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Archive for July, 2009

Perseverance is the secret to a successful business

July 15th, 2009 | By Simon In Building Your Business | No Comments »

The secret to a successful business lies in first being clear about what you want. It is only if you have a clear vision of your business that will you be able to work at reaching this ideal.
So with this said, you have to create a plan to reach this business goal.

This plan could be your budget, your investment, the amount of time you will spend in your business and of course, how you intend to reach your goal. To do this, you will have to find a means of evaluating, and improving your business beliefs.

This means that you have to learn to get rid of those sabotaging traits like procrastination and fear that come in the way of your business. Once you do this, you start maintaining patience and focus in reaching your business goals.

When was the last time you felt like giving up?

No matter how much patience you exercise to reach these business goals, perseverance is the principal deciding factor for breaking and moving ahead in your business. Many a time, while working at your business, you may find a few obstacles on your path that makes you feel like giving up.

This may happen not once, but quite a few times where you are most likely to think and feel that you should wind up as you are facing a losing battle. You feel like giving up, which is a sign of failure. You could just be moments away from success however.

However instead of giving up, you have to stop and think what happens if you continued with your business. This continuation and the vision you see is called perseverance which means being able to persist in your work, despite difficulties.

The importance of your goal determines your perseverance

This persistence does not have to exist till you run into an obstacle, till things become easier or only till you feel like persisting. Instead, it means you have to work at moving ahead no matter what happens in your business. You have to keep on trying to reach your business goals, no matter how difficult the road may be.

The amount of perseverance you need in your business depends mainly on how important it is for you to reach your business target. For most of you, I am guessing it is very important, as it is your livelihood, and so persistence and determination are key.

Given this fact, you will definitely work very hard at reaching your goals, no matter what you encounter. So besides all the basic fundamentals required to reach your business target like hard work, money and a target, without any perseverance, you will not have a successful business.

How to build your business by using your competitors

July 9th, 2009 | By Simon In Building Your Business | No Comments »

Your competitor is the last person that you would normally approach for help in expanding your business, right? However I have to say that at times, their help can prove to be very effective in building and expanding your business. I encourage you to read on to find out how.

Work for a mutual benefit instead of competition

One way that you could combine resources and leverage your time would be to work with other businesses. You can even combine your resources with competitors, so that instead of competing with each other, you both receive a mutual benefit.

Of course, if they are a direct competitor, selling exactly what you are selling and nothing else then this could be a problem, however if they’re selling related products then it could be a really profitable partnership.

This is basically called a joint venture where you can introduce each other to each other’s customers, combine both of your skills to create a much better service or product or also share investments and promotional costs of the business, so that you can also share the profits that you gain through the joint venture.

This is something that is possibly more popular online than it is offline, however do not under estimate the power and potential of this. Getting out there and speaking to your neighbouring or fellow businessmen could yield huge benefits for you.

Borrow experience when required

I also suggest that if you are thinking of working in an area where you don’t actually have the experience or expertise in the field, that you ‘borrow’ experience and exposure by associating yourself with someone who is an expert in the field.

This means you will have to invite the said person to participate in your endeavors, perhaps interview them to get their ideas and expert advice on the topic or to perhaps get their endorsement.
Many a time, an expert’s endorsement is more than enough to give you the push you are looking for in starting, and moving ahead in your business.

Tips for building partnerships with others for better business

July 4th, 2009 | By Simon In Building Your Business | No Comments »

As a businessperson, one of the first things that many people believe they should do is to build your reputation and presence. I would agree with this, however it is not necessarily essential.
One way that you can do this, is to not do everything yourself and indeed, not to necessarily work alone. So what do I mean by this?
One thing that many business owners overlook is working with others. Typically many like to do things themselves rather than work alone, as they feel that it means that they’re not really succeeding if they involve others.
Remember that the more you involve others in your business, the more mutual benefit you gain for a better chance of success. And here’s a word that you will hear me use an awful lot and I think it’s a very important aspect of running your own business…
Leverage.
Involving others, whether its contracted work or employees gives you leverage. There are only 24 hours in a day and so time is such a precious commodity. Money however, can be earned back over time.
Here are some ideas for building powerful relationships in your business.
Outsource work
Outsourcing is a very important factor in many businesses. This is because as an expert, I don’t suggest you working in fields other than your field of expertise. On the other hand, it is better to outsource tasks to people who are experts in these fields.
Its also an idea to outsource some of the more mundane tasks too, as they can often be done with minimal investment on your part.
So if you are not that good a writer, it is better to hire someone to write your website content instead of you trying to write content.
Networking both online and offline is a great means of connecting with other people. There are so many social networking sites available online these days (such as FaceBook, MySpace and Orkut) that you will soon have a large web of acquaintances.
Also, do not overlook the power of offline events such as Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club and other such regular meetings – they’re all effective for networking.
Use the best networking of both worlds
Similarly, friends, family and professional acquaintances in the offline world form your outside networking links. Once you learn to use and mix both forms of networking, you will get the best contacts of both worlds that will prove beneficial to you and your business in more ways than one.
I have also found that working in groups proves to be successful in building your business. These groups are often called mastermind groups and they generally consist of a small group of people who meet on a periodical basis.
They meet either in person, via the internet or by telephone so that they can discuss ideas and at the same time, give one another motivation and encouragement to prosper in their individual businesses.
Keep a look out next week where I’ll reveal how to gain more businesses by using your competitors. Yes, you read that correctly, your competitors.