AP – World stock markets rose Friday, driven higher by a successful bond issue in Europe that eased worries over the continent’s sovereign debt crisis.
View full post on Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News
Read More »AP – Asian stock markets rose Friday, driven higher by a successful bond issue in Europe that eased worries over the continent’s sovereign debt crisis.
View full post on Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News
Read More »
Successful entrepreneurs hone their character and leadership traits over time to keep reaching for new horizons and to achieve ever-shifting goals. Success, therefore, is a journey and not a destination. What are the traits that you need to work on to achieve sustainable success?
Gain the respect of your peers….. With an attitude of respect for others, successful entrepreneurs gain respect from everyone they encounter. Strategies, attitudes and methods filter down to each person they work with. Successful entrepreneurs give everyone the space to be great. Trust and believe in yourself…..Wise Entrepreneurs are good at trusting their own ideas and instincts. Successful entrepreneurs have persistence, determination and a high level of self-discipline. Success is all about a strong code of ethics, a strong belief in your self, desire and passion. Follow a plan….. No one reaches their destination without a map to follow. Successful entrepreneurs start out by writing a basic business plan to guide them. It should include marketing strategies, goals, intentions, ideas and why you can outdo your competition. Review and update your business plan periodically as new ideas inspires other ideas. Think Creatively….. Successful entrepreneurs think creatively. Whether or not a business idea has already been tried makes no difference to them, they just find better ways to do things. Successful entrepreneurs are willing to think outside the box, using their imagination and expanding on a vision. Explore your skills….. Successful entrepreneurs explore their skills and find the ones that match their ideals. They don’t try to be and do everything. They ask for support. Envision your success…..Successful entrepreneurs visualise their success. Intention is a powerful tool. Get in touch with the feelings you have as a successful entrepreneur. Practise a sense of empowerment and the joy of success. Never give up…..Giving up is not part of the vocabulary of successful entrepreneurs. But smart entrepreneurs realise that there are good, and not so good days. Successful entrepreneurs are open for change and they seek out the support of those who bring out the natural enthusiasm in them. Inherent leadership characteristics…..Traits that define effective leaders: Emotionally stable, dominant, enthusiastic, conscientious, socially bold, tough-minded, self-assured and compulsive. Leaders of the future must envision the future and convince others that their vision is worth following. To do this they must have the following personality traits: High energy, intuitiveness, maturity, team orientation and charisma.
Leaders are rarely, if ever born. Circumstances and persistence are major components in the development process of any leader. So, if your goal is to become a successful entrepreneur, focus on those qualities you need to incorporate into your make-up.
If you are a leader visualising to become a successful entrepreneur and business owner I have found one of the best direct sales companies. They can be found at:
http://www.WealthByGratitude.com
Hantie Schutte
Online Business and Marketing Coach
How do you know whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or if you are better off as a salaried employee? Everyone has bad days at work, when they start to fantasize about how great it would be to be their own boss. But before you make any drastic moves, it is wise to do a bit of self reflection to determine if this is really something you’ll be naturally suited for. Although there isn’t a tried and true formula for success, studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs share many common characteristics. Do you possess any of these personality traits? Many of them? If so, you may be a natural entrepreneur, a person who is inherently better suited for owning your own business than working for someone else.
Owning and running a business is a creative, challenging and highly rewarding way to become your own boss and chart your own future. It’s about creating and finding a better way to do things, offering customers a new choice that is of value to them. In addition to making your own living, it is also about providing opportunities to help others advance as well, whether it is through job creation or simply by hiring other contractor firms. Ultimately you want to create a business that you run, instead of it running you, and hopefully it will make you a nice little fortune in the process. It takes courage, determination and foresight to decide to become an entrepreneur. Leaving the relatively safe corporate world, where paychecks arrive regularly, and benefits are guaranteed, you will be venturing into the uncharted territories of business and it can be a daunting adventure, but if you’ve got what it takes, it can be the best challenge you ever face. I have met many people who have made this decision without really thinking through all of the long term implications or really what their long term goals are for the venture, and the ideal role that they would play in the company. I can tell you from experience that you will be able to achieve far greater results in your business more quickly if you take the time early on to determine what characteristics you possess that will be your entrepreneurial strengths and where any weaknesses may lie so you can be aware of them and hire and outsource to bolster them.
While there is no recipe for success, most successful entrepreneurs share many common characteristics. To determine whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or if you are better off to work for somebody else, see if any of these sound like you:
1. Big dreams. To attain the kind of success that you want, you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams. You don’t hear Oprah saying that she wanted to just pay the rent and get by. She had big dreams. If you’re going to be a successful entrepreneur you need to have big dreams for yourself. Just making enough to pay the bills or getting a few customers is not enough of an aspiration to fuel you forward. Make no mistake; this journey will not be an easy haul, so you really need one heck of a carrot out there to motivate yourself to keep pushing. Similarly, success is not achieved in a vacuum; your dream needs to not only inspire you it needs to inspire others as well. Your dream should be something that others will believe in, see as worthwhile and want to support. Your dream needs to include being wealthy or famous but it definitely should center on being fulfilled. Do not enter this race to be just another runner, but do not feel that you need to be the winner or else your efforts will be in vain. Many small companies have done a great job at providing a unique value to a select niche market that has lead to great results for them. These companies have made an impact on targeted people and on businesses, communities or organizations. They didn’t just sell something; they made a difference, caused change, made things better, easier, faster, more effective or made something never possible before, possible.
2. Clarity and vision. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Along with dreaming big you should actively visualize success in your mind so that you can almost feel it, touch it or see that it is within your reach. You should play this image back at every opportunity. What does it feel to triple your current income? How will your life change? What will your business look like if you achieved the million-dollar mark? It is not enough to just think that you can wait and see what happens. You must be able to see what happens before it does happen, that is how you make it happen. Successful entrepreneurs possess an attitude of openness and faith that they can have what they want if they can simply envision it as the first step on the path of action to acquiring it.
3. Passion for what you do. As an entrepreneur you started a business to change your life, to create something better, something more. You saw a need, an opportunity. To attain this change successfully, you need to develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way things are. A passionate person lives life to the fullest, has a lot of energy to give, and their passion inspires others and that passion sells. It is not enough to just have a good product or service, you must have passion. Success comes easily if you have a great love of what you do. Why is that? Because we are more relentless in our pursuit of goals about things that we love. If you hate your job right now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Never. You may trudge along, even become competent at the tasks, but you will never be a great success at it. You will achieve peak performance and do what you have to do to succeed only if you are doing something that interests you or something that you care deeply about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind the fact that they are putting in 18 hours a day in their business because they absolutely love what they do and they believe in their mission.
4. Openness to new knowledge. You don’t need a degree in business to succeed at your own business. Studies show that most self-made millionaires have average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people reached their full potential and achieved their financial and personal goals in business because they were willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing to ask questions, remain curious and open to new knowledge. This willingness to learn becomes more crucial given the rapid changes in technologies and ways of doing business and those that are open to change based on knowledge are the ones that have the best chance of being successful. Become a student of business best practices. You will want to learn about other businesses and strategies that have worked and see if you can adopt them to your business. Sticking with what you know because it’s all you know is never the best option. As soon as someone decides he knows it all, it is all over. There is a wealth of knowledge out there; those who find the knowledge that will best serve them and then put it to work are those who reap great rewards.
5. Health and high energy. I mentioned long hours before. It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to put in two normal work days for every one weekday as well as spend time on the weekends in their business, especially in the first two years. In addition to mental dedication, this takes physical stamina as well. You need to be able to put this kind of extra stress on your body without it taking a toll on your health or on your personal life. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime are highly recommended because they will strengthen your body and your mind to enable you to deal with this better. Many successful entrepreneurs say that they don’t need very much sleep. They are fine with four or five hours a night and wake up full of energy. As a small business you are not going to have a huge marketing budget or the best of anything from a resource standpoint, so you need to make up for this lack with your high energy level. People love energetic people and they tend to make natural assumptions about their success level, their intelligence and their competence based on this energy.
6. Persistence and faith. The people who say that the road to success is easy are forgetting the drive it took to get them there. Even with all the hard work and good intentions imaginable many entrepreneurs will fail. Some successful entrepreneurs suffered setbacks and defeats and even bankruptcy, but they managed to stand up again and make it big in their fields. The courage to persist in the face of adversity and ability to bounce back after a temporary disappointment will assure your success. An entrepreneur must learn how to pick up and start all over again. Persistence is the measure of the belief in yourself and if you persist you can succeed.
7. Discipline. Self-discipline is the key to success. You should be getting into work routines and forcing yourself to stick to those routines. If you are going to be a successful entrepreneur you have to have self-discipline. It cannot be a thing that you strive for and think about. It must be a part of who you are and how you operate. Going the extra mile for your business is not just a bonus it is a necessity for a successful business and successful entrepreneurs know it.
8. Self confidence and optimism. Successful entrepreneurs know that they are going to be successful. They refuse to have let the possibility of failure enter into their minds. They don’t see setbacks and think that they are on the road to closing their business and giving up. As an entrepreneur, you need to fully believe in your goals, and that you can do it even in the face of adversity. You should have a strong conviction in your business, in your capabilities and in yourself. You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to succeed and not let that belief be shaken. The more you can develop faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more rapidly you can attain it. However, your confidence should be balanced with calculated risks that you need to take to achieve greater rewards. Blustering forward with full confidence but without thinking through all of the risks is not the mark of a successful entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurs calculate risks and take setbacks as lessons learned that will not be repeated.
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is hard work. It takes time and effort and a certain drive, but it can be one of the most rewarding and best things you do in life. Achieving your long term business goals will require energy and endurance. Commitment is what will keep you on task and having a flourishing business is the end reward for that work. For more information about how becoming a successful entrepreneur, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.
Elizabeth W. Gordon, founder and President of The Flourishing Business, LLC, is a visionary leader who has a passion for helping others achieve their entrepreneurial dreams and enjoy more of the best in life. With a vast and diverse background in many business arenas, Elizabeth regularly has the opportunity to share her business acumen with clients, large and small. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Atlanta and the Board of Directors of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Atlanta. She is an Accredited Executive Associate of the Institute for Independent Business (IIB) and a certified Life Coach.
There is no doubt that many people would like to know exactly how to become a successful online entrepreneur
For a start let us take a look at the dictionary definition of entrepreneur. I think we need to be clear about what exactly an entrepreneur is before going any further.
Cambridge dictionaries online define an entrepreneur as someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves risks
So there is no confusion here. It is very clear. If you start your own business you are an entrepreneur but it does seem to have to also include an element of risk.
You could argue that any new business involves risk and that is certainly true, but successful entrepreneurs are willing to take much greater risks than your average new business starter
How exactly do you become a successful entrepreneur?
Well that has to be the million dollar question. If there were a prescribed and reliable formula, we would all be multi millionaires. There would be no risk and so paradoxically, perhaps no more entrepreneurs!
There are certain characteristics that successful entrepreneurs seem to possess, such as total dedication.
So what drives an entrepreneur and what makes them different to most other people? What is their vision compared to mere mortals?
For certain there are a number of qualities they all share and without them, they would probably not be entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial qualities
You could say that any person willing to work hard at their own business is an entrepreneur but it has to be more than that. Many people try unsuccessfully to make it on their own, and many, in fact most fail, often just giving up because their efforts do not produce the hoped for results quickly enough
The true entrepreneur is remorseless in the pursuit of their goal. It is as much about achievement as it is about money but the money, as you might guess, is the real proof of success.
Entrepreneurialism has making money at its heart but the means to achieving this is almost incidental.
You could sum up the major qualities of a successful entrepreneur as follows
A successful entrepreneur thinks outside the box and is never satisfied with mediocrity in any part of their life
A successful entrepreneur is not necessarily obsessive, but is extremely highly motivated and committed to achieving their goal
The journey will be determined by its likelihood of success, not because it is enjoyable or laudable (although it might be either or both). Ultimately the enjoyment is in the success
All successful entrepreneurs leverage the efforts of others. This is a good and beneficial thing as long as it does not involve exploitation
No obstacle (short of death maybe) is too difficult to overcome. Where there is a will, there is a way. It is all in the mindset!
There is no giving up even when the way is fraught with setbacks. Expect them
The successful entrepreneur will do whatever it takes to reach the goal even if it means starting again
The successful entrepreneur must be able to handle both risk and stress. If not, burn out is extremely likely
So where does that leave you?
It seems clear that the entrepreneur is a special breed
Is it your intention to become one or are you already an entrepreneur?
Do you think you have at least some of the above qualities? You will probably need them all unless you just happen to get lucky in some way
Are you or have you already been successful? This will help
The new Entrepreneur
I believe a new breed of entrepreneur is emerging. They have all the necessary qualities of determination but are of a different mindset and they want success quickly. Most of their business is conducted online often utilising powerful software and the opportunities provided by Web 2.0 (at least at the time of writing)
But it is not just about making money for many of them. Many are also dedicated to helping others and often set up and fund special projects to achieve this. This is not a show of wealth but a genuine act of benevolence
With this in mind, perhaps there is a further quality we should be adding to our list of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur
Sharing success with others, and especially with those whose lives are deprived or impoverished in comparison to our own
The new successful entrepreneur is most likely an online operator because it is more than possible to have a great deal of success, even just working from home
The risks are much smaller working online and it is a relatively inexpensive start-up compared to most traditional businesses
The secret of how to become a successful online entrepreneur is quite simple. You need a proven system that can easily and quickly be tapped into where all the hard work has already been done for you. You just buy into the ride
There are many offers available but the best solution has to be a top tier, high ticket, business in a box, with a minimum commission of around $1000 (one thousand dollars).
I would not involve myself in any other kind of business. Why bother when it takes no more effort to make a thousand dollars than it does to make a hundred
Article related website: YourMillionDollarGamePlan
Mike Fordham is a freelance writer, Internet marketer and musician/song writer.
His interests are Business and Abundance, Music and the pursuit of ‘The Truth’ in all things
How often have you either referred to or considered the expression, “Success is a journey and not a Destination?” Probably many times, yet often being in a hurry to get there, we forget that success is not an end unto itself, but is instead an ongoing process.
Though some people seem to have the Midas touch and easily turn everything to gold, most of us have to give our endeavors lots of time, effort and the sweat of our brow before seeing things come to fruition. The simple truth is that the majority of us are simply not born leaders, but become leaders by who we are and the actions we take. Consequently, whether or not you’re an established entrepreneur or just starting out on your journey, there are particular traits you’ll usually find operating within the exceptional women entrepreneur. In fact there are 7 particular traits you’ll generally discover deeply embedded within the exceptional and successful businesswoman.
If you’ve already taken the plunge as an entrepreneur, you know that it takes a great deal of planning, development and strategic marketing to succeed. At any given time, there are changes to be considered and new directions to examine. In which case, whether you’re the CEO, CFO, Chief Marketer or Chief Solutions Officer of your company, your journey to success is probably full of trials and tribulations.
To support you in your journey to success, be willing to open your mind and sense of reasoning as you consider whether these traits are part of your driving force. If they are not yet ingrained within you, I recommend that you give them some thought.
THE 7 TRAITS TO SUCCESS
1) Successful Entrepreneurs Gain the Respect of their Peers
One of the first and most obvious characteristics you’ll see operating in an exceptional entrepreneur is an equitable and unbiased disposition . Plain and simple the successful entrepreneur recognizes that no one is above or below. With an attitude of respect for others, the successful entrepreneur gains the respect from everyone they encounter. Strategies, attitudes and methods filter down to each person and reflect on all actions and activities. A successful entrepreneur gives everyone the space to be great. No matter how effective or beneficial your expertise, becoming a successful entrepreneur requires building up of your character muscles, traits and habits, which correspondingly make your dreams a reality.
2) Successful Entrepreneurs Believe and Trust in Themselves
The savvy entrepreneur is good at trusting her own ideas and instincts. Starting out as an entrepreneur requires persistence, determination and a high level of self-discipline. Continuing as a successful entrepreneur requires even more persistence, determination and self-discipline. The wise and successful entrepreneur knows this and works hard at developing their level of confidence. If you have a strong code of ethics and believe in yourself, then your ideas can work. Having the desire and passion are the first steps on your journey; getting there requires believing in yourself.
3) Successful Entrepreneurs Follow a Plan
The successful entrepreneur follows a plan. Haphazard or trial and error have no place for the triumphant entrepreneur, for no one gets to her destination without a map or a guide to follow. That doesn’t mean you won’t go off course if another road seems better, but it’s still more effective to have a plan in place. Most successful entrepreneurs start out by writing a basic business plan that acts as the impetus and guide for their endeavors. It doesn’t have to be fancy or lengthy but it should include marketing strategies, goals, intentions, ideas and why you can do better than your competition. A business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically for each new idea stirs and inspires other ideas.
4) Successful Entrepreneurs Think Creatively
Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid of thinking creatively. Whether a business idea has already been tried makes no difference to the exceptional entrepreneur. She sees better ways of doing things and knows that every idea can be expanded upon, made better, enhanced or broadened . The successful entrepreneur is willing to think outside or the proverbial box, which means using imagination, trying new things and expanding on a vision. The savvy entrepreneur pays careful attention as to whether a particular strategy is working. If after giving it her best shot the entrepreneur realizes the particular strategy isn’t working, they know there’s no point in continuing to invest energy, time and effort in the strategy. They move on to another approach and idea.
5)Successful Entrepreneurs Explore Their Exceptional Skills
Successful entrepreneurs realize that we each have our strengths and weaknesses as well as a multitude of skills and talents. Successful people ask themselves often what skills they have that no one shares in quite the same way. An exceptional and successful entrepreneur explores their particular skills until they find the ones that match most closely with their ideal. They don’t try to be and do everything. If the successful entrepreneur needs help, they’re willing to find someone who can do it better, and allows in the support. The successful entrepreneur stays open to change for they recognize that as they move forward, doors open in unexpected places that carry them to their next level of success.
6) Successful Entrepreneurs Envision Their Success
The successful entrepreneur gives time to envisioning how they want their business to look and how they want it to be. Intention is a powerful and dynamic tool. For those who are not inclined towards intention and visualization, talk to a successful athlete and you’ll discover that before each sporting event, the successful athlete envisions exactly how he or she wants things to turn out. Imagine what it will feel like when you’ve reached a particular set of goals. Get in touch with the feelings, you’d have as a successful entrepreneur. Practice and conceive of the sense of empowerment and the joy of having succeeded. The successful entrepreneur knows they have the power to live life the way they want, but to make it a reality, they know it has to be seen first.
7) Successful Entrepreneurs Never Give Up
Giving up is never in the vocabulary of the successful woman entrepreneur. Of course there may be days when a successful entrepreneur feels discouraged or disappointed, but giving up is not an option. Having faith, trust, confidence and determination are the qualities needed for the successful entrepreneur. To keep their focus on track, they seek out the support of those that know them, encourage them and bring out their natural enthusiasm. The smart and successful entrepreneur realizes that there will be good days and not so good days.
Being a successful woman entrepreneur requires accepting the ebbs and flows of business for it is in fact what separates the exceptional and successful entrepreneur from the one who gives up far too soon.
Robert Moment is an innovative small business coach and author of Invisible Profits: The Power of Exceptional Customer Service. Robert specializes in teaching small business owners actionable how to marketing ideas and strategies that generate profitable results. Visit http://www.smallbusinessmarketingideasstrategies.com and sign-up for the FREE Small Business Marketing Plan 5 day e-course.
