6 Keys to a Satisfied Yet Successful Entrepreneur

It’s sad when the startup is “successful,” but the founder still feels totally unsatisfied. I see it happening all the time. The business is a winner, but the family or other relationships are broken by the stress. Or the entrepreneur started down this path to be their own boss and change the world, but find they are now answering to many more people, with nothing really changed.
These issues are the major focus of a recent book, “The Plan,” by John McKee and Helen Latimer. It zeroes in specifically on the difference between being “successful” and being “satisfied” in your personal and professional lives. The authors start by asserting that many people feel more or less successful, but far fewer, even the successful ones, feel satisfied.
Their conclusion is that you need a plan for your life, as well as your business, and they discuss in detail six steps to get there. If you are an entrepreneur contemplating a startup, and you want both success and satisfaction in business, I recommend you complete these steps before you start any business plan:

1. Identify personal gaps. Find the gaps between the life you’re living and the life you dream of living. Look at the gaps that may exist in three key life areas: the personal/ family side, the career side, and the financial side. It can be difficult to be honest about some of your own character traits. People often behave in ways they don’t understand.
2. Determine your purpose. Your purpose defines what you stand for. This is what should guide your entrepreneurial ambitions and dreams, gives you a picture of where you are going, and help you as you set the goals. Without purpose, you certainly will find yourself feeling unsatisfied even when you achieve business success.
3. Assess your strengths and weaknesses. Most of us have a fairly good idea of our weaknesses. Few of us take the time to really understand our strengths. Review your natural talents and build on the talents you’ve developed. You will see exciting stuff – new business opportunities, new directions.
4. Describe your dream. Many of us are clearer about what we don’t want that what we do want. Use visualization to create a very detailed picture of your dream, and write it down to see if it still makes sense. Feel what it would be like to have, be, or do what you want, to follow your purpose.
5. Create your path. Here the solution is to create short-term milestones. Having a strong desire for something is not enough. Your desire needs to be so clear that you can see each step you need to take to reach it. Taking these steps is absolutely essential and separates those people who succeed from those who don’t.
6. Live your best life. With the personal life plan complete, the most important step is to implement it. This is the time to have faith in yourself and begin to move towards the life you dreamed. If a business is in that plan, now is the time to start your business plan. That’s the only way to enjoy both a high level of satisfaction and success in both.

Even with all this, failures do happen. In the long run, the difference between success and failure can ultimately hinge on how you handle a failure. Don’t just repeat it in a different context, but do the work to understand it, and alter your plan. Try again – as many times as it takes. No matter how daunting. Step-by-step, day-by-day, you can get closer to your goal until you attain it.
Successful but unsatisfying professional careers are one of the primary reasons that people decide to become entrepreneurs in the first place. Thus it makes sense that before you start down the entrepreneur path, you would do some extra work to make sure you are not about to fail one more time. The last thing that this world or you needs is another successful business failure.

Marty Zwilling (more of Marty on http://blog.startupprofessionals.com)


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Start Business That Fits Your Idea of Having Fun

You are an aspiring entrepreneur, eager to dump the corporate grind, and work to the beat of your own drummer, but you can’t come up with that killer idea to save the world. What are the alternatives that will give you the independence you crave, and challenge your business acumen? Technically, I believe an entrepreneur is anyone who manages his own profit and loss, and doesn’t meet the government tax definition of an employee. Beyond the traditional new product or service model, you can always buy an existing business, purchase a franchise, join a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, or simply go out on your own as a consultant. Of course there are a million variations which can make the difference, like work at home versus an office, or online versus storefront, but these are secondary to your basic role. In deciding which of these startup models is right for you, the best place to begin is to ask yourself why you want to own a business rather than be an employee: You have the technology to change the world. If you want to nurture a product into full bloom, a traditional startup is your best bet. Of course, you get the challenge of filing patents, developing a product, and defining the revenue model. With an existing business, MLM, or franchise, the technology and process are already set. You really just want to be the boss. If your answer is that you want to own your own business because of the freedom it will bring you to manage an operation, try a franchise or join an MLM. The base organization will define what you have to do, when you do it, and how you do it, but the success is all in the execution. You want to make lots of money. New startups build from scratch, and go for broke. Many end that way, but a chosen few do make lots of money. Franchises, on the average, make less money than other types of businesses, but they have higher success rates. Consulting businesses rarely scale, so you may do well, but are not likely to make lots of money. MLMs are like the lottery, minimal investment, with low odds of any success, but a few people hit it really big. You are doing it to satisfy someone else. Too many people are running a business because their father always expected them to take over for the family, the spouse has been nagging you to do it for years, or they want to prove something to a sibling or peer. If you have a choice here, at least pick a less risky franchise, or a minimal investment MLM. You're looking for something to keep you busy. If you have startup funds in hand, you are one of the lucky ones who can start or buy any business you want. If you lack hands-on experience, a franchise may be ideal for you, because you'll get help with everything you need to set up your business. On the other hand, if experience is your strong suit, why not highlight and share it through consulting? Whichever business model you pick, you need to make a serious commitment to the effort, or you will likely fail. I have a friend who starts a new business every couple of years, sort of like a hobby. After a few months, she gets tired of the grind, or runs up against a couple of tough problems, so she rationalizes that the economy turned bad, or someone misled her, and she walks away. A different business model probably won’t solve this problem. If you still aren’t sure where you fit, I recommend working for someone else for a few years to gain knowledge, contacts, capital, and learn more about yourself. Then take the plunge with one of the above business models. You will soon know whether you are having fun, and that’s the most important criteria for any aspiration. Enjoy. Marty Zwilling (http://blog.startupprofessionals.com)   PS. BETA is offering a seminar for everybody who wants to start their business and want to develop a winning business plan. Organized on 5 Saturday afternoons. Contact us for more information. Become a BETAPRENEUR! See you at BETA. Raf Vlummens, Entrepreneurial Coach

 

7 Key Qualities of Entrepreneurs

Being an entrepreneur is more than just starting up a business, it is about having the attitude and the drive to succeed in business. All successful entrepreneurs have a quasi-similar way of thinking and possess several key personal qualities  that makes them successful in their businesses.

What are those key qualities?

v  Inner Drive to Succeed. Entrepreneurs are driven to success and to expand their business. They see the bigger picture and are often very ambitious. Entrepreneurs set massive goals for themselves and stay committed to achieve them regardless of the obstacles that get in the way.

v  Strong Belief in Themselves.  Successful entrepreneurs have an healthy opinion of themselves and often have a strong assertive personality. They are focused and determined to achieve their goals and believe completely in their ability to achieve them. Their self-optimism can often been seen by others as flamboyance or arrogance but entrepreneurs are just too focused to spend too much time thinking about un-constructive criticism.

v  Search for New Ideas and Innovation. All entrepreneurs have a passionate desire to do things better and to improve their product or service. They are constantly looking for ways to improve. They are creative, innovative and resourceful.

v  Openness to Change. If something is not working for them they simply change. Entrepreneurs know the importance of staying on top their industries and the only way to be the number one is to evolve and change with the market. They’re up to date with the latest technology and always ready to change if they see a new opportunity arise.

v  Competitive by Nature: Successful entrepreneurs thrive on competition. The only way to reach their goals and their self-imposed high standards is to compete with other successful businesses.

v  Highly Motivated and Energetic: Entrepreneurs are always on the move, full of energy and highly motivated. They are driven to succeed and have an abundance of self-motivation. The high standards of ambition of many entrepreneurs demand that they have to be motivated!

v  Accepting of Constructive Criticism and Rejection: Innovative entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of their industry so they hear the words ‘it can’t be done’ and ‘it’s a waste of time’, etc… quite often. They readjust their path if the criticism is constructive and useful to their overall goal, otherwise they simply disregard the comments as pessimism. Also, successful entrepreneurs know that rejection and obstacles are part of their entrepreneurial journey and they can deal with them in a proper way.

True entrepreneurs are resourceful, passionate and driven to succeed and improve. They are pioneers and are comfortable ‘fighting on the frontline’. The great entrepreneurs are ready to be laughed at and criticized in the beginning because they can see their path ahead of them and are too busy to working towards their dream.

 

Can a Business Startup Incubator help you?

More and more entrepreneurs heard the success stories of the graduates of the famous American incubators like Y Combinator, the Founder Institute and TechStars. They dream of knocking at the door of an incubator with their idea on the back of a napkin and going out there one year later (or less) with millions of investors’ money in their pocket. But the reality is different.

 

What is an Incubator?

An incubator helps the entrepreneur to  transform his idea into a product or service to put on the market.

Mostly is an incubator a company ( sometimes also part of an university) which provides mentoring, support and resources to business startups. Some of them are getting paid for their services, others take a share of the stock of the new venture and others use a combination of both to be paid for their services and inputs.

Not everybody with ‘an idea on a napkin’ will be accepted by the incubator. Incubators want that their ‘entrepreneurs in residence’ are successful. So they are assessing every business concept or idea that is presented to them and will analyze if:

-         The entrepreneurial team has the right qualifications and if the members are complementing each other

-         The idea is unique in the market and solves a problem of the potential clients

 

But what is more important than the idea or business concept is to check if the applicant(s) are really apt to be entrepreneurs. A lot of would be entrepreneurs are, for example,  very strong in the technical aspects of their idea but don’t have any clue what it is to sell the product they want to develop. Worse, they don’t even want to leave their computer screen to find out what the wants and needs of the market are. That’s the objective of the intake chat. Are we dealing with potential entrepreneurs or with dreamers….

 Most of the time is this assessment appreciated by the applicants because they realize that it is not the best idea to start up a company, to struggle and to spend money , when entrepreneurship is obviously not their ‘thing’.

 

What can you expect from an incubator?

-         Expert mentoring and hands-on training.  The quality of an incubator is equal at the quality of the entrepreneurial coaches of the incubator. Avoid incubators where the entrepreneurial trainings are done by highly educated university graduates without any experience. Look for those guys with credentials and a solid resume. Experience is the best teacher you can find!

-         Peer support.  In addition to the formal training and coaching you will get from the incubator, the other entrepreneurs in the building (your peers) will you provide with more than just emotional support. You will find the expertise you need and a quick ‘coffee vending machine’ advice from those who are a bit ahead in the incubation process is priceless.

-         Facilities. An affordable office space is important, some administrative support also and that friendly lady who answer the phone can be a great asset. But incubation is not only cheap office space and a friendly lady who answers the phone…. So watch out for incubators who are ‘specialized’ in facilities, the more when they offer space in an, otherwise, vacant building.

-         Learning by doing. A good incubator with hands-on entrepreneurial coaches will allow (even force) the entrepreneurs to get their ideas out their head and out of the classroom while still retaining some structure and discipline. Products and services are sold on the market. They have to be tested on the market and testing is as close as a project can be to reality. And as I said before, experience is the best teacher you can get! Going out with the project gives the entrepreneur the opportunity to succeed or to fail fast and with a minimum of collateral damage.

-         Funding and connections. Funding is an import issue for every startup. Most of the incubators have the possibility to introduce their ‘graduates’ to bankers, investment companies, business angels and/or venture capitalists. In the incubator the entrepreneurs will be assisted in writing the winning proposal and will be trained in pitching their business model to financiers. Off course will the leadership of the incubator and the entrepreneurial coaches open their address books for their graduates so they can meet the ‘gurus’ of their industry and develop business opportunities.

Conclusion.

A good incubator can really help you. But realize that an incubator is no shortcut or substitute for the right entrepreneurial spirit, for hard work and for an idea that is a real solution to a real problem with a big opportunity.

 

Raf Vlummens

Entrepreneurial Coach

6 – easy – steps to create a Winning Business Idea

At BETA* we often meet entrepreneurs and business developers whose minds seems overflowing with superb and brilliant ideas for new products and new market opportunities. They developed terrific ideas every single day of their lives. They are always ‘on the lookout’, curiously looking around, inquiring and actively seeking – and often finding – the next ‘big thing’.

On the other hand there are people, intelligent and successful businessmen and women, who can’t concoct a single viable idea. From time to time we have some of them in our workshops on business development and they ask me if I could teach them a simple method to generating great ideas. And I do.

You can learn to create a winning business idea.

Let me share to you what I tell them in the seminar room. : a simple process for creating your “world-class idea”.

1.    Infinite Ideas

Ideas for new products and services are everywhere and there is a limitless supply of them waiting to be developed and to be put on the market. The ideas are simply there to be seen and pursued by those who seek them. In fact, ideas are available to everyone, worldwide, and at the same moment. I am convinced that as I am writing this article, an innovator somewhere in Europe and a thinker in Davao City will ‘see’ the idea at the same moment.

Ideas can be small and simple, or large and complex. A new compelling idea may be derived of your passion for your favorite hobby and derived from there. It may be the result of the entrepreneur who sees an opportunity to transform an existing product to a totally new context. Or someone might combine elements of two different disciplines into a totally new field.

2.    Knowledge

Ideas are generally developed from known facts, not from thin air.  Concept developers and business builders who generate bold ideas have an high level of knowledge out of study, instruction and experience. Many high achievers got a lot of benefits from lessons learned from former educational and prior job-experiences that have become solid foundations for their thinking and understanding.

Ideas are born by listening to the needs and wants of customers and opening your mind to their perspective on the new concepts you want to develop.

 

3.    Connecting the dots

In my opinion, idea generation is the result of a person’s ability to mentally establish a relationship between two or more different but related facts. When joined together, they create a clear view of something nobody has seen, developed or commercialized before.

 

4.    Test the idea

Testing your idea begins with the observation of a situation, problem or opportunity. Then, you ask yourself what is happening and why. This will lead to the gathering of more information followed by a prediction that explains a possible solution ( solution = your idea). The process continues with the ‘field testing’ of the prediction. Field testing can be experimentation, the developing prototypes, surveys, etc. This step will allow you to collect , analyze and interpret the gathered data. At the end you will have a tested and viable idea, ready to put on the market.

5.    Timing of ideas

Some innovative ideas can  be an answer for the wants and needs of the customers today. Others could be conceived now but are not really sought yet by the market.  So, in the test phase you should check if your idea is viable in the market today. Customer might even think that your product is ‘nice, good idea, but I don’t buy because they don’t see an opportunity to use it’.  30 years ago, scientists at Xerox Parc, the R&D department of Xerox Corp. have already developed the technology we use today, i.e. laser printers, Ethernet, fiber optics,, etc. and commercialized when the market was ready.

 

6.    Good idea?

Remember that an idea is worth nothing until is it commercialized and there are paying customers. Some ideas will be profitable, others a failed dream. You have to learn to eliminate the bad ones very quickly, don’t waste your time, money and energy on them. The good idea will lead to vast markets of enthusiastic buyers; the goal of any dreamer is to pick that ‘winning business idea’.

In conclusion,  the pathway leading to great ideas is to :

·         Know there are ideas with your name on it. Find them!

·         Seek problems and opportunities within your environment. They exist!

·         Based upon knowledge, imagine solutions to of what you will find, be creative.

Ideas are born!

·         Be zealous and passionate about your ideas. They are YOURS!

·         Test your ideas. Will they work and will customers want to buy them?

·         Is the market ready for your ideas? Now or later.

 

*BETA – Business & Entrepreneurial Training Academy offers different courses for entrepreneurs who want to startup a business or to develop their business. Ideas can also be developed in ‘businessAHEAD’, BETA’s Business Incubator.  Info: +6382 304 4948 or +63920 675 2754

Business Success....elements to keep this in mind!

Whatever your business goals are, there are three basic things you can do to make sure that your business is able to meet the goals you have set and to be successful.

What are those three basic elements?

·         Is your business recession proof?  To find out if your business can hold strong in ‘heavy weather’ check out the following:

o   First, be the best in what you do. When you are really the best, your customers will likely stay even when the economy is bad and prices are high;

o   Second, offer something the the people need but can’t find or that has little competition;

o   Third, offer something people always buy. Even in bad times, recession, unemployment,….McDonalds is always selling burgers. If you can find a niche, a product (or service) like burgers, people will buy…

·         Be careful with your prices.  Keep out with promo’s, offering low prices, to get new clients! Keep in mind that, once you gave client ‘x’ a special price (a lower price than usual…) it will be nearly impossible to raise the prices later. Client will always have the initial price in mind and will start looking for another supplier when you raise the prices.  If you want to be successful, be very mindful with your pricing policies and the discounts you have in mind.  I am not stating here that you never can use a lower introduction price to attract new clients but know what your margins are and what you need to be profitable and to stay it.

·         Excel in Service.  Never compromise on customer service. Never. Even when you the market needs you more than you need the customers, always, always, always treat your clients as kings and let them know that you really want their business above anything. Your customer need to know that they are important to you and that you are giving them the best service you can . If you lose this ‘service above all’ perspective, you never will be thst successful as you want to be.

7 Principles For Startups.

When you have ever been in the business startup ‘battlefield’ you learned quickly that insights and support from experts and entrepreneurs who have been there before can make the difference between failure and success. But many new entrepreneurs assume that they are ‘bulletproof’, don’t ask for any advice or support.
The result of this is that more than 50% of the startups fail in the first two to three years of their existence. Analyzing startups who didn’t made it learns us that that there are common threads that appear all too often.
 
Many books, articles and studies are written about failure in startup businesses but I think that it is more effective to be prepared up-front using a positive approach to ‘counter’ failure.

In her book, ‘It’s Your Biz’, Susan Wilson Solovic, who has many years of experience in small business development, really focuses on what it takes to succeed and share and excellent summary of words of wisdom that every entrepreneur or business owner should review:

• Don’t chase your tail. As you are building your business, take an introspective look at yourself every week. Think about how many days you have had that lots of things going on, but at the end of the day, you’ve accomplished nothing to move your business forward. Measure results to make sure that you are not chasing your tail like the puppy dog you have at home.

• Keep moving forward. Never let a day go by in which you don’t have done at least one activity that directly relates to one of your key business goals. Establish deadlines and milestones for yourself and monitor your forward progress. Keep an idea on the ball and don’t be distracted by –attractive- options that lead you away from your main objective and goal.

• Listen to your instincts. It’s important to ask advice and guidance and to listen to others, but measure these inputs against your own instincts as well. Following someone blindly, copying the strategy of someone else without thinking can’t serve as an excuse for failure and doesn’t help you at all.

• Manage your growth. Overextending yourself and your resources by taking too much too fast will surely kill your business. Growing a business is like running a marathon, you have to dose your energy and resources…. In one of his books, Seth Godin wrote that the “average overnight success takes six years”.

• Look for collaborative opportunities. In business, it’s tough to survive all alone on an island. Strategic partnerships and alliances allow you to take on bigger challenges, offer more services and cover larger territories. In addition, two heads think better than one, so collaborative brainpower is a significant asset. So, don’t overlook the composition of your teams!

• Expect the unexpected. You can’t predict earthquakes, typhoons , other natural disasters and economic fluctuations. Too few entrepreneurs and business owners think about risk management and have a current list of ‘essentials’ for their business, emergency contacts or solid backup procedures. You need a plan B ( and there are more letters in the alphabet) for survival when the unexpected arrives.

• Learn to manage stress. Your stress! The stress of a startup and of growing a business has a price unless you take care of yourself. Be realistic about what you can handle and don’t over-commit. Learn to say ‘no’ and mean it. Plan some time for yourself and your family. And don’t forget the golden rule: ‘under promise, over deliver’!

In business, you need to keep purpose, promise and principles as cornerstones of your our venture. It’s amazing how many entrepreneurs and business owners (and their teams) run their businesses on a day-to-day basis without ever understanding the purpose behind what they are doing.
Businesses without a purpose don’t have a heart. Or if the principles and values aren’t yours (think of this when you go into franchising), it’s not your heart. If it’s not your heart, then the promises you will make to customers are not really true. Remember that if you don’t deliver for your customers, they won’t deliver you. They can make your normal ‘business trenches’ a very deep hole!

Fail to prepare is preparing to fail!