Are You Putting Out Fires or Growing Your Company?

As your startup grows the business challenges (i.e., the fires) you face will grow two-fold.

Your daily to-do list can be determined by the newest fire, the fastest growing one, or the blazing fire you simply can’t seem to put out. This is make or break time – are you simple putting out fires or are you going to get focused and grow your business?

The good news is that every challenge you face is another way to learn. But, the way you solve it can also have a long-term impact on your business (no pressure). There’s a very important question you need to ask yourself before you jump into firefighting mode:

What is the actual problem I’m trying to solve?

Stop, Drop and Problem Solve

This sounds simple, however sometimes you may be moving so quickly that you’re at risk of making changes for the sake of change. Remembering to stop and truly identify the underlying issue will enable you to stay focused and create a powerful solution that will last.

Here’s an example, and it’s one that you may have already faced: Let’s say you’re receiving complaints about customer service, especially when a customer is upset about their ordering experience. This frustrates you to no end because you built this business by always taking care of the customer and making sure they had a smile on their face—no matter what.

The correct firefighting solution is this: Identify specific customer service reps who are tied to the issues and provide refresher customer service training on how to handle complaints.

The powerful, lasting solution comes next. Once you look back at how you handled customer complaints you realize that you spent your entire day interacting with customers and never “bottled” your approach.

After reviewing your customer service training materials, you recognize they walk employees through handling a complaint in a generic manner. There is none of your passion and commitment to taking care of the customer regardless of what the issue such as listening, not being defensive and most importantly, not taking it personally.

So, now what?

You can now create new, simple training methods that begin with your company’s customer service mantra: Listen. Empathize. Do Whatever It Takes To Make It Right. You have everyone in the company take part in this training, including you, so your staff knows that it starts at the top. This mantra then becomes an integral part of every employee’s onboarding, regardless of their role.

Putting Out Business Fires, Permanently

This question, “What is the actual problem we are trying to solve?,” can be asked for nearly any business challenge you face and it can be modified based for the matter at hand. Beyond solving problems, it can also help you frame areas for growth. In some cases you’ll need to ask yourself, “What is the true opportunity ahead of me?” It will make you think big . . . maybe even bigger.

The key when going through this exercise is to peel back the layers and look beyond the surface. Don’t be fooled, this is definitely not the easy solution. It’s the one that budding entrepreneurs follow if they want to evolve from volunteer firefighter to a great business leader.

Source: http://yfsmagazine.com/2014/10/14/are-you-putting-out-fires-or-growing-your-company

5 Ways to Stand Above the Competition as a Property Manager

A huge part of being a property manager is learning how to market yourself and your company.

You have to do it twice, after all: once to your client owners, the property owners who allow you to look after their buildings, and once to your client tenants, who live in those buildings. For all that, you’re no “middle man.” Most of the minds sharp enough to succeed at investing in real estate aren’t really the same guys who want to get their hands dirty underneath a sink or spend their time chatting up the old lady with the seven cockatoos to convince her to pay the rent.

You’re the go-between who makes sure everyone gets as much of what they want as they can get.

Unfortunately, it’s rare that either side sees you in such a positive light, so mastering the art of marketing is part and parcel of the job. As you learn about marketing, you learn about a concept called the “USP,” or the Unique Selling Proposition. In short, it means, “What do you do differently than everyone else, and why does it make you better than them?” Or in even more easy terms: how do you stand out from the crowd?

Every business needs to have an idea of what makes them better than their competitors, but not many businesses actually have that idea. If you’re struggling to separate yourself from the crowd, here are four tips you can take to develop something outstanding.

5 Tips to Stand Out From the Crowd

1. Create Something Exclusive

Exclusivity sells — if you can describe to your clients and/or tenants something that you do that very few other people are doing, you create a firm “anchor point’ in their mind to hang their thoughts on.

Everyone is constantly competing for “price” and “customer service,” so you’ll have to come up with something that isn’t part and parcel of either of those.For example, perhaps you could offer the opportunity for tenants to pay their rent via an app or a mobile website. This appeals to tenants because it makes paying easy, and it appeals to clients because it means tenants pay on time more often. It’s also not something that many property managers are doing yet, so it presents the air of exclusivity.

2. Be Who You Are

When you sit down to brainstorm things you can do to stand out from the crowd, don’t try to become something you’re not. Consider your strengths, be authentic to what you (as an individual and as a company) do best, and above all, avoid insincerity.

If you’re not “green” by nature, don’t try to force-start a recycling program in your building. If you’re not tech savvy, skip out on the online rent payment. If you do something that doesn’t come off as genuine, you’ll end up chasing people away.

3. Build Anticipation

Whatever you create, spend the time to brainstorm some ways that you can whet your clients’ and tenants’ anticipation for that program. Oftentimes, the promise of a reveal is more effective of a marketing technique than simply laying out all of the details of a program or service up front.

In this case, you’re focusing mostly on the tenants — your clients tend to be more of the analytical, return-on-investment type who will respond better to a complete understanding of what you’re going to do for them.

4. Keep It Simple

A vast quantity of good ideas fail ultimately because they require too much effort. They sound good on paper, but when it comes time to actually implement some special program, it turns out that it’s more important to keep the normal flow of business flowing. Similarly, if an offering is going to be too challenging for a client and/or tenant to take advantage of easily, they simply won’t, and you might as well have never come up with the idea.

5. Be Consistent & Be Memorable

Very few property owners will hire you when they first encounter your marketing. The simple reason for this is that they’re usually contractually committed to one of your competitors.

So you want to be top of mind when they are thinking about switching companies. The only way to do that is by repeatedly exposing them to your company. They’ll more easily remember you, even with less repetition, if you can be memorable somehow. This is the reason people do crazy things in marketing!

If you can combine simplicity, authenticity, exclusivity, and anticipation consistently, while throwing in something to be memorable, your chances of standing out from your competition increase exponentially. Standing out means more business on both sides of the desk! 

What steps do you take to stand out — as an individual and as a company?

Let us know in the comments!

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/09/27/5-ways-to-stand-above-the-competition-as-a-property-manager

Why Now Is The Time To Buy Scottish Real Estate

Scotland’s decision to stay in the United Kingdom will drive growth in the local property market. Both sellers and buyers had been sitting on the fence for the past 18 months, but look set to return in large numbers.
As a result, local realtors expect a marked increase in activity, especially at the upper end of the market, which has traditionally been fuelled by wealthy incomers from England and abroad.
All forecasts point to a rise in local housing values across the next few months, followed by another one in 2015 and by further rises in the next five years. This means now could be a very good time to bag a Scottish home, before the price tag goes significantly up—so here is a selection of great Scottish properties currently available for sale.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carlapassino/2014/09/19/scotland-no-vote-why-now-is-the-time-to-buy-scottish-real-estate

5 Ways to Run Meetings Like a BOSS!

The worst thing happened to me on Monday mornings. I hesitantly opened my inbox and there it was, staring back at me:

“Calendar Invite: 9:30 to 11:00am – Weekly Priorities Meeting”

Fuck. I knew what this meant. An hour and a half meeting to “talk” about things we needed to focus on for the week. Sound like a good idea right?

It was. Just not how it was done.

Not only was all my energy drained after that meeting, but I had very little willpower to do work. What began as un update meeting turned into a strategy session on how to tackle  different situations people were in. No bueno.

So how do you run short, efficient meetings that leave your crew ready to fight? Here are 5 ways to run meetings like a boss!!

1. Always have an agenda!

This should go without saying. You need a framework for your discussion. Without one, meetings can easily turn into aimless social gatherings rather than productive working sessions. You can also allot time for each agenda item to effectively use the time you do have. Most importantly, be respectful of everyone’s time…everyone has their own shit to do too.

2.  Decisions should never wait for a meeting

Sure decisions can be made at meetings, but waiting for a meeting to make a decision can be deadly. The velocity of your company slows to its meeting schedule. If something needs to get done that needs a meeting, hold the meeting ASAP!!

3. Everyone should have concrete next steps or action items

Apple drives accountability at meetings by having a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) whose in charge of any given action or task that needs to be done. With every task matched to a person, there will be significantly less confusion about who is getting what done.

4. Invite only the people needed

Invite people only involved with the content of the meeting. The marketing person doesn’t need to to be apart of a meeting on business operations, unless specifically requested. Less people = less time.

5. Know when to have stand up meetings vs sit down meetings

Stand up meetings are great for quick communication-based meetings. For example, at the beginning of each day, it’s good to have a quick 10 min stand up meeting that ONLY communicates what everyone is focused on for that day. If an idea or suggestion comes up, it should be tables for a later discussion. This remedies the “lack of communication” excuse for problems.

Sit-down ‘solution’ based meetings are used to discuss specific topics that need more thought. Even those these take longer, these should have a specified end time and decision on how to proceed.

Source: http://www.thephatstartup.com/2014/09/10/5-ways-to-run-meetings-like-a-boss

5 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires

1. Snowball Your Money

People who end up very, very rich, think of money as material.  It’s not, first and foremost, the gateway to wacky hijinks or to excess.  Instead it’s a tool for building more money.  Millionaires look for the kind of money that allows them to safely do what they want , sums large enough to pass on to the kids, to amount to power and independence.  It’s not about getting just enough money to buy some fun and fine things.
Therefore, millionaires begin putting money away as soon as they can, a bit more aggressively than others, investing in funds more than just opening savings accounts, engaging in more and more risk as the snowball effect kicks in.

2. Ride The Wave of Uncertainty

Steve Siebold, author of How Rich People Think,” says, “Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class mindset,” In other words, people with middling incomes who stay that way have comfort and safety as prime goals—they’re not achieving great riches because they are afraid to try, feeling it would be a shame to lose a decent position in life due to a failed business or a bad investement.
The goal of those who become ultra-rich is to do so.  They aren’t attempting to be sure not to suffer in any way, not to have to ride out waves.  Self-made millionaires don’t get there just because they think it’d be fun; rather, they earn it by dealing with great uncertainty.  Yes, they sometimes fail, but they know how to pick themselves up afterward, rather than feeling only the need to regain some certainty.

3. Choose Not to Choose

We’re taught about yin and yang and about making priorities.  If you want to become very rich, you’ll have to sacrifice time with your family.  Or perhaps it’s idealism or part of your soul or peace and quiet, or time for church.  To some extent, this relates to the desire for comfort—the average person wants to be able to comfortably find balance.
Those who go on to be millionaires find a way to accomplish that which others would find impossible—it may involve rushing around, deftly juggling schedules, paying people to do certain tasks, but they do the things other people don’t have the stomach for.

4. Money Isn’t For Money’s Sake

Any good card player will advise to think of the chips as chips not as real money.  Even if you’re at a buddy’s house with actual money on the table, think of what you’re betting as a game piece—if you think of actual cash value, you’ll get too conservative, which can mean making the wrong moves.
Similarly, while self-made millionaires do wish to be very rich, they’re not thinking of the money itself.  As I mentioned above, they think of money as a tool—for freedom, choices, not having to be beholden to others.  For many ultra-rich, money isn’t for many small things like shoes and mp3 players, but fewer big things like voyages around the world, homes, and perhaps that pro sports team they’ve always wanted.

5. Hang Out With Millionaires

Being around other millionaires, of course, encourages networking and opportunities.  But it also gives one the chance to see for themselves the habits I’ve been describing.  It will give one a chance to emulate people in a way that will lead to success.

Source: http://frugalentrepreneur.com/2014/09/5-habits-of-self-made-millionaires

Remember Your Investment Horizon

When the markets start acting crazy, remembering your investment horizon puts everything back into perspective. Fears in Europe, the economy, unemployment, and a few hundred other data sets all add to the daily swings of the market. But you can lower your risk to these issues by building your portfolio around a strict investment time horizon.

So are we heading for a repeat of last year? Or are the recent headlines another gut check for every investor out there? More importantly, should it really matter?

All that noise breeds a shortsighted view of your money. What is different today that affects your investment risk? The answer should be “Nothing” if your portfolio is built around your investment horizon.

Focus On The Plan

When you invest, there’s a plan of attack. It should be based on your goals over the next few months, years, and decades. Your plan stretches from tomorrow till your final retirement years. Breaking those goals down – from groceries next week to college for the kids, then your retirement and beyond – gives you an investment time horizon. This timeline tells you how long you’ll hold each investment.

Knowing this, you can manage risk easier by matching your portfolio against your time horizon. As you look across your timeline, the investments should go from low risk to higher risk the further you go out.

A basic investment horizon can be broken down into three buckets: short, medium, and long-term. As the years go on, each time horizon naturally shortens. Here’s the basic investment guidelines for each bucket:

• The next 3 years – You shouldn’t take on risk with these short-term investments. Stick with savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs.
• The next 4 - 10 years – You can take on risk, but not too much risk in the medium term. Stick to a conservative mix of bonds and stocks for this investment horizon.
• Beyond 10 years – You can take more risk over the long-term. Stocks can make up a bulk of these investments with a small portion in bonds.

Understanding your investment time horizon lets you overlook the short-term risks of the market. The next time the S&P 500 drops 20% (and your knee jerk reaction is to sell) you can rest assured that your short-term investments are protected, while your mid to long-term allocation can handle the change. When you put it altogether, it means less day-to-day worry.

Your Investment Horizon Will Change

Every year, you’re another year older and your investment horizon changes. Life changes. That’s why you do regular rebalancing and annual reviews. Each rebalance automatically adjusts your portfolio to the risks of time. As your timeline shortens those investments become less risky because your portfolio slowly moves from growth to preservation of wealth.

Take Advantage of the Drops

For those in the early stages of their timeline or who can stomach more risk, your cash holdings have a dual purpose. It’s insurance for when things go south but it’s a growth engine too. Having cash on hand is a comforting thing. But when you have a job, income, and the bills are paid that cash has better uses.

When the market falls again (and it will) in the short-term, take advantage of it. Put that cash to good use. You take advantage of products when they go on sale. Why wouldn’t you do it with stocks and bonds? Use that buying opportunity to boost returns and compound your long-term growth. Until then, focus on your time horizon.

Source: http://novelinvestor.com/investing/remember-your-investment-horizon

Sell Like Steve Jobs

While Steve is known for his genius marketing and pulling Apple from the precipice of disaster and captaining it into the most valuable and beloved brand in the world, he was able to do all this because he was the ultimate salesman. And a genius one at that!

Most especially because he is not known or remembered as a salesman, but by all the other accolades given to him by others: genius, revolutionary, leader, rebel, mover, mogul, luminary, and the list goes on.

Here are a few tips on how he achieved such a feat—as a salesman and as a sales leader—and how you can be like Steve.

TIP 1: Do not compete solely on price

Nobody has ever bought an Apple anything because of price.

In fact Apple is typically more expensive than all its most competitive competitors. But people buy Apple because of the value of the products, not based on the cost.

This is a great lesson for you too. Don’t compete with other companies in your market based on price. Instead, compete on value, and do a better job articulating the value proposition of your products or service, the pain it relieves and the virtuous promise it delivers.

TIP 2: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

This is where customers need to be first educated on why they need your product. Then they can be your best advocates, actively spreading the word on behalf of your company or product.

Nobody was out looking for the iPhone when it came out (nor the iPod or iPad), but now nobody wants to be the only one in their community without one. Your product can work the same, but only if you and your sales reps evangelize and educate your consumer marketplace on the “better world” created by your product or service.

TIP 3: Create great presentations

I call Jobs the greatest keynote speaker of our lifetime. Jim Rohn used to describe two orators from antiquity. One was named Cicero. The other was named Demosthenes. It is said that when Cicero spoke, the masses were awed and would exclaim, ‘What a brilliant speech!’ And when Demosthenes spoke, the people would say, ‘Let us march!’

Steve Jobs was the modern-day Demosthenes. When he spoke, people said, “Let us buy!”

Don’t speak to drive applause.
Speak to drive action.

Lots of speakers speak for back of the room sales.

To do several hundred thousand dollars after a speech is an epic day.

Steve would do billions after his speech.

He was that good.

A book I often recommend on how to strengthen your presentation skills is The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo.

How good are your sales presentations?

When you study Steve’s and then your own, do you see room for improvement?

If so, close the gap. There is massive upside for you in doing so.

TIP 4: Create a “Buying Experience”

Jobs wasn’t in it to make a sale. He was in it to deliver a full and complete experience. Look at how an Apple store is set up to facilitate an experience. Look at how the product is designed, packaged, delivered and supported. It’s an end-to-end experience very specifically, diligently and carefully created. This is why Apple has earned such a passionate and loyal fan base.

How about you?

Are you out to make a sale or create a full and complete experience?

TIP 5: Don’t fear failure

Jobs lived his “Think Different” tag line. He was always willing to think way outside the box or create an entirely new box with seemingly radical ideas. He was willing to try new things and fail.

Apple is not remembered for its failures, but they have many. Just to name a few there was the Apple III, Macintosh TV, the 20th Anniversary Macintosh, PowerMac G4 Cube, Apple Bandai-Pippin, AppleWorks, iPod U2 Special Edition, eMate 300, Macintosh Portable, eMac and of course the Newton and Lisa. But by failing—and failing fast, early and often—Jobs learned valuable lessons from his experiences, which shaped his later success.

So for you and your sales team, don’t be afraid to fail; learning through failure is a great way to grow quickly. As another great salesman, Zig Ziglar, would say, “Expect the best, prepare for the worst and capitalize on what comes.”

So go fail quickly, often and continuously. And let those failures sharpen your skills, processes and expertise.

So to summarize:

1. Do not compete solely on price
2. Educate your customers on why they need your product
3. Create great presentations
4. Create a “Buying Experience”
5. Don’t fear failure

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post as much as I did putting it together. Now go on and flex that sales muscle of yours. And when in doubt, just think WWSD (What Would Steve Do)?

Who are some other great leaders in business that inspired, shaped, and transformed the way you perform in your own industry? Share with us in the comments below. 

Source: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2014/08/sell-like-jobs

A Goal Without A Plan Is Just A Wish

"A goal without a plan is just a wish," is something Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said a long time ago. But, goals and plans were top of mind this past weekend.

When 2013 started, I set a goal of running in 30 5K races during the year. Because of good weather on most weekends, minimal injury setbacks, and a lot of races to select from in the Kansas City area each weekend, I reached my goal in October of that year.

I would not have reached my goal without also having a plan in place of how I would train, schedule runs, and adjust for setbacks and unforeseen challenges.


Also last year,, my then 49-year-old sister-in-law set a goal to run her first-ever 10K race. She embarked on an even more specific plan by following a strict, time-tested, eight-week training plan to take her from couch to fully prepared to run her first 10K. She reached her goal and then ran a second 10K a few weeks afterward. I am so proud of her.

The same day I finished my 30th 5K race, a proud fellow racer shared with me that he had just completed his first-ever 5K, having spent the past year losing 40 pounds and setting a goal to complete a 5K by the fall of 2013. He was on cloud nine, and rightly so.

These three experiences reminded me of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's wise statement about the importance of plans to reach goals.

Too often, businesses don't have clearly defined goals and even less often specific plans to reach those goals.

When you set a goal for your business, be sure it is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-related

Share that goal with your employees, so they understand all of the five attributes of the goal.

And then for your plan (sometimes called "program"), keep these tips in mind:

Realistically assess the obstacles and resources involved and then create a strategy for navigating that reality. For me this year, that meant adjusting my race schedule this summer to accommodate a nagging hamstring injury.
Plan for more than just willpower. Instead, plan by taking into consideration your business environment, your employees' schedules and workload, and everyone's accountability so that all these factors will work together to support you to achieve your goal.

Source: http://ericjacobsononmanagement.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-goal-without-plan-is-just-wish.html

5 things you MUST do to start your own business

Trying to start your own business can be exciting, but it’s also really scary. It’s a whole bunch of mixed emotions and sometimes those emotions can be so overwhelming that you never even start!

We have dreams when we’re young and as we get older, those dreams change. We start out wanting to take on the world.

Singers, actors, astronauts and doctors, soon become public servants, office workers and tradesman.

While there’s certainly nobility in ANY workplace, the question remains, when did our dreams change?

For some, the dreams is simply to start your own business, but at some point in time, you deviate from this plan.Maybe it was the risk involved, or your circumstances changed. Or maybe you’re thinking about starting a business but haven’t really pushed yourself over the edge yet?

Well starting a business isn’t hard and doesn’t have to be any more complicated than you make it out to be.

Here’s 5  simple things that might give you enough push to start your own business.

1. Follow your dreams

If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed for an entrepreneur, it’s failure. But with failure, comes strength and knowledge.

It takes failure to reach success, because of the many lessons you’ll learn along the way, but unfortunately we’re not built to accept failure easily.

It’s not easy to get back on the horse after you’ve fallen off. In fact it’s very tough! Entrepreneurial spirit is strongest now than it ever has been, but many dreams are never realised because we aren’t confident of our own abilities.

Trying to start your own business can be overwhelming but there’s always someone who can talk you through the obstacles and challenges you might face.

- Friends

- Family

- Networking events

- Mentors

The obvious key to starting a business is to simply start. And if you don’t know where to begin, then look to the resources around you. If you can’t be resourcesful, how do you expect to succeed?

2. Be savvy and minimise costs

With technology advancing faster than it ever has before a lot of savvy small business owners are starting to look at low cost solutions to starting a business. Choosing to rent everything in the office from the reception (Outsourcing to another country or to a virtual office) is a great way to save on expensive overheads when you’re starting out.

It means you can stay up to date with technology without the high upfront costs associated with it. It also allows you better control of cashflow, which is the number one reason most businesses will fail in the first 12 months.

Think about ways to minimise costs, but dont cut costs. There’s a big difference.

- Try the Phillipines for a good quality, low cost, Virtual assistant. You can expect to pay between $5 – $7 per hour for a reliable outsourced worker and if you research the market, you can find one perfectly versed in english, with graphic design and IT skills to complement the service.

- Cross capitalize with another small business start up. Split office space with a non-competing start up business. Advertise in the local paper or online. You’ll not only limit your overheads, but also share a space with someone as motivated as you are

- Create strategic partnerships. Does your business, product or service offer something valuable? Trade that service with someone offering a product or service that YOU need. Bartering is a great way to minimise spend and save money for cash flow purposes. Cash is king

- Rent out un-used space. If you have space in your office, rent it out part time. Make the most out of any opportunity to increase your capital. Work smarter, not harder.

3. Get a good work-life balance

Starting a business takes a lot of work and it won’t stop once you’re up and running. If anything, it will get harder before it gets easier.

But this isn’t a reason to quit or to never even start at all!

It’s important for you to be happy, and if you spend all your time in the office, it’s very unlikely you will be. Even if you’re just starting out.

We’re in a position now where we can capitalise on tools to access our computers and work stations for anywhere we want. Invest in good, low cost internet solution and spend one day a week working from your favourite park.

Or take a spontaneous trip. Taking a break over the weekend doesn’t mean you have to completely forget about work – Keep you smart phone close and your laptop closer.

4. Think about your strategy online AND offline

Most small business owners are guilty of letting the ball drop online. They fail to realise the potential that’s out there for online businesses.

Social media allows you to compete alot more evenly with bigger corporations and businesses because you can reach your consumers directly. Sure it might take you a lot longer to develop such a large userbase, but that’s the only advantage they have.

You might spend hours obsessing about the layout of your store, but what about your online presence?

How are you going to build an audience, convert customers and keep engaging with these customers in the digital space? A good starting point to help you think about this are the online insights tools that you can find for free on the internet.

Whether your business is online OR offline, the most valuable thing to you are customers. Before you even think about beginning, you need to think about HOW you’re going to get customers and secondly, HOW you’ll be converting them.

5. Don’t give up

Not everyone will have as much faith in your business as you will.

There’s an old saying that says “Don’t listen to what anyone has to say about how silly your business idea is. Because right now, there’s some millionaire walking around who invented the pool noodle”.

And how true is this??

While it’s always important to heed the advice of others, (your critics can actually be the most helpful) if you think it’s a brilliant idea then you can make it work. What ever the mind can believe and concieve, it can achieve.

Success is about the journey, NOT the destination, and their are plenty of other routes available for you to take. If you find one road’s closed, then simply take another.

Success is about learning and consistently improving and growing. You’ll definitely get setbacks, but prepare yourself for them.

Source: http://thesuccesssoup.com/startups/start-your-own-business

How to Ask Friends to Invest in Your Business

I have always believed that the best way to finance a business is through self-financing. It has a number of advantages, if you can afford it. The most important one is that you have complete freedom to run your business as you see fit. You don’t owe anything to anyone.

As a matter of that, that is how I financed my startup a decade ago.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work for everyone. Sometimes, your business needs more money than you can afford to invest. Or, you simply have no money to invest whatsoever. Your only alternative is to look for outside financing.

Personally, I am not a big fan of asking friends and family to invest in your startup. It puts your relationships at risk – and that is too high a cost for me. However, if you are going to do as friends for money, might as well do it the right way. I am going to give you some tips on how do this effectively and in a way that tries to preserve the friendship.

The big question: Debt vs. Equity

This first question you want to ask yourself is whether you want to raise money by getting a loan or by selling equity. This is not an easy choice. Both have their pros and cons.

Getting a loan gives you money without having to give up any ownership in the business. Your friend lends you money, which you pay back according to a prearranged schedule. Since your friend doesn’t have an ownership stake in the business, they have no say on how it’s run – at least in theory. And, they have no right to future profits.

Loans can affect your cash flow due to the repayment schedule so consider them carefully. Also, they can encumber your personal assets. I like to think of a loan as being expensive upfront but cheap in the long run if your company succeeds.

Selling equity allows you to trade an ownership stake in your company for money that you don’t have to pay back. In exchange for their money, the investor now gets a share of the future profits and (usually) a say in the company. I view equity injections as cheap upfront and that is expensive in the long run if you succeed.

Assuming the business allows it, my preference is to use a loan rather than selling equity. Loans have a specific end date which gives you and your investors a clean exit.

Get advice beforehand

Before proceeding, consider getting advice from a CPA or an attorney – preferably both. This will be money well spent. They will give you specific advice on how to set up the loan or equity transaction in an effective way. Don’t avoid this step. Yes, it’s expensive but necessary.

Ask your colleagues or friends to refer you to a CPA / attorney that understands entrepreneurship. They all claim they do, but that is not always true.

How to ask friends to invest in your business

Raising money from friends should be no different than trying to get a stranger to invest in your company. Actually, you will have a better chance of succeeding if you treat your friends as you would treat a potential investor you have never met before.

1. Be professional

Above all, treat your friends the same way you would treat a professional or angel investor. It doesn’t matter if they are your drinking buddies or if you have known them since grade school. Separate your personal life from your business life.  And when it comes to business, treat them professionally without exception. This should set the tone for the rest of the professional relationship.

2. Be honest

Create an investors presentation and give them an honest appraisal of the business. Make sure they understand the benefits and the risks of investing in your business. This includes the risk that the business could fail and they could lose all their money. This last point is key. However, many entrepreneurs avoid saying it because it’s uncomfortable.

Take the time to develop an accurate business plan and show them realistic sales forecasts. Never lie to them. Lying will get you in trouble and will jeopardize your friendship for ever.

3. Choose investors wisely

Never ask for money from friends that cannot afford to invest in your business. If you don’t think they can afford it, don’t ask them. Period.

If you are selling equity, consider asking only friends that can bring something extra to the company. This could be management experience, industry contacts, ideas, or just plain work. The last thing you need is a co-owner who has no idea on how to operate a business and brings nothing else than money.

4. Create a compelling presentation

Just like regular investors, your friends don’t have the time or inclination to read a 50-page business plan. At least, not initially. Instead, create a compelling investors pitch that outlines all the important details of your business. Spend some time doing this and practice your presentation before showing it to your investors.

By the way, having a business plan may come in handy later on. Savvy investors will want to read it before investing.

5. Have a lawyer create documents

Hire a lawyer to help you draw up professional loan or equity sale documents. You may be able to save some money by downloading a template from the internet and having the attorney modify it to fit your needs. This may be expensive but will protect you and your friends. Do not skip this step.

6. Honor your commitments

Once you have an executed financing agreement, follow it to the dot without exception. Meet all contractual expectations and make all loan payments on time.

7. Provide regular updates

Consider providing your investors with a regular update on your business. You will have to keep them up to date anyways, so it’s best if you formalize this process.

Use a prearranged schedule, such as every quarter or twice a year. Formalizing this step will also help ensure that you give each and every investor the same information.

8. Give them a chance to say NO

Don’t pressure or guilt your friends into investing in your business. Give them the option to say no and exit gracefully. Don’t hold any grudges if they decline to invest.

How to take no for an answer gracefully

You can expect that some – or even all – of your friends will decline your investment offer. This can be a painful experience for many entrepreneurs.  You feel they are rejecting your dream, and therefore, you. Don’t take it personally. Your friends have their own reasons for not investing and you have to respect them. For example:

1. They may not be able to afford the investment
2. They may be saving money for something else
3. They may not be comfortable investing in startups
4. They may not be comfortable investing in your business
5. Their adviser may have told them not to invest

Respect your friends right to say no. If they decline the opportunity to invest, thank them for the chance to present the business to them and move on.

Are there better options?

Before asking your friends for an investment, consider other options that don’t have the risk of jeopardizing friendships. There are a number of alternatives that don’t require involving your friend in your business. Good luck!

Source: http://factor-this.com/financing/how-to-ask-friends-to-invest-in-your-startup

Top 10 Small Business Trends in 2014

R.E.M. once sang “Change Is What I believe in.”  That has to be the credo for small business owners.  Here’s what’s on tap for 2014.

1. Certain uncertainty

The economy is always in flux, and political changes overseas don’t help anything. Ripple effects from the Affordable Care Act only add to the uncertainty.

2. Increasing competition means more focus

Some of the major retailers, including Amazon and Wal-Mart, are adapting and offering an unprecedented battery convenient services such as increased personalization, same-day delivery. This means the table are turned and it is now small businesses that will have to adapt.  Here are some strategies: offer a highly-specialized or customized product or service, focusing on an tight niche, building an engaged community of customers, and cooperating with other local businesses to save expenses and cross-promote.

3. Using virtual assistants and contractual workers

 The small business community as a whole is hedging its hiring plans. According to the February 2014 Small Business Economic Trends survey, just 12% of respondents reported plans to hire in the early part of the year.  One reason for this is that respondents answered that the net economic conditions over the next six months would be worse.

When there isn’t the optimism to consistently hire at a growth rate, the demand for VA’s and contractual workers rises.

4. Difficulty attracting talented employees

There’s plenty of talent out there, but it’s hard to snag for small businesses.  Particularly in tech fields, the talent is going to big companies in a rich-get-richer scenario.  Talented employees have no more reason to be optmistic about the economy than business owners do, and signing up with a small company can appear risky.

5. Possible Raises of Minimum Wage

The city of Seattle just approved a hike of its minimum wage to a slightly dramatic $15.  This particular raise is actually good for small businesses, because it affects only owners of large businesses.  We’ve seen McDonald’s employees clamoring for raises in the minimum, usually involving an increase along the lines of $14 or $15 per hour.  Small business owners need to be up to date on laws in their state or city, even before the laws pass.  Some hikes will apply to them and some won’t, and planning accordingly, taking into account all the strategic factors, is key.

6. Need for Rep Control

Consumers are increasingly empowered to share their opinions, thanks to online product reviews, social media and viral video both good and bad, about the products and services they use. This means that small business owners must be vigilant in monitoring their online reputations.

7. Mobile business monopoly

The developing trends in mobile business include  mobile marketing, mobile payments, and mobile-friendly devices. These demand responses from small business owners–tools and services are out there and relatively affordable.

In addition to using these technologies, there’s the matter of linking them to customer interactions, by linking mobile payments, mobile marketing, and location-based services, to customer loyalty programs.

8. Skepticism Toward Social Media

Social media have been around for a while now.  Many small business owners are aware of tools and metrics for quantifying the ROI of particular social marketing campaigns.  In 2014, we’ll probably see small business owners mounting a backlash and getting rid of social marketing campaigns that don’t work.  Two to three years ago, you were a dinosaur if you weren’t using social media.  We’re now reaching the other end of that cycle, in which people are stepping forward and admitting to unacceptable ROI when these are the case.

9. Visually-simple web designs

You’ve probably noticed spare web designs, with few frames and many pictures.  We’re also seeing increasingly- sophisticated data visualization, the process of turning complex data sets into easy-to-understand visual material.

10. Growth of alternative finance

Scrappy small business owners will, in the last months of 2014, continue to turn to alternative financing, such as microloans, , peer-to-peer lending, accounts receivables factoring and crowd funding, to help regulate cash flow and sustain growth and expansion.

So, there you have the top trends for the balance of the year.

Source: http://frugalentrepreneur.com/2014/08/top-10-small-business-trends-in-2014

8 Tax Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some tips to help you avoid mistakes oft made by small business owners and others classified as self-employed.

Reality: small businesses owners and the self-employed are increasingly pressured to fully comply with tax legislation and reporting requirements. In order to bridge to so “tax gap” (tax dollars actually collected versus what is owed), the IRS has announced increased vigilance on this slice of the tax-paying pie.

If you want to increase your chances of avoiding an audit and of getting your return as quickly as possible, you need to make an extra effort to prevent some common reporting errors:

1. Not reporting all of your income

Part of the IRS’s new vigilance is a crackdown on pre-tax income reporting.  Be sure to archive any Form 1099-K’s that you receive. The new form records payments received in via credit card or through payment tools like PayPal. Be thorough and mistake-free here.

2. Not filing supporting documentation

Deductions are a big part of everyone’s tax returns.  They all need to be documented.   This means receipts or other documentation for medical expenses, property taxes, all brands of  interest and business expenses.

3. Not understanding tax changes

The U.S. tax code isn’t a model of simplicity, and it’s always changing. For this reason, it’s crucial to learn which tax legislation changes will affect you and your business. You can do this by consulting with a qualified tax professional or by using official government web sites with the relevant information.

4. Claiming too many deductions

One red flag to the IRS is a person claiming deductions that are a bit large for her or his income.  Similarly, claiming exorbitant business expenses for a side business that earns low revenue is likely to earn an audit.

5. Filing too quickly

Whatever the motivation for getting that return in fast, it’s a mistake to rush the process.  A likely outcome is missing out on tax savings, perhaps taking a standard tax deduction when you could benefit from some of the deductions mentioned above.

Although the filing deadline is April 15, you can leverage some extra time by filing for an extension with Form 4867, Of course, if you owe a taxes, you’ll have to send the payment by April 15 or face late-payment penalty charges.

6. Inaccurate information, miscalculations, and omissions.

Double check all your information to combat against these common miscalculations and omissions:

• Incorrect filing status or exemptions- This can be an innocent mistake encountered in situations such as unmarried taxpayers living together with children, parents living with their adult children, etc.
• Mistakes in figuring taxable income (make sure all your W-2s and 1099s are in your possession); withholding; estimated tax payments;  or Earned Income Tax Credit
• Entering incorrect account numbers If you are due a refund and requested direct deposit, review the routing and account numbers for your financial institution.
• Forgetting to sign the completed tax form This will, of course, slow down your return, and in worst-case scenarios can flag you for an audit, since sometimes purposely leave their return unsigned as a way of avoiding paying.

7. Ignoring AMT 

Sometimes, the amount you owe, the Alternative Minimum Tax, is actually more than you think you will if your deductions go through.  Find your AMT and calculate it, and be sure not to file a report that will get you a tax bill thinking you’re getting a refund.

8. Not working with a tax professional

You’re an entrepreneur so you know that skimping on necessary expenses isn’t the way to go.  If tax codes were simpler and static, you may be able to go it alone.  But this isn’t your E-Z form from your first job down at the Radio Shack.

All in all, it’s important to be informed, and perform your due diligence.  Always simplify, never making things more difficult than they need to be.

Source: http://frugalentrepreneur.com/2014/08/8-tax-mistakes-to-avoid

5 Risk Management Mistakes To Avoid

I’ve been mentoring a junior project manager and we were reviewing the risks on his project last week. We went through all the risks on the log and we talked about good practice and what he should be actively doing to manage the risks. Then he asked me a question. “What mistakes should I be looking out for?” he said. I thought this was a great question. Too often we focus on what we should be doing and forget about what we should avoid doing! That’s when mistakes creep in as we haven’t been focused on stopping them from happening. So here is my list of 5 mistakes to avoid when you are carrying out risk management on your project, which I shared with my colleague.

Mistake 1: No Risk Owner

Your notes in your risk management software should always include who is responsible for owning the risk. That means writing down the name of the person who will ensure that the risk management tasks are carried out. That individual doesn’t have to do all the work themselves, but they should coordinate the people who are actually doing the work and make sure that the risk log is updated with progress and that you get status reports as required.

Don’t be tempted to record your own name as the risk owner for every risk. Many risk management plans would be better off led by a subject matter expert and this can also be a useful development exercise for a more junior member of the team who wants to take responsibility for a small, manageable piece of work.

Mistake 2: No Action Plan

Each risk should have a documented action plan. This sets out exactly what is going to be done to prevent the risk from happening. Sometimes, of course, you will be taking no action and are prepared to accept the risk without doing anything about it. If this is the case, make sure that you record in your risk log that you have considered what actions are required and have actively decided to do nothing. And sometimes it will be a positive risk and you’ll want it to happen!

Whatever the approach you want to take, it should be documented so that you know exactly what is going to be done and can track progress against it. Remember to go back to your action plans regularly and update them with what actions have been completed and what new tasks have been identified.

Mistake 3: No Risk Analysis

When you’ve got a lot of risks it can be tempting to skip the analysis phase and not spend time working out which area of the project it will impact or how serious the problem will be if it happens. You shouldn’t do this – it isn’t appropriate to treat every risk in the same way and you’ll only know how much time and effort to invest in addressing it if you properly carry out some analysis to assess the impact and likelihood of each of the risks.

Review each risk and establish how likely it is to happen, and what impact it will have on the rest of the project if it does happen. Get the whole team involved as they will probably identify other impacts and have some useful information to feed into the analysis exercise. This will enable you to focus your risk management budget in the right places by targeting the most serious risks first.

Mistake 4: No Timescales

When do you need the risk resolved by? Or when will it stop being a problem if nothing happens? Risks don’t last forever, so you should also be recording a timescale for the risk in your log.

For example, if there is a risk of bad weather delaying the delivery of some equipment to your building site, then this will pass on a particular day – the day that the equipment is due to be delivered. If you don’t note down this date in your log and then update the risk entry once the date has passed you could be including the mitigation plans or reporting on this risk for far longer than you really need to. Also make sure that any actions related to your risk management plans have dates against them.

You’ll want to monitor that they are being dealt with in a timely manner so you can be sure that enough appropriate action has been taken in time to offset any impact should the risk occur. Otherwise you may be working on actions and find that you are too late!

Mistake 5: No Risk Priority

Use your risk analysis and timescale information to give each risk a priority. Those that are likely to have an impact quickly are obviously more important to deal with than those that may not cause any problems until next year. Those risks that will have a huge impact are more important than those that won’t cause many issues.

Each risk should be given a priority and then you can tailor your work plans to ensure that the important ones are dealt with first. You can also use risk priorities for reporting purposes as generally stakeholders will only be interested in knowing more about the high priority risks. You won’t bombard them with information about all risks if you can tailor your reports to only give them the most important data about the highest priority problems that the project is facing. “Thanks for these pointers,” my colleague said. He had made lots of notes and went away from our mentoring session feeling a bit more confident about handling risk management on his project (or at least, I hope he did).

What other mistakes have you encountered when it comes to managing risk? Let us know in the comments below if you are prepared to share your experiences!

Source: http://www.projectmanager.com/5-risk-management-mistakes-avoid.php

How Do I Choose My Mentor?

If you’ve considered getting a mentor to lead you on your path to management, leadership or business success, it’s fairly likely you’ve spent a good amount of timing thinking ‘how do I find the right person?’ Well, you’re not alone, I write and lecture about mentoring, and I’m often asked this question.

Finding the perfect mentor

Mentors can become life-long supporters, advocates and trusted advisors.  They can steer your path, help you form both good and bad habits, and influence your focus.  When you’re about to ask someone to be your mentor, think carefully: is this person someone I can work closely with? Do I admire them? Do they have the same values as me? Have they ever considered mentoring?

If you already know the mentor as a friend or work connection, consider the impact your new relationship will have on your current one.  There may be times when you don’t agree. Perhaps your new relationship as mentor and mentee may not work out? How will that affect your current friendship?

How to be realistic about a new mentoring relationship

Don’t forget a mentoring relationship isn’t like a marriage or partnership; you don’t have to be fully compatible to make it work.  It’s great if you can be friends, but it’s not a necessity for it to be a working relationship that achieves. That said, like a marriage or partnership, when it goes wrong it can leave bad feelings in both parties.

Don’t choose a mentor based on some romantic notion that being associated with them will bring you the same levels of success as they have achieved.  Mentoring relationships can indeed be very successful, but there are times when they are not so great. Achieve very little, and you will leave people disappointed.  I have also known people who felt let down by a mentor, but achieved great things despite the lack of support.

Here are 10 things you should consider when choosing your mentor:

1. Do you respect or admire them and their skills/success/achievement?
2. Do they understand what you are aiming to achieve?
3. Have they been there, seen it, done it, and able to offer real experiences to support your work?
4. How likely are they to give you a ‘leg up’?
5. Do they have a personal interest in you/your career/your business and is it for the right reason – to help you and not themselves?
6. Do you think you can be yourself with them? You need to be honest with them about your aims, your abilities, your fears and your failures.
7. Do they have similar values and morals as you? Or are their opinions likely to jar with your own and cause difficulties?
8. Can you image spending time with them and being able to share experiences and ideas?
9. Do you trust them to be professional, discreet and respect confidentiality?
10. Will they add value to your work and your personal development?

Be careful when choosing your mentor; don’t go out hunting for the right person. You often find someone will come along at the right time with the background and personality that will suit your needs.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things to consider when choosing a mentor; I’d love to hear your experiences of choosing a mentor. What things do you feel should be considered?

Source: http://birdsontheblog.co.uk/choose-mentor

How to Get Higher Rents, the Hard Way!

If you are like most landlords or property managers, you are always looking for the highest rents, after all, no one I know shoots for the lowest rents.

But there comes an amount where the rent exceeds the value of the property.  Once that happens, you would think that you would not be able to find a renter.  This is not the case.

Economic theory states that as prices go up, demand decreases.  This is true.  If you do not believe it, cut your rent prices in half and see what happens.  You will have people lined up around the block to take your rental.

Solid renters know what they want in a rental.  They know what buildings in the area they want to live, and what amenities they want.  They will know the walk score of a place, how close it is to their work, how much arts and culture are close by.

Quality Renters Know Value

A solid renter picks their home based on location, and also on value.

The value is based on what they can afford, and the ‘substitution theory’ in that paying more or less will substitute different features and amenities.  Nowhere in their equation is any thought to the fact that their application for housing might get rejected.  They know they can throw a dart at the map and choose the closet apartment if they wanted to.

I define a solid renter as someone with at least 3.5x the rent in income.  This is someone with at least an average credit score, somewhere north of ~650.  Their last 10 years on the criminal side will only have a couple of parking tickets, and likely not even that.  They will not have any evictions.  All past landlord references, for what they are worth, are positive.

Low Quality Renters Have Less Choice

The low quality renter has a completely different attitude.

They need to live where they can.  They do not care about amenities; they care about move in date.  Something is making them move, and it is not their job, or the lack of an art gallery close by.  They need to move because they are probably being forced out.

As a landlord, you can specialize on these renters.  They are in a tight spot, just as many sellers are when investors scoop up foreclosure properties.  These are distressed renters.  They need to move, and say they are willing to pay.

Their criminal backgrounds might not be as good as you would like, and their credit score less than par, but they are not choosy.  They need a place, and generally need it fast.  They will move into a place that is not maintained, or cleaned.

Make no mistake; these are high risk class C or D tenants.  Like any investment, you need to get a return based on the extra risk these tenants present.  You need a higher rent than a typical class A or B tenant.  Even if your rent is 100% paid by a government authority, you are taking on more risk.

Does Higher Rent Mean More Profit?

A class C or D tenant will be more work, and you should get at least an additional 10% higher rent with them.

On a $1,000 a month rental, that’s an extra $100 that goes right to the bottom line.  All of your other expenses stay the same, except possibly maintenance and legal fees.

If you are looking to sell, higher rents mean a higher sales price.  Whether or not you will be more profitable is the $64,000 question.  Low quality tenants generally mean less profit.  Can you cover your increased maintenance costs and added expenses with the higher rent?

If you have a property manager, the lower quality renter is more wok for the PM.  It is more calls, more chasing down rent, more work to turn the unit.  But it is a higher commission for the PM. I often think that people hire a PM have so much trouble with renters because of this very reason.  The PM is maximizing their own revenue and getting a lower qualified renter to move in. It is more work to find the ‘sweet spot’ of the correct rental price than take in a less that qualified renter.  They make more, and you are probably making less.

So, if you really want higher rents and are OK with a higher risk for higher returns, raise your rents.  If you want the slow, steady and boring approach to profits, make sure your rents are aligned with the market, and you hold out for quality tenants.

Have you ever raised your rent too high, and saw a decline in tenant quality?  Have you ever seen a rental you wonder how the owner ever rented a dump like that?

Be sure to leave your comments below!

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/08/17/get-higher-rents-hard-way

How to Build Better Digital Products

The digital age has changed everything. Yet we still see businesses and brands — like Blockbuster, Kodak and others — that fell behind because they were married to their own way of thinking or too slow to adapt to the new reality.

Digital demands new thinking, and the process of product development will need to adapt for the digital age. For instance, there is now an interactive TV solution to transform Star Trek fans viewing experience from passive to interactive. Meanwhile, developers have made it possible for Adobe’s global salesforce to access their latest products anytime–anywhere. Also, a mobile platform designed to engage Olympics fans can take them along Team USA’s journey. And when executed correctly, a great digital offering can not only enhance relationships with customers, but create new sources of revenue.

A product becomes a solution when it solves a problem. But not all products can become solutions. To deliver a product that works, there are four key areas necessary for success:

1. A defined value-driven product vision
2. A product design for end users
3. Features prioritized by impact
4. Iterative and incremental improvements

Start With Why

Too often, companies receive an RFP (request for proposal) or a product description of what the client wants to build and how they would like it built. However, a successful solution should start with everyone understanding the problems the product will solve and the value it will provide; essentially everyone should clearly define the why. Creating your product vision (the “why”) will keep your team focused on features that can deliver the most value. Important questions to ask pre-design phase include: “What business problems are we trying to solve?” and “What success metrics should this product hit to drive the most value?”

Focus on the Customer

More often than not, product features are defined by the business team themselves, who are rarely the intended end users of the product. However, great products are designed with the end users’ needs, wants, and limitations in mind.
You do not have to spend significant time and money on qualitative and quantitative research, but you must understand consumer behavior triggers that lead to their engagement and encourage repeat use. Questions to ask at this point are “Who are our end users?” and “What are the emotional and tactical triggers that would bring them back again and again?”

Get Lean and Agile

In recent years, lean or agile development methodology has gained popularity within both large enterprises and startups. Both methods have proven effective for solving one of the biggest product development challenges: How can we be more responsive to the ever-changing needs of businesses and end users?
The answer lies in shorter production cycles, more development progress transparency, improved collaboration, stakeholder alignment, accurate time and budget estimates, and last but not least, a better quality product. These are just some of the many benefits of lean or agile development. But they are more than just processes; they are principles that if applied and executed correctly can fundamentally enhance workflow and end results — and the workflow culture itself.
When implementing lean product development, ask, “What features would make the most impact against key metrics?” And, “What features can we build with the least amount of effort to gain the most end user information?”

Incremental Innovation

There is no such thing as a perfect product. The products we have grown to love and use every day, from mobile phones to the cars we drive continue to evolve and address customer desires. The same goes for digital products.
Listen, learn, build and measure. This revolving cycle of product development focuses on a series of small improvements. This will improve the product’s competitive position over time, thus fostering innovation. A question to ask after you’ve built your product is: “Are we listening to users through continuous analytics and measurement, to improve the product?”
Developing a product that works is not like building a house. If you leave it alone, it will become less useful to users overtime. Focusing on the product vision, designing against your user expectations and innovating based on data will allow your product to become a solution that actually fixes an evolving problem.

Source: http://yfsmagazine.com/2014/08/14/how-to-build-better-digital-products

Network marketing 101: How much time does it take to build a successful business?

When I started my network marketing business in 2009, I had hardly any “extra time” left in my schedule. I was working 40+ hours per week in a cubicle for my public relations job and I was also engaged to be married, so we were planning our wedding. The last thing I thought I had time for was a side business.

What I realized, however, was that most successful network marketers started their networking careers alongside another full-time gig. The beauty of network marketing is that it’s a very social business. You might also call it “lifestyle marketing” because a lot of the “work” takes place throughout your normal day – as you strike up a conversation in line at the bank, as you’re reconnecting with a former co-worker over lunch, while you’re speaking with another parent at your child’s soccer game.

If you can find 5-10 hours or so per week of social time in your schedule, then you absolutely have time to build a successful network marketing business. It’s not so much about the hours of time you put towards it, but how you spend that time. For example, you will have WAY more success spending 5 hours per week meeting people over lunch or reconnecting over the phone than you would spending 10 hours per week organizing your office or replying to emails.

The core of success in the network marketing industry is engaging in conversation with people and sharing about your business/product. You get paid for presenting and sharing, NOT for racking up hours on a timesheet.

If you’re new to network marketing, focus on the windows of time you have in your schedule and maximize those with revenue producing activity. And also keep in mind, this is NOT an overnight success business. Just like the athletes you see competing in the Olympics, there’s a TON of behind the scenes preparation (and often failure) that takes place!

Taking on any new skill set or career path is going to require learning. Most people don’t achieve success in network marketing because they quit too soon. Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) says to give your network marketing business a minimum of 5 years before you quit. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some network marketers will skyrocket within 1-2 years and others it may take 6-8 years…the key is consistency and remembering that everyone’s journey is different.

Network marketing has positively impacted my life in so many ways. It’s allowed me to pursue a calling that I’m crazy passionate about and not be “stuck in a job”.

Success will be defined differently by each person you speak with. Some desire an extra $200 per month alongside another career they love. Others desire $3,500 per month to replace a job that no longer fulfills them. Others are seeking $20,000 per month so they can give generously and change the lives of those around them.

Whatever your definition of success is…you can find it in network marketing.

Whatever your schedule looks like…you can find the time to be successful in this industry. Decide, do and don’t quit.  

Source: http://kristadial.com/2014/07/network-marketing-101-much-time-take-build-successful-business

5 Great, White Business Tips From The Big, Bad Sharks

It’s pretty clear that the entrepreneurs on ABC’s Shark Tank are the great whites of the business world. They’re cunning, successful, and they’re not afraid to bear their teeth,

But these sharks are as diverse as the ones in the sea– they all swam different paths to success. This diversity resulted in knowledge and experience that they’re willing to share.

The sharks’ advice is super useful– pretty much anyone can benefit from it, including small business owners and startup founders like you.

Read on to learn from the guys at the top of the food chain!

1. Remember That Ideas Aren’t Special

Remember that time you were stuck in traffic and had that great idea for a teleportation machine? That’s an awesome idea. It would be cool and useful. And it’d probably make you pretty successful. But did you get home and build a teleportation machine? Probably not.

“Ideas are actually the easiest part” says Mark Cuban. According to him, the hardest part is actually making your idea happen, “knowing what you need to do and then executing on your plan and staying focused with it.”

If having a great idea was all it took to be a millionaire, we’d all be yacht shopping right now. What sets successful entrepreneurs apart is the drive and the dedication to make those ideas into a reality. Bringing your idea to fruition is a matter of hard work and focus, doing whatever it takes to make your product a success.

So if you’re planning to start out on your own, don’t expect it to be easy. Just expect it to be worth it.

How to Make Your Ideas a Reality:

• Whether it’s a crazy marketing idea or a dream of a totally new business, put your ideas on paper. Write a business plan.
• Put up a website. See how people respond to your idea.
• Take action in any way possible. Success does NOT come to those who wait!

2. Don’t Get Too Caught Up In Your Business Plan

It’s pretty common advice that if you want to start a business, you need to develop a business plan. But Robert Herjavec says otherwise.

Robert says, “When you start, it’s important to have vision, but … any plan beyond the next quarter is a dream.” At the beginning, things can change at the drop of a hat, and your business plan can be outdated before the ink even dries. “Spend less time on your plan and more time talking to people who will actually buy your product,” Robert advises. When it comes to starting a business, cold, hard facts are your friend. You should spend your time discovering who will buy your product, what they’re looking for, and how you’ll get it to them.

Once you’ve grown, size will offer you some level of predictability. Then you can start worrying about planning more than a quarter or two ahead.

How to Start Without a Business Plan:

• Just start! Put up a website, ask people what they think of your idea, hone and improve.
• Get sales-y. Talk people into buying your product.
• Learn about your audience. Do everything you can to get out and talk to those who might buy from you.

3. Hire Attitude

Speaking of growth, Barbara Corcoran has some advice for when it’s time to start hiring employees. Whether you’re hiring one person or 20, Barbara says to “always choose attitude over experience!”

It’s relatively easy to train people on new skills and processes, but there’s not much you can do to modify someone’s attitude. That’s why Barbara doesn’t even look at resumes when she’s hiring. “Positive people are willing to learn, eager to try, and somehow find the solution to anything they don’t already know.”

The person with the right mindset will add way more value to your business than just skill and experience. Plus, they’re just more fun to work with!

How to Hire The Right Attitude:

• Consider your values and mission. Make sure any new hire buys into them.

4. Fall Under The Big Three

Oftentimes when you have an idea to start a business, it can be hard to tell if your idea is actually any good and if it’ll be successful. Daymond John has a foolproof test for this.

According to Daymond, a business idea is viable if it does at least one of three things: “solves a problem (i.e. helps you do something faster), satisfies a need (i.e. makes an existing product cheaper), or improves quality of life (i.e. medical devices).”

If your product or service can do one or more of these, you’re definitely on the right track. Great companies give customers what they need and what they didn’t know they wanted.

How to Test Your “Big Three”:

•  Talk to customers who’ve already bought your product. Understand WHY they chose you.

5. Demand R-E-S-P-E-C-T

As a female business owner, you might encounter some roadblocks that men simply don’t. Entrepreneurs have an uphill battle convincing people to get behind themselves and their product. But women entrepreneurs have an even steeper climb through the world of business.

Lori Greiner has some advice for all of our women entrepreneurs out there. “Do not let any men put you down or be chauvinistic to you. Do not let that happen. Call it out and command respect,” Lori advises.

You know that you’re smart, cunning, and more than capable, so make sure others recognize you for those traits and show you the respect you deserve.

How to Command Respect:

• Read books by others who have gone through similar struggles.
• Don’t believe what others say about your path to success.
• Be a leader. No matter what, lead your team in the direction you believe is right.

There’s Chum in the Water

All right, now you know the secrets to life underwater. It’s time to get busy and start climbing up the food chain.

Your Turn: What are your thoughts on the Sharks’ advice? Let us know!

Source: http://grasshopper.com/blog/5-great-white-business-tips-from-the-big-bad-sharks