Category: Entrepreneurship

Image courtesy: https://stocksnap.io/photo/1ZSNQTSXVM

Article Contributed by Rose Martin

You stand out. You are fearless. You dream big. You know the power of your mind and words. You are hailed as the next big thing. You are told you are finished. You create, you destroy, you climb, you fall. But you are never afraid to try. If that’s just you I have described, you are an entrepreneur. We have seen an avalanche of entrepreneurs in the last five years. Zuckerberg has stunned us, Hoffman of Linkedin has us all employed, (all pun intended) and, Evan Spiegel of Snapchat emerged as the world’s youngest billionaire at 25.

With stats like that, who wouldn’t want to ride the entrepreneurship tide? Yet, few ace the game, while others are left bleeding money and resources and, with a perennial struggle. After intensive studying of  business leaders, books, young entrepreneurs, and almost- successes, I have realized that, this one thing can make or break an entrepreneur. This is indeed the most important ingredient in the recipe of entrepreneurial success- leadership or a strong ability to lead.

Leadership as we Understood v/s Leadership Today 

A leader is someone at the top, he controls and takes decisions, he is a symbol of authority and his word is our action. This authority figure also motivates his subordinates and they execute satisfactorily what is asked of them.

Right?

Wrong! Leadership has moved beyond the tenets of ‘yes sir’ and silent compliance. Today’s leaders have broken the rules and concentrate on 360 degree functioning of the company. It’s such leaders who come up with ground -breaking insights and become successful entrepreneurs and businessmen.

To be an entrepreneur, you will have to be a leader, and a good one. Some of us believe that we just don’t have the ability to lead. Wrong again! Each one of us has the ability to be a fantastic leader.  Read on and you will believe this.You absolutely have it in you to be a good leader, you just need to master a few things and tap the tsunami of potential you possess. Find out how the changing landscape of leadership and entrepreneurship are directly proportional to one another.

Master the Art of Storytelling 

To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to know the pulse of your target audience and your employees. As the bestselling author, Dave Weber would tell you, leadership has been redefined. Leaders who eventually become the most successful entrepreneurs stand out, from the beginning.

They are unassuming, they can make their clients and employees laugh, and they are great storytellers.

The best sellers are the greatest storytellers. That’s what these leaders do, they weave a story around each of their business, a story that is so compelling, that people want to be a part of that story, that story strikes up board-room and dinner-table conversations, a story that potential clients simply cannot ignore.

They take the lead in thinking, dreaming and creating a story, a brand. That’s the first step of being an entrepreneur. The journey only begins from here.

Learn to be Seen

One of the key points of entrepreneurial success is visibility. Being present at the right place at the right time, can give huge impetus to your start-up. But that presence, that visibility is not just a ploy of luck or chance.

It involves study and detailed understanding of social and economic dynamics. A successful entrepreneur is observant, he reads a situation before reacting. He then takes the lead in communicating his message. No one is a born leader or born communicator.

In fact, all of us become introverts suddenly, when we have to speak to a room full of stalwarts.

• ‘How should I talk about myself?’

• ‘Am I selling too hard?’

• ‘Is it the right time or occasion to discuss such things?’

These questions will always plague you, but taking that call to action is what leadership is all about. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to develop that courage, communication skills and confidence to strike up a conversation, to make smooth small talk , and make your presence felt without being too pushy or cocky.

Take Tough Decisions

Today’s leaders are not in the game to please everybody. They realize that tough calls will need to be taken. Anybody can start and run a business. Only a fearless leader can take it to the next level. Tough decisions will need to be taken. In 2013, 23 -year-old co-founder of Snapchat turned down a $3 billion purchase by Facebook.

Today, in 2015 Snapchat is said to be valued at $16 billion. At a time when high valued acquisitions were functioning as game changers, this young leader and visionary dared to take a risk. The results are for the world to see.

Ruffle a Few Feathers

Leadership requires courage. You will not be able to please everybody. If you are doing that, you are doing something wrong. Stop, think and speak up. Don’t try to keep all your clients happy. Don’t try to be loved by all your employees. Have the courage to be different, to go against the tide, to be unpopular, to have faith in yourself even when the world is against you.

A leader is not selfish, but he is not selfless either. Learn that attribute. Place your business and its interests first. Being agreeable can wait. Keep your communication absolutely clear. If that requires displeasing some people on the way, it’s fine. Let courage be your voice. Voice your courage. A great leader fearlessly does that. A successful entrepreneur needs to do that.

• Raise difficult issues

• Provide tough feedback

• Share unpopular opinions. 

Look the Part

Like it or not, to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to look your best at all times. Besides, nothing spells action and seriousness, quite like a crisp bespoke suit, tailored jackets, well-groomed hair and the like. It shows you care. You set an example. There is ample research to prove ,that the way you are dressed affects your productivity and thought processes. Formal business attire automatically makes you more focused, authoritative and competent.

Northwestern University researchers, Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky have researched and found out that clothing can systematically influence the wearer’s attitude and psychological processes.

So, suit up fellas. Not all of us can pull off a Mark Zuckerberg- wear your jumper and trainers and, continue minting billions. Be ready for any opportunity knocking at your door and look the part of a successful and focused leader and entrepreneur.

Trust Your Instincts and Intuition 

You know what really successful entrepreneurs do? They don’t over-analyze, they don’t complicate, they don’t procrastinate. They just trust their instincts and execute. In our age of information-assault, it is very difficult to trust our instincts. We feel safer and more secure, when we can see reason and logic somewhere around. But sometimes, you just have to let go and trust your instincts. Good leaders are born out of logic and reasoning, great leaders out of spontaneity, impulse, spur-of-the-moment ideas and instincts.

By no way am I telling you to forget all arguments and reason and rely only on your intuition. What I am telling you, and most successful entrepreneurs will tell you is, to have faith on your intuition and instincts. They can take you to places reason never can. National bestsellers’ author Malcolm Gladwell states in his book Blink, how accurate our first impressions and instincts can be. He cites many studies and real-life situations to explain a theory called thin-slicing. The takeaways of this theory you need to remember to be a successful entrepreneur are:

• We are blessed with the ability to make accurate assessments of a person by just knowing them for a few seconds.

• Great generals can comprehend a battlefield in just a glance

• Students can predict who will be a good teacher by spending mere seconds in their company

• Businessmen can make the best choices instinctively

• Entrepreneurs intuitively know who will be an asset for them in the first few minutes of a meeting.

• The best decisions are often ones that are impossible to explain to others.

Finally, Know That You Are Your Best Investment 

You and your idea are worth every penny. Never doubt yourself. Never stop. Never think of going back, no matter how hard the situation.

You have to keep learning, you have to evolve, but you will have to lead from the front. Surrender to your abilities and hard work. Be brave, don’t fear to take the first step, don’t wait for guidance, don’t wait for compliments, accept criticism., be unpopular. Aim high, prepare to fail, prepare to never give up. Sometimes you may have to be all alone, but continue to lead, your conviction will inspire,  and,your actions will motivate. Have faith ,and, lead your dreams and your company to dizzying heights of success, recognition and fame. Be a leader worth emulating.

About the Author: 

Rose Martin is a blogger and her main interest in blogging is for finance, investment, frugal living, family and beauty. When she’s not working, she enjoys cooking, sipping a cold beer and spending time with family.

Article Contributed by Chris

There are (of course) about a million things that make being a student one of the absolute best times of your life. Among them:

• Meeting new friends
• Living away from home for the first time
• Expanding your mind with knowledge
• Gaining new independence and experience

Being a student is also a really good time for trying things out. New hairstyles, new cuisines, maybe even using your extended summer holiday to go and have an adventure in a new country – or even a new continent!

One thing that more and more people these days are doing is going into business. People from all walks of life, too – from young mothers to the mature and sage self-employed folks.

And it really makes sense for many to start up a business – and if you’re a student, it’s good to have interests outside of the curriculum. Plus, it also means (hopefully!) having a little bit of hard earned cash to save or spend.

Breaking Into Business (While Also Studying for a Degree)

There’s an idea that entrepreneurs are people who have this lightning flash of inspiration and suddenly introduce the world to a whole new set of things. But not all entrepreneurs are Elon Musk, Steve Jobs or Richard Branson. In fact one guy I was at college with started a cleaning business while doing his degree. And after finishing his degree? You guessed it – he pursued his business dream, grew the business – and now does pretty well.

What my fellow student did not do was to sit there dreaming, or overthinking what the world needed. He just saw a service that is massively important, got going with the business nuts and bolts – and made a good living. What he didn’t do was in fact probably the two of the most important things that we all need to avoid in business:

• He didn’t needlessly spend time reinventing the wheel
• He didn’t get put off by the understandable challenges of starting out

What Business Ideas Could Students Consider?

Obviously there are lots of ideas out there, but today I just want to concentrate on a few – just to illustrate the kinds of ways that people can – and do – start up in business.

Retail. Of course if you’re studying, then a bricks and mortar store might not be practical. This of course is where the internet comes in handy. However, a lot of markets are crowded and it may take a little time, thought and inspiration to find your selling niche.

One good example of a student business selling something that others may not have thought of is Sakura Health UK – which specialises in Japanese influenced therapy products. Read the fascinating story of this business here.

Services. If you’re studying abroad, people may want to learn your language – and to pay for the privilege. Or you may be a brilliant guitar player and also have a facility for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm. If you have a set of sellable skills, think of ways that you could use them to make a profit – and also about how you could grow your business once it’s off the ground.

Making things. Okay, so this one is a bit of a toughie, unless you have the wherewithal and the skills to build stuff. But let’s not forget that Apple was started in a garage, while a lot of people who make furniture and so on also work out of garage-sized proportions. There are actually quite a lot of products that make it onto the mass marketplace that started life as someone’s home project.

Being a lucky outlier. Okay so this one’s not quite so easy – but for a small (and growing) number of people, using platforms such as YouTube can mean making a fortune. And you don’t even need to be a performer: among the rising stars on YouTube (and with literally millions of subscribers) are people presenting things as varied as make-up tutorials and wacky short comedy sketches. Unfortunately, there’s no business roadmap for this one – what goes viral, goes viral. And what doesn’t, uh, doesn’t. Could be worth a try though: with no hard and fast formula, nobody knows what the next big thing will be.

Getting Tooled Up For Business

Professionalism isn’t all about your product, service or grand idea, though. A lot of it is grounded in practicality and the boring backroom stuff: the profit margins, the projections, the revenue stream, and so on. But if you know how to build the foundations of a business, you will far better placed to look at your achievements (and, yes, failures) in perspective.

There’s a whole world out there offering support and advice for people starting out in the world of business. So make full use of it. Here are some useful jump-off points to explore this world of commercial advice and support in more detail

Startup incubators – never has there been a better time for seeking help with your early-stage company. Incubators exist for a simple reason – even the biggest and the best (like Apple and Google) start off small.

Indemnity and liability cover – depending on your type and size of business, these and other insurances are likely to be a statutory requirement. This US Government guide covers the basics.  If you’re in the UK, the Association of British Insurers trade body has a helpful guide here.

Business toolkits – these cover a wide range of topics that you’ll probably want to think about, including writing your business plan, growing your business plan, becoming an employer and so on. This guide has a lot of these covered – and if you want to find out about government support and grants, this UK Government toolkit is very useful.

Networking – this can take many forms, and lead you to new ways of thinking – as well as making vital connections with suppliers, customers, and also help you see what the competition is up to. This article by Smarta goes over the main points.

Putting it all together

If there’s a universal golden rule in business, it’s this: perseverance. Of all the self made multimillionaires out there (and there are loads of them, a full 100% of them started out with little more than hope and an idea. Plenty met failure along the way – and a good proportion of them have stated that they value the mis-steps and the off-targets. Why? Because these were valuable lessons they put to use when they stepped back on the road to success.

Being on your own in business can be very hard work, and it can be lonely sometimes. So make sure you step back now and then and realise you’re not really alone at all. Get some books by business and entrepreneur gurus and read what they have to say – even giants like Richard Branson started right at the very beginning. Reading the stories of the biggest and best in business is often an inspiration in itself.

 

About the Author

My name is Chris and I manage the Spend It Like Beckham blog where you’ll find all things sports and finance. When I’m not writing there, I’m spreading the good word wherever I can, covering areas such as business, student life and technology. You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter

Article contributed by Toby Triebel

Being your own boss has some obvious perks, but some advantages of entrepreneurship are less evident.Spotcap, the fastest online credit platform, reveals the five best reasons for running your own business instead of working for a big company.

1. An entrepreneurial mind is a happy mind

Research has found that an entrepreneurial mind is a happy mind. According to a study by the United Nations University, individuals who swap regular employment for self-employment experience a significant increase in life satisfaction. The level of satisfaction even increases from the first year of self-employment to the second. Scientists agree that the average happiness of early stage entrepreneurs is higher than the happiness level of employees in big companies.

2. Small business funding gains big momentum

Funding for small businesses is more abundant than ever. Crowdfunding, angel investors, small business loans and governmental incentive programs enable entrepreneurship at an early stage. In the past, entrepreneurial ambitions all too often fell through due to a lack of financing. Today, the biggest challenge is choosing from the wide range of funding options. This leaves more time to focus on realizing ideas and developing an effective business strategy.

3. Accelerating innovation on a big level

Experimentation is imperative for small businesses focused on innovation, ideas and opportunities. A small company offers you the chance to shake things up. Lots of large corporations have lost their ability to innovate due to financial woes and inflexible management. The opposite applies for small companies. Governmental programs such as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) initiative in the U.S. support small companies with funding for research and development.

4. Small businesses prove resilient in tough times

Entrepreneurship has experienced a real resurgence since the recent recession. More startups are being founded than ever before. At a time when many countries are struggling with economic uncertainty, small businesses have become a viable source for employment and an attractive alternative to corporate life. Take Spain for example: Entrepreneurs already generate the majority of the country’s new jobs. SMEs account for 65% of GDP and 80% of total employed people in Spain.

5. The changing image of entrepreneurship

The social prestige ascribed to entrepreneurs is huge. Larry Page, Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerberg are pioneers and idols for a whole generation. By comparison, corporate life has become less attractive. According to a current study by the London Business School, millennials long for greater flexibility, control and purpose at work. More and more people are seeking career satisfaction by initiating change instead of tolerating a brain numbing day job.

About the Author

Toby Triebel is co-founder of Spotcap. Spotcap enables small business owners to grow their business by providing fast and flexible financing which leverages cutting-edge technology. The company was launched in Madrid in September 2014 and is led by co-founders Toby Triebel and Jens Woloszczak in Berlin and managing director Pablo Pastega, who leads Spanish operations. The team – currently consisting of 30 credit and online experts – plans to expand its service both geographically and across products. Spotcap is backed by Rocket Internet – the world’s leading global internet platform outside of the US and China. Read more about Spotcap: www.spotcap.com

Are you in a Groundhog Day rut? Does yesterday look like today which resembles tomorrow which also reminds you of yesterday?

For those of you who don’t know the reference to the classic movie, Groundhog Day, Bill Murray finds himself trapped in a time loop, and every day is identical. Every day, events repeat themselves from the original day. He is only able to break out of the loop when he changes his thinking fundamentally, by embracing all aspects of his life.

Entrepreneurs are often in this rut. Every day is a manic Monday, and the concept of a Friday, let alone a weekend is inconceivable.  Sometimes this loop is unavoidable, but here are a few pointers for yourself to stay sane when you are in this cycle:

• Give yourself a timeframe. Learn more about timeboxing and the Pomodoro technique.
• Make sure you see a light at the end of the tunnel. Take a step away from the business. This will allow you to see the entire picture holistically. If there is no light, it’s time to abort mission.
• Make sure your team has the same calendar as you. If you are the only one without a weekend, take steps to change that.
• As the character in Groundhog Day did, change your thinking fundamentally. If you are really meant to work hard on your startup, and it is bringing you joy, isn’t everyday actually a Friday?

And if you need some more tips about how 19 different entrepreneurs got out of the rut, these tips will help.

Let us know if you agree with this comic. How do you deal with the Monday blues?

This was originally created and posted by Kriti Vichare on #entrepreneurfail: Startup Success.