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Starting a Transformative Business? – The 3 Key Questions You Must Ask

If nothing else, passionate entrepreneurs have eagerness and optimism in abundance. However, in business, as we know, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Each new venture is a learning lab in which the entrepreneur’s ambitions and ideas are tested against market realities and hard financial facts. The birth of a business is an inherently creative process in which possibilities are generated, taken apart, refined, and reconstituted, all to adapt to an uncertain environment that will persist long after the start up phase. Passionate entrepreneurs must guard against betting the bulk of their resources against one single strategy.

So how do we define success?

But what’s the point in knowing your numbers if they don’t help you reach a compelling destination? Mountain climbers are fuelled by an image of themselves on the summit, and successful entrepreneurs are drawn toward a future vision that is often a complete paradigm shift and is so magnetic it gives them the drive to succeed. So, in conceiving your business model, your strategy defines what business you are in: what you provide, for whom, and why you are doing it. You can improve your readiness to succeed as a start up entrepreneur by asking these three questions:

1. Why am I doing this?

Clarify your reasons and your goals. What future would prompt you to give up what you have now and take on the risk and challenge of starting a business? Why are you pursuing this venture? Is your WHY powerful enough?

Maybe you feel a higher calling/greater good to help people, to build something that outlasts you, leaves a legacy, creates a more meaningful way of doing things, or meets the needs of a changing society

Perhaps you have a strong drive to create a workplace based around the themes of a more just society, to work with friends, create a great place to work, and be part of a great team.

Alternatively, if it is your personal goals that drive you, what do you aim to achieve (personally and professionally) in the short-term (next 1-2 years) and longer-term (5+ years)?

The point is, making money should be a result, admittedly a very nice result, but a result all the same of having a business that is driven by a powerful WHY. Your WHY will often come from your past. Get to know your entrepreneurial personality. Who are you? What makes you tick? Look inside yourself, analyse what motivates you and use what drives you for the greater good. You must find a compelling WHY for setting your business up.

2. Is this my great idea or something that really meets a market need?

The problem with the great idea is that it concentrates the mind on the idea itself which is fine as far as it goes. But unless the idea is executed efficiently and with style and originality, then it doesn’t matter how great the idea is, the enterprise will fail. Ideas are certainly important, but so many people attempting to create a start up company become obsessed with proving that their idea is right rather than focussing on execution and making money. So much so that sometimes many years and resources are wasted doing it until the penny drops.

Nobody really cares if the idea is right, except the person who comes up with it. By all means come up with brilliant idea, but also have the guts to back it and see it through. You can be smart and passionate but you need to be able to admit when you are wrong, and move on when you are not.

So, go on, describe your business concept in fifty words or less: What will you offer? For whom? How do you define your market? What value will you create for customers? Are you solving an acute problem for customers, or providing a nice-to-have benefit? What customer pain are you addressing, directly or indirectly? Maybe you see a better solution for an existing problem?

In short, don’t get hooked on your great idea. You need to ensure there will be sufficient and sustainable market demand to support your business and enable it to thrive. Nobody will care whether you think your idea is a great one or not.

3. How can I leverage my relationships and resources?

So you have a powerful why, and a definite market need, but have you asked yourself the hard questions about whether you have the necessary experience, attitude and skills to pull your idea off?

Even if you have the best business idea in the world, without the knowledge and experience to match the passion, drive and commitment to see it through, it still stands a good chance of failing. In a complex world where not many of us have all the skills and knowledge to succeed alone, why try to?

Map your skills and experience. What can you do? What do you know? Who can help you? What assets are available for your use? In today’s knowledge based workplace, two minds or more are better than one. If you can leverage your relationships with other people then you will maximise your chances of success, particularly if they get your WHY.

Summary

OK, so this article has just a few more sub questions in addition to the big three to ask yourself, but before you get into the mechanics of planning the operational side of your business, the message is this: you need powerful reasons for setting up a business. Through media such as the internet, we now have the chance to usher in a truly transformative capitalism which places the market back into the hands of the people. So maybe when you have that powerful WHY, have an idea that meets a strong market need, and have access to the resources to execute the idea effectively, then you can aspire to climb that entrepreneurial mountain.

Copyright A� 2012 The Get Rich Mindset. All rights reserved.

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How Long Does it Take For a Business to Be Successful?

Network marketers often answer that question in a roundabout way, simply because there is not a clear answer. And it really is not limited to network marketing. All businesses have the same variable time to success. So how do we arrive at an answer? We use anecdotal examples – real experiences of real people who have come before. In some businesses, you can make money in the first days or weeks. In others it will take weeks or even months to show a profit.

One of the things I usually say to people is that their success will happen in the time it takes them to be successful. Most of us have a learning curve and as we embark on new ventures, we find somethings are easier than others. This is all part of our path to success. There are other variables as well. How effective is our marketing and advertising? Is our product or service ready to go? Is there a sufficient demand for the product or service we are offering?

In any business it is necessary to have a plan – a business plan. In this plan you will put to paper many of these variables and reduce some of the challenges to business by being proactive. If you cannot see your business becoming profitable on paper, then there is no way at all you can be profitable in real. This will save you time, effort and energy. For example: I was talking to someone about their idea and asked some specific questions about their plans.

What was the expected price of their product?

What was the initial raw cost per piece?

How many of their product would be sold during the average month?

How many hours in each average month were they planning on selling their product?

How and where would they sell their product?

How would they find their customers and how would their customers find them?

Interestingly enough this initial discussion stopped their entire business idea. The proposed product was going to be selling for less than $10 with a cost of almost $6 per piece. At a raw profit of $4 per piece they would have to sell hundreds every month to start to see some income. It just was not a practical or profitable business idea – even though the product would have benefited many people who might have purchased it. It just didn’t make economic sense.

Many network marketing – multi-level marketing companies have similar parameters. How many dollars worth of product per month have to be sold when your profit or commission from sales is 1-3% of the total (as many mlm’s are in the beginning) and often stop at 10%? If you have trouble with the math, imagine selling $10,000 of product in a month and making less than $1000. After all, you get paid on the portion of the sale your company considers cost – $10,000 in sales may carry less than half in GP or points. Your real success comes from the your organization, you will build and receive a percentage of their sales. In most of these you can expect to “take home” only about 10% of the volume of your entire team, so having a team volume grow each month is important to your survival as a network marketer.

The advent of many “start up free” opportunities has opened the door to millions of employee minded people. Seeing a chance to make money working from home has flooded cyberspace with thousands of people looking for the magic dust to their financial future, all without the basic understanding of sound business principles. I don’t know of anyone who ever made a “lifestyle” income without having the funds for a business. You cannot make something from nothing.

Where does all this leave us? If we are more aware of requirements and possibilities, then we are better able to achieve a successful result for ourselves. I advise everyone to look at any potential opportunity and ask (or answer) the six questions above. And I urge everyone to set goals – follow the SMART goal setting system ( SMART Goals ). Find a mentor – someone who has had the level of success you seek and is willing and able to assist you in “doing what they do and did” to achieve success.

In the end, fortune favors the bold, so be bold, take action and get results.

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Is Becoming An Entrepreneur For You?

Anybody can start a business, but being a small business owner is not for everybody. Each year more than half a million new businesses are created. But the risk of failure is high, with a big number of those closing during the first 12 months and many more not making it past the first 5 years. Starting a business is, without a doubt, a risk, but in many cases it can be very much worth it. Is it worth it for you?

Can You Answer Yes To This?

Starting up a home based business is a good idea if you can sincerely answer yes to the next sentences:

You have conducted a feasibility study without letting your enthusiasm cloud your senses

Your business idea is clear on your mind

You have done market research

You are able to get your probable market share

You can live with little money for the next while your business is not profitable

You have planned other ways to boost your income until your first clients pay, or have enough saved up to pay the bills

You know your skills and shortcomings and how will they affect your new venture

You are independent and like organising your own work

The lack of financial stability doesn’t stress you out too much.

Does The Following Ring True

If you are establishing a business but can find yourself reflected on too many of the immediately following statements, reconsidering your plans may be a better idea.

You have absolutely no experience managing a business

You think your idea will be successful, but don’t have a solid business plan to prove it

You just left your job and want to prove to your family that you can be successful by yourself

You like busy office environments, under strong management

The idea of promoting yourself makes you uneasy.

You like knowing exactly how much money will be on your paycheck every month.

You really don’t have saved money and are not sure about how to finance your idea.

Starting a business is challenging. The first months will be unquestionably a bit of a test, both of your personality and your capabilities as a businessman. Sensible planning and a good business plan can be useful, but all things considered you may even need to be willing to quit or modify your strategy if your project is not giving the expected results.

If you are unconvinced about the negative aspects of establishing your company being rewarding enough, the best you can do is to control those risks as much as possible. Write a well thought business plan and try to estimate your company sales and costs for at least the next couple of years, search for people who can assist you with things such as sales if you aren’t good at them and put together a support network to aid you in making your business a great success even while you are learning.

You may possibly also consider partnering with somebody who has already been there. This could well help you avoid costly mistakes. Another option is requiring advice together with mentoring at your local chamber of commerce or business chamber. Being prepared for them is the best way of dealing with the risks involved in setting up a new business, and will give you peace of mind and tools to solve any problem that may come your way.

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Mothers Work From Home As a Caterer

Many mothers find it a lot of fun to cook for their family. A lot of mothers learn to perfect their cooking by entertaining as well. Mothers love to see their family enjoy the meals they have prepared. The highest praise you can get is for a child to say, “Mom, you should start a restaurant business.”
If you are interested in being a work at home mom in order to spend more time with your family, you need to determine how to use what skills you have. If everyone says you are a great cook, then maybe you should incorporate that skill into a home business.
Opening a restaurant may not be a home-based business but catering could be prepared in the home. Catering is a great business to get into. You could cook the food in your home and deliver it to customers using specialized equipment that retains the heat or cold of the food while you transport it to the location. You can use your family’s favorite recipes to create foods for your customers.
Some couples find that opening a catering business together is good. This can work out well for you if your husband agrees to take on the job of delivering the food. You may want to offer your services as servers of the food as well as catering. You may choose to provide the food and leave it to others to serve what you have provided.
A lot of people who enjoy entertaining would like to be able to take out frozen food and serve it in their homes. If you have good food to offer, your customers will keep coming back. This in turn will create healthy profits and larger opportunities.
You may want to try to reach customers who are having weddings and other big events. You will want to start off small. Don’t start off with a huge party when you are still getting your feet wet. When you cater to these types of affairs often times you will meet new customers. Over the long run this will expand your business and eventually you will be catering bigger events.
Work-at-home mothers with a catering business can involve their children in what they do. If you are making your family favorites but only in larger amounts, you can let your kids help you get ingredients together and make the food for your clients. As a result you will receive their help and you will have spent quality time with your loved ones. Creating unity and working towards a common goal.

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Home Based Business Idea Related to Food Industry

Every person has his own ability and skills in which he is an expert. So, be confident and think of ways to use that skill to earn money. Money is the basic necessity and people want more and more money they can earn. As life is busy and people are busy in earning their livelihood, some ideal online options are also available to earn. It only requires your perfect selection of the job or business, your time and efforts also. Offline working is an outdated way of working. More and more people like to work from their homes and like to save money which they spend on traveling they do for going to office.
Business related to food industry will never get out of fashion as some people are foodie types. If you are good in baking cakes and cookies, then you can make a source of earning money. This business is always in demand. It is an ideal option for online home based business. For the business point of view you can make cake related ordering website, where you are going to take orders for the home baked cookies and cakes.
You can even provide gift packing for cookies and cakes by promoting them online. As people love to have customized cakes for the birthdays, marriages and get-together; so, in such parties if you provide them home made cakes and cookies then you can attract many customers. By this way you can make contacts and retain your customers by providing them good services which in return increases your earning too.
Providing home catering is also a good way to earn huge amount quickly by just giving them perfect service. As the trend of home parties are growing and people love to eat who are foodie. Make special menus in vegetarian or in non vegetarian meal or provide low fat healthy meals to the customers, which will help you in getting orders for the home parties to do catering. If the people like your food in the party then other also would like to give order for the catering. Home catering is a quick way to earn huge sum of money in one order. So your earning depends upon your service and mainly on your food which your are providing.
Selling of homemade chocolates again is a good way to earn money. Children are very fond of chocolates but nobody can control himself without having a taste of different kinds of chocolates you are offering specially of homemade chocolates. Make a deal with some shops where you can sell your chocolates and you can even take orders for them online by creating your own website.
Provide customized chocolate boxes and present them in a good way for the occasions and advertise them and sell them to earn money. These are the best and the unique gifts for all those who love to eat chocolates. Internet is the best platform for marketing the products which you can use and let people know what you are selling.