Berniaga di Ebay

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Business know how: Six Principles to Dramatically Improve The Odds of Startup Success

Six Principles to Dramatically Improve The Odds of Startup Success

by John Bradberry

Thinking of starting a business? Your passion can work as a driving force or it can work against you. Here's how you can channel your enthusiasm towards making your new business a success.

What differentiates successful business ventures from the large percentage of startups—more than half—that fail? After conducting extensive research on the subject, I have concluded that the answer depends on a double-edged quality: passion. The following principles will help enthusiastic entrepreneurs squeeze the most out of their passion, while not being trapped by it:

1. Ready yourself as a founder. 

Too often, passionate entrepreneurs leap head first into a venture before thinking it through. To improve your readiness to succeed as a startup founder, take an honest look at yourself as a founder before leaping. The first step is: Clarify your reasons and your goals. Why are you doing this? What do you hope to achieve? The second critical step is: Understand your entrepreneurial personality. What makes you tick? From there, focus on ways to leverage your skills, assets, resources, and relationships.

2. Attach to the market, not your idea. 

Passion is an inner phenomenon, but all healthy businesses are rooted outside the founder, in the marketplace. To turn your passion into profits, emphasize the market—always think about your business relative to the customers you serve; know your markets—strive to understand the needs and preferences of your core customers; and execute on your market opportunity by placing a priority on your customer’s experience and perception .

3. Ensure that your passion adds up. 

Passionate entrepreneurs tend to develop rose-colored plans, over-estimating early sales and underestimating costs. To convert your passion into tangible business value, emphasize the importance of planning plus math. Write a business plan that makes financial sense for the current needs and future goals of your startup. Construct a compelling math story, covering how the elements of your business will come together in a way that is profitable over time. Address the crucial issue of funding: how much is required and from what sources.

4. Execute with focused flexibility. 

No amount of startup planning can accurately predict the unexpected twists and turns imposed by reality. To succeed, a new venture needs both iteration and agility. Establish an ongoing process for translating ideas into actions and results, followed by evaluation. Test and adapt your concept as early as possible. Work on continually improving the fit between your big idea and the marketplace.

5. Cultivate integrity of communication. 

Passionate commitment to an idea can breed reality distortion. That is, aspiring entrepreneurs often see only what they want to see and rely on “feeling good” about their venture as their only measure of success. To avoid these dangers, commit to truth-telling and welcome healthy debate, even tough conversation, from the start of your startup. Commit to building the skills essential for high-integrity communication: curiosity, humility, candor, and scrutiny.

6. Build stamina and staying power. 

Contributing factors aside, most startups fail because they run out of money or time. To lengthen and strengthen your venture’s runway, aim to launch close to the customer (ideally with paying customers already in hand) and raise more money than you’ll think you need. Focus on building personal staying power. Healthy entrepreneurial stamina is not just about the refusal to quit, but is grounded in ongoing learning and improvement.

In summary, the most successful entrepreneurs have learned how to bring the very best of their passion without being blinded or limited by it. If you are launching the next big idea, or thinking about it, you can dramatically improve your odds of success by (1) preparing yourself, (2) grounding your business idea in market reality, (2) paying close attention to the financial health of your venture,  (4) staying flexible to new data and learning, (5) celebrating all news, both “good” and “bad,” and (6) continually looking for ways to stay in the game until you win it.  

John Bradberry has improved the performance of hundreds of teams and more than a thousand leaders over two decades as an entrepreneur, consultant, and investor. He is the author of 6 Secrets to Startup Success: How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial Passion into a Thriving Business, and is CEO of ReadyFounder Services (www.ReadyFounder.com).

About the author:
Janet Attard is the founder of the award-winning Business Know-How small business web site and information resource. Janet is also the author of The Home Office And Small Business Answer Book and ofBusiness Know-How: An Operational Guide For Home-Based and Micro-Sized Businesses with Limited Budgets.  Follow Janet on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JanetAttard.

Top 5 Facebook Mistakes Biz Owners Make

http://m.businessknowhow.com/internet/fbmistakes.htm

Top 5 Facebook Mistakes Business Owners Make

by Tim Parker

Promoting your business with Facebook isn't as easy as creating a page and posting your sales. If you want to use Facebook to the fullest, be sure you aren't making one of these five common mistakes. 

So, you did what you’re supposed to do and got yourself a Facebook page for your business. That’s a great first step. Then, you set up the page, included some good-looking graphics, started posting, and gained a few followers.After a whole lot of rinse and repeat, you’re seeing the same problem as so many other business owners: You’re putting a whole lot of time into it but not seeing much in the way of results.It might be that you’re making some of these five mistakes.

You’re Asking Instead of GivingDo you go to Facebook anxiously hoping to see a bunch of ads and specials? Very few people would answer, “yes” to that question but if that’s how you’re using your page, don’t expect people to respond.Don’t take the social out of social media. People use Facebook to connect with others and consume information that’s valuable to them - all for free.If you run a bakery, Facebook is the perfect place to post a cookie recipe. If you repair mobile devices, post a review of a new product or little known tips and tricks on its operation.If you gear the bulk of your content toward giving to your customers, you can throw in an occasional sales announcement.

Related: 7 Reasons People Aren’t Engaging With Your Business on Facebook

You Aren’t Using the AppsLook on the right side of your page just below your big image at the top. Those boxes are areas to install apps. There are apps to link your Twitter or YouTube page or you can create custom pages using HTML. A whole host of other features can transform your Facebook page into a feature-rich experience much like your website.If you’re not as tech-savvy as you would like, you might need help with this task but increasingly pages that use the apps to their advantage are finding better engagement rates.Before you decide that this is too techy for you to figure out, click on one of the app boxes and explore. Some of the apps are easy to use.

It’s All Text
Long before images and videos were easy to make, it was all about text but those days are over. Text is still important but people looking at your posts don’t want just to read your words, they want to see and hear what’s going on with your business through other media.Make a video. Your social media audience doesn’t care if it’s cinematic quality. They’re fine with a candid video and from time to time, something a little nicer.Post some images. You don’t have to be an amazing photographer. Take a picture of an event, something being made at your facility, or something else that fits your business.Your Posts Are Too LongSave all of those words for your blog. A Facebook post should be just long enough to say what you need to say. That means a couple of lines at the most. Check out your Facebook news feed. Have you seen those posts that say “see more”? Never let a post get so long that a reader has to “click to see more.”It doesn’t have to be as short as your Twitter posts but remember that your readers are skimming your content. They aren’t going to take the time to read many words and there’s a better than average chance that they won’t leave their news feed. You only have a few words to make a big impact.

You Aren’t Paying
To what extent this is true is the subject of much debate but what is becoming increasingly clear is that being noticed on Facebook means paying to get your page and its content in front of more eyes.Those big businesses that seem to have Facebook figured out are paying. The good news is that you don’t need to have a multimillion-dollar budget to get started.You could “boost” a single post or promote your page. There are different targeting options so your page is in front of the right audience and you can start with as little as $5 per day or a fixed amount per post.You can read more about promotion in the help section of Facebook.

Bottom Line
There are many businesses just like yours on Facebook and they set up a presence to take advantage of the free advertising that comes with social media.If you did the same thing, change your way of thinking. Set out to give something to your customers. Make it valuable—something they can only find on your page, and give it away free. If you see that it’s getting positive feedback, pay to promote it and drive more people to your page.Repeat all or some of these tips and you will see your page begin to give back to you.

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How to get your biz found online

http://m.businessknowhow.com/internet/getfoundonline.htm

How to Get Your Business Found Online

by Ellen Williams, Regional Development Director, Constant Contact

How do customers find your business when they're looking for the kind of product or service you sell? More often than not, they look to online search engines. Here's how you can be sure your business shows up in their search results.

To get new customers in the door, your business has to be able to be found by consumers. This used to be done through physical directories, like the Yellow Pages. Needed a plumber? You’d just leaf through the directory to find one in your area. Looking for a restaurant address? Out came the book again. This is no longer the case—the ways consumers find new businesses has changed a lot in recent years.Now when looking for local business information consumers turn to the internet, using their smartphone, tablet, laptop, or whatever device is most accessible. In addition to search engines like Google or Bing, consumers are using city guides like Citysearch, review sites like Yelp, and mobile apps like Foursquare to discover new businesses. This is great news because there are now even more ways for new customers to find you. But it also creates a bit of a problem: there are now more places for you to manage. Many of these listings are automatically generated and can often contain incorrect or out-of-date information. This incorrect or out-of-date information is not the first impression you want someone to have of your business. That’s why it’s so important to be in control of your online listings.

Here are 6 ways to do it:

1. Identify your industry’s hot spotsTake the time to identify the places that your target audience is turning to when searching for businesses similar to yours. The best way to do this is to search for your business on a site like Google and see what type of results show up. Be on the lookout for any publishers that specialize in your particular industry, as they will offer the biggest opportunity to reach your next great customer. Once you have an inventory of the information that’s out there, you can start to take steps to control it.

2. Claim your listingsA lot of the top publishers will give you the opportunity to “claim” your listings. This is something all businesses should take advantage of. Claiming your listings lets you take control of the information that people are finding on these sites. You can manually update contact information, upload photos, and even share updates about specials and promotions, depending on the platform you decide to use.

3. Optimize your website with location informationPublishers like TripAdvisor or UrbanSpoon rely on your websites to populate their platforms.Making sure your contact information is up to date on your own site will help avoid having potential new customers sent to the wrong location.

4. Offer location information to data aggregatorsAs you may suspect, collecting information from across the web and publishing it in a single location is hard work. That’s why many of the top publishers rely on data aggregators to provide relevant information about your brand. While it’s natural to want to be protective of your information online, making basic information like location available to these companies can go a long way in keeping your listings up-to-date.

5. Encourage reviews and recommendations on socialYou may not realize it, but the interactions you have on social media can positively impact your search result rankings. They will improve your chances of getting the highest quality of information in front of potential customers when they’re searching for your business online. Encouraging your fans and followers to share feedback and interact with your business on sites like Yelp or Foursquare will also help ensure the quality of user-generated content.

6. Pay to sponsor listingsJust like you can pay to promote posts on sites like Facebook or Twitter, you can also pay to sponsor your listing on a number of the top listing sites. This is another option you may want to consider after identifying the places where potential customers are most likely to be looking. While this won’t help update information on other sites, it will increase the visibility of your best information on your most important platforms.So there you have it. Updating your businesses info where it is listed across the internet is the first (and most important!) step to ensuring your next great customer is able to find you when they go looking. 

Editor's note: Not using email marketing yet? Or not happy with your provider? BusinessknowHow.com uses and recommends Constant Contact.

(We are also a  Plantinum Solution Provider and receive commissions for sales from Constant Contact. If you need help with your email marketing, let us know.)

Ellen Williams, Constant Contact Regional Development Director, New York and Southern ConnecticutEllen has over 20 years of technology and marketing experience and has presented to over 4,000 small businesses, nonprofits, and associations. Her advice on best practices help organizations understand how to build great customer relationships that inevitable grow their businesses.  

Why A students works for C students

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/students-run-world/

We’ll be the first to inform you, if you rely on intelligence alone, your luck will be extremely limited in your pursuit of success. A portion of the members of our team at Elite Daily were not at the top of their class. Despite this, we embody the phrase associated with our site—remaining “young, successful, and established.”

Thus, we are compelled to argue that it is always not those who possess the best grades who will attain a prosperous lifestyle. It is those who possess the ability to combine a cunning intelligence with business savvy attributes who will be the future leaders of tomorrow.There is myriad evidence in popular culture that corroborates our claim. Consider Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the myriad others who are extremely successful and never completed an undergraduate degree. Ponder the fact that Richard Branson ended his academic career at age 16 and is currently valued at an astounding $4.2 billion.

“School is a place where former A students teach mostly B students to work for C students.”This information, contradictory to the incessantly regurgitated story of those with the most academic prowess rising to the top, made us wonder how much one’s academic performance accurately predicts their future success. There appears to be no direct correlation between the two.This is not to say that your academic abilities are insignificant. We are more so taking a strike at our cookie-cutter academic system that aims to foster the same qualities amongst a wide set of students. Our educational system—particularly high school–does little to foster any skills other than simple rote memorization of generally useless facts.

The American academic system excels in the pursuit of broadening one’s knowledge base, but oftentimes fails to shape the minds of students and sufficiently prepare them to endure real world problems.That is to say, the average A student is well prepared to engage in academic discourse, but it is not guaranteed that he will be adequately prepared for challenges outside the classroom. If you glance at the state of our economy, it is evident that theory does not always translate into reality.Each rising generation faces the issue of whether to take the risk of following the time-tested route of “birth-to-college” or take the oftentimes riskier approach of forging their own path to success. Of course, the most beneficial method of action would be a blissful cohesion of these two roads. It is in fact these individuals who tend to run the world. Bill Gates indeed possessed overwhelming intelligence, performing extraordinarily well academically despite putting forth minimal effort.“A brilliant math student, Gates would blow off his classes to go to ones he hadn’t registered for. He would slack all semester, then cram at the last minute and ace the final.”However, although he was an A student, he did not allow himself to be limited to solely academic pursuits. Gates and one of his partners “agreed the microprocessor was going to change the world,” and mustered up their own version of BASIC, which they sold to Altair without having seen their device.Upon realizing Gates’ dorm room misdeeds, Harvard’s disciplinary board charged him for running a business out of his dorm room, spurring the young Gates “[turn] on, [boot] up and [drop] out.”

It is precisely this foresight that distinguished Gates from the thousands of other vastly intelligent Harvard students around him. He represents the type of forward thinking A students that head our nation’s Fortune 500 companies.What is important to note about Gates is that he defied the confining nature of our school system, which simply trains us to be future employees. The skills bestowed upon us provide little enlightenment in the areas of leadership and innovative thinking. The system does quite well, however, at churning out millions of blue-collar clad, cubicle tethered workers to take command from superiors. We wish to break free from this assimilation.Those who ultimately attain success are not only intelligent, but also critical thinkers in society. It takes a true genius to realize that it is not necessary that one become an expert in every field to flourish.

The greatest minds in business realize that it is simply impossible to possess a mastery of every craft. Thus, it is important to note one’s own weaknesses and seek out others who can compensate for these flaws with relevant strengths.If you are not backed by a wealth of talented individuals it will not only hinder the company’s growth and future innovation, but also further make it difficult to produce efficiently.

Guy Kawasaki concisely conveys this when he reveals, “In the Macintosh Division, we had a saying, “A player hire A players; B players hire C players” — meaning that great people hire great people. On the other hand, mediocre people hire candidates who are not as good as they are, so they can feel superior to them.”The overwhelming majority of the knowledge relevant for workplace success originates from experiences outside the confines of the classroom. It is important to maintain a synergistic relationship between real world experiences and furthering your education.

It is unfortunate that the American school structure can be reduced to a social caste system, labeling individuals as fit or unfit for success based purely on classroom performance rather than a more holistic approach.We encounter examples of C students that have achieved great success because one’s academic performance does not always correlate with one’s intellectual ability. The best student will have the entrepreneurial mindset in combination with the critical thinking and analytical skills a college education can provide. Those who only possess one of the two factors are much less likely to succeed.The successful C student is most likely a “last minute Larry”, possesses excellent communication skills, and is a leader with great charisma. These unmotivated potential A students succeed because while their peers were solely focused on their academics, they were simultaneously learning about the world around them.

It is important to distinguish the student who earns Cs because of untapped talent from individuals whose intellectual capabilities actually tops out at C level work. It is the former that is more likely to attain success, as a complete imbecile is unlikely to possess the knowledge necessary to succeed.While certain professions–such as law and medicine–require a wealth of academic knowledge, other fields provide flexibility for the power of the entrepreneurial spirit. One might need a 3.8 GPA from Wharton to become a successful financial analyst, but a savvy entrepreneur can make millions in the stock market based on his natural analytical skills. Just like with the C students, it is important to distinguish between A students as well. It is imperative to keep in mind that not all A students have attained their grades because of raw academic talent.A significant portion are simply “hard-working idiots”, or people who work relentlessly to feign high intelligence. It is those with high natural intelligence—even when it is not reflected in grades—that will become the leaders of tomorrow. If you can muster a straight-A performance without putting forth much effort, you’re in the best position out of anyone.

One must be capable of combining skills with powerful knowledge to ensure success. Remember, Elite; don’t be so hasty to judge your peers with lower grades—they might just be “lazy geniuses” with untapped potential.The problem is our current system tries to mold the members of our society into being employees for the rest of their lives. When you’re a child, your parents are the boss, and when you’re in school, the professors were considered to be the boss. Those who work extraordinarily hard to achieve the highest grades simply prove they excel at completing tasks; be your own boss and make something out of nothing.

Starting a biz

7 Ways to Start a Business Without Going Broke

by Nina HamIs

finding the money to support yourself during the early stages of your business holding you back? There's no doubt that some sacrifices will be necessary, but if you're trying to support a family, your choices are limited.

Here are seven strategies you can employ to reduce the financial strain of your startup.

A 40's something woman was talking to me the other day about her growing sense of frustration over "working for someone else" and her longing to "do my own thing, drive my own wagon". But, she said with consternation, "I have family counting on me and a standard of living I don't want to sacrifice."Everyone has to decide for themselves what level of sacrifice and risk they're willing to undertake in order to enjoy the satisfactions of working independently.

Knowing some strategies for managing the risk will allow you to make a well-informed decision.Of the seven strategies included below, the first two suggest ways to gradually transition from salaried to solo, instead of diving off the edge. The second two are ways to stretch the dollar; and the final three are ideas for getting started without stopping.

1. Continue to draw a (reduced) salary. 
Leaving your current employment in order to develop your new business may look like the only option, based on an assumption that you won't get approval for reducing your hours. While this may prove to be the case, asking yourself why and how your company will profit from retaining your skills and experience for a transitional period can provide the basis for approaching your employer. Be sure to do your homework first, however, and be able to back up your request with a solid rationale.Also consider the issue of timing. You want to weigh informing your employer of your wish to leave with being prepared to leave if the answer to your request is no.

2. Develop another income stream. 
If you need to leave your present employment, is there a skill in your toolbag that you can resuscitate and put to work without a significant expenditure of time or energy? Is moonlighting or freelance work an option? Virtual e-lancing websites (such as eWork.com, Guru.com, and e-lance.com) may be worth looking into for short-term professional services opportunities.Examples: A community mental health worker transitioning to private practice used his conflict resolution experience to sell a training package to public schools. A woman transitioning out of an insurance brokerage created and sold seminars on long term care financing at local retirement centers.

3. Reduce expenses. 
Apart from fixed expenses - mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. - are discretionary expenses that make up the larger part of budgets. Doing a careful analysis of these expenses and choosing what you can forego for awhile can often save thousands per year.Carefully analyzing hidden expenses - credit card interest rates, bank charges, late fees, auto debits, phone plans - or "lost money" from low interest rates on savings may generate several thousand more per year.

4. Borrow. 
It isn't necessary to wait to borrow for start-up costsuntil you have a well-documented idea to submit for a business loan. Refinancing a home or taking a line of credit are relatively low-cost ways of generating capital. Depending on your credit rating, you can also get time-limited low-interest loans from credit card companies.If you choose this option, applying for loans or refinancing packages while you're still employed is strongly advised. Your rating as a borrower declines quickly once the regular paychecks stop.You don't have to wait!Get started on your new business idea while you're still employed. Several of the all-important first steps (below) can be started while standing in the grocery line or running on the treadmill. They involve asking yourself some questions and doing some informal research to get crystal clear about your idea. This can take weeks off your actual start-up time.

5. Identify your niche. 
Think about the services you're uniquely qualified to provide, as well as the ones you most enjoy providing. Be specific! Write them down! Then think about what group of people would get benefit from those services and have the ability to pay for them. Again, be specific: age, where they congregate, habits and values, how they define the problem your services are going to solve. If you don't know, ask. Find someone who fits your "ideal client" profile (s/he may be on the treadmill next to yours at the gym) and get permission to ask some questions. People generally love to be helpful.

6. Create your marketing plan. 
Don't be intimidated by the term "marketing plan". While what you need from a marketing plan will get more sophisticated as your business develops, for now it simply means answering the question, How is my business going to make money? What is the product or service you're going to sell? How will you describe it so people quickly recognize the value? How will you package it? (fee for service? by the project? on retainer?) How will you price it? (What's being charged for comparable services? What "feels right" to you?)

7. Manage fear! 
For most people, anything involving money involves some level of fear. It's important to acknowledge to yourself and to others that you are taking a risk, and you've decided it's a risk you want to take. So consider the fear natural, and find ways to manage it.Getting support from people who believe in you and in what you're embarking on is #1 in fear-management tactics. Don't assume that you'll get it from the people closest to you, or that if you don't have it you shouldn't proceed. They're probably the ones most impacted by your decision and so may be least ready to offer support. Their consent - a willingness to go along with your plan - is helpful, but support may have to come later.It's also helpful to set a goal (and a date for completion) that's key to your new venture - arrange financing by a particular date, or sign a lease - and announce it to at least one person. You'll find that making that commitment, saying it out loud, and following through will in turn generate more confidence and more forward momentum.To all of you who are tired of marching to someone else's drum and are eager to go solo, these strategies should help you take prudent but positive steps toward realizing your goal.Good luck!

Nina Ham, certified coach and licensed psychotherapist, is principal of Success from the Inside Out, providing individual coaching and teleseminars to build the skills, attitudes and habits for sustainable success in your career or business.

Mail to:Nina@womenssuccesscoach.com 
or visit 
http://www.SuccessfromtheInsideOut.com.