Month: January 2020

Qualities Of A Successful Entrepreneur

Unwavering passion

In my opinion, being an entrepreneur demands commitment and dedication. If you are mildly passionate about your products or services, you will not succeed. When you start a business, there will be many challenges. You will face a lot of highs and lows. You will have to find something that keeps you motivated to work in order to build true wealth for yourself.

Open-mindedness

Successful entrepreneurs are open-minded people. They are constantly trying to learn new things from new people. They are not afraid to ask for help and they are flexible. Successful entrepreneurs are also able to soak up the best practices used from other people like a sponge. The fear of failure can make it easy to hold onto your vision with tight grip.

The desire to become an expert

Successful entrepreneurs like challenges. If they did not, they would probably choose another line of work. When you spend many years in the same industry, you will eventually know everything about it. Knowing what has been done before can help you recognize how to move forward. In the mean time, I suggest that you build relationships with people, so you can gain some support when you … Read the rest


Entrepreneurial Leadership

After emptying the contents, he straps on a rocket, puts wheels on his feet, and lays down railroad tracks along the road the Road Runner is going to come down. He dons his helmet and waits eagerly. Without hesitation, the Road Runner appears in a flash and stops and gives his customary greeting – “Beep Beep.” And, off he goes. The coyote, ready to pounce, lights his rocket and bends into position and the fuse goes out. It is a dud! As he stands up in complete frustration and takes off his helmet, WHAM! He is hit by a train coming down his tracks. Who is the conductor? Beep Beep! That’s right, his nemesis, the Road Runner.

I always laugh to myself. But, it also reminds me what Will Rogers said, “It’s not enough to be on the right track. You’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Many entrepreneurs feel this reality when they are beginning their businesses. The question is often asked, “How do I get my business off the ground?” The truth is, after finally quitting your job, and launching out after your dream, it is not enough to just get started. If you can’t get … Read the rest


Avoid Failures Of Startup Companies

Well the top one among the contenders in the list is the lack of planning at the core. This reason is further characteristic of smaller companies, which tend to move with the flow and are not clear about their own vision. As for the larger ones, lack of planning often implies over or under assumptions. They plan but are usually misguided or misled by the new situations, over optimism and lack of experience. The difference is that of between theory and practical. What seems right on paper falters in practical. The goals are either too deviated or have little in common with the resources.

The second in the list and indeed fallout of improper planning is the drained cash flow. Lack of substantial cash to manage dealings gives a chance to creditors to impose bankruptcy or insolvency. To avoid such adverse situations, it is best advised to have a reserve and make sure that the required funds for maintaining a comfortable cash flow are in place, even if that requires an extensive budgeting or thinning the entire structure.

Among others that follow, an important determinant is the company’s logistic and inventory planner vis-à-vis the marketing strategy. A hasty marketing strategy … Read the rest


Ways to Enjoy Your Work

WORK FOR YOURSELF

The second factor that plays an important role in your enjoyment of work is to Work for Yourself or become your own boss.

If I would have to give you the number one reason to work for yourself, it would be that you would have more freedom and flexibility in your life, as you could create your own working hours and have more time to enjoy other things outside of work.

DIFFERENCE

The third factor of enjoying your work is to truly make a Difference to people’s lives with your work. How many businesses out there truly make a positive difference to people?

Maybe McDonald’s is one of them? (Just Kidding)

Whether or not you work for yourself for someone else, try to find something that you can actually see that you are making a positive difference to people’s lives.

For example helping people grow their businesses, become happier, live healthier lives and so on.

BALANCE

The fourth factor to enjoy your work is to find Balance between your work and your free time. Learn to find your optimal working times and conditions.

If you’re working too hard and for long hours, you’re probably too stressed to … Read the rest


Find Funding For Startup

Consider Your Niche

If your idea has something special, you may find it easier to get funding. As a matter of fact, there are grants that are given to specific business ideas only. So, if you have a solid idea, you may find it easier to apply for a grant.

You can also gain another benefit if you define your niche. As you apply for funding, make sure you summarize your niche in a few words. This will help you set your business apart from your competition.

Look For a Grant

As far as looking for funding goes, the best thing is a grant. You can get money free of charge and this money can lift your business. The fact of the matter is that locating and getting the grant is a hard nut to crack. But if you don’t try, you won’t be able to get the required money.

Actually, grants are based on the demographics and the business theme. For instance, grants are given for women, minority business owners and so on. So, if you want to apply, all you have to do is clean your keyboard and begin typing.

Go For a Contest

Entering a contest is … Read the rest


Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make At The Outset

Crafting the strategy needs time and thought, so the owner must be patient and learn to filter the many unsolicited voices telling her how she can make money quickly. I cannot state enough how crucial it is to develop a simple strategy for the startup. This simple strategy will be the guide to carrying out the owner’s mission or purpose for doing business.

Harvard professor and author Michael Porter, says strategy must be unique. He goes on to mention that strategy:

  • by consensus is bad strategy
  • is not compromise; it’s clarity
  • is about choices
  • needs a set of uniqueness to help to differentiate you from the competition

Porter then adds that less than 25% of companies have a clear strategy.

Strategy doesn’t have to be embedded in many pages, it can and should be plain and simple.

In his 1985 book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the late management guru Peter Drucker (1909-2005) said entrepreneurs create something new, something different and have unique characteristics. He said McDonald’s exemplified entrepreneurship; “they didn’t invent anything any decent American restaurant hadn’t produced hamburgers for years.” Drucker continued, McDonald’s asked:

What is value to the customer?” Then they standardized the product, designed processes, and tools,

Read the rest

Business Skills

Patience

In entrepreneurship, it cannot be doubted that patience is key. You need to have patience and understand that entrepreneurship is a journey that can’t be completed in a single day.

Tenacity

Tenacity, or as referred to in other terms, persistence is a skill that is necessary for entrepreneurship success. Sometimes things don’t go your way and you’ll need to keep on pushing.

Empathy

Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. The only way you can ever be motivated to keep on fighting in order to help solve a person’s problem is if you see it as your own, which is why empathy is so important.

Leadership

At one point or the other, as an entrepreneur, you are going to be required to lead which makes having this skill a must. You will have to be able to influence and help people move towards a certain direction.

Management

Management is key to being a successful entrepreneur. Every business has objectives and for people to meet those objectives, they have to be managed which makes it a key skill to have.

Innovation

An important skill. Great companies innovate and if your aim is to build a company that will someday be ranked among the … Read the rest


Business Process Consulting

Have Clear Lines of Responsibility

In the high performance business culture, everyone knows what his or her role and function are. They are defined within the constraints of the strategic agenda and the direction of the business.

Having control mechanisms in place, such as documented position descriptions and standard operating procedures, for instance, ensures consistency in communication and feedback.

These mechanisms also provide a means of coordinating multiple initiatives and tasks, in terms of objectives and measures, consistent with resources and capabilities of the strategic agenda.

Razor Sharp Focus

Everyone knows what the goals and objectives are, in keeping with the strategic vision that must be aspired to. This is because they are clearly defined and spelled out. This can be done very simply and elegantly – in fact, the simpler the better.

Having a Small Business Plan that is aligned and cascades into the company’s functional areas and into its individual work plans will ensure that the vision of the business is communicated in concrete, achievable and measurable terms.

Highly Motivated People

Successful businesses are full of committed and dedicated people. All of the people in such businesses exhibit a high drive for self-improvement and achievement, both at the … Read the rest


Protect Your eBusiness

For example, SSL would be of no use, if the organization is in a habit of sending mails from different departments. The virus scan technology can only prove to be effective, if you regularly update the virus scanner. This is because, time and again, new viruses are found to threaten the computers. Hence, you should ensure that the PROCESS involved in the security system is carried out effectively to meet the security needs of your organization.

There should be a distinct classification of responsibility for different security areas of your business. These areas include:

  • Firewall policies
  • Backup procedures
  • Virus control procedures
  • Disaster recovery procedures
  • Password procedures
  • System access levels and authorization procedures
  • Other traditional security areas

Unavoidable Security Measures For e-Businesses

  • When the sever consoles are idle, lock them with passwords. This will make the systems inaccessible to others.
  • Passwords should be such that they cannot be guessed easily. Moreover, change your passwords at regular intervals.
  • All your network systems as well as web servers should be located at places that are safe.
  • Redundancy systems should be present not only for network systems, but also for air conditioning and other power systems.
  • Source code procedure, process for detecting defects, and
Read the rest

Training Employees Within Budget

Businesses can conduct a needs analysis to correctly ascertain which areas their employees need training as well as try to shop for the most economical training available in that area. They have to have a clear perception of how they will benefit from the training, how to make sure that the employees implement the new techniques they have learnt and to make sure that with constant monitoring the employees significantly improve the businesses growth and sales.

Opt for individual training if only one employee needs brushing up on certain aspects such as leadership qualities etc.

Try web-based training, browsing sites that deal with the relevant topic, using CDs that can be economical as well as used to teach many employees. Several sites help teach people free of cost too, providing relevant information as well as guidelines regarding your area of work.

Try tele-classes, where in employees need not go physically to attend the classes and need not hinder the daily activities of the business as these classes are usually of just an hour’s duration. Groups can be taught using this method and the employees need to invest just a few hours a day to learn.

Conducting mini workshops can be … Read the rest