Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
5 Kinds of People Who Will Help You Succeed as an Entrepreneur
1. Mentors you admire
Mentors are indispensable resources for entrepreneurs, especially if you’re starting a business for the first time. Most business entrepreneurs have owned multiple businesses in the past, and have made more mistakes and learned more lessons than you can imagine. They’ll help you by providing advice, perspective and guidance whenever you need it -- often for nothing. They also typically have an extended network of resources and contacts you can take advantage of when building up the infrastructure of your business.Be sure to find a mentor you admire and trust. If you do, he or she can guide you down the right path for years. If you struggle with finding a mentor for your business, look on social media for older entrepreneurs in your industry and in your area. You can also start attending local networking events and talking with everyone you come across -- you never know who you might meet.
2. Partners you respect
Whether you’re forming a partnership to run the business together or you’re simply finding other businesses to join forces with, finding partners you respect is critical to increasing your chances for entrepreneurial success. With a foundation of mutual respect, business partnerships are less likely to succumb to the usual weaknesses such as bickering, manipulation or general selfishness.Finding great partners isn’t easy, but it is important if you want to maximize your potential, so don’t rush to find one, take your time and wait for a perfect fit.
3. Employees you can trust
A business can’t succeed with leadership alone. You’ll need to have a dedicated, reliable network of employees to help you execute the day-to-day operational responsibilities of your venture. They’re going to serve as a vehicle for your directives, so you need to trust that they can accomplish the tasks you set out or at least communicate when they find themselves unable.To help create an environment that naturally attracts the trustworthy type of employees you need, establish clear guidelines for your company culture, and be especially critical during the interview process. Look for candidates with great personalities and genuine sincerity over candidates with a long history of accomplishment or those with an exceptional educational background.
4. Friends you make time for
Your friends will help you through your entrepreneurial journey more than you realize, but only if you allow them to. Once you get in the thick of things as an entrepreneur, it’s too easy to sacrifice your personal relationships -- working long hours and on weekends is a necessary evil at times, but it’s also important to draw a line and take some time for yourself.By maintaining a healthier work-life balance, you’ll enjoy your time as an entrepreneur much more, and you’ll make better decisions if you’re well rested. Your friends will help ground you and make sure you don’t burn yourself out.
5. A family that supports you
Finally, never neglect the power and importance of your family. They were there for you before you started the business, they’re there for you now, and they’ll be there for you regardless of whether your company becomes a breakout success or a total failure.Don’t be afraid to share your problems, fears, worries and challenges. Holding these issues in can make you even more stressed and could alienate you from your family even further. Take regular time off to be with your family, and keep them an active part of your entrepreneurial journey.
With these people by your side, helping you make the right decisions and standing by you when things don’t pan out, you’ll be far more likely to succeed as an entrepreneur. Surround yourself with people you trust, love and respect, and even if you fail, you’ll be able to enjoy the journey.
source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245948
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Thursday, December 3, 2015
7 Personal Attributes You Will Need To Become Successful In Africa
Let’s look at some of the personal mind tools you need to become a
successful entrepreneur Africa.
1. Sense of urgency
If you think you should probably start saving or set yourself a
goal to open an Africa business by 2020 you are missing a vital ingredient: a
sense of urgency! Yes, Africa is a newly emerging economy with a pool of
opportunities, but that pool is getting increasingly crowded by the week. Make
the most of this incredible opportunity to operate in a market with a
relatively low level of competition. The right time to do business or invest in
Africa is now – right now. Having a sense of urgency is an important attribute
to your success potential
2. Extra dose of patience and perseverance
Being an entrepreneur is not an easy undertaking and perseverance
is what will see you through. Many fail due to lack of patience and faith – there
is a delay in gratification when striving for entrepreneurial success and most
people are unable to see that through. But the need for these important success
attributes are further intensified when operating in an emerging market. Oh,
and put that up by a few notches for Africa. Someone who left a comment on my
blog (thank you!) said recently: ” I’m an agribusiness executive coming from
Brazil to manage a start up soybean project in Mozambique. After 6 months
living here and having over 25 years managing agribusinesses in Brazil and
Latin America, I can say it’s really a challenging business environment over
here.” Yep, this is what we are talking about.
3. Creativity
It’s true, Africa’s big cities need basics that don’t require
much creativity at all – baby food, shoes, cars, laptops, cleaning utensils.
But creativity goes a long way in Africa: For one, it will help you to figure
out how to overcome the many shortages and obstacles you will encounter during
your operation on the ground, in fact, a lot of creativity goes into how you
market and sell on a continent where infrastructure is lacking on so many
levels. But there is a more inspiring reason: many of the very successful
African entrepreneurs designed incredible products, tools, and services that
have managed to solve some of the big needs and wants among both rural and
urban communities on the continent that have persisted for decades. We see that
a group of creative individuals have managed to solve more problems than some
aid budgets combined. Be sure, creativity will get you noticed and far in
Africa. In
fact adding a creative component to your business concept is how you can often
outdo the competition when you get started.
4. Excellent people skills
In Africa having excellent people skills goes far beyond a
great attribute you can put on your CV. As an Africa entrepreneur be
prepared to discuss with community elders under a tree (if you need access to
land or you are introducing a new mobile app), that you then meet some French
investors at Hilton for lunch, before you attend a chat with the
city’s top young tech guys in a place that reminds you of your old campus
cafeteria. What are you wearing for the day? (Smile ). But above all – how good
is your ability to communicate and interact with people on the continent who
have a very different background and understanding of certain circumstances,
and who may all be stakeholders in your industry?
5. Ability to adapt
Don’t try to do things your way on a continent with its own pace
and rules. You will only get frustrated or even put people off with your
(Western) expectations. I think within your company you will set your own
standards and doing so can set you positively apart; but when you operate
outside of that, a high ability to adapt will work in your favor many times. I
always remember how I attended an appointment in Khartoum some years ago.
Shortly before I arrived, the person in charge had decided that he and his
colleagues had not eaten yet and he ordered fish, soup, bread, and eggs which were
delivered right into his office on a huge silver plate. He did not explain the
delay of our meeting or apologize, he simply invited me to join. We ate with
our hands (luckily I was at least used to that), and the meeting started only
after the tea was served. I had time, and although our appointment had been
somewhat disregarded, I decided not to ask questions, but to go with the flow.
Actually, in this case I enjoyed what would have been a real rarity attending a
meeting in London.
6. Courage and optimism
Right – so let’s sum up: risk of corruption, armed conflict,
terrorism, locus pest, drought, poorly skilled personnel and managers, tropical
illnesses. Did we forget anything? If you have a natural tendency to
focus on the risks and on everything that could go wrong, you will find it
difficult to become a successful entrepreneur in Africa. The issue is that
there are many reasons why you should not do something or why something could
fail, but there are even more reasons why you should act upon it. While risk
management is vital when operating in Africa, you will need an extra portion of
courage and optimism to get you through the challenges and succeed. But when
you do it pays off manifold!
7. Grand Vision
“I know they don’t know what solar is. But soon the villagers will
install it themselves and tell other villages all about it…!” You can bring
immense light and hope back into a continent that has collectively suffered for
decades and centuries, you just need to believe and act upon it. Carve out your
grand vision! See clearly in front of you the positive impact you want to make in
the world with your business and the grand life you want to create for
yourself. Our love for Africa and its people and our personal desire to live a
happy life is what will unite us when becoming successful Africa entrepreneurs!
So, do you think you have what it takes? And above all: how bad do
you want it?
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Believing
in You
By Steve Goodier
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Did you know
that Albert Einstein could not speak until he was four years old and did not
read until he was seven? His parents and teachers worried about his mental
ability.
Beethoven's
music teacher said about him, "As a composer he is hopeless." What if
young Ludwig believed it?
When Thomas
Edison was a young boy, his teachers said he was so stupid he could never learn
anything. He once said, "I remember I used to never be able to get along
at school. I was always at the foot of my class...my father thought I was
stupid, and I almost decided that I was a dunce." What if young Thomas
believed what they said about him?
When F. W.
Woolworth was 21, he got a job in a store, but was not allowed to wait on
customers because he "didn't have enough sense."
When the
sculptor Auguste Rodin was young he had difficulty learning to read and write.
Today, we may say he had a learning disability, but his father said of him,
"I have an idiot for a son."
His uncle
agreed. "He's uneducable," he said. What if Rodin had doubted his
ability
?
A newspaper
editor once fired Walt Disney because he was thought to have no "good
ideas." Caruso was told by one music teacher, "You can't sing. You
have no voice at all." And an editor told Louisa May Alcott that she was
incapable of writing anything that would have popular appeal.
What if
these people had listened and become discouraged? Where would our world be
without the music of Beethoven, the art of Rodin or the ideas of Albert
Einstein and Thomas Edison? As Oscar Levant has accurately said, "It's not
what you are; it's what you don't become that hurts."
You have
great potential. When you believe in all you can be, rather than all you cannot
become, you will find your place on earth
Source: http://www.allthingsfrugal.com/g_believe.htm
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
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