With a week to go, we are pleased with the turnout and the preparation for the Entrepreneur’s Boot Camp 2012. You will all of have had your joining instructions now, for those who need any further assistance please do call or email us ASAP.
Thanks again for your support and here’s to the best weekend ever!
Ask yourself this question, “Do I have what it takes to be a home entrepreneur?” Like any business venture, a home-based business requires an investment of time, energy and resources.
An entrepreneur is a person who has decided to take control of his future and become self-employed-whether by creating his own unique business or working as a member of a “team”, as in multi-level marketing. There are several character traits and work ethics that are common to successful entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs are careful about money. They always know how much money they have. They know the value and cost of things so they can recognize a real bargain.
Most entrepreneurs earned money when they were teenagers-babysitting, mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, sacking groceries, etc.
Entrepreneurs are competitive by nature. Many were active in sports and other competitions in high school and college. Others were competitive in wanting to make good grades, earn the respect of their parents and teachers and achieve their goals. Entrepreneurs believe in the old adage, “the early bird gets the worm.” They sleep and eat enough to maintain their energy levels but they don’t usually linger over nonproductive tasks.
Entrepreneurs are risk-takers who trust their hunches and act on them. Taking risks can be small first steps, like placing your first ad in a mailorder publication.
Entrepreneurs have a “head for business.” They are always thinking of new ideas and new ways to make money or increase their business. They are not afraid to put these ideas to use.
Entrepreneurs are usually loners rather than joiners. That’s one reason why the home-based, mailorder business is so appealing to many entrepreneurs. They prefer a solitary work environment
Entrepreneurs are usually honorable people who do business based on a handshake or a promise. They tend to form strong associations with others who share this work ethic.
Entrepreneurs do set aside time for leisure activities and family. Their principal form of relaxation is their work, but they do realize the importance of downtime and spend time with their family.
Entrepreneurs don’t retire. They may sell or change their business, thinking they will retire, but they just can’t ignore.
Entrepreneurs are professionals. Whether working from their bedroom, the kitchen table or a modern, well-appointed home office, they operate just as they would if they were in an expensive office building in a major city. When they are working, they don’t let outside influences distract them.
In general, entrepreneurs are people who have high energy, feel self-confident, set long-term goals, and view money and financial security as a measure of accomplishment and piece of mind. They persist in problem solving, take risks, learn from failures(their own and from others), take the initiative, accept personal responsibility and use all available resources to achieve their success.
Entrepreneurs compete with themselves and believe that success or failure lies within their personal control or influence. They do not see non-successes as failures but as learning experiences. Most of all, they never give up and never quit striving for success.
As suggested by http://www.focus.com
Watch the video and decide whether you are the worlds next entrepreneur!
Common Traits Of An Entrepreneur According To:- http://www.bopdesign.com
Being an entrepreneur can be as challenging as it is rewarding. Stay focused, stay on task and most importantly – stay passionate! Good luck!
25 Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur According To http://www.entrepreneur.com
1. Do what you enjoy.
What you get out of your business in the form of personal satisfaction, financial gain, stability and enjoyment will be the sum of what you put into your business. So if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, in all likelihood it’s safe to assume that will be reflected in the success of your business–or subsequent lack of success. In fact, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, chances are you won’t succeed.
2. Take what you do seriously.
You cannot expect to be effective and successful in business unless you truly believe in your business and in the goods and services that you sell. Far too many home business owners fail to take their own businesses seriously enough, getting easily sidetracked and not staying motivated and keeping their noses to the grindstone. They also fall prey to naysayers who don’t take them seriously because they don’t work from an office building, office park, storefront, or factory. Little do these skeptics, who rain on the home business owner’s parade, know is that the number of people working from home, and making very good annual incomes, has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.
3. Plan everything.
Planning every aspect of your home business is not only a must, but also builds habits that every home business owner should develop, implement, and maintain. The act of business planning is so important because it requires you to analyze each business situation, research and compile data, and make conclusions based mainly on the facts as revealed through the research. Business planning also serves a second function, which is having your goals and how you will achieve them, on paper. You can use the plan that you create both as map to take you from point A to Z and as a yardstick to measure the success of each individual plan or segment within the plan.
4. Manage money wisely.
The lifeblood of any business enterprise is cash flow. You need it to buy inventory, pay for services, promote and market your business, repair and replace tools and equipment, and pay yourself so that you can continue to work. Therefore, all home business owners must become wise money managers to ensure that the cash keeps flowing and the bills get paid. There are two aspects to wise money management.
5. Ask for the sale.
A home business entrepreneur must always remember that marketing, advertising, or promotional activities are completely worthless, regardless of how clever, expensive, or perfectly targeted they are, unless one simple thing is accomplished–ask for the sale. This is not to say that being a great salesperson, advertising copywriting whiz or a public relations specialist isn’t a tremendous asset to your business. However, all of these skills will be for naught if you do not actively ask people to buy what you are selling.
6. Remember it’s all about the customer.
Your home business is not about the products or services that you sell. Your home business is not about the prices that you charge for your goods and services. Your home business is not about your competition and how to beat them. Your business is all about your customers, or clients, period. After all, your customers are the people that will ultimately decide if your business goes boom or bust. Everything you do in business must be customer focused, including your policies, warranties, payment options, operating hours, presentations, advertising and promotional campaigns and website. In addition, you must know who your customers are inside out and upside down.
7. Become a shameless self-promoter (without becoming obnoxious).
One of the greatest myths about personal or business success is that eventually your business, personal abilities, products or services will get discovered and be embraced by the masses that will beat a path to your door to buy what you are selling. But how can this happen if no one knows who you are, what you sell and why they should be buying?
Self-promotion is one of the most beneficial, yet most underutilized, marketing tools that the majority of home business owners have at their immediate disposal.
8. Project a positive business image.
You have but a passing moment to make a positive and memorable impression on people with whom you intend to do business. Home business owners must go out of their way and make a conscious effort to always project the most professional business image possible. The majority of home business owners do not have the advantage of elaborate offices or elegant storefronts and showrooms to wow prospects and impress customers. Instead, they must rely on imagination, creativity and attention to the smallest detail when creating and maintaining a professional image for their home business.
9. Get to know your customers.
One of the biggest features and often the most significant competitive edge the home based entrepreneur has over the larger competitors is the he can offer personalized attention. Call it high-tech backlash if you will, but customers are sick and tired of hearing that their information is somewhere in the computer and must be retrieved, or told to push a dozen digits to finally get to the right department only to end up with voice mail–from which they never receive a return phone call.
The home business owner can actually answer phone calls, get to know customers, provide personal attention and win over repeat business by doing so. It’s a researched fact that most business (80 percent) will come from repeat customers rather than new customers. Therefore, along with trying to draw newcomers, the more you can do to woo your regular customers, the better off you will be in the long run and personalized attention is very much appreciated and remembered in the modern high tech world.
10. Level the playing field with technology.
You should avoid getting overly caught up in the high-tech world, but you should also know how to take advantage of using it. One of the most amazing aspects of the internet is that a one or two person business operating from a basement can have a superior website to a $50 million company, and nobody knows the difference. Make sure you’re keeping up with the high-tech world as it suits your needs.. The best technology is that which helps you, not that which impresses your neighbors.
11. Build a top-notch business team.
No one person can build a successful business alone. It’s a task that requires a team that is as committed as you to the business and its success. Your business team may include family members, friends, suppliers, business alliances, employees, sub-contractors, industry and business associations, local government and the community. Of course the most important team members will be your customers or clients. Any or all may have a say in how your business will function and a stake in your business future.
12. Become known as an expert.
When you have a problem that needs to be solved, do you seek just anyone’s advice or do you seek an expert in the field to help solve your particular problem? Obviously, you want the most accurate information and assistance that you can get. You naturally seek an expert to help solve your problem. You call a plumber when the hot water tank leaks, a real estate agent when it’s time to sell your home or a dentist when you have a toothache. Therefore, it only stands to reason that the more you become known for your expertise in your business, the more people will seek you out to tap into your expertise, creating more selling and referral opportunities. In effect, becoming known as an expert is another style of prospecting for new business, just in reverse. Instead of finding new and qualified people to sell to, these people seek you out for your expertise.
13. Create a competitive advantage.
A home business must have a clearly defined unique selling proposition. This is nothing more than a fancy way of asking the vital question, “Why will people choose to do business with you or purchase your product or service instead of doing business with a competitor and buying his product or service?” In other words, what one aspect or combination of aspects is going to separate your business from your competition? Will it be better service, a longer warranty, better selection, longer business hours, more flexible payment options, lowest price, personalized service, better customer service, better return and exchange policies or a combination of several of these?
14. Invest in yourself.
Top entrepreneurs buy and read business and marketing books, magazines, reports, journals, newsletters, websites and industry publications, knowing that these resources will improve their understanding of business and marketing functions and skills. They join business associations and clubs, and they network with other skilled business people to learn their secrets of success and help define their own goals and objectives. Top entrepreneurs attend business and marketing seminars, workshops and training courses, even if they have already mastered the subject matter of the event. They do this because they know that education is an ongoing process. There are usually ways to do things better, in less time, with less effort. In short, top entrepreneurs never stop investing in the most powerful, effective and best business and marketing tool at their immediate disposal–themselves.
15. Be accessible.
We’re living in a time when we all expect our fast food lunch at the drive-thru window to be ready in mere minutes, our dry cleaning to be ready for pick-up on the same day, our money to be available at the cash machine and our pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free. You see the pattern developing–you must make it as easy as you can for people to do business with you, regardless of the home business you operate.
You must remain cognizant of the fact that few people will work hard, go out of their way, or be inconvenienced just for the privilege of giving you their hard-earned money. The shoe is always on the other foot. Making it easy for people to do business with you means that you must be accessible and knowledgeable about your products and services. You must be able to provide customers with what they want, when they want it.
16. Build a rock-solid reputation.
A good reputation is unquestionably one of the home business owner’s most tangible and marketable assets. You can’t simply buy a good reputation; it’s something that you earn by honoring your promises. If you promise to have the merchandise in the customer’s hands by Wednesday, you have no excuse not to have it there. If you offer to repair something, you need to make good on your offer. Consistency in what you offer is the other key factor. If you cannot come through with the same level of service (and products) for clients on a regular basis, they have no reason to trust you . . . and without trust, you won’t have a good reputation.
17. Sell benefits.
Pushing product features is for inexperienced or wannabe entrepreneurs. Selling the benefits associated with owning and using the products and services you carry is what sales professionals worldwide focus on to create buying excitement and to sell, sell more, and sell more frequently to their customers. Your advertising, sales presentations, printed marketing materials, product packaging, website, newsletters, trade show exhibit and signage are vital. Every time and every medium used to communicate with your target audience must always be selling the benefits associated with owning your product or using your service.
18. Get involved.
Always go out of your way to get involved in the community that supports your business. You can do this in many ways, such as pitching in to help local charities or the food bank, becoming involved in organizing community events, and getting involved in local politics. You can join associations and clubs that concentrate on programs and policies designed to improve the local community. It’s a fact that people like to do business with people they know, like and respect, and with people who do things to help them as members of the community.
19. Grab attention.
Small-business owners cannot waste time, money and energy on promotional activities aimed at building awareness solely through long-term, repeated exposure. If you do, chances are you will go broke long before this goal is accomplished. Instead, every promotional activity you engage in, must put money back in your pocket so that you can continue to grab more attention and grow your business.
20. Master the art of negotiations.
The ability to negotiate effectively is unquestionably a skill that every home business owner must make every effort to master. It’s perhaps second in importance only to asking for the sale in terms of home business musts. In business, negotiation skills are used daily. Always remember that mastering the art of negotiation means that your skills are so finely tuned that you can always orchestrate a win-win situation. These win-win arrangements mean that everyone involved feels they have won, which is really the basis for building long-term and profitable business relationships.
21. Design Your workspace for success.
Carefully plan and design your home office workspace to ensure maximum personal performance and productivity and, if necessary, to project professionalism for visiting clients. If at all possible, resist the temptation to turn a corner of the living room or your bedroom into your office. Ideally, you’ll want a separate room with a door that closes to keep business activities in and family members out, at least during prime business and revenue generating hours of the day. A den, spare bedroom, basement or converted garage are all ideal candidates for your new home office. If this is not possible, you’ll have to find a means of converting a room with a partition or simply find hours to do the bulk of your work when nobody else is home.
22. Get and stay organized.
The key to staying organized is not about which type of file you have or whether you keep a stack or two of papers on your desk, but it’s about managing your business. It’s about having systems in place to do things. Therefore, you wan to establish a routine by which you can accomplish as much as possible in a given workday, whether that’s three hours for a part-time business or seven or nine hours as a full-timer. In fact, you should develop systems and routines for just about every single business activity. Small things such as creating a to-do list at the end of each business day, or for the week, will help keep you on top of important tasks to tackle. Creating a single calendar to work from, not multiple sets for individual tasks or jobs, will also ensure that jobs are completed on schedule and appointments kept. Incorporating family and personal activities into your work calendar is also critical so that you work and plan from a single calendar.
23. Take time off.
The temptation to work around the clock is very real for some home business owners. After all, you don’t have a manager telling you it’s time to go home because they can’t afford the overtime pay. Every person working from home must take time to establish a regular work schedule that includes time to stretch your legs and take lunch breaks, plus some days off and scheduled vacations. Create the schedule as soon as you have made the commitment to start a home business. Of course, your schedule will have to be flexible. You should, therefore, not fill every possible hour in the day. Give yourself a backup hour or two. All work and no play makes you burn out very fast and grumpy customer service is not what people want.
24. Limit the number of hats you wear.
It’s difficult for most business owners not to take a hands-on approach. They try to do as much as possible and tackle as many tasks as possible in their business. The ability to multitask, in fact, is a common trait shared by successful entrepreneurs. However, once in a while you have to stand back and look beyond today to determine what’s in the best interest of your business and yourself over the long run. Most highly successful entrepreneurs will tell you that from the time they started out, they knew what they were good at and what tasks to delegate to others.
25. Follow-up constantly.
Constant contact, follow-up, and follow-through with customers, prospects, and business alliances should be the mantra of every home business owner, new or established. Constant and consistent follow-up enables you to turn prospects into customers, increase the value of each sale and buying frequency from existing customers, and build stronger business relationships with suppliers and your core business team. Follow-up is especially important with your existing customer base, as the real work begins after the sale. It’s easy to sell one product or service, but it takes work to retain customers and keep them coming back.
James Stephenson is an experienced home based consultant with more than 15 years of business and marketing experience. He is the author of several popular books, includingEntrepreneur magazine’s Ultimate Startup Directory and Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide, both available from Entrepreneur Press.
The American Express Open Forum Suggests That Recognisable Habits In Entrepreneurs Are :-
Plan tomorrow’s agenda today
Scott Cullather, CEO of inVNT, a live events agency in New York, meets with his key support team before the close of business to go over what’s coming up the next day. “We review and forecast what tomorrow is going to look like and how we’re going to get through that,” he says. “It gives us an opportunity to re-prioritize. It also allows us to go to bed at night. Your mind does a lot of work for you while you’re sleeping. You get there the next day and are much more efficient and productive.” This focused approach has helped growth, he says. The company expects sales to rise from $20 million last year to at least $25 million this year.
Put your meetings on a diet
Ask entrepreneurs who left corporate America what they don’t miss and they’ll tell you it’s those endless, often unproductive gatherings around the conference room table drawn out by flabby agendas and presentation technology that takes forever to get set up. Many fast-growth companies keep meetings short, so employees have time to get projects done. For instance, Cullather limits his afternoon huddle to about 15 minutes.
Find a way to manage e-mail that works for you
They key is to avoid getting sucked into constantly responding to and sending e-mails, which delays you from finishing projects on time.
Many business owners like the system suggested by David Allen, the well-known author ofGetting Things Done. He offers a free PDF full of smart tips, such as putting e-mails you need to act on—and those you don’t—in separate places in your inbox.
Another strategy that many use: Find ways to reduce the number of useless messages you view, so you have more time to work on what matters. OtherInbox, for instance, pulls e-mails from various senders into folders you’ve designated and even unsubscribes you from e-newsletters you no longer want. You can use it for functions such as filing all of your e-mails from a particular client in one folder. It’s available on AOL and Yahoo! mail. Some enterprise systems offer filing systems, too—so if you use one, make sure you set aside an hour to master it.
Never stop selling
You’ll lose productive days if you wait until you’re almost done with your current projects to pitch new business. Projects can get dropped, clients can run short of cash and other things can go wrong in an economy like the one we’re in. The smartest entrepreneurs I know are always cultivating new business, so they can quickly plug holes that open in their schedule. Often, it’s a matter of sending in a project with a quick note saying, “Anything else I can help you with?” at the end. They are, of course, prepared to bring on temporary help in case they get overbooked as a result—even if it’s simply through an arrangement with a reliable freelance colleague.
Exercise regularly
Cullather puts on his running shoes at 5:30 or 6 a.m. daily, and then hits the streets. “It’s amazing to me how many creative ideas have come to me during these long runs in creative solitude,” he says. “Not only does it give you the physical endurance to work 18 or 20 hours a day and travel around the world but it helps stimulate your mind and your thinking.” When Cullather is traveling, he hits the gym—often a great chance to spend time with clients or network informally. “When we’re working with Fortune 500 companies, their senior executives are there at 5:30 or 6, before the conference begins,” he says.
Shouldn’t you be there, too?
