Month: November 2007

101 New Business Ideas for Retirees: Hobby Business

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date November 18, 2007
1 Comment on 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees: Hobby Business

Most people think that working at your hobby would make the best retirement business that they can think about. While I concur with this thinking there are a few warnings that come with this option.
Think about your hobby. Are there supplies that you regularly have to buy? Are these supplies easy to find locally? Can they be cheaply shipped by parcel, which would allow you to sell the items on line and not require you to open a storefront with the associated rents, utilities and staff? This will also allow you to run your business during different time of day at your convenience. If you need storage space, you could rent inexpensive storage areas. If there is a lot of competition for selling supplies, look at carrying specialty items that local stores do not carry. Are there customer made products available for you to sell. The large chain hobby shops, do not like to carry a lot of these specialty items. They go after the mass produced items and the items that sell the most.
Is the product you make from your hobby a sellable product? Everyone thinks they are but I recommend that you buy a booth at a festival and try to sell some of your product. This will give you a change to meet and talk with some of your potential customers. You’d be surprised on how frank they can be to you about your quality, pricing and design. If you are able to sell large amounts at a festival, you have a chance of having a good supplemental business. But don’t go too far until you have proven you can sell enough to make a business from this.
Now for the warnings.
The market frequently is not prepared to spend the cost of your product if there is a (lower quality but functional) product made in a low cost production company that is less than half of the price of yours. If the market is there they will probably demand the highest level of quality and may not consider your work of that level. Remember you are competing against others who have probably been doing this full time for many years.
Don’t even think of renting large amounts of space with all the costs involved, unless you know you will have the sales. This is the quickest way to taking a very big risk with your money.
Don’t think that your hobby equipment will hold up under high demand put on it by you using it for a business. It is probably fine to test the market with it but you will have to buy heavy duty commercial equipment for it to last long and to turn out the highest quality work.
And remember that you have started a business. You are no longer doing this for just fun.
But good luck, this can be the happiest way to make supplemental income during your retirement.

* * *

This new weekly column, 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees, is compiled specially for GetEntrepreneurial.com readers by Stan Spector. View all articles in this column by Stan Spector.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com.

Networking

The Conference Commando

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date November 17, 2007

I have just returned from a fantastic, if exhausting, weekend at the Annual Convention of the Professional Speakers Association, where I was honoured to be elected to the Board.
This was my third such convention and, by far, the most valuable. For many small businesses, the investment in such events, both in time and financially, prompts a lot of thought about where the value lies and whether it is worth their while attending. This weekend will see a return of several times my investment should I follow through with a number of the connections made. That’s what I call a ‘no-brainer’!
That has not, however, been the case before. Previous conventions, while enjoyable, have not necessarily produced similar results.
At my first convention, three years ago, I learnt a lot, an incredible amount. I wrote pages and pages…..and pages…. of notes from the excellent speakers and focused workshops. Over the weekend I came up with idea after idea after idea which could transform my business.
And I put none of them into action.
The simple fact is that I learnt too much. I didn’t have a plan to put the ideas learnt into action, hadn’t put the time aside to review my notes and implement key thoughts, I failed to allow for follow-up. One of my contacts took the following week off just to go through her notes and ideas and look at her business, how many of us can add this to the time already invested?
Wary of this problem the following year, I was too resistant to new ideas and didn’t really understand what I was going to get from the convention. I didn’t really understand why I was going and got exactly what I planned for from it…nothing.
As a result of that experience, I didn’t attend in 2006. With the change in my business in January, coupled with my impending election to the Board of Directors, I needed to be there this year, so I started to think about what I could get from the convention.
I knew not to write page after page after page of notes from the speakers. Instead I kept an ‘Action Sheet’ at the front of my notes and focused on writing down the two or three key points from the convention that, added to my business model or speaking style, could make a difference. I wrote only a few notes beyond that, most of them focused on particular areas I need to address.
That is no reflection on the quality of the speakers and workshops. I learnt a lot from some of the best speakers in the world; but there is a huge difference between what you learn and what you implement.
The main focus for me at Convention, however, was the networking. That may sound obvious coming from me but my networking this year was far more focused and planned than previously.
The week before the event I was reading Keith Ferrazzi’s book ‘Never Eat Alone’. In his chapter ‘Be a Conference Commando’, Ferrazzi talks about networking at conventions and says, “Conferences are good for mainly one thing….they provide a forum to meet the kind of like-minded people who can help you fulfill your mission and goals.” Going to a Professional Speakers Convention and focusing on time away from the talks may seem strange but, in a lot of ways, that’s where the value is.
Taking Ferrazzi’s advice I contacted some of the attendees in advance of the events, suggesting that we take time to meet over the weekend. I arranged breakfast meetings, rather than focusing on finding a spare seat, and spent time with individuals. In addition, I have a range of meetings to set up over the next few weeks with other contacts made in the last three days.
The opportunities already created from these connections include a promised meeting with a Director of an NHS Trust to look at networking within that Trust, an invitation to speak to a group of Chief Executives, a meeting to discuss synergies with another speaker that may lead to the creation of a new CD and cross-referrals and the possibility of establishing speaking opportunities overseas.
That’s not a bad return for an investment which, although for many may look large initially, pales into insignificance against the potential return.
Andy Lopata is one of the UK’s leading business networking strategists. He is the co-author of two books on the subject, including the Amazon UK bestseller ‘…and Death Came Third! The Definitive Guide to Networking and Speaking in Public’. Andy offers a full consultancy service and works with companies to help them realise the full potential from their networking.

Tags AGM, business networking, conferences, conventions, meetings, Networking, speakers

People & Relationships

Are You One of The Monkeys?

Post author By
Post date November 16, 2007

I received an email that lead me to this story. In a very few words it explains why change is so difficult. At the same time, it asks you to take a look at your behavior to see how you are contributing to the success of the team. I post the original article below for your reading pleasure and I am including the link where I found the original article:

http://www.iwdp.co.uk/articles/think_outside_the_box.php. It was written by Gary Stuart Wicks is the Director of Media Services for TiggerOnSpeed Ltd.

This is a powerful story.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you do a particular thing in a particular way? Do you just follow the advice of those that have been doing the task the longest without further question?
Consider the following scenario, then consider your position within your company and ask yourself honestly, why?

Let’s begin with a cage that contains five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of step ladders underneath it.
Before long, a monkey will go to the step ladder and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the first rung, spray all of the monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt to retrieve the banana resulting in another soaking for all five monkeys.

After a few more attempts any monkey making the trip towards the step ladder will be prevented by the remaining monkeys.

Now, remove the water source. Extract one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and heads towards the step ladder; to his surprise and annoyance he is instantly attacked by the other monkeys.

After a second attempt and resulting attack, he is aware of the fact that if he makes his way to the step ladder in order to retrieve the banana he will be assaulted by the remaining monkeys.

Next, remove another of the original team of five monkeys and once more replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes towards the step ladder and is attacked. This time though, the previous newcomer has taken part in the attack with enthusiasm.

Again, replace a third monkey with a new one. The new one makes it to the step ladder and is in turn attacked.

Of the attacking force two of the four monkeys have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the step ladder, or even why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys that were aware of the water source and in turn were sprayed have now been replaced.

Nevertheless, no monkey will ever again approach the step ladder.

Why not?

Because as far as they know that’s the way it’s always been around here; and that’s how company policy begins.

So, now you should be considering what you can do to avoid making the same mistakes as the group of monkeys; this is not something that can be instructed to you, this is something that only you can discover relative to your current position within the scenario.

If your team within the company acts in a similar fashion to the monkeys then you are undoubtedly not getting the best from your team, and therefore you are not providing your best to the company.

Do you want the presence of your company to suffer? Think outside the box.

Tags behavior, change, comapny culture, risk, teamwork

Legal

Labor & Employee Relations/Law

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date November 15, 2007

labor%20and%20employee.jpg
Continued from previous article “Why Utilize an HR Attorney as a Consultant?”
Labor & Employee Relations Defined
These are two distinct categories which are often confused with one another because they somewhat overlap.
Generally, labor law refers to the body of laws and rules regulating labor unions and associations and their relationship with management. Such laws include the National Labor Relations Act and other similar federal, state and local labor laws or ordinances. These laws and regulations permit employees to organize, elect representation and enter into legally binding contracts with management.
Generally, employment law concerns the body of laws and rules regulating civil rights and non-union related conduct in the workplace. Civil rights include a workplace free from discrimination and harassment for people (it need not be an employee) who fit into one of the legally protected classes (e.g., race, gender, disability, national origin, religion, military status, pregnancy, and in some instances sexual or gender orientation). Conduct laws refer to equal and fair pay, immigration and employment-at-will laws. Like labor laws, these are federal, state and local laws.
Labor & Employee Relations Defined
On the macro HR level, labor relations refers to the philosophy a business adopts for dealing with labor unions, union organizing and employee associations. On the micro level, this refers to practices and rules for dealing with individual employee issues relative to unions and associations.
Employee relations refers to the ideology (macro) a business adopts for dealing with harassment and discrimination and other employee issues, unrelated to labor unions or associations. This may include communication, discipline, recognition and payroll policies. On the micro level, it generally refers to how these laws and rules are applied to individual employees.
Examples of Labor & Employee Relations and Law in the Workplace
A supervisor receives a complaint from an employee concerning racial harassment in another department. Thinking that this has nothing to do with her department, the supervisor tells her employee to ignore it, and let the supervisor of the other department handle it. The issue “falls through the cracks.” Subsequently, a fight breaks out between employees in the other department. One employee is hospitalized with injuries. Another employee is arrested and fired. The arrested and fired employee is a minority who files a civil rights complaint for racial harassment and a lawsuit for wrongful discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. The company has little to no supporting documentation to show that it did anything to determine whether or not racial harassment existed in the workplace. Even if it wins the civil rights complaint and lawsuit, it will either have to pay thousands in legal fees or its employment practices liability insurance premiums may skyrocket.
As a labor and employment attorney and businessperson,
Charles Krugel has represented management in hundreds of negotiations, in-house and 3rd party proceedings. Charles has over 13 years of experience in the field and he has run his own successful management side practice for the past 7 years.

Legal

Why Utilize an HR Attorney as a Consultant?

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date November 14, 2007

Continued from previous article “Macro and Micro HR”
Although all businesses with employees practice HR, and some even have an in-house HR people, many businesses still encounter HR related problems.
Moreover, there are legal ramifications associated with many human resources issues that many HR professionals just aren’t qualified to deal with. When these costly and sensitive situations arise, a company needs to rely on a professional who understands the law, enforcement agencies and adjudicators, and macro and micro HR. This is where I come in.
Problems generally start with conflict between business strategy and HR practices (again, macro versus micro). It could be as simple as a business not recognizing that its HR philosophy is out of synch with its business strategy. Subsequently, policies are misinterpreted and misapplied, and costly mistakes occur. Such mistakes include improperly administered performance appraisals and improperly allocated wage and salary increases.
Generally, resolving micro issues, while ignoring the macro issues, will most likely result in that business throwing more money at continually resolving the same issues and continually wasting capital. I have seen this happen again and again.
For example, two unionized companies enter into merger negotiations. Neither company approaches their respective unions in a meaningful or timely manner to discuss integration issues (e.g., compensation, pensions and seniority). Consequently, each union commences campaigns to destroy the merger. There is further talk of boycotts, slowdowns, “blue flu,” and other obstacles. Thus, fear and misunderstanding among each company’s officials and customers bring merger discussions to a halt. Eventually, both companies call off the proposed merger.
Or consider this example: Company officials hear of a union organizing campaign. In order to prevent unionizing, the company commences an overly aggressive union prevention campaign which incorporates talk of layoffs, relocation and creating new compensation and benefits policies. Consequently, the prospective union fights back by proliferating fear and filing agency complaints (e.g., unfair labor practices charges), which the company now has to defend. Thus, productivity decreases, expenses increase, morale deteriorates and the potential for unionization is significantly increased.
Poorly aligned macro and micro HR practices led to the above discussed problems. The fact is, in order to prevent money from escaping out the “back door,” a business needs to anticipate and fully understand HR related problems before they arise or escalate.
I will be explaining more on Labor & Employment Relations/Law in my next article. Do look out for it.
As a labor and employment attorney and businessperson,
Charles Krugel has represented management in hundreds of negotiations, in-house and 3rd party proceedings. Charles has over 13 years of experience in the field and he has run his own successful management side practice for the past 7 years.