Category: Business Essentials

Are you ready to start your own business? 6 highly effective tips for becoming successful

It is no secret that starting your own business can be quite overwhelming. You’ll most probably come across a lot of different advice from people who don’t even know the first thing about running a successful business. Research indicates that almost 75% of business startups end up failing every year because their created products or apps did not quite resonate with the market demand. Turn to the internet, and you’ll be swamped by the vast majority of articles claiming to be the authority on the subject. 

 

Starting your own business and running it successfully means that you’ll often blaze your own trail. While countless books and seminars offer useful advice, no career guides, maps or counselors can actually guide you from one step to the next. You’ll have to make it up as you forge ahead into unchartered territory. However, while no two entrepreneurs are the same, some advice is universally valid no matter your niche, area of focus or industry. Following are six essential tips to help you pave your way to success.

 

  1. It all starts with a vision.

When you start your own business, things can go wrong pretty quickly. However, sticking to your vision will take you far. It will enable you to make your dream venture a successful one. Although this course may not always be the one you imagined for your business, in times like these, your big vision can become your north star and help you navigate and orient yourself through the darkness. Remember! Your vision for your business is like your compass. It is a celestial beacon that will light the way forward and steer you to success.

 

  1. Network, network, and network!

Many businesses would not be where they are today if they did not engage in professional networking when they first started. To start your own business and make sure that it succeeds, you’ll need to create your own word of mouth. So begin by becoming your own brand ambassador, touting the benefits of working with your business, and showing others why they should give you a chance.

 

Today, given the importance of networking, several trade shows, and networking groups exist to connect aspiring entrepreneurs with other professionals. So get out there and start with your own momentum. After all, these initial connections are essential to help lead to future business prospects, strategic partners, and even mentors with the possibility to help grow your business.

 

  1. Spending slowly and strategically

With today’s cutthroat competition, almost every entrepreneur wants to hit their first major milestone faster, especially if you have just started your own business. While some entrepreneurs choose to fund their projects themselves, others gather investors to do their bidding. However, what many new businesses don’t realize is that when you get too aggressive with spending, you become careless and lose sight of what’s important for the success and survival of your business in the long run, which is profits.

When you start your own business, focus on investing every dollar planning on near-term returns so that you can invest cash flows back into the business. This ensures that you won’t end up burning through your cash pile and prevent you from situations where you have to panic-raise more funds later.

 

  1. Staying ahead of the curve.

Now that you have taken on the role of an entrepreneur, you can no longer afford to be rooted in the present and focus solely on the day-to-day tasks. Starting your own business involves taking on the role of a leader and keeping one eye focused on the future. If you don’t engage in anticipating the upcoming movement in your industry, you’re destined to fall behind. This is why successful business owners always study new trends and anticipate what’s coming around the bend. This helps them to adapt and evolve nimbly. 

 

So, as a new startup, try to read trade magazines and websites to stay on top of emerging issues and trends in your field. Keeping your pace aligned with the changes in your niche industry assures that you’ll have your finger on the pulse to predict what customers will want and in which direction your competitors will be moving.

 

  1. Make room for a healthy work-life balance.

Starting your own business and succeeding at it requires a lot of time and energy. While it’s good to stay on top of things, it’s paramount that you find a healthy work-life balance, no matter how challenging it might be. Letting your work dominate you can result in burnout and losing touch with those you consider most important. 

 

It is also important to take care of your health and well-being. Remember! Your business cannot run without you. While you might think that you need that perpetual hustle to succeed, that pace can and will eventually burn you out unless you don’t take time out for yourself. So, set clear boundaries and invest in finding ways to maintain healthy relationships outside work. You’d be amazed by how recharging your batteries will only inspire you to persevere as you dream even bigger.

 

  1. Believe in what you are doing.

We’ve all heard this advice way too many times, haven’t we? However, believing deeply in the vision of your newly established venture and the products or services that it provides is imperative. To be successful, there has to be a spark, something so motivating that failure is not even an option. Indeed, you will stumble across a few hurdles and obstacles on your way to success. But instead of allowing it to dissuade you, be laser-focused on the right steps, messages, and marketing to pave your way to success.

 

While this may sound simple but upfront, unbridled enthusiasm over an idea must be tempered with thoughtful planning to anticipate obstacles and approach a new venture with a clear strategy in order to create the energy to succeed.

 

The bottom line

When you start your own business succeeding in your new business requires careful financial, legal and strategic planning. Still, if you keep the tips mentioned above in mind, it will surely lead you forward towards victory and triumph. And if things get challenging on your path as an entrepreneur, simply fuel your big vision and remain committed to moving forward! Good luck.

Did you know that almost 46% of the startups use their personal credit cards to keep their startups afloat, only to realize their mistake later? Unlike personal credit cards, a business credit card is one of the most important financial tools that every business owner needs in any startup’s toolbox. It’s way more than just a means of making payments and obtaining credit. In fact, a business credit card is a unique, flexible form of financing. It protects you against liabilities and delivers rewards and perks specific to what’s important to you and your business. 

 

To help you understand and explore how business credit cards set you up for success, here’s a list of some of the key benefits why every business owner needs a business credit card to build their startups.

 

Steering clear from mingling up the business and personal spending trap

You’ll eventually need to make purchases regardless of whatever niche you choose to explore or whichever direction you wish to drive your startup. While putting all these expenses through your personal credit card and racking up the points may sound like an easier way to move forward, many startups fall prey to this practice. But logistically, separating your business and personal expenses from the get-go makes it easier to track what and how much you spend on your business. After all, you don’t want your inventory purchases getting mixed up with the charges for dog food or even movie tickets. Trust me! When the time comes to pay the taxes at the end of each business cycle, your accountant will be thankful that you did not mingle your business transactions with personal onto a single account. 

 

Protecting your personal assets from legal liabilities is worth your while

When you decide to build your startup, your business will likely fall under an LLC, a partnership, a C-Corp, or even an S-Corp. If you continue to choose to use your personal credit card to pay for your business and do not separate the two, there are bound to be legal implications that you must be wary of. In simple words, if your finances aren’t divided, you will not be able to enjoy any of the legal or liability protection for your personal assets. If things go south, you could end up being personally liable for any lawsuits that call for damages against your business.

 

Building a good business credit score matters!

Anyone who has recently started their own business knows the importance of building a business credit score. While you may have ample knowledge about building your personal score, building your business credit score is an entirely different ball game based on many different factors, one of them being how responsibly you use your business credit card. Not only this, but once you start to build your business credit, you automatically invest in its future by creating more affordable financial possibilities for your business. Maintaining a good business credit score helps new entrepreneurs in several ways. From negotiating with your vendors to obtaining reasonable terms on your business loan is all dependent on how you maintain your business credit score. Not only this, but a good business credit score can also improve your personal credit in the long run.

 

Enjoying a higher spending limit

Another reason why every business owner should invest in a business credit card is the “spending limit.” Credit card companies offer a higher spending limit on a business credit card than a personal one since they are well aware of the fact that businesses will most likely have to spend more than what an individual does. That means you likely won’t have to max out several credit cards to cover all of your business expenses.

 

Acting as a financial safety net

As a newly established startup, you will most likely have to fight many battles on different fronts. One of these is learning how to deal with inconsistent revenue and unexpected purchases while balancing your cash flow. Moreover, since startup costs can be quite fickle, you can’t always depend on a large sum of savings to cover them. Having a business credit card can come in handy in such times and be used to cover unexpected expenses while giving you the time to move around funds and pay them off by your next payment period.

 

Provide a means of low-cost financing

A business credit card is quite similar to the traditional forms of business financing, such as a business credit or even a line of credit. By obtaining a business credit card, you are essentially borrowing money for some time and then paying it back later with interest. Nowadays, to help startups flourish, many credit cards also act as low-cost or even free financing, thanks to introductory periods with a 0 percent APR.

 

The opportunity to earn benefits, rewards, and perks

Just like your personal credit card, a business credit card also offers businessmen a number of rewards, perks, upgrades, and benefits that can either offset some of the cost of your purchases or make running a business more enjoyable. Although every business credit card may differ, a vast majority of them offer points or cash backs on purchases like airfare, social media, and even office supplies. Not only this, but many also offer travel and cell phone insurance, car rentals, and even subscription discounts on business tools like G Suite and Salesforce. As a result, with every purchase you make from your business credit card, you earn a slight discount which may even turn into a sizeable one if utilized effectively.

 

The Bottom line

Remember! As an entrepreneur who just started with their first startup, your finances are most likely limited. While you may have some investment or even personal savings, or even a startup loan, owning a business credit card allows you to enjoy financial flexibility. At the same time, you build up your financial resume and get your ducks in a row. All this, coupled with the vast array of rewards and perks offered by a business credit card, is more than enough reason why every business owner must invest in a business credit card. So go ahead and choose from these top business credit cards for startups. After all, it’s your first step towards ensuring your business’s success. 

After the pandemic hit more people began working from home which led to a sharp rise in virtual meetings. One popular video conferencing platform often utilized by companies in today’s ever expanding remote work environment is Zoom. Understanding the dos and don’ts when it comes to having a successful virtual meeting is more important now than it has ever been.

These 7 steps will help ensure a more successful Zoom Sales Meeting

 

 

1. Create a Meeting Agenda

Before you join your meeting you should have some idea of what you are going to discuss. This will ensure that you do not leave out anything of importance and that you are adequately able to fill up your meeting time. Having an agenda will also allow your meeting to be more structured and help to encourage more effective discourse.

 

2. Send Email Invitations and Reminders

Sharing your zoom meeting link is just one way to allow your participants to join. A much more effective method is to send out the meeting invitations directly to your participants inboxes. This will also allow you to send out reminders to everyone which will lead to less absences and tardiness to your meetings.

 

3. Utilize a Virtual Background if Possible

When you consider that most of these virtual meetings are now taking place at your home office it is still important to maintain a level of professionalism. One way to do this is to utilize virtual backgrounds which can easily be uploaded in your Zoom settings. This will help portray the idea that your team is still working in an office even if that office is at home.

 

4. Ensure Your Meeting Environment is Distraction Free

While most desktop and laptop computers today have the ability to allow you to add virtual backgrounds to your Zoom meetings, not all of them do. In any case it is important that your meeting environment be free from distractions. Find a quiet place away from outside sounds so that you and your participants can fully engage in the meeting.

 

5. Join Your Meeting a Few Minutes Early

As the host of your Zoom sales meeting it is a good idea to join a few minutes early. This allows to check that you everything is set up properly and that you have no technical difficulties in order. Take a couple of minutes to prepare any notes before you begin.

 

6. Get Your Meeting Participants Engaged

You want o have your participants engaged and involved with the discussion. Start with an introduction by asking everyone how their week has been before diving into the first item on your agenda. As you’re going through your meeting be sure to stop every now and then to ask for feedback or input from participants. Finally, end the meeting by asking if anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns.

 

7. Utilize Feedback to Improve Future Meetings

Use what you learn from your meetings for future meetings. Keep what is effective and throw out anything that may be hindering your Zoom sales meetings. Incorporate feedback and input from participants to optimize your agendas for future meetings.

 

Here’s to a More Successful Zoom Sales Meeting

This article doesn’t examine all the technical ins and outs of Zoom. However, you should now be more prepared to lead a successful Zoom sales meeting.

 

In today’s day and age, striving to increase workplace diversity is no longer an empty slogan; it has become a smart business decision. Organizations that are built on a diverse leadership team not only have stronger employee value propositions, they are also more successful in recruiting and retaining top talent. As stated by Sundar Pichai; the CEO of Google, “A diverse mix of voices not only leads to better discussions but also better decisions and outcomes for everyone.”

 

Undoubtedly, hiring and managing a diverse leadership has become an essential ingredient in the recipe for success for every business. A recent survey conducted by McKinsey Group also indicated that companies in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their average industry returns. Below are the eight benefits that organizations enjoy as a result of employing a diverse leadership team.

 

  1.    Creating new depths of understanding

When companies bring diversity to the leadership level, they end up opening doors to greater depths of experience and perspective. As a result, it allows leaders to understand and relate to employees, clients, and even prospective clients. This newfound experience and perspective allow room for setting new benchmarks. It allows leaders to bring forth change and facilitate innovation which is critical for both capturing and maintaining market share. Not only this, but a diverse leadership team has a larger pool of experience and unique points of view to draw from, which can help with finding solutions to problems and generating new ideas.

 

  1.    Increased awareness amongst employees

As strange as it may sound, the experiences we face in our lives create a filter for us through which we see and understand those around us. Following the same principle, if businesses engage in increasing diversity in their team of leaders, they automatically increase the awareness of the landscape an organization must navigate to succeed. From customer experience to employee needs and even global opportunities, every aspect is viewed in a new and improved lens of awareness.

 

  1.    Promoting a growth mindset

Just look at some of the tone-deaf and downright offensive marketing mishaps that could have been easily avoided by having a more varied group of decision-makers. Employing a diverse leadership team tends to bring perspective to an organization’s goals. It allows room to pressure test assumptions and judgment as well as inculcate a new way of thinking. As a result, promoting a healthy growth mindset and allowing room for greater employee engagement, empowerment, and faster decision making. Remember! Every step towards a diverse leadership team is like a stone in the lake. Those ripples can reach out.

 

  1.  Building healthy relations with employees and clients

Imagine being the only female in an all-made leadership team or being the only one from an ethnic minority in an all Caucasian senior-level management. Not having leaders that an employee can relate to can sometimes prevent an employee to feel motivated or envisioning a path forward for themselves. On the contrary, ensuring that your company has a group of strong yet diverse leaders can allow companies to be viewed positively,  thus building better employee and customer relationships. After all, the foundation of any successful organization is an engaged workforce that strives to provide exemplary services to all their customers’ needs and wants.

 

  1.    Acting as a means of continuous learning process

Another important benefit of having a diverse leadership team is its contribution towards maximizing the team’s learning process. When team members and employees come from diverse backgrounds, they always tend to bring something new with them. This leads to continuous learning and allows employees to be more readily adaptive towards changes.

 

  1.    Providing unique ways to innovate

We have all heard stories about the legendary 20 percent rule of Google and how it encourages each of its employees to pitch in ideas. Because of this practice, Google News and AdSense became a reality. Organizations that focus on building a cohesive and diverse leadership team where all team members are free to pitch in ideas and have candid conversations automatically boost innovation in the company. No doubt, it takes a lot of discipline and patience to listen, and courage to build a successful and well-managed team that can deliver results. But when you get your team to be passionate about doing what they do and consistently churn out ideas, your company will automatically find new and unique ways to innovate.

 

  1.    Having a wide array of different perspectives

Just like any other aspect of an organization, introducing diversity at the workplace can also be a success or a disaster. It is imperative to take stock of the level of cultural intelligence and the capacity to accept inclusion within your team. Leaders and teams must both be willing and open to let diversity in. After all, the different perspectives resulting from having a diverse leadership team will allow them to see the situation from multiple angles so that they can make better decisions, provided that all voices can and want to be heard.

 

  1.    Less monotony and more fun

Many a time, leading organizations make the mistake of having leaders and team members of the same personality. They end up choosing employees with the same behavioral traits and characteristics. While this may help them get along easily in the beginning, things start to get monotonous and boring over time.

 

Introducing the concept of a diverse leadership team creates a greater learning capacity. It oozes new energy and more engagement amongst the team, ultimately leading them to be more creative, innovative, and effective. At the end of the day, it’s a win-win situation for all where work becomes more fun and companies end up finding new and innovative ways to excel.

 

Have you ever wondered why some businesses thrive while others fail even though both face the same opportunities and setbacks? If you are still speculating, then the answer to your question is successful leadership. Successful leadership is all about the motivation and enthusiasm to strive for a bold course of action or a vision even when the rest of the world doubts you and wonders why you’re not following the status quo. 

 

Indeed, not everyone is cut out to be a leader in today’s day and age. Studies indicate that almost 24% of the employees actively disengage from their work every year due to poor management and ineffective leadership. So if you are considering what authentic leadership looks like, then below are a few qualities of a successful leader that every business person and CEO must strive for.

 

It all begins with a vision.

A successful leader always begins with a vision. They create a vision for their organization, articulate it and relentlessly drive it to completion. Moreover, they visualize the future themselves and go above and beyond to share their vision with their team. One of the most important qualities of a successful leader is sharing their vision, strategy, and plan to achieve this vision with their team. By doing so, they involve the entire team in turning this vision into reality. 

 

Maintaining a Flexible Outlook

Being a successful leader is all about being adaptable to any given situation. Whether you encounter a roadblock or a considerable obstacle, having a mindset of change allows one to be more receptive to new ideas leading them towards opening new doors and bringing success to the table. Thus, when you put on the leadership hat, always be prepared to stop and reassess any given situation. After you have done that, determine the best course of action under the given circumstances. Remember! When all is said and done, leaders face challenges and maintain a flexible attitude instead of falling prey to the stressors and the uncertainties. Not only this, but they also try to inspire the same level of adaptability within their team and help steer them towards success.

 

Self Reflection is the key!

Another essential quality of a successful leader is self-reflection. Self-reflection is all about devoting time to contemplate your current skills, strengths, weaknesses, flaws, behavioral patterns, and how you seek to influence others. Leaders tend to self-reflect by reassessing their capabilities. They make conscious efforts towards exploring their defined goals and ambitions to increase their self-awareness, alignment, authenticity, learning, and growth. After all, your key responsibility is to be the best possible leader you can be, instead of trying to fit into a mold set by someone else. Several studies also prove a direct correlation between self-reflection and successful leadership. The more reflective you are, the more effective you are!

 

Harnessing the power of words to communicate effectively

It has often been said that words can motivate people and make them do the unthinkable. Another quality of a successful leader is being a good communicator. Until you communicate with your team and learn about their apprehensions or shortcomings, you will never help them overcome the obstacles they face within their departments. A successful leader always maintains a welcoming demeanor. Not only this, but he also shares his vision with the team and tells them the strategy to achieve the goal. Only by working together towards a shared goal can you lead your team towards success.

 

Gearing up to be innovative!

Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation is what distinguishes a leader from a follower.” To get ahead in today’s fast-paced world, a leader must be innovative. After all! Creative thinking and unvarying innovation are what gives you your USP and make your business stand out from the crowd. So think out of the box and come up with unique ideas. Once you are there, turn those ideas and goals into reality.

 

Trust and dependability

President Dwight.D.Eisenhower once said, “The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably integrity.” Without it, no real success is possible! Trust, integrity, and dependability are important ingredients for making a successful leader. By displaying these traits in your work and demonstrating them by how you interact with your team, your team members develop trust in you. Over time, your team learns to value you as their leader and know that they can depend on you to support them through tough times and help them meet both shared and individual goals.

 

The subtle art of delegation

As human beings, it is nearly impossible for one man to do everything, not even the CEO of a multinational or a business owner of a small business. This makes it important for leaders to focus on the key responsibilities while delegating the rest to others. One of the most important qualities of a successful leader is empowering their team members and effectively delegating tasks to them. Delegation, however, can sometimes be quite tricky. Suppose you continue to micromanage the tasks assigned. In that case, your subordinates will develop a lack of trust. More importantly, you will not be able to focus on important matters. Instead, a better approach is to equip your team with all the necessary resources to achieve their goals and then offer all the support you can. You’d be surprised how well your subordinates perform once knowing that they have your support!

The Accountability factor!

Accountability is yet another quality of a successful leader. A leader always makes sure that every one of his team members knows that they are accountable for the job assigned to them and even pat them on their backs for carrying out their responsibilities. However, every once in a while, when a team member struggles or makes a mistake, a true leader never faulters to help them realize their mistake and work together to improve it. Holding them accountable for their actions will create a sense of responsibility amongst subordinates. They will go about the business more seriously.

 

Final Verdict!

Remember! There is no one size fits all approach to being a successful leader. However, leading businessmen and success coaches from around the world agree that leaders who have proven themselves to be successful all had the qualities mentioned above instilled in them, which allowed them to steer their businesses towards success.