business savvy

Successful Startups Often Come With a High Price

by Paul Joseph January 13, 2012 Featured

Most entrepreneurs expect to face the “normal” challenges of starting a business, which include finding the right opportunity, building and executing a winning plan, and financing their venture. But many forget the pitfalls associated with traditional business jobs which can apply even to the smartest and most dedicated people running their own business. Often these facets of entrepreneurship don’t rear their ugly head until well down the road. Yet before you start, you should think about what the impact might be on your psyche, and how to neutralize these challenges in your own plan. I’ll summarize them here, but you can see more detail in an article by David Finkel in D&B Small Business Solutions : Long-term daily job grind. Sometimes entrepreneurs are so set on creating a successful business, they forget to create one that they love to work on every day. After a time, they find that they have merely created a job for themselves, with the same rote responsibilities and stress that they experienced in a prior corporate world. Daily attendance is mandatory in order for the business to succeed and be profitable, and the so-called freedom is hard to find. Vacations and time-off don’t happen for years. Formal training courses. Larger enterprises are always sending their “high fliers” to leadership refreshers, new technology updates, and training on employee performance management.  Entrepreneurs find themselves all alone in the trenches, without the time, money, or incentives to do these things.  The result is a sinking feeling after some time that you are no longer vital and competitive in your own domain. Personal wealth management. Entrepreneurs find that the business skills needed to grow their business are not the same as the personal wealth skills needed to manage a healthy personal wealth plan for their family and their retirement. Their business is their entire portfolio. They are at the mercy of innumerable catastrophes, making this a huge risk. For these individuals, a lack of financial fluency often leads to poor decisions after they no longer have their businesses.  They wake up one day without their business, and with nothing to show for the years spent building it. How society perceives you. As a young entrepreneur, everyone looks up to you for running your own business. But later you find that you may be perceived by many as a person without job security, unlike your classmates or ex-colleagues, who are sought after or being placed in well-known large company or multinational positions. Even worse, you find that your business domain has developed a negative stigma through no fault of your own, as has happened to investment banks, mortgage brokers, and many nightlife businesses. It’s no fun to hide your business role rather than proudly proclaim it. Business must be more than the money. Years into a successful business, owners often wake up one day facing a painful question: Is this all there is?  To truly be successful your business must be about more than the money. Good entrepreneurs find a great personal adventure, like Richard Branson, or great philanthropy, like Bill Gates. Guy Kawasaki says the best reason to start an organization is to make meaning – to create a product or service that makes the world a better place. Every business startup has to have a viable idea, but it also needs a strong sense of realism on the possible pitfalls. Starting a company as an entrepreneur should be viewed as the beginning of a lifetime career, not a work project that you expect to be over in a few months. As such you should consider the long-term challenges as well as the short-term ones. Life is too short to end up with pain and regret after a “successful” career. Martin Zwilling is the founder and chief executive officer of Startup Professionals, a company that provides products and services to startup founders and small business owners. Check out his daily blog at http://blog.startupprofessionals.com Read more about Marty here .

Tagged as: become an entrepreneur, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, management, starting a business, startup

0 comments Read the full article →

10 Reality Checks Before You Start a Business

by Paul Joseph November 29, 2011 Featured

Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is a major commitment, with huge implications for skills and lifestyle.  Yet there is no standardized testing or certification required or available anywhere to help you decide if you are a good fit for entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurship is right for you. An MBA or other academic credentials just don’t do it. Therefore, the least you can do is take advantage of some of the self-assessment tools around, and follow a new guide on the subject, “ The Entrepreneur Equation ,” by Carol Roth, which highlights personal characteristics and skills required. Some day, I expect there will be a more formal certification required, like lawyers and accountants have to pass, to hang out their shingle. Until that happens, I recommend that you consider the following ten reality checks from Carol’s and my experience on entrepreneurial aspirations, before you step in so deep that it’s hard to back out: Critically assess your motivation. Are you bored, wanting to be free of a boss, or eager to showcase a hot technology? These are not valid reasons to start a business. But if you’re focused on solving a real problem, believe you can do it better than anyone else, and confident in wearing many hats, you have the right start-up mindset. Say hello to multiple new bosses. When you start your own business, you are no longer in control.  You will likely not have the freedom you dreamed of.  You will be controlled by your customers, investors, lenders – and you are personally responsible for answering to all of them, all of the time. Evaluate how well you work with others. Many people dream of opening a business as an escape from annoying coworkers and overbearing bosses. But now you have to interface with even more people, including accountants, lawyers, as well as clients and team members.  You need to be comfortable with people and have sharp people skills. Add up your responsibilities. Owning a business is very much like raising a child.  It’s a 24/7 job.  If anything happens to the business (including a loss of income), how will it affect your family or home life? Remember, the buck always stops with you. Look at your management and industry experience. Being able to manage employees and vendors is the type of skill assumed before starting your own business.  You’ll also need to know your industry inside and out. It helps to work in a similar company before you start your own. Take stock of whom you know. Business comes down to not what you know, but whom you know.  Good connections are worth their weight in gold.  They will get you interest from investors and lenders, and you will receive better financing, prices, terms, and conditions from business suppliers and professional services. Be honest about your relationship with money. Don’t expect your relationship with money to change just because you’ve opened a business.  Opening a business requires money, as well as sound financial management.  Do you panic about spending money or avoid financial risk at all costs? Assess your personality type. If you are a person who likes stability and control, or if you prefer when things go as planned, the roller-coaster ride of a new business may not be right for you. Every new business has highs and lows, and plenty of the unexpected. Examine the marketplace and your competition. To brand your business and woo investors, you’ll need to understand why and how you can outshine competitors. Both good and bad competitors will influence how successful your business will be. Test your scalability. Successful businesses rely on automation and delegation. Will you be able to teach other employees to do your work? If your business relies on your brain and skills alone, you might have a successful job, but not a successful business. Please don’t take these steps as being too negative, but do remember that the risks are high. Statistics say that the failure rate for new businesses within the first 5 years is as high as 90 percent.  That should indicate that a lot of entrepreneurs get more than they bargained for. Think twice before you invest your precious time, money, and energy, and then go for it! Martin Zwilling is the founder and chief executive officer of Startup Professionals, a company that provides products and services to startup founders and small business owners. Check out his daily blog at http://blog.startupprofessionals.com Read more about Marty here .

Tagged as: business, business planning, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, small-business, starting a business, startup, success

0 comments Read the full article →

Building Trust: How to Communicate with Integrity

by Paul Joseph November 15, 2011 Featured

There is little that’s more important in business than trust. Whether we’re talking about communication between a company and its customers, employees, suppliers, or the public at large, communicating with integrity is vital. Without it, relationships suffer, and business, ultimately, is all about relationships. It’s not just the words that are used in communications that provide a sense of trust and integrity. The way things are said also plays a significant part in any communications. People learn from an early age that factors such as body language, tone of voice, and pitch are important in interpreting someone’s meaning in what they say. Similarly, other types of communication, such as print, video, and audio depend on more than words to convey their intended message. 3 Keys for Trustworthy Communication So, how can a business ensure it is communicating in a way that expresses trust and integrity? It comes down to understanding how people interpret various forms of communication and then using that knowledge to construct you message the right way. Here are 3 keys to keep in mind when planning any form of communications: 1. Know your heart from your head. When we communicate “from our head,” we tend to use logic, facts, and figures. Head-centered communication can come across as cold and even uncaring. This doesn’t necessarily translate into a lack of integrity, but it can be a barrier to communicating trust, because people tend to trust communication they are comfortable with, not the type that is “standoffish.” Sometimes it’s necessary to communicate facts and figures. So, when creating web or marketing copy, scripts, or speeches, find ways to make facts and figures more heart-centered and personal. What do the numbers really mean to your audience? In sales, we talk about the importance of communicating the benefit of a product or service. This is a great way to turn cold facts into heartfelt concern for what your offerings will mean to your customers. 2. Know what you’re talking about. People trust companies and individuals who they feel know their stuff. Communicating your knowledge can be tricky, because people don’t tend to trust those who brag or have inflated egos. So be sure to communicate your expertise through helping people to solve problems. That’s one of the best ways to build trust in a relationship. When it comes to marketing and other forms of non-verbal communication, demonstrate your company’s knowledge and expertise in your communications. If you’re not  the industry leader, don’t claim to be, but act as if you are by knowing your field inside and out and displaying your expert status in a non-gloating way, and you may soon find yourself in that position. 3. Be truthful. It should go without saying that actually having integrity and being honest are the best way to communicate trust and integrity, but you’re probably aware that not everyone gets that. Every day we see the results of people and companies in the limelight that chose not to be completely honest and suffered the consequences. The clearest way to communicate integrity, whether in face-to-face conversation or in your marketing and internal communications, is to actually tell the truth. Know what you want to say before you say it, and have no doubts that it’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If you don’t know, admit you don’t know, and commit to finding the answer. If you make something up instead, it’s likely to come back to bite you. What experience have you had with companies not communicating honestly? Share your stories in the comments and on our Facebook page – and now on Google+ too! Adam Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Matthew. Adam is co-author of the newly released book: Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs .

Tagged as: business planning, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, ethics, integrity, marketing, small-business, success, trust

0 comments Read the full article →

The Simple Ingredient for Business Success: Care

by Paul Joseph November 11, 2011 Featured

There are a million and one ‘systems’ and ‘programs’ out there that claim to hold the secret to having a successful business. For a price, consultants, gurus, and experts of all kinds will tell you what it takes to be at the top in business and in life. But it’s been my experience that it mostly comes down to one simple thing: Caring. Many of those systems, books, blogs, and other programs certainly have value. Many are of tremendous value, in fact. And they all require you to truly care before they’ll work. I’d go so far as to say that before you do anything else in business or invest a dime, you’d better learn how to care, or you’ll fail. It’s About People The reason caring is so important is that business, at its core, is all about people. You might have a website that pays off of ad revenue, or you might have a donut shop where regulars come in every day. It doesn’t matter. Both ultimately rely on other people to be successful. Just because you don’t see or actually meet anyone through your business doesn’t mean its okay not to care about those you’re serving. And when it comes to who you’re serving, it’s important to see the whole picture. Generally, people think of ‘customers’ as the group they need to care about, and they often forget about other groups of people that are vital to a successful business. There are three primary groups every entrepreneur needs to care about to realize success: 1. Customers. Obviously it’s your customers or clients who pay the bills. Those who actually spend money with your company are the ones who must feel as though you care about them. If they have the impression that you don’t care – or don’t care enough – they’ll quickly look for someone who does. And how you show that you care for your customers can come in many forms. It’s not only about the face-to-face interactions you have with them. It goes well beyond that to the marketing copy you write, the performance of your website, your return and warrantee policies, and the quality of whatever products and services you’re offering. If customers feel you care and treat them with value at every step of the buying process, they’ll want to return, and they’ll tell others. And that’s what we should all be striving for. 2. Employees. Do those working for you really feel as though you care about them? If you don’t want employees who think of the work the do for you as “just a job,” you can’t treat them as “just employees.” This is a tough one for a lot of entrepreneurs. Personnel management doesn’t come naturally to many people, and it can be difficult to balance being the boss with expressing appreciation and caring. But if you’re able to strike that balance, the payoff can be huge. Loyalty and exceptional performance come from employees who feel valued and cared about, and you can’t put a price tag on those things. Happy employees take better care of your customers, perform their duties better, and tend to generally be a lot easier to manage. A word of caution though: don’t make the mistake of thinking that raises translate into caring. While a fair wage is important, it isn’t what employees value most. Make them feel important and as though what they’re doing matters, and it will go much further toward communicating that you care than just a paycheck. 3. Vendors. Some business people feel that they’re doing suppliers and vendors a favor by buying from them. And to some extent that’s true. But again, whatever business you’re in, you’re really in the people business. And your vendors are people who also need to feel cared about. Why is this important? Next time there’s a glitch in an order, a delay in shipping, or an unexpected rush order, the vendor who knows you care about them will be the one who’s most likely to go out of their way to make things right. And even when it comes to pricing, the advantage often goes to the client who treats people well. There’s more to being successful in business than just caring, but if you start there, a lot of the other stuff falls into place. Caring about what you do and the people you serve – it’s the ingredient that makes all the difference. Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book: Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs .

Tagged as: business, business psychology, business savvy, customer service, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, management, small-business, success

0 comments Read the full article →

7 Financial Habits of Strong Businesses

by Paul Joseph August 23, 2011 Featured

The road to business success can be a fairly rocky one. But as with most rocky situations, there is a lot to be learned along the way. Unfortunately, one of the lessons many entrepreneurs learn the hard way is the proper way to handle their finances. As financial issues, including lack of funds and financial mismanagement, are among the most common reasons for business failure, this is an area that deserves some thought and planning. Below are 7 financial habits that can help your road to success feel a whole lot smoother: 1. Create Proper Financial Statements: A lot of people have the misconception that financial statements are a simple listing of all business expenses and income. Proper financial statements don’t stop there. In order to get a realistic grasp on your company’s cash flow, value of assets, and any debts you have, generate complete financial statements on a quarterly basis. By doing so, you’ll have the opportunity to see that your checkbook’s balance isn’t always an indication of the financial health of your business or income earned. 2. Engage an Accounting Expert: Put forth the money and effort required to find a good accounting firm to help you with your accounting needs. Although this may seem like an expensive proposition, business failure will be even more costly. By hiring an accounting firm, not only are you saving yourself the hassle and space of having an in-house accounting department, but you’ll also be ensuring that the money end of your business is running as efficiently as possible. 3. Utilize Financial Management Software: Even if you’re using a professional accountant, managing and reporting your business finances will require some sort of financial management software. Using this type of application will provide you with the information required to make informed business decisions. Items such as savings and profits will be outlined clearly so that you can instantly see where any improvements need to be made. 4. Track Sales-to-Expense Ratios: By tracking your sales-to-expense ratios, you’ll have the tools and knowledge required to make any changes where necessary. For example, by tracking advertising expense-to-sales ratios, you can clearly see if your advertising dollars are being spent wisely. If you notice an increase in advertising expense-to-sales ratios, it very well may mean that your current method of advertising is ineffective and needs to be reexamined. 5. Monitor Inventory Levels: A very important aspect of any product-centered business is inventory management. By monitoring inventory levels closely, you’ll be able to protect your business from simple yet destructive issues, like running out of goods or materials. 6. Manage Accounts Properly: By understanding how to properly calculate and manage accounts receivable and accounts payable, and understand their relationship to each other, you’re better able to get a handle on your company’s financial health. Your accountant will help with this, but you need to know it yourself too. It’s your business, and you want your finger on the pulse of your finances at all times. 7. Have a Capitalization Strategy: Business planning and capitalization strategy should go hand-in-hand. By understanding what will be needed in order for you to acquire the resources and amount of capital necessary to accomplish your business goals, you will be able to plan much more effectively for the end result that you desire. By implementing these habits, your business will stand a much better chance to avoid becoming part of the failure statistics. You certainly don’t have to be an accountant in order to be successful with your business, but if your finances aren’t managed properly, your chance of success is greatly diminished.

Tagged as: business, business planning, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, finances, money, money management, small-business

0 comments Read the full article →

Passion without Perspective: A Recipe for Disaster

by Paul Joseph August 17, 2011 Featured

It seems like there are thousands of people out there dreaming of becoming the next Internet sensation.  Specifically, there are countless people trying to turn their personal passions into content-driven websites. If you search the web, you’ll find hundreds of sites devoted to sports fans, foodies, travelers, book lovers, love and sex, and parenting (to name a few). The web allows people with a serious passion to express themselves. If you are going to have a blog or online publication as a hobby, that’s great. Go for it! But, if you are looking at your website as your primary source of business, then you have to approach your website like any entrepreneur would approach a start-up. There are a number of entrepreneurial sites that have grown into multi-million dollar businesses.  This group includes Perez Hilton, Mashable, TechCrunch and Timothy Sykes. While these million dollar success stories are impressive, they are few and far between. Nevertheless, there are many blogs and online magazines that generate enough revenue to sustain a business. The ones that succeed are the ones that target a specific and significant audience and deliver unique, informative and entertaining content. The worst thing about the Internet, in terms of entrepreneurship, is that there is such a low barrier for entry.  It gives you the opportunity to start a business without really thinking through your business model. While it may be easy to set up a website, it is extremely difficult to set up a content-driven website that generates significant revenues. People with absolutely no understanding of business can set up shop online and then bleed money because they haven’t done their homework, don’t know the competitive landscape, have no idea of how to budget and do not understand the finances of an ongoing operation. For a content-driven website to be successful, it needs significant traffic, enough traffic to get the attention of advertisers. To do that, you must not only tap into a large target audience, you have to serve that audience with informative, entertaining and compelling content. First ask yourself questions about the quality of your content and the nature and scope of your target audience: Is my writing style clear, coherent and entertaining? Do I have the time to produce my content on a regular basis, ensuring that visitors are not disappointed when they return? Who is my target audience? Is that target audience large enough to sustain a business (i.e. attract advertisers)? Do I have the budget to market my site? Do I have the time and willingness to promote my site through social media, content marketing and media outreach? If, after answering these questions, you still feel you can make it online as a business, then it is time for you to ask the same kinds of questions any entrepreneur should ask when embarking on a start-up: What is my competition in this niche? Are any competitors in this niche actually earning a living? What void can I fill in serving this niche that isn’t currently being served? What makes my idea for a site unique? What companies are currently advertising online in my niche? In terms of the economics of building and running your site, you must be able to answer these questions: How am I going to fund this site? Savings? Friends and family? Loans? Am I going to seek out angel or venture capital investors? How am I going to budget the site? What is my advertising/marketing budget? What kind of overhead am I looking at? Staff? Office space? Technology? Legal costs? Supplies? How much time and money am I willing to invest in this site long can I concentrate on this site before running out of funds? Are there other ways of bringing in income while I’m devoting time to the website? If you’ve been able to answer all of these questions and still feel confident that you can make a financial success of your website, then, by all means, go for it! You have to be a little crazy to be an entrepreneur, but that’s half the fun. Jon Gelberg is the Chief Content Officer at Blue Fountain Media, where he oversees a wide range of content initiatives including Blue Fountain Media’s “ Business Learning Center .” Read more about Jon here .

Tagged as: business, business planning, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, motivation, small-business, success

0 comments Read the full article →

4 Times when Hiring a Lawyer Makes a lot of Sense

by Paul Joseph August 9, 2011 Featured

Ah… lawyers. One of the most ridiculed professions there is. But if you’re a business owner, the right attorney at the right time can save you a ton of money and heartache. There are so many lawyers, and they charge so much, because we need them. And the good news is that they’re not all bad. In fact your business lawyer could just become your best friend. Entrepreneurs are often reluctant to engage an attorney, even if they don’t have a personal negative view of the profession. This usually comes from the mentality that they don’t need “professional help.” Entrepreneurs tend to be independent types and want to do things for themselves. In many cases, this is a good trait to have, but when it comes to legal matters, it can be disastrous. This is especially true if you’re involved in a situation where another party does use a lawyer and you decide you don’t need one. If you’re a startup entrepreneur though, you might not have the money to have an attorney on retainer to consult on everything you do. So it’s important to know when hiring a lawyer is most important. Below are four times when hiring a lawyer is a good idea for any business owner: 1. Starting a Business – There are literally millions of pages online with advice about whether you should structure your company as an LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, sole proprietorship, etc. Sometimes a lot of information is a good thing, but in this case, it can be very confusing. Given that this is a very important decision when starting a business, you don’t want to rely on your own research. You might feel as though you have a good grasp of the various business structures, but it’s very unlikely that you fully understand all the local, state, and federal regulations, all the tax implications, and how to implement the structure exactly right. Now, you might be saying, “Yes I do!” That’s great, but the wisest business decision in this case is to set aside pride and make 100% sure you’re making the right decisions. In the long run, it can make all the difference. 2. People Issues – Like it or not, we live in the most litigious society in the world. Employees, customers, vendors, neighbors, and just about anyone else you meet can bring a suit against you and your company at any time. Even if you’ve operated for 30 years without a lawsuit, it’s certainly no guarantee it won’t happen at some point. If the time does come when someone makes a claim against your company, it’s time to bring in an attorney. Even in small claims cases, where lawyers are often not allowed to represent the parties in the courtroom, there is nothing that says you can’t consult with a lawyer before appearing in court. And it’s a very good idea to do so. Especially in the area of employment law, laws are changing all the time, and it’s a lawyer’s job to keep up to date on these changes and make sure you are presenting the very best case possible. Again, the amount you could end up saving often makes the attorney fees well worth it. 3. Signing Contracts – In a high-tech world, where we click “I accept” without even glancing at user agreements and terms & conditions statements, we must remember that when you sign a contract, it’s a serious matter. Of course many contracts are standard and not as big a deal as others. For those that significantly impact your business though, like investment and loan documents, it’s a very good idea to get a lawyer involved. The fees for reviewing contracts typically isn’t outrageous, and, again, worth it. 4. Upon Exit – You’ve built an amazing company, and now you’re just deciding whether to take Google’s offer or Microsoft’s. Clearly, this is a time when a lawyer is an absolute necessity. But even if you’re not being bought out by a huge corporation, any kind of exit strategy, whether it’s selling your business, merging with another company, or even just shutting down, should be reviewed by an attorney. This time, more than any, it is critical that you have a lawyer review and advise on everything. Don’t assume that the other party’s lawyers are looking out for your best interests – they’re not. Sure, there are some snakes in the legal profession – just as there are in every industry. But a good business lawyer, preferably found through recommendations, can indeed be an entrepreneur’s best friend. What has been your experience with hiring lawyers for your business? Share with the community in the comments below or on our Facebook page !

Tagged as: business, business law, business planning, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, law, small-business

0 comments Read the full article →

Ten Quotes from Entrepreneurs Looking to Fail

by Paul Joseph June 20, 2011 Featured

Every entrepreneur needs to be honest about their strengths and weaknesses, and realistic about their reasons for choosing the startup route. For any entrepreneur, even the best business opportunities, if entered for the wrong reasons, will likely fail.  Some of these reasons seem obvious, so forgive me for restating, but I still hear them too often. Statistics show that at least 50% of new startups fail within five years, and many of the survivors eventually fail. If you don’t want to be part of these statistics, consider all the alternatives to starting your own business, especially if you have one of the following perspectives: 1. “I’m tired of working hard and being so stressed all the time.” Starting and growing a business is more work and more stress than any employee role should be.  Perhaps you need to look carefully at the reasons for your weariness and stress at work. Health and personal problems don’t go away when you start a business. 2. “It’s my hobby anyway, so why not make it my business?” The problem here is that most hobbies cost money rather than make money.  Just because you love doing it doesn’t mean anyone will love paying for it. 3. “I’m desperate, since I can’t find a job that suits me.” With the current recession, jobs are indeed hard to find.  But don’t forget that businesses are failing at a higher rate as well. Desperate people don’t make good entrepreneurs, and probably don’t have the resources or fortitude to start a business. 4. “My family has always been in business, so it’s in my genes.” Good entrepreneurs do seem to have certain innate qualities, but it’s not clear that these qualities are automatically passed to offspring. If your passions are elsewhere, don’t try running the family business. 5. “I’ve inherited some money and starting a business should be a good investment.” You can’t start a business without capital, but having capital doesn’t mean you can start one. Learning is expensive and risky. It’s less risky to invest your windfall in someone with a proven business record, or put the money in the bank. 6. “I have some extra time, and I need a second income.” Being an entrepreneur is not a part-time job. A business startup is actually a second expense more than a second income. For supplementary income, you would be better served to take a part-time job with an existing company. 7. “I hate having a boss, and just being an employee.” Don’t start a business for a power trip. When you become a business owner, your customers, suppliers, creditors, partners and a lot of other people will become your new “bosses”. These people may be harder to please than your boss at the office today. 8. “All my friends own hot businesses and seem to be doing well.” You shouldn’t believe all the hype, or all the things said in social circles. Definitely don’t jump into trendy businesses you don’t know just to be popular.  Even good friends tend to forget talking about the years of hard work and sacrifice, in favor of recent success. 9. “I’d like to be rich, so I’ll start a business.” Starting a business with a dream of riches is certain disappointment. There is no evidence that entrepreneurs make more money, on the average, than other professionals. There is much evidence that the risks of failure are higher on the business owner side. 10. “My primary goal is to contribute something to society.” This is laudable, but more effectively addressed after you have built a successful company, not before. If changing the world is your main motivation and money is not a concern, then do it, without allowing the building of a company to slow you down. For anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations, I recommend you start by networking with peer business people and organizations before you commit to a startup of your own.  Ask questions and do everything you can to make sure you are tackling the right business for the right reasons. Your entrepreneurial life depends on it. Martin Zwilling is the founder and chief executive officer of Startup Professionals, a company that provides products and services to start-up founders and small business owners. Read more about Marty here .

Tagged as: business, business savvy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, family, friends, money, small-business, time

0 comments Read the full article →

Be More Productive: Cut the Mental Clutter

by Paul Joseph June 15, 2011 Featured

Mental clutter, like physical clutter, is distraction and reduces your ability to focus and get the work done. Mental clutter forces you to keep redirecting your brain to the task at hand. Mental clutter makes our productivity weaknesses – procrastinating, getting distracting, getting off focus, being intimidated by big projects – much harder to fight. Having a load of mental clutter is like giving your distraction-prone self a whole buffet of options to choose from instead of working. So, the first step to being more productive? Clearing the clutter. Do a Daily Brain Purge When you’re clearing out physical clutter, you start with a couple of simple but essential tools: trash bags and cardboard boxes. These tools give you a place to put the clutter. The stuff that has no value goes into the trash bag. The stuff that does have value gets sorted into the cardboard box: one for stuff that you don’t need or want, but that might be valuable to someone else, and one for stuff you need to keep and put in its right place. We need to apply that same trashing and sorting concept to our mental clutter, and do it on a regular basis. Daily is best. Step 1: Get it on paper. There are several methods for a daily brain purge, and none are better than others. It’s a matter of preference. I like simply sitting down with a notebook and writing. As in, with a pen. On actual paper. How quaint and old-fashioned and supremely inefficient; I know, I know. But it works best for me. As far as when to do this purge, I prefer morning; I’m usually bright and full of ideas, and the discipline of sitting and writing helps me to sort them all out, get down the things that are weighing me down mentally and distracting me from work, and figure out what I need to focus on for the day ahead. There are plenty of variations on my preferred Daily Brain Purge method: Write in long-hand to pull out all the stuff your brain has hidden away. Just giving yourself the freedom of prose, pen and paper can help you find out all sorts of ideas, worries, distractions, solutions, and more. Type it out. Some people like the sound and feel of the keyboard. Make a list. No need for complete sentences; just list out everything you can think of. Don’t stop to analyze it, just get it on paper (or computer screen). Map it out. Use mind-mapping and brain-storming techniques to clear your mind of the mental load. Step 2: Sort it out. Once you’ve gotten stuff on paper, you need to apply that simple sorting method we discussed above. Here’s what I do: as I’m writing in my notebook, I leave a wide margin on the right-hand side. As I’m writing about whatever is on my mind, other things will pop into my consciousness: to-do items, emails, ideas, grocery items, people I need to call, a birthday coming up, whatever. I just jot those down in my right-hand margin so I can easily find them later. You can do the same kind of sorting process as you’re writing or typing or mapping; or you can go back and read through your notes after you’ve gotten them all on paper. Sort through what you’ve written and decide where it belongs: in the virtual trash bag, headed to someone else, or in the pile of “stuff you want to keep/need to do.” Whatever label each item gets, though, don’t skip the final step, which is to get labeled items sorted into the right container so you can find them later. Step 3: Get it in the right box. This is a step people often skip, and it’s why the mental clutter keeps piling up. You may have written stuff down, but if your brain isn’t confident that you’ll remember it when you need to remember it, you’ll keep getting those little nagging brain-prompts. So: you have to get the action items and must-remember points where you’ll see them when you need to see them. If you have a scheduling system in place, plug those babies in there. You might not be surprised to learn that I prefer an old-fashioned, quaintly inefficient paper calendar. Whatever system you prefer, there are only two important points to remember: you have to put stuff in your schedule, and you have to check your schedule daily. Otherwise, what’s the point in having a schedule? For the mental items that need to move on to someone else, take action to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Call or email people as needed, the sooner the better, then make a point of (at least mentally) scratching those items off your list. Let other people take care of their own responsibilities. Step 4:  Repeat. Information comes to us, daily, in super-sized portions. Life never slows down. If you want the mental clarity to focus and stay productive, you’ve got to regularly clear the mental clutter. The more of a routine you make this mental clearing, the better you will get at it. Do you have any tips for cutting out mental clutter, staying focused, and being more productive? Annie Mueller enjoys creating a personal yet professional voice to render complex topics understandable. Her passion is helping home, small, and micro businesses succeed. Read more about Annie here .

Tagged as: business psychology, business savvy, small-business, virtual

0 comments Read the full article →

10 Keys to Staying on Track for Success

by Paul Joseph June 2, 2011 Featured

It’s a question that’s pondered and discussed a lot: Is there a “formula” for success? If you scout around a little online, you’ll undoubtedly find a number of people who claim to have the formula – or secret, or plan, or whatever… for a price. But in the many years my brother Adam and I have been entrepreneurs, we’ve found that the so-called formula for success isn’t all that difficult or complicated. And it certainly isn’t anything you need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for. In our experience, keeping the following ten keys in mind is what has made the most difference in our success and in the success we’ve had the pleasure of seeing others achieve. 1. Take Responsibility for Your Success: If you are to be successful, it’s up to you. Don’t wait for anyone else to make it happen for you, and don’t rely on luck or chance. There’s no doubt that being in the right place at the right time can make a big difference in your business; but you’re only likely to be in that place at that time – and ready to do something about it – if you’re actively looking for opportunities. And even then, it will be up to you to turn your “luck” into success. 2. Get Help: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that number one above means you have to do it all on your own. Taking responsibility for your own success also means recognizing when you need the help or advice of someone else. No one knows it all, and the sooner you admit that you don’t have all the answers, the sooner you’ll be able to find them. 3. Know What Success Is: Success is different for everyone. For many it means having lots of money, while for others it has more to do with relationships. For most people, it’s a combination of several things. But no one’s idea of success can be defined by anyone but them. You’ve got to know what you’re working for – what success means to you. 4. Stay Healthy: Regardless of how you define success, you won’t get there if you compromise your health. This might not seem like business advice, but staying healthy is the best way to have the energy and stamina necessary to build a business. You don’t have to be a health-nut, but just eating reasonably well and getting a decent amount of exercise will help you in achieving your business goals more than you might think. 5. Go for It: Being an entrepreneur means taking risks. Not stupid risks, but certainly not playing it safe either. If you aren’t willing to go out on a limb and push past your comfort zone, you absolutely will not achieve all you can. 6. Have Some Fun: Working on your business shouldn’t feel like going to a job every day. Entrepreneurship is a blast, and if you don’t agree, you’re doing it wrong! 7. Be Flexible: You’ve probably heard the phrase, “It isn’t what happens to you, but what you do with it that matters.” That is so true in so many ways. When challenges arise (not if – but when ), being flexible enough to shift your approach and adjust your plans allows you to take just about anything that happens and turn it into a win. 8. Relax: Down time is essential. I’m not talking about taking a three-week vacation while you’re in startup mode, but just allowing yourself a little time each day to unplug can really make a difference in your mental state, which will translate into more productivity – not less. 9. Be Who You Are: This goes back to knowing what success is to you and taking responsibility for your success. You should be working for you, and no one else. Obviously you’re working to support your family if you have one, but that’s not what I mean. Your business should reflect who you are and what’s important to you. Don’t let anyone try to steer you down a path based on their wants and needs, and don’t ever compromise your principles. It’s never worth it in the long run. 10. Always be Learning: Continually find ways to increase your knowledge about your industry, marketing, management, and business in general. Become fascinated by other businesses and how they do things. Ask lots of questions of other business owners. Not only will you learn a lot, but you’ll make some great contacts in the process. What’s missing from the list? What have you done on a regular basis to keep on the path to success? Share with the community in the comments section, or on our Facebook page .

Tagged as: answers, business savvy, energy, health, industry, plans, success

0 comments Read the full article →