Be Focused in Order to Succeed

Many new entrepreneurs fail due to lack of focus. If you are new to the game of business, know that there are lots and lots of opportunities everywhere. There is also a lot of money, enough for every businessman to share. Don’t be deceived that you have to catch every opportunity and earn every single cent you see. Entrepreneurs new to business try to exploit many business opportunities and try to do anything and everything they see. This is the reason for failure of majority of new small businesses.

Lack of Focus makes you weaker at every Point
If you try to run many ventures at the very beginning of your entrepreneurial life, your time, money and other resources will be spread thing over many ventures and all of them will be weaker, lacking the required input, effort and core competencies. In most cases not a single venture out of all your trials will become a success. However, if all your efforts are focused on one business that you hold an expertise in, then there is a better chance of becoming a success. Therefore, a new entrepreneur has to carefully select a business he/she knows well and concentrate on developing it till it is successful. Diversifying into any allied business should be considered only after the initial business is well established.

When do Enterprises need Diversification?
There are times when diversification is essential for a business to progress. But a new business needs to focus on what they can do best. Natural diversification is a process of integration. Even for small businesses upward integration like production of essential critical inputs or downward integration like developing own distribution channels may be useful diversification. Only very big companies can afford and make use of diversification into totally new fields. In most cases they do this to make use of their excess resources. So, choose your field of focus and develop your business to a success before you look beyond boundaries for new areas to diversify into.

Ensure Smooth Transition of Work during your Absence with a Second-Line Leader

Second-line leaders in an organization have a significant role to play in the daily operations. Organizations should recognize the resource needs and train them so that they are able to take over the superior’s role in his or her absence. In such instances, executives or selected leaders should be delegated authority to act on behalf of their superiors. Managers can be delegated to carry out the roles of their superiors so that the day to day functioning proceeds smoothly.

Why Do You Need a Second-Line Leader?
Whenever a senior employee, manager or a key decision maker is absent, the organization’s ability to function should not be curtailed as it will affect the production and efficiency of the work or services to customers. Recognition and early appointment of such secondary leaders will ensure smooth functioning of the organization’s operations.

Developing Second-Line Leaders
Identifying employees who have qualities of leadership and training them to fit the role is a key factor of good management. Managers or superiors may fall sick or travel regularly thus, requiring an experienced senior staff to act on his or her behalf. It is necessary to select an experienced person who will have knowledge of the organization’s goals and objectives and be committed to the job. He or she should be a person who other employees will look up to, for guidance and support. Other traits to look for are excellent communication skills and reliability when being entrusted with a task.

How to Develop Second-Line Leaders?
Training of such selected individuals may have to be done within the organization. The superior and the second-line leader may have to work as a team to ensure that he or she gains experience and knowledgeable about the work, job and the role. The second line leader should be capable of attending to the operations without immediate supervision for the period of absence. This should be tested with mock sessions of absence of the actual leader.

Having complete faith in a second-line leader will build morale and ensure a smooth transition of work whenever the superior is not available. In this manner, the normal operations, productivity and efficiency of the organization will not be significantly affected.

How Solopreneurs can find Unique Opportunities for Sustaining Business

Solopreneurs or solo entrepreneurs face a unique set of challenges and often need unique solutions for creating opportunities and sustaining the business. Most instances the publicity and promotional aspects of the products and services available with the solopreneur need to be addressed thoroughly for the success of the business. Such ideas can be developed using common sense while analyzing whether the idea makes smart business sense. Outsourcing a publicity consultant’s help or consulting with recognized marketing practitioners can provide further insight on how best to start up the business, and make potential customers aware of the solopreneur’s ability and reputation.

Market trends, competition, and technology, challenge the solopreneur to look at business in innovative ways to stay ahead of the competition. If the business is to survive and thrive, the solopreneur must learn to generate new and stable ideas for the improvement of his or her business. With new technology solutions available, different system models can be adapted to suit the purposes, choosing the best that the solopreneur will benefit.

Experienced consultancy practitioners who have worked and studied situations are successful solopreneurs. Their ability to promote their product of knowledge and experience can be through word-of-mouth or the many network and web sites available to all.

Thus, selling products and services of the solopreneur must be a primary function of their business. This is where deep thought should be given to find the best method of publicizing. It also provides the solopreneur’s final ambition to make the business pay and realize profits.

Methods of Publicizing
Starting up initially with newspaper advertising, press releases and articles or advertising in business magazines can provide limited coverage to prospective clients. Effective publicity is the key.

Facebook, Twitter and other social network websites can provide wider coverage which ensures desired results. Success of promoting the solopreneurs work through this system can be measured by the inquiries and the assignments contracted. The viral nature of the social media networks where the transmission of good reviews is exponential through networks within networks.

Making use of other web mediums is also critical for soloprenuers who can maximize reach while keeping costs down. The fact that search engines such as Google allow for local searches that focus on a specific geographic area, allows soloprenures with limited geographic coverage to make use of the internet as a key feature of their marketing actions.

Further success is guaranteed by successfully completing assignments where the solopreneur’s ability is publicized by word-of-mouth. This will be the best method of enhancing the reputation of the solopreneur and ensuring continued and repeat business opportunities over a longer period.

There are Many Benefits to having Happy Employees

Working in a pleasant office environment encourages the employee to attend to work effectively and efficiently. While boosting morale and providing more stimulation, it is advantageous to organizations to have happy employees that will increase productivity.

Some areas that Managers can address to maintain a pleasant work atmosphere are as follows:

• Encourage and allow employees to personalize their work stations or rooms with personal items or photographs of their children or family.
• Informal, stimulating and lively communication. Speaking to employees kindly and acknowledging their greetings. Enquiring about their interests and hobbies.
• Ensure that staff and team meetings are captivating and lively with positive contribution from the participants.
• Leading by example. Managers and leaders need to cultivate an outgoing personality to be looked up to and followed with a positive result oriented performances.
• Recognition of employee birthdays and special days with cards and gifts where all other employees can also participate.
• Arranging a day out trip or weekend holiday for the employee and family members where they mix with other employees and their families.
• Arrange for monthly or quarterly socializing evening for employees and their families.
• Training programs where there is fun outdoor activity which can relate to teamwork, and other office related functions. This can also be a fun learning time.
• Provide for relaxation and stress relief by accommodating indoor games during the luncheon break or after office hours.

Benefits of having a Happy Team

If you are wondering what the purpose of trying to turn work in to fun than being serious and formal, look to Google. It is known as the craziest work place on earth and fun for their employees is a major focus for Google. Today they are a billion dollar company with the biggest web based business on earth. Here are just some main benefits that you can expect by making your work place a fun place to be.

1. It will motivate and build morale among your employees.
2. It creates an environment where the creativity, imagination and innovation of your employees will flourish.
3. It will enhance teamwork and helps effective cross functional work.
4. Provides increased productivity and better employee performance.
5. Increases employee loyalty and reduced employee turnover.

A happy employee leads to a motivated, committed and innovative workforce and such workforce is what wins the competition in today’s business world. So, take steps to create stress free, low power distance work environments where people work as happy individuals.

Promote and Encourage Self Growth in your Employees to Achieve your Goals

Self-development is an effective method to achieve your own goals. Organizations need to identify each employee’s needs and encourage them to further their goals, so that they develop as individuals. This can be beneficial to the company too as you will be having employees of high caliber and skills. Hence, you should promote and encourage self growth in your employees, so that they can reach higher standards. In today’s competitive business environment, most companies now recognize the worth of high caliber employees. The quality of the human capital is what places the company ahead of others. This is why you as a business leader or a manager need to formulate strategies and implement them to encourage personal development and formulate schemes to get the best out of the employee. A company should therefore have a personal development plan and also support their employees in their own quest for upgrading their skills and enhancing their working competencies as well as personal skills as time management and communication skills.

Steps to Take When You are Interested in Promoting Personal Growth
• Create a learning culture which encourages everyone to develop. Senior managers could refer to external mentors, if the need arises.

• Ensure that the employee understands the company’s vision and objectives, and his or her duties and responsibilities within the employee’s scope of work. Individual objectives to achieve within the work environment needs to be discussed, understood and accepted.

• The employee’s personal objectives, strengths and weaknesses and development needs require two-way discussion with encouragement to speak truthfully, though sometimes personal objectives may not be relevant to the job or beneficial to the company.

• Assess how employee’s objectives relate to the company’s goals and be prepared to negotiate a mix of objectives where it is beneficial to the employee and the company.

• It is not recommended that objectives are imposed upon employees as negative responses will only damage the employee’s enthusiasm.

• Identify the training courses, seminars, discussion groups, institutions and development methods available and discuss the best course of action to gain additional knowledge and enhance their skills.

• Mutually agree upon realistic and measurable self development courses where the objectives are met, with deadlines to complete. Strike a win-win situation in considering the needs of the employee and the company’s in order to get the best results.

• Plan to reward the employee on success of an identified training or learning program.

• This information as well as any other employee development programs must be conveyed to the employee early in order for him or her to commit to a self development course beneficial to both parties. Further encouragement can be shown by promotions or compensation.

• Decide whether to fund the self-development course if its job related. This will build up morale as well as motivate others to follow.

• Identify how learning in the workplace can contribute, providing new assignments and responsibilities together with on-the-job guidance.

• Identify any formal training that can benefit the employee.

• Self development must be measured from time to time and progress discussed. The employee can be directed wherever and whenever needed.

Subjects to cover in self-development are many, but encouraging the employee to develop effectively and supporting the effort will no doubt have a positive impact on the individual and the company. In addition to the benefit of having a highly competent team of employees, such actions will also build the organizational commitment of your staff.

Be in Touch with all External and Internal Issues even when owning a Small Business

Business planning is essential to any small business or large organization if the business is to be a success. It gives direction and keeps the business focused and thriving. A basic workable plan, will no doubt, provide the business valuable information as to the current situation and position of the business. This information can also be used to determine where the business wants to be and plan how to get there. Here is some advice from Ruth Stuettgen of Focus on Balance on Why and How Small businesses should make use of business planning.

Most small business people make the mistake of thinking that business planning, budgeting and performance tracking is not for companies of small scale. This is far from the truth. In a small business enterprise, planning is crucial. Without a measure of planning and implementation, the business can suffer from lack of direction, wrong investments and losses. Planning can take place with partners of the enterprise or recruited senior staff members. Planning is easier and interesting when many minds present diverse ideas with a common focus.

Vision Statement
A vision statement should be the starting point for any business plan and is the core of inspiration and a motivating factor. The vision statement should express what business it is in, where it wants to be and what outcomes are to be derived out of the business.

Evaluate the Business
In a brainstorming session, examine the current position of the business. Consider strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities available for the business to thrive. A SWOT analysis will provide most information required to formulate a constructive plan. There may be external, as well as, internal issues that maybe recorded. Relate these to the vision, and how the business is to be positioned to achieve the final goals.

Setting Priorities
Having set a vision and evaluating the business, overall business objectives and goals and actions should be addressed with a time factor and responsibility to achieve those plans. Most goals will also have cost factors involved in order to implement the action.

Plans can be short term or long term or a combination of both. It is the manner how the business goes about carrying out the actions, and how much they achieve, that is important. All goals and actions cannot be achieved at the same time. Thus, the goals and actions planned should be ranked in priority.

Evaluating the Progress
Due consideration should be given for evaluating the progress of the plans of the small business. The business needs to review the progress made during a specified time against the written objectives, goals, actions and the expenditure incurred. By assessing the progress, the business can determine whether the short term or long term plans have been achieved or not and the level of the contribution made to the plans. This will help the business to revise, amend or add any new strategies to the plan with relevant actions needed to achieve the overall profits.

The business environment is an ever changing factor due to external and internal issues. Therefore, it is important even to a small business enterprise to be in touch with these factors and change the plans to suit the business and take the enterprise where it wants to be while realizing the vision.

The Right Leadership Skills will take you High in the Ladder of Success

You may have started your own business or joined a company. You may be the owner or the manager of the business. But this does not necessarily mean you are the leader of the organisation. So, what does it takes to be a leader? Raymond Cattell the well known psychologist, who developed intelligence tests and personality tests, has cited the following 10 personality traits required for a leader. You too can develop them and cultivate them within you to become an outstanding leader that can lead your troop to success.
1. Emotional stability: Good leaders must have the psychological maturity and stability to face any situation that may arise.
2. Dominance: Leaders have to be competitive, decisive and assertive in their attitude in dealing with others.
3. Enthusiasm: Leaders are usually active, expressive, and energetic and above all are optimistic.
4. Conscientiousness: Leaders have a strong sense of duty. They tend to be very self-disciplined and have a very high standard of excellence.
5. Social boldness: Leaders are generally thick-skinned, but responsive to others.
6. Self-assurance: Self-confidence and resiliency are common traits among leaders. They don’t wait for approval. They are generally unaffected by prior mistakes or failures.
7. Compulsiveness: Leaders are controlled and very precise in their social interactions. Overall, they are very protective of their integrity and reputation
8. Intuitiveness: Reasoning and logic will not work always. Especially when in unknown waters, you have to use your gut feelings.
9. Empathy: Try to understand how others think, feel and see. Without this trait called as empathy, you can’t build trust in the employees
10. Charisma: You must be seen by your team as a larger person than them. For them to see you as a great person, develop a charisma that helps them to have this perception. If you have a charisma you’ll be able to instill confidence on your capability to lead them.
Remember, most of the people in the world are followers and they are constantly looking for a good leader to pledge their allegiance and follow with diligence and passion. So, become that leader to induce your employees to follow you with strong emotion, and take the business to great heights.
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