Categories
Entrepreneurship

Growing A Winning Company

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Found+READ: As I have discovered in my years as an entrepreneur and during the past ten years leading TIBCO Software, scaling a company requires both the discipline to follow sound strategic processes and the courage to take bold, yet calculated, risks. If you are too aggressive, your company might make imprudent choices and go out of business. If you are too slow or cautious, you might miss an opportunity. Take, for example, a champion downhill skier: if he goes too fast down the slope, he risks crashing and burning. Too slow and he might lose the race. It’s all about striking the right balance. Following are four fundamentals that founders should consider in their quest to finish first:
1. Find, and foster, top talent. Mediocrity doesn’t win Olympic medals, nor will it result in a winning company. But while hiring outstanding, dedicated people should be a given for any company founder, it is equally important to create an open environment within the organization that allows top talent to flourish.
2. Wow the crowd. Never forget that happy customers are an asset far more valuable than simply the revenue they generate. Satisfied customers are your organization’s most credible supporters – more powerful influencers than any advertisement, white paper or marketing strategy alone will ever be.
3. Know when to take short cuts. Building a company with staying power is frequently sought after yet rarely achieved. Taking short cuts can be tempting, especially when the competition is fierce, but know that not all short cuts are created equal.
4. When you see your opening, move quickly. Great companies cannot be built on process alone. As we all know, antiquated, disconnected or bureaucratic organizational procedures can stifle innovation and slow progress to a crawl. If the right decision-making infrastructure is in place, your team should feel confident enough to move quickly – even in chaotic environments – and go out and dominate a market segment.
Talent, Wow!-factor, Speed & Short-Cuts [Found+READ]

Categories
How-To Guides

How to Soup Up Web Site Content

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NFIB: On the Web, content is king–or it should be. If you want people to visit, stick around and come back to your small business’ Web site, give them substance. The appearance of your Web site is still important in helping establish professionalism and credibility. But the information and other substantive material you provide matter most.
One study, from the Poynter Institute and Stanford University, showed that, unlike with newspapers and magazines, people who read Web news sites typically focus on the text first, looking at photos and graphics afterward. People on the Internet operate in “Internet time” or, in other words, fast. They don’t linger over Web pages as they would a newspaper or magazine when drinking a cup of coffee.
People reading Web sites, for the most part, seek substance over style and usefulness over flash. They want to get what they want quickly. Here are some ways to make this happen:
-Readers should know immediately upon accessing your site why they should stick around and what’s in it for them.
-Make background information about yourself or your organization available from the home page, if appropriate.
-If your site consists of more than a few pages, provide a site map or index that displays all the interior links for those who want to get their bearings from the outset.
-It’s usually better to keep text brief. Break up long passages into multiple pages.
-Text should be accurate, complete and interesting.

Beefing Up Your Web Site Content [NFIB]

Categories
How-To Guides

How To Build A Cash Pool

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Businessknowhow: Although your income statement might show a healthy profit, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if you have no cash flow.
Cash flow represents the amount of money coming in to your business through services rendered and products sold, and money going out to cover expenses and production costs. Your primary responsibility as a home-based business owner is to ensure the flow is consistent with more money coming in than going out so a pool starts to form to hold the overflow.
Integrate these seven simple rules to your operating strategies and enjoy the benefits of a steadily growing cash pool.
1. Request payment prior to delivering your product or service.
2. Pay every bill on time to avoid late payment charges and earlier only if special payment discounts apply.
3. Deposit payments as soon as you receive them.
4. Use a business credit card whenever possible for travel, meals, and minor expenses.
5. Create continuity sales.


Build A Cash Pool For Your Home-Based Business [Businessknowhow]

Categories
How-To Guides

How To Network Easily

network-easily.jpgEdithYeung.com: The true definition of networking is building relationship & rapport with new friends while being yourself anywhere anytime. Here is my 7 Rules of Networking Made Easy:
1) Ask questions. The truth is everyone loves to talk about themselves. When I say ask questions, I don’t mean what is your name or what do you do for living types of questions. I meant real questions that bring up the past, the feeling, the experience and passion out of your new friends. Vice versa, when someone ask you: ‘How are you?’ Don’t just say I am fine then stop there. Speak with sincerity and put some context to your fineness. For Example: I am doing great because I just closed a BIG deal in San Francisco.
2) Offer help – You can always add values to someone’s life anytime anywhere. Offering help doesn’t mean you have to spend hours of research and work overnight to make things happen. Send your new friends a thank you note with information you think they might be interested such as an intriguing article, shocking news or fun facts that could benefit them.
3) Business Cards. Always bring and offer your business cards. This does show your professionalism and you always seem prepared. If those who work for yourself; design a unique business card that make you stand out.
4) Write things down. After a good conversation, ask for their business card immediately and jot down how you can help. If the person didn’t bring their business card, ask for their contact anyway and write things down on your notebook.
5) Set goal and practice. Set goal to meet someone new person every week. Networking does take work. The more you practice the more you will get better.
6) Follow Up – If you promise someone that you will send them info. Do it within the next 24 hours.
7) Be yourself at all time. You cannot pretend to be an angel at a cocktail party and become a bitch at Starbucks yelling at the barista. You never know who is behind you waiting in line.
The 7 Rules of Networking Made Easy [EdithYeung.com]

Categories
Online Business

Pick, Click and Pop

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EcommerceGuide: Widgets are generating a lot of buzz in the industry these days as more e-tailers begin to capitalize on how these snippets of code can expand the exposure of online businesses — and make them more money.
These mini-applications generally come packaged in a little window, can be dragged and dropped onto a Web page, and offer a scaled-down version of features you would ordinarily get at a full-fledged site.
For e-tailers, this means you can, for instance, showcase your eBay listings on your social networking page, bringing your merchandise to interested shoppers who might not have found your storefront. Those who like what you’re selling can even pass your widget on to their friends. Another way e-biz owners can earn extra revenue is by using affiliate marketing widgets at their Web store sites or blogs.
In the latter case is an impressive new widget — officially launching July 23, called PopShops — that promises to make managing affiliate partnerships a snap. Simply put, you can build affiliate storefronts in three clicks: Pick from more than 15 million products from across the top four affiliate networks, click to customize the showcase of products for your site and “pop” the storefront application into your site or blog.
New Affiliate Tool Promises Pick, Click and Pop [EcommerceGuide]