TeAm SuCcEsS

Managing a startup can be a minefield, especially when the pull of entrepreneurship clouds your decision-making – and when you go it alone with no business experience. But if you do decide to start your own business, it’s a great idea to learn from other’s mistakes and set yourself up for success. Here are five mistakes to avoid: 1. Inaccurately gauging demand for your product or service. Remember – just because  you  like jalapeño-flavored pickled okra, that doesn’t mean  everyone  likes it. Too many small businesses fail because the owner overestimates demand. Before launching your venture, find out how strong the demand is for your product or service. Is it a product or service that most people need or want? Does it fit with current trends? For instance, a DVD rental store is probably not a good investment now due to the popularity of streaming services. Before settling on a business venture, ask yourself if the benefits to the customer are compelling and easy to understan

An aligned workforce is a happy, engaged workforce. Unfortunately, alignment between an organization and its employees doesn’t come naturally -- it takes planning, hard work and communication. Think of alignment as a playbook for the entire company, just like in sports. For a coach to make sure every player is on the same page and goals are made, that playbook needs to be shared and discussed in real time. There’s a reason watching a sports game is much like watching a choreographed performance -- every movement and play has a purpose that each player knows inside and out. The same goes for employers and their employees. To achieve a completely aligned workforce that plays as a team and knocks each ball out of the park, here are the four levels of organizational alignment every company needs to build and maintain:    1. Employee-role alignment The first level of organizational alignment requires finding the right fit for the position at hand. After all, an aligned workforce

I started my business in 1999 while a student in college. There were pros and cons, but I’m largely thankful for the experience and would recommend it to other aspiring entrepreneurs. Here are seven reasons why. 1. Low risk, high reward What have you got to lose? You don’t own anything, you have few commitments relative to later in life, and the worst case scenario is that you go back to doing what you’re doing now. This isn’t to say you should take a casual approach to starting a business. Your years in college will be over before you know it, and suddenly the risks will be larger. You probably have time to start one serious business venture per year of college and within 12 months figure out if it’s going to work out or not. Maybe you’ll get it right the first time, maybe you’ll pivot, maybe you’ll quit and start something new. The sooner you can test your ideas, the better.

It’s not uncommon for women to face unique challenges, especially when trying to juggle traditional roles of wife and mother with the demands of starting and running a business. Over the years as a business owner myself, and through training women to run their own etiquette businesses, I have learned a few tips that may help women looking to start a business. 1. Find your passion. You are going to spend many long hours working in and on your business, so pick an industry that you don’t just like, but are passionate about. When you are passionate, it shows, and your enthusiasm and belief in what you are doing translates to your customers, sparking their enthusiasm about what you are offering.

It’s not only about the name and market share you stand with, but the consistent sales performance and numbers your team has been coming up with as well. After all, this is one big metric by which the investors, your boss and above all, the audience is going to judge you. You might’ve chipped in a zillion efforts to build an efficacious brand, made up a team that speaks volumes about your hiring capacity and introduced ample team building activities to maintain cohesion in the entire department, but in the end, it all comes down to the numbers you score. Think about all the times your company wasn’t going as per the business plan and sales figures started to dwindle. There sure was a mild possibility that many in your team might have lost their jobs with backups being readily available. It does stand imperative to avert such situations and go for a higher sales performance through enhanced and focused efforts. Here’s a clear insight into the same. #1. Focus on One Product/Ser

When it all seems so useless and pointless, exactly how do you find the time and energy to refocus on what really, truly matters? Allow me to share 7 of my own strategies on how to focus on what matters and cut out all the stuff that doesn't. Write down your top priorities...and keep them in view. To focus your attention in the right place, it's essential to remind yourself every day of what is truly most important. Recognize what is essential in your life to have clear goals. Ask yourself: "What is most important for me this year? What excites me? Is it an important project at work? My family? Improving my social life? My blog, hobby or money situation?"

There are many ways to start an  online business  or to start the internet business from home. In fact, you are not limited by choice but limited by an idea. I will give you five major money making ideas. You can make money online with online business Online Business Ideas: You can earn money, by selling your own products on the internet, using a blog. You can make money through writing – such as blogging or writing articles and papers. You can earn money, selling other people’s products –such as drop shipping. You may earn money promoting other people’s products or websites- this is referred to as affiliate       programs or partnership. You can make money through turnkey – readymade websites.

The decision to run an online business is a great one. You get to be your own boss and start a business that doesn’t require too much initial investment. On the downside, there are thousands of people starting an online business every day which means the competition is stiff. What is more is that of the businesses started, only a handful of them succeed. Just like starting any other business, it is important that you take the process seriously and research every step that you will take. In spite of most online startups failing, the good news is there are a couple of things you can do to start a business that succeeds. There are basically 7 prime rules that you have to follow when starting a business online. #1. Create a simple and well-organized website A common mistake most people make when it comes to creating a home for their business is focusing solely on what they desire rather than what their consumers need. As a result, most people have a tendency of over-designing t

When you stop worrying about being nice and start putting your needs first, incredible things can happen for your career. 1.  People start to respect your time. It’s the basic principle behind the scarcity value people value something more when it’s less available. The same goes for your time. When you stop making yourself available at all hours, people respect the time they  do  have with you more.

The Business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them. This document highlights the key issues you should consider prior to compiling your own plan and will hopefully guide you logically through a proven framework. The key word is  Strategy , because you are creating a workable and achievable set of objectives in order to exceed your annual target. Your Starting Point :

A clearly written business plan should: set the vision and direction of your business carry out a SWOT analysis map out a one page action plan for your next steps.

Good general management can produce organic, steady business growth. However, update and refresh your business with these five foundational steps in mind to see quantum leaps that are sustainable. 1. Have a vision and plan to get there Understanding where your business is and where you want it to be is the first step in planning. Ask yourself 'What do you imagine your business to be in five years' time and how will this fit into your lifestyle?' Make sure your plan: is simple (even if it's just one page) is not just ‘in your head’ or ‘in your bottom drawer’ has any vision you choose but it must have one includes goals and steps to be taken to reach those goals aligns your business with family and lifestyle aspirations has mitigation strategies to cope with change, survive the bad times and prosper in the good Whether you prepare it yourself or use a business professional for an objective outside view, remember the thinking that goes into a plan is

According to the Grand Unified Theory of Business Development, Biz Dev is simply about pursuing opportunities for long-term growth from customers, markets, and relationships.  Sounds simple enough, but has anyone ever set out to describe what a “Biz Dev Person” actually does?  How do they spend their day?  What should you look for when hiring someone for a Biz Dev role? While Business Development may still mean many different things to many different people, at it’s core  I believe a Biz Dev job is focused on 3 activities: According to the  Grand Unified Theory of Business Development , Biz Dev is simply about pursuing opportunities for long-term growth from customers, markets, and relationships.  Sounds simple enough, but has anyone ever set out to describe what a “Biz Dev Person” actually does?  How do they spend their day?  What should you look for when hiring someone for a Biz Dev role? While Business Development may still mean many different things to many different

Customers The “customers” portion of the definition may be slightly more obvious – customers pay the bills.  They are the people who pay you for your products and services, and without them you won’t have any business to develop.  But not everyone is a natural customer for your business. Maybe your product doesn’t have the features I’m looking for.  Maybe your product is perfect, but I don’t even know your company sells it.  Or maybe you’re not reaching me because you’re not knocking on my door.

What starts as a dream can become reality with these key things to consider when starting a business.  Here we share some of the things to consider when starting a business and why they’re important steps to take. 1. Choose your business Before you begin to set up your business you need to decide what your business will be all about. Key things to think about include: What industry you’d like to set up in? How much time you can commit? What your budget is?

There are many skills needed to run a business, especially when you’re building a start up from scratch. As your business grows no doubt some of those skills you first need will be delegated, but as a business owner having a firm understanding of the way all of the cogs within your business turn is a good idea. Here we examine some of the skills needed to run a business successfully and why they’re can make a difference. Organisation Running a business takes oodles of organisation and it’s important to take a positive approach so that you don’t become swamped. From managing your diary through to keeping the finances in check there is much to learn and you’ll find that the organisation skills needed to run a business over arch all other needs. Your organisation skills need to cover: Finance - managing budgets, making sure the numbers add up and keeping the money coming in and going out, at the right times.

Starting your own business isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s stressful and pretty much demands your complete focus. On the plus side, it can also be a fulfilling experience professionally and personally. Here are 50 tips on how to make your business come to life: 1. Do a self-inventory. Not everyone has what it takes to start a company. That’s not to say that your idea is not brilliant. It just means that you may not have the personality traits to handle launching a company of your own. Before investing any time or resources, evaluate yourself and see if you have some the typical traits of an entrepreneur. Are you motivated, able to adapt and confident? Are you resilient?

No matter what kind of business you start, some  marketing mistakes  are inevitable. But startups in particular must navigate a unique set of marketing challenges: restricted budgets, limited resources and the pressing need to build brand visibility. Knowing when and how to invest in marketing for your business may be the key ingredient to your startup’s success. Here are some common marketing mistakes that every startup makes -- and how you can avoid them. 1. Spending money on 'big marketing' too quickly You may want to take the industry by storm, with a powerful ad or a killer booth at the next trade show, but, whoa! You should really rein it in and start slow. You don’t want to blow your budget this early in the game.

Are you always complaining that the 24 hours is not enough? Do you find yourself always in a hurry? Do you wish to have more time?   Time after time ? Just like budgeting, time management is a chore. We have many things to do in a day and many things to accomplish only to find out yet again that the time we have is not enough. With that regard, we tend to sleep late, have more unfinished projects and the cycle repeats by the day. Time is one of the things we freely have. With regards to money matters, time is money according to  Benjamin Franklin . Hence, if you want to be rich, or you want to burst into a song that is I wanna be a billionaire, so freaking bad, you must use your time wisely. If we push into investments, time is an ally. They would often  persuade  you to invest today, to invest now. Because in due time after x number of years, the money that we had invested will yield greater value, millions even. As such, it is important that we make a balance betwe

That daytime job of yours may be terrific. But there’s one thing that is far more rewarding and meaningful than good pay and benefits: being your own boss. Still, think carefully before choosing to go down the entrepreneurial path; it carries a lot more risk than punching in for your daily 9-to-5, and it requires a lot more sacrifice and hard work. However, once you’re finally reaping the benefits of owning your own business and hustling your way to more money, the sweat and tears you invested will have all been worth it. Nor do you have to quit your day job in order to get started: five o’clock may mean happy hour or video games for some, but for a growing number of professionals, it means shutting down the computer at the office and firing up that business at home. So, if you're game, you next have to select what kind of business you want to start. Which type is right for you? Here are 10 great ideas you can build from: 1. Think 'food first.' A great w

Smart money management is about more than understanding the math. That part is simple: Spend less than you earn, and invest early and often so compounding will make you rich when you're old. The numbers aren't difficult, but the psychological and emotional hurdles that prevent most people from achieving their financial dreams are. It doesn't have to be that way if you can stay on the right side of the mental issues surrounding your nest egg. Consider this list a mental reset button on your financial psyche. 1.There are no secrets.   The basics of wealth building have been well-documented for centuries. Stop searching for shortcuts and secrets; focus instead on the simple things your parents and grandparents taught you, such as not to spend more money than you make. (If you need a place to start, pick up George S. Clason's  The Richest Man in Babylon , first published in 1926.)

No industry is easy to break into, but that is especially true about apparel. While other industries enjoy a 50 percent or higher business success rate after four years, retail and apparel do not. Indeed, a full 53 percent of clothing lines will fold by the fourth year’s end. One reason for the higher rate of business failure is competition. New designs are abundant, and today’s in-demand style will be tomorrow’s forgotten look. Competition alone isn’t the reason many lines fail, however. Another significant reason clothing businesses have lowered success rates is the business end itself. Many individuals who launch clothing lines do so because they are artistic, yet these individuals generally are not entrepreneurs who understand how businesses operate. Before launching an apparel line, individuals should consider the following seven start-up steps. Understand the commitment The potential business owner must understand the time and money commitment necessary to make the cl

Have you ever liked a business just based on the name alone? Often said to be a blend of art, science and luck, naming a business properly is no easy task. While good names are easy enough to remember, great names really have an impact on people when they hear them. Such a name for a business is one that is integral, perhaps descriptive of the brand in multiple ways, humorous, legally appropriate and maybe even slightliy provocative. The name could also pertain to the nature of the business itself. Naming agency A Hundred Monkeys stresses the importance of a name not sounding like others: "Businesses should be finding a name that grabs people's attention  and  gives them an opportunity to describe what they do. Bonus points for getting a smile, laugh, question." Big Ass Fans is a company that creates really large fans that cool a room or space. The name is distinctive and of course humorously descriptive. Naked Juice is a name with just enough suggesti

  People often throw around the term business model in discussing startups. But just what is a business model? Which ones work best and why? How do you know if your startup has the right one? A business model explains which consumer pain your startup chooses to relieve, why your solution works better than competing ones and how big a wedge a company can drive between what customers are willing to pay and the costs. I recently spent three hours with some clients, executives from Beijing, to discuss these questions: I presented several business models and their financial benefits. After sharing the idea of the  business model canvas , developed by Alexander Osterwalder to help entrepreneurs design a customized business model, I gave the Chinese executives an hour to "paint" a new business idea. (We did not use the interactive tool; they wrote their choices on a white board and addressed the class in Chinese. With the help of a translator, I asked follow-up que

To stay competitive businesses have to have an online presence. But if you aren't web savvy, navigating all the ins and outs of creating a website can be confusing. How do you choose a domain name? What must you do to maintain it? And what happens if your domain name expires? We spoke with Paul McGrady, a trademark and domain name lawyer in Winston & Strawn LLP’s Chicago office about what business owners can do to keep their sites running smoothly, here's his advice: 1. Choose a registrar with good customer service.  Small businesses might not have their own IT departments and need help getting their sites up and running smoothly. Choosing a domain registrar with comprehensive customer service can help you resolve problems quickly, McGrady says. He suggests services like  Godaddy ,  eNom ,  1&1   and  Dotster .

More and more offline retailers are heading online so that they can take advantage of everything that the world wide web has to offer. But just because you’ve seen a bunch of success with your brick-and-mortar business doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to see the same results online! Even the savviest offline retailer can see big problems when they head online, like: Frustrating customers by having different products and/or prices online than in the store Underestimating the time and money that goes into building and maintaining a successful website

When Clients Ask for Discounts....!!!!! Ask Them ... Why?

When you don't have good boundaries between your work and personal lives, your health and performance suffer. The typical workday is long enough as it is, and technology is making it even longer. When you do finally get home from a full day at the office, your mobile phone rings off the hook, and emails drop into your inbox from people who expect immediate responses. While most people claim to disconnect as soon as they get home, recent research says otherwise. A study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that more than 50 percent of us check work email before and after work hours, throughout the weekend, and even when we're sick. Even worse, 44 percent of us check work email while on vacation.

If you're still stuck on startup ideas that you can launch while holding down a job, here's some help to get you started. Have you ever wanted to start your own business? If so, you realize that there are a lot of risks involved, not to mention that it may require you to take out a loan or quit your current job. While that sounds great on paper, not all of us can completely give up our 9-to-5 jobs. You can, however, start a side business and keep working on it until it has enough traction to become a full-time job.

Let me put it this way: Earning $1 million in a year takes the same effort that earning $10,000 per year takes. However, the difference is not in the effort which you put forth, but in what you think about your efforts. “How can I deliver more value to more people in less time?” When you ask the question, “How can I deliver more value to more people in less time?” what you’re basically asking is how I can become better to more people in the fastest way possible? Let’s break it down in three parts: 1. How Can I Deliver More Value? This question is basically asking, how can I give people more service? It makes you want to give the people you are serving everything you’ve got. The goal here is to focus on the quality of service that you render to others. In the beginning of my career, I wasn’t fond of going the extra mile or giving people what they wanted. In fact, I scoffed at overachievers and volunteers until I became one myself. Eventually, by asking this question, I

There are many definitions of what it means to be rich. Being rich is more of a state of mind than a dollar amount. Truthfully,  the rich can be poor  and the  poor can be rich . For example, being rich could be a family of five who lovingly share their small piece of bread in a third-world country. Conversely, another family of five may live in a 12-bedroom home and still have strife over an unlimited first-class feast! Moreover, being rich is really about  having it all . It would be ideal to have a combination of the aforementioned situations: the happy family enjoying a delectable meal in the big house -- and it is possible. However, to achieve this kind of wealth, along with financial freedom, personal peace and happiness, you must get committed to it. 

Sole Proprietorship A sole proprietorship is the most basic type of business to establish. You alone own the company and are responsible for its assets and liabilities. Learn more about the sole proprietor structure. Limited Liability Company An LLC is designed to provide the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership. Learn more about how LLCs are structured.