Month: March 2015

Starting A Business?

The decision to start a business is exciting, but don’t get caught up in the fairytale. If you want your business to succeed for the long-term, have these three essential elements in place.

1. Enough capital for six months. The time it takes to turn a profit will vary between industries and individual businesses, but the rule of thumb remains the same: have enough cash in the bank to survive for six months or more before you launch. Developing a realistic personal and business budget can help you survive the first few months, and sticking to this budget will be crucial to success.

Develop a list of potential expenses early on so that you have a good idea of what monthly bills plus extraneous expenditures will add up to and how this spending will affect your bottom line. Know that you may not receive a paycheck for months or even years after launch, so a hefty cash reserve will ameliorate the growing pains of starting a business.

2. Marketing and sales strategies for early-adopters. Coming up with an outstanding product or service is great, but your business will likely fail without those crucial first few customers. Develop a marketing plan with an allotted marketing budget that will get your product or service in front of key early-adopting clients. From the start, prepare ways to engage with and nurture clients to develop a loyal base.

Next, build your sales infrastructure: think about sales contracts, proposals, product listings or anything that a client will see when he or she wants to purchase from your company.

3. Endurance. I tell people this all the time: one of the hardest parts about being an entrepreneur is having the stamina to keep up with the daily demands of running your business. A lot of people mistakenly think that it will be a walk in the park.

Sure, there are major benefits such as working for yourself, having a flexible schedule and enjoying the successes of your hard work. But each benefit comes at the cost of putting your own capital and reputation on the line.

Before starting your own business, make sure you can mentally and physically ensure the journey. Be prepared to work long days, do things that are outside of your comfort zone, make personal sacrifices, work hard for what you believe in and dedicate yourself fully to the businesses success. If you aren’t in it 100 percent, the business won’t achieve its full potential.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242066

You Need To Schedule Time Off..

Being an overachiever is great, but no one is at their best when they’re overworked and switched on 24/7. It’s been proven time and time again that some downtime is better for workplace morale, productivity, and health. If that isn’t good enough, here are five reasons that you should force yourself to take a breather:

1. Burn Baby Burn

That constant buzz of work around the clock will very likely wear you out. In order to handle that, it’s best to take a break before you burn yourself right out.

2. Power Down

Taking a break could serve as forced detachment from work and related daily stress. Good recovery through restful sleep puts you in a much better state to take on a productive and demanding lifestyle once you’re back.

3. Planning Prowess

Time away from work allows for space to evaluate your workplace and career with more perspective. You’re more likely to figure out solutions to problems, and spot possible opportunities and advances.

4. Tune Up

Self-development is essential to personal and to professional advancement. Consider short breaks as regular maintenance for your sustained productivity and work-life balance.

5. Diversity Your Portfolio

Cultivating different interests not only makes you more interesting, it also provides you with gains in your outlook. That said, you’ll be setting yourself up for potential career wins– interesting people are more likeable, and potentially able to seal more and better deals.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243295

It’s safe to say that you’ll be missing out on a substantial number of opportunities if you continue to push your physical and mental limits. Schedule a break, and you’ll be reaping a much larger reward. It’s a strategy backed by research time and time again.