Entrepreneurship | BizSieve.com

The Three B’s You Need to Become a Great Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur runs a business or businesses by selling their product or services for a price, can afford to pay rent, wages and interest on the capital and still gain a profit in the end. An entrepreneur is also unafraid of the challenges and risks that are typically associated with the business on a day-to-day basis. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to have three important traits that can put you ahead of the competition. Brains, bravery and business coaching are three skills that will aid you in getting your business off the ground and moving toward a financially sound future.

Brains

Many business owners learn their skills through schooling and experience, but others are inbred with successful traits and were born to be leaders. Intelligence is always considered a key to any financial success, and entrepreneurs must have their share. However, knowing how to work smart can separate successful entrepreneurs from those that find it difficult to overcome the typical business hurdles. An intelligent business owner knows that being a strong leader can make or break a business, especially when they lead by example. Financial geniuses are also smart enough to realize that they need to be disciplined enough to do whatever it takes to reach the finish line.

Bravery

It’s a fact that solid rewards can come with hard work and dedication. But a person who is brave and unafraid to take risks can achieve greatness in the business community. What separates the regular business owner from the successful entrepreneur is the gift of taking risks in order to make a fortune. All transactions may not be profitable, but it takes a skilled entrepreneur to handle that risk, calculate the gains and reap the rewards. If you’re only willing to make a modest income and never be brave enough to go above and beyond to reach your goals, you’ll likely not see overwhelming success in the independent business world.

Business Coaching

In order to achieve greatness with your own company, you need to formulate a plan. Many people are ensconced in their dream job, but they are unsure of how to reach beyond and achieve higher goals. A business coach can help an owner achieve success by organizing a plan, observing the strengths and weaknesses of their strategies and holding them to their final goals. Executive coaches are trained to aid you in your career from platforms of psychology and organizational development to human resource management and adult learning.

Bottom Line Benefits

Successful entrepreneurs that use business coaching see this as an investment instead of an expense because of the way their revenue can grow consequentially. An online directory of coaches is one of the best resources for those interested in learning more about this unique service. Here you will find a variety of people that are experienced and knowledgeable in this field, and you can choose the one that you will feel most suited for your executive career needs.

Most entrepreneurs in the world today have made it as far as they have by hard work, diligence and confidence. However, the three B’s of bravery, brains and business coaching will always separate the top producers from the rest of the crowd.

Ann Bailey started her own art business and shares these inspirations for other business founders seeking a step up. Noomii, a go-to online directory of executive coaches, is available to help any client ready for the next level of business guidance, encouragement and success.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradmontgomery/8192544700/

Hosting Your New Business: How to Buy More for Less

When it comes to starting a business, your online presence is a key factor in determining your success. While there are a variety of options available to business owners to have presences on the web, one of the most important is having a dedicated website. Unfortunately, many business owners who are starting out don’t understand what it takes to create and keep a website in cyberspace. Many think that they can simply build a site and then it will magically appear on the Internet. The truth is, however, that after a site is built, it must be hosted.

What is Hosting?

Hosting is the process of placing and keeping a website online. A hosting company is one that offers storage space on a server, and the business owner’s website is then hosted from that space. Anytime a visitor accesses the business’ website, a connection is made to the server, and the visitor pulls data from it. These central companies are generally the route that most business owners take when getting their websites online, and most hosting companies offer a variety of options regarding different types of service.

Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting

When choosing an online service, business owners must also decide whether to go with shared or dedicated options. Shared service allows a business owner’s website to be on a server along with other people’s websites. This type of plan is generally less expensive than other options, but it also has its drawbacks. Because someone using shared hosting is sharing a server with other websites, loading speeds may be affected, especially if another site on the server is bringing in a lot of traffic. Dedicated hosting, on the other hand, allows a website to be stored on its own server. This type of function is generally more expensive than shared, but it also allows websites to have faster loading times, quicker download speeds and less down time.

Costs to Control

No matter what hosting option you choose to use, it’s important to consider the costs involved. Some plans may start out a few dollars per month, while others may cost hundreds of dollars per month or more. Generally, the cost will be determined by the amount of space your site needs, the amount of visitors your site attracts and the amount of bandwidth your site uses. If you’re concerned about Internet costs for your new business site, you might want to do some research about coupons.

Discounts are available through a variety of avenues like www.hostingcoupons.com, and they can ensure savings on all kinds of web services. In fact, many business owners who are just starting out on the web use coupons to try out various hosting solutions until they find the one that’s right for their business.

When looking for a server solution, it’s also important to find one that will be able to grow with your business. As your business expands, the hope is that you will have more consumers visiting your website over time, and this may mean that you will need to change your web plan in the middle of a contract period. As a precaution, always look for a web provider that is willing to allow you to add on services with time and growth.

Ann Bailey has a small business website and shares these tips to help new site owners make decisions about hosting plans. Coupons available at www.hostingcoupons.com can assist smaller web-based businesses with start-up costs, adding to bottom line savings and business survival rates.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bgarry/6132174016/

How to Start a Business from Your Hobby (Infographic)

Regardless of how wrong some experts think about starting a business from your hobby, it is probably the most effective and efficient one. There are some reasons to that…

Firstly, you don’t have to learn about anything from scratch. It’s YOUR hobby; you ARE the expert; even if you need to learn the technicality of your hobby, you are half-way there.

Secondly, it’s YOUR passion. People can be passionate about entrepreneurship; but if you are passionate about entrepreneurship AND everything you do and every product you create/service you offer, you are taking shortcut.

But still, just like any other business, you need to take some steps to startup right. Make it Cheaper, the business cost-saving expert, publishes this interest infographic about turning your talent or hobby into a business – check this out (please click on the infographic for the original size…)

Source: Make It Cheaper: The Saving Experts for Business

Mobile Recruiting Trends: Are you Ready?

One of the most important aspects of recruiting is learning how to properly utilize technology. After all, we no longer live in a world where you will spend most of your time looking for qualified job candidates by making phone calls or attending networking events. Most recruiters now spend the majority of their time working on a computer, tablet or cell phone, and they are able to use all of these devices to find the perfect candidates without needing to leave their office.

Which Trends Should I be Using?

If you do not currently have a cell phone or tablet that is synced directly to your desktop, then you are missing out on one of the easiest ways to recruit. After all, it is imperative to be able to access your contact lists and your calendar at all times, and setting up this connection between your computer and your mobile device will put everything that you need at your fingertips at all times. It is also important to fully take advantage of social networking sites.

For recruiters, however, LinkedIn should be their site of choice instead of Facebook. The LinkedIn site enables anyone to search for people who have specific skills or who have worked for specific companies and this can make the process of finding qualified candidates go much more smoothly. Some recruiters also make good usage of software to help them track the availability of individuals who they believe would be a good fit in the future.

Do I Really Need a Mobile Website?

More and more people are using their mobile devices to search for jobs. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since there are now more cell phones than toothbrushes in the world, and for well over 25% of Americans, their mobile device is the primary way they access the internet. If you do not have a site that caters to these users, find a web design company to create one for you so you don’t miss out on these opportunities. After all, if a job seeker does happen to stumble upon your standard website with their mobile device, odds are they will leave quickly to find a mobile-optimized site.

While some of the new career apps have been getting excellent reviews, it is not realistic to think that an applicant that is searching through ten career sites will want to download as many apps. If you have a mobile site that offers easier to use searches and functionality, job seekers can access your information quickly from any mobile device. If you do not respond to the career-seeking mobile users with a simple interface and a great mobile experience, your competition will.

How often do Recruiting Trends Change?

Every time there is a new technological announcement, you can be virtually guaranteed that it will impact the world of recruiting. For example, when smartphones were first released, they enabled recruiters to be much more efficient since they could carry their emails with them in their pocket. Now these phones have developed so much that recruiters have easy access to specialized apps that help them find, track and contact potential candidates. It is also extremely helpful that recruiters can now access their calendar from anywhere because this helps them prevent double booking their time.

How often should I Implement New Recruiting Trends?

Although some people feel more comfortable waiting for others to test out new technology before they embrace it, you do not want to get left sitting on the sidelines. After all, if you wait six months to try a new mobile recruiting trend, all of your competitors are likely to have already used it to locate several prime candidates who you missed out on. Therefore, it is not a good idea to take a wait and see approach with new mobile recruiting trends. Even if you try something and it does not work as expected, it is better to get the jump on your competitors than to find yourself always lagging behind.

At this point, all signs indicate that mobile recruiting trends will overcome the entire recruiting industry. Therefore, if you want to be able to compete, you will need to take advantage of every mobile option that is available to you. Make sure that you implement your mobile plan immediately if you are not already using one, and keep up on industry related news to find out when each new trend surfaces.

Author Shelby Warden researches the latest trends to write articles that can help you succeed. The 522 Digital LLC web design company in Washington DC provides a wide range of services for their clients so they can complete in today’s demanding business environment. Their experts will create the perfect mobile site to keep job seekers coming back to you time and time again.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/5144798765/

Living the Solopreneur Life

You have a great idea for business and you decide to strike out on your own. But your dream isn’t to build a conglomerate with hundreds or even thousands of employees. Your dream is to work for yourself. Becoming a solopreneur is the way to realize your dream of going into business for yourself.

Independence

When you are a solopreneur, the vision for your company is your vision. You don’t have to run each idea by a board of directors or gain the approval of stockholders. If you don’t like the direction your company is taking, you can change it.

While you may need to appeal to customers or clients to gain their business, you choose the means and strategy that you employ to do so. In fact, you even choose which potential clients or customers you choose to target. If for some reason certain customers or clients become more trouble than they’re worth, you can drop them without the need to justify your decision – except to your bottom line.

solopreneur
Image by Mikael Altemark

Flexible Schedule

A common misperception is that solopreneurs snooze until noon and lounge around all day in their jammies once they’ve made it out of bed. Anyone who actually works as a solopreneur knows better. In fact, one danger facing many solopreneurs is that they are nearly always working.

Nonetheless, one of the great advantages of becoming a solopreneur is the freedom to dictate your own schedule. Of course, you need to be accessible to customers or clients, but your actual work schedule is your own. If you need or want to take time out to run an important errand or just enjoy a beautiful sunny afternoon, you can do that, without making up an excuse to your boss.

Making It Work

It may seem ironic, but every solopreneur needs help to make his or her life work. Going it alone in business doesn’t mean doing it all by yourself. Knowing when to get help is one mark of a savvy solopreneur.

If you’re a writer and savvy about the web and social networking, it may make sense for you to create and maintain your own website and social networking presence. On the other hand, if you are a nutritionist, your time and efforts may be better served by concentrating on attracting and keeping clients – and contracting with a professional web designer and one or more social media experts.

Clerical tasks may be another area where delegation is a wise strategy for a solopreneur. Virtual assistants can take care of tasks ranging from writing correspondence to maintaining your schedule. Contracting the services of a virtual assistant need not involve paying someone full time; many virtual assistants have several clients for whom they only work a few hours per week.

Isolation is another problem faced by many solopreneurs. Find an organization that addresses the type of work that you do and attend meetings and networking events. Take your computer to a coffee shop or to the library to work for a morning or an afternoon. Take advantage of the flexibility and freedom of working solo to meet a friend for lunch or surprise your partner with a romantic dinner.

On the other hand, you may also need to be firm with family and friends who believe you’re freely available to run errands for them. Kindly but firmly remind them that your working hours are just as important as their time in the office or at school. Sweeten the message by reminding them that the sooner you’re finished with your work, the sooner you can enjoy their company.

For Further Reading

The Five Rules of Solopreneur Success
inc.com/marla-tabaka/the-5-rules-of-solopreneur-success.html
How to Become a Successful Solopreneur
chasethepaper.com/2011/how-to-become-a-successful-solopreneur/
International Virtual Assistants Association
ivaa.org/
Three Strategies to Help Solopreneurs Tackle the work/Life Tug of War (and Enjoy More Life!)
selfgrowth.com/articles/3-strategies-to-help-solopreneurs-tackle-the-worklife-tug-of-war-and-enjoy-more-life
What Is a Solopreneur?
freefrombroke.com/what-is-a-solopreneur/

About the Author: Guest post contributed by Stacy Pruitt, a freelance finance writer. Stacy writes about entrepreneurship, advanced trading and forex indicators.