Author:

Mike Kappel

Mike Kappel is a serial entrepreneur of 5 small businesses, and president and CEO of Patriot Software. After a rough startup, Mike understands that small business owners need to keep their time and money. He enjoys sharing his small business expertise with other small business owners.

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Track Your Most Important KPIs for Small Business Success

As a small business owner, some days might feel more successful than others. As the owner and CEO of an accounting and payroll software company, I have experienced this first-hand. But, do you use quantifiable data to record your progress? If not, apply your most important KPIs (key performance indicators) to your business practices. KPIs […]

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6 Startup Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I started the first of my six businesses 30 years ago. I didn’t have a formal business degree, accounting training, or even an idea for what business I really wanted to start. All I knew was, I wanted to be my own boss and start my own business. Because I was starting at square one […]

5 Tips for Software Entrepreneurs

I’ve been a software entrepreneur for over 30 years now. But a lot has changed since my days of staying up all night to write custom code on black and green screens. Today’s software development landscape is vast, with numerous niches to specialize in. If I was going to start a business in the software […]

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Building Brand Awareness vs. Marketing

Marketing can be incredibly expensive. In fact, for many startups, after initial investment and any payroll obligations, marketing campaigns can easily be the most expensive part of your business. If you’re a rookie entrepreneur (heck, even if you’re a veteran entrepreneur), you may feel enticed to blast news and advertisements about your new company and […]

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5 Reasons for a Failed Startup

I’ve been an entrepreneur for 30 years. I’m the founder of Patriot Software Company, which presently has six companies under its umbrella, all of which I’ve started. With each one of these business ventures, I learned something new about what it takes to get a business up and running. I’ve also learned a thing or […]

5 Tech Skills All Modern Entrepreneurs Should Have

As an entrepreneur for over 30 years now, I’ve listened to more stories about how to get started as an entrepreneur than I can count. Heck, I’ve even told my fair share of them. (I did get started in the basement of a factory after all.) I’ve learned a lot about recent tech skills while […]

Small Business Lessons Learned From Burning Down a Laundromat

The life of a small business owner is full of unexpected challenges. For example, very early on in my new life as a full-time entrepreneur, before I founded and became CEO of Patriot Software, my online payroll and accounting software company, one of my employees tried to dry chemical-soaked rags in a commercial gas dryer […]

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Should I Start My Own Business?

I started Patriot Software in 1986. It has grown into a fast-paced Saas company that offers full service payroll, accounting software, and HR software add-ons, but it was nothing fancy back then. When I started my business, it was just me, my fragile little business idea, and the space I could clear around my fixer-upper […]

C’s Get Degrees… and Start Companies

The honest truth is, I’m a pretty average guy by academic standards. When I was in high school, I maintained a B average. In college, in my engineering program, that dropped down to a solid C. If you’re keeping score by the world’s grading standard, I shouldn’t be the owner of a multi-million dollar recruiting […]

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88 Must-Answer Questions Before You Launch a Startup

Some people say that you must create a formal business plan before starting your business. That’s debatable, and frankly I disagree. I’ve got nearly 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, and I’m currently CEO of Patriot Software, and online accounting and payroll software company. Unless raising money for your startup and impressing banks is a must, […]