|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Business and Life You Want to Build In the early days of my first consulting business, I knew I needed some sort of plan to give me the greatest chance at success. I took many a wrong step, yet in the end I managed to put a solid business together. Can You Make Money Without Money? When I ask why you don't start your own business, I always hear, "I don't have money to start a business." What Part of Handwriting on the Wall Dont You Understand - They Dont Hire People Over 50 In a recent talk to the Detroit Economic Club, President Bush told of a powerful statement made to John Bailey by his wife, "Just what part of the writing on the wall don't your understand - companies don't want people over 50!" The White House staff had become aware of an amazing story of entrepreneurial success stemming from John's wife's words. My Nemisis Living in the twilight zone has its advantages. In the early days of starting my business, I found the limitations of living in a rural area to be restrictive. However, later I realized that those limitations were not an obstacle that could stop me; they were only a challenge that would strengthen me. Since my business would be smaller, I would have the advantage of fewer employees and less strife in the processes of doing business. Health Insurance for Solo Entrepreneurs One of the most important benefits employed people enjoy is health insurance coverage. It is also the single most costly expense for self-employed entrepreneurs. So what can you do to reduce ever increasing costs of health care coverage? Here are a few tips. Time Management Tips for Solo Entrepreneurs Does it seem like everyone and everything is vying for your attention all at once? It can be hard for solo entrepreneurs to know what to do first, let alone try to find the time to get caught up. Here are some time management tips that will help you to stay on top of it all: Why Every Student Should Start a Business With the economic downturn, students in all the major business schools have been dropping out of their entrepreneurship classes and transferring back to classes where they think they have a secure future. Students and professionals who were once planning to start businesses now have decided to go back to their cushy jobs. Everything is going back to normal. Or at least that is how it looks. Below are nine reasons why any student should start a business:You gain experience. Owning and running your own business is an incredible way to gain experience and credentials regardless of whether you decide to stay in business once you graduate. Jaime Gonzalez of Oklahoma State University received the highest job offer in his entire graduating class. Now, there are two kickers: First, he was the founder of an IT consulting company, and second, he had a 2.4 GPA. Hmmm...I wonder if starting a business helps in getting a better job when you graduate? You have nothing to lose. I think it's safe to say that most students dip into their parents' checkbook when it comes time to pay the bills. In general, students aren't paying child support, rent, utilities and many other expenses. The worst thing that could happen if your business fails is that you get a job, have an incredible credential on your resume, and have experience that will increase your chances of success in the future. The best thing that can happen is that you'll become the next Microsoft. I don't know about you, but I think that is better than choosing between no job and jobs that you're in just for the money. Two-thirds of millionaires are entrepreneurs, according to Thomas Stanley and William Dank, authors of The Millionaire Mind. If it's the money you want, then consider entrepreneurship. You receive not only a salary, but also a lot of money if you're lucky enough to sell your company or take it public. Michael Furdyk, a successful young entrepreneur, was able to sell his business, MyDesktop.com, for $1 million when he was 16 years old! You develop networking skills. You've likely heard that your network increases your net worth. Consider the fact that by running a business and constantly being in a business community, you will develop excellent contacts. If you choose to get a job after you graduate, you will have a great pool of people who will be more than happy to hire you or send your resume to somebody who wants to. You increase your value. Put simply, starting a business in college increases the value of "the brand called you" and gives you more options. For example, an entrepreneur with a large brand value can publish a book, star in a documentary movie (i.e., Startup.com), or go straight to the top of another company. I recently met one of the founders of Diversity Planet, a job site for minorities. He spent a year working very hard on the company and has since left to take a reporting job with Dateline NBC at the ripe age of 20! People don't often don't get an opportunity like that until they are much older. Operating a profitable business in the long term is less risky than being an employee in the long term. For example, just look at the recent economic downturn. Tens of thousands of people have been laid off. I can guarantee the owners of profitable businesses are still with the business. They will be the last people to go down with a ship. Business owners can have multiple streams of incomes from different customers. If you're an employee, you only have one stream of income and therefore are bearing more risk. You will learn more about yourself and what they don't teach or prepare you for in school. Furthermore, entrepreneurship is the combination of all the disciplines of business. It includes knowledge of marketing, accounting, management and operations. Already having knowledge of these topics before you take classes on them allows you to see more clearly how everything applies. Also, you will be able to learn early-on what subjects you like so you can make better decisions on what to major in and what industries to target. It is yours. You make the rules, create your own hours, work from wherever you want and choose who you want to work with. You can also pick what interests you the most in the world and then start a business that is related to that topic in some way. If you like art, you can start a design business. If you like marketing, you can create or choose a product and then market it. If you like writing, you can write a book and do your own public relations and marketing. If you like the Internet, you can start a Web development business. You'll grow. I personally have grown a lot from owning a business. I used to be terrified to speak in front of others. Now I look forward to it. Before owning a business, I had probably read a total of five books outside of school, and I only read them because my mom made me. Since starting my business, I've probably read more than 100 books. The business has also allowed me to learn more about myself. I know that I will be an entrepreneur forever in some way, shape or form! How To Start a New Business While it is tempting to just leap into a new business because of it's exciting possibilities, a few key planning points will vastly increase your chances of success. These steps aren't difficult, but they're easy to skip. Many businesses ultimately depend on a slim profit margin, so planning can really help the process. Too many restaurant patrons, for instance, assume that running a restaurant seems fun because of the many restaurants they have visited, but restaurants have an especially high failure rate. Entrepreneurship as Your Passion Entrepreneurship has been my passion for as long as I can commit to memory to learning how to type, and that started in 5th grade! Strangely enough, I wasn't raised around lots of business owners growing up in New Jersey nor surrounded by many business-minded individuals. Franchising Companies Need New Franchisee Checklists When franchise companies are moving fast in the market place they must pay attention to the details. If a franchisor fails to give the required items as outlined in the franchise agreement to the franchisees on the prescribed timeline they risk legal issues and regulatory issues. In addition even if they do provide the items on time, there is a chance later that a franchisee may claim that something was not provided and they will use this to break the franchise agreement, sue or file a complaint with regulatory bodies at the state level or even the FTC, Federal Trade Commission. But if you keep proper records and have checklists and monitor dates and deliveries you can win a law suit or force a regulatory agency to backtrack. The Perfect Little Coffee Shop: Are You Afraid of Failure? Are You Letting that Failure Cripple You Ah, coffee, the drink of choice when I want to share a special moment with friends, when I want to sit and ponder life or when I want a moment alone. I am an avid coffee drinker. I love coffee and I love the atmosphere of a good coffee house, a café. Expand Your Resourcefullness! The success and failure for the entrepreneur is largely dictated by the ability to gain access to resources, both personal as well as those of others. Why I Should Go In To Business Rohit Kochgaway was very upset with his boss for his rebuking him today in office. He was very upset with his job. When he reached home in evening his wife got the penalty for asking to go out in form of bad mood. After one hour at home, he exploded the bomb. Goals and New Venture Creation More and more corporate workers are leaving their jobs to start new ventures. When taking this leap, it is important that the goals of these entrepreneurs are solid, as these goals may ultimately determine the success of the new venture. Do You Have What It Takes? I think it's fair to say that not everyone is cut out to be a successful business owner, now some of you maybe disputing this statement but hear me out. Are You Ready To Be Your Own Boss? You have this burning desire you want to be on your own. The temptation is so great that you want to quit your job. Enough is enough. You're sick of working for other people for a ridiculous pay. Work vs Play: Which is the Better Way to Make Big Money? If you want to make big money, you have to play not to work. Dream It, Create It, Become It! Design a Dream Board Have you ever heard of "Dream Boards" or "Treasure Maps"? A Dream Board is a visual picture of the dreams you have for your life. Some of my clients also use this concept to visualize their businesses! It's their first business plan. One thing that is important to remember, though, is not to "get stuck" on your dream boards. We all have plans for our future, but it's important to watch the universe for signs of "its" plans for us. Otherwise, we might miss out on some great opportunities! Entrepreneurship Story; Over Regulation in Franchising Part I Jim and Sally run a successful auto business, which they have built up over two decades and have expanded to three stores and many of their friends keep saying, "You should Franchise." They think about this for about five years read a few books, like "Franchising for Dummies," The "E-Myth", "The Franchising Bible" and many others on the shelves of the new big book store in town with the coffee shop inside. They finally decide that it makes sense especially as they have friends and loyal employees who wish to be associated with them and even own the first franchises. So they set out to franchise. They visit an attorney since that says in all the books to do. Most books about franchising are, at least in part if not whole, written by S2D2s (lawyers: S2P2s; Self-Serving Parasites of Planet) anyway, so they take that advice and visit an attorney. The S2D2 explains the MUD and helps by charging them a good chunk of change; $35,000 to prepare a boilerplate document which is so complicated they could not do it on their own without years of study. They give the S2D2 (scoundrel) the money and they look at the document and start asking questions. They do not ask him about the price gouging laws that their state has after all the flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, although they feel severally violated in the outrageous costs to prepare the documents. After all there is some new shop equipment they need to test cars to stay in compliance with the latest smog certificates and they are not cheap either. So they ask some typical questions instead of why they had to pay so much. Raising Capital for Your Business ? How Long Does it Take? Most companies vastly underestimate the time commitment necessary to successfully complete a financing. In actuality, a company seeking financing needs to budget between 500 to 1000 work-hours to the capital-raising process, spread out over a 6-9 month time period.
|
|
|
Copyright © Advancing Women (TM), 1996- 