Category: Entrepreneurs

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Entrepreneurs

3 Little-Known Biz Benefits to Writing & Publishing a Book

There’s a lot of excellent reasons to take the time to write and publish a book. Having authored a book gives you instant credibility as an expert, which immediately sets you apart from everyone else in your field, helps fill your pipeline with perfect clients and gives you a reason to raise your rates. Plus books make great giveaways and client gifts, which is another fabulous way to use them.

But there are also a few other reasons to author a book you may not have thought of. Here are 3 to keep in mind as you decide if it’s time to get that book written in between everything else on that to-do list:

* Book readers tend to be better clients. Even though you’re probably not going to get rich selling a $15 book, the people who take the time to read your book will be more likely to buy your other products and programs AND spend more money overall with you (either by buying multiple programs or just investing in the higher-priced programs). So if you have a good backend set up (and what I mean by that is if you have other products or programs to sell them) writing a book is the perfect way to position yourself and your ideal client to get them into your sales funnel.

* Kindle rocks! Okay this may not be so little-known anymore, but the reality is with all the options out there with Kindle and ebooks in general, you have more ways to get your books into your ideal clients hands than ever before and if you position a lead generating opt in correctly inside your book (and what I mean by that is offering more free resources if they go to a page on your website and enter their name and email address to get the download) you’re going to have a way to capture leads from folks who are truly interested in taking what you teach to a deeper level (which of course will lead to more sales).

Something else to consider — as an author you’ll have a presence on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, which in some cases is better than a presence on Google. Think about it — if someone is searching for resources on Google, they’re probably looking for something free. If they’re searching for resources on Amazon then they’re looking for something to buy — which means those are the buyers, not the looky loos.

* What about your ideal clients who aren’t book readers? Well you can also turn your book into an audio book, which means you’ll reach another segment of your ideal clients. Now if they really aren’t book readers (or book listeners) at all, just the sheer fact you’ve written a book will still add to your credibility and expert status with them.

* And a bonus tip — for many entrepreneurs, one of the big reasons why you went into business for yourself in the first place was because you wanted to make a difference in the world. What better way to spread your message and get your gifts out there is by writing and publishing a book? Think about your book as a little messenger — spreading your message and transformation everywhere it goes. Now isn’t THAT a great reason to finally sit down and finish that book?

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Entrepreneurs

The 3 Top Things Every Successful Entrepreneur Needs to Focus On

Have you ever seen those commercials where the business owner talks about wearing every hat including the janitor’s?

While those commercials are definitely true, what I don’t like about them is they also imply it’s okay to KEEP wearing all sorts of hats in your business, like the janitors.

You see, it’s one thing when you first start out to do everything in your business. At that point you have more time, less clients and not a lot of money flowing in. And chances are you’re so excited you WANT to be working on your business all the time.

The problem comes in when you never leave that place. If you’re one of those entrepreneurs or business owners who feels like you “must have a hand in everything or it falls apart/isn’t done right/doesn’t get done at all/etc” then this is definitely for you. Because, you see, you will NEVER build a sustainable, profitable business unless you stop doing and start leading.

And the first step is to stop wading around in the details and instead take a step back and start looking at the big picture of your business. (I mean, if YOU don’t have the big picture view of your business, who does?)

So with that in mind, here are the 3 top things you need to keep a big picture eye on in your business if you want it to grow to a successful, sustainable, profitable business:

1. Vision. Are you on track to reaching your overall goals? Are you staying in integrity with your overall brand and message? Are you creating confusion in the marketplace with your offerings or are they in line with what your ideal clients want from you?

It’s very important to have an overall plan for your business and to be working that plan. Without a plan it’s very easy to be flailing around and not be building any traction or momentum. (Or even worse, be slowly sinking because you’re created confusion in the marketplace.)

2. Finances. Do you know where you sit financially? What is your cash flow each month? Your expenses? Also do you know when you need to be marketing? For instance, you have a 6-month coaching program — do you have plan so you can launch your program every 6 months? Even if it’s a rolling program (meaning people can join anytime) you still need set times in your schedule where you know you’ll be actively marketing to attract new clients into your programs.

3. Marketing. Do you have a marketing and promotional calendar in place? Does it include regular marketing tasks (like writing your ezine) along with program and product launches? Are you following it? This is something else you need to keep an eye on — how your marketing is going. And if it’s not going, then this needs to be a priority for you to get it going.

Now this doesn’t mean YOU have to do all this work yourself — what is does means is you need to be aware of the big picture of what exactly is happening in your business and then figure out the best way to get all the tasks completed in the most efficient way possible.

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Entrepreneurs

5 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

 

Successful entrepreneurs are rare because they don’t take their success for granted. They live by a set of rules and they know how to go beyond their comfort zone to create value in the market they are in. In short, they have habits that lead them towards success. They know how to replace their destructive habits with more constructive ones. In the following article we talk about some habits that every entrepreneur should seek to develop in order to find real success…

Habit #1: They Love What They Do

Entrepreneurs don’t run their businesses on money; they run them on passion. While money is important to them and they need it to grow their business, their passion drives them, not big financial gains. Their aim is to do what they love. If they create enough value in the market to get paid for it in the process, then all the better.

Nearly every entrepreneur who’s made it big started with an idea that they were really passionate about. They focused on things that they love to do, so in turn it rarely felt like working. They were able to dedicate themselves endlessly to their venture and eventually success followed.

Habit #2: They Know their Customers

Creating a real business that succeeds in the long run requires you to know your customers. It requires you to understand their needs and ensure that you give them the best solution. Entrepreneurs who regularly create profitable ventures spend a great deal of time knowing their customers.

They know exactly where the “gap” is in the market that they’re in. Focusing on those “gaps” allow for them to create products and services that sell. Ultimately, if you’re not delivering value to your target audience, your business cannot survive. And this is what successful entrepreneurs understand to the core.

Habit #3: They Pay Attention to Details

Entrepreneurs who have paved their own path knows that the Devil is in the details. They have this knack for paying real attention to details when it comes to solving problems and creating real-world solutions. This is what sets them apart from the pack and gives them their edge over the competition.

Boeing, which is one of the top leading aviation companies in the world today, has made it big because the entrepreneurial minds working behind the scenes have always paid attention to every minute detail – from the needs of the customers to plane’s engine. For instance, Boeing will regularly inspect their planes using videoscope’s to check that the plane’s engine are safe for passengers to fly in. The use of this type of tool can also cut costs by reducing inspection times go down (which leads into the next habit).

Habit #4: They Work Smarter Not Harder

It is a known fact that working hard is the key to success, be it any field. There’s nobody who will deny that. But what if your hard work is focused in the wrong direction? What if you could get ten times more returns from the same amount of hard work?

Top entrepreneurs always seem to find new and effective ways to work smarter, not harder. They know exactly how to take smart steps when it comes to making business decisions. For example, a good entrepreneur understands the value of delegation. Finding someone trustworthy to handle non-critical decisions will save them enough time that they can invest in creating better business strategies.

Habit #5: They Take Calculated Risks

Taking risks is a big part of the success in the business world, but not just any risks. An intelligent entrepreneur takes calculated risks so that they know what they are getting into. They do not play a blind game, but rather focus on taking risks that will help them get a good return on their investment without putting everything on the line.

This does not mean an entrepreneur cannot fail or will not experience loss. They obviously will, but a successful entrepreneur will use these failures to adjust their strategies even more so that they’ll be able to get better returns the next time they invest. Their failures often teach more valuable lessons than their successes.

The more you focus on developing the above habits, the stronger your entrepreneurial efforts will be. It will take some time before you start seeing success if you’re starting out, but understand that persistence is one quality that you will need in abundance to make it big. Period. 

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

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Entrepreneurs Success Attitude

The Value of Being “Second” — 3 Reasons Why Your Biz Might be Better Off Not Being First

There’s a lot of value around being first in your business. The first person to come up with a hot product or service tends to reap a huge amount of rewards in the process.

However, being first isn’t always all that and a bag of chips. In fact, there are times when being second to the party puts you in a better position than being first. Below are 3 reasons to celebrate being second:

1. You know there is a market for what you’re selling.

The one thing no one talks about in the “quest to be first” is the fact that lots of times, the person who is first falls flat on their face. Sure we all want to be Apple with the next iPod. But what about all those businesses who came up with some brand-spanking new gadget and didn’t sell a thing?

Years ago, I read a story about entrepreneurs knowing when it was time to give up. One of the stories was from a guy who created a picture frame that “talked” — I can’t remember if you could create your own audio but I do remember he had these pictures of famous events, like Neil Armstrong on the moon, and you pressed a button and heard a recording of Neil talking about one giant leap for mankind.

Everyone who saw it loved the concept. But no one loved it enough to buy them. He said he stayed in business a good couple years past when he should have quit and lost thousands more because people kept telling him what a cool concept that was even though it apparently wasn’t “cool” enough to actually purchase.

So here we have a story about someone who was first with this cool concept and no one bought it. Because there wasn’t a market for it. And that in a nutshell is why it can be scary to be first, because you have no idea if what you’re selling is something people actually want to buy. (Or at least want to buy at that moment of time — there are also stories of entrepreneurs who had the right idea at the wrong time — 10 years later the idea is big hit but not when they came up with it.)

Now, if you’re second, then you can celebrate because you know there’s a market for what you’re offering. In fact, I would go as far to say if there’s competition for what you want to offer that’s a good thing because then you know for sure there’s a market for it.

2. You can improve upon what the “first” already did.

Google wasn’t the first search engine out there. Zappos wasn’t the first to sell shoes online. But now both of them are the two-ton gorilla in the room. They looked at what the other “firsts” were doing — both right and wrong, and improved upon it.

And not only does this mean improving on the product or service it also means improving on the marketing.

If you are second you’re in a fabulous position to analyze what the “first” did and see how you can improve it to solidify your position in the marketplace. And if you do this right, you may have your own opportunity to be “first” — and reap the benefits without taking as much of the risks, which I cover in the next reason.

3. You have the opportunity to put your unique spin on whatever is “first” — which could make it “first.”

Let’s take coaches. Coaches have been around, well, probably for as long as there were people. I suspect when we were all cavemen we had coaches teaching us better ways to run away from saber tooth tigers and selecting the right berry to gather. But coaches as an entrepreneur industry is a relatively new thing. And the new twists on coaching also can make it feel first, even though the field of coaching is not new.

How this could work in your own business: See what you offer in your business that’s a “second” — is there a way you can put your own stamp on it (maybe combine with something else or approach it with a fresh angle) that could give you the security of knowing there’s a market while also letting you be “first” with your own twist? This is the secret to standing out in a crowded marketplace so don’t rush into this. Play around with some ideas and test them out to see what you come up with.

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Entrepreneurs

5 Qualities Which Every Entrepreneur Has

Article Contributed by Will Vicary

Becoming an entrepreneur is the dream of so many people from different walks of life. From the college student studying to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, to the housewife whose children are now school-aged, entrepreneurship can be a great opportunity. While some people like Catherine Cook and Mark Zuckerberg have made hundreds of millions of dollars as entrepreneurs, unfortunately this does not happen 99% of the time. Entrepreneurs must possess specific qualities if they want to succeed, earn profits, and come up with an innovative business. If you have an idea and you are in the process of developing your business plan, here are 5 qualities that you must possess to succeed.

These are five qualities that every entrepreneurial minded people possess:

Focused

When you are employed by a corporation and you work in an office, you have no choice but to go to work if you want to keep your job. The corporation will keep you on their payroll if you attend work, perform, and meet your goals. You must be an asset for the corporation to justify the cost of keeping you on payroll. But when you are entrepreneur, the idea and the business is yours. You must be willing and ready to dedicate countless hours starting your business even when it feels like you have nothing to show for it at first. The best entrepreneurs are passionate about their ideas and can stay focused without micromanagement. Be prepared to put in the effort and the time.

Innovative 

Most people know that technology has changed business dramatically. With new software programs, new computers, new portable tablets, and new marketing strategies, everything is changing on what seems like a daily basis. All of the best entrepreneurs are prepared for the constant changes that the industry will bring. They are not just creative, they are innovative. They can adapt technologies to suit their own professional needs and will not let changes in technology overwhelm them.

Energetic and Motivated

Entrepreneurs do not need anyone else to motivate them. The idea of succeeding is the only thing an entrepreneurial-minded individual needs to drive them and keep them motivated. Those who cannot motivate themselves may not be the best entrepreneurs. It is very important for anyone considering entrepreneurship to be energetic, excited, and most importantly self-motivated.

Competitive by Nature

With so much competition in every industry, every entrepreneur is going to have to face the competition at some point and time. When a new business opens, the owner needs to market their business and the value. They need to compete against other businesses that are already extremely successful in the same industry. If you are not competitive by nature or you easily feel defeated, you might not possess the competitive gene that the best entrepreneurs possess.

Be a Leader and a Team Player

When you think about being a team leader, you might think that this is completely different than being a team player. The best leaders are team players. You are going to need a team to help you come up with ideas, operate the business, and accomplish goals. The best entrepreneurs can drive themselves but they are also team driven.

All entrepreneurs are ready to feel but motivated to succeed. As you can see, successful entrepreneurs possess specific qualities. Some of these qualities are inherent and some of these qualities can be learned through experience. You must be confident, passionate, and ready to accept rejection. With these key personal qualities, ambition, and inner drive, many people like the Mark Zuckerberg, maker of Facebook, have grown their business larger than they ever dreamed of growing it.

About The Author

Will Vicary writes on behalf of a number of businesses on topics such as fiduciary management and auto enrolment. He enjoys reading about business as much as he enjoys writing about it. Any opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the businesses Will writes for.