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Will You Add? - Starting Your Business: 3 Tips for Bootstrapping Your Way to the Top
Challenge for working professionals todayIf you are reading this, I expect you are a working professional.The world has changed and so is the professional field.Today, maybe you are also a doctor, accountant, lawyer or whatever title you may hold. That does not matter. My cousin is a doctor and now worries he may be cut off because the government is downsizing.Is professional destination a guarantee for success, money or fame?As mentioned in "Rich Dad Poor Dad", the industrial age has passed and the information age has come. What used to be a hidden know-how, can now be performed by a minor. Knowledge is so accessible in a few buttons, right from the internet.Knowledge used to be monopolized by a chosen few is now open to anyone. I watched an interview by BBC News last year. It was talking how the internet has changed the world…An example:A 15 year old kid was answering complicated legal questions by a pair of troubled couples. They were inquiring some complicated issues with asset allocation after their divorce. With the excellent professional advices provided, the couples thought the
If all of the above seems too silly, you are just flat-out in desperate need of the intervention described under tip number 1. You must get out of the rut that you are in. Working in a cubicle for the rest of your life is the notion that’s really silly. When you leave your present workplace to go home, take a different route. You may find that by getting los
How many times have you purchased leads from an Internet lead provider or direct mail vendor, only to wonder…Where are my leads? Has anyone called my lead? Did we sell cars from our leads? Are there any referrals?At the end of the month did your lead provider leave you with more questions than answers? What happens with your lot-ups? Are there follow-up and closing opportunities at the bottom of your sales rep’s drawer? What about those phone calls that come straight into the dealership? Is your lead on the back of a salesman’s business card?It has been our experience that dealers are most successful when they know which leads are producing the best return on their investment. It is important to have several lead sources but it is more important to know the performance each lead source. The real question isn’t whether or not you are tracking your leads but how accurate are your numbers. Is it a matter of who’s calling or who’s buying?When I discuss tracking leads, I am referring to the art of accountability. General Managers (GM’s) expect accountability from salesmen, F&I, management and
It’s kind of the same thing when you make your first homemade cheesecake using a recipe from a gourmet magazine, and then you realize how horrible those store bought cheesecakes in a box (that you used to eat) would taste in a side-by-side comparison. Just think, if you embrace the “entrepreneur as gourmet chef” metaphor that I have suggested above, you can tell people that you are an “Entrepreneurship Connoisseur” at social gatherings and when you are seated next to other first class passengers on your next flight to someplace exciting. Not going anyplace exciting, you say? Funny you should exhibit such a lack of enthusiasm, because that leads us to tip number one:
1) You may have thought that we’d start out with some high-powered “secret” bargaining strategy for bartering or negotiating with suppliers or landlords. Well, in a way you are right. The all time top tip, numero uno, has to do with your attitude. Do you think you are “having a bad day,” routinely? Maybe it’s not the kind of day or days that you are having; maybe it’s your contagious nasty attitude that infects everyone around you and holds you back.
Here’s a technique that you can use to thwart “nasty attitude syndrome”—a vicious, virulent disease: Use a mirror. If you don’t like the way that you look, imagine how other people feel. Put the biggest, nastiest snarl on your face that you can muster. Stare hard into that mirror and say, “I want the best price—now.” Does the person in the mirror look like he or she would be inclined to melt before your eyes and say, “For you, my friend, I’d give you the world on a silver patter, because you are my favorite kind of person”?
Perhaps I should explain the almost magical curative powers of the mirror that you should now be holding in your hand (yes, use a pocket-sized model that you can carry along, wherever you go—on all of those exciting trips). If you will stand on your head while you are frowning, you can “turn that frown upside down.” Other people will smile at you, and perhaps even chuckle, or roar out loud, rolling in laughter. Now you’re getting the hang of it. A positive attitude and a smile on your face will help you start your business, get out of trouble with your spouse, or get you a date if you are single. Practice being excited, (just about) everywhere you go.
2) For anyone who has forgotten kindergarten, let me remind you that you used to be creative—maybe you still are—and creativity is the heart and soul of bootstrapping. If you have lost touch with your creative side, or it has been pounded out of you as a result of other people’s efforts to turn you into a compliant drone, one who fits perfectly in a cubicle, then it’s high time you start acting like a kid again.
Yes, we’re talking crayons, paint, glue, cardboard, scissors, wood, and trips to a junk yard. We’re talking Animal House (the movie), and good old-fashioned food fights. We’re talking about imaginary worlds depicted in amusement park rides. We’re talking about science fairs, contraptions in your garage, and blue-green gooey stuff oozing out of boiling pots. We may even be talking about an illustration of the product idea that you have, or a three-dimensional model of a store layout—like the one that you will implement in real life when you start your business.
If all of the above seems too silly, you are just flat-out in desperate need of the intervention described under tip number 1. You must get out of the rut that you are in. Working in a cubicle for the rest of your life is the notion that’s really silly. When you leave your present workplace to go home, take a different route. You may find that by getting lost
Hal Rosenbluth, author of The Customer Comes Second, states; “In our selection process, kindness, caring, compassion, and unselfishness carry more weight than years on the job, an impressive salary history, and stacks of degrees.”Does your company hire these types? Are you one of them? Take the following quiz to see if you are:Agree Disagree1. While driving, I signal my intentions ___ ___2. I slow down to allow traffic in from on-ramps and other lanes ___ ___3. I place my shopping cart to the side of the aisle so others can pass ___ ___4. I look behind me at the check-out lane to allow the person with very few items to go ahead of me ___ ___5. I return the shopping cart to the return area ___ ___6. I place the plastic separator wand behind my groceries on the conveyer belt so the person behind me can start placing their groceries on the belt ___ ___7.When going to a restaurant, I shut off my cell phone ___ ___8. I recognize the bus personnel by thanking them for their assistance ___ ___9. I make sure I have enough money on me to cove
1) You may have thought that we’d start out with some high-powered “secret” bargaining strategy for bartering or negotiating with suppliers or landlords. Well, in a way you are right. The all time top tip, numero uno, has to do with your attitude. Do you think you are “having a bad day,” routinely? Maybe it’s not the kind of day or days that you are having; maybe it’s your contagious nasty attitude that infects everyone around you and holds you back.
Here’s a technique that you can use to thwart “nasty attitude syndrome”—a vicious, virulent disease: Use a mirror. If you don’t like the way that you look, imagine how other people feel. Put the biggest, nastiest snarl on your face that you can muster. Stare hard into that mirror and say, “I want the best price—now.” Does the person in the mirror look like he or she would be inclined to melt before your eyes and say, “For you, my friend, I’d give you the world on a silver patter, because you are my favorite kind of person”?
Perhaps I should explain the almost magical curative powers of the mirror that you should now be holding in your hand (yes, use a pocket-sized model that you can carry along, wherever you go—on all of those exciting trips). If you will stand on your head while you are frowning, you can “turn that frown upside down.” Other people will smile at you, and perhaps even chuckle, or roar out loud, rolling in laughter. Now you’re getting the hang of it. A positive attitude and a smile on your face will help you start your business, get out of trouble with your spouse, or get you a date if you are single. Practice being excited, (just about) everywhere you go.
2) For anyone who has forgotten kindergarten, let me remind you that you used to be creative—maybe you still are—and creativity is the heart and soul of bootstrapping. If you have lost touch with your creative side, or it has been pounded out of you as a result of other people’s efforts to turn you into a compliant drone, one who fits perfectly in a cubicle, then it’s high time you start acting like a kid again.
Yes, we’re talking crayons, paint, glue, cardboard, scissors, wood, and trips to a junk yard. We’re talking Animal House (the movie), and good old-fashioned food fights. We’re talking about imaginary worlds depicted in amusement park rides. We’re talking about science fairs, contraptions in your garage, and blue-green gooey stuff oozing out of boiling pots. We may even be talking about an illustration of the product idea that you have, or a three-dimensional model of a store layout—like the one that you will implement in real life when you start your business.
If all of the above seems too silly, you are just flat-out in desperate need of the intervention described under tip number 1. You must get out of the rut that you are in. Working in a cubicle for the rest of your life is the notion that’s really silly. When you leave your present workplace to go home, take a different route. You may find that by getting los
Are you one of those numerous business owners who have outsourced accounting? Well if you are not then you must be wondering what the whole process is about and why everyone is singing its praises. You have to find this out and make sure that you implement this for your business if the process has so much positives coming out of it. Being a business owner, by now you must have surely realized how important accounting is and how difficult handling this can be if a professional is not working on this. You know how tough it is to hire the services of a professional to take care of the accounting work and also the amount of dollars that you will have to shell out for hiring is very high as well. Taking all these factors in to consideration business owners have Bookkeeping New York Outsourcing as this is the best way to deal with this.Once you have outsourced accounting, you will realize how fruitful the whole process has been for your business. But you need to undertake the process to actually know what this can do for making your business a success. The first thing which you need to do for outsourcing accounting is to find out a good com
Here’s a technique that you can use to thwart “nasty attitude syndrome”—a vicious, virulent disease: Use a mirror. If you don’t like the way that you look, imagine how other people feel. Put the biggest, nastiest snarl on your face that you can muster. Stare hard into that mirror and say, “I want the best price—now.” Does the person in the mirror look like he or she would be inclined to melt before your eyes and say, “For you, my friend, I’d give you the world on a silver patter, because you are my favorite kind of person”?
Perhaps I should explain the almost magical curative powers of the mirror that you should now be holding in your hand (yes, use a pocket-sized model that you can carry along, wherever you go—on all of those exciting trips). If you will stand on your head while you are frowning, you can “turn that frown upside down.” Other people will smile at you, and perhaps even chuckle, or roar out loud, rolling in laughter. Now you’re getting the hang of it. A positive attitude and a smile on your face will help you start your business, get out of trouble with your spouse, or get you a date if you are single. Practice being excited, (just about) everywhere you go.
2) For anyone who has forgotten kindergarten, let me remind you that you used to be creative—maybe you still are—and creativity is the heart and soul of bootstrapping. If you have lost touch with your creative side, or it has been pounded out of you as a result of other people’s efforts to turn you into a compliant drone, one who fits perfectly in a cubicle, then it’s high time you start acting like a kid again.
Yes, we’re talking crayons, paint, glue, cardboard, scissors, wood, and trips to a junk yard. We’re talking Animal House (the movie), and good old-fashioned food fights. We’re talking about imaginary worlds depicted in amusement park rides. We’re talking about science fairs, contraptions in your garage, and blue-green gooey stuff oozing out of boiling pots. We may even be talking about an illustration of the product idea that you have, or a three-dimensional model of a store layout—like the one that you will implement in real life when you start your business.
If all of the above seems too silly, you are just flat-out in desperate need of the intervention described under tip number 1. You must get out of the rut that you are in. Working in a cubicle for the rest of your life is the notion that’s really silly. When you leave your present workplace to go home, take a different route. You may find that by getting los
Meaning of business: We have been trying to find out the real meaning of business. We could understand that business is production initially and service oriented subsequently. All businesses are concept based. However, some people sell only concepts or ideas as their products. Most of the people develop certain special skills and apply them in their jobs. Job is not a business, but sure to be a part of the business. One should occupy a job or business activity to keep him busy and it becomes the real meaning of business. Product, Service, Concept and Skill are Ready: Now, we are in production. We have all the necessary inputs for producing the commodity. We produce and keep them well packed. The production is going on and we are now piling up the stock. Again, we have developed a skill and we have potential power of servicing. We need to extend the service to the people. We are capable of developing ideas or concepts through logical thinking and brain storming sessions. The ideas are good and they are ready for implementation. You must sell them to the people in need. You are also a hig
2) For anyone who has forgotten kindergarten, let me remind you that you used to be creative—maybe you still are—and creativity is the heart and soul of bootstrapping. If you have lost touch with your creative side, or it has been pounded out of you as a result of other people’s efforts to turn you into a compliant drone, one who fits perfectly in a cubicle, then it’s high time you start acting like a kid again.
Yes, we’re talking crayons, paint, glue, cardboard, scissors, wood, and trips to a junk yard. We’re talking Animal House (the movie), and good old-fashioned food fights. We’re talking about imaginary worlds depicted in amusement park rides. We’re talking about science fairs, contraptions in your garage, and blue-green gooey stuff oozing out of boiling pots. We may even be talking about an illustration of the product idea that you have, or a three-dimensional model of a store layout—like the one that you will implement in real life when you start your business.
If all of the above seems too silly, you are just flat-out in desperate need of the intervention described under tip number 1. You must get out of the rut that you are in. Working in a cubicle for the rest of your life is the notion that’s really silly. When you leave your present workplace to go home, take a different route. You may find that by getting los
Organisational inertia is like a cancer. It eats at personal ambition and genuine creativity. At first, it limits progress in organisations which eventually descend into a dysfunctional morass to be reorganised, down-sized or right-sized. In some cases, organisations do not survive.When that organisation is a very large employer, the collateral damage of organisational inertia is families and communities that rely on the income provided by the jobs that the organisation provides.When the organisation is an arm of government, the impact ripples much wider through all individuals and commercial operations reliant on a progressive and competitive policy and regulatory environment supported by targeted investment in infrastructure.Organisational inertia is characterised by an inability to make decisions, an overload of reports and analysis with no apparent action, a stop and start approach to executing tactics as strategy changes year on year or an inability to execute what appear to be robust strategies.From my experience, the key enabler of avoiding organisational inertia is having an unequivocal go
If all of the above seems too silly, you are just flat-out in desperate need of the intervention described under tip number 1. You must get out of the rut that you are in. Working in a cubicle for the rest of your life is the notion that’s really silly. When you leave your present workplace to go home, take a different route. You may find that by getting lost while you are on your journey, you rediscover your creative inner child, inside.
Creativity is an act, something one does, not a trait. You have to give your creative side the time and tools to act. Get yourself unstuck through lots of stimulation. Take the time to actually study innovation, invention, the future, the past, and specific creative techniques. On that last point, here’s an example of one technique: think about opposites. What’s the opposite of a high priced anything? An economy priced version. What’s the opposite of a big package? A small one. It’s chunky versus creamy. Light versus full-bodied.
There are books, Web sites, training programs, articles, and devotees of the study of creativity. It’s time for you to “start your creative engine,” buckle-up, and blast off to other worlds that can be reached only in your imagination.
3) Research, research, research. Study, study, study. Read, read, read. Do your homework. Remember that old adage about “location, location, location”? Well, now you can forget that one, at least for the moment. Your location, your customer base, your supply channels, your price, all of these things will become clear if you become a researcher. We are not talking about the stereotypical, wimpy, “beat me up in the schoolyard and take my lunch money” type of researcher. We’re talking about a new breed of formidable, respectable, “super researcher”: A guerilla fighter who takes names, observes weaknesses, and kicks booty.
Quickly, the next time you visit your neighborhood video store, count the tapes (DVD’s, games, etc.) on one shelf. Then multiply the number of videos on that one shelf by the number of shelves in a display case. Next, how many cases are on one wall? Assuming four walls, how many new releases does the store have in inventory? Count the middle section, too. How many customers are in line? Do they look happy? How many employees are working? How many are loafing? What have you observed about the business? Does it look like the store’s making money? (No, we are NOT “casing out the joint” for a robbery.) How long has it been in business? How busy is the store, morning, noon, or night?
Collect competitors’ advertisements. Collect advertisements that you simply like (on the basis that they apparently gain attention, sell benefits, and stimulate action). Collect crummy ads, so that you won’t repeat the mistakes made by others.
Bootstrappers pay close attention to what other people and businesses do, so that they might emulate good business ideas, or deviate from the norm with better ideas. It’s amazing how many businesses are founded on the basis of so little research or planning. If you intend to start a restaurant, and you are willing to spend $10,000 or more on a stove or a commercial refrigerator, wouldn’t it make sense to test your idea first? Prepare a meal as though you were already in business. Invite some guests to try your cooking. Ask them questions. How much would someone pay? How often would they eat the type of food that you have prepared? Conduct a survey yourself, or work with marketing students or interns through a local college or university. Ask, ask, ask, lots of questions.
Buy every entrepreneurial startup guide book pertaining to the type of business (if it is a typical one) that you are planning to develop. Go to trade shows. Read trade periodicals. Talk to people. You are a “pr
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