Negotiation and Networking

Are you an entrepreneur? If you are, then I believe you will familiar with the pattern or business challenges faced when starting and building a business from scratch. If you are not an entrepreneur but you dream of becoming one someday, then I think you will find this article worthwhile.

Why am I writing on such a topic? I decided to write on the “10 business challenges every entrepreneur must face when building a business from scratch” to give entrepreneurs a glimpse of what to expect when they set out to start a new business venture. I am not writing to show my writing skills. Moreover, I am not a professional writer; I am an entrepreneur and investor to the core. I simply write to share my knowledge on building a business with anyone who is willing to learn.

This article is not meant to discourage or scare you from going into business. Instead, I wrote this article to prepare and highlight you on the business challenges to expect and how to handle them. Just as the popular saying goes:

“He that is prepared has half won the battle.”

Below are 10 Business Challenges Every Entrepreneur Must Face When Building a Business from Scratch:

1. Developing the Vision and Idea:

This is usually the first challenge faced by every entrepreneur. Finding the right business opportunity or creatively developing an idea is certainly not an easy task. I call “Envisioning the idea” the first true task of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you must develop the ability to see what others cannot see. While others see problems, you must see opportunities.

But seeing opportunities is just the first task. The main challenge is going to be your ability to forge that opportunity into a business idea. I see this as a business challenge because the process of transforming opportunities into business plans is like trying to turn lead into gold. I call it the process of “Creating Value out Of Nothing.” If you are not an entrepreneur, you might not be familiar with the process. The process of:

– Identifying a problem
– Seeing an opportunity in the problem
– Coming up with a solution
– Developing your opportunity into a business idea
– Integrating your solution into the business plan

Another way “developing the vision and idea” will be a business challenge is that an entrepreneur must sometimes assume the role of a sorcerer. Let me explain in detail. While others dwell in the past and present, an entrepreneur must envision and forecast the future. An entrepreneur must always be ahead of his time or else he might lose his relevance. He must have the ability to bring into present what is yet to be. Let me give you some practical illustrations:

In the late 70s and early 80s, while IBM saw increase in demand for their mainframe computers, Steve Jobs envisioned a personal computer in every home and Bill Gates envisioned the need for easy to use software for personal computers.

While everyone saw humans flying as an impossibility, the Wright brothers envisioned a flying machine.

Back in those days when cars were custom made and exclusively for the rich, Henry Ford envisioned affordable cars for the masses.

I believe with these few examples, my point is clear. Developing the vision and idea is the first true task of an entrepreneur.

2. Raising Capital:

After developing your idea, the next challenge you are going to face is the challenge of raising capital. As an entrepreneur, you are the only one who knows the idea to the core. You are the only one who knows the story of the future. Trying to convince investors about something that doesn’t exist is definitely a challenge.

There is more to raising capital than just simply asking for money. Most investors want to invest in already established businesses with minimal risk. When building a business from scratch, raising capital will definitely be a business challenge you must face.

To overcome this challenge, you must develop the ability to sell your idea and vision to potential investors. When I say “sell your ideas”, I mean improving your communication skill and your manner of presentation. In the game of raising capital, you must have a good story backed by a strong business plan. If you are interested in learning how to successfully raise capital, you can check other articles I have written.

3. Assembling a Team:

The third challenge you must face in the course of developing a business is assembling the right team. When I talk about a team, I am not talking about regular employees. I am talking about a “round table strategic business team” that will meet regularly to brainstorm on ways to grow your business.

As an entrepreneur, you are bound to have strengths and weaknesses. That is the more reason you need to assemble a strong team that will cover up for your weaknesses. A team is a necessity in your quest to build a business. Now finding a business team is just the first hurdle, transferring your passion and vision to your team is the real piece of cake.

You must strive to make sure your team sees the future you see. They must believe in your possibilities and must also be passionate about making that possibility a reality. If they can’t grasp your vision, if they can’t see they future with you, then they are not worthy being your team.

Your strategic business team should comprise your banker, financial advisor, accountant, attorney or legal adviser and any other specialist that will be of tremendous impact to your business. A question on your mind might be “how am I going to pay this team? My answer is I don’t know. You will have to figure it out yourself or better still, you can consider bringing them on board as partners.

If you are still at loss with the thought of assembling a business team, then I will recommend you either take some time in learning how to build a business team or you can visit strategicbusinessteam.com to get some advice.

4. Finding the Right Location:

You might feel that finding a good location is a piece of cake but I bet you that finding a good location at the right price is definitely not easy. I don’t have much to write on this but I feel it is worthwhile I bring it to your notice so you can prepare for it. The following are features you must consider before choosing a location. These features are subject to change with respect to the industry of your business:

– Suitable price
– Easy access to raw materials
– Good road network.
– Basic amenities and infrastructures
– Adequate Power supply
– Easy access to cheap labour
– Nearness to high traffic roads
– Moderate state and federal tax
– Favorable Government fiscal and monetary policy
– Favorable federal and state laws.
– Current economic policy and political situation.

5. Finding the Right Employees:

Most writers crank up the process of finding good employees as an easy task. They define finding an employee as simply presenting the job description and the right employee will surface. But I think it’s more than that.

Those who are really business owners know how difficult it is to find a hardworking, trustworthy employee. Most employees want to work less and get paid more. Finding a good employee who will be passionate about delivering his or her services is quite difficult.

Employees are your representatives to your customers and the outside world. They are a reflection of your business culture and ethics. If an employee of yours is bad or rude to your customers, it is going to portray a bad image of your company. So you must be careful when hiring employees. Remember the golden rule of business; “Hire slow and fire fast.”

6. Finding Good Customers:

The sixth business challenge you will face is the challenge of finding good customers. Note the keyword “good customers.” When in the process of building a business from scratch, you will come to find out that there are good customers and bad customers.

You must really be on guard for bad customers. Good customers are really hard to find. A good customer will be loyal to your company and will be willing to forgive you if you make a mistake and apologize. A good customer will try to do the right thing that will benefit both himself and the company mutually.

A bad customer will always look for loopholes in the company’s policy to exploit and make some few gains. Bad customers will always try to exploit the company’s goodwill and look for ways to rip off the company. Bad customers are responsible for bad debts.

Good customers build your business and bad customers will always try to liquidate your business. Just as you fire employees, you must also be prepared to fire bad customers without hesitation. In the game of trying to find a new customer, always remember the customer that sued McDonald’s to court claiming the coffee was too hot.

7. Overcoming Competition:

Competition is the next challenge you will face. Most individuals see competition as a plague but I see competition as a good challenge. I see competition as a benchmark for creativity, the main engine for innovation and quality products at great prices. Without competition, there will be no innovation and without innovation, the world will be stagnant.

I see competition as a welcomed challenge and I want you to do the same. Competition keeps us on our toes and drives us to constantly improve our products and services. But you must be warned. Competition can make your business lose its relevance in the eye of your customers so you must always be on guard. At this point, I leave you with a quote:

“If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” – Robert Kiyosaki

8. Unforeseen Challenges and Expenses:

Just as a sailor prepares for unexpected storm, just as a pilot is always on the watch for unpredictable bad weather and thunderstorms, so must an entrepreneur be prepared for what ever comes. Unexpected challenges can come in the form of:

– Unexpected law suits
– Inconsistent government policy
– Not being able to make payroll
– Unpaid bills and taxes
– Unexpected resignation of staff from sensitive office
– Bad debts from customers
– Loss of market share
– Dwindling working capital
– Inadequate stock or inventory

These challenges, if not handled properly can ruin your plan to build a successful business from scratch. Another challenge you must expect is an unforeseen increase in business expenses. If not handled properly, it might result in constant negative cash flow and eventually, the business failure.

9. Keeping Up With Industrial Changes and Trends:

Change in trends is really a business challenge you must be prepared for. Trends have made and broken lot of businesses. I know a lot of profitable businesses that have been wiped out by slight industrial changes and trends. A typical example is the Dot com trend, where many industrial based businesses were wiped out by new web based dot com companies.

When the Dot com era began, business owners were left with only two options. Either they join the dot com train or they get crushed by the dot com train.

Seasoned entrepreneurs know that trend is always a friend and are always willing to swiftly adjust their business with the current trend. Keeping your eyes open to spot trends is really a challenge but the big task will be your ability to quickly use the trend to your advantage.

10. Exiting the Business:

“In the world of business and investing, your exit is more important than your entry. A good thumb of rule is this; exit before you enter.” – Robert Kiyosaki

When building a business from scratch, you are going to face the business challenge of determining your exit strategy. Just as the quote above states, you have to plan your exit strategy before you even start the business. Most entrepreneurs run their business without any plans to exit and even if they have an exit strategy, they find it difficult to implement it.

Before starting a business, it is advisable to always plan your exit. There are benchmarks you can use to determine your exit from the business. Most smart entrepreneurs will use this benchmark as a target and once this specific target is reached, they exit the business. Examples of such benchmarks are:

– Annual sales
– Annual Turnover
– Asset Base
– Market Saturation
– Customer base or number of users. This is more applicable to dot com companies.

Now when it comes to exiting the business, there are three exit strategies you can apply. The exit strategies are:

Turning over the business to professional managers: When your business reaches a certain stage of maturity, you can exit by turning it over to professional managers. In this case, the business still belongs to you but you are not involved with its day to day affairs. You will have to give up administrative role to assume the role of a watchdog. When you exit in this manner, you will have more free time to look into other projects or retire.

Selling the business privately: In this case, you are exiting the business by selling it to a private investor. In the business world, it is called M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). After the sale and transfer of assets is complete, you have nothing to do with the business again.

Taking the company public: The unique thing about this type of exit strategy is that while you are selling your business (in form of shares) to public investors, you still own and control the business.

Please before you apply any of these exit strategy, I will advise you consult with your attorney or legal adviser. But ultimately, it’s up to you to decide the exit strategy you want to apply. Always remember “your exit is more important than your entry.”

Tags: business, Challenge, Enterprener

Article by jekky

(688, ‘October 28 each year quot Men 39 s Health Day quot prior to Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou and other cities will be swept an quot male beauty quot whirlwind all the banner of quot man quot name of Clothing Cosmetics Health Products Overwhelming A brief note can be found the city also blowing an men Consumption Wind Now everyone that the focus has been more than just some quot expert advice quot quot health warning quot more men in the real Life The actual requirements br br quot He earned it she spent quot a woman should appear as the main consumer However faced with an array of goods men will be fascinated With the increase of male consumers males have been neglected consumer market is now being gradually attention More and more businesses started to change the concept In fact the same spending power of great men br br Sudden emergence of male beauty consumption br quot Now popular in many big cities are beautiful lovely elegant men Those muscles strong hard working men out of date quot In a beauty salon with many years of experience in image design Ting told reporters Indeed today more and more men began their own quot face quot issue attention Yichun City currently has a number of specialist beauty salon for male customers but I found the interview many specializing in women 39 s care beauty salons have been quietly taken off his quot man moving quot Billboard In shopping malls exclusive men Perfume Sales of skin care products have gradually brought the matter br br Author of Yichun City in major shopping malls Supermarket Interviews etc found that in addition to a large treasure SOD honey there Goff Dan posture Shiseido DING Jia yi and other cosmetics have launched a variety of men 39 s special skin care products and some specialized area opened up a men 39 s cosmetics the variety from the original The cleansing cream a few whiskers bubble water an increase of men repairing the new lipstick water conditioning Moisturizing Emulsion Deodorant shower gel and other breakdown products According to a supermarket a salesperson introduced with the advent of autumn and winter dry weather soothing kind of men cosmetics market has been bullish sales br br Men Apparel Into the beautiful era br Years ago Yichun are some large shopping malls have made available for independent boutique men 39 s floor area Men are no longer as before sporadically scattered among the many ladies but not as before men piled shopping clothes Mimizaza linked together Women also found that the image of men that many mall counter counter also beautiful than women 39 s men 39 s brand some areas have also focused on shoes belts jewelry counter sales of these related products to rise Stakeholders said quot Many men in reducing alcohol and tobacco expenditure the increase of clothing Investment quot br br Today the men dress more and more attention to the issue on various occasions clothing male compatriots has increasingly become the focus of attention which from the men 39 s brands are the Dongfeng Road and the Drum Tower Road will get a glimpse no wonder some people smiled and said quot Men can not be separated throughout the year is not his wife but Shirt quot br br Wind trend happy sportsman Hunan TV Dragon TV hit quot Super Boy quot and quot Good Men quot attracted a large number of young women but also opened up the era of male consumption According to the survey a number of new men from the successful people to find identity identity Entertainment singers and sports stars is their representative br br The same time represent the male lifestyle brand are those with movement Wealth Logo brands such as Motorola Goldlion Mercedes Benz Nokia BMW And so on Therefore the new men have been symbolic and are representative of some specific product and brand association quot Goldlion A man 39 s world quot has become a brand of men the best explanation br br In an interview concern is When respondents were asked quot like what type of male beauty quot only a small number of candidate Tony Leung Andy Lau and other old school of handsome most people choose a fresh baked young men These idols are showing younger age mellow sweet and other features ‘)

Tags: beauty, Consumption, cosmetic, cosmetics, meet, point, time, view

Likewise, there’s a huge pool of online information and agents willing to assist you during the process. It could mean days of waiting, visits to different offices or tagged into never-ending insurance chitchats. Today’s a little different though, as long as you know what you are looking for you can practically accomplish it in minutes. Getting term life insurance used to be a tedious, time-consuming and annoying process.

Deciphering What Type of Insurance You Need
The only bummer we can think of is that it offers ‘no cash’ value unlike the whole life insurance. It’s worth noting that whole life insurance allows you to borrow your money and fix your premium rates throughout your plan. Insurance companies offer two types of insurance: term life and whole life insurances. When it comes to popularity, term life insurance wins the heart of the people primarily due to its cheaper value.

However, if budget for paying the premiums isn’t an issue, whole life insurance is the way to go.

Senior adults ages 65 and up will find it utterly expensive as compared with whole life insurance with the same benefits, 30 years earlier. It is therefore important to evaluate your needs thoroughly, pick those plans designed to serve those needs and save money. Term life insurance is more inclined to serve the younger people.

The best way to save money is to bring together online life insurance quotes from multiple insurance providers. It is not as difficult as long as you can click a mouse, a few minutes to spare, it will in no time.

Life insurance longer collected budgets to the greater the chances of reaching a more cost-effective. People call this comparison-shopping, which usually gives a, what else, the productive results! Comparison-shopping is the first step in getting your term life insurance minus the sweat. There are plenty of comparison websites on the Internet or, better yet, use a search engine to find them. 

You should always know the name of the company supplying the event. For those who have not received any nerves but to shop online or just want to experience the conventional way of buying insurance, I have some suggestions below: Have term life insurance quotes from three or more dissimilar insurance agents. Self-governing agents often take over a company that means more than one appointment is available at any given time. Inspect, examine the details and ask if something is not clear to you. 

Tags: Advice, insurance, Life, Practical, Quotes, Term

I grew up watching The Cosby Show. I have always looked back at very fond memories of watching the show together with my family on a very idle weeknight. BIll Cosby has always been a household name with regard to issues such as comedy and fatherhood.

He is a great man in many other ways. I am quite sure that I am not the only fan that has followed him as he has continued with his work in his effort to make his life as meaningful as it can be. He has not only made his life meaningful, but mine and countless others’ as well.

Every now and then, I refer to this collection of some of his words that have inspired me one time or another. I am sure that you will be inspired too. Have fun reading!

1. A word to the wise ain’t necessary – it’s the stupid ones that need the advice.

2. Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home.

3. It isn’t a matter of black is beautiful as much as it is white is not all that’s beautiful.

4. The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic.

5. People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what’s bitter and move on.

6. Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.

7. Any man today who returns from work, sinks into a chair, and calls for his pipe is a man with an appetite for danger.

8. Nothing I’ve ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children.

9. My childhood should have taught me lessons for my own fatherhood, but it didn’t because parenting can only be learned by people who have no children.

10. I wasn’t always black… there was this freckle, and it got bigger and bigger.

11. The past is a ghost, the future a dream, and all we ever have is now.

12. When you become senile, you won’t know it.

13. There is hope for the future because God has a sense of humor and we are funny to God.

14. Civilization had too many rules for me, so I did my best to rewrite them.

15. I guess the real reason that my wife and I had children is the same reason that Napoleon had for invading Russia: it seemed like a good idea at the time.

16. Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you’re telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much.

17. There is no labor a person does that is undignified; if they do it right.

18. Gray hair is God’s graffiti.

19. Poets have said that the reason to have children is to give yourself immortality. Immortality? Now that I have five children, my only hope is that they are all out of the house before I die.

20. The heart of marriage is memories; and if the two of you happen to have the same ones and can savor your reruns, then your marriage is a gift from the gods.

21. I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

22. Old is always fifteen years from now.

23 That married couples can live together day after day is a miracle that the Vatican has overlooked.

24. Women don’t want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think – in a deeper voice.

25. Raising children is an incredibly hard and risky business in which no cumulative wisdom is gained: each generation repeats the mistakes the previous one made.

26. Men and women belong to different species and communications between them is still in its infancy.
 

27. In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

28. Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.

Tags: AllTime, Bill, Cosby, Favorite, Ispirational, Quotes

Business health insurance quotes are some of the most sought after features in the said industry today. Such coverage plans make sure that both the employers as well as the employees are in good stead as far as protecting themselves from unfortunate incidents or calamities are concerned. Business health insurance quotes have become much more easily available with the arrival of online portals. These offer coverage policies to small and large corporate units without harping on unnecessary complexities.

Company or group health insurance quotes have gained more prominence due to a recent event that has made corporate units sit up and take notice – especially the employees. Affordable health insurance packages that employees had been enjoying during their tenure with corporate firms would be continuing to do so at their discretion even after retiring or termination. This latest COBRA extension has also offered a stimulus package will take care of 65% of their coverage policy premiums up till 15 months.

Listed below are a few more advantages of acquiring such coverage quotes and subsequent plans:

– Since the risk or the claim chances are spread over a large group of people, the premium rates are usually low for business health coverage quotes. You can choose to reduce them further by shopping around for more quotes or deals online.

– Apart from the fact that premium rates will rise considerably if the employees leave the job, the coverage deals will also provide assurance to the employees. This opens up avenues for better employee loyalty and retention statistics.

– As most such insurance plans provide an average cover for all of the existing employees or groups, you can add features and customize it to fit your personal requirements too. Though these will make individual premiums rise up a notch but will keep you safer than the rest of the lot.

– Costs may vary according to the age, sex or location base of each member. These may count for you as benefits in the form of price benefits.

So whether it is a PPO, POS or HMO plan you have opted for, a business coverage quote on the medical front is a winner all the way!

You can visit ‘Health Insurance Coverage’ or similar online portals that offer free comparisons and advice on selecting the ideal business health insurance quote to decide your point of investment.

Tags: Advantages, Backdrop, business, Cobra, Extension, Health, insurance, Privilege

Setting up your own business can be quite difficult especially if you are still a beginner to this kind of field. Most of the people who have background about business industries are the ones who are most likely to excel or succeed in this type of career. However although you are not a business management graduate you can still manage your own business with the help of career advice from you respected professors.

Moreover most of the people nowadays are forced to create their own business as a form of fund. A home based business usually connotes extra money for the family. This type of method or idea is usually done my mothers who are trying their best to raise their families in a descent way. It takes a lot of effort before a person can successfully establish his or her own business.

Even though there lots of individuals who aspire to become successful in the business community, only few of them will truly reach their goals because not all individuals are born with the skills and talents of an intelligent entrepreneur. Moreover, there are also some individuals who are not yet capable of running their own business. Money is indeed one of the most important ingredients in a business establishment. However it would still be useless if it has not been used in a proper way.

Since money or capital is very important to the marketing world, you must be very careful in using your money. It is often better to start a small business such as a home based and allow it to grow into a stronger and more feasible business. A real entrepreneur knows how to wait and behave. Patience is one of the most important attitudes that an entrepreneur must possess for him or her to succeed.

There are lots of young and remarkable entrepreneurs nowadays and their stories are often used to inspire those who are planning to engage in this type of activity. Meanwhile, there are also several individuals who unfortunately failed to discover the secrets of being a successful entrepreneur.  There are also multiple reasons why they end up in such situation. One of the most common reasons is that they are not good in making decisions. They are not yet capable of running their own business since they are not yet capable of managing their plans. There are also some individuals who have great and outstanding plans for their companies however they lack the skills of applying it.

On the other hand, if you really want to succeed in this kind of field, you must learn to gather suggestions from your friends or senior officers. You must be resource enough in raising your own business. You should not worry about your efforts because you will surely benefit from those. You should also remember that it is the best way for your business to gain its maximum yield. Gathering data or suggestions for your business will help you in creating the easiest approach for your own business.

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Tags: business, Establish

Many small business owners tend to look at online marketing with fear in their eyes. To quote a famous saying, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Do not let the unknown cause you to be afraid to use the internet to help market your business. With a few simple steps and a bit of professional help, you will be able to see a great increase in your business and productivity.

One Chance to Make a First Impression

On the Internet, your landing page or home page is the first impression you will have on visitors. You need to put your best foot forward for this endeavor. That means hiring a professional instead of your sister’s hairdresser’s kid who “knows computers”. Your website should look and feel professional. It should be easy to navigate and contain all the pertinent information your clients will need. If your website will include an online store, it should be secure and easy to use. People will compare you to other websites offering the same type of product or service, so your website will need to be able to stand up to the comparison. More importantly, your website will need to stand out from the rest. Offering value added features such as information, discounts, sales, and free items will help you in achieving this goal.

Search Engines are King

The main way that potential customers will find your site is going to be through search engines. Either you need to become an expert on search engine optimization overnight, or you need to hire a company that specializes in SEO. Optimizing your website for search engines is not a onetime event. SEO is an ongoing task that, if done properly, will yield impressive results.

Advertising on the Net

Most small businesses advertise, but many do not advertise on the internet. One of the best ways to advertise on the internet is via pay-per-click advertising. PPC advertising allows highly qualified leads to come to your site. Only people interested in what you are offering are going to click on the advertisement on the side of the page. Each time a click occurs, you will have to pay a small fee to the search engine. The upside to this is that the people who click on the link are looking for something you offer. Make sure to be very specific in your PPC advertising campaign and track your results.

Tags: Advice, business, Marketing, Online, Small