Best Entrepreneur

Want To Know A Billionaire's Formula

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:45:00 +0000

This is so simple you will pinch yourself if you had not thought of this before. Yet for many people this is hidden by virtue of the fact that it is so simple. Ever wonder why a person needs a MBA to be a successful businessman. Have a look at Fred Smith. His business was saved by a visit to the roulette tables. The Englishman Richard Branson takes all sorts of risks (on balloons, of all things). And, few people seem to know this, but, in his youth, Rupert Murdoch was a successful punter betting on racehorses.

This business formula I am going to reveal to you is likely to be practiced by most, if not all, successful entrepreneurs. This formula is simple: gather, sell and add some more.

1) Gather means you have to be like a bird building a nest or a squirrel preparing for winter or ants bringing everything you can find back into the storehouse or your operations room. You need to gather everything you can about your prospects. Whatever detail you can gather could be critical data for you making decisions down the road.

2) Sell does not just mean put up a sign and say you are selling your services; neither does it mean put an advertisement in the paper, a magazine, on the radio, on T.V. or in the air. Sell means do all those things if you think it is worthwhile doing. More to the point, sell means flog everything as if possessed until you are flogging a dead horse. Never let up and never let go, until you get a definite and resounding, "No!"

3) Add some more, means, once you have made one sale, go and sell some more product or services to the same person. Once you have established a customer, why only sell him one thing. Get your customer to like you and become your regular customer. Keep adding on more merchandise to sell to your repeat customers, and when doing so, up-size. Turn your $1.00 sale into $100 sale and your $100 sale into a $1,000 sale.

There are other methods of doing business, but do you think that Fedex grew only delivering a few small parcels, or Virgin grew by being a one service company only, or News Ltd grew to the largest global media organization by remaining a one town newspaper. You will find that Smith, Branson and Murdoch are all gathers of information, are master salesmen and are big on the up-size.

What this means for you is that the more information you gather about people the more opportunity you will have of being able to meet their needs. The more often you continue to make those people aware of who you are and what you have to offer them the more likely they will buy from you or do business with you. Because they have bought from you once, the more likely they will buy from you a second time, and the more likely they are to spend more with you.

This formula is guaranteed to work. It always does. This formula never fails.

Happy Riches knows how to show you how. Happy Riches also runs an educational membership club which has a focus on people becoming healthy, wealthy and wise. Happy Riches can be found at http://www.happyriches.name

Finding Funding

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:45:00 +0000

First thing to note is that no matter where you go, you'll need a business plan. Your funders will want to see how the business will work; how you'll market and promote it and whether there's enough demand for it. Most importantly, they'll also want to see the finance section to know whether your business will bring in enough money to cover your expenses. Getting a business plan sorted out should therefore be your first priority.

Once your plan is sorted, you'll have a better idea of how much you'll need to borrow. Be realistic on this. If you want to borrow £20,000, your funders will want to know what you'll spend this on. If your plan shows you will only be able to spend £10,000, they'll want to know why you're borrowing £20,000 - to cover operating expenses is not a real reason these days.

The next step is to have a think about where you can get the money you need from. I meet many new businesses who have their heart set on getting money from investors. But, investors may not be the best option for you, so please make sure that you shop around and consider your options properly. Let's have a look at the options open to you:

1. Savings

The easiest and cheapest (to arrange) way to fund a business is from your own savings. And the good thing is you can even pay it back to yourself when the business grows. Don't forget to keep records though so that it's clear if anyone asks where the money has come from.

2. Friends and Family

Another great way to borrow money. Again, make sure you have something in writing showing how much money they gave you and whether or not they want some profits or the money paying back in return. It's all very well saying that the money they're giving you is a gift, but when you make £1 million in your first year, they may well change their minds. Get it in writing!

3. Bank Loans

If you want to get a bank loan, remember to shop around. Even if you're with one bank, they might not offer you the best deal, so visit two or three and see what they'll offer. Remember, they want you as a customer, so be prepared to walk away and you should get a good deal from them. But, also remember that when lending you money, the banks go on risk, so the more you can reduce the risk the better. Previous experience in your business idea is great as is putting up half the funding through your own savings or using your house as collateral. The longer your business has been running, the more the risk is reduced, so don't forget to renegotiate your rates frequently. Looking after your account helps too - if you don't pay your loan or go overdrawn frequently, the banks won't be too keen on negotiating with you next time.

4. Overdrafts

Can be an excellent way of getting funding for your business and you can get quite high amounts from this method (i.e. £9,000+). Don't forget to get your overdraft authorised by the bank though - if you go overdrawn without getting it agreed first, you'll be heavily penalised.

5. Prince's Trust

Provide business loans for those who can't get money from other sources. You'll need to be between 18-30 and be from one of the groups they support (i.e. unemployed, in or leaving care, low education or in or leaving prison) to get access to this. Contact http://www.princes-trust.org.uk for more information.

6. Development Loan Funds

If you can't get money from a bank, but are over the age of 30 years of age, you may want to consider Development Loan Funds. They will lend money to you if you can't get it from anywhere else. To find a fund in your area, contact http://www.cdfa.org.uk.

7. Angels and Investors

This is becoming a popular option after Dragon's Den, but I would think very carefully before you go down this route. An angel or investor will mentor and support you, but they can also demand up to 50% of the business and that means 50% of your profits too! They also won't consider lending money to some businesses - for instance, if you need money to buy a franchise, they probably won't invest as it isn't your business. They also are unlikely to be interested, if your business won't give you huge profits as it won't be worth their while. Contact http://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk/home or http://www.angelsden.co.uk/ to find out more.

8. Grants

Quite a few businesses ask me about grants, but unfortunately these days, grants are few and far between unless your business idea ticks a box that is high on the Government agenda. Check out www.j4b.co.uk to find ones that are applicable to you.

9. Match Funding

Matching Funding is getting the funding you need from two or more different sources. Let's say I needed £10,000, I might go to one bank for £5,000 and then to another bank and ask them to 'match' it - i.e. give me another £5,000. Match funding cuts down the risk for people and most of the above sources of funding should consider it.

I've covered the main options open to you if you're considering funding for your business. Remember to consider all of your options before finding finance and also be patient (I know that's difficult being a small business owner), but loans don't usually get sorted out overnight - they will take a bit of time to come through so build this into your business plan. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk/Business-Plans.php) provides market research and business plans for those starting and running a business

16 Steps to Becoming A Superwoman - A Success Guide for Women Entrepreneurs

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:45:00 +0000

Alright, so women are different. We are super, superb, superwomen. That is a fact of life. How do we capitalize on that fact to build a successful business?

Business is about taking action and being in control of your own destiny. One thing I know about women is that we know how to take action. All too often, however, we take action for the sake of others at the expense of our own progress. Here are 16 steps to empower you to take action for yourself and build the prosperity you deserve.

1. Have a strong passion and persistent desire to have a successful business.

2. Do whatever you must to eliminate the negative self-talk. Chant, pray, pretend, affirm, do whatever is necessary, and then get rid of it.

3. Change those good little girl habits. It is really okay to think of yourself first.

4. Look at yourself as the strong, capable, compassionate woman you are.

5. Stop comparing yourself to others. Your success may depend on it.

6. Quit believing what others say is not possible for you. Believe in your own uniqueness.

7. Do not look at where you are right now to define yourself or your business.

8. Have a HUGE dream and visualize it as if it is yours already.

9. Find a support system where you can all be mutually empowered.

10. Cease throwing pity parties. They are useless. The only invitees are losers.

11. Challenge yourself to do something you fear and challenge that fear every day until you overcome it.

12. Recognize and realize that you deserve prosperity.

13. Show confidence! Fear is usually a result of a lack of confidence. If you find you do not have it yet, behave and speak as if you already do and you will develop that quality.

14. Believe that you and your time are valuable. You are entrepreneur!

15. Know that what you have to say is important.

16. IMPORTANT! Realize that it is totally permissible for Superwoman to refuse a request to do something you do not want to do.

Angela Baden is a former practicing attorney, teacher and personal chef, turned internet marketer. She is the founder of DivaBiz Enterprises and Millionaire Health Secrets. She is a student of the Master Key System and a member of The Prosperity Cast Network. She is enthusiastic about having been in the Marketing/Networking Industry for over 4 years. She shares her considerable knowledge with others to help them succeed in business from home. For more information call 206-305-2120 or go to http://www.divabizinc.com

Who Are Entrepreneurial Women?

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:45:00 +0000

I recently gave a talk to a business women's network on, what I considered to be the three key characteristics of entrepreneurial women, based on my research and work with coaching clients. Upon arrival, when I first asked how many women in the audience were entrepreneurs, very few hands went up. Puzzled, I asked "who ran their own business?" A multitude of proud hands were then raised. Why the disparity?

As a group, we decided that for some "Entrepreneur" is a loaded word, often invoking images of Richard Branson of the Virgin empire and Stelios Haji-Ioannou of Easyjet (and Easy-everything it seems!).To some, the word had come to denote someone who serially builds businesses with a single intention of dispassionately selling them in as short a time frame as possible. However, I had come to the presentation with the definition of "Entrepreneur" as anyone who decides to start their own business for pleasure and profit - whether they want part-time work that fits around their personal life or have global aspirations. This definition is broader, but also much more approachable and therefore more likely to resonate with a greater number of women.

The entrepreneurial woman is on the increase in the U.K; one-third of all new businesses are started by women, which puts the U.K on par with other Northern European countries but behind their sisters in the U.S, Australia, New Zealand and even South America and parts of Asia. However, numbers in the U.K are still relatively low - only 7% of women in employment are self-employed compared to 15% of their male counterparts.

Interestingly, the age with which women set up their own businesses closely corresponds to key childbearing and rearing years -that is the late 30's in the UK and slightly earlier in other nations. It seems that rather than slow down, women perhaps look at setting up their own businesses as a way of juggling career and family better than they could while in employment.

There is growing support for women entrepreneurs with such networks as Aurora and Enterprising Women leading the way. In my discussions with entrepreneurial clients it seems to me that these women share a special set of three qualities - qualities I will discuss further in my newsletter. In the meantime, think about the following questions, I would love to hear your comments!

Thinking about Entrepreneurship?

What does "Entrepreneur" mean to you? Have you ever thought about working for yourself? What would be the benefits of setting up your own business? How about the costs?

To find out more and add your comments, please visit http://www.doylemorris.com

Why Starting a House Cleaning Business in '2008' is Paramount

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:45:00 +0000

A new year, a new start! And what better way than to set up and successfully run your very own home-based house cleaning business. Read this article to understand why starting your house cleaning business 'now' is very important...

First Some Facts & Figures

Domestic cleaning is one of the largest growth sectors within the UK and US economy. The demand for cleaning has increased by more than 500% in the last 5 years and is still increasing.

With 2.7 million households spending around £11 billion every year on domestic help, the UK market for domestic cleaning is large and growing. Demand has quadrupled over the past ten years (Daily Express, 19 April 2004) and is predicted to double over the next five years alone. I will make a good assumption here that these figures pretty much reflect the same in the USA, Australia and many other countries around the world.

Why A House Cleaning Business Is So Lucrative

Apart from the above facts and figures being so impressive, there are still many other reasons why this type of business is certainly a warrant for some serious thought.

I don't know about you and where you live, but I hear many people asking where they can find a good house cleaner as they simply don't have the time to do their weekly mundane house chores.

Aside from that, I have also had many leaflets more recently put through my letter box selling house cleaning services.

This in itself tells you that there is a demand for house cleaning and that people like you, are jumping on to the fact to open a home based business and to fill the supply for this house cleaning demand - and very wise people they are.

This can only spell one thing out to you - start now in 2008 and reap in the profits $$$.

Aside from the above, I actually know of business women/men running their own house cleaning businesses and making in excess of $100K per year - even in their first year!

So What's The Hurry?

What we are seeing here is the beginning of a 'house cleaning boom'. You need to get in on the action now before house cleaning becomes totally dominated and smothered with house cleaning services, all being your competitors.

Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with good strong competition, it's actually healthy to keep you on your toes! However, there is nothing like the sweet smell of success and a good healthy profit margin than getting in on the front-wave of a good business idea before your competitors do.

House cleaning services have started to pop up triple-fold over the last 1-2 years, so get in on the action now before it is too late and to reap some of the multi-billion profits that is being made in this industry.

What Next?

If you feel that this is the avenue you want to go down and that you will be able to make a success of running your own house cleaning business, then you need to make some initial enquiries and carry out some research in the area.

Do you want sign up for a house cleaning franchise? Or, do you want to do this alone? Do you want to be an independent cleaner and work for yourself, or do you want to set up a House Cleaning Agency or Company and hire or employee cleaners?

These are the sort of questions you need to ask yourself first before you invest any further time and money into this lucrative (but hard working) home-based business.

Claire Bowes has successfully ran her own house cleaning business. Claire shares her house cleaning tips and business ideas on her website http://www.homecleaningforum.com . Why not visit and share your house cleaning tips and ideas on her blog.

The Buzz About Passion

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:46:00 +0000

First, let me say that the word "passion" implies a very strong emotion. To be passionate about something could mean you are really fired up about being, doing and having something. I work with many successful people who would not say "yes, this work is my passion". Yet they are still very successful. However, I have noticed that for most of us our expectations have shifted, we want it all. We want to wake up excited to go to work, we want to make a difference with others and we want to feel full of passion and oh yes, we want to be successful.

That's okay, that's great...I say "go for it." I do recommend that if you are going to "follow your bliss" you discover what your true passions really are. Sound simple? As a business coach, I walk and talk vision, goals, discovering what we want with clients all day long. What I have noticed is that for most of us it's not so simple to stay present to our vision, our goals and our passions. We get caught up in dramas, problems, issues, and literally forget our purpose, our vision and our goals. We forget that the purpose of a vision is to inspire us today, mold our choices today, and give us satisfaction today. Our ability to see what possible (vision) is key to productive, inspired, passionate, satisfying days at work.

I recently read The Passion Test by Janet and Chris Attwood. In addition to a great story there are several exercises to do that are designed to help you in discovering your true passions. I thought my business coaching, training and consulting business would be in the top 5. I love my business, I love what I do with people, I love learning more and more about my business and on and on. Guess what, it wasn't in the top 5. It wasn't even in the top ten! I discovered that my beloved business is simply a vehicle in which I get to express my true passions for people, for communication and for service. AH HAH!

Since this revelation, it's hard to say what exactly has shifted for me. I do know I am less significant about the success of my business. I feel more relaxed and I feel passionate about my whole life not just my business. Maybe passion has nothing to do with doing something or having something. Maybe it occurs when we are being our highest expression of ourselves or in other words living our vision today.

So, what is the vision you have for your business? Maybe this is a clue to your highest expression, your God given talents and gifts. Your access to passion today whatever your career may be!

Alicia Marie brings a wide range of experience to Training, Consulting and Coaching! As owner of Profit Consulting Co., Inc. Alicia has designed over 80 training programs and led custom training programs for hundreds of business owners in a variety of industries across the country.

In addition, Alicia has coached managers, presidents and sales people in how to build a business truly worth having! She has been instrumental in the success of other business coaches through her relentless focus on mastering the basics of coaching and business.

A True Online Entrepreneur Qualities

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:44:00 +0000

There are many people who would love to quit their day job and be an online entrepreneurs. However, starting an internet business is not just about selling online but it also includes certain personal qualities within the person to be successful. There are 3 major qualities that an online entrepreneur should have which are passion about online business, entrepreneurship and consistency. Let breakdown these qualities to better understand them.

Passion About Online Business

Online business is all about the will power of an individual to strive to be successful. This statement is actually true for all other business areas. In order for a person to have the will power, he needs to have the interest within himself to achieve the set goals. Sometimes the journey to start an online business will not be smooth and direct. There will be many obstacles to be overcome, and a person who does not have the interest to with online business will easily give up.

Entrepreneurship

Another important aspect of an online entrepreneur is the existence of entrepreneurship attitudes. The person should be able to see business opportunities in today's internet eras. This is what many successful online entrepreneurs have when they see the internet. They always think how they could cash out and build their business empire only using their computers and knowledge. Entrepreneurship is one of the core criteria to be successful.

Consistency

In online business or any other businesses in this world, there will be always obstacles which needs to be solved. If an online entrepreneur does not have the patient and consistency in his effort to solve the problems which arises and focuses in achieving the set goals, then he could easily give up. Especially at the early stages of an online businesses, results might be not as expected and lots of time will be used to just promote a product or service without much sells. But with consistency in the effort to improve the business, there are high chances success will seen in future.

Rahman Alwi is the author for toliveonline.com which is a dedicated site for helping newbies and other intermediate online business entrepreneurs to start and improve their online business. The site is dedicated in helping others with step by step guides. Visit The Learning Center http://www.toliveonline.com and download free tutorials/ebooks http://www.toliveonline.com/download

Do You Think Like An Entrepreneur?

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurialism Info) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:10:00 +0000

An entrepreneur is someone who has decided to take control of his future and starts his own business. Entrepreneurs often start with nothing more than a good idea and a lot of determination. Entrepreneurs are all around you, in fact, there's a good chance that you're a budding entrepreneur.

As a business and marketing trainer to hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and someone who has a proven track record of growing successful businesses from scratch since the 1980s, including Six Elements (a home staging & interior redesign firm), I developed the following simple quiz to help others gauge their ability to think like an entrepreneur.

1. You get a business referral for a project in your area. You know the potential client has your contact information.

Do you:

a) Wait to hear from the potential client and assume they hired someone else if they don't contact you?

b) Wait a week to contact the client so they won't think you're too desperate?

c) Contact them immediately to introduce yourself and express your interest in learning more about their project and how you can help them?

2. You discover there are other competing companies in your area.

Do you:

a) Assume the market is saturated and give up your dreams?

b) Decide to go into business anyway and charge less than the competition because you're just starting out?

c) Research the size of the market and evaluate whether that sounds like enough potential work for you and your competitors? (If you're an aspiring home stager, for example, this would mean researching how many homes are for sale in your area over a year and dividing that by the number of home stagers you can find.)

3. You invest in your own web site. After less than two months, you've only had one project.

Do you:

a) Decide the Internet is a bad way to promote your business and take down your website?

b) Decide to run a newspaper ad or send flyers door-to-door instead?

c) Evaluate whether you web site has had any traffic. If it has, you try to determine whether there is anything you can do to encourage more of the visitors to actually contact you?

4. You've been in business for several months but you don't have as much business as you'd like.

Do you:

a) Sit at home and wait for the phone to ring?

b) Spend hours discussing your lack of projects and hoping someone will give you the "quick and easy" solution to building your business?

c) Research marketing tactics, business building ideas and strategies for dealing with the "slow times" and take action to change your situation?

I listened to a very interesting teleclass this week. The topic was the shared characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. One of the characteristics was a "sense of urgency around achievement". In other words, entrepreneurs don't wait for success to happen. They take action to make it happen, and they treat their business as a main priority not something to get around to sooner or later.

As you might have guessed, you are thinking like an entrepreneur if you answered "yes" to all the questions above. Could you identify with these choices? If so, congratulations . . . You just might be a future entrepreneur.

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is President of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Debra has staged hundreds of homes and uses her expertise to train others worldwide. Visit her at http://www.stagingdiva.com and http://www.sixelements.com