Resources for Entrepreneurs. Three Places People Wrongly Look For Money Making Advice. So you’re an eager little beaver. Wanting to get started fast, you hop online looking for ways to make a full-time income from home working in your jammies. Not a bad plan… But how do you actually make a full-time income doing this stuff? How do you avoid wasting tons of time searching and making sure you avoid any and all scams (and there are a lot of them out there)? Here are three places that you don’t want to look to for any advice. 1 – Public Forums What’s the problem here? 2 – Friends Friends sure mean well, but whenever they tell you about an opportunity to make money, it’s usually because they want something from you, or they’ve been scammed into something themselves, and are super excited and trying to use their new system by “telling all their friends” about it. Step one in these things: tell your friends Step two: fail Respectfully say, “thanks, but no thanks.” 3 – Hypey Products with Over The Top Claims Here’s a great thing to always remember.
Here’s The Solution. Most advice is bad advice... Frank Farwell: Why Entrepreneurs Need Mentors and How to Find Them. Sure, entrepreneurs can eventually succeed without mentors. But it will cost extra time and wasted resources. So, how does a small business start-up find a mentor? Or, better yet, a handful of them? With a little time and pick-and-shovel work, a stable of mentors can be signed up. Soon they will change your business life for the better. Some might talk with you weekly; others once or twice a year; others only once in your business life. Mentors can also be emotional-boosting cheerleaders for the times when you consider quitting. Finding a mentor is a bit like finding a spouse, yet in this case the more polygamous you are, the better.
Start with your family. Make a list, and then seek an introduction. As people age, they are more inclined to help others. My bank also assigned a senior executive from a nearby firm in my industry as an on-call mentor. One of the things entrepreneurs often complain about is the loneliness of going solo. Six People You Need On Your Dream Team. How 20 Entrepreneurs Got Ahead Early (and You Can Too) By Tim Jahn on May 22, 2012 Question: Share one thing you did at the beginning of your career that is helping you succeed today?
Get to Know Others “I networked like crazy, went to events constantly, and got my name out there. As a result, in a few years, people started saying, “You know everyone!” I always connected interesting people together too. So whenever I’ve needed an important contact, I’ve always had people bend over backwards to help me out! Always Get Back to People “Always get back to someone, whether it was through the phone or email. Promote Others “The best career move I’ve made is to focus the attention and promote other people, instead of just myself. Help a Promising Startup for Free “When you are first starting out as an entrepreneur, one of your first challenges is to separate yourself from the pack and legitimize yourself. Pick Up a Few New Skills “Photoshop, iMovie, and basic HTML, oh my!
Build Credentials Early Learn From Your Mistakes and Failures Become Self-Taught. Five rules for a successful startup - Power of One. Get the Mentoring Equation Right - Whitney Johnson. By Whitney Johnson | 5:01 PM October 25, 2011 This post was co-authored with Bob Moesta. While it’s written from my perspective, he was central to the development of the idea. Bob is the Managing Partner of The Re-Wired Group in Detroit, an innovation incubator and consultancy specializing in demand-side innovation. An engineer, designer, serial entrepreneur, investor, and researcher, he has developed 1,000+ products/services and has collaborated with Clay Christensen at HBS for more than 15 years. I used to be able to say “yes” to pretty much anyone who reached out to me for mentoring. My quandary has led to a considered, lengthy discussion with Bob Moesta, a demand-side innovation expert, about how to decide whom to mentor.
Bob sees mentoring as the balance of two worlds that overlap for a period of time and a certain amount of effort. Drive = How motivated is the mentee? The mentor side asks: Can I help and how much effort will it require? A butterfly goes to a coach « THE COACHING BLOG. October 10, 2011 Telling someone exactly what the difference is between coaching and the other four helping professions (consulting, mentoring, counseling and therapy) is one of the many challenges I face as a coach.
Doing that in a clear and accessible way has been one of my constant pursuits. While reading page 11 of Coaching with Colleagues (de Haan & Burger, 2011) today, I felt inspired to write about butterflies that go to the five helping professionals in order to tackle four questions they face. The four questions are (Witherspoon & White, 1997): the desire to learn new skills,the desire to perform better,the desire to develop itself,the desire to reflect on itself or on what it does.
My attempt to clarify the differences in the approaches of each of these valuable professionals has resulted in a chart with 20 different stereotyped reactions which, in my opinion, exemplify how each professional works and what one could possibly expect from them. Here they are: Like this: Like Loading... Training Tips for Entrepreneurs.
It may surprise you that entrepreneurs need training. Well, they do. Here are some tips that can improve how you function each day, as you work toward changing the world. Mindset 5 ways to kill a brainstorming session. Four personality types of entrepreneurs. Operations Steve Stoute: Get paid. How to delegate anything. Social Skills Entrepreneur on the road to wellness after firing. Sometimes it’s the customer that needs firing. Self-development What is an accidental entrepreneur? Don’t worry about opportunities missed. Riding the Waves of Personal Development. The Online Community for the 50 and up Adults - LifeAfter50.com | WHY WE MAKE MISTAKES AND HOW TO REDUCE THEM.
None of us are immune to mistakes, and the one universal truth of making mistakes is that we all hate that moment when we realize that we just screwed up. “When it hits us that we’ve made a mistake, we always have that instant of ‘Wow, that was stupid, what was I thinking?’ Before we move on and try to solve the problem we’ve inadvertently caused,” said life coach Peter Demarest (www.axiogenics.com). “I refer to the elimination of that space of time between when we screw up and the time we realize we’ve screwed up as ‘practical enlightenment.’ For the past dozen years or so, I’ve been studying mind-brain science to see if there is a way to help us think better so we make fewer mistakes and create a better life.” But Demarest believes that we can go further than just preventing mistakes. “Fundamentally,” Demarest teaches, “success in life is not about the value we get, it’s about the value we create.” “You see, most of us, most of the time, act out of habit.
Small Business Money: Entrepreneur’s Guide. It may have noting to do with sales, marketing or products and services, but how you manage your money is at the core of your small business. What are the best suggestions you can share with your fellow entrepreneurs? We’ve added our suggestions below. Success Story Managing your business through tough times. When it comes to managing your small business, probably nothing tries your skills as an entrepreneur and small business owner more than dealing with tough economic times. The recent economic downturn was perfect example of such hard times and one story of a small business and how it survived will surprise you. Small Business Trends Radio Spending Watching out for your bottom line. Getting real about dealing with debt. Revenue Offering discounts for early payment.
Surviving major changes in your market. Management Every small business owner wants to make more. Preparing for the worst. When it’s good to spend money. Financing Why the best financing ideas are unique. Ten Legal Pitfalls Startups Should Avoid - Fox Small Business Center. The etymology of the word “entrepreneur” is well established. Since the earliest of French times, it has meant “someone who breaks into hives when coming within 20 feet of a lawyer.”
While I’m joking regarding the word’s origins, I’m quite serious (albeit figurative) regarding the entrepreneurial response to lawyers. Most young entrepreneurs see themselves as an unrivaled visionary and the last thing they need is some old dude in a three-piece pulling on the handbrake. Until something else does. Nothing will grind the entrepreneurial party train to a halt faster than a big lawsuit, nasty contract dispute or some other legal circus animal that no one bothered to stop from coming on board. The lawyer-averse entrepreneur suddenly finds himself begging for a hug from the old dude. So, before you need to beg for that hug, here are 10 pitfalls that often cause startups legal trouble. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Mark Britton is an attorney as well as the founder and CEO of Avvo.com. The Entrepreneur's Handbook - 59 Resources For First Time Entrepreneurs.
Knowledge is the Key to Success. “ Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did. ”- Sarah Caldwell . When Charlie Munger, the Vice–Chairman of Beshire Hathaway was asked the single most important secret of his success and the success of the company. He gazed to one side in his characteristic fashion and said, “ Warren, and I know that the school of life is always open and if you are not learning, you are falling behind.” When the Oracle himself- Warren Buffet was asked what he does most of the time, he said, “I am constantly learning.
I am always enriching myself with knowledge.” He was asked again what he will do if he has more than 24 hours in a day. Is it true that success leaves clues? That is the core clue to the success we have been seeking. All those reasons are bunch of crap… The reason for their extraordinary success is how much knowledge they have acquired through learning and personal development over the years. Want an example? How NOT to Fail in Business. Yep. It is time to tell you of the second business I ran to the ground , what I learned and what I hope you will learn. Remember, “Experience is the best teacher, preferably that of others.” It was 2010. I remember driving home and thinking about the business I can venture into because I was dissatisfied with my job. I wanted the freedom that having a business can afford so bad.
Then something happened… I got home and checked my mail box; lo and behold I found an invitation to a FREE seminar on starting an internet business and making a lot of money, with the seminar was a promise of FREE lunch and FREE IPod. Now tell me, who can resist that offer– Talk about an offer you couldn’t resist.
My self and my business partner at that time attended the seminar on a winter morning in an Hotel somewhere in Schaumburg, Illinois—the presentation was great, the meal was awesome and environment classy. When the time for call to action came. I was ready. After the seminar, we were in business. But why? 1. 2. The Big Man With a Big Heart And His 3 Principles of Starting a Business. One of the greatest things that can happen to a man is to have a mentor; a mentor in an industry or vocation of his dream.
We‘re all on the journey to the top, or at least most people I know, but the reality is that the journey sometime could be complex with some winding turns. Having someone who has been there is a gem of inestimable value. They help to break complex principles into simple and applicable thoughts– an art only possible by those who have lived the principles; these thoughts become the sign post at every turn and decision point. It shortens the journey to the top of the game. I happen to have many of them. And what I am going to do now is to give you a rare privilege to read 3 principles of entrepreneurship that one of my many mentors taught me 1.
“If-I-can-just-know-how” principle. This is one of the many “ifs” people use as excuses. He said people come to him and say something like, if I can just know how to take care of young kids, I could have started a day care. 2. 1. 2. The arrogance of willful ignorance. Ready to Declare Your Independence? A Seven-Point Checklist.
How to tell when it's time to say good-bye to the steady paycheck. If you feel trapped in a cubicle, the thought of being your own boss can be intoxicating. But are you really ready to declare your independence from that steady paycheck and start your own business? California native Mark Holtzman, 57, says had reached a stage where he needed something of his own. He had hit a dead end in the small, family-owned truck dealership where he worked after more than two decades in sales. The only career progression was to become a part owner and the owners weren't offering that to him. "I had a family, wife, and kids that I wanted to at least have something for in the future and I wanted to be able to get ahead and not at the mercy of the whims of somebody else," he recalls.
Mark and Steven Holtzman Photo courtesy of Mark Holtzman As an amateur pilot and award-winning photographer, he'd been taking aerial photographs part time for a few years. Related: How One Family Business Stays Independent 1.
"Why wasn't I informed?" Information is tricky. Sometimes it's delivered to you. Often, you need to go find it. There's no blame in not being aware of something you had no idea you ought to be looking for. If you've been using the same brand of aftershave for five years, you're forgiven for not Googling it regularly to find out if it contains a carcinogen.
On the other hand, I'm stunned when someone enters new territory without doing a modicum of research. Or perhaps the small businessperson who launches an expensive marketing campaign without investing a few hours in reading up on what works and what doesn't. Or the email novice who forwards an incredible email to her entire address list without checking Snopes first.
The rules are now clear: no one is going to inform you, but it's easier than ever to inform yourself. 10 YouTube Videos Every Entrepreneur Should Watch. 10 things to consider before becoming an entrepreneur. The following top 10 list is adapted from Carol Roth's book The Entrepreneur Equation Are you tired of working for someone else? Do you think starting your own business could set you free? Think again! The failure rate for new businesses is gloomy. In fact, the great majority of businesses (up to 90%) fail within five years. The reality is that the average business does less than $100,000 in sales, is not innovative, and has no plans for growth (from Professor Scott Shane, in his book The Illusions of Entrepreneurship ). Yet despite incredibly high failure rates, over 6 million people start a business each year. Are you ready to be an entrepreneur? Step 1: Define your motivation. Ask yourself why you really want to start a business. Step 2: Say hello to your new boss.
Wait, I thought I was in charge now. Step 3: Evaluate how well you work with others. Many people dream of opening a business as an escape - from the annoying coworker who won't leave you alone, or from an overbearing boss. Ten must-have skills for every entrepreneur. Accelerators: Parking Panda, a Baltimore startup, is enticed by New York City program but remains hopeful for Baltimore.
Guess How Long Overnight Success Really Takes. Every Entrepreneur Needs to Outwit the Devil. BUSINESS BUZZ | Bermuda Bermuda Works. 5 lessons entrepreneurs can learn from Navy SEALs | Entrepreneurial. Seeing the truth when it might be invisible.