A Baseball Player as an Entrepreneurial Role Model
Watching the Chicago White Sox win the World Series for the first time since 1917, I was struck again how wondrous this beautiful sport still can be. The purest American game, baseball teaches so many of the values we appreciate in all areas of life. Hard work, doing the little things, hustle, overcoming adversity and never quitting are lessons we learn playing Little League baseball.My firm specializes in small business development and boot strapping entrepreneurs. The virtues we see in every baseball game are directly applicable to success or failure for inventors and companies. The Chicago White Sox, and one player in particular, are wonderful endorsements for the baseball/success ethos. Scott Posednik is the poster boy for every virtue essential to positive entrepreneurial achievement.It Took Nine Long YearsScott Posednik was born and raised in tiny West, TX. West is a hamlet, founded, and still principally inhabited by Czech immigrants. No great sports traditions here. As a 150-pound outfielder, Mr. Posednik was drafted and played minor league baseball for nine, very long, frustrating years. Every year in spring training, Mr. Posednik would be returned to the minor league camp, traded from team to team and generally stuck with the label “not a prospect”.Several times he considered giving up and seeking another calling. Nevertheless, he knew, believed in his heart, that given a chance he would be a success at the Major League level. Three years ago an injury opened a spot on the Milwaukee Brewers. The team took a chance on Scott Posednik, believing he would be a back-up player until the injured star returned. This was the chance he dreamed about since Little League in West, TX. He never looked back.Rookie Record BreakerAs a 29-year old rookie, Scott Posednik hit over .300, scored over 100 runs and stole over 50 bases. He played the game with drive, hustle, smarts and courage. Mr. Posedniks value has ra

What Are the 4 Reasons Why Service Businesses Aren't Profitable
After owning a service business for 22 years and teaching business owners to massively increase profit margins for the last 8 years, you could say I've learnt a few things very few people know, especially in a service business.Let's look at the facts.To increase profit margin (not turnover or sales) there are really only 4 main areas you can.1. First of all are you measuring how many hours you are billing customers for, compared to how many hours worked? I've found dozens of businesses who don't invoice more than 80% of the work performed for customers, in other words their profit will be down 20% of what it should be.You can find this out simply by measuring how many man hours all your team work in a week then see where each persons time was spend, on what job, with what customers. Then see if all were invoiced for all of the time spent with them.2. Work out your actual hourly rate per person per hour. To do this look at your total turnover for the week and divide that by total number of hours man worked in the week. This will tell an important story.Now compare the hourly rate with what your pay in wages per hour. Include taxes, superannuation and workers compensation insurance. Typically a rule of sum is that wages amounts to 28%-35% of the turnover of most businesses, so that means you hourly rate per person (from the turnover divided by total hours worked) needs to roughly 3 times more than the average paid to your employees.In other words, if you make $60 per person per hour over the whole week in turnover, your wages should be less than $20 per hour paid, or preferably $17 per hour.When you have measured the total turnover in a week and hourly rate earned per person for the week, start to look at where the profit really comes from by breaking this into different services offered and what turnover and hourly rate you make in each of those areas.This is how to find hidden profit i

Zero To Hero - How A Homemaker Became A Successful Entrepreneur
Chekan (pronounced Chek-Ahn) is a simple, wonderfully resourceful and positive lady who is one of the few friends who inspire me. This is simple account of how this stay-at-home Mom became an Entrepreneur who couldn't stop making money even if she tried!Like many women, Chekan had simple expectations in life. She was was contented to be a stay-at-home Mom, taking care of her family, but When her kids were older and didn't need so much attention, she found a job at a major electronics production factory to keep busy and make a little extra money. She began picking up English simply to better herself. Eventually, her proficiency in English helped her secure a job in the company where I worked some ten years ago.In her second year as receptionist in the company, fate took a cruel twist and changed her direction in life. Her husband was diagnosed with a illness which was potentially life-threatening. Faced with the very real possibility that she might have to be the sole bread winner, she did some serious thinking before joining a network marketing program dealing with household products. Although it was difficult at first, she carried on simple for the love of her family. She learnt the ropes of network marketing and quickly moved up the ladder to success. After approximately four years, she had six hundred members in her downline. Anyone involved in network marketing will tell you that this is a major achievement. She trained her downline well, encouraging them to succeed for their own betterment. This in turned, produced an army who worked hard, earning Chekan an impressive monthly commission to match her soaring reputation. She eventually reached an earnings level where she was rewarded with a brand new car fully paid for by the network marketing organization. Despite the many monetary and tangible rewards, what was more important was that Chekan had awakened the entrepreneur within her.As Chekan moved on from success to succe

Getting a Federal EIN for Your Start-Up Business - One Little Form - So Many Questions
One of the first questions start up businesses have is…"How do I get an EIN?"Before we look at the how to get this magic number, you need to make sure you really need one.If you have a sole proprietorship, with no employees, you do not need an EIN. The Federal Employer Identification Number, or EIN, is an IRS reference number for your business. As a sole proprietorship, your Social Security Number is the only number you need. You do not need an EIN until you hire your first employee.Remember, your states and cities have their own requirements for business licenses, so you need to check with your state and city agencies to determine whether you need a business license in your area. The requirements in each state vary widely, from paying a small fee, to requiring testing, insurance and bonding, depending on the type of your business, entity, or your level of activity.If you have a partnership, corporation, LLC, or plan on hiring employees, you need to apply for a Federal EIN. For business entities other than sole proprietorships, your Federal EIN acts like a Social Security number for your business entity. Banks require a Federal EIN to open a bank account, and your vendors may require you to give them this number for Form 1099 reference purposes.Your business entity only needs one EIN. Your company may operate multiple business entities under different dba (doing business as) names, but each legal entity should only apply for an EIN one time. Even if you change the type of tax return you file, if you have an LLC, you should still use your original EIN. The only time you should apply for a new number is when your business changes ownership, either through incorporating a sole proprietorship or changing from a sole proprietorship to a partnership.The Federal EIN is also used for trusts, pension plans, state or local tax agencies, withholding agents, associations, etc. This causes confusion, as

Are Corporations Doomed to Fail?
Many people believe that the Public Mega Corporations are eventually doomed to fail and of course there are many reasons for this. One of the most common reasons cited by media is Corporate Malfeasance. Another one which some free-market economists note is that the Stock Market is now a gambling casino and still others make light of the fact that corporate greed from those at the top is out of control. Of course someone once said something interesting about Absolute Power.If any of these comments strike you as interesting topics or you think that any of these points are indeed valid then many might agree with you. You might also like to read Warren Buffets, essays on Corporate Governance sometime, very insightful indeed.A Corporation must keep growing in order to maintain ever increasing profits and as a company grows it too must provide increased shareholders equity and quarterly profits, but it cannot grow forever, due to laws of bureaucracy and in the end only one company would be left right? Kind of like the Banking industry in England.Of course in our economy we have 10s of thousands of companies and the Russell 1000 is slammed with mega-corporations, some run efficiently some cannot make their numbers. Thus spin-offs, closely net-centric groups, associations, franchises, dealer networks and such make more sense from a longevity standpoint or hybrids using multiple strategy approach. I would recommend "Good to Great" and "Built to Last" I do think Stanford Professor Collins makes some sense of it all.If our system rewards cheaters then of course cheaters we shall find. If our SEC, NASD and other regulatory watch systems make too many rules they create criminals and of course then the self-fulfilling prophesy predicts; criminals we shall find. It all adds to the sound and fury of the inevitable repeat and dooming of the players for the fans in the stands that watch between the playing of the band

What Cleaning Contractors Need to Know About Mold in Carpet
One area of growing concern to building owners is indoor air quality. Feeding poor indoor air quality can be one of over 1,000 types of mold found in the United States and over 100,000 types found worldwide. Mold and mildew can grow rampant indoors and lead to various health problems such as allergic reactions, asthma, sneezing, eye and skin irritation, and other respiratory complaints. Carpets that are not cleaned and dried properly can be a haven for mold spores, which thrive on excessive moisture.There is no practical way to keep mold spores from entering your buildings. Spores enter through open doorways, windows, and ventilation systems. People also track mold spores through buildings, as they can attach themselves to clothing and shoes.Molds need three things to grow: moisture, nutrients and a suitable material such as carpet, paper, ceiling tiles, drywall or a host of other materials. When molds are disturbed they are released into the air and inhaled by the people in the room. Some individuals are not affected by mold, but others can be highly sensitive.If asked to clean a carpet that has mold problems you need to first assess the situation. Are there underlying factors that are causing excessive moisture? Water problems, such as broken pipes, leaking roofs, over-watered plants or flooding, and improper carpet cleaning can lead to mold in carpets.Assess the situation to make sure that it is something your company can handle before agreeing to rid the carpet of mold. First make sure the source of the water problem, such as broken pipes or a leaking roof, is fixed. Then make sure the problem has not escalated to a point where the carpet should just be replaced.If you decide you can handle the job, clean the carpet with a product such as a biocide that is designed to stop microbial growth. Following are some steps to follow when removing mold and mildew from carpet:1. Apply a low alkaline all-purpose