The benefit is to both sides, but the doubt is the work killer.
For every business, creating an environment that people will give you the benefit of the double is at least as important as the work itself.
The work is almost more than half way done when you were given the benefit of the doubt.
The benefit is to both sides, but the doubt is the work killer. For every business, creating an environment that people will give you the benefit of the double is at least as important as the work itself.
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Enrich your world by creating value for others.
Enrich your health by walking twenty minutes a day. Enrich your community by contributing to someone, without keeping score. Enrich your relationships by saying what needs to be said. Enrich your standing by trusting someone else. Enrich your organization by doing more than you're asked. Enrich your skills by learning something new, something scary. Enrich your productivity by rejecting false shortcuts. Enrich your peace of mind by being trusted. The connection economy pays dividends in ways that the industrial one rarely did. The brands we really love are the ones that create differences for us, they make us have a sense of belonging, we are part of their story and they are part of ours. When people feel like they belong — that they are part of the brand story and can own it, they become loyal customers. In short, the purpose of a brand is to drive participation, not sales. When you start a business ... There is no shortage of business models, it's okay to pick one that's already working for someone else. There is no shortage of web designs. it's okay to use something that already works. There is no shortage of tools, it's okay not to invent a new email delivery engine, a new overnight shipping method or a new way to run payroll. But you must invent the thing you will be known for - do not steal that. Have you heard of the following story before?
Once upon a time a man was sent to the store for a ham. After he bought it, his wife asked him why he didn't have the butcher cut off the end of the ham. "But why do you want to cut the end of the ham off?", he asked. She replied that her mother had always done it that way and that was reason enough for her. Since the wife's mother was visiting, they asked her why she always cut off the end of the ham. Mother replied that this was the way her mother did it. Mother, daughter and husband then decided to call grandmother and solve this three-generation mystery. Grandmother promptly replied that she cut the end of the ham off because her roaster was too small to cook it in one piece. Now, grandma had a reason for her actions. Do you have the right reason for doing what you are doing? For entrepreneurs and investors, Wealthforgeonline is a new a crowdfunding platform that connects the two groups.
Wealthforgeonline provides tools for entrepreneurs to raise investment capital needed to either start or continue to grow businesses through a system that is compliant with all Federal and State laws. Worth a try, if you are starting your business, or looking to invest in a start up business. Q. What is the best startup pitch? A. Every venture capitalist will tell you that the best startup pitches focus more on the problem than on the solution. Framing the problem you solve in just one sentence is a great discipline and one that most businesses have never practiced, which is why the ones that do succeed. Some examples: Warby Parker—Why do glasses cost as much as an iPhone? Mint—‘You spend the majority of your life working for your money, but do you know how your money works for you?’ Uber—Why can’t I just push a button and get a ride? PFwise - Shouldn't personal finance be personal and number-based? What's Your Single Sentence Problem? I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down.
― Abraham Lincoln Q. How to make marketing effective? A. Modern business marketing has evolved from the old 4P to the new 4P. We are all well versed about the old marketing 4P's:
Now, the new marketing 4P's: PURPOSE What’s the reason your company exists? Bringing a product to market isn’t enough. PEOPLE Who do you serve? What you sell is not as important as who do you serve. PERSONAL How do you connect with the people you serve? How you make your customers feel about themselves is more important than how they feel about your product. PERCEPTION What do your customers believe about you? Let customers believe in your business is far more important than what you tell them. When someone you don’t know gives you money for your product or service, you are in business.
Until then, you don't have a business! Every entrepreneur knows some of the How To answers to your products or services. But the more important answers to the success of your business is not just answering those How To questions. You need to take time to know the answers to the "why" and "who is it for", no one else can figure this out for you or hand you a formula or a guide. Until you have this map, you are still searching for your secret success formula. Is their love to their ideas and products! Of course you’ve got to believe in the product, service, or solution you’re creating. But what you need more than a love of your product, is love for your customer. You have to care about them to want to make something for them. And you have to understand them to care about them. Because when you innovate and build your business from a place of empathy and a desire to create difference for your customers it bubbles up into everything you do. When you are in business, it's easy, and almost certain, to have a misstep.
Sometimes, if you're quite lucky, when you get it wrong, the person you wronged will politely point it out to you. At this point, you have a choice. You can elegantly (and with gratitude) make things right, which often builds a better bridge than you could ever hope for... Or, in frustration, embarassment and a bit of pique, you can choose to make things worse. Here are some of the magic words that might help build that bridge:
It's there if you want it. Want to start your own business? Your inner critic will tell you these -
1. You haven’t earned it yet 2. You haven’t paid your dues 3. People will see through you 4. Who are you to do X? 5. You’re not ready 6. You’re too young 7. You’re too old for start-ups and tech; it’s only young kids that succeed 8. People will laugh at you 9. People expect you to fail 10. You can’t do it on your own 11. You don’t have the experience 12. You haven’t done this before so you won’t be successful 13. You can’t launch a business 14. You don’t know how to sell 15. People won’t buy from you 16. People will reject you 17. You suck at cold calling 18. You’re not an author; you can’t write a book 19. Your audience isn’t big enough 20. You don’t have the right skills, experience, education, network, mentor.... 21. You will fail (again) 22. You can’t be as successful as others 23. You don’t have what it takes 24. You don’t know what to do first 25. Your product should be perfect before you launch 26. You’re not an expert 27. You don’t have the confidence it takes 28. No one will pay for your product, they could do it themselves or just Google it 29. It won’t work 30. Someone will launch a better version of your idea 31. The marketplace is too crowded 32. People won’t choose me 33. You won’t be good enough 34. You can’t run your own business; that’s only for real entrepreneurs 35. You’re not a real entrepreneur 36. You don’t have the right strategy 37. You need a business background 38. You can’t make money from an idea you’re really passionate about 39. You can’t stay focused 40. You don’t have what it takes to be truly successful in the world 41. It won’t work so don’t waste more time 42. Your family doesn’t even think you can do it 43. You’re a fraud 44. You’re not cut out for success 45. Entrepreneurship is for men; women can’t hack it 46. You don’t have a good idea 47. Other people think you have it together, if you do X, they’ll see you don’t 48. You’ll annoy people by calling them about your product 49. People don’t want to be bothered 50. If people don’t like your ‘big idea’, what else do you have going for you? 51. It won’t work 52. Your idea won’t make money 53. You don’t have the passion for it/to succeed 54. Nothing comes easy to you, so don’t bother 55. You don’t have the credentials 56. Your friends with jobs will think you’re a joke for trying to start your own company 57. People will figure out you have no idea what you’re doing 58. If you fail, your friends/former colleagues will laugh at you 59. Stick to what you know 60. You’ll never figure out all the processes for building a business 61. You’re not a people please; people will think you’re just out to ‘get’ them 62. You’re too disorganized 63. I don’t know how to charge people 64. No one will buy from you (and why should they?) 65. If you try and your business fails, you’ll have to get a minimum wage job and make $50k for the rest of your life 66. You’re just not cut out for this/entrepreneurship 67. You’re fooling yourself by thinking there’s a viable business here 68. Someone else is better than you 69. You don’t have the physical presence of a CEO 70. You have no idea what you’re doing. You’re a dreamer, not a doer Now, here is the most important thing - do you agree with your inner critics? Q. What is the most important question a start up needs to answer? A. It's not:
"Do they trust me enough to believe my promises?" Without that, you have nothing. If you are already on the right social medial channels, already had awareness, but people haven't bought from you yet, it's likely they don't trust you as much as you would hope. If your value proposition is solid but sales aren't being made, look for trust issues. Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest. Q. How to prepare a pitch deck before I meeting with VC's to raise seed capital? A. The following are necessary components for a startup's pitch deck when you meet with your future investors:
Q. Which is the best "startup boot camp" in the U.S.? A. It's hard to say which is the best but there are many startup accelerators that provide 3 to 6 months mentoring, office space, and access to capital in exchange for 3-6% of common stock. Here are some of the better knowns:
Q. What's the best way to find a niche area and start my own business? A. Try the simple 3 steps with the 10-10-10 method:
The first place to start is by identifying several areas where your skills, interests and passions are. Look to your childhood and adult hobbies. Also, is there a common theme among the books you read or the movies you watch that could provide a clue? Are there any careers that you’ve always been drawn to but had obstacles preventing you from pursuing them? Many times, even if you don’t have the specific qualifications, you can still find ways to provide a service in that field. Here’s an illustration: Step 2 After you select your top item from the list, begin to brainstorm how you can provide or distribute your service or product. Sometimes, the answers you list may be very broad because you don’t have enough knowledge or information to be more specific. That’s okay. Just list 10 ideas to the best of your ability. You can refine it in step 3. Don’t worry about writing down silly answers. In today’s market, people are getting more and more creative in how they deliver their product or service. Step 3 By this step, you’ve already identified your top service or product and you’ve selected your favorite method of delivery. Next, make a list of 10 action step that will help you progress with your business idea. You may consider contacting your area Small Business Association or find a local entrepreneur group that may be meeting regularly. Perhaps one step would be to write down specific product ideas for your business, services you might provide, or make a list of people who you may want to email or contact for more information. Perhaps you would like more information about your method of providing a service or distributing your product. Researching any area where you need more information may also need to go on your list. Once you have a list of 10 action steps, try to take one action today. Don’t wait. If you start right away, you’ll be more likely to follow through than if you put if off for a few days. You can repeat the 10/10/10 Plan as many times as you need to. You can even adapt this plan to help you explore any action steps in more detail. Or once you’ve chosen the main area of interest that you would want to base a new business around, you can make a list of 10 niche areas in which to further refine or specialize your service or product. This plan is a great way to get your creative business ideas flowing. Q. I can't afford paying $250 an hour to hire a lawyer to write a contract for my side business. Is there a cheaper alternative? A. How about a free alternative? Try ShakeLaw, it's an app launched in Sept 2013, it guides you through a series of questions, just like Turbo Tax does when it helps you file your taxes, with options to create 6 kinds of contracts, including freelancing, renting, lending money and a write-it-yourself feature. The most convenient scenario could be you are selling something on Craigslist and meet someone at a parking lot for delivery, you pull out the app in no time you are done! You can bet things like ShakeLaw is just the beginning, more shake up to the law industry will come in the future. Q. I am considering starting a business, I heard Franchise is a safe route. Is there anything I need to pay attention to as I research the kind of Franchise I will get into?
A. Even though Franchise is a relatively safe way to start your own business, due diligence is still needed. Below is a list excerpted from an excellent book - Franchise Bible - How to Buy a Franchise, for your reference.
Personal Other Considerations Financial If you are really serious about starting a franchise, it's probably worth the few dollars to buy the Franchise Bible from Amazon and have a quick read first, so you know what to look for in your due diligence process. 1. Why are we doing this?
2. Why are we the people to do it? 3. Why is now the time to start? 4. What will happen because this idea exists? 5. How will this change how people feel about x? 6. Who is it for? 7. Why will they care? 8. What do the people we hope to serve want? 9. What do they believe? 10.How do they feel about the problem we solve? 11.What do they do—where, when, why and with whom? 12.What will customers say to their friends to recommend this product or service? 13.How can we make customers feel good because they recommend it? 14.What are we really selling beyond the utility of the product or service? 15.How can we add more value? 16.What happens because our business or project exists? 17.How will people find us? 18.Where are they already looking, or not looking? 19.What’s our greatest strength? 20.What weakness might get in the way if we don’t address it? 21.What does success look like, today, this year, next and five years from now? 22.What do we value? 23.What do we want to change? 24.What promises do we want to make and keep? 25.What matters most right now? 26.What’s going to matter more three, six or eighteen months from now? 27.What’s our difference? 28.What do we need to do today, to make sure that we can keep doing the things we want to do tomorrow? 29.If we could do anything today would this be it? 30.If not this then what? |
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