well, depends on what to spend it on. I like to spend on books... they are relatively cheap, generally timeless (depending on the topic, of course), and you can always reference them. You can't always reference a consultant, unless you take good notes, or they offer free contact after consultation. I personally can't wait for a new book from one of the rich dad advisors, Garrett Sutton's new book Run Your Own Corporation.

[allentcheng]

Paying for guidance is partly why startups exchange equity for funding. There is no replacement for experts who know more than you and know how better to execute to guide your startup throughout its stages.

As for these programs, they sound to me like diploma mills (University of Phoenix). You might end up with a certificate of participation and some advice, but it doesn't break beyond a superficial level.