Stretch Your Dollar With Horizontal Marketing

Partnering with a company that shares your target market saves you time and money.


It's not an offer you see every day: "Buy a House, Get a Free Electric Car." But that's exactly why Chris Schneider, owner of Honda Motorwerks, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, decided to use such an attention-grabbing sales tactic.

Schneider, 51, has been selling environmentally friendly cars for 30 years, but it hasn't been easy to persuade people to make the switch to alternative-fueled vehicles. Over the years, Schneider has tried many tactics to woo more people into buying energy-efficient cars, but it was teaming up with the real estate agent for his "free car" stunt in July that made the biggest impact.

"It certainly gained a great deal of attention. We did this on a Friday morning, and by Friday afternoon I had already received three messages from people interested in the car," he says. So far, no one has purchased the house, but foot traffic at Schneider's dealership has noticeably increased.


Schneider has learned what many business owners have: Horizontal marketing--two businesses with different products but similar clientele join marketing efforts--is a smart way to increase your customer base without increasing your marketing budget.

"Horizontal marketing is easier and cheaper than just about any other form of marketing," says Shel Horowitz, author of Principled Profit. According to Horowitz, competitors can become some of your best allies.

"In the case of horizontal marketing, a competitor might be someone who overlaps with you but doesn't duplicate your offering exactly," Horowitz says. "Both of you benefit by being able to offer a wider range of services and by pleasing clients who might otherwise have felt a need to go elsewhere."

Of course, you don't have to give away an expensive product like Schneider did to please your customers. There are many innovative ways to market your products and services by getting together with another business. Here are three more creative and cheap ways to jump-start your own horizontal marketing campaign.

Cross-endorsement. "If you're a small company without much brand identity, you can ride the coattails of a stronger brand by offering them some type of promotion for their customers, whether that be a product, coupon, etc.," says Denise Patrick, vice president of creative services for Pierpont Communications. "For example, let's say you own the local miniature golf park. Offer the big movie theater in your neighborhood a ton of 'Buy One, Get One Free' tickets. It's a free gift for the movie theater, credibility for you and access to all the teenagers looking for a fun place to take their dates."

Dr. Desiree Edlund, founder of OC Back & Body Doctors, a chiropractic office based in Irvine, California, that offers acupuncture and physical therapy, has been cross-endorsing with a neighboring gym for seven years. Edlund, 37, offers gym members discounts on services and periodically stations a representative in the gym offering free on-site body fat analyses with the results written on her business card.

"Working with the gym has worked out very, very well because the type of people who work out are people who care about their health and wellness, which is exactly the type of customers we like and who like us," Edlund says. "The discounts pay for themselves in repeat business."

Spread out the cost. Patrick encourages neighboring businesses to "think mall" by turning your businesses into a destination "buying experience."

"For example, say you're a bookstore owner located in a strip center along with a children's clothing store and a discount linens store," she says. Together, you can create 'Build a Fort' afternoon for children. The linens store provides the sheets for the forts, the children's store provides costumes and you host a reading."

Offer a full-service brand experience without increasing your overhead. What other services would your clients like to receive? Michael Hart, a small-business marketing consultant for over 20 years, helped one of his clients reach a wider range of customers through a simple horizontal marketing tactic that any business can use. Hart helped a heating and air conditioning company recruit eight other businesses that had similar clientele to be featured in a full-color, 10-page home services coupon catalog. The businesses in the catalog all offered different services--termite and pest control, lawn care, carpet cleaning--but they all marketed to the same type of customers.

"Each vendor increased sales by 20 percent or more, reduced their advertising and mailing costs, and expanded their client base eight-fold," Hart says about the catalog's success.

No matter what type of business you have, there are creative ways to increase your clientele through horizontal marketing. From product giveaways to coupons and discounts, you'll be able to stretch your marketing dollars further by forming a friendly alliance with other businesses in your area.

The Call Of The Entrepreneur

Taking Over

Buying out your boss? You can do it--and get a good deal.

Question: My boss wants to retire and offered to sell me his business. I don't know how much it's worth, and I doubt I'd even have the money to pay for it. Any advice?

Answer: Unlike large public companies with many shareholders, your boss's business isn't likely to attract many buyers, so you are in a good position to get a relatively low price without a lot down. There's no firm rule for valuing private companies, so your boss may be willing to sell for some multiple of his annual earnings (say, three to five times the company's bottom line). If you can't get a bank loan, ask your boss if you can finance the purchase out of profits on a schedule that doesn't pinch the company's cash flow, says Joseph Fulvio, a management consultant for startups and emerging businesses. Another option: Ask your boss to "hold paper," lending you the balance over a fixed number of years at a set interest rate.

Make sure you consider tax consequences. "A sale of shares or a third-party brokered sale results in a capital gain for the seller, whereas interest income paid on a loan made by the current owner is treated differently," says Fulvio. "The same goes for buyers with a loan on the books vs. some other form of payout, like a profit-sharing agreement." So, consult an accountant or tax attorney.

Optimism Knows No Slowdown

Small business owners say they're too busy thriving on Main Street to worry about the gloom and doom on Wall Street.

Spend enough time following the news, and it's enough to make you wonder if Chicken Little was appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve. Granted, things like the dismal housing market and soaring gas prices are certainly real problems for everyone. On the other hand, when you read about some cubicle jockey complaining that she had to give up Starbucks because the economy's so bad, the line between real problems and a dire shortage of common sense becomes pretty blurry.

So, is the sky really falling? According to a March 2008 study, small business owners say no.

"The entrepreneur is still thriving," says Rick Jensen, senior vice president of small business for Intuit, the company that conducted the survey. "It goes back to the roots of who these small business owners are. They've faced adversity and they play offense. This isn't news to them."

The study, which sampled 751 small business owners with 100 or fewer employees, found that 90 percent of those surveyed said they see opportunity in the current economic climate and 75 percent said they expect their business to grow. About half said the economy levels the playing field between small business and their larger counterparts, and 65 percent said they've had experience guiding their business through tough economic times. Their focus, to the tune of 63 percent of those surveyed, is customer retention, something Jensen says is a big part of what drives small business owners and allows them to do well under any economic conditions.

"They're in a unique position based on where they come from," he says. "They think fast. They're much more in a position to move very quickly in terms of how they align their resources. They're used to doing that anyway, in good times and bad. It goes back to the reason they got into it in the first place--passion."

Joe Gebbia, 26, is no stranger to the sort of passion that can lead to a groundbreaking business. As an art and design student in Rhode Island, he endured long critique sessions that often involved sitting on uncomfortable benches for hours. When his search for a suitable seat cushion came up empty, he designed one of his own, and Critbuns was born.

"I feel like I've been an entrepreneur my whole life," Gebbia says. "I tried to fall in line with everybody else because I felt like that was the thing to do. I'm glad I did it because I learned a lot, but I'll never forget the day when I made the decision to finally go into my company full time. It was an amazing feeling."

Critbuns' sales tripled in 2007 after being featured in several major catalogs, landing in four international retail outlets and offering direct online sales from its website. Gebbia says his success and that of his fellow entrepreneurs is as much about attitude as it is about business sense.

"I think it's a character trait," he says. "There's a quality that somebody has that they have to like the sense of adventure. You go into it being uncertain, so if there's a recession, who cares? Why would I let the forecast of a recession bring me down? I don't see it any other way. When things are good, you're confident. When things are going bad, you're confident. You're your own biggest cheerleader as a small business. If I'm not rooting for myself 100 percent, how can I expect anybody else to?"

Other entrepreneurs have managed to thrive in a slow economy by combining the usual innovation with a healthy dose of good karma, a very marketable commodity in any economy.

"One of the things that helps is that we have a double bottom line," says Pankaj Shah, 34, founder and CEO of GreenDimes, an online company based in Palo Alto, California, that removes subscribers from junk mail lists and plants trees on their behalf. "I think people are willing to help themselves and help the world. We have kept it simple. Everyone gets junk mail at their house, and no one likes it. With us, for $20, you can get rid of it and do something good."

The company, which started in 2006, is already posting eight-figure revenues, with 2008's numbers projected to triple those of last year. GreenDimes also sells high-end T-shirts, with a portion of the profits going to charity. Shah says part of what has helped his company thrive is its ability to make doing the right thing easy.

"Everyone doesn't have time in their day to become an activist," he says. "But I do think most of the population wants to do something good and give something back. It's hard to figure out all the things that are broken in the world. So we decided we're going to sell these products and services, and these things are going to be good 100 percent of the time. And we take care of the part where you do something good in the process."

Despite what's being said about the dismal state of the economy, Shah says being an entrepreneur gives him hope because he sees the sort of creative thinking he hopes will change the way business is done--and he hopes his business model will be part of that revolution.

"There are more smart, driven, educated people trying to do good things in the world now than there have ever been," he says. "I see the light at the end of the tunnel. There's some business model that's going to prove you can have this thriving business entity that puts pieces of society on its back and says, 'We're going to make this better.' And it's not preachy. It's just fun, hip and interesting. I hope it's the wave of the future. You can buy our T-shirt, and three kids in Africa won't die from a bug bite. Those are the kinds of things consumers can relate to."

Besides small businesses being better equipped to handle a slow economy to begin with, Jensen says, the current economy actually favors them because as larger companies struggle, their customers and even their employees will flock to smaller ones.

"I think small businesses have a unique opportunity," he says. "As you see larger companies downsize, you're going to see Middle America turn to small businesses. Small business will be a place where the middle class will find their middle class wealth again. The thing about America is that the entrepreneurial spirit has never been stronger. Small businesses are where people are going to want to go to work. What people are going to see is that, as small businesses continue to grow and be a more important part of the economy, it will fuel entrepreneurship even more."

http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

A Call to All Young Entrepreneurs

A Call to All Young Entrepreneurs

A Call to All Young Entrepreneurs: Leverage for Your Small Home Based Business

Being a young entrepreneur, your small business is only as good for all those people who know about it. And for those who don't know, well they simply don't care.

After all the hardships you have gone through while starting up your business. After all those attempt to give it all up and return back to more secured corporate living. After all the risks you have to pass through. And now that you have toughed them all, the only aim that you now have is to make your small business grow.

Well, that actually is not as simple as it may sound. Making your small business grow will lead you to more compromises. This entails you to take further risks. It is harder this time of course because you are delving into deeper realms of risk. Sometime, the absence of assurance for success will make it more difficult for you to get on through the next level.

One of the many paths to growth from your youth in entrepreneurship towards maturity is to spread words of your small home based business. You may posses the best of the products in the industry but there would be no sense to them if the only people who know are those that are within your block. Your product may have the potentials of breaching million dollar sales but if no one buys it, there is no sense in dreaming of becoming a tycoon.

Start promoting yourself and your services. Some small home based business young entrepreneurs begin promoting their products even before they were fully launched. However, there are many who do promotions only when they have tapped the estimated potentials of their items. You always have the choice between the two though.

There are two basic techniques that you may use to take your small home based business into the scene. One is through paid advertisement and the other through public relations.

Paid advertisements require the process of negotiating with advertising agencies and stations to have your product promoted. Mediums like televisions, websites, newspapers and radio spots are among the most typical options you have.

In public relations however, you would have to ask an author to have your story and your business venture written on articles or an expert as search reference. The only problem though is that you have to be convincing or your story must have that extra pop so as to be worthy of mention.

While publicity may oftentimes require you to share the toll of finding a writer to work for your home based business, there is still no way for you to disregard the benefits of having your story advertised. It also has cost effective feature since you seldom pay for such an advertising medium. But the better part goes with the truth that you can be better remembered with an article rather than in a TV commercial. People normally have more trust on a write-up rather than paid advertisement showed in TV or in the internet. Publicity also offers the potentials of reaching through various people and if you have that good streak of luck, the national audience may be reached by your story.

Even the online world recognizes that actual power of television advertisements than using links and postings on message boards. There are many times when the website has become successful because it was featured on a television show. Thus, discarding all the "almost useful" power of drawing people through creating juggling lines of links in the web.

The media works on herd mentality. Once a program caught site of what your home based business has to offer, other programs may have the hitch of spreading the word further. Thus, you can expect other shows to modify your own story to supplement for their own. This is very effective indeed since you will have your advertisement without spending a dime while reaching wide spectrum of audience.

The problem though comes with attracting journalist and writers towards your home based small business story.

Plan your target points. Your aim is to court writers towards writing your tale. Never put them off by sending bulks of email to virtually all journalists that you know. Point only towards those who are in the beat with your story. Identify what publications will find your venture useful and know which kind will use your story. Try making a list of newspapers, radio programs and television spots that will work well with your aim. If you truly want publicity, go direct with personal emails or letters to those who are most likely to find your small home based business story interesting.

A Call to All Young Entrepreneurs

Business Opportunities and Quick Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

Business Opportunities and Quick Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

Are you one of the women who happened to be yourself, a mom, a wife and a businesswoman altogether? Well, American women seem to have morphed into super ladies who can do any works demanded from them. From house cleaning to child rearing and into developing their own businesses.

Well, there are just too many opportunities for mom entrepreneurs that you may even find yourself overwhelmed when you see the whole spectrum of chancing on the career of your life. You may not have realized it but you see, you have the potential of not only becoming a housewife to you husband or mom to your kids but also the master of your own business unit.

However, not all of us women can tough the tides and perform all our tasks simultaneously. Somehow, we have to sacrifice a thing or another. But this must not be the case. If there is a way that you may find to balance everything, then you no longer would have problems on sacrificing anything. You just have to divide things equally in the many aspect of the life you are trying to pursue.

Being a mom entrepreneur entails you to find your vein, find where you are really good at and find an activity that you love doing and in return would generate an income for you. This way, you need not get tired of your "work' but will only enjoy working on your income.

If you would not want compromising anything from your being you, you can try a business that is home based. Atleast, you can have income while staying at the comforts of your home and while raising your kids. Thinking that this would not allow you focus? Actually, it will.

Think of this- you can help your husband with the support for your finances while rearing your children.

Home based opportunities for mom entrepreneurs

§ Pet-Based Products
There is nothing that indulgent pet owners wont do for their pets. If you can tap on the opportunities that this reality presents, you are sure to be on the road to financial freedom. You may try retailing pet products among your friends first to test grounds. Then go about the block and spread the news. There is too little chance that this wont click. The next phase would deliver you to promoting your products online. There, real business happens.

§ In-Home Beauty Services
Some women just have the talent making people feel good about themselves. You can choose to enterprise on home beauty services. We have this unexplainable contentment when someone knocks to our doors and deliver beauty and youthful look. Well, probably that's one way of experiencing luxury. Being a mom, you can invest less on this while actually earning good cash.

§ Catering services
Great for mom entrepreneurs with passion in kitchen stuffs. Catering doesn't start with big parties alone. Because America has grown too busy to take charge in the kitchen, many families are now finding themselves eating outside for dinner or having their foods brought in from the restaurant. Well, this type of living can be monotonous at times and all we have to do is to create innovations on making dinner a little more exciting while cutting the prices down. If you have the kick for careful planning in preparing and planning nourishment for people, and make appealing foods and deliver them straight to the customers doorsteps then catering services will be a great one for you. Who knows, this might also be a good time for you and your children to spend time.

Those were only three of the business opportunities any mom may try venturing into. Be careful though, as a mom entrepreneur you also have other commitments that you must keep in mind. Commitments to your husband, to your kids, to you business and to your self. And somehow, there'd be days like you cant actually have sufficient time for anyone of them, not even for yourself.

Once you see this coming, take things slow and give a break for yourself. And keep in mind that there should always be a day off from all these. A time for yourself so you wont have to deal with burning out and loosing touch of your goals later.

http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Business Opportunities and Quick Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

How Women Entrepreneurs Changed the Face of Business

How Women Entrepreneurs Changed the Face of Business

Alright, let us examine the world of business. Before, business was dominated by men. Change, as it always is, was inevitable. Daring to oppose the male dominated world of business, women entrepreneurs stepped forward and offered some serious competition. Effectively cornering markets that men did not focus fully on, women entrepreneurs managed to beat men in unfamiliar territory.

From this, men learned that underestimating women was a very bad idea. Good thing, they learned quickly about the value of fair treatment of every person. Had they tried to ignore the growing number of women entrepreneurs, men would have found themselves facing downfall.

In true business fashion, men gave way to a compromise. Jacks gave way to Janes, and more women were brought in to different businesses. Killing prejudice in offices and the market took time, but were accomplished. Lately, we have observed how women can accomplish great things.

Moments in history have occurred when women have outperformed men in business. Nowadays, no one can judge you by your gender, but by your accomplishments.

Of course, there is the question of equality. People have been asking, what does equality really mean? Quite a few groups, especially feminists, insist that equality can be attained only if women totally rule everything. Respecting their views is a pretty good way of treating them, as most people have found out. Some people, however, think that their views are twisted in the sense that, equality means that each side should have the same opportunity.

Thankfully, this seems to be the case today. Under today's laws, you can not base a business decision on a person's sex. Very few people now are still narrow-minded enough to look down upon a woman, and these people often end up facing a lawsuit.

Women entrepreneurs changed the world by showing us how women can understand some things better than men can. XX chromosomes or XY chromosomes, we are now officially equal under law. Young people, however, tend to take this fact for granted. Zany teenagers think that equality always existed, and the women entrepreneurs who pioneered the change are forgotten.

And that, my friend, is the story of women entrepreneurs from A to Z.

What do women entrepreneurs face today? Well, as you may have observed, there are a lot of opportunities today that open up the world for women entrepreneurs. These opportunities need to be watched out for and taken advantage of. Thankfully enough, there a lot of places out there where you can get help to get your business going.

Check out the internet. You can find a lot of useful websites and organizations that specialize in helping women entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. In fact, the different organizations out there can actually help you realize your dream of owning a globally competitive business.

Remember that you exist in a free-for-all environment. When you stepped into the world of business, you have joined the cycle of kill or be killed. In today's world, you need to have the ability to stand up to every kind of competition and problem.

Women entrepreneurs face the same kind of threats that their male counterparts do. They face the hardship of finding capital, building a customer base, and basically trying to shape their businesses into a globally-competitive machine. You'll need to be able to focus fully on your job and make decisions based on sound reasoning mixed with a bit of human emotion.

Remember that there should always be a balance. Too much of anything can be very bad for you. What you need to do is arm yourself with information. Study yourself and your environment for anything that can either help you, or bring about your downfall. Make sure that you are prepared for anything, bad or good, that can affect your business.

These are but few of the things that the woman entrepreneur of today is facing. However, the technology of today makes it easy for anyone to be competitive in the world of business. You now have the tools at hand that will help you rise above your opponents. However, one question still remains. In order for you to succeed, you must look within yourself and ask: Do you have the will?

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

How Women Entrepreneurs Changed the Face of Business

Things To Consider Before Starting A Business

Things To Consider Before Starting A Business


Getting free from dominating bosses and the possibility to make your own decisions is one of the lures of starting your own business. As attractive as it looks, not everyone is suited for self-employment. Before you go ahead with any plan to start a business it is important to take a close look at yourself and ask yourself some important questions.

1. Do you have enough start-up capital and a back-up income?
It takes money to make money, even if it is only a home business. Make sure that you have enough funds to equip yourself and begin marketing before taking the plunge. Also, don't expect to make a lot of money in the early stages of your business. You will need to set aside enough money to provide for you and your family during the initial start-up period for your business. Consult with other similar businesses and find out how long it took them to become viable.

2. Are you a self-moving person?
This is the key quality that separates an employee from and entrepreneur. If you need to wait around and be told what to do, then you would find it easier to get a job with a company rather than to launch your own business. On the other hand, if you are able to think of an idea and carry it out without prodding from someone else, then you may be able to succeed in your own business.

3. Are you willing to work more than a standard 9-5 day?
When you work for someone else you are contracted to work a certain schedule. At the end of the day, you can often able to just forget about the job, go home and relax. When you have your own business you carry a load of responsibility on your shoulders and you will often end up working longer hours than a normal salaried employee. If you like what you are doing and if your business is financially rewarding then you may not mind putting in a lot of extra hours and working when other people are resting. Once again, there is no "right" or "wrong" here. It is just a question of looking deeply at yourself and finding out what you are best cut out to do.

4. Is your family ready to back you up?
You may have a great idea for your own business, but before you begin you have to see if your family is ready to support your ideas. If you start your own business there may be an element of risk and an increased demand on your time. Owning your own business and having a lot of responsibility can also be very stressful. It is crucial that your closest loved one, the ones who share your life, also share your vision and will provide the emotional support and understanding that you need in order to be successful.

5. Are you passionate about the business that you want to set up?
In order to be successful in your own enterprise you will have to be self-moving and you may have to work harder than an employee in someone else's firm. If you do not really like what you are doing you will find it hard to get the inspiration and drive that is required for such a task. Choose an activity that you know something about and choose an activity that you enjoy doing. The ideal business would be one where you have some prior knowledge and something which you enjoy doing.

One thing to remember, there is nothing wrong with being an employee and working for someone else. There are a lot of advantages in terms of job security, steady income, standard hours and other benefits. It is just a question of looking at your total situation and making the right choice. On the other hand, if you do possess the qualities of an entrepreneur and really have a good idea backed by adequate capital and expertise, then starting your own business may be the best thing you will ever do.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Things To Consider Before Starting A Business

Teen Entrepreneurs: Be your own Boss!

Teen Entrepreneurs: Be your own Boss!

Do you want to earn your own money but you are too young to qualify for a part time job? Do you have the drive to earn money through hard work and perseverance? Would you rather prefer to be your own boss and earn your own money? Then you surely have the raw ingredients to become a successful entrepreneur. These are the beginnings of an entrepreneur: a good business idea, a desire to make good money, an aspiration to become your own boss. Successful businesses grow from these seeds. If you have these, then you should consider becoming an entrepreneur.

Steps to becoming a Teen Entrepreneur

Entering the world of entrepreneurship is not an easy endeavor. It requires a lot of thought and careful thinking. The first step is very important: you must understand and know yourself and what kind of entrepreneur you can be. Evaluate yourself and find out what interests you; what are the things that are most fun to you; what stuff do you know most about. From your answers to these questions, you can find many excellent ideas to start your own business. You should also ask yourself how hard you are willing to work to make your business a success.

Great Ideas for a Teen Entrepreneur

Being a teen doesn’t mean you can not think up a great idea for business. Think creatively and innovatively, explore different possibilities and solutions to problems, observe the latest trends – from these you can surely spot an excellent business idea you can start on. You can also get great entrepreneurial ideas from friends, family, teachers, library research and the internet. Afterwards, you can start researching about your business idea. Strive to know and understand the ins and outs of your prospective business. You should understand that business essentially involves “buying” and “selling”. Some understanding of the law of supply and demand will go a long way.

Got a great business idea! What now?

Now that you’ve found an excellent business idea, ask yourself the following important questions: Is it practical? Will people take notice of it? Will it fulfill a need? Do you have the capability to realize this business idea? Can you deliver high quality products or services? Is there a substantial demand for your business? If not, can you create that demand? Where will you get the capital to finance your business? All these questions must be addressed before you start establishing your business.

Business Ideas for Promising Teen Entrepreneurs

With the huge array of business ideas that are available for the budding teen entrepreneur, finding the one right for you may be a daunting task. Here are some promising business ideas that promising teen entrepreneurs like you may find interesting.

Teen Entrepreneur Idea # 1: Candle Making

Candles are very popular as home décor and accessories nowadays. You probably have a decorative candle in your bedroom or living room. Why not create your own personalized candles and sell them to your friends and acquaintances. Learning how to make candles is actually quite easy. This makes candle making an excellent idea for money-making. You can start by learning how to make candles and where to buy your materials.

You can find candle making resources and materials from craft stores, community centers and candle-making studios. If you already have family and friends who make candles as a hobby, you can ask them to teach you the basics of the craft. Just be creative and display your artistic nature in the candles you make. Afterwards you can sell your personalized candles to your friends, family members, neighbors, flea markets, bazaars, farmers’ markets, etc. You can also sell your candles through internet malls and eBay.

Teen Entrepreneur Idea # 2: Run Errands

If you like moving around, keeping busy and multitasking, then running errands for other people for a fee can be a good idea for business. As we all know, today’s fast paced lifestyles means that many of the people you know might not have the time to do simple chores such as buying groceries, walking the pet, mowing the loan, washing the car, etc. Why not start your own service business by offering to do these errands for a fee. Ask around your friends, neighborhood and even family members to see if they need someone to do their errands for them. You can also post brochures and flyers that advertise your services.

These are just two of the many business ideas that teen entrepreneurs like you can consider. Just remember that any business endeavor requires hard work and perseverance to be successful. With the right mindset and the right dose of enthusiasm, you can surely start your own business and make money in no time at all.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Teen Entrepreneurs: Be your own Boss!

Typical Stories of Successful Filipino Entrepreneurs

Typical Stories of Successful Filipino Entrepreneurs

Reading the life stories of successful entrepreneurs anywhere in the globe will almost always have that charming element. Building something out of obscurity, the initial success, problems encountered and the person sticking to it trying to overcome the hurdles, (sometimes at the point of giving up), and then an unknown force from somewhere pushes the entrepreneur up slowly and steadily.
For some it is the failing in a business or two and then, finding the vein – so to speak- sticks it out and eventually succeeds.
For those who succeeded, however modest, there is also always that factor of relentless pushing forward. It is the ability to maintain focus even when faced with hard work and discouragement.
I too found these tales a little mushy at times, too romanticized and often over stretched until I failed in four businesses big time and found out that the same principles work for me.
Whatever your views may be, there is an undeniable over riding characteristic in most entrepreneurs and that is enthusiasm, and the desire to keep on. I don’t believe in the Midas touch either, that is bull, a showing off if you will. Aptitude yes, acumen yes, but just the same, every success has a history of hard work behind it, A kind of preparation.
This is almost the same everywhere. Even in third world countries where the economy could sometimes be so tangled up.
Let us have the Philippines. Successful Filipino entrepreneurs would have done a greater effort here than in many of their counterparts in some places of the world. You may disagree, that is fine. But you see business people thrive on predictability and stability that could result to margins. On the other hand, fluctuating economies would give you a different result. Couple that with a colonial mentality that until today has not yet been totally forgotten and you are in for a sanity check especially when trying to compete with a European or American brand. No way could it work.
But it did. Take for example Tony Tan, a Filipino entrepreneur who started his way, washing the dishes and waiting on tables in his fathers’ small restaurant. In 1975, with the help of his family this Filipino acquired an ice cream franchise. Ice cream parlors were popular then and it was supposed to be a decent and proven formula. But like most popular businesses that are copied, the Ice cream parlor has eventually to be given up. After a good start, the Ice cream business failed. Tony Tan has to start all over again this time it was not ice cream but selling hamburgers. He gave the hamburgers his own twist, and with the help of family members, tweaked on other fast food items and that was supposed to be the story of it. Obscure beginnings from a country that was supposed to flock to Mc Donald for hamburgers. No one could, in a sane mind, hope to compete with Mc Donald’s right? Correct. But this successful Filipino entrepreneur is selling today double than that which Mc Donald’s does in the Philippines. The company has, in 25 years expanded to more than 400 branches in the Philippines alone with branches in many parts of the hamburger-loving world.
And then there is Antonina Cesario of Mila’s Lechon.
Lechon for those who wonder is a whole suckling pig roasted over an open pit.
A fresh graduate of Pharmacy from the University of Santo Tomes, one of the more prestigious schools in the Philippines, one would wonder what Antonina Cesario was thinking selling lechon at a time (1968) when a college diploma was a decent way to start a more prestigious career. But I am jumping too fast. Antonina started out not even with a lechon but hawking boiled corn in the streets. After a while, she opened what is termed in the Islands as a Sari-Sari Store which are actually holes in the wall stores that are popular in any typical Filipino neighborhood. It was not enough. In the Philippines, there is about one sari-sari store for every 600 population. Just imagine the competition that one is about to go through.
And so with a few pesos saved, and with a leap of faith, she bought a pig, made a lechon and sold it. No dice. The lechon did not sell at all. The lechon though is a very popular fare in the Philippines. A feast is never complete without it. So the idea persisted. She did a twist to it, selling it by the kilo. From then on, Filipinos does not have to wait for fiestas and other affairs to have lechon on their tables. They can have it any day they want it. Mila’s lechon turned out to be very popular. So popular in fact that the district where Mila’s lechon originated is now termed as the lechon capital of the Philippines. The family then started venturing out to other businesses like restaurants and the selling and distribution of sauces that could be found in any supermarket in the Philippines.
Many more Filipino entrepreneurs have made it. One that makes it more amazing though is these entrepreneurs could thrive even in very difficult circumstances, even when their nations economies are often in the doldrums. Hard work, preparation, persistence; name it, It varies in different people but sustained enthusiasm counts for most.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Typical Stories of Successful Filipino Entrepreneurs

Tips on How Entrepreneurs Start Home Based Small Business

Tips on How Entrepreneurs Start a Home Based Small Business

There are many ways by which entrepreneurs get on the road to success. Some entrepreneurs choose to take advantage of franchise opportunities and from there, move on to greater glory.

There are a lot of things that can be said about franchising. For one thing, franchise opportunities let you penetrate the market with an already-established brand name. People already know the product or service so you won't have to go through the trouble of making a name.

Of course, you have the responsibility to make a name for your business and not just the product. This means you'll have to sell yourself. After all, people can get the product or service from other franchises, so what makes you any different? You'll have to show them that you are different from other businesses even if your products are the same. You'll have to do your best to convince people that getting the product from you is the best decision that they can make.

If you don't think that taking advantage of a franchise opportunity is the thing for you, maybe you should consider starting a small, home based business.

A lot of budding entrepreneurs put up small home based businesses for different reasons. Here are some of them:

1) Lack of funding - most entrepreneurs have small home based businesses because of the simple fact that, as a beginner, most do not have the funding to rent office space.

When you think about it, a small home based business is perfect for a budding entrepreneur. He or she actually gets to save money on the rent of commercial space. We all know how hard it can be to manage finances when you are starting a business, so saving all the money you can is a very good idea.

2) Convenience - for entrepreneurs, small home based businesses can be very convenient. When you think about it, they can stay at home all day and still make a living.

Entrepreneurs find small home based businesses convenient in other ways as well. Much legality is eliminated when you base your venture at home. Getting a lease on a commercial space may sometimes prove too complicated, as compared to having your business at home.

3) Customer base - some entrepreneurs start small home based businesses because of the fact that they may already have an established client base there. Some restaurants, for example, get started because of a person noticing that his or her cooking is very popular around the community.
Now, by starting a restaurant in the home, he or she would already have a customer base, willing to pay her for her cooking.

Many people know just how hard it can be to start your business as an unknown. By basing your business at home, you know that you will already have established connections and you know that people will find it more convenient to go to you for their needs.

Remember that you need to plan properly. Most entrepreneurs' small home based businesses fail because of poor planning. You need to learn how to separate your business finances from your home finances, and learn how to record each correctly.

In order for you to be able to properly handle your business, you might want to consult three people: an Accountant, a lawyer, and an advisor. Between these three people, you can get the big picture of what to expect when running a small home based business as an entrepreneur.

You have to be strong. Many people can tell you that business and personal life don't mix very well. But history has shown that entrepreneurs with small home based businesses often succeed at becoming globally competitive.

Three nerds in a garage have as much chance at succeeding in a business venture as an executive in an office with a view. Technology today has made possible that all resources be within your grasp. All you actually need to do is find the will to take the first step.

There you go: those are just some tips to get you started on that first step. By remembering to take calculated risks, you should be fine in getting your small home based business of the ground, entrepreneur.

What are you waiting for? Go!

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Tips on How Entrepreneurs Start Home Based Small Business

Peter Burns Entrepreneurship in Action

Peter Burns Entrepreneurship in Action

Have you heard of the name Peter Burns? If you are familiar of him as one great entrepreneur, then your guess is right! Peter Burns is an acclaimed millionaire and entrepreneur who also teaches the subject Entrepreneur 101 in ASU’s Barret Honors College for over a year.
There are likewise news that circulates that he may team up with the Grand Canyon University this coming May for its launching of the College of Entrepreneurship. Asked as to why he preferred to team up with another school instead of ASU, it appears that Peter Burns first suggested the idea to the ASU but the school seemed uninterested. It was Grand Canyon University who took interest to launch the said proposed degree program.
It appears that Peter Burns is not at all disappointed with ASU’s decision but who knows what really plays on his own mind? He further stressed out that ASU’s decision is right. After all, he knows for a fact that it is not the sole endeavor of a business school.
Out of the reputation harnessed by Peter Burns pops up several other endeavors from other colleges to particularly enhance the students’ capacity to do business. More and more trainings and seminars on entrepreneurial management are coming out here and there in the whole of America. This only shows that the Americans have finally realized the value of molding a potential entrepreneur. And they have visualized that it may be started upon within the confines of the schools.
Imagine yourself being the boss. You control the business. Moreover, you own the business! In fact it is everybody’s dream—to be the owner of the business and to be your own boss! A lot of American people do not want to be lorded over by somebody. And throughout the crowd of college students, being one great entrepreneur is one of their wildest dreams ever.
Being an entrepreneur yourself will allow you to bring into your own pockets tons of handsome income. More than ever, incoming college students already foresee themselves as successful entrepreneurs in the future that is why when they step into the portals of the university, they often take up business-related courses as one stepping stone towards their dreams.
It is without a doubt that Peter Burns’s entrepreneurship ideas are influencing the minds of the college students. More so, the schools administrators have already awakened to this kind of scenario and benefit for their students.
So why are students more inclined into becoming successful entrepreneurs in the near future? Among the reasons are as follows:
There are several colleges that now offer programs which are related to entrepreneurship whether inside or outside of the business schools so as to achieve the goal of preparing their students in their dreams of starting their very own companies in the near future.
More and more students are getting serious with their chosen fields as inspired by personages such as Bill Gates, Walt Disney, and Michael Dell who are all successful businessmen in their own rights.
There are a lot of people who are surrounded by family members who are business owners themselves therefore all the more motivating them to become one.
The students of today’s generation are more conscious that wealth can only be gained if you know how to work with investments and profits.
They are likewise very much aware that with only a little capital, business can already be put up and just to be expanded when the fruits seem to be advantageous.
To date, the number of enrollees in entrepreneurial degrees is escalating and is foreseen to still commit to a higher growth in the coming years. When asked about the factors that influence them to become entrepreneurs, students make mention of their parents, relatives, idols, and mentors. That is why in these days, it is no longer a shocking news to know that students immediately start building their own companies right after graduation. Some of them even team up with pals and former classmates in getting on with the business.
The education about entrepreneurship that is inculcated into the young minds of the students motivate them to always strive for the best and be open to all the angles and possibilities of the business industry.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Peter Burns Entrepreneurship in Action

http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

How Peter Burns Inspires Entrepreneurs All Over the World

How Peter Burns Inspires Entrepreneurs All Over the World

The story of entrepreneur Peter Burns is a remarkable example of how entrepreneurship works. You see, many people nowadays think that you need to finish a degree in order to become successful. What they fail to realize is that the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, was a college dropout.

Of course, education is very important in the development of a person. It can help you get a great job and a high salary. However, there comes a time in a person's life when he or she has to make a choice. Entrepreneurs often face this decision in life. They encounter great ideas, but they are faced with the choice of risking it all for their great idea or ignoring the urge and continuing on a safe path.

Peter Burns discovered entrepreneurship while he was on his first year in college. He enrolled entrepreneurship at the University of Virginia. Entrepreneurship classes are supposed to encourage the growth of the entrepreneur in you.

The course sure gave life to the entrepreneur in Peter Burns. One assignment that they always give you in entrepreneurship classes is to seek out a potential business and try to form a feasible plan.

This assignment is actually supposed to train your entrepreneurial instincts and allow you to closely observe your environment for any opportunities. Peter Burns, future entrepreneur, thought of doing a business plan on renting mopeds at US vacation spots.

Peter Burns' instructor found the plan simply brilliant and encouraged him to try it out during the summer vacation. Now, many people do not realize the effect entrepreneurship can have on the college student.

You see, even in the world today, college students aren't so sure that their parents' advice about getting a degree actually holds water. When you take a look around you, you'll probably see a lot of people with all sorts of initials and letters after their name suffer the world of unemployment.

You see, we live in a world where connections often matter more than degrees. This world really does not allow employees to rise to the level of success. We live in a nation where the word "employment" means that you're underpaid, overworked, and you work under a person who is always dumber than you.

Kids hear their parents complain about their work all of the time, so why should they believe them when they say that getting an education is the key to a great future? These are the thoughts that enter a young person's mind when they think about their futures.

Now, Peter Burns became an entrepreneur at the encouragement of his teacher. He tried out the business he presented and found that it was actually quite profitable for him. Plus, he was doing what he loved. He was his own boss. What more can a 19 year old ask for?

You see, in the four months of summer vacation, young entrepreneur Peter Burns was able to make 50 thousand dollars.

When you think about it, minimum wage just seems so lame compared to that figure, right? So, young entrepreneur called up his instructor and said the inevitable: he already got started on his road to successful entrepreneurship.

Of course, tourist season was soon over and Peter Burns had to find more customers. He took his business on the road. He started traveling to different tourist spots to find more customers. He had a pretty clear view of his target market. He went to places with plenty of scenery, a long tourist season, and slow traffic. These, according to him, are the best conditions for moped rentals.

Now, the business of Peter Burns has grown to a point where he actually franchises. It just goes to show you that there are things you can learn about business outside school. In fact, entrepreneur Peter Burns' rentals now gross over 1 million dollars a year. You want to hear the good part? It's all in cash.

The success story of entrepreneur Peter Burns doesn't stop there, of course. He may now be thinking about real estate holdings. This just tells you how sheer talent can really compensate for a college degree. Peter Burns got to this point in life all because he made a choice and stuck with it.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

How Peter Burns Inspires Entrepreneurs All Over the World

What Are True Entrepreneurs Made Of?

What Are True Entrepreneurs Made Of?


Does firing your boss and starting your own business equate to entrepreneurship? Or does it just mean that the status quo has just changed from you being an employee to you being "self-employed"?
Quoting Michael Gerber of "The E-Myth Revisited" fame, entrepreneurs "invent organizations that work without them. Technicians create businesses who work because of them. The entrepreneur is liberated from what I call the "tyranny of routine," and the technician becomes a slave to it. In the entrepreneur's case, the business works. In the technician's case, the technician works." The above few sentences capture the essence of true entrepreneurship.
Well, to paraphrase, one cannot claim to be a true entrepreneur if you merely jump from being an employee to starting your own business but continue to use your own time to do exactly the same things you used to do as an employee. ie. you are basically still exchanging your personal time for money. Instead of freeing yourself from the slavery of your ex-boss, you have evolved to become a slave to your own business.
To be a true entrepreneur, value has to created, predominantly in the form of a scalable business example that are based on rules, systems and processes, that ultimately frees the entrepreneur from having to micromanaging employees or firefighting. Instead, the true entrepreneur should be focused on steering the business towards his dream and vision, to plan, organize and direct instead of getting stuck managing routine work. Instead of letting the business run you, an entrepreneur runs the business!
Being an employee, you are given a job. By starting your own business but doing the same thing as you did as an employee, you become self-employed and own a job. But as an entrepreneur, you captain a self-sustainable business system that is profitable, creates value, and gives jobs to some people while freeing your own time . Who would you rather choose to be?

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

What Are True Entrepreneurs Made Of?

Myth Of A Fearless Entrepreneur

Myth Of A Fearless Entrepreneur

What distinguishes an entrepreneurial leader based on what i read in the rest of the pack? Most people would tell you it is a tolerance for risk, and most people would be wrong. Having studied 22 years of performance data on more than 7,000 growth companies, I discovered that the idea overly entrepreneurs are, by definition, risk takers is a myth. Curiously, many entrepreneurial leaders really lose their nerve as they become successful. That may sound like a reasonable trade-off, but this tendency can hurt a firm's chances for long-term success and growth.TV and food have always gone together, from Julia Child’s soufflés to the potato-chip grease on you... Top of Form 1
Bottom of Form 1
When calculating the entrepreneurial risk involved, people often get the math wrong. Take starting a business, for example. Some might say Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit, took a huge risk when he left a triumphant career at Bain & Co. to help start the company. But Cook figured otherwise. "The worst thing that could happen to me is who I would spend a few years paying off credit-card debt. To me, it looked like a risk-free decision," he said.
Like Cook, most people who start businesses don't take big risks because they don't have a lot to risk when they're getting started. Consider the history of the U.S.'s fastest-growing firms: 73% of them were started with less than $100,000 in capital. That's clearly in Cook's "go back to work, and pay off the credit card" range. And contrary to what most people imagine, most new businesses are not started with risky, new-to-the-world ideas like those of eBay and Google, that promise to transform the way we buy things. Cook reported that when his organization launched its Quicken software program, there were already 46 similar products on the market--causing him to joke, "We enjoyed 47th-mover advantage." Columbia University business professor Amar Bhidé found that only 12% of growth-company founders surveyed attribute this success to an "unusual or extraordinary idea"; 88% reported that their success was due mainly to "exceptional execution of an ordinary idea." There's a lower risk in getting the details right.
So if entrepreneurial leaders are not, by definition, big risk takers, just what is the relationship between a willingness to take risks and the long-term success of a business? There is a relationship, but it is not one you would expect. The evidence suggests that as entrepreneurial leaders become more successful, there is a tendency for them to become a great deal more risk averse--a concept called "loss aversion" made famous by Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who studied behavioral economics. Kahneman and Tversky found that people don't always behave in the rational manner too the classical economic models predict. When they get ahead in the game, they may begin to get conservative--playing it safe continuing to when the chances say a big wager is likely to pay off.
One of the factors that separate breakthrough companies from their competitors is the tendency to continue to up the ante as the stakes in the game increase. Polaris Industries left the safety of its snowmobile niche to battle the Japanese in the ATV business and later took on the gang at Harley-Davidson in the motorcycle business. The Staubach Co., the commercial real estate broker, pushed to expand nationally before other tenant-rep firms did. Intuit faced down Microsoft twice, in the personal-financial-management-software business and in the small-business-accounting business. In each of these cases, competitors chose to play it safe and consolidate their winnings rather as opposed to double down in a market. They learned the hard way that the only guarded bet in business is the one in which a firm continues to play aggressively as the stakes of the game increase.McFarland is the author of The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/


Myth Of A Fearless Entrepreneur

How Personal Development Affects an Entrepreneur's Business

How Personal Development Affects an Entrepreneur's Business

An entrepreneur has two factors to face when running a business: Internal and external. The external factor involves the environment, the market, and other components outside the entrepreneur and the business.
The external factors are parts of a business that you have virtually no control over. These factors present the greatest risk to a business considering the fact that you cannot do anything but adapt to them.
External factors include both opportunities and threats. Opportunities are those external factors that can cause your company to prosper, provided you are able to respond to them correctly. Threats are those which can cause your downfall if you do not learn how to adapt. Sometimes, entrepreneurs even experience opportunities turning into threats and vice versa. Of course, a situation either becomes an opportunity or threat based on his or her perception.
Now we come to the internal factor of business. The internal factors include the strengths and weaknesses of the entrepreneur and his or her venture. An entrepreneur's personal development affects business because of the plain and simple fact that it is a part of the internal factor.
An entrepreneur's personal development touches business more often than people may think. You see, although more and more people say that separating your personal life from business is very crucial, it is just too hard, if not impossible.
An entrepreneur's personal development affects business because this determines how well an entrepreneur can respond to the external factors. You see, personal development has a great impact on how you take the problems that face you in business.
Many people think that if you develop yourself professionally, then you can let go of your personal life when you are at work. Unless you have multiple personality disorder, however, you cannot just forget about your personal life once you are handling your business. An entrepreneur's personal development affects business because the way an entrepreneur adapts to the external factors is determined by his or her personality.
You see, you may gain the know-how and the facts from school, but character development is only taught by life. So how do entrepreneurs gain personal development?
Well, to tell you the truth, most entrepreneurs get it from their childhood. You see, there's nothing like real life experiences to develop your character. When you have faced different problems and overcome the toughest challenges of life, business can actually be a breeze.
Some entrepreneurs develop their characters through years on the job. This is the reason why experienced entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed than new ones. You see, years on the business can help you cope with the different external factors that you face. Some entrepreneurs can even claim to have desensitized themselves to the different problems that one can face on a business.
However, it is said that the true character of a person is not measured by how long he resists falling, but by how often he keeps getting up. You see, the best kind of entrepreneurial character development for business is how to take your hit and not be defeated.
As an entrepreneur, you will be facing defeats in your life. Bruises will form over your business reputation. Competition will leave you wanting to quit. Despite all these, you need to stand up and be victorious. Even through different trials, you must stand. Financially speaking, you need to lay it all on the line for your dream. Given time, you will realize that all the risks you took were worth the success. Hold on to your dream whenever anything threatens to break you apart. In times of trouble, let the development of your character show.
Juggling personal life and business can be hard for the entrepreneur. Balance is essential to every entrepreneur. Despite the fact that new business ventures need a constant eye, you must learn how to take care of your personal life as well. Learn how to prioritize important things. Here is a lesson: handling life and work is like juggling glass balls. You are afraid to drop one, but trying to keep them all in the air can wear you out. However, you have to realize that some of those balls are actually made of rubber and will bounce back even if you drop them.

http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

How Personal Development Affects an Entrepreneur's Business

Nurse Entrepreneur: Have faith that you can do it

Nurse Entrepreneur: Have faith that you can do it

Had it ever occurred to you that you could start a business of your own? Most nurses turn out to be entrepreneurs. But then while some nursing graduates are confident enough to face the challenge, there are also those who wonder as to whether or not they will be able to handle it. Nurses would often be faced with the question: “Has my nursing course prepared and molded me to be successful in my nursing career practice?” Of course you must think positively. The world of nursing is filled with lessons which you can always take credit for.
After graduation, most nursing students vie for experience. Indeed, they are lucky enough to pass their licensure examinations on the first take. Getting employed allows you to experience the reality of the theories which you had been dealing with all throughout your college years.
Just look closely into the practice of your nursing career and you will soon see opportunities that you can attack so as to become a successful entrepreneur. Who would not want to enjoy the privilege of becoming your own boss? Furthermore, you can gain fame and earn lots of profits! Interesting, right? Then learn to recognize all possibilities that will turn you into a nurse entrepreneur.
What are the tips that you must follow in order to be one great nurse entrepreneur?
First, find out what your real passion is then turn it into one business endeavor. Not all nurses are focused on the vision of growing old in hospitals while taking care of the patients in the most critical conditions. After some years of employment experience in the hospital, most nurses are geared towards some more serious focus other than caring for their patients.
Nurses are not only confined to this task. You as a nursing graduate can land on a teaching job. Why not? After all, you can always share your knowledge to others. If you’ve got the funds, why don’t you spend it to build a legal nurse consultant business?
With this kind of business, you will be able to coach, teach, and mentor future nurses so that they will be able to reach their dreams in the near future. There are always other passions that thrive within your heart. You just have to listen to that little inner voice that whispers to your ears.
Second, you must realize that you’ve got the power to rule over the destiny of your career. As others claim it, we make our own destinies. It is rather true since the fall or success of a person depends upon how he manages his own life. In the case of a critically ill patient, not only will medications make him recover. It is also his own willingness to be cured those matters. It can be said that the healing process undergone by the patient is likewise dependent upon his own sense of controlling and empowering such action. In relation to your nursing career, you decide for the success and security of your future. If you inculcate in your mind that there is nothing more that you can do, then it will likely happen. But if you bear in your mind that there is some more fruitful future for your nursing career, then it will surely happen.
Third, never ever let fear overpower you. When fear has overpowered you, you will likely be left helpless and desolated. Moving on with your being a nurse entrepreneur will naturally be faced will a lot of obstacles particularly from the people that surround you. If you give in to your worst fear, you will instantly be left paralyzed. Just shake off those positive thoughts and give way to positive vibes. It is all about facing your fears and hanging on with the challenge. After all, nurses are capable of doing anything. Do not just confine yourself to the healing of patients.
Fourth, you can never achieve success if you don’t work hard for it. How can you be earning profits if you will not work? How can you become a nurse entrepreneur if you will not start with your investment? Therefore, just hone your skills and be ready to face the challenge. Remember that your success will always depend on how you persevere.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Nurse Entrepreneur: Have faith that you can do it

Why it is Vital for an Entrepreneur to Get a Network of Business Opportunities

Why it is Vital for an Entrepreneur to Get a Network of Business Opportunities


The best and successful entrepreneurs will simply give out the advice that communication is very vital when starting up with any business opportunity at hand. The image of the business opportunity needs to be boosted up and will be a sort of positive guide to come up with networking. In such manner, the business will gain a good reputation as its image is being built up. Moreover, networking will provide your business with a good shot particularly for the benefit of the target consumers you are eyeing on. It will be best to read up for some guides on how to start things up.
So how should you get on with networking? How do you start? Where do you start? Before you release a dollar from your pocket, you first must consult the experts. Take some time to investigate and research. Go to the library. Surf the internet. Simply bear the words research, research, and research in your mind and discover if entrepreneurial opportunities are fit for you and learn the ways to deal with the trade the successful way. Furthermore, evaluate and analyze your own self as honestly as possible. Do not entertain biases.
First things first. Make a list of all the pros and cons regarding your business ownership venture. What are your characteristics and personal qualities that you think will make you a potential entrepreneur who will be successful in the craft? Is your financial position stable and tough to be able to manage the impeding competition? Do you possess the needed management and technical skills? Remember that you cannot be the most perfect entrepreneur there is in the field but you can always strive for the best. Therefore start up conceptualizing how you would market your business through networking.
Some of the Basic Steps to Deal With
Come up with a feasibility study of your proposed business. Don’t forget to include and describe the typical customers you are targeting on, the product you will be marketing, the percentage of the competitors that you will be sharing the floor with, the product suppliers that you will be negotiating with, and the rate that you will be charging for your product.
Draft the complete list of the business plan intended for your company utilizing the data that you’ve gotten from the feasibility study that you’ve conducted. This must include the description of your business, its missions, objectives, and goals, the competitors, the type of target crowd in the market, all of the financial data needed, and lastly, the manner on how your goals will be materialized.
Set up a definite plan to stabilize your finances. Think about securing loans, making use of credit cards, or any of your personal savings.
Decide on the structure of your company. Will it be a sole proprietorship, incorporation or partnership?
Carefully decide on the name of the company and ensure its availability. As tested by many, the name itself influences the flow of the business and the outpour of the customers.
Decide on how you want your company to be registered. Will it be federally or provincially?
Contact the necessary agencies that will process your business registration. Secure the important documents and licenses as well.
Think about the materials that you will need for networking and marketing purposes such as company stickers, identity packages, press kits, and the personal company website. The identity package will have to include your business cards, logo, and letterhead. The press kit includes in line the press releases, letters of introduction, biography sheets, brochures, and articles. Today’s age is technologically-operated so printed materials would not suffice. It pays off to put up a website.
Purchase the needed insurance. For your business and employees’ benefits, there are several kinds of insurance to choose from. Insurances are needed for security reasons.
Make a system of keeping track of your finances and bank accounts. This will likely make the record-keeping stable and convenient.
Decide on the location of your business. Will you be leasing? Or is it your own property? Where will you locate it?
After you’ve learned of these steps, better get up now and start working on their realization! Remember that any business opportunity must be well-thought of and carefully carried out.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Why it is Vital for an Entrepreneur to Get a Network of Business Opportunities

How Hard Can the World be for Mom Entrepreneurs?

How Hard Can the World be for Mom Entrepreneurs?

Motherhood can be a very fulfilling, yet frustrating time for a woman. You see, motherhood can actually prevent women from accomplishing many of the goals they have set for themselves.

Nowadays, it is only proper that both parents share the responsibility of rearing a child. However, we cannot deny the fact that mothers often have a harder time. In this line of thinking, what do you think mom entrepreneurs face in today's world?

Well, many moms actually find that being an entrepreneur is much better than being an employee. You see, when you are a mom entrepreneur, you are your own boss. This means you will be able to balance time between taking care of a child and making money. Being a mom entrepreneur also gives you the advantage of choosing where to go and when.

Mom entrepreneurs actually do not have it so hard nowadays as they did a few years back. You see, technology today has evolved to a point that it makes being an entrepreneur quite easy, whether you are a mother or not.

Mom entrepreneurs nowadays can actually take care of business even when they are at home. The technological marvel of the internet actually means that being a home-based mom entrepreneur has a lot of advantages.

Mom entrepreneurs nowadays have a chance at becoming globally competitive, as the internet actually allows people from all over the world to do business with you. Mom entrepreneurs also have a number of opportunities out there for them to take advantage of. You see, a mom entrepreneur nowadays has a much bigger chance of making a lot of money than being a mom employee.

What does it take to be a mom entrepreneur? Well, if you want to join the ranks of the 10.6 million women who own businesses and generate 2.5 trillion dollars annually, you'll have to have the character of a mom entrepreneur.

You'll need patience and lots of it. Taking care of a child and of a business at the same time can be pretty frustrating. In order to be a mom entrepreneur you have to learn how to keep your cool even during the direst of situations. You need to be patient with your children as well as your business.

You also need to be prepared for any kind of problem that you might face. As a mom entrepreneur, you will be facing a huge amount of pressure. All you need to do is to think to yourself: "I am a mom! I know I have been through worse!"

There are some ways how you can ease the pressure of being a mom entrepreneur. For one thing, you could consider getting some help. Hiring a nanny would be a pretty good idea since you won't always have time for your kids. You see, even if you control your time, there are some instances when your business would require you to work in unconventional times.

Getting support from your family is crucial in being a mom entrepreneur. You need somebody there who can make you believe even if you are full of doubt. Who you need is someone to hold you up when the problems are trying to beat you down. People need to understand you when your business is going through a rough time. However, you should remember that not all people appreciate being treated like shock absorbers all the time.

When deciding to become a mom entrepreneur, be sure that you will be venturing into a business involving something you love. You do not want to add to your frustrations by taking on a business that you just hate. Think of your interests and try to get an idea from there. Mom entrepreneurs who do this end up the most successful, because they make money doing something they love.

What you need to understand is that being a mom will not hinder you from being an entrepreneur. Don't feel that the world is trying to bring you down because of your being a mom entrepreneur. Id you do this, you will end up blaming your kids and you might lose your family.

Between business and family, remember that family should always come first. This philosophy will lead you to success.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

How Hard Can the World be for Mom Entrepreneurs?

All About Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs

All About Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs

Malaysian women entrepreneurs today are still facing a considerable number of obstacles. You see, venturing in new markets can be a problem for Malaysian women entrepreneurs simply because of the fact that information can be hard to obtain.

We all know that you need information in order to start a proper business venture. You will need to know about:

a) The market - is there an available market for your product? This determines how well you can expect your product or service to be received. The market determines how much profit you will be able to make. Do you think that people will be wiling to pay the prices you set? Will your market last, or are you experiencing some kind of fad?

Without proper knowledge of the market, Malaysian women entrepreneurs can end up spending a lot of money on complete and utter failures.

b) The finances - you also need proper information as to the costs and the profits you can expect from your business. Entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs mainly because of the objective of profit. By having the correct financial information, you can successfully plan out your business and where you think that venture will take you.

Difficulty in obtaining financial information can cause Malaysian women entrepreneurs to make wrong decisions. You see, you need to be able to estimate your finances ion the best possible manner in order to set up a business correctly.

c) Comparative studies - you need to obtain accurate information about similar businesses in order to know what to expect when starting your business venture. You see, it is often hard for Malaysian women entrepreneurs to obtain accurate and up-to-date information. This can lead to some pretty serious lapses of judgment.

Hypes and fads occur all the time. You need accurate information in order to see if a business that was popular last week is still feasible today.

Another problem encountered by Malaysian women entrepreneurs is lack of networking. You see, connections are important when running your own business. By establishing connections with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs you get a lot of advantages, including:

1) Information sharing - information is easier to obtain if you have a number of people keeping their eyes and ears open. By forming a network with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs, you actually get the opportunity to gather more information, providing you also share what you know.
2) Advice - in starting your own business, you need all the help you can get. How can you get it if you don't network with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs? Nobody can claim to know everything about business, but within a network, you can come pretty close.

3) Pooling of resources - by networking with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs, you have the opportunity to share resources. We all know that businesses suffer losses. However, being in a network can help you recover quickly from any type of defeat. Entrepreneurial networks today actually have help systems which try and support members when their business is facing a crisis.

Fortunately enough, there actually is a group that Malaysian women entrepreneurs can turn to when they need help. The National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Malaysia (NAWEM) was formed with the objective of helping Malaysian women entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground and become globally competitive.

NAWEM actually provides Malaysian women entrepreneurs with different types of help. The organization conducts trainings and seminars designed to help Malaysian women entrepreneurs expand their skills and gain more knowledge regarding entrepreneurship.

NAWEM also provides Malaysian women entrepreneurs with various opportunities to help them penetrate their target market. You see, by joining an association like this, Malaysian women entrepreneurs finally get the edge they need. The group can act as a network, letting Malaysian women entrepreneurs share resources and information. The organization strives to fulfill the shortcomings of the individual.

NAWEM also helps Malaysian women entrepreneurs with their financial needs, giving them grants or loans in order to help them expand their ideas and business ventures. In doing so, they also strive to better the status of Malaysian women entrepreneurs. They also help these women by providing them with guidance and leadership. Entering the business world can be quite confusing, but an organization like NAWEM can help you find your way.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

All About Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs

How the Internet Helps Entrepreneurs' Home Businesses

How the Internet Helps Entrepreneurs' Home Businesses

The internet is one tool that has revolutionized the way we do everything. The speed and connectivity offered by the internet has made the world smaller, and has brought people closer together. In fact, the internet has made us realize the fact that we now live in a global community and that everything we do affects the world around us.

The internet surely has gone a long way in changing the way we live. But how exactly has the internet changed entrepreneurs' home businesses?

As mentioned before, the internet has brought the world closer together. This means the every business has the potential for a global market. What does this mean? Well, the internet has made it possible for entrepreneurs' home businesses to have customers far away from home.

There used to be a time when "home business" meant that an entrepreneur would have to endure having customers from his or her immediate community. Having a home business usually meant that your market was limited, until such a time when you can get your venture out of the house and into the world.

Did you ever wonder how hard the big companies of today had to work in order to get out of their homes? You see, everyone has to start somewhere and most of the big corporations today often started as home-based.

The internet helps people shorten the time they have to wait until their business gets off the ground. The internet helps entrepreneurs' home businesses get the push it needs to cater to a global market. You see, the internet actually allows you to have the whole world as a target. Because of this, many entrepreneurs actually take their business to the internet.

Home-based businesses aren't what they used to be. Now, because of the internet, entrepreneurs' home businesses actually mean that the lucky businessmen actually get to stay at home while they make their cash. More and more people are opening up online businesses because of the simple fact that they get to make money easier this way.

Remember that entrepreneurs are the richest people in the world. Lawyers may make a lot of money, executives may have big salaries, but entrepreneurs pay these people for their services. So who do you think is really at the top of the chain?

The internet helps entrepreneurs' home businesses in a lot of other ways. With the internet, you can have all the information you need at your fingertips. This means that you practically have the whole world at the palm of your hand.

Because of this, entrepreneurs have access to every piece of information that can affect their business ventures. We all know how vigilant one must be of things that one cannot control. The market is a very erratic factor in business, with people changing their preferences all the time. Through the internet, entrepreneurs' home businesses can be prepared for any possible events.

Having all this information also allows you to take a closer look at competition. What sets those businesses apart? What is the competition's weakness? How can you get ahead in the market? These questions and more can be answered by a simple search on the internet.

The internet also allows you access to people. This means that you can reach important contacts and make business decisions faster. Entrepreneurs' home businesses prosper because the internet allows these businesses to have the best of help. The internet allows you to get expert advice and quickly.

The internet helps entrepreneurs' home businesses by making opportunities easier to access. This means that entrepreneurs can keep a constant lookout for any chances of expanding their businesses. The earlier you learn of an opportunity, the better your chance of getting it.

So, in general, the internet helps entrepreneurs' home businesses by giving them an edge. The internet speed things up and allows you to save time on making business-related decisions. Then internet also allows you to multi-task, that is, you get to do multiple things at once. Because of this, the internet is a very valuable technology indeed. But most of all the fact that you now have the world as your potential market gives you a little boost in confidence. Surely, there must be people in the whole world who are willing to pay good money for your product or service, right?

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

How the Internet Helps Entrepreneurs' Home Businesses

Where to Find Grants for Women Entrepreneurs

Where to Find Grants for Women Entrepreneurs

The world of entrepreneurship, once evolved among the masculine and the brave has now become a common place among both men and women.
We have seen the tides change and its already far too long since we last heard that this thing is for men and another thing is for women. There no longer is a separation of opportunities, all of us are already playing on the same terrain.
The sad thought though is that there are too few funding resources and help groups for women entrepreneurs. Good funding resources are very crucial especially for women who are just starting out with business. These are rare indeed that is why women tend to resort to using their credit cards, family loans and assistance from friends which in most cases are hardly ever helpful.
But you see, funding for a business is only one of the many problems among women entrepreneurs. They may also be having troubles in building websites, juggling with researches and making press releases for promotions of enterprise. And hey there are also problems in selling one or two of their products and in contacting clients. Though all that may sound difficult, they surely are worth the time of woman entrepreneur.
After all, it is her business she is building in here.
Various organizations and the government has seen all the hardships a woman entrepreneur has to undergo to be able to make it to the supposedly men's world. This is why they have provided programs for minority businesses to see what its like being among the greats in the businesses, or atleast experience some of their glories.
If you are a woman entrepreneur and is interested in getting grants, the first thing you would want to do is to identify if you are qualified for being given a grant.
The most common qualifications are:§ Obviously, you should be a female or depending on the program, must come from the minority sector§ You must own the majority share in your business§ And your business must show lucrative opportunities for growth
There are a number of government and private agencies that provide grants for women entrepreneurs at various levels.
Say for the federal level, women can undergo self-certification and apply for the Central Contracting Registry database from which many government and private contractors gather to search for small business.
Other programs may be seen on local level where advantages are presented and benefits are granted. Its just the matter of finding them and apply for one that you think you can create your real potentials from.
And because of their own commitment to provide diversified services and opportunities, large corporations are also creating grants for women entrepreneurs. Normally, these large companies were mandated by the federal government to create further services to improve their employment base and to create equal allocations for small business owners.
Well, if you cannot be reached by these options you may always turn to your previous employer and create a market for him, make him your first client. Only, you need to be very careful and see if this would actually pass to your previous boss. If you aren't tactful enough, you might find yourself facing resignation or losing your job. This might be risky but don't be too afraid. Most former employers do make outsourcing for their previous workers t help them start create their own businesses. After all, this will provide them with an extra chance to leverage their compliance to their set-aside goals.
Be warned though that the application process for grants may be time consuming and very demanding. Oftentimes, the providers set specific time for waiting periods with regards to the processing of the grants for women entrepreneurs. And sometimes, bureaucracies may even take the toll of having you wait for several months before your certification is released.
And being an applicant, please anticipate unusual questions to pop up. These might include those that you would not normally hear or expect.
Keep in mind also that grants for women entrepreneurs are meant to help you have that break and not to supply you with an unlimited meal vouchers. So be on guard. Many agencies and grant providers may even cut out their services to you out of convenience. Meaning, they need not provide an explanation in doing so. They just do most of the time.

Where to Find Grants for Women Entrepreneurs

Famous Filipino Entrepreneurs: Their Key Qualities That Spell Out Success

Famous Filipino Entrepreneurs: Their Key Qualities That Spell Out Success

When asked about what they want to become in the future, youngsters would often settle for the answer that they do want to be billionaires instead of gaining recognition from award-giving bodies, becoming popular athletes, or landing as famous scientists. What has happened to the young generation? Well, they cannot be blamed. Life has been too harsh all through these years and it is just a natural response for people to prefer gaining their billions whenever they get the chance.

Research studies show how almost a hundred thousand of people earn their millions in every year just in the entire United States! Well, majority of these people are owners of personal businesses. Simply dealing with the matter, these people have started working on their own business ventures so that they will be able to get their profits in due time. Some kind of inspiration, right? So if you want to be a millionaire, learn to work out with a worthy investment! You can always do it. Just arm yourself with enough funds and careful organization of your business plans plus the right attitude, then you can right away expect some profits rolling into your pockets. Don’t you feel excited over the matter?

Okay, so you feel excited. But then becoming an entrepreneur yourself is confronted with lots of risks. It is no easy task, mind you. Take into account that not all people are qualified to be successful entrepreneurs since they are not born and made to be one. You may be very rich, famous, and influential but if you lack the traits to become successful in the area of business, then you cannot do anything with it. You cannot probably alter the course of your destiny.

Now who said that only the American people are gifted to be famous entrepreneurs? Do not take away the fact that Filipinos are in more ways than one very resourceful, persevering, and determined to be millionaires as well. That is why, in the Philippine setting, there are several names that can be mentioned when it comes to being successful entrepreneurs. So what makes them famous and successful? Of course they will not be branded with such reputation if they did nothing to boost their reputations and images in the world of business.

Here are some notable traits that make them famous and successful:

Common Sense. Not all Filipino entrepreneurs have attained the greatest education from the finest schools. There are those who had not even experienced earning their degrees but they are in pedestals right now. The role of their common sense is very vital. In fact, one’s common sense serves as a strong foundation for his success. Common sense is literally taken as the capability to create rational judgments on certain issues. Being confronted with the harsh realities of life, Filipino entrepreneurs credit their sound judgment to their previous experiences and gained or stock knowledge.

Clear Knowledge about the Field. It will likely be easy to start a business which is in line with one’s passion, expertise, and knowledge. How can the entrepreneur create decisions if he does not even know how to run the business?

Self Confidence. Being confident allows a person to face the everyday challenges heaped upon him. If an entrepreneur lacks self confidence, he will be readily pulled down by the obstacles that come his way. Though there are no specific guarantees in the business world, yet failures must teach the entrepreneur a lesson worth remembering. Although there are downfalls suffered from, an entrepreneur must always be ready to stand up.

Getting Things Done. Hardworking and persistent—Filipino entrepreneurs possess these traits. Once a thing has been planned to be started with, it must be done and finished all the way down. Self discipline must be mastered also.

Being Creative. Aside from being resourceful, Filipinos are also known to be very creative. They can in fact create worthy items out of trash. Filipino entrepreneurs are creative in devising methods in line with marketing and managing their companies.

Leadership Skills. How can a business run smoothly without staff members to get on with the right flow? An entrepreneur must be a good model in terms of leadership. He must have the ability to influence people and lead them into action.

Self Reliance. Filipinos may tend to be overconfident as others perceive them to be. But as the famous Filipino entrepreneurs turn out to be, they are able to take full responsibility of their actions. They know how to trust themselves and be decisive in making decisions.

Overall, Filipino entrepreneurs are famous because they are unique in their own rights.

For more info on this article and many more go here:
http://entrepreneurandbusinessblog.blogspot.com/

Famous Filipino Entrepreneurs: Their Key Qualities That Spell Out Success