Month: January 2022

How difficult can it be to define a successful entrepreneur? You open your browser; you start Google-ing successful business people and start looking for common characteristics. Is it their knowledge that makes them successful? Or maybe his/her teamwork skills? What about their parental influence? Luck? You will soon realize that whatever you may see at the surface may be complemented by other attributes not easily discoverable. Many writers have committed their time to defining the perfect skills and characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. Some have managed to pinpoint specific skills, some just wondered around each them, comparing and determining others to play with the question: What defines a successful entrepreneur? The answer to this question became even more important after...

Have you had a job forever and are you tired of the daily grind? Do you feel like you are getting absolutely nowhere? Are you interacting with the same people day after day? Are you ready for a change? Are you worried that you might not have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur? Let's discuss some of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs: Are you ready to be your own boss? Do you have the self discipline to stick with your plan? Can you stay on track? Being your own boss is great. However, you must develop a plan for your business and then be disciplined enough to follow through on that plan. In the beginning, it takes time to learn the new business and new skills you may need to be successful. You must be willing to commit to that plan. Expect some failures to...

Everybody wants to be their own boss. It really is like a dream come true- you don't have to answer to anyone and you basically own your time. If you are one of these people, I'm sure you are wondering how you can be a great entrepreneur. Most new entrepreneurs aren't too sure how or when they should start their business. They think that they need to hold a degree in Business Management or that they need to have previous experience to be a successful entrepreneur. But you see, there are really three things that you need to be a great entrepreneur. Steph Korey A Curious Entrepreneur You know when they say that "curiosity killed the cat" and that being curious can do you some harm. But for an entrepreneur, curiosity is actually very helpful and can assist you in becoming a great ...

Entrepreneurs are often thought of as eternal optimists, always pushing forward in the face of all obstacles and ignoring the concerns of others about the future of their enterprises. But the reality may well be that entrepreneurs are more susceptible to depression, Steph Korey  loss of motivation, suicidal thoughts and other related mental health issues than those in the general population. That the life of an entrepreneur is stressful should come as no surprise. From dealing with suppliers, customers and employees to the fiscal concerns of staying in the black, meeting payrolls and even keeping the lights on, entrepreneurs deal with so many more factors than face employees. And while losing one's job can create difficulties for an employee, losing one's business often results in the l...

It never ceases to amaze business owners how some seemingly simple decisions, made during the early years of their business startup, can become fatal errors down the road. After meeting with many business owners across a broad spectrum of industries it's common to find them enduring the consequences of the same, or similar, errors over and over again. In most cases these early errors become very costly. In some cases they are fatal. Below are the 5 most common errors to avoid when starting a business. 1. The most common error to avoid is not doing the math. While successful business owners need not have a PhD in Mathematics, they do need to know how to use the basic functions of a calculator. Every fourth grade student has learned the basic math skills of addition, subtraction, multi...

Despite difficult challenges, entrepreneurs are "the engines of growth" that are transforming the American economy. According to the Small Business Administration, entrepreneurs start more than 600,000 businesses in the United States every year. How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy? Let me share with you some of the most recent information (September, 2009) published by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. Small businesses... • Represent 99.7% of all employer firms. • Employ just over half of all private sector employees. • Pay 44% of total U.S. private payroll. • Generate 64% (net) of new jobs over the past 15 years. • Create more than 50% of the nonfarm private gross domes¬tic product (GDP). • Hire 40% of high tech workers...

There is a difference between scribbling an idea on a paper napkin and starting a business real-time. And it is even more difficult to make the business a successful one. Often, the budding entrepreneurs would jump off their seats in excitement whenever they imagine the profitable possibilities. However, they forget to discover whether the idea is viable or not. And this is where, they experience a major setback. Being an entrepreneur is no kid's game. If you do not have the perception and commitment towards your goals, you can in no way achieve success. "An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it." Roy Ash, Co-Founder of Litton Industries This is true for many budding entrepreneurs who generally get surged away with...

The media has made lots of reports about entrepreneurs. Some may be true, some are not. Here are the 5 myths about being an entrepreneur. Myth #1: Entrepreneurs only care about making money Many people think entrepreneurs do what they do strictly for the money, and that taking risks is all about entrepreneur's personal reward. While fear of poverty or use of money as a scorecard may have some relevance - and there are, of course, some entrepreneurs focused primarily on financial profits - generally, money is not the ultimate motivator for the majority of entrepreneurs. Many successful entrepreneurs do not live a lavish lifestyles that reflect their financial success. Their motives are often more about ego and emotion. For most entrepreneurs, money is just a way to keep score. ...

Successful entrepreneurs are distinctly different from individuals who just want a job. There are critical differences that you need to be aware of before you decide to quit your job and start your own business. Many times people think a business is a solution being unemployed. The truth is, 90% of businesses fail in the first five years and 90% of the 10% fail in ten years. The reason for this failure is that we are not taught the qualities and given the knowledge needed to be successful entrepreneurs. We are trained to be employees so we can earn money for someone else. That makes you think doesn't it? Every hour you put in a job is putting more money than you make in someone else's pocket. Whose pocket, you ask? The successful entrepreneur. So, why are successful entrepreneurs suc...

The question remains: What makes a good entrepreneur?   Innovative imagination, intelligence, and judgment certainly come first, since there's no point learning how to communicate with the venture partners in the absence of commercial ideas that are worth communicating. An entrepreneur must also have confidence in his ideas and the self-assurance and personal presence to lead well, to be completely convincing, even inspiring, in the role. Good business acumen is essential, both for judging overall qualities and for pinpointing specific problems within large and complicated launch issues. A well-trained "entrepreneurial outlook," too, or "mind-set," is very important for studying markets and for "seeing" market gaps just by looking at consumer behaviour and reaction. I...