8 Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur
When you think about the people in the world who are highly successful, making money beyond their wildest dreams, and hear their success stories, do you wonder what it was that brought them success? Were they just lucky, or superbly talented, or did they just have a product that was seriously needed in the marketplace?
What exactly are the qualities these people possess that brought them success? Does everyone have those qualities, or is it just reserved for the few millionaires and billionaires who seem to turn everything they touch to gold?
Well according to Loral Langemeler, a financial coach and strategist, and founder of Live Out Loud: “You may think that successful entrepreneurs are free-spirits who despise structure and are renegades who would rather work alone, only reluctantly hiring a team because there’s no other choice.”
This is not the case – and it’s not as difficult as it may seem – most claim it is the behaviors that successful entrepreneurs possess more than personality, or intentions.
Behaviors that have proven to be successful, time after time. After all, an entrepreneur is just a businessperson with a belief in him/herself, who takes risks, has a mission, and organizational skills beyond the norm.
Have a mission:
Successful business owners had a mission, they knew what they wanted to do, and had a very detailed business plan in which to accomplish this mission.
Work on strengths:
In starting a business know your strengths and weaknesses, and rather than try to work on those weaknesses, build your strengths and hire your weaknesses according to Langemeler. Hire the people who can compliment those weaknesses making the business venture stronger, because your strengths are emphasized and your not so strong points are covered.
Courage:
Know that this venture is not going to be a cakewalk – in other words, it is going to be great some days, and really tough other days, but the conviction in yourself and your business will carry you through. Be fearless and strong and don’t let the little details that are mounting and troublesome get you down.
Set Goals:
Detail (on paper) the vision you see for the business, and measure your progress. If you don’t see progress it is typical to want to give up, especially on the most difficult days, but when you see progress, it inspires you to keep going.
Be Resourceful:
Use others successful business to model your own, not exactly of course, but keeping on top of who is doing what, and what brings success will allow you to spend more time building customer bases, than trying to figure out everything on your own.
Learn how to seek advice and guidance when you feel overwhelmed. Ask others for help who are successful, and more times than not, you’ll be surprised at how willing they are to guide you.
Persistence:
Never give up on your dream or vision. Many times things go pretty rough, and some people will think it’s time to throw in the towel, but if you have a great business, and know that it deserves success – stick with it through thick and thin and think positive. Never think that failure is an option.
Form the managerial mindset:
Find your driving force and realize that even though you want to break away from that 9 to 5, and do things your way, you cannot do it alone – you’re going to need a team, and some help. You cannot have that strong do it yourself attitude if you want to succeed. Be the manager of your business!
Most failures of the self-employed entrepreneur is that they try to do everything themselves – and burn out. And remember the strengths and weaknesses section? These are vital to the business mindset.
Design a business that can run with or without you, and remember that getting help is not failure, but the next step to entrepreneurial success.
Build your personal skills:
Successful business owners are relaxed and secure relating to others and building relationships in the business world as well as with employees. The more extroverted they are the more approachable and likable they are and in turn leads to people wanting to do business with them.
These attributes lend a better working environment, as well as success with employees and their needs to communicate and interact. It creates a strong team and allows others to flex their positive muscles, and be more apt to interact with customers in a more friendly way.
Of course not all executives possess all of the characteristic that bring success, but the ones who don’t make up for their shortcomings in hard work. They lean on the people on their teams who do possess what it is they lack, and are competent, supportive and great leaders.
They are respected, admired and looked upon as an expert in their field of business, through plenty shoe leather, or credentials, and never doubt their abilities.
Although there are tons of books written about being a successful entrepreneur, the basics are listed here to get you started, but attending a seminar or buying a great book would be highly beneficial – and having a good product and a good dose of self-respect doesn’t hurt either!
About the Author: This article is from Will from Credit Card Finder. Discover some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs at the Credit Card Finder Inspirational Australian Female Entreprenurs Awards.
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8 Businesses You Can Start Today With No Cash!
If you’ve been wanting to get into business for yourself, but money is holding you back then don’t fret! There are plenty of opportunities available to those who don’t have the start up cash in their pockets. While having a little money on hand for business cards or fliers certainly helps; here’s some businesses that scrape the bottom of the barrel to get you going.
1.) Lawn Care
People are lazy. They don’t want to mow their grass. I’m one of those people and I happily pay somebody else to come and cut my grass for me. If you’ve got a truck, and a mower you could already be on your way in this business. Print up some fliers, start offering to mow friends or family member’s lawns, and post an ad up on Craigslist. A small investment in a magnetic sign for the side of your truck doesn’t hurt either!
2.) Cleaning Service
Again, people like cleaning about as much as they like mowing the lawn. Starting a maid or cleaning service can also be a quick business to get going. Try going door to door to local businesses that are full of busy professionals in small offices. If they don’t have their own full time cleaning staff they may be interested. Again, Craigslist is a valuable tool for starting a local business fast.
3.) Junk Removal/Scrap
My friend’s Dad helped put her through college doing this. If you have a truck or ideally a trailer so you can haul more stuff you can make a pretty penny with scrap or junk removal. You can either charge people to come and get their stuff or just pick metal up for nothing and sell it to the junk yard. There’s plenty people who just drive around on trash day and pick up washers, dryers, and other big metal appliances and are literally picking up dollars off people’s driveway. The home owners are happy to have it gone because they would have otherwise had to make a special call to Waste Management which they may have to pay for themselves. Most people also don’t have enough scrap themselves to bother taking it to the junk yard. It’s a bulk sale type of business.
4.) Start An eBay Business
If you’d prefer to do something online you can start an eBay business. Ebay is generally a very quick way to get started selling online, because the traffic is already there. You can get started immediately by selling things you have laying around your house. This could be old electronics, clothing, ect. A lot of people buy things from yard sales or Craigslist locally and then sell them on eBay where the price is much higher. You could also think about finding dropship suppliers if you want a more reliable product sourcing method and want to upgrade your eBay business.
5.) Start A Consignment Business
Technically this also goes into the eBay business category, but not exclusively! Don’t have any of your own stuff to sell? Why not sell somebody else’s! A consignment business advertises an item for sale by a third party and then collects a commission. If you have a place with high visibility or you know how to move merchandise you could make some cash doing this. Several people in my town with property on busy roads sell cars off of their lots.
6.) Start A Internet Service Business
The internet is also full of busy people who don’t have time to do everything. Web masters are one of them! If you can do something useful like write articles you could turn that into a business as well. The thing about web masters is they usually have a lot of sites to run and don’t have time to write for them all consistently. If you’re a good writer they could be willing to pay in bulk for your writing services. Try signing up for sites like Fiverr or posting on webmaster discussion forums like Digital Point. Many of these places have a market place where you can sell services like this!
7.) Design Service
If you have any skills as a designer either through graphic arts or web site design you could start working for yourself. There’s probably a lot of small business owners in your area that would like a website or need a high quality logo created for them but don’t know how to get it done. Try marketing your business to local people. If you can meet any face to face at an event it would help you out a lot most likely. The only start up costs for this business are your time and a computer to work on.
8.) Pet Sitting Business
This one is incredibly easy, but can make you a surprising amount of money. I know several people that do this regularly. Most of the time they just go to the person’s house and baby sit their dogs for the weekend or while they are on vacation. If you love animals then this could be a great fit for you. Try advertising in the paper, offering this service to friends, and online. You could also try asking places where people with animals visit if you can put up fliers on their window or cork board. For example the vet, dog groomers, or the pet store. An additional business tactic? Offer the business owner a referral fee if any of their customers purchase your dog sitting service!
These are just a couple ideas, and I’m sure there’s plenty more you can come up with! Do you have any ideas for a great business you can start this weekend with little or no up front capital? Post it in the comments section!
Penny writes more about online business, finance, and investing on her personal finance blog. If you’d like to see more articles from her you can check out PennySeeds.com!
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Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Blog
In this fast paced world, things are becoming more technical. We have entered the digital economy and most people nowadays are dealing with the largest network in this universe, the internet. Almost everybody, during week days, spend time in their offices in front of a computer, surfing and working through internet. During week ends, they are at their homes, still slumped in front of their laptops, desktops or tablets, spending their days off with what Facebook can offer them.
Gain Online Presence
At one point of your existence in the cyber world, you have ‘googled’ yourself (no need to deny it, I’ve done it myself). Google is probably the most checked site by everyone. It is fascinating that this site could know almost everything about anything.
If you want to be found by your target market, make yourself visible by putting up your website and market the products or services you offer. Make it more interesting by having a blog site as well. It is more convincing if the approach you use is on a first person basis, like talking directly to your niche. People greatly consider anecdotes and testimonials to support their decisions in acquiring your services or products.
Inform The Market
A blog site is meant to inform people. For example, you have this on-the-spot-promotion like some airlines do nowadays. You can easily do that kind of promotion to your blog site. Such announcements can be very viral that it can reach your whole market.
You can also use your blog to describe your products or services extensively. If some of the viewers would have comments or questions, you can respond to them immediately since you are the administrator of your own blog site. The Blog-Site is meant to inform both your market and you yourself as an entrepreneur. It’s a two way communication.
Co-relate With Other Entrepreneurs
One cannot grow without the help of other people. Competition is not always the case. Sometimes, an entrepreneur also needs new ideas or suggestions from some experts in the same field. Blog sites, being in a more personal approach, help entrepreneur bloggers to co-relate with each other. You can learn from them and vice-versa.
Having your own blog can help you gain more contacts, in connection, to your business or market niche. I believe everyone has the potential to be the next world renowned business tycoon. This only means that there are things that you know but others do not, sharing them through your blog will give you authority and people will look up to you for the great content that you share with them. Letting your business relationship grow helps you as a person and your being an entrepreneur. Your experiences can be a great deal of help to other upcoming entrepreneurs, or vice versa! Business people can benefit from having their own blog site. Not only they can inform their market about their products or services, but it can also offer relevant information to other businessmen who may need it.
One should not be satisfied with their current market reach. There are a lot or other mediums to reach out to potential clients, especially in the World Wide Web where people are online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Make entrepreneurship a more fulfilling experience by sharing your own experiences and ideas in your own blog site. Be an inspiration to many!
About the Author: Jessica Francisco is a cheerful 25-year-old with an odd sense of fun. The least of her broad range of hobbies include swimming, hiking and listening to the music of Michael Jackson. Jessica is also one of the editors of Luke Roxas.
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5 Reasons Being Your Own Boss Makes You A Better Person
We are a culture that celebrates leadership. We glamorize generals who lead men into battle, and admire the entrepreneurs that built Silicon Valley. There is no question that being the one in command has its appeal as well as its perks.
On the other hand, people in leadership positions also have to make tough decisions, and at times are not looked upon fondly by the masses. In the corporate world the boss is a pejorative term, the very word associated with a draconian taskmaster who will flog an employee for every second they are late returning from break.
So the question is, does being the boss make you a better or worse person? Does the anchor of responsibility make you more mature or more of a jerk? The following are 5 reasons why being your own boss ultimately makes you a better person.
1. Leadership
As your own boss you are responsible for the direction and hierarchy your business assumes, including everything from the marketing strategy to the delegation of duties. You will have to make tough decisions and have the conviction to exercise them.
2. Expanding Your Creativity
As a company drone you are nothing more than a tool, following the orders given to you. The brain goes on auto-pilot the second you clock in. As your own boss, you must think creatively to expand your business and stay ahead of the competition. You must fight ways to be more efficient and
3. Dealing With Pressure
Owning your own business means dealing with the pressure of success and failure. A salaried employee whose income is not tied to the bottom line has little incentive to care. At times it may not feel as if it makes a difference if he or she shows up at all. As the proprietor, however, your livelihood depends on the growth of your business. Exposing yourself to the crucible of business makes you more equipped to handle the pressures of everyday life.
4. Learning to Motivate
In addition to learning how to handle pressure, making your business thrive also represents a challenge. Regardless of whether it’s sports, education, or business, setting a lofty goal and attaining it provides a valuable experience and helps you grow as a human being. Furthermore, as your own boss, not only do you learn how to succeed, you learn how to stay on top. Finding ways to stay ambitious and motivated are key components in keeping your business growing. Finding the energy to keep customers and employees motivated will help you grow to become a more pleasant and affable person.
5. Empathy
Being your own boss means you are responsible for the satisfaction and safety of both your customers and your employees. You must handle disputes amicably and foster strong relationships with your client base. As an employee, the courtesies you extend to customers are perfunctory, a rote phrase spoken to appease a manager with no authentic enthusiasm. For a boss, however, these customers are the arteries of their business, and learning what they think is critical to improving the product or service they provide. Being a boss makes you a better listener, a more gregarious person, and teaches you the empathy required to be an effective manager of people.
In the end, the qualities that make a good boss are the same traits we admire in all human beings. As your own boss, you will find that as your business grows, so does your character.
About the Author: This article was written by Joan Evans of PublicLiabilityInsurance.org, Joans writes on a wide range of business topics including employers liability insurance.
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Start Up Don’t Shut Down
As people have lost their jobs and struggled to find employment, many of the more spirited professionals have struck out on their own to create the jobs that they cannot seem to find. Read more
The Psychology of Small Business: Are You Really Ready For Your Own Business?
Working for someone else can definitely have its drawbacks – the time card, the hours that are required and the pay is not always what you feel you are worth.
Plus, answering to a boss can be quite demeaning when errors occur, or you have to be out sick for any reason. Read more
5 Qualities of a Good Entrepreneur
Do you have what it takes to be a good entrepreneur? Is it something that you could learn or rather something that is innate?
Personally I think it is both. Read more
10 New Year Revolutions
Below is a guest post from author, speaker, and business coach Andy Hanselman, who says forget New Year resolutions and start thinking New Year revolutions in 2010.
January is the time for New Year Resolutions. Well here are 10 ideas for ‘New Year Revolutions’.
Not a list of ‘do’s and don’ts, but some simple and practical things to consider that can help ‘Revolutionise’ your approach in 2010, which the evidence suggests is going to be a tough one for many of us. See it as a menu, not a recipe. Pick the stuff (or variations of it) that appeals and could work for you.
Here they are, in no particular order…
10 ‘Revolutions’ for 2010
1. Get That ‘Vision Thing’
The evidence suggests that in tougher times your people may well be looking to you for focus and drive. As well as the traditional 12 month ‘Vision Thing’, you may also need a short term one too. What are your key business priorities for the coming months? Does everyone know what they are and what they need to do to achieve them? Your job is to let them know, and get them on board.
2. Work On ‘Dialogue’, not Diatribes
Focus on creating ‘conversations’ with your people in 2010. Ask for their opinions, views and ideas. This is not just about memo’s and emails and meetings. Aim to ‘engage’ your people more this year. People are often looking for security and reassurance in tougher times. That means listening, and reacting and having ‘ongoing’ discussions on things they say are important.
3. Stand In Your Own Queues
Regularly spend time in 2010 ‘at the sharp end’. What are you like to do business with? Find out what’s stopping your people delivering what customers want. How can you make it easier?
4. Don’t Just ‘Think’ Out Of The Box – GET Out Of It
It’s easy to get drawn down into the ‘nitty gritty’ of daily business. Try to create time to make visits to companies, conferences, events and seminars (even some that have nothing to do with your industry). Read a magazine or journal, surf websites from sectors you know nothing about. The point? To get a different view and perspective. Who knows what you’ll learn?
5. Think In ‘3D’
That means being ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’. What makes your business stand out? How do you demonstrate it? Remember, it’s not what you say, it’s what you do. Explore ways in 2010 to demonstrate your competitive edge in everything that you do, particularly to your existing customers who will no doubt be getting mailshots, calls and visits from your competitors desperately looking for business.
6. Value Your Values
Evidence suggests that customers are engaging more with businesses they believe in, they trust and respect. What does your business really ‘stand for’? Work on establishing, communicating and demonstrating your values. Not a list of weasly words and phrases, but a set of principles you believe in and that differentiate your business. Why not create a ‘manifesto’ that outlines what your business really is about?
7. Stand Out And Deliver
Actions speak louder than words. Concentrate on consistency. In 2010 focus everyone on creating a ‘great experience’. ‘Champion’ those in your team who ‘go the extra mile’ and deliver the goods. ‘Challenge’ those who don’t. There’s no room for ‘passengers’ in times like these.
8. Maximise Your Customer Relationships
When things slow down, it’s tempting to get out there knocking on doors and chasing ‘new’ business. Obviously, this can be very important, but I see too many businesses doing it at the expense of their existing customer relationships. Now is the time to get closer and focussed. Who are the key people you need to be getting closer to?
9. Be Visible
What are you like as role model when it comes to your key priorities? In 2010, ensure that you live your values, demonstrate your commitment to those key priorities and make sure that your actions reinforce this. That might mean taking ‘symbolic’ actions for emphasis. Not PR stunts, but genuine activities that ensure that your people know what’s high on the agenda. Ensure that in these tougher conditions no one is under any doubt about what you see as important.
10. ‘Just Do It’
When it comes to thriving or surviving, don’t just talk about it, just do it. It’s as simple as that. Commit to making 2010 your year for action, and…..’Do Something’!
Best wishes for this New Year and have a great and successful 2010!
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Andy has developed a reputation for his innovative, inspirational and stimulating approach. This is reflected in his training and motivational seminars, and is in demand as a speaker at team building events, seminars and conferences up and down the country. Having presented to over twenty thousand business leaders and decision makers Andy is recognised for his engaging, humorous, and down to earth approach. He has been recognised by Enterprise Magazine as a Future Top 100 Entrepreneur. You can reach him at AndyHanselman.com
Photo Credit: Sukanto Debnath
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Top 50 Free Online Tools For Startups
I don’t know about you, but I love free…especially when it comes to free tools I can use to make my business better.
Since I’m cheap a good steward of financial resources I was pretty happy to stumble across this collection of online resources, put together by Shiv, and posted on Slideshare (for free!).
Top 50 Online Tools for Startups
Your Turn
What free online resources do you use? Share them with us in the comments below.
Photo Credit: Cappellmeister
5 Tips to Grow Your Business Like Michael Jackson
Below is the sixth article in our $150 competition sponsored by BizSugar.com. It’s submitted by Wayne who blogs on small business and entreprenurship at WayneLiew.com. Good luck to everyone who contributed an article!
Michael Jackson passed away on June 25th, 2009. Whether you are a Michael Jackson fan or not, you cannot doubt his ability to get the attention and impress his millions of fans worldwide.
Michael Jackson’s ability to wow his audience is definitely something that you would want your business to have. In this article, I am going to give you 5 Tips to Grow Your Business Like Michael Jackson.
Be All About Your Audience
No one cares about you. If Michael goes up on stage and start singing songs that are only meaningful to himself, no one will pay attention. For example, “Heal the World” was written by Michael to be lyrically deep but melodically simple so that fans all around the world, especially those in non-English speaking countries could chant along when the song is played.
Spend time listening to the desires and wants of your prospects and customers before selling them your products or services. Not only that the selling process will be easier, your prospects will not be turned off by any hard selling tactics too.
Find Your Signature Move
What are the signature moves of Michael Jackson? Ask this question to anyone on the street and they will definitely give you answers like the Moon Walk, 45 Degrees Lean or they might even perform his dance moves, especially the spinning move for you. These are the moves that make Michael stand out from the rest of the singers. Not only that his fans were astounded by these moves when Michael first performed it, they LOVE it!
How can your business stand out from the crowd? It can be something as simple as changing the way you engage new customers or launching a marketing campaign that is so interesting and catchy that your target market just cannot get the message out of their head.
Become the Best for What You Do
As compared to modern celebrities, Michael do not have a lot of appearances on commercials, movies or his own fashion line. He knows that he is a good singer, dancer, performer and he keeps improving on these aspects until he gained the sparkling title, “The King of Pop”.
Often times, businesses deviate from what they are really good at and as a result, every single thing that they offer becomes mediocre in quality. For example, if you are running a pizza place that is rated 5 stars on Yelp, don’t start serving Chinese food just because there’s a new Chinese restaurant being set up right beside you.
Learn How to Grab Attention
Every time Michael Jackson makes an entrance, all the fans in the room or at a venue will immediately pause whatever that they are doing, turn to him and go wild. Yes, part of it is because he is the King of Pop. But there are other things that help him to get the much needed attention. For example, his fancy clothing.
In business, grabbing someone else’s attention is an important skill. Whether you are crafting a pitch to the press or writing a business plan to secure funding from investors, you need to make them focus on what you have to offer.
Go All Out Against All Odds
Michael Jackson’s success didn’t come to him easily. Michael had troubled relationships with his father, endured childhood abuse, fought a couple of sexual abuse allegations and more. However, none of these are able to stop him, or even slow him down. In fact, they made him a stronger person.
Running and maintaining a small business isn’t easy. Stay persistent, hardworking and continue to learn and acquire new skills. Stay calm when faced with challenges and slowly untangle the complexities. Success is only for those who works and strives for it.
