Mom Entrepreneur Mentors: “The Things I Wish I Would Have Known While Working My Business and Raising My Family"

Moms are busy people.  Raising a family makes you busy, but when you throw in the added responsibilities of running a business, you may feel like a professional juggler trying your hardest every day not to “drop the ball”.  Today’s Mom Entrepreneurs are so busy juggling their family and business, some days it may be difficult to find time to breathe.  The Business Mom believes the benefit and good advice of Moms who have already raised their families is priceless and will help you to set our priorities.  A special thank you goes to the following Moms from NAFE’s For You Network for taking the time to share their thoughts and stories.

Reminder #1:  Children grow up quickly…
Meli Van Natta’s son was seven years old and her daughter was four when she got into the real estate business.  Meli of Prudential California Realty says, “I learned that children grow up quickly and you can never recapture the time that you miss.”  If she had it to do over again, she would have arranged her schedule to spend more time with them even if it affected her business.  Now that she is older (and wiser), Meli realizes that she could have delegated some tasks, maybe taken on a partner, and she didn’t have to attend all the social events that went along with the business. But, she was young, having fun, and feeling very powerful and successful with all the money she was making.

Meli’s kids don’t seem to feel that she neglected them.  After all, they had time to go to Disneyland, the Zoo, and other places during the week when all the other mothers were at work.  So, they didn’t mind too much if she worked weekends because of her schedule.  They often helped her by stuffing envelopes, going with her to knock on doors, and sitting with her at Open Houses when she couldn’t get a sitter.

Both of Meli’s children are now happily married, well-adjusted adults with kids of their own.  Her daughter has chosen to be a stay-at-home mom and is expecting her third child.  Her son is the entrepreneur in the family.  After a brief foray into the real estate business himself, he is now the proud owner of two successful businesses.

Meli’s Top Tips:
Learn when to turn off the phone and learn the difference between merely important and urgent.  Take those vacations and make your days off sacrosanct.  It may take you a little longer to reach your business goals, but you’ll be happier for it!

Reminder #2:  Mom entrepreneurs can take advantage of their flexible schedule to share great times with their children…

Robbie Motter of Contacts Unlimited was a single parent who raised her three children (who are now grown).  Robbie loves being an entrepreneur.  Robbie says, “If I had known then what I know now, I would have left the corporate world earlier so I could have had the quality time with my older children that I had with my younger daughter.”  Robbie took a break from work each day when her daughter came home from school for about an hour and a half so that they could spend time together before returning to work and while her daughter completed her homework.

Robbie recalls that it was she had some hard challenges when she first became an entrepreneur.  It took awhile for things to start to move forward and times were tough.  Her two older children were not too supportive at first, as they were use to the big corporate paycheck. Many times they told her to go get a regular job, but she was determined to make it work.  Before long it did, and they truly loved having her work from her home office.  They shared great times together.

Robbie used to have her children help in the business.  They stuffed envelopes or jobs like that, and they loved it. As they got older, Robbie let them answer the phone so they could learn the right way to do that.

Robbie’s son is an entrepreneur.  He and a partner have owned a company for 18 years.  Her two girls are not entrepreneurs--they like having a big paycheck, the perks, and all the benefits that a corporate job provides.  Today all of her children are very successful, own beautiful homes, and make a fantastic salary with lots of benefits.  They do not take their work home with them; they leave it at the office and come home to be totally with the family.

Robbie’s Top Tips:
When you run your business, and if you work from home, make your children feel a part of it. When it is family time, stop worrying about business and give your children quality time. - Terilee Harrison, The Business Mom Guide Book

5 Tips for Mom Entrepreneurs: How to Make and Take Time for You

You are busy at both work and at home.  Some days it may seem impossible to find time for YOU.  You may wonder how other busy Mom Entrepreneurs make time for themselves, but you don’t have time to stop and ask.  Here are four quick tips:

If it’s too late and you are already stressed…

1.  Take a break.
Have you ever been overwhelmed and feel you can’t stop for fear you will fall further behind?  When you’re in a high-stress situation, your thinking is often cluttered making you less productive.  Michele Dortch, The Integrated Mother, suggests that you take a break when you become stressed.  Whether you choose a 15-minute nature walk or a full day doing activities you love, stopping can actually provide amazing clarity and help you complete your tasks on time.  This may seem counterproductive, but it really works!

To prevent going on overload, try the following tips on a regular basis…

2.  Take time out to socialize each week.
Alice Seba of Mom Masterminds advises taking time out is invaluable to the Mom Entrepreneur.  Alice makes a point to have a few opportunities to socialize each week—with girlfriends, her partner, or to just have some time alone.  It revives her and makes her more focused when she comes back to being a mom or a businessperson.  Alice says, “All work and no play not only makes you a dull mama, but it makes you a stressed out and ineffective one, too!”

3.  Take a few “Mommy Minutes” as often as possible.
Ponn Sabra, author of Empowering Women to Power Network, puts herself on “time out” and takes “Mommy Minutes” as often as possible.  Ponn sits in a self-made sauna in the bathroom with the hot shower running or enjoys a favorite goodie (she sometimes hides special ice cream sandwiches in back corner of her freezer where no one, even her husband, can find them.)

Ponn also insists that “adults need naps, too!”  Whether for ten minutes or forty-five, it is important just to take a nap.  The revitalization you receive from a catnap is very powerful.  If you are unable to nap in the middle of a chaotic day, it is important to take yourself out of the situation to regain focus.  You will have more energy if you meditate and clear your head.

4.  Go “off duty” regularly.
In Linda Goodman Pillsbury’s Survival Tips for Working Moms, she recommends choosing a regular time when you are “off duty.”  For example, you might say that after 8:30 every night, the kids cannot bother you with “Where are my blue jeans?”  “I need cookies for a school party tomorrow,” etc.  (Of course, you are there for emergencies.)  Children will soon learn to ask for what they need before you go off duty or wait until the morning.  This works on very young children up to teenagers--but you should make exceptions for talking to the kids when they come in from a date! - Terilee Harrison, The Business Mom Guide Book

The Fine Art of Juggling Business and Motherhood for Mom Entrepreneurs

Like every entrepreneurial mom, two of the top priorities in my life are my family and my business.

My Story.  I have always been a driven person. I knew what I needed to do to earn my next promotion.  I took every class and seminar that I could find to help me get ahead.  When I was in my early 20’s, all my colleagues were men in their 40’s.  If I had kept going, I would certainly have reached upper level management.

My desire and drive for status in the corporate world came to a screeching halt on a day in late 1993--the day I became Jackie’s Mom.  That day, as all Moms understand, my priorities dramatically shifted.  Life was no longer “all about me”.  I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. Suddenly work and school were unimportant.  I began looking for opportunities to work from home or for good part-time jobs.

It is not easy to juggle business and motherhood.  I do not claim to be an expert.  After Jackie was born, I spent several years in the corporate world not realizing there were other opportunities for me.  While I worked full-time, my constant concern was that I was missing everything while my child was in daycare for 11 hours a day. Because I know children are only little “for a short time”, a cloud of overwhelming sadness was constantly hanging over me.  In my efforts to overcome this concern, I was fortunate along the way to find several excellent part-time jobs, and I even job-shared for a year.  I have actually only worked full-time for half of my daughter’s 12 years. Yet it still never occurred to me that I could leave the security of a corporate job to have my own business.

Thankfully, the entrepreneurial bug bit me in late 2002.  I now have my own business, and I love every minute of it.  I am much happier and I am able to set my schedule around my children’s important activities and, on occasion work with them beside me.  I recently sat at breakfast with Jackie and asked her when she has been happiest with my work schedule.  She too was happiest when I was able to take her to school and pick her up myself and attend all her important activities.

My husband, Terry is about to begin working in my business full-time, too.  While we are looking forward to being together more and working together to help build our business, this will be a major life change for us.  Our son Cole (age three) is currently in daycare for three part-time days each week.  Last week we discussed some of the adjustments we will need to make with Terry being home more. We made the commitment to juggle taking care of Cole and working in the business the remaining two days a week for the next two years until he starts kindergarten.  We know it is best for Cole, that this time is a special time to be with him, and he is worth it.
   
I have learned many things as a Mom Entrepreneur, and I would like to share two of them.
The Importance of Being Present.  Several months ago, I had a breakfast meeting with my business partner and one of our networking organization members.  The member was sharing some of the things he had learned in a workshop. I will never forget when he said, “You are not listening, you’ve never listened, and you are not listening now…”   Then he explained how he realized he hadn’t been listening to his own daughter.  I immediately understood what he was saying and my heart sank.  I thought of my children. Although I had always wanted to have as much time with them as possible, I had become involved in growing my business.  While juggling both work and family, I had stopped listening.  I had been fooling myself and I had been very wrong.  I apologized to my daughter that day.  I changed immediately, including even little things. For example, while ironing on stars Jackie had earned in P.E., I took the time to talk about how she had earned the stars.  I understood how much I was going to miss unless I was present all the time.  Working moms often struggle with the lack of time spent with their children, but when we are present, every moment we spend with our children can be special quality time.      

The Value of Teamwork.  One of the most important things we can do for our families is to have open communication.  I am not afraid to ask for help from my family.  I try my best to communicate my upcoming schedule ahead of time.  When I have a particularly hectic week, we talk about what is happening, if it’s temporary, acknowledge the stress it puts on all of us and handle it together. As a team, we worked out a plan for the days when I leave early to attend a breakfast meeting. When I say, “I have a breakfast meeting tomorrow,” everyone knows what to do.  For example, my husband takes care of our son and drops him off at preschool.  My family understands my commitment to them is, if at all possible, I will only attend one breakfast meeting a week.  I communicate with them what is happening in the business and try to involve them in it, too.  We are all in this together.  As the business succeeds, we all succeed.

You can help, too.  I love to help others, and as I continue my personal journey towards a more balanced life, I want to collect the experiences of other entrepreneurial moms.  I am also writing a book for Mom Entrepreneurs.  The comments submitted for these articles could also be featured in the book.  It is my goal to share your stories so that we can all help each other to master the fine art of juggling business and motherhood. - Terilee Harrison, The Business Mom Guide Book

Women Entrepreneurs Prove It’s Not Just A Man’s World

I had the honor of speaking this week at a women's business association luncheon on the topic of entrepreneurship. When I mentioned to my wife the day before that I was speaking to group of women entrepreneurs she asked, "Why on earth would they ask you to speak?"

In her defense, my dear wife has no idea what I do for a living. She's never read a single one of the several hundred columns I've written. She's never attended a function where I'm speaking or sat in the audience at any of my seminars.

She just knows that we live a very comfortable lifestyle and believes me when I tell her our money doesn't come from the drug trade.

Beyond that, she's incredibly happy in her ignorance of her husband's skills.

When I feigned hurt feelings she waved a hand at me and said, "My point is, what in the world can a man tell a roomful of women that they don't already know?"

Henny Youngman, Ralph Cramden, Rodney Dangerfield, Tim Knox. At least I'm in good company.

But she had a point. What the heck did I know about women in business? So as not to look like a total idiot in front of this group of what I now call "womentrepreneurs" I decided to do a little research on the topic.

Here's what I discovered: while some still believe it's a man's world, when it comes to business, women are catching up fast.

According to the Center For Women's Business Research there are over 10 million women-owned businesses in the US, employing 18 million people and generating $2.32 trillion in sales.

Women start businesses at two times the rate of men and women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all businesses in the United States and represent about 775,000 new startups per year and account for 55% of new startups.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, wholesale trade, transportation/communications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men.

In the past 25 years the number of women-owned firms in the US has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold.

Here is the question I sought particularly to answer: Do women approach business differently than men? I've been compared to a bull in a china shop when it comes to business. Would a female counterpart approach things differently? More gracefully, perhaps? As my lovely bride would say, "Duh."

In her book, How to Run Your Business Like a Girl, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin explored common female traits and how women entrepreneurs - and perhaps men, as well - can use those traits to their entrepreneurial advantage.

Baskin reported that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on relationships, and putting more emphasis on keeping their life in balance.

Trust Your Gut

Women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. Women may gather the facts and figures necessary to back up that feeling, but they generally know what they want to do based on intuition.

Build Strong Relationships

Men play the game of business like a sport. They are out to win and dominate. "Women," Baskin says, "are much more interested in establishing a connection."

Find A Balance Between Work and Life.

A number of women interviewed for this book cited on quality of life as their reason for starting a business, alluding to their desire to find a way to juggle family and work. "If having more time for your family is important to you, find a way to work that into your day. It's not so much how much work you do, but being able to decide when you'll do it."

Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the early stages of their business:

You Don't Have To Know Everything.

My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success.

"It's amazing how many women say they didn't know anything when they started their business," Baskin said. "Don't be afraid to ask for help - you don't have to be perfect at everything."

Solid business advice: for guys and gals.

Here's to your success!

Trapped On The Treadmill: Work-Life Balance

Workers suffering burnout are making mistakes.  It’s depressingly predictable:  these mistakes cost money, compromise safety and may even put lives at risk.  Work-life balance is a subject with broad points of view but Corporate America is finally responding to this demand.  Actually it’s been a matter of company survival.  Corporations expecting employees to forego family time will not find the Ace Employee.  Increased irritability means less production as more as more workers struggle to ‘keep it all together’.

Smart companies are recognizing employee needs for work-life balance and are providing an environment that encourages that balance.  Yet, limiting this to quick fixes like flexible working hours, or part time hours for working mothers is not dealing with the real reasons why people are feeling disillusioned with their working life.  It has more to do with long hours, constant overtime, bullying bosses, and the continual cutbacks that keep many on a frayed tightrope.

The core problem lies inside the minds of management -- obsessive drives, insane greed for money and power, ambition gone awry and a foolish disregard of anything void of short-term results.  Even with limited changes, management still treats underlings like a herd of cows milking every ounce of effort possible.  That’s not about to change when it’s driven by a ‘winner takes all’ ideology and contempt for those unable to keep up.

In a 2006 study, men were more likely to report depression, increased drinking and smoking, and suicidal thoughts.  Women on the other hand were more likely to report anxiety, uncontrolled crying, migraines, sleeplessness and persistent petty ailments.

Patrick learned the hard way – at 40 he had risen to Senior Attorney for a small insurance company.  His all-consuming job of 80-100 hours each week leaves his wife complaining that he was never home, and even when he is, he’s useless.  His children are in bed when he finally calls it a day, and often he sleeps in his clothes on top of the covers to get a head start the following morning at 5am.

Patrick admits he is spread too thin but if he doesn’t run at breakneck speed, everything will overtake him – as if he’s on a treadmill with no controls.  He is gaining weight catching junk food on the run and drinking more to “unwind” as he puts it.  But a long weekend with friends changed everything.  Patrick was on the phone constantly and his wife felt more like she had joined their friends as a single.  Vexed and defeated, she finally blurted out:  “I’m done!  I don’t want to do this anymore”.

Often a wake-up call follows a crisis.  To save his marriage and family Patrick had to adopt a family-first policy.  He laid his decision on the corporate table – no more weekends, home for dinner every night, no phone calls after 7pm!  The silence was deafening.

Determined, he turned to the Internet and a new road to entrepreneurship.   The dream of perfect harmony in work and home has worked for many who have chosen this road.  Enjoyable, stress free and rewarding, they learned to love the risk factor because, as entrepreneurs they were able to see a direct benefit from the fruits of their own labor.

Entrepreneurs have a rosy view of their work-life balance because they love their boss.  It’s a big change from putting in 100 hours a week to please management by putting job first and everything else second, third or not at all.  The new pioneers of this millennium will not be charging into the workplace as soon as they graduate.  They will take their time and enjoy the trip.  Ah well, the world doesn’t need any more lawyers.

Congratulations Patrick, on getting fired.

Work Life Balance - 6 Tips For Achieving It

Work life balance is a primary consideration when you are first starting a computer consulting business.  Regardless if you are getting started part-time, full time, or moonlighting, this launch will be intense for you.  At no other time will work life balance be so critical.
   
Getting started takes a lot of time and energy and it can be very draining.  To maintain even a semblance of work life balance your have to be very organized.  You have to have specific methods in place that will allow to enjoy work life balance.

Use the following six strategies to achieve and maintain work life balance:

Avoid going out to clients on more than 3 consecutive weekday evenings. You will have no work life balance if you are out every night of the week or out back to back nights.

Stick to a rigid standard configuration.  Achieving work life balance means working efficiently.  If you keep consistent hardware and software, standard settings, similar operating systems, similar peripherals, the same ISPs whenever possible, and the same web host whenever possible, you will reduce stress and improve your work life balance.

Look for 9-5 clients.  An easy way to keep work life balance is to avoid round-the-clock clients.  You went out on your own to avoid being on call 24/7.

Don't let deadbeats ruin your moral.  If you worry or fret about deadbeat clients you will upset the work life balance you are tying to achieve.  It's frustrating but don't give these situations all your time and attention.

Try to operate from a position of financial strength.  This allows you to be picky about your clients.  The better clients you have, the less stress and worry you have, and the more work life balance you have.

Live by the motto:  Life’s too short to put up with crap.  You need to be able to laugh and let some of this roll off your back.  Finding the right perspective helps work life balance fall into place.


The Bottom Line on Work Life Balance

Work life balance is not a luxury - it is a necessity.  You must create your business so that it supports work life balance rather than defeats it.  There are some simple strategies you can use to create work life balance but the most important is to keep your work in the right perspective.  Don't let work consume you - concentrate instead on what you can do every day to ensure you have work life balance

Think Like an Entrepreneur

My biggest problem in becoming self-employed was me.

In order to BE a self-employed person I had to start thinking like one. I found myself reverting to that nine-to-five mentality.  If I wasn’t accomplishing a task every hour, then I must not really be working.

Sometimes a self-employed person has to make decisions about her business.  Sometimes she is just thinking about a solution to a problem. Sometimes she just has to quiet her mind so new ideas can come. Just because you’re not pounding away at the typewriter every minute doesn’t mean you’re not working.

I’ve also learned that it’s okay NOT to answer the phone every time it rings.  That’s what voicemail is for, and the same goes for email.  At my nine-to-five job I would leave the email program open all day and answer each one as it arrived.  It took me a while to realize it’s okay to only check email several times a day instead of constantly being interrupted. It’s actually more productive than having to stop your thought process every time “you have mail.” At my other job, I was able to let a phone call roll over into voice mail, but it took me a while to be able to shut down the email too.

You’re going to have days where you feel you didn’t accomplish much.  Then again, you’ll have days where you’ll feel you can conquer the world and you’ll be amazed at how much you got done. Some days you may not finish many tasks, but you’ll make a decision on a problem that needed to be addressed.  Or, you will have learned a valuable lesson about yourself.

And, I had to learn to stop breaking down all my tasks into dollars and cents.  I tended to worry about how much I was or was not earning every day.  The truth is, some days you’re going to make more than other days. If I spent my day on marketing issues, even though I didn’t earn any money from it that day, I would benefit from it some time in the future.

Rather than worry about what benefits I do or don’t have, I realized the benefit I have in my business is that I answer only to me. Everything I do will benefit me sooner or later.  Instead of my income being dependent on somebody else’s budget, I can go as far as I dream.

And because I’m now doing what I truly love and not what someone else tells me to, I’m much happier and more content. I learned if you start THINKING like an entrepreneur, then you’ll actually be one.

The Reality of Online Entrepreneurship

Who doesn't want to run a business from their home and wear a bathrobe to virtual business meetings? Since the go-go days of the dotcom boom, the ideal of starting an online business has drawn many to try their business legs in the challenges of online commerce. And indeed, the statistics are attractive: Fifty-five percent of American households are wired for the Internet, and nearly a third, or 32 percent have made a purchase online, according to the US Census Bureau. There's buckets of money being made online, but who's making it and who's not?

When one speaks of "making money online," one creates an image of simply turning on a computer and getting money out of it as if it were an ATM machine. In fact, the Internet, and all the commercial features of it, are merely tools in the entrepreneur's toolbox that should be used alongside other, more traditional tools. When you're building a house, sometimes that high-tech, laser pointing thingamabob is great, but sometimes you just need a hammer. And so it is with online business, and supplementing all that high-tech with old-fashioned business, or in many cases, supplementing old-fashioned business with some high-tech, is what it takes to be successful. Success online comes not in replacing the old with the new, but blending them together.

With a few high-profile exceptions, most businesses that "make money online" successfully aren't exclusive virtual sales companies, but instead, they use the Internet as just one of several sales channels. While people are buying things online, they enjoy having the Internet as an option—but don't want it to be their only option. More often, the Internet is used as a vehicle for researching products that will actually be bought in an actual brick-and-mortar store.
Creating a virtual business doesn't mean that it should be exclusively virtual.

The most successful online businesses are those that have promoted themselves offline as well as on, through traditional media such as television and newspaper as well as via clickthroughs and email advertising. Yahoo! is an excellent example of a fabulously successful online company—but what do we remember most when we think of Yahoo!? The silly yodel from their television commercials.

Perhaps one of the most important things to remember when starting an online business, is not to get lost in the online mystique. The Internet revolution has, and continues to bring us all manner of useful tools and techniques for commerce, but if you want to get customers to visit your new online boutique, you have to actually change out of your bathrobe, get out of your den, and actually talk to some people face-to-face.

The Key Ingredient for Business Success and the Diverse Entrepreneur

Once I was asked which niche of my many interests was my favorite. I found it impossible to choose at that moment. To me it was like asking "what is your favorite color?" Aren't they ALL beautiful? Or "which of your children is your favorite?"

Would I choose my daughter who is so kind, disciplined and musically talented, teaching Montessori school, which I also have a passion for? Or would I choose my son who is also kind-hearted, with the built-in "hero" feature to his personality, and equally talented with creative genius in product design, the art I also have a passion for? They each have common ground to enjoy.  Do I have to choose one?  I cannot.

You get the picture. It was almost impossible to choose my favorite niche. It was as if by choosing one, I was canceling out the others. Do you know what I mean?

Now for the "ingredient" I mentioned. You've heard it many times before...

You absolutely MUST be CONSISTENT to have ultimate success in any business! (no matter how many interests you passionately master...)

If you have many interests and have developed each of them passionately as I have, how can you be consistent without giving up something you love as much as any other interest?

Thankfully, there must have been many others before us with the same dilemma and who have attracted the technology of today! Either that or you and I attracted it without even defining it in our wishes...  J

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to be in touch with people from one of your interest areas while being focused on another interest area for a while? You don't want to lose contact with anyone, but time just seems to be limited so you prioritize with whom you will spend time communicating. But...

Woohooo!

With the technology of today we can stay in touch with people we know from our many diverse interests. We can focus on a new interest while at the same time communicate with people of another interest.

It's all just a matter of technology. Using an autoresponder service, you can set up communications in advance or at least put all the people of one interest group together so one email can be sent to all at once.

Once you have your people grouped into a message sequence, you can easily send an email whenever you wish. Some may reply and you can answer them easily, building those relationships stronger.   While your messages go out automatically, you can remain happily focused on your current interest.  When you are ready to “play” in the previous niche again, you can easily build from where you left off instead of starting at “square one” again!

Being consistent in the communications is the key. If you disappear for months and months, (meaning zero communication) people may make up their minds that you don't care that much about knowing them any longer. If the relationship has been built strongly enough before you “disappear” for a while, the trust may still be there even if you put off communicating for a while, especially if you let them know ahead of time that will be the case.

Being consistent can mean communicating every couple of days, months or even once a year during a certain time frame that matches an "anniversary" moment in the relationship, like the time of year you took a class together or worked on a project together for instance.

In business consistency is crucial so people will trust you. In fact, in all of life, consistency makes a huge difference.   Be consistent!

The Great M’s of Success

People who have studied successful people over the last 300 or more years have found certain traits that accounted to their achievements.

These success techniques not only helped them forward but also kept them there even in times of depression, recession or other personal disasters.

Four of them are The Great M’s of Success in business and life.
<b>Mentoring, Masterminding, Marketing & Motivation</b>

I have heard it repeated over and over again, "Get Yourself a Mentor."  Get help, advice and guidance by someone who has already been there and made it. A mentor can save you years to a lifetime of mistakes.  They can excel you forward, in ways you never could on your own. You’ll have a much greater ability to achieve your goals because you will have a blueprint to guide your way.

Surprisingly, many people if not most will go to a friend or relative for advice. People who have never succeeded and have no ambition to go anywhere, and then these same people are surprised when they too don't succeed or even get very far. Then they look for excuses and reasons outside them selves for the failures. Such as recession, location, or even competition muscling in.

Accomplished people also belonged to a <b>Mastermind group.</b> They are people like you, entrepreneurs working towards a better life.

The collective power of the group brings increased knowledge that can help you resolve challenges that you may have. They also keep you motivated and accountable. The power or synergy of the mastermind group has shown over and over its ability to help people overcome any problems.

Each week, each person in the group would state what they have accomplished, what they are doing next and ask for assistance with any matters.  The group as a whole then works together to come up with solutions.  Discover just how powerful this is in moving you forward and achieving your desires. It also gives you the very important ability to give back to the group by helping them.

A small sample of people in or were in masterminds are: Henry Ford,  Firestone, Napoleon Hill, Andrew Carnegie, Anthony Robins, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale, Joel Christopher and so many more.

The third M is <b>Marketing.</b> No matter what your business is, if you don't market yourself or business, you won't get very far. You can't expect to hide under a blanket in the corner and hope that someone finds you.

Marketing is more than just advertising. It's understanding your target market and knowing how to promote to them and the benefits that your product or service will provide them.  Without this knowledge, you will either not attract anyone to you or you can waste a lot of money with zero results.

It pays to find people who understand this and can help guide you.  They can help you define your niche', explain copywriting and the magic of words. They can show you the difference between features and benefits and why they are so important. And they can teach you how to test everything for positive and increased results.

Finally, the fourth is<b> motivation. </b>Motivation is the juice that keeps you going, that allows ideas to progress and persevere when times are tuff.  No matter how great your product or service is, if you don't stay motivated, you probably won't last through the hard times.

There are many ways to help you stay motivated. One is to be around others that are also moving forward. A second is to write down and post right in front of you, Why You Are Doing This. Get specific and detailed as possible. Then post it in front of your computer or where ever you work the most.  Look at it often to remind your self why and what your motivation soar.

Grasp on the marvelous Ms and jumpstart your own goals dreams and desires.

The Entrepreneurial Edge

Some would say that big business has it made; I on the other hand believe that there will always be a special place for the little business guy. Entrepreneurs have an edge over their bigger competitors. So while the Amazon’s of the world are struggling to break even from their multi billion-dollar overheads, the smaller Dot coms are already realizing profits. What advantages do the “little” guys have in the marketplace? Below is how to “think like a startup” and realize greater success.

HOW TO KEEP THE ENTREPRENEURIAL EDGE

1) STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

Ever heard of the 80/20 rule? The old adage says that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. In business, the customer is king. It’s far easier to sell to an existing customer than to find a new one. So, once you get a customer, you need to service the heck out of them.

So how do you make your customers feel like they are number one? By letting them know that they are top priority. This means answering your own phone, replying quickly to email requests. It means staying in regular communication with your customers. Keep up a good rapport. Send an occasional email asking them what’s new. Mail birthday cards or a customer anniversary card. Gestures like these can build close, long lasting customer relations and goes a long way to building customer loyalty.

In addition to building stronger customer relationships, keeping in touch with your customer base can enable dot coms to offer one to one marketing. By identifying your customers needs and buying habits, you can personalize product packages and service offerings to meet your customer’s individual needs.

2) LISTEN TO THE BEAT OF THE STREET

If small business owners want to keep their head above water, they need to closely monitor their environments. By “listening” to the pulse, you can think proactively rather than reactively. This means spotting things when they are coming so you can act quickly and take advantage.

Web stats - Do you look at your web stats regularly? Or are you guilty of being too “busy” to make time? Unless you regularly look at your web traffic reports, they probably will read like a foreign language to you. By looking at your web reports regularly, you’ll be able to spot trends. What pages are your visitors going to? What is the hits-to-sales ratio? What can you do to improve that number?

Feedback - Another way to “listen to the beat” is to get feedback from your customers. Try to be on a first name basis with your customers. Ask them how they are doing and if there is anything you could assist them with. The answers you’ll receive will be worth their weight in gold.

Industry news - Keep up with the industry by reading everything you can get your hands on. When you work in “living room central” it’s easy to let yourself be isolated from the world. You can’t rely on your favorite soap operas to keep you informed about the current trends in business. So put down your munchies and flavored coffee and make a concerted effort to stay “in the know” by subscribing to print magazines and online newsletters

3) FLEXIBILITY

When I think about flexibility, the childhood rhyme “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick” comes to mind. In order to keep from being burned, small businesses need to be nimble and quick. This means having the flexibility to act quickly in response to changes in the marketplace. Like a surfer riding a wave, you have to be in just the right place at the right time to ride the crest of the wave and get the best ride. Likewise, if small businesses monitor closely what’s going on in the marketplace, they can act quickly to take advantage of current events and trends in the marketplace.

They say what gets measured, gets managed. Keep a close eye on your monthly financials. Listen to your customers. Measure the effectiveness of your advertising. Then when you see a difference ask yourself, “was that good or bad” and ACT!

4) TAP INTO THE FIRE AND LET IT FUEL YOU

Simply said, small business owners want it more. Because of this, they will try harder and go the extra mile. That’s why big companies like Wal-Mart and Saturn have made their employees part owners in the company. They have seen that people will work harder for themselves than for anyone else.

The best secret to success as an entrepreneur is to find something you are passionate about and create a business around that. When you do something you love you’ll never “work” a day in your life. Entrepreneurs have that fire in their belly. Find a way to tap into that internal fire and let it fuel you to success.

5) VALUE

While big companies will often be able to offer the lower prices, small businesses will always be able to pile on the value. By offering better service, adding bonuses, giving and discounts on related products, the entrepreneurs can add more bang for the buck.

6) CREATIVE SPARK

What’s great about the entrepreneurs is that they aren’t afraid to try something new. When I think of “creative spark”, I think of my son, when he was three years old, eyeing a package of cookies up on top of the refrigerator. He doesn’t know that it is up really high and that climbing up there is dangerous. He only sees the cookies and starts stacking chairs and climbing until I find him sitting on top of the fridge with a big smile and a mushy cookie face. Similarly, entrepreneurs don’t “know” if something will work or not and fearlessly forge forward with their eyes on the prize. This innovation helps them to tap into new products, techniques, and processes.

SUMMARY

They say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. When the market starts putting the heat on your business, ask yourself, are you staying “sharp”? Do you still have the entrepreneurial edge? By thinking like a start up, you will find that you will have the staying power to compete with the big boys on the block. And you’ll find that kind of hard-earned success is “oh” so sweet!

The Entrepreneur's Checklist

I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success. This is by no means a definitive list, but I'd be willing to bet that if you don't have at least a majority of these traits, your chances of business success will be greatly diminished.

You must be self motivated.

If you don't have the wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don't have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.

You can't be afraid of hard work.

If you think working for someone else is hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster and then some. You will have to work long hours and be on call 24/7, at least in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, maybe you should just keep your cushy day job.

You should have experience in the type of business you plan to start.

If you can't locate your car's engine you have no business buying an oil change franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop. Consider working in an industry at least part time for a year before jumping in with both feet.

You must be able to climb back on the horse.

I always say: "If business was easy, everybody would do it." Starting a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse and get back on a few times without giving up.

You need the support of your family.

When you start a business you may have to spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family and those closest to you

You must have a thick skin.

If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your non-threatening day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without taking it personally.

You must interact well with others.

Being an entrepreneur requires interacting with a variety of people, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (at least not on the outside).

The deeper your pockets the better.

The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have access to enough capital to see you through until the business can sustain itself.

You must be able to delegate.

Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it's foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must learn to put your trust in others. If you can't dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, your business growth will be limited.

Previous business ownership is a plus.

Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can't hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses rattling around in their closet.

Another of my sayings:

Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot from the first one that may come in handy the second or third time around.

With that kind of advice you can see why I didn't go into marriage counseling.

Here's to your success!

The Emotional Side of Business

Do your emotions get in the way of sound business decisions?

Women, in particular, let their emotions get in the way of sound business judgment.   In business it is very necessary to be analytical and logical.  Each decision should boil down to one question:

“Will this be good or bad for my business?”

Society views women as nurturing caretakers and many have been raised to fit that model.  The problem stemming from this is that women are always concerned about not hurting the other person’s feelings.  They feel obligated to “be nice” by transacting business even though the action does not fit their business model or make good financial sense.

Have you ever been expected to make an expensive purchase for your business, and did you go through with it even though it was too costly, for fear of “not being liked?”  

Handle business swiftly and politely with a smile to avoid confrontations.  Your first response is to acknowledge the request.  Then, within the framework of the conversation, explain why you cannot meet the request.  For example, I had an exciting opportunity to combine forces with a local TV news program.  Their research was impeccable indicating a very high number of anticipated hits on my website and calls to be received if I were to sign up for the program.

After the presentation, and request for $50,000, I agreed it was of great value.  I then said, “If your statistics are true, I would need to build up my infrastructure which will take longer than your short timeframe allowed for commitment.”

I agreed with their statements and used their own words to show the flaw in their reasoning for a quick decision. This method enabled me to excuse myself from the project and eliminated hard feelings.

You cannot afford to purchase from everyone.  You must learn to remove the emotional side of business and set realistic expectations of others.  Too often women will get upset if an acquaintance does not purchase; will not trade links on websites; and will not offer referrals.   They feel it’s owed to them.  

I suggest you take the “I” and “You” out of the equation and, instead, think in terms of the bottom line for your business.

Relationship selling is based on a win-win strategy.  Each business owner must understand the needs and challenges of the other.

When someone tells you ‘No’ at any point in a conversation, the very best thing to do is to stop and ask, “Why?”  Getting angry, walking away and stopping all communication is not the least bit helpful.

If you take the time to ask “Why?” and get a history of experiences, there will be three positive outcomes from the question.  First, if an error was made, you will know what that error was and will not repeat it elsewhere.

Second, you will become adept at always understanding two viewpoints (yours and your prospect’s) which will work in your favor from that point forward.

The third scenario, and best of all, is by questioning you may easily find a solution that will satisfy both of you.

Once you know who your best prospects are, stay with that market and you will be far happier as more business comes your way.  We’ve all heard, “It’s not personal, it’s just business” and now we must heed that expression.  
 
Ask yourself, am I making reasonable requests of others and am I making the best decisions for my business?

Additional Ideas to Build Business you way include, Determine if the goodwill outweighs the cost on smaller decisions; Analyze the pros and cons of larger decisions; Will you still be able to pay your bills after adding the new commitment;
Feminine intuition is an advantage – listen to your initial reaction as it’s usually correct.  If you are truly uncomfortable making a quick decision, request a day or two to reflect on the ramifications, good and bad, of the request.  No one can be offended by you giving serious consideration to what is being asked of you.  This last step will enhance your relationship selling and will present you as highly credible.

Strive to build a sound business environment.  Your center of influence will grow And Your Business Will Prosper.

Ten Entrepreneurial Mistakes

It's hard to avoid certain mistakes, especially when you face a situation for the first time. In fact, many of the following mistakes are hard to avoid even if you're an old hand. Of course, these are not the only mistakes CEOs make, but they sure are common enough. Take the following self assessment: give yourself ten points for each of these entrepreneurial blunders you are in the process of making. Deduct five points for those you have narrowly avoided. Your score, of course, will be kept confidential, but do seek help. Fast!

1. Big Customer Syndrome

If more than 50 percent of your revenues come from any one customer you may be headed for a meltdown. While it both is easier and more profitable to deal with a small number of big customers, you become quite vulnerable when one of them contributes the lion's share of your cash flow. You tend to make silly concessions to keep their business. You make special investments to handle their special requirements. And you are so busy servicing that one big account that you fail to develop additional customers and revenue streams. Then suddenly, for one reason or another, that customer goes away and your business borders on collapse.

Use that burgeoning account as both a cause for celebration and a danger signal. Always look for new business. And always seek to diversify your revenue sources.

2. Creating products in a vacuum.

You and your team have a great idea. A brilliant idea. You spend months, even years, implementing that idea. When you finally bring it to market, no one is interested. Unfortunately you were so in love with your idea you never took the time to find out if anyone else cared enough to pay money for it. You have built the classic better mousetrap.

Do not be a product searching for a market. Do the "market research" up front. Test the idea. Talk to potential customers, at least a dozen of them. Find out if anyone wants to buy it. Do this before anything else. If enough people say "yes" go ahead and build it. Better yet, sell the product at pre-release prices. Fund it in advance. If you don't get a good response, go on to the next idea.

3. Equal partnerships

Suppose you are the world's greatest salesman, but you need an operations guy to run things back at the office. Or you are a technical genius, but you need someone to find the customers. Or maybe you and a friend start the company together. In each case, you and your new partner split the company 50/50. That seems fine and fair right now, but as your personal and professional interests diverge, it is a sure recipe for disaster. Either party's veto power can stall the growth and development of your company, and neither holds enough votes to change the situation. Almost as bad is ownership split evenly among a larger number of partners, or worse, friends. Everyone has an equal vote and decisions are made by consensus. Or, worse still, unanimously. Yikes! No one has the final say, every little decision becomes a debate, and things bog down quickly.

To paraphrase Harry Truman, the buck has to stop somewhere. Someone has to be in charge. Make that person CEO and give them the largest ownership stake, even if it's only a little more. 51/49 works much better than 50/50. If you and your partner must have total equality, give a one percent share to an outside advisor who becomes your tie-breaker.

4. Low prices

Some entrepreneurs think they can be the low price player in their market and make huge profits on the volume. Would you work for low wages? Why do you want to sell at low prices? Remember, gross margins pay for things like marketing and product development (and great vacation trips.) Remember, low margins = no profits = no future. So the grosser the better.

Set your prices as high as your market will bear. Even if you can sell more units and generate greater dollar volume at the lower price (which is not always the case) you may not be better off. Make sure you do all the math before you decide on a low price strategy. Figure all your incremental costs. Figure in the extra stress as well. For service companies, low price is almost never a good idea. How do you decide how high? Raise prices. Then raise them again. When customers or clients stop buying, you've gone too far.

5. Not enough capital

Check your business assumptions. The norm is optimistic sales projections, too-short product development timeframes, and unrealistically low expense forecasts. And don't forget weak competitors. Regardless of the cause, many businesses are simply undercapitalized. Even mature companies often do not have the cash reserves to weather a downturn.

Be conservative in all your projections. Make sure you have at least as much capital as you need to make it through the sales cycle, or until the next planned round of funding. Or lower your burn rate so that you do.

6. Out of Focus

If yours is like most companies, you have neither the time nor the people to pursue every interesting opportunity. But many entrepreneurs - hungry for cash and thinking more is always better - feel the need to seize every piece of business dangled in front of them, instead of focusing on their core product, service, market, distribution channel. Spreading yourself too thin results in sub-par performance.

Concentrating your attention in a limited area leads to better-than-average results, almost always surpassing the profits generated from diversification. Al Reis, of Positioning fame, wrote a book that covers just this subject. It's called Focus.

There are so many good ideas in the world, your job is to pick only the ones which provide superior returns in your focus area. Don't spread yourself thin. Get known in your niche for the thing you do best, and do that exceedingly well.

7. First class and infrastructure crazy

Many a startup dies an untimely death from excessive overhead. Keep your digs humble and your furniture cheap. Your management team should earn the bulk of their compensation when the profits roll in, not before. The best entrepreneurs know how to stretch their cash and use it for key business-building processes like product development, sales and marketing. Skip that fancy phone system unless it really saves time and helps make more sales. Spend all the money really necessary to achieve your objectives. Ask the question, will there be a sufficient return on this expenditure? Everything else is overhead.

8. Perfection-itis

This disease is often found in engineers who won't release products until they are absolutely perfect. Remember the 80/20 rule? Following this rule to its logical conclusion, finishing the last 20 percent of the last 20 percent could cost you more than you spent on the rest of the project. When it comes to product development, Zeno's paradox rules. Perfection is unattainable and very costly at that. Plus, while you getting it right, the market is changing right out from under you. On top of that, your customers put off purchasing your existing products waiting for the next new thing to roll out your doors.

The antidote? Focus on creating a market-beating product within the allotted time. Set a deadline and build a product development plan to match. Know when you have to stop development to make a delivery date. When your time's up, it's up. Release your product.

9. No clear return on investment

Can you articulate the return which comes from purchasing your product or service? How much additional business will it generate for your customer? How much money will they save? What? You say it's too hard to quantify? There are too many intangibles? If it's too difficult for you to figure, what do you expect your prospect to do? Do the analysis. Talk to your customers, create case studies. Come up with ways to quantify the benefits. If you can't justify the purchase, don't expect your customer will. If you can demonstrate the great return on investment your product provides, sales are a slam dunk.

10. Not admitting your mistakes.

Of all the mistakes, this might be the biggest. At some point you realize the awful truth: you have made a mistake. Admit it quick. Redress the situation. If not, that mistake will get bigger, and bigger, and... Sometimes this is hard, but, believe me, bankruptcy is harder.

Assume your costs are sunk. Your money is lost. There is good news: your basis is zero. From this perspective, would you invest fresh money in this idea? If the answer is no, walk away. Change course. Whatever. But do not throw any more good money after bad.

OK, everybody makes mistakes. Just try to catch them quickly, before they kill your company.

The curse and blessing of the entrepreneur

Having 101 ideas in your head is something that many people would be envious of. In fact, if you mention to others that you are running your own business, they might remark with wonder and encouragement at your actions.

However, one thing that isn't discussed as often as it should be is how business owners keep their heads screwed on. How do they cope with the ideas that are in their heads, and not become overwhelmed by the enormity of it all? There are a few common traits among those businesses that have achieved a certain level of success.

** They know they can't do it all **

Having lots of ideas is one thing - trying to do them all yourself is another. Although having others complete work for you is a real challenge - especially when you are starting out and have limited money - it is often one of the key elements why the business owner still has their sanity.

** They roll with the punches **

As kids when we were growing up, parents or adults might have told us to “roll with the punches”. This most likely made no sense to you as a child, but as we grow up, the wisdom of this saying was quickly realized. Life, in all its glory and unexpectedness, delivers curve balls to us every day. As such, we have two choices - be flexible and respond, or strike out.

Successful businesses have learnt that the economy, people, and business in general, is dynamic and organic - it changes all the time. In fact, the most “together” business owners have developed an attitude that helps them cope with these circumstances. When things don't go the way they planned, they quickly assess the situation, focus on doing those things they can control, and for those areas of the business that they cannot control, choose to accept the fact and move on.

** They know what they want to achieve **

Every successful business has “made it” because they knew what they wanted to achieve. They had a compelling reason to keep on going through hard times. This doesn't mean that they had it easy, nor does it mean that they had a truly defined focus for the business. Once reality kicks in, sometimes even the best laid plans go out the window. But it was the compelling reason that helped these successful business owners push through and find a way to achieve their dreams.

This compelling reason can be anything that drives you - something you are passionate about. For example, it could be providing a better life for your family. It could be the desire to build a business that you can leave as a legacy after you die, for the benefit of your family and community. Whatever the reason, it must be strong enough to help provide you with the fuel you will need when powering through the rough times that every business owner has.


Being a business owner - an entrepreneur - is a hard task. When starting off, it isn't uncommon to see yourself doing 50-80 hours of work each week in the business, and you are still barely breaking even. Sometimes, despite the efforts you have made, you lose money. But, after a while, things will change. The sales will start to increase. Customers will start coming back to you again and again.

Others might call this Luck. It isn't. It is the outward representation and reward for all the hard work and internal 'fine-tuning' that you have been going through up until that point. All the trials, tribulations, set-backs, disappointments and foiled ideas are all necessary for you to be ready for the Success when it comes.

So, if you have a clear vision and reason for your business; have a flexible plan and attitude; and an iron-will and dogged determination to achieve despite frustration and disappointments, success will be yours. After all, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. There is a very valid reason why it isn't 'crowded at the top'. The question is - Are you prepared to go through your trials to get there?

The 12 Most Common Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make & how to avoid them

A large number of people who start their own business do not realize how much work and time will be involved. They fail to carry out any primary research and as a result become quickly overwhelmed.

Perhaps the first question to ask yourself then is whether you are in fact ready to start your own business. Do you have an entrepreneurial mindset?  Are you committed to spend all the time you need to succeed? And are you ready to take massive action?

At first, you will have to wear many different hats; you will be the CEO, the general manager, the accountant, the salesperson, the computer technician, the secretary, the receptionist. You must therefore prepare yourself because there will be days when you are disappointed, depressed, or frustrated. You have to realize that success will not happen overnight. And it may take a year or two before you achieve your expected results.

To avoid these disappointments, here are ‘The 12 Most Common Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make & How to Avoid Them’:

Mistake # 1 - Failure to spend enough time researching the business idea to see if it's viable
Numbers of new entrepreneurs have often failed because they were not truly interested in the business; they were more interested in making money. It is important to start something that you really like, because you will be spending a lot of time on it.
Your assignment – Spend all the time you need working on your business plan, which should include: your mission statement, your business strategy, research on your target market (demographics), industry analysis (size, economics, trends, success factors, challenges, etc.), your marketing plan, your financial projections and sales.

Mistake # 2 - Failure to determine whether the business actually adds value
The most sustainable businesses, those that withstand the test of time, provide value by performing a service that people need.
Your assignment – Make sure your products or services provide value and benefit to your clients. Be ready to solve any business problems that your clients may have.

Mistake # 3 - Failure to gain a complete and total understanding of the business
Every business has drivers; hot buttons and key levers. What drivers exist in your business?
Many business leaders, executives and management consultants would say that success largely depends on attention to detail.
Your assignment – Understand all the aspects of your business, and of particular importance, know how to present them in an easy and simple manner.

Mistake # 4 - Failure to describe the business in only one or two sentences
No doubt you’ve experienced the entrepreneur whose business is so technical or complex that he cannot explain the concept in plain English. Or, it takes 20 minutes to convey the purpose of the business. What value or benefits does your business offer?
Your assignment – Have an efficient 15 to 60 second elevator pitch that introduces you, your business’ mission, focuses on the benefits you provide and makes you and your business memorable.

Mistake # 5 - Failure to conduct the primary research
There are many great ideas you can latch on to, but the key in business is to make sure the idea—the central theme or mission of your business venture—can attract customers and generate sales and profits.  A great idea in and of itself is not enough to start a business.
Your assignment – Take the time to gain experience, study the business, understand what makes the business work (how to serve the customers and generate profits) and what leads to losses.

Mistake # 6 - Failure to contact professionals who can help you get started
Numbers of new entrepreneurs ask their friends and family for advice when starting a new business. The problem is that they often ask people who have never started a business; so in reality, these people are not in a position to offer sound advice.
Your assignment – Get a mentor or two. Surround yourself with experts who possess skills and expertise that you lack. Team up with professionals who can complement your strengths and cover for your weaknesses.

Mistake # 7 – Failure by underestimating financial requirements
Do you know how much capital you need to start your business? Do you know the market, did you calculate your cost, did you project your sales, do you know the number of clients you need? Do you know how long it will take before you get your first benefits or before you will run out of money?
Your assignment – Invest the time to work on ALL aspects, especially the major ones, of your business before you start.

Mistake # 8 - Failure to make marketing a priority
Many new entrepreneurs start their business without determining their target, niche and demography first and as a result have failed to attract any clients. Marketing should be one of your top priorities. Devising a marketing plan will help you determine how to promote your products or services and create a system that will generate more clients for your business.
Your assignment – Dedicate a good portion of your time and energy to working on and implementing your marketing plan. Set up a meeting with yourself once a week to work on your marketing plan and whatever happens never cancel this meeting; it is essential for your business.

Mistake # 9 – Failure by under-budgeting the marketing costs
Today the world is overcrowded with businesses and probably a number of those in your market perform essentially the same functions as you do. This means that you have to differentiate yourself from them by making your business stand out. Publicity is essential to your livelihood; otherwise you will not attract any customers.
Your assignment – Make sure you have a strategy that puts the word out there. Provide adequate publicity, business cards and marketing materials that project a professional image. Don’t try to save money on these; they are reflecting your business. A cheap business card or flyer will not make a professional impact.

Mistake # 10 - Failure to focus on the business
Many new entrepreneurs are energetic and enthusiastic people (which is essential to success), but they can also be overly optimistic and pursue too many targets and directions at once. This typically results in mediocre results. Define your business’ mission as succinctly and narrowly as possible. When you move in too many directions at once, especially in the early days of your business, you are likely to fail to execute anything correctly; so you end up working “on the business” instead of “in the business.” In other words, you will spend all your time operating each task on your own. You won’t have the time to sit back, and decide on the best way to develop your own marketing plan, create new products, or improve your services.
Your assignment – Know you goals. Put them in writing.  Make sure they are realistic, specific and measurable and that you set yourself a deadline to achieve them.

Mistake # 11 - Failure by over-marketing
Once you have developed your product or service and have perfected your offering, you may think that your offering is the best in your marketplace. But unfortunately, to be efficient you can’t sell to everyone. You need to select a specific target market and stick to it. By doing this you will have a more efficient message and will more likely achieve success much sooner.
Your assignment – Carefully determine your niche, your demography, your ideal clients, where they go, what they read, what their hobbies are, etc. Once you have a full understanding of your client’s profile you will then have a full understanding of how and where to find more of them.

Mistake # 12 - Failure to follow-up with clients
Many new entrepreneurs are often so desperate to constantly find new clients that they neglect the clients they already have and in fact end up losing business. Statistics show that it takes seven more interactions to secure a new client than to sell more to a repeated client. So develop and maintain a useful and organized follow-up system to offer new services to your clients and don’t let them slip away.
Your assignment – Constantly and consistently communicate with your current clients.
Start a newsletter, offer special sales, create new products to upsell, join affiliate programs if you don’t have your own products. People who have already bought from you will appreciate it when you recommend other products. Statistics show that up to one out of three clients will take advantage of this new offer. It is essential to build a very, very special relationship with your clients. They are your best audience.

Successful Business Entrepreneurs

Studies have shown that successful business entrepreneurs possess these characteristics:

1. Self-confidence

This is that magical power of having confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities.

2. Achievement Oriented

Results are gained by focused and sustained effort. They concentrate on achieving a specific goal, not just accomplishing a string of unrelated tasks.

3. Risk Taker

They realize that there is a chance of loss inherent in achieving their goals, yet they have the confidence necessary to take calculated risks to achieve their goals.

Business entrepreneurs are people who will make decisions, take action, and think that they can control their own destinies. They are often motivated by a spirit of independence which leads them to believe that their success depends on raw effort and hard work, not luck.

So which of these three main characteristics is the most important? Believe it or not, it has to be self-confidence. Without self-confidence, nothing else is possible. If you don't believe in your abilities, then the first challenge that arises may knock you off the path to achieving your goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind for maintaining a higher level of self-confidence.

Positive Thinking

Well, it all starts with a positive attitude, doesn't it? Believing that something good will happen is the first step. Negative thinking simply is not allowed. You must truly believe that there are no circumstances strong enough to deter you from reaching your goals. Remember too, that positive thinking can be contagious. When positive thinking spreads, it can open doors to new ideas, customers, friends, etc.

Persistent Action

Now all of the positive thinking and believing in the world is useless if it is not applied towards a goal. You have to take action, no excuses are allowed. This action must also be persistent. Trying once and then giving up is not going to be enough. Keep at it one step at a time. If you can't get by a certain step, then find a creative way to try again or just go around it.

At the beginning of this article we identified a few traits that are common among successful business entrepreneurs. You should be able to look ahead and see yourself where you want to be. Now just maintain a strong belief in yourself and your skills, stick with it, and don't give up. If you can do that, you're already half way there!

Success Factors

What is the difference between successful people on non-successful people? Are successful people more intelligent or do they just have better opportunities than non-successful people?

I heard Brian Tracy say, "Only Difference between successful people and non successful people is this: "Everybody thinks about what they want, but successful people think about what they want, and HOW to get it!"

The most important things is the HOW.

The only way I ever accomplish anything is to figure out what it is I want, then how I am going to get it. Ever since wrestling, my life has been driven by goals and what I want in life, the only way I ever achieve anything is by laying out a plan and working on that plan until I accomplish it.

Another way to look at it is to start backwards, think of the house you want to live in, the cars you want to drive, the lifestyle you want your family to live. You have to lay out a game plan to get their, it is not going to miracously show up on your door step someday. This means each day of your life you need to be doing at least one thing that will help you accomplish that goal.

I love how Robert Kiyosaki explains this concept in his book "Rich Dad Poor Dad":
"Because I had two influential fathers, I learned from both of them. I had to think about each dad's advice, and in doing so, I gained valuable insight into the power and effect of one's thoughts on one's life. For example, one dad had a habit of saying, "I can't afford it." The other dad forbade those words to be used. He insisted I say, "How can I afford it?"

One is a statement, and the other is a question. One lets you off the hook, and the other forces you to think. My soon-to-be-rich dad would explain that by automatically saying the words "I can't afford it," your brain stops working. By asking the question "How can I afford it?" your brain is put to work. He did not mean buy everything you wanted. He was fanatical about exercising your mind, the most powerful computer in the world. "My brain gets stronger every day because I exercise it. The stronger it gets, the more money I can make." He believed that automatically saying "I can't afford it" was a sign of mental laziness."

So remember, the question isn't what you want… It's HOW are you going to get it?

Six Things Needed for New Entrepreneurs by the Honest Answer Consultant

Several people that I know have made the statement that they would like to open their own business. This is a growing trend in our economy. People are opening business to become their own boss. Baby boomers are retiring and trying out new careers by opening small enterprises. To open a business, a person must realize that there is a lot of work and sacrifice to be given. Even when doing this, the odds are against you but the ride is one of the most fulfilling things that you will do. I will provide six things needed to make starting your own business easier.

Passion is Essential
I have heard that to open your business you should do something that you are passionate about. I believe that person will not really understand this until he starts the process of starting his business. If you are doing something that you are passionate about and truly believe in it, it will help you through the rough times like people criticizing your idea, being turned down for loans, the frustration of finding customers and dealing with all the things that will be thrown at you. You have to be so enthralled with your business that you are saying things like “I cannot believe people are actually paying me to do this.” You have to have the fire to wake up every morning and can’t wait to start day.

If you start your business just to make money, you will have less chance of succeeding. The first big obstacle to be placed in front of you could break your spirit and some people will just pack up and quit. If you strongly believe that you have a great product or service and give excellent service, the money will follow.

Risk Takers are needed
An entrepreneur has not to be risk adverse. Opening a business is one of the riskiest things that a person will undertake. Everything is dependant on him to find customer, pay the bills and deal with the inventory and all problems. It is definitely easier to find a job and receive your paycheck every two weeks. I see these drones every day with no passion in their life. If you want to get the blood flowing, open your business and I guarantee you that you will have a lot less boring days. You will feel more alive and have a greater sense of accomplishment when you succeed.

With risk comes the possibility of great rewards. If you are a salaried employee, you can only make your base salary and maybe a bonus if you are lucky. As an entrepreneur, the ceiling is unlimited. The more money that your business makes the greater percentage will be returned to you as you have taken the greater risk. You should not be afraid of taking risk. For example, a guy at a bar sees a female that he is interested in. He is afraid to take the risk of approaching her because he is shy or afraid of rejection. What is the worst that can happen to him? She does not want to speak with him. If this happens, he is still alive and he is at the same position as when he started. But one thing that he gains is the experience of trying something new. He can now take this experience and apply it. By doing this, things will get easier and he will be less risk adverse. So go out there and try something new.

Skills are needed
Things are a lot easier if you have experience in the industry that you want to open your business in. I would love to open a restaurant but I have never worked in a restaurant. I have not taken any formal training in the restaurant industries. I could still open the restaurant but the cards will definitely be stacked up against me. My background is in computer and business. I have worked in the industry and most of my schooling has been in computer science and business. This is why I entered into consulting as I feel more confident in my skills that I can provide an excellent service to my clients. I have already learned my mistakes on somebody else dime. I know that I will still make mistakes but the major ones have been learned already in a safer environment.

Remember that you have to be more that just a technicians. If you only perform the technical skills of your product or service, you have only bought yourself a job. Your goal should be to open a business and grow it so that if you leave the business will still be there. If this happens, you have achieved the best situation possible. You can leave but still receive the profits from your business. This could take some years but you have to persistent and have to set out specific goals.

Life Learning is good to Have
An unquenchable thirst for learning will definitely help with your challenge of starting your business. You will need to be able to learn things quickly and properly. You should always be on the lookout on how to do things better and more economical. You should always strive to be more successful as you never know who will overtake you. This is done by reading and talking with people in and outside of your industries. You should be willing to try to new things. This quality should be emphasized throughout your enterprise. One goal for everybody should be to try to make every aspect of the business better.

Good Employees Wanted
Your employees will be the life blood of your enterprise. Businesses are always stating that their employees are their most important resource. I find this hard to believe with all the downsizing that occurs when the first sign of trouble appears. Also, managers are always complaining that motivating people is hard. To have great employees, always be truthful with them. There is no problem with telling the truth that you cannot promise them a job for life but that you will promise them a fulfilling workplace with great opportunities to learn. As a small or medium enterprise, this is sometimes the only promise that you can provide. On the motivation factor, find employees that are self motivated. If you find these people, your job will be so much easier. You will not have to motivate them and can place your effort on things that are more productive. How do you find these people? Ask some pertinent questions on their background. Find out if they volunteer for non-profit organizations or they have completed a college degree. These things show that they are motivated to complete a goal set out in front of them. Once you find these motivated people, provide them a specific goal like being number one in your city and then get out of their way. You will only have to supervise from an arm length and correct any unwanted behavior when needed.

Basic Accounting Skills will Keep You Sane
The entrepreneur should invest some time in learning basic accounting. I am not saying that you should become a certified accountant. You should know the difference between an AR account and the COGS account. By knowing this, you will be able to take the blood pressure of your business by looking at your Income Statement and the Balance Sheet. You will be able to see where there are issues and will be able to remedy them before it is too late. You would never hire a carpenter who did not know how to read a building plan or measurements. Being an entrepreneur without accounting skills is like our unwanted carpenter who is illiterate when building something. You will not know if somebody is cheating you which can happen. You will be better prepared to accept a big project when it comes as you will know if your cash flow is fine or not. By having this skill, your life will be less stressful as you will have the confidence to speak with your accountant in the same language.

Opening a business with be one of the most stressful and exciting time in your life. It is not for everyone. Lots of people are discouraged by all the hard work needed to just open your doors. But if you have the deep desire that you know that you can provide something that people will want, there should be nothing stopping you from achieving your goals. It will be the most fulfilling journey that you will take, I guarantee it.

Copyright 2006 Greg Doucet. All rights reserved.

Any suggestions or comments, please write to Greg Doucet at greg.doucet@caromat.ca

Running Your own Business - The Options

Very few people ever got rich by working for someone else. Leaving aside pop musicians, sportsmen and similarly gifted people, the only way to acquire wealth by work is to build a business of your own. The type of business you decide upon will depend on: a) how much money you have available as start-up capital and working capital; b) your business idea; and c) your confidence level.

There are three types of business: 1) the traditional one in which you are reliant solely on your own efforts; 2) a franchise where you follow a proven idea and receive considerable training and back-up from the franchise company; and 3) network marketing.

Each business type has its pros and cons.

• The traditional business requires considerable financial input, either from your own resources or part-funded by your bank. You may need to rent premises; buy equipment; hire staff; pay for advertising, brochures, stationery, and stock. A frighteningly high percentage of this type of business fails in the first year. To succeed you need: a good idea, considerable financial backing, good health, an understanding spouse, and stamina. If you do succeed you will own the business outright and benefit from all the profits.
• Franchises have a high success rate. Banks like them because each franchise operation has a proven track record and thus the banks can accurately judge the risk, consequently they will lend money for this sort of start-up. However, all the support and training comes at a price: the initial entrance fee is likely to be very high, and a percentage of the business’s turnover has to be paid to the franchise company.
• Network marketing, also known as multi-level marketing, has many advantages and few disadvantages. The entrance fee is low and the ongoing expenses are even lower. A network marketing business can be started in your spare time – in fact that is the best way to approach it. Start small, and keep at it. The secret is perseverance, get past the first year and you should find the business has a sound foundation from which you can build a serious income. It is said that 95% of those who survive ten years in network marketing become wealthy beyond their wildest expectations.

So which type of business is for you? If you wish to provide a service or product where you have previous experience from, say, a former employment, the traditional business will be probably be the best choice. However, if you are just tired of working for someone else and making them rich and wish to strike out on your own, then a franchise or network marketing must be the preferred option.

The choice then is determined chiefly by the funds you have access to, and the time and effort you wish to put into your enterprise. A franchise will require substantial funds and 100% commitment. You are jumping in at the deep end, although the franchise company will provide training and support to help you to swim.

On the other hand you can ease yourself gently into network marketing by starting part-time while you continue with your current employment, building your business by ploughing back profits if necessary. Persevere and there will come a time when the income from your own business will be sufficient to support you financially. You will then be able to leave your employment and concentrate on your business, spending more time on it or enjoying considerable free time with your family.

Internet Entrepreneurship: First Step, Getting Started

First steps: choosing the business

When I was thinking about starting an internet business there were a few things that were must have requirements.

The first one was that I needed to be able to get the business to profitability for less than $1600. In practice each site has cost more than that when you figure in the marketing costs needed to get it off the ground quickly. The silk tie retailing site was set up for less than $300 but when you factor in marketing spend, then I have spent almost $800 per month on marketing, mostly Google Adwords and Overture. It is only after month three that I have got close to breaking even. Anyway, near enough and if you are more patient and make less costly mistakes than me then you should be able to do it for less.

Secondly. The business had to need as little manual work as possible. I am after a business that I can start working part time and as am a management consultant and sell my time by the hour, for me time really is money. I am also not keen on hiring people if I can avoid it. The internet has the potential to offer some really virtual businesses and I wanted to use this. For this reason as well as start-up costs this means that I do not want to stock or handle any products. I do a lot of supply chain consulting work so it was obvious to me that I could have a business that used other companies to buy, store and deliver the products. The easiest way to do this is by using dropshipping. Dropshippers are wholesalers that ship individual customer orders direct to your customers.

There is a lot of information on dropshipping online, however it has to be said that there are some terrible dropshipping companies where prices are too high or products too common to successful. Typical of these is thSelect which charges a fee to join, but once you join you find that the prices are often higher than they are being sold for on eBay and are widely sold with lots of competition. It is very hard to make good money from these sort of dropshippers. There are however some good companies out there with niche products where achievable margins are good.

The third requirement was that the business needed to have the potential to generate at least $1k per month in profit. That way with a few web businesses it could become my full time job. I decided that I was not trying to start the next Amazon, instead I was after a good profitable niche. Something not too competitive and with no house-hold names as competitors. This means that I have not gone into electronics even though it is the area I know the best, it is a very competitive market online and were competition includes Amazon and Dixons. To be successful in electronics you either need to find a niche not served by the big boys or spend serious money to get established.

I then started searching for business ideas. I read the get rich quick newsletters, internet marketing newsletters, internet business forums and drop shipping websites. I searched for dropship suppliers then when I found a product that I thought might be promising, did a search for it and checked out the competition. If after that it still looked interesting then I did a keyword search on Google AdWords to find out how many clicks I could get and at what cost.

While doing this I came across some sites selling ready-made business websites. Essentially they provide a shop template, a catalogue and a supplier of stock and off you go. These sell for between $80 and $800. I wasted a fair bit of money with a couple of false starts. I bid on a lingerie web business template on eBay with a starting price of $159; my wife was a lingerie merchandiser for Marks & Spencers and so I though she could help, then I saw a gadgets website from the same people and thought I would get that and see if I could find a gadgets niche and bid for that too. Trouble was I then did some more research and found that lingerie was very competitive online and that the supplier I would be getting had a limited selection of very tarty undies at rather high prices. I also found that the gadget supplier was the Select and as I have already said they are overpriced. I then found the tie web business and decided this was a better niche where margins really are 60% and bought that one from DpbUK who have been very good. Unfortunately no one else bid on the two on eBay and I ended up winning them although I no longer wanted them. $300 wasted. Oops. So do your homework carefully before buying; look carefully at the sample sites and try and find some clues to the suppliers, check the competition out and make sure the margins are high enough.

Online Business - Work From Home - Entrepreneur

Do you remember when you first heard of Ebay. Online auction place. Who thought back then it would end up being so big and so many people would be using this auction site. Most of us are aware that you can auction off just about anything on Ebay. People are making serious money selling products online at Ebay. It is also a great resource to find those hard to find items.

Have you checked into the many possibilities on the web to making some serious cash? There are so many ways to work from home and run your own business. You can buy products wholesale and setup your own internet store. If you do not want to stock items you can find companies that will drop ship your products for you. There are even programs you can buy online that are a complete system that shows you how to do this. Did you ever think you could get your own business up and running for roughly under $100 dollars?

You can make money selling ebooks, writing articles for websites, creating websites...
There are so many ways to make money on the internet today. It just takes a little research and then time on your part to really learn the best ways to promote your idea and become knowledgeable about all the different ways to advertise online.

Do you have what it takes to become an aspiring entrepreneur to start and manage a home based Internet Business? Do you have the Entrepreneur Bug?

Seems with the growth of the World Wide Web more people are becoming entrepreneurs. Just what is an Entrepreneur? There are many definitions the most simple is a person who owns, operates, and takes the risk of starting a business venture. An entrepreneur can also be known as an inventor.

Do you need to invent a product to be an ruthless entrepreneur? Absolutely not, just take an already existing product or idea and create a business and profit from it. Organize a business venture and assume the risks for it. Come up with your own niche to get clients, close deals and start making some serious money. What ever you decide to get involved with you should make sure you really know your product inside and out. What are you waiting for? Start brainstorming today and make your dream of being independently wealthy a reality.