Tag: entrepreneur

Tips that will Help you to Become a Successful Solo Entrepreneur

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Being a solo entrepreneur does not mean that you are truly destined for a life of solitude.  It also doesn’t mean that you are putting yourself on the path to financial ruin. Sure, there will be tough moments when you need to make big decisions, and you may find yourself working hours that are incredibly unsociable. That being said, it’s not the load of running a business that will break you down. It is the way that you carry it. Becoming a solopreneur is easily one of the most exciting adventures you can hope to embark on. On top of this, you may find that you have so much freedom when it comes to making decisions. If you want to make sure that your solo venture is successful, then the only thing that you need to do is take a look below.

Create a Plan

If you have decided that life as a solopreneur is for you, then the most important thing that you have to do is make sure that you build a very successful routine. You have to know where you do your best work, and what time you are able to get the most done. Most solopreneurs have fantastic morning routines that help to set them up for the rest of the day. If you can build a regular routine and if you can build a good working pattern, then this will set you up for the rest of the day. Look at the responsibilities you have right now and when you have a good idea of how many hours you have in your working week, you can then easily plan out your schedule.

Embrace Others

Sure, you will be working as a solopreneur, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t connect with other people. You need to make sure that you research which big influencers are in your neighborhood, and you also need to sign up to any business programs that are present as well. This will help you to become the best that you can be, and it will also help you to stay motivated. When you have done this, you can then try and find entrepreneurs on a global level. You have to ask them to share their experiences with you and you also need to connect with them on social media if you can. Embracing global connectivity will help you out a great deal, so make sure that you do not overlook it if possible. When it comes to connecting with people, it never hurts to sign up with a good marketing agency. Try and find someone who is a specialist in your niche. If you are a photographer for example, then consider signing up with a marketing agency for photographers.

Balance your Books

It’s super important that you take things at your own pace. You won’t get anywhere if you burn yourself out or if you don’t track your cash reserves. Success is possible if you build a good business on a strong foundation. Make this happen by developing a great service and also by making sure that you have a good social media presence.

How to Emulate Successful Entrepreneurs

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Do you ever wonder how an entrepreneur gets so successful? How did they do it? What do they do on an average day? These and other questions can leave you thinking if you’re doing anything right or wrong with your own business. While there may be some mysteries as to how successful entrepreneurs do their work and how they spend their day, there are small ways that you can emulate these successful entrepreneurs. Here are some great tips that successful entrepreneurs do that you can imitate themselves!

Setting realistic goals

Any successful business owner knows that whatever goals that they set for themselves and their business have to be obtainable. Smart and successful owners accept their current position and will go about taking small steps to achieve great things. Maintaining this major focus while going about it slowly is the best way to make your goals far more achievable. Also making small phases for goals such as weekly or quarterly is another great way to create easy and realistic goals that can have a major impact on your business.

Love what you do

Successful entrepreneurs love what they do, their work is their passion. Their work is their passion not because they’re a workaholic, but because they truly enjoy what they’re doing and want to continue moving forward doing it. This element of passion is what sets a person apart. Loving what you do and having a passion for it is going to make your work seem far more excellent and you’ll be less likely to feel any negative feelings such as dread. But having this passion for all of the work that you do will also prevent distractions, so you won’t become side-tracked.

Staying focused

Having a clear vision and staying focused on it is going to be one of the key components to how an entrepreneur gets successful and how they stay so successful. They keep connected to their visions whether it be through writing it down, having a vision board, daily reminders, or possibly other ways to keep connected to how they want their destiny to be. They also know helpful tips to keep their business and private life separate. It’s important to try to avoid any distractions and to keep your eyes on the prize.

Networking with like minded people

You don’t need to try to attempt to network with millionaires or owners of Fortune 500 companies. You instead just need to network and be around like-minded people who want to learn, who aim to be successful, or are staying focused. Networking with like-minded people will help in finding inspiration and accountability. There are plenty of networking events where you can find like-minded people.

Always being open to learning

There’s always time to keep on learning. The passion of always wanting to grow and learn is going to be a major aspect of how your business will expand. This is something that entrepreneurs constantly keep paying attention to. They read through books, attend courses, workshops, go to summits, hire a coach, do a program, visit seminars, or anything else as long as it allows them to further their education. Being open to growing and developing is going to have a major impact on your and your business in the long run. Doing things such as this is going to allow you to give your small business a big presence.

3 Tips for Millennials Who Want to Become Entrepreneurs

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Millennials get a bad rap for a number of reasons, some of them justified, others less so.

Among some of the less flattering stereotypes of millennials that exist out there, is the idea that they are entitled, undisciplined, and lack the ambition required to achieve great things in business.

Of course, there’s no reason why millennials can’t become successful entrepreneurs – and, in fact, many are spearheading the charge into the new and exciting world of web-based, location-independent work.

All the same, there are various tips that might be useful for millennials who want to become entrepreneurs, without living out some of the worst stereotypes of their generation.

Here are a few of those tips.

Aim to work smart and hard, in a balanced way – not just to work smart

One trend that commonly repeats on millennial-centered blogs and websites, regarding entrepreneurial work, is the desire to find ways to “work smart” instead of just “working hard.”

This desire to find efficient ways to get more done, in less time, with less effort, is often quite closely connected to the desire to travel the world while working remotely, and living a life of adventure. It’s in stark contradiction to the old idea of an entrepreneur as someone in a suit who never leaves the office, and who doesn’t have a personal life.

Of course, balance is important. Doing nothing but work is not likely to be fulfilling for many people, on a deeper level.

And, it’s also true that finding ways to “work smart” is important in order to maintain peak efficiency, and allow for proper work-life balance.

Don’t, however, fall into the trap of aiming to work “smart” and not work “hard” at all. Instead, aim to work smart and hard, while maintaining balance.

All entrepreneurs have to work hard if they want to be successful. If you don’t, be sure that your competitors will, anyway.

Get the basic infrastructure in place, get started as soon as you can, and stick with it

 

 

Often, people are daunted by the idea of setting out on an entrepreneurial path, and are good at procrastinating, making excuses, and drawing the process out forever.

If you actually want to become a successful entrepreneur, though, it’s important to get started as soon as you can, and to dedicate yourself to a process of iterative improvement, done consistently, over the mid and long-term.

If your business needs ATM equipment, buy it. But then, get started, and iron out the kinks as you go along.

Action builds momentum, and provides plenty of learning opportunities. And action combined with endurance can go a long way.

Become your own manager – get used to holding yourself to a schedule and routine

 

 

Associated with the general stereotype that millennials don’t like being constrained in their professional lives, is the idea that being an entrepreneur allows you to be completely intuitive and spontaneous with how you structure your time.

Realistically, though, it’s important for you to view the entrepreneur’s life as an injunction to become your own manager, and to hold yourself to a schedule and routine, and not as an excuse to do what you want, when you want.

It’s always much easier to actually achieve things when you have some order in your life.

 

 

Giving Clients A Meeting To Remember

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Working for your own business isn’t like having a normal job. If you want to succeed while running something like this, you have to be prepared to compete, as you will almost certainly have other companies ready and waiting to take the work which you’re not able to get. As a big part of this, first impressions can be very important when you’re trying to secure a client. To help you to use this to your advantage, making your first meeting into something they will always remember, this post will be exploring some of the work you will have to do along the way.

Learn About Them: While it may seem a little too ambitious, learning about someone’s personal life can be very helpful when you’re trying to make a meeting which is perfect for them. Knowing what they enjoy spending their time on, the food they like, and the sorts of people they tend to associate with can all be found on websites like Facebook. With people posting all of the intimate details of their life, it is worth taking full advantage of platforms like this, especially when you’re working on competing with other businesses.

Do Something They Like: Once you have an idea of what your prospective client is interested in, you can start to look for activities which will make them happy. For example, if they like to play golf, spending some time during your meeting on the course will give you the chance to take their mind off the other companies they’ve been seeing. You may have to invest in a few things, like clubs and ultra lightweight golf bags, but this will be worth it once you have a new client. Of course, though, you will need to make sure that you can talk properly during the meeting.

Plan And Prepare: When you’re getting ready for a meeting like this, it’s worth treating it in a similar way to a job interview. You will need to practice what you plan to talk about, planning for all of the questions they might have for you. Going through this process may seem a little over the top, but it will make it much easier to get things right when you’re nervous about the person you’re talking to.

Don’t Push Too Hard: Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about the sorts of conversations you’re going to have during your meeting. In most places, it’s customary to start something like this with a little bit of small talk. This will make it look like you’re genuinely interested in sparking a business relationship with them, rather than simply working towards making sales, and this will always make you look good.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of making memorable meetings for your clients. A lot of people struggle in this area, finding it hard to now exactly what needs to be done when they’re trying to impress another business. In reality, though, this is quite simple, as long as you’re willing to do things which they enjoy.

When To Turn Your Side Hustle Full Time

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Are you someone with some very clear business ideas? Maybe you took one of them and turned it into your bit on the side, making money whenever you’ve got the time to work 5 to 9? Well, if you managed to succeed with that side hustle plan, the one you were promised would bulk out your bank account beyond belief, now’s the time to get more serious about it.

Your side hustle was one of the best business decisions you ever made, and now you want to be sure it goes on making you money – and having that confidence in mind is a surefire sign that it’s time to take your side revenue to the next level! But if you’re feeling a little ambivalent over this plan, here’s a couple more of the most prominent signs you’re ready to go full term with your side hustle, and never look back.

You’ve Got Everything Saved Up

Your side hustle was a way to bulk out your main revenue, and give you a bit more spending or rent money when your real job just wasn’t paying out well. But if you’ve noticed, more times than not, that your side hustle pays better, this might be the time for you to move on to full time.

Of course, you’re going to need savings in place to cover the first few months where you’re not likely to bring in much of a full time profit. So make sure you’ve got at least a 3 or 4 months rent in the bank before you make your move – you’re going to lose a portion of your yearly income, and that could set you back massively.

You’re Looking into Your Legal Options

When you’ve got a side hustle on the go, and you’re looking to turn it into a full time business, you’re probably researching every law, rule, and regulation to make sure you’re operating on the right side of the legal circle. And that means you’re already planning to take your side hustle to bigger and better heights, so why not get it going as soon as possible?

Sure, you’ve already got your tax issues down to an art, but you’re going to need to look into every facet of the law that could apply to you. And that takes some time and effort, so the sooner you start, the earlier you could turn your hustle into a thriving company. For example, when you’ve got plans to buy up a small fleet of vehicles, you’ll need to look into areas like that of https://www.grayandwhitelaw.com/practice_areas/kentucky-truck-wreck-attorney.cfm – starting your own courier or fleet service means you’re at a higher risk of accidents at work, and that’s got to be on your mind from the get go.

There’s been a lot of success stories surrounding entrepreneurs who took their hustles full time, and you could be another one of them! Just make sure you’re ready.

My Achilles Heel As An Entrepreneur

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employee-entrepreneur

5 years ago I tore my left Achilles tendon while playing basketball.

Like the stories I heard before, it felt like someone kicked my calf from behind.

When it happened it didn’t hurt, but I knew something was wrong. I remember grabbing my cars keys and limping to the car. It was a 6 month recovery to get back on the basketball court.

Post-recovery I’ve never been scared of re-injuring myself, but I’ve become much more in tune with my body. If my Achilles feels sore, I don’t push my body. I listen to it.

As an entrepreneur, I have a Achilles heel too.

Leaders create a “wake” of relationships built and tasks accomplished. What I realized is the one that means more to me determines the trajectory of my career.

I’ve had my business for almost 10 years now experiencing ups and downs financially. Starting out I was willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. It was my own startup that I was willing to work overtime for and be underpaid purely to build my “brand.”

But being married and 2 kids later my priorities changed. Time became the most important currency and I’d rather spend time with my family than always work hard. In work-life balance terms, I want a separation between the two.

I always believed working a full-time corporate job meant waving the white flag…settling. I did everything I could to avoid it, until about a month ago.

Reluctantly, I took a position at a tech startup because there was “no good reason not to.” Not exactly inspiring stuff, but the truth.

Fast forward to now, I realize it was the right decision.

The side of the wake that matters more to me is: relationships. If it were tasks, I believe I’d never take my current position because I would have already been rich.

What I realized is money is more important than people. Some say that, but my actions validate it.

The thought of a 9-6 was nauseating even a few months ago, but I started listening to my heart.

Not only am I enjoying the work I do (similar to the coaching I’ve been doing), but once I leave the office I leave my work there. That’s something I could never do as a business owner.

Do I still coach? Yes. But around my full-time job.

My Achilles heel as an entrepreneur is my love for connection. It’s much stronger than my desire to sell.

I still love to dream up and implement new ideas, but not at the cost of a steady paycheck and allowing my wife to stay at home with our kids.

I haven’t given up on entrepreneurship.

I just became more in tune with my desired lifestyle.

Work Life Balance Simplified To One Word

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boundaries-sand

Boundaries.

The only way to separate your personal from professional life is to define your boundaries.

Boundaries are hard to identify until someone crosses them.

The reason work-life feels like a blur is because you allow it.

As an employee it’s a constant tug-of-war with management. You have to draw a line between what they want and what they can legally expect of you.

If you’re an entrepreneur, no paycheck is guaranteed so you have to hustle more, but at what expense? Ask most business owners why they started their own company and most would answer with reasons other than money. But as your own boss, if you don’t draw the line, your boundaries will be abused.

Start defining what’s inside and outside of your boundaries. Stand up for what matters and what’s right.

In the end you have no one else to blame for work-life balance: except you.

The Unemployed Entrepreneur

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Entrepreneur_Shirt

Want to know the real motivation behind current entrepreneurs?

Being broke.

As a business owner each day you wake up needing to sell.

You either make money that day or you don’t.

Nothing is given to you. You have to fight for everything a.k.a. the daily grind.

Signing up as an entrepreneur basically makes you a sales person. Even though you’re the boss, you’re 100% responsible for selling. It’s tough work, not for the faint at heart. In fact, you become so accustomed to rejection you think you’re dating her.

But chasing your dreams does have a tremendous upside. Complete freedom is one of the best feelings you can experience and once you’ve been the boss, it’s tremendously hard to go back to working for someone else. In the right situation it’s possible, but chances are while you’re working, you’re strategizing how you can improve the process on your own.

The reason entrepreneurship is down with Millennials is because it’s too big of a risk. Chasing your dreams doesn’t pay well. If you like supplemental income for travel, dining out and adventures put that on hold. Considering starting a family? One of you better have a stable job with benefits or suffer a drop in quality of lifestyle.

Possibly a larger factor than a big, scalable idea is timing. Forget age, what life stage are you in: single and career driven or in a relationship and starting a family? The answer to that question will give you clarity on whether or not to pursue your dreams. Starting a business takes more of an investment in time than money, so your current level of responsibility will give you clarity on pulling the trigger.

Take it from someone whose priorities changed drastically over the past several years. What was a good decision before, isn’t the best decision now. Pride aside, your life goals change which calls for a life pivot.

Entrepreneurship can be for everyone, but think about the lifestyle you want to maintain and decide from there.

3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Be An Entrepreneur

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dark-side

Follow your dreams. Live your passions. Be your own boss.

You’ve heard it all, but for every entrepreneurial success story you hear, there’s at least 99 that failed. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but choosing to own a business means working more hours for less money at the start.

Just like learned leadership skills don’t make you a good leader, entrepreneurship is open to all, but few thrive. The influx of new businesses is a result of a couple of things: more options to choose from, a failing education system and an emphasis on lifestyle over work.

Consider these 3 areas of concern before making the jump to entrepreneurship:

Lack of a steady paycheck – Freedom is great, but flexibility without knowing when the next time you get paid is downright scary. If you get to call the shots, it means you also have to figure out how to become the company’s best salesperson. It doesn’t matter how good your ideas are if no one is paying you for them. Spend time making a business plan, building a solid culture and researching your target market, but most of all…sell. There’s no shortage of business opportunities to get involved with, but the question you should be asking yourself is: “How can I monetize this?”

Lack of organizational structure – Escaping an 8-5 job sounds exhilarating, but without someone telling you when to come in and go home can be a challenge to balance. If you set your schedule, there’s no one holding you accountable to hold to it. If you work from home, distractions are multiplied compared to working in an office. Being organized becomes a necessity, not a skill set. The biggest challenge is creating boundaries throughout the day, so you can quantify your time spent. My observation is creatives have the hardest transition with this because artists want to focus on doing their work, not setting it up.

Lack of face-to-face interaction – Entrepreneurship is lonely. It’s like being isolated on an island equipped with wi-fi and a mobile phone. The conversations you took for granted at your last corporate job are now treasured. One of the reasons why entrepreneurs flock to networking events isn’t because they’re extreme extroverts, it’s because they’re looking for warm bodies to be around. Technology has given us the ability to connect globally, but it can’t replicate grabbing coffee at a meeting. If you consider yourself collaborative or a team player, think twice about this one. Tom Hanks in Cast Away may be a bit extreme, but too much alone time can drive you crazy.

The difference between a business and a hobby is money made. Owning a business is similar to the concept of branding. Your opinion doesn’t validate a successful business, your customers do.

This post isn’t meant to discourage you from taking your idea to reality. It’s just a reminder that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. If you don’t believe me, go outside and turn a patch of grass over.