Starting a business: What entrepreneurs should not bother about

Many entrepreneurs stress themselves over a lot of things in the process of establishing a business. There are some basic things that all entrepreneurs should take into consideration as they take their business idea and turn it into a business operation. Business consultants say that there are some things that can be ignored when you want to start a business. It is, therefore, important to state some of the things which are not mandatory before establishing a business. Below are a few, according to experts: Academic qualifications This does not rule out the significance of adequate formal training and/or education. Experts say the Internet, entrepreneurial groups and organisations, mentors and good networking make it possible to learn a lot on your own. As prospective entrepreneur, you should not allow lack of academic credentials discourage you. It is important to have degrees, but the absence of such does not mean you will not do well in business provided you adopt the basic principles. Experts say as long as you are curious, driven and have a valuable skill set or the ability to offer something useful to others, you can become an entrepreneur. Management expert, Mr. Dayo Alegbe notes that once you start up your business, you can always update your knowledge in order to boost your productivity. He says the lack of credentials is no barrier to starting up a business and running it successful, but is an advantage which any shrewd entrepreneur can get with time.

FG to provide special incentives for sugar refiners

Nigeria.

The Federal Government has said it will provide special incentives for investors in the sugar industry, especially those that have keyed into its Backward Integration Policy in the sector.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said this during an assessment tour of facilities of major sugar refineries in Lagos on Saturday.

Those visited by the minister were Dangote Sugar Refinery, BUA Sugar Refinery and Golden Sugar Refinery.

48.3 million Nigerians browse Internet on mobile phones

Nigeria. A total of 48.3 million telephone subscribers actively browse the Internet on their mobile phones, investigations have shown. Statistics obtained from the Nigerian Communications Commission on Friday showed that Internet subscriptions through the telecommunications operators increased by 26.44 per cent between May 31 and June 30, 2013. Active Internet subscription as of the end of June, but it was, however, 16.29 per cent less than the total Internet mobile subscriptions. At the end of June, a total of 57.7 million telephone subscribers had Internet subscription, although only 48.3 million were active subscribers.

Managing your staff performance

 (Culled From Businessday)

Introduction

A plan is only as good as the paper it is written on, until it is implemented. Getting the right staff is the very first step but making sure that the right staff are doing the right things and doing them effectively and efficiently is another important task. Peter Drucker said that ‘Plans are only good intentions until they deteriorate into hard work’

Problem Statement

Managing staff is one of the areas where entrepreneurs and smaller businesses seem to have challenges. Many supervisors know how to supervise tasks and jobs but they do not know how to manage performance. Walk into some organizations during appraisal time and you can cut the atmosphere with a knife, it is that tense. In some cases the appraisees are on tenterhooks and in as many cases, both appraisers and appraisees are afraid to face each other. This usually stems from the fact that the organisation has a goal setting process and an appraisal process but the two are not connected via a performance management process.

How To Beat the Competitors with Your Company Profile!

Under a competitive bidding situation, perception becomes everything, especially in a corporate world.
In a situation where you will not be physically present, you will be accessed by the content and the look of your company/business profile.

Many business opportunities have been lost because of unprofessionally written profile. As I mentioned in my past article, your profile is your company curriculum vitae (CV), to get a very professional Profile, you need to check on the very best personal CV of a competent professional!


So what do you look up in a professional CV? The first thing you look for is the qualification of the individuals, what has that got to do with your Profile? Well, plenty actually! Has your company been awarded a plaque recently? Do you have a special qualification as a professional? Any industry related qualification? e.g ICAN, ACCA, MNCE, CCIE, CPA, CFA, NIM, etc, you got the point right? Any industry related qualification will add to your credibility, so put it in your profile!

One Smart Way to Never Cold Call Again!

In business, selling is the number one job. Of course, there are various ways to sell a product or service, but the fact remain that we will still have to talk to people, prospecting, and introduce our product or service.

Let us face it, most people are afraid of talking to strangers, in other words, most people are afraid of cold calling. However, to sell a product we must call on people!

Here, we have two challenges. Firstly, the fear of rejection from a stranger, and secondly, people rarely buy from people they do not know or trust anyway. In a simple term, cold calling rarely work as a means of building a successful business.

I am going to introduce you to a very smart way of building your network, this method is so fast, so easy and so powerful you will be amazed at what you can achieve within a short time.

The idea is to quickly build your network in a geometrical progression that will help you expand your business, make you sell more, and turn you to a sale guru.

So what is this idea? How does it work? How do you start using it immediately? Relax, I will tell you everything, but make sure you have a product or service that will really add value to your customers, products or services you can boldly introduce to your closest friend. O.k so you have a valuable product or service right? Let’s go!

Get BETTER Clients!

  "Everything that can be counted doesn't necessarily count;

  everything that counts can't necessarily be counted." 

                                                 - Einstein

Have you ever noticed that some people make you feel good just to be around them? These are the people who give you energy when they are near you. These special people seem to unlock your creativity and stimulate your thinking. Wow!

On the other hand, there are probably others you can think of who just drain all the life out of you. Which would YOU rather have as clients?

I don't mean to sound rude, but most businesses take on any client who steps up with the money. Don't get me wrong; we all know that a paying client is indeed very valuable. My point is that you consider the cost to you for dealing with the people you serve. Just for discussion purposes, let's explore the impact that our clients have on us.

Meet Gusto.

The first type of client mentioned above (let's name this person Gusto) is the type who is fun and interesting. When you interact with Gusto, you come away feeling energized. This person will likely be the type who gives you honest, constructive feedback about your products and services. Gusto will often even help you improve your offering. This type of client is instrumental in growing your business through their referrals.

Why You Must Dream Big

  I found this in my email box, and I think it will be very helpful to you my dear reader. It was sent to me by Early to Rise.

 

By Craig Ballantyne

The first few hours of my morning are pure bliss. I arise early and sneak down to the kitchen table in my loft apartment. The sixteen feet ceilings and windows to the south help to free up space in my heart and my mind as I go about my daily routine.

I sit at the large table, without Internet access, surrounded by the lush green scenery endemic to the Toronto skyline in early June. The early summer sun naturally lights the sky and lifts my spirits. It's a magical time of day.

I spend at least an hour to writing my daily Early To Rise essays and monthly newsletters. This is followed by thirty minutes devoted to daily inspirational readings and another fifteen minutes of seated meditation.

During these few solitary hours, everything is right in the world.

Create Your Personal Brand

By Brian Tracy

Just as surely as building a powerful brand is the key to differentiating a product in the marketplace and thus building a successful business, so creating a strong personal brand is the key to differentiating yourself from your competitors, thereby ensuring your own success as well as that of your business. Your personal brand determines how people respond to you, whether they listen to you, buy from you, how much they buy, what they are willing to pay, and so on.

Promises You Make
Your personal brand makes a promise: “If you buy from me, you will receive a specific value in return.” This promised value will be born from the values, virtues, qualities, and attributes by which you become known. For example, you may want to create a personal image—a brand—of a person who always operates at a high level of integrity, consistently walks the talk, is an exemplary leader, and goes the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. Who is your ideal customer? What values, virtues, qualities, and attributes will he be looking for in a supplier of your product? Do you match this profile? If not, do you have a burning desire to be this kind of person? These are the key questions you must ask yourself when beginning to build your personal brand.

How Deep Is Your Pocket: The Keys to Establishing Your Start Up Costs

Having established your potential capability as an entrepreneur and having your idea in place, the next stage is start the process of putting everything in place. One of the challenges of planning and getting a new business off the ground is to establish what your start up costs are going to be. At best, it’s going to be a stab in the dark or a wild guess, but there are some specific steps you can take to make your costings more realistic.

Why Estimate Your Costs?

But, before we look at where you can get help, we should consider why you need to get your estimated start up costs as near to reality as possible. Firstly, if you are seeking bank finance the dreaded Business Plan is required! The Bank Manager is not going to be impressed by a comment such as, “I think my start up costs are going to be around $10,000 but hey, who knows!”