Jumpstart Your Business

Ron Heifetz, co-founder of Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, is quoted as saying, “Purposeful honesty and appropriate transparency at all levels are eventual indicators of your organization’s adaptability and ability to thrive.”

Max Dupree (former chairman of Herman Miller, Inc.), in Leadership Jazz, observes, “…Leadership is a position of servanthood. Leadership is also a posture of debt; it is a forfeiture of rights.”

Serving customers, employees and suppliers demands in us a very different attitude from being “wise in [our] own eyes.” Running a business takes a mix of confidence and humility – humility to accept that “we” don’t have all the answers, and some of answers may even have a spiritual component acknowledging a need for God’s perspective.

Now that you have considered becoming your own boss and controlling your destiny, you need to realise that starting a business requires hard work and unrelenting motivation. So, before you dive into this life-changing decision, here are 5 must haves that tell you if you have what it takes to be your own boss:

Life happens. The problems of the present may be huge.

Leadership is the art of bringing a proper perspective into play – vision casting, inspiring hope. Can only happen if you have a vision statement.

Here is our list of useful links for January 22nd, 2009:

• The Best Decision Doesn’t Always Make The Most Financial Sense – Getting your finances together and winning financially doesn’t always make sense. In fact, sometimes, it defies financial logic.
• Defining an Entrepreneur – What is an entrepreneur?
• 9 Golden Rules of Investment – Start as early as you can in your investment game. Time is a great multiplier. If you make sound investments early in your life, you are sure to make some money later on with no exceptions.
• Is Obama A Relationship Economist? – Just like money, the change in our relationships induces an incentive or disincentive to behave a certain way. For better or worse, incentives will reflect reality rather than reality reflecting the incentives. That’s a game change
• 7 Simple Steps to a Clutter Free Home Office – Good advice for keeping the clutter in your office in check.
• Do It Yourself Debt Consolidation – If you want to get out of debt, these steps can help you accomplish your goal more quickly and efficiently. Remember the key is to change your spending habits and not go further into debt, otherwise, your debt repayment plan will fail.

Your customers are the best source of information about a new product or service, since they have already tried it and can give you a first hand report. They are also the source of word-of-mouth referrals which for you are particularly important since you may not have the resources or expertise for aggressive advertising campaigns.

This means that you must always treat your current customers right. The little things you do for them can make the difference between a rave review and a ho-hum endorsement. Here are 5 things you can do to earn your customers’ referrals:

Blatant self-promotion, even looking silly, has recently defined American culture. Looking for the shortcuts has become the grist of reality TV and a way of American life.

Diligence neglected. Planning confused with scheming, alliances, lying, and quick decisions – “winning” at all costs.

Here is our list of useful links for January 21st, 2009:

• Success and failure are the hero and sidekick – It speaks for itself.
• You Don't Need an SEO Expert! – Because all of the money spent on search engine optimization by small to mid-size businesses is unnecessary and it’s a racket.
• Click here to find out more! Next Post Previous Post Trends for Rural Small Businesses in 2009 – Being in business in a small town or a rural area is different from being in a metropolitan area. Your local economy is certainly different from the national big picture. That’s why rural small business needs its own list of trends for 2009.
• 5 Recession Business Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make – Cost cutting is a natural response to uncertain economic times, and done properly, it can certainly help your small business stay profitable. But some of the things you're thinking of jettisoning are too valuable to lose.
• Jim G, Mr. Detroit, and a Saloon Fight: What Makes You a Fiercely Loyal Customer? – My dad cared about the people who were his customers and so they cared about him. He looked out for them and they looked out for him. Investment made investment returned. It’s the ROI of relationships — in spades.

Henry Paulson knows that if you need capital to help start your business, you can’t expect to get it from a bank or other lender without your having to qualify for it. Here are 5 tips he would recommend to help you qualify for that loan:

I grew up in a third world country where there were lots of poor and disadvantaged people and was raised by a single mom. Whenever I would belly ache about how bad it was she would say to me: “Look around you and you’ll find three people who are worst off than you,”

To those of you who feel desperate because the bottom is falling out from under you, take a look at this and then look around you and then decide if you want to sponsor one of these poor bastards who are worse off than you.