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Professionals

7 Things Confident Entrepreneurs Never Do

Professional-7 Things Confident Entrepreneurs Never Do

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to bleed confidence. Starting something on your own takes tenacity, faith and determination to make it work. To have a business that makes it past the first 18 months, these qualities of poor leaders are certainly going to be on your list of things to avoid:

 

1. Second guess themselves and their employees

True confidence comes from being able to trust your team and yourself. Make sure your hiring process is long enough to find and keep the right people, as this can make or break your company. Many employers are now offering “pre-cations” or hiring employees for an initial first project to make sure they are a good fit before hiring them full time.

Offering a fun and secure work environment with great benefits, profit sharing and new technology can let employees know you appreciate them while also helping them become more emotionally invested in the future of the company.

If you find yourself second guessing yourself or your employees, take the time to fix it before your confidence becomes too shaken.

 2. Compromise their priorities

When you are building a business, great employees are key, but many entrepreneurs get so tied up in making their business work that they forget about what else in their lives are important to them. Building a business is their main concern, but relationships with friends and family can slip through the cracks if they don’t make it a priority to schedule time for them.

This also goes for hobbies and “self-care” time: meditation, exercise, reading and other things done for enjoyment (even if it’s just browsing on ESPN or some other news site for a few hours) deserve to be scheduled just as much as work projects or meetings. It has been shown that hobbies make people more happy than money, according to the Portland Psychotherapy Clinic. Confidence is boosted when stress is reduced through hobbies and time with loved ones.

3. Refuse to learn new skills

The confident and successful entrepreneur has to adapt to their business’s current needs. While you may need a programmer or designer to make website changes, it may not be in the budget, or they might stuck working on a different project. Instances like this require the confident entrepreneur to put aside any trepidation at learning something new, such as coding or graphic design. Websites such as Skillshare, Lynda, CodeAcademy, UniversalClass and Treehouse (or local community colleges) can help entrepreneurs learn new skills without a high monetary cost.

4. Focus on external validation

It can be endlessly satisfying to hear positive feedback from the media or others about your company or products, but confident entrepreneurs and companies shouldn’t take it less (or more) seriously than negative feedback.

Focusing on internal goals and ideas is what built the company in the first place, so while external feedback is a great way to improve a product, it shouldn’t have the power to completely overhaul how you work or ruin your day. Too many business owners focus on what others are thinking and it ends up impeding their creative process, which in turn causes their products to suffer.

5. Worry about competitors

There’s a difference between worrying about competitors and knowing what they are up to. It’s smart to see what products and services are available in your current market, but just like external validation, if you get caught up in trying to “keep up with the Joneses,” it doesn’t leave much room for actually outpacing your competition.

If you want to stay on top, think of all the ways the customers in your market aren’t being served, and focus on solving that need.

6. Avoid networking and public speaking

When it comes to finding out industry needs, it’s a cold, hard truth for introverts and other shy people that being able to communicate confidently and well is key to building a business.

For most entrepreneurs, having good networking and speaking skills are key, as others’ impressions of you will in turn influence how they feel about your product or company. If you aren’t good at networking or speaking, try joining Toastmasters or attending free events by your local chamber of commerce.

7. Be ignorant of trends or current events

There’s a quiet confidence that comes from staying up to date with the latest technology, national and international news and other trends that are popular in mainstream culture. Society has a huge effect on businesses, no matter the industry or niche, and knowing what’s popular now can help influence and improve products and businesses.

While it’s important to look to the future to solve upcoming needs, current trends can help predict what’s happening next. Subscribe to blogs and websites such as CNN, The New York Times, Wired and Reddit to see what is new and part of current pop culture.

Whether you are networking in a room filled with potential customers or working with your trusted employees on a new, innovative product, confident entrepreneurship means trusting in your brand, business and yourself.

 

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Professionals

5 Things You Should be Doing to Have an Insanely Productive Week

productive

A productive week depends largely on what you focus on every working day and how much time you allocate to activities that take up your time (i.e. busy work). Working harder does not necessarily mean you are being productive. There will always be a better way to complete that task. Find it, work smarter and get more done in your working week.

These are a few things you can do to have an insanely productive week this and every other week:

 

[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]1. Stop planning, start doing.

It’s okay to make time to plan what needs to be done in the week or month but when you get back to the planning table often, you lose precious productive hours. So instead of plan, just do it. The option to work on a task in the future instead of now seem comfortable but not prudent. While you keep telling yourself you don’t have to do it now, that task won’t go away. And somebody will have to eventually account for it. So instead of procrastinating, get on with it and check it off your to-do list.

Also, are your meetings really worthwhile? Most people spend too much time in meetings, when they should be working and getting things done. To ensure you are making the most of your time, create a time budget. This will help you realize how much time you are losing to meetings or planning when you should be doing actual work. You will be surprised at how much you can get done every week if you start tracking how much time you spend planning or meeting.

2. You don’t have to say “yes” to every request.

“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything.” — Warren Buffet.

Saying “yes” to a request seem easier than a simple “no”. Yet every time you agree to do something for somebody that brings low or no result, it makes it difficult to have a schedule you can really control. You don’t want that. You can achieve more if you know what you have to do, when you have to it and what you expect to accomplish. All that can be done in controlled schedule.

3. Don’t be a perfectionist.

If you keep chasing perfection, it could take you longer to get your tasks done – and you will most likely be less productive than you planned. The reason being is when you activity strive for perfection you spend more time on a single task than required, causing your other responsibilities to get pushed back. This will cause you to lose time and possibly annoy your immediate boss in the process. Perfectionism is even higher when you don’t account to anyone but yourself, as the fine tuning never ends.

4. Get everything out of your head.

Don’t rely heavily on your memory. It will fail you when you need it most. Instead, write things down.

There are hundreds of options for taking notes — everything from the good old sticky notes to applications like Evernote, Any.do, and Wunderlist. By jotting down everything that needs to get done in the week, you will have a better picture of what needs to be accomplished – and set priorities accordingly.

5. Review and measure your accomplishments.

Just before you close the week and prepare for next week, review your achievements, along with everything else that needed to be done, to see if you really got work done. Get back to your to-do list and check them off and find out what you were not able to do and why. Celebrate your accomplishments, take note of everything you postponed and learn from your mistakes. You will be better prepared for the following week.[/box]

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Professionals

Where Does Innovation Come From?

where-does-innovation-come-from

The theme of Vanity Fair’s inaugural New Establishment Summit in San Francisco was “The Age of Innovation.” As overblown and overhyped as the word is these days, even a cynic has to admit it would be nice to know where innovation actually comes from.

Perhaps it’s even more important to understand where innovation doesn’t come from.

It doesn’t come from a blog, a book or an article. It doesn’t come from inspirational quotes and stories. It doesn’t come from LinkedIn Influencers or anyone you follow on Twitter. It doesn’t come from motivational speakers. And it most certainly doesn’t come from any kind of self-improvement or personal productivity.

Innovation comes from inside you. Ideas, inspiration and innovation only seem to come from outside you, but they don’t. They always come from inside you. The only exception is small teams…but only intimate groups in real time in the real world, never large-scale or online collaborations.

It comes from obsession. Albert Einstein believed light was special, unique. He was obsessed with light. Elon Musk is obsessed with manned space travel and electric cars, among other things. Every successful founder was inspired by obsession. If you’re obsessed, you never need to be inspired by anything else.

Innovation comes from history. Microprocessor architecture comes almost entirely from the way mainframe and minicomputers were designed decades ago. So much innovation comes from ancient history it isn’t funny. Why reinvent the wheel when you don’t have to?

It comes from perseverance. Steve Jobs said, “You’ve got to have an idea or a problem or a wrong that you want to right that you’re passionate about, otherwise you’re not going to have the perseverance to stick it through. I think that’s half the battle right there.”

Innovation comes from focus, discipline and patience. These days, everyone is obsessed with squeezing every ounce of personal productivity and self-improvement out of themselves. That only takes you further away from innovation. Innovation comes from focusing on one thing and letting everything else fade to black. It’s the big picture that drives you and that’s also what drives you to come up with unique solutions to tough problems.

It comes from the need to prove yourself. The human mind is surprisingly powerful, especially in terms of the need to prove yourself. While it usually manifests early in life, the motivation tends to stick with us and often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It doesn’t even seem to matter if you know to whom you’re proving yourself – your father, yourself or teachers who said you’d never amount to anything.

Innovation comes from your subconscious. Brilliant ideas often come when you least expect them or when you’re not even paying attention. They may come to us in dreams, during meditation, in the shower, or when we’re otherwise preoccupied with some menial or repetitive task that allows our deeper emotions and thoughts to engage. And no, distracting yourself with games or social media does not qualify.

It comes from identifying problems. Granted, there has to be a solution but the problem comes first and foremost. The reason is simple. Without a pressing problem, there’s no real need of a solution. And until you correctly identify the problem, your solution is suspect and lacking innovation. Always focus on the problem. What do people need or want to do that they can’t currently do or do cost-effectively?

The most important thing to know about innovation is that it’s not the same as invention. We might even go as far as to say that, in the world of startups, invention is sort of immaterial. Just come up with problems that need to be solved and solutions that are unique and that people can actually use. More often than not, that will do the trick.

 

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Professionals

When It Comes to Finding Your Path. Don’t Overthink. Do.

careerpath

By Eric M. Ruiz

I was in California last weekend for a wedding. I took advantage of my time on the left coast to travel 3.5 hours north to see my family. My brother and sister happened to be in town as well, so for the first time since May, all five members of the Ruiz family were gathered.

I had the chance to spend some quality time with my sister Mary, who’s the youngest in the family, and she filled me in on what she’s been up to since her graduation in May.

The more we spoke, the more I could feel the anxiety in her voice as she reiterated time and time again that she had no idea what to do.

“You love business and technology and Miguel loves medicine,” she said, referring to my younger brother. “What do I have?”

I understood her frustration. I had the exact same feeling of inadequacy and anxiety when I graduated. But what I wanted to make clear to my beloved sister last weekend — and now to others out there grappling with their careers — is that most people have no idea what they want to do.

I envy the likes of Kobe Bryant, Leo Messi and LeBron James — not because of their celebrity status but because at an early age they figured out exactly what they wanted to do. And they started doing it.

For most people, it takes years or decades to find a calling, a passion or a field. There is no real timeline for when someone will figure things out or will finally arrive at an endeavor she will love. But the only way to get there is by trying many things. A passion or calling just doesn’t manifest itself.

A person cannot simply think his way to clarity. He has to try things.

Contrary to my sister’s initial belief, I wasn’t born knowing that I wanted to work in an entrepreneurial environment or that I wanted to be a writer. And my brother Miguel did not know that he wanted to pursue medicine. But we each had inklings about our interest in these fields.

Many people have an inkling, a bit of curiosity that pushes them, say, to explore something or look it up on the Internet.

“The possession of a particular talent is instinctively sensed by its owner, so if any of you are blessed you will be the first to know it,” the Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote centuries ago in Discourses and Selected Writings.

“It is true however, that no bull reaches maturity in an instant, nor do men become heroes over night,” Epictetus continued. “We must endure a winter’s training, and can’t be dashing into situations for which we aren’t yet prepared.”

So pursue that curiosity. Only then will it be possible to a passion or a field of possible career interest.

During the months after I graduated college, I read about or tried my hand at the following pursuits: online marketing, English as a second language teaching, graduate school, banking, starting a business and soccer coaching. (I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things.) I didn’t like some of them, I hated others and I failed at many.

But what spoke to me (even after a failure) was entrepreneurship and the startup world. I just had to get involved. And my devouring of book after book, podcast after podcast and setting off for meeting after meeting seemed to confirm something at a deep level inside: I really liked this field.

This was both an empowering and a humbling feeling. The more I learned, the more excited I became. But the more I learned, the more I realized that I didn’t know anything.

It’s that dichotomy that pushed me forward to ask questions, meet people and explore this business side of me. It’s an ongoing process, one that takes time, patience and discipline.

Only by asking questions and trying new things can people really get to where they want to be. It’s not going to be just handed to them. Be brave and get after it.

So, graduates, try things. Try many things. Maybe it’s too late to be an NBA star but it’s possible to discover, or rediscover, a desire, a passion, a calling, an invitation.

Professionals

William “Bill” Henry Gates III

William “Bill” Henry Gates (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, investor, computer programmer, inventor and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive and chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, which he co-founded with Paul Allen.

Bill Gates Holding Microsoft Windows 1.0 Disk

During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.

Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. But he has also pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iADTpgRXYrk

For more information on Bill Gates, go to the links below:

[button color=”green” size=”small” link=”http://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/” ]Bill Gates – Forbes Profile[/button]

[button color=”purple ” size=”small” link=”http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/gat0bio-1″ ]Bill Gates Biography – Academy of Achievement[/button]

 

Professionals

5 Secrets For Building A Highly Successful Career

building success

Everyone wants to build a successful career: to get promoted, to gain new responsibility and authority, to earn a higher salary.

[tabs type=”vertical”][tabs_head][tab_title]Be Deeply Curious.[/tab_title][tab_title]Learn how to get the people around you to do the best they can.[/tab_title][tab_title]Find a work-life rhythm you can maintain.[/tab_title][tab_title]Care deeply.[/tab_title][tab_title]Build your team.[/tab_title][/tabs_head][tab]When looking for people to place in leadership positions, especially senior leadership positions, look for people who deeply understand the business. Probe deeply into most companies and you’ll find way too many senior executives understand their role and their division but not the overall business, much less the broader economy. An outstanding executive: 1) Deeply understands their specific areas of responsibility; 2) Thoroughly understands the aspects of the rest of their company; 3) Has a solid understanding of their industry, other industries, and macro-economic forces and trends. Sound like a lot to know? It is – but it is knowledge that will separate you from the pack. Most people work hard to check the “I’m doing a great job in my job” box, but to be a leader you need to be able to step up, care about, and truly understand the larger issues of the business. People instantly recognize when you truly care about your business and truly care about learning. That always shines through – and will always take you far. [/tab][tab]Remember: different people have different leadership styles and different ways they influence others. Authenticity is the real key to leadership at any level, especially the senior level. The goal is to be authentic and learn to work within the framework of your personality to get people to follow your lead. Be yourself and leverage your strengths. Don’t try to act like someone else; people can instantly tell. If you’re casual and easygoing, don’t try to switch personalities and become refined and polished. You’ll just come across as insincere and plastic. People like, respect, and follow real people. Be yourself and learn how to get people to do what you want them to do – as yourself.[/tab][tab]You can’t treat your career like a crash diet: Cut your calories in half and exercise like crazy and you will lose weight, but eventually you won’t be able to stick with a program like that and you’ll gain back the weight you lost. A career works the same way. While there will be periods of intense stress, in general you must find a business and life rhythm you can maintain over the long term. Find a rhythm where you can have enough time for family and friends, feel satisfied emotionally, and still excel at work, because building a great career is a marathon, not a sprint.[/tab][tab]Don’t kid yourself: Everyone knows when you’re only in it for yourself. Unless you truly care about the company you work for and are personally invested in its success, you will never work as hard as you need to work to truly succeed. Every great leader is deeply invested in the success of others; every great business leader, regardless of position or level, cares deeply about their company and the people around them. If you don’t care deeply now, find something you do care deeply about: Another function, another mission, another company, etc. You can only reach your full potential, both personally and in a career, when you truly care.[/tab][tab]Outside of work we all need a broader group of people we can rely on to provide advice and guidance – people who care about our success the same way we care about theirs. In other words you need a team. The people on your team don’t need to be older, grizzled sages – they just need to know you and care about you. Make sure you have people in your life you can always turn to and for whom you will always do the same.[/tab][/tabs]

Professionals

Establish and Maintain A Successful Working Relationship

working_relationship

Building a trusting relationship is critical for the start and continuation of any business relationship.

A “true partnership” – takes some hard work – and time. Laying the foundation for a solid working relationship from the very beginning should make everyone feel comfortable that a working business partnership will be worthwhile in the long run. Both the investor and investee should consider these strategies for getting to know each other before signing any contract:

1. Be Available and Responsive

Spending time to get to know the other party is important. Whether it’s in person, by phone or in an online meeting, plan a regular meeting as often as is comfortable. And do meet in person, which is still the easiest way to communicate. Meet for lunch, take a hike, play golf, go running or just be available to really get to know the other party’s strengths and weaknesses – on a business and personal level. In addition, get back to them in a timely manner when they call or email. While surprising, many a relationship has failed because one party did not respond promptly enough to a message.

2. Be Open

Be transparent about how you conduct business, including how you resolve problems as they arise. Share what has worked well in the past and what you might need to improve upon. Give examples. The more open communication there is between parties, the easier it will be to keep everyone satisfied and any issues resolved. Keep each other informed about new services or any news pertaining to your businesses that might help either party decide to go ahead with the investment.

3. Be Prepared

Whether you are the investor or investee, come to each formal meeting armed with the information you need to demonstrate why you should work together. Discuss the success of past investments by bringing along a case study or two. Highlight a recent client relationship that went especially well – and why – or one that didn’t go so well but disclose the steps you took to resolve it. Or if you’re at the right point in an investment-type relationship, bring in your company’s revenue data showing the projected growth to further demonstrate why you’re an attractive investment.

4. Be Quiet

As in any successful relationship, you need to really listen to fully understand what the other is looking to accomplish. So make sure that when it’s your turn to listen, you do.

5. Be Flexible

As you’re listening, be open to suggestions on running your business or providing your services. As you grow, needs change, and as your competitive environment shifts, how you provide the services may not work as well as it previously did. Know that when both parties learn to work together, both will bring ideas to the table and learn from each other.

 

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Professionals

6 Tips for Young Professionals Flustered by Small Talk

success

1.    Don’t Go It Alone

No question, it can be intimidating to go solo in a professional setting. You’re putting yourself out there with potentially serious ramifications for your career. Instead, it can be helpful to have a friend to watch your back and advocate on your behalf.

At networking events or professional conferences, the ice between making new contacts can be too thick to break on your own. Working as a team doubles your chances of being seen and heard.

2.    Keep Your Eyes Open

When in a group conversation, a lot of seasoned professionals will maintain a conversation but as they’re talking, they’re also scanning the room for people who might want to join the group, but aren’t sure how. There’s no reason why you can’t do the same when you see someone you know struggling to join the conversation.

3.    Protect Your Credibility

It’s important to be an advocate for others, especially when they’ll return the favor for you, but be cautious about putting your credibility on the line.  As a young professional, you don’t have the stock to vouch for just anybody if they truly aren’t a good fit.

Whoever you bring into the group conversation is a reflection on you and your credibility. If you bring in someone who fits in perfectly, you’ve just established yourself even more. But bring in someone who appears incompetent and the group is going to think you’re no better.

4.    Start Positive

When you have an “in” with a group, start off by making a good impression. Chime in to the conversation when somebody says something you agree with so you can engage on a positive note.

You can play contrarian later, after you’ve developed some rapport, but a simple affirmation helps set the right tone for the conversation and ensures the group you’re not out to second guess them on every topic.

5.    Watch the Group’s Dynamics

In most circumstances, it’ll be easy to tell whether the group wants you in or wants you to move along. If you stumble upon a group that is close-knit, they might not want to include you right away. Don’t force yourself on them if they’re not welcoming.

If the members don’t step back to include you in the circle after several minutes of standing nearby and a few attempts to join the conversation, look elsewhere.

6.    Start Now

Networking and personal interaction in a professional setting doesn’t come easily to most people. But the data shows it’s still expected of you. Failing to practice can hurt your chances at landing a job or moving up the corporate ladder.

It’s best to start early. People expect young professionals to come off a little awkward and unpolished, at first, because it’s a new experience. Most people will be empathetic to nerves when you first start out. However, if you’re 45-55 years old and still learning the ropes, people might question your interpersonal skills.

Take advantage of the leniency while it’s granted, or your friend might soon outrank you.

[button color=”blue” size=”small” link=”http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236190” target=”blank” ]Source[/button]

Professionals, Students, Teachers, Training & Conferences

New Digital School From Youtube

This September, as millions of young people head back to the classroom, we’re opening our digital doors to a brand new type of school–and you’re all invited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNeeXPddBmA

The School of YouTube will see many of your favorite YouTube stars learn or teach something new. From figure-skating to salsa dancing, baking a cake to landing a plane, you’ll be able to watch a whole range of weird and wonderful lessons during the week of September 8 to 12.

We all know that YouTube is already like a huge virtual school–a place where people come to learn, to teach, to hang out and make friends–so it makes perfect sense to celebrate this for one week. And the best thing about this school is that you’ll be able to make a real difference to young people who desperately need your help.

The stars of the School of YouTube will be asking for donations to help some of the millions of people around the world who don’t have the opportunity to go to school or get an education. These kids may be struggling to survive on city streets, in slums or in refugee camps. Or they may be in a situation like 10-year-old Daniel from Ghana, who has very little time to get an education because he has to work long shifts in a dangerous gold mine so that his family can afford to eat.

Getting an education is by far the most powerful route out of poverty for these children and that’s where the School of YouTube comes in.

Money raised from donations will go to the U.K. charity Comic Relief, to help give kids an education across some of the world’s poorest countries. And even just £10 or $17 can pay for a Zambian orphan to go to school for two months where they also get a healthy meal–often the only one they’ll eat all day.

So hands up, who’s ready for a lesson at the School of YouTube? If you laugh a little or learn a little, please give a little.