Entrepreneurial skills


Monday, December 7th, 2009

The Tools to Achieve Success are a Great Holiday Gift!

Achieve success this holidayThe holiday season is definitely upon us and it’s an inspirational time. Among other things, it inspires us to do a little more for those less fortunate than us.

How can you do that? You can volunteer in a soup kitchen, give a child a toy, donate money to a charity, visit elderly people who no longer have family with whom to spend the holidays, and so on. There’s no end to the charity work you could do. And you should do it.

There’s also another way you can help others – teach them how to achieve success.

As members of Polaris Media Group we are in a unique position to offer a special kind of help. You no doubt have heard the old proverb: “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

One of the greatest joys for those who achieve success is being able to help others. I keep hearing that from our team members, so I know you know what I’m talking about.

This holiday season, choose a special someone in your life who could use some help and make sure they get a few entrepreneurial skills that will enable them to change their life.

Bookmark and Share
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Teaching Entrepreneurial Skills at Home

entrepreneur skillsI recently read an article that argued against stay-at-home moms, with some very convincing reasons. I nearly bought it, until I remembered something a friend said to me many years ago.

One of the best arguments raised in the article is that kids who spend all their time with mom have a social circle of one – mom. In a daycare, their social circle is 20, maybe more.

Good point; how do kids learn to get along with others when they’re home with mom?

Then I remembered my friend. He and his family, wife and two kids, lived in a rural environment. Mom home-schooled the kids and, because their home was so isolated, they rarely got to interact with other kids.

When I remarked about how time consuming it must be to get their kids together with other kids, my friend’s reply made me laugh. “Have you ever seen kids interact?!” He reminded me of birthday parties where out of control kids were running around screaming.

He said he would much rather his kids emulate the manners, interaction and habits practiced at home. Then they could go out in the world more prepared.

One of the great things about using entrepreneurial skills to work from home is you get to spend more time with your kids, and in turn, more time to provide education in life skills such as how to get along with others. A solid education in this entrepreneurial skill will give any child the greatest chance of achieving success.

Bookmark and Share
Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Entrepreneurial Skills Help Moms Further Their Careers

Entrepreneur skillsOne of the reasons I’m excited about people learning entrepreneurial skills is the freedom those skills allow. Take the choice mothers often feel forced to make, for example: On one hand, they have the desire to be with their child, teach them some of life’s basics, witness milestone events, and generally just kind of hang out and adore them. On the other hand, there’s that drive or purpose, that burning desire to follow your ‘career bliss’; very tough choice.

But if you learn entrepreneurial skills and play your cards right, you don’t have to make really tough decisions like ‘child or career.’ You may have to decide whether to work or be with your kid for a few hours, or a day or two – but that’s not so bad. It’s when you have to decide whether to spend time with your kids or have a career for the next five or twenty years that it really becomes a dilemma!

Just about every time I turn around I see an entrepreneurial opportunity. Really, there’s no shortage of exciting careers that also allow you to be a mom.

If you feel torn between the two, realize that it’s a solvable problem. Once you really know that, finding a solution will be much easier. And once you find that solution, you’ll be on your way to achieving success with both your family and your career.

Bookmark and Share
Friday, November 20th, 2009

Entrepreneurial Skills May Fail if Your Heart’s Not in the Business

Entrepreneurial skillsStartupnation.com, a hub of information, forums, and so on, provided and monitored by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, has an interesting piece on the top 100 home-based businesses. The 2009 winners are listed by category – which is pretty fun. You can use the list as a guideline and apply your entrepreneurial skills to those categories that most seem to fit your lifestyle and mindset.

The categories are:

•    Most Innovative
•    Boomers Back in Business
•    Greenest
•    Yummiest
•    Wackiest
•    Savviest in Social Media
•    Recession Busters
•    Most Slacker Friendly
•    Most Glamorous
•    Highest Vote-Getters

There’s something to fit just about everyone’s personality and interests.

When you’re starting your own business, whether it’s home-based or otherwise, it’s important to choose a product or service that really appeals to you. The more passionate you are about the undertaking, the greater the chances of achieving success. In fact, even the most brilliant entrepreneurial skills may fail if your heart’s not in it. The top home-based business list tells you what’s been working for others, and gives your entrepreneurial brainstorming a jump start.

Bookmark and Share
Monday, November 9th, 2009

Intrapreneurs Use Entrepreneurial Skills, but they Need Creative Freedom

Entrepreneurial skillsDid you know that one can be an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur? An entrepreneur is generally someone who starts a new business; an intrapreneur works in an existing business to revitalize it with creative, innovative ideas or to start a new company under the umbrella of the existing one for the purposes of diversification. In either case, entrepreneurial skills are needed to achieve success – although the intrapreneur may not be as accountable as the entrepreneur.

If you’re given free reign as an intrapreneur, it can be very exciting. And you aren’t the one taking the risk. However, if someone is telling you exactly how to do the job, instead of letting you use your innovative ideas and entrepreneurial skills (intrapreneurial?) to get it done, it can be not so fun – in the extreme.

I had a friend, for example, who was hired to open up the U.S. market for a product that was doing very well in Europe. Company headquarters were also in Europe. Several people had tried to launch this product in America without success.

My friend took on the project and it was soon very clear why others had failed – the European guys who ran the show insisted that it be done their way. It was quite an amazing phenomenon actually: they only hired those with proven entrepreneurial skills and success launching new products, so the hirees really knew what they were doing, but then they wouldn’t let them work their magic.

It was a classic case of Einstein’s definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

My friend finally quit the company in disgust, and about 15 marketing and PR people followed shortly thereafter. That was some years ago, and the product still isn’t making it in the U.S.

This is not an unusual situation: in fact, it’s the type of scenario that drives people to work on their own.

Lesson learned: If you’re going to use your entrepreneurial skills to achieve success as an intrapreneur, make sure the parameters are very, very clear prior to committing to the project.

Bookmark and Share
Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Achieve Success without Stress – It’s Much More Pleasant and Productive

Healthy work environmentMost of us are aware that stress can cause physical problems, but many may not know the extent to which the opposite is also true. To achieve success, you need to feel good physically, mentally and emotionally. So it’s important to master the subject of stress. Here are a few key physical situations that cause stress, and their remedies.

1.    Dehydration: Experts say that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. They might drink plenty of fluids, but some fluids dehydrate the body further.

Remedy: Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. And cut down on dehydrating liquids like coffee, soda and alcohol.

2.    Overworked immune system: Allergies, bacteria and viruses could be an issue even if you don’t have recognizable symptoms. You could be allergic to wheat, for example, and not have a clue. But that wheat allergy might be causing severe stress.

Remedy: Get checked out, and take action.

3.    Lack of sleep. You might achieve success without getting much sleep, but you probably won’t enjoy it. Stress and sleep go hand in hand. Stress causes lack of sleep; lack of sleep causes stress. While sleeping, the body produces growth hormone, needed for tissue repair, and melatonin, which gives you a sense of well-being. These hormones are the closest you’re going to find to a fountain of youth and vitality. But, they are produced before midnight.

Remedy: Get to sleep by 11:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. is even better. If you’re having trouble getting to sleep, use an herbal or mineral supplement or do something relaxing (not work) before bed. If you just can’t get your attention off work, use your entrepreneurial skills to make a list of the things that need to be done and a plan for their execution. That will get things more under control so you can sleep. Also, go to bed on an empty stomach – your body’s busy enough doing other stuff.

4.    Pain. Being in pain of any sort causes stress.

Remedy: Get to the doctor, the chiropractor, acupuncturist – whatever your preference – find out what’s causing the pain and get it fixed. To achieve success, you need to have your wits about you.

No matter what you want to achieve, success is dependant on having things under control. And that includes you, your body, and your stress levels.

Bookmark and Share
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Entrepreneurial Skills – One BIG Reason to Put Them on Your Must-Do List

achieving success Whether you’re currently working for yourself or as an employee, entrepreneurial skills are a vital part of business. But, as importantly, they’re also a vital part of life.

Let’s look at just one skill every successful entrepreneur has – the ability to negotiate. Now let’s look at how you use it in life.

A good example is my friend’s approach to getting his daughter willing to stop playing and come to dinner. It was quite a dilemma; every time he called her to dinner he had to argue with her. Then she’d come to dinner upset, and dinner would not be the happy occasion either of them wanted.

So, he devised a plan – he’d put her in the driver’s seat. One day he asked her, “What one thing do you have to do before you can eat dinner?” And it worked! She responded with “put away my dolls,” “feed my kitty,” or “dress my Barbie in her new pink outfit.’ He was delighted. She would do that one thing and happily come to dinner.

But it didn’t take long before she caught on. One day he asked her the magic question and she replied, “Play for another hour.”

My friend knew she had his number. And she was only six years old! See … everyone negotiates. It is key to achieving success in many, many areas of life.

By the way, that little 6-year-old was born with serious entrepreneurial skills. She’s older now, and one of the most innovative minds on the planet.

Don’t think entrepreneurial skills are just about business – they’re for life. Use them, and life will be better.

Bookmark and Share
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Don’t Waste Your Entrepreneurial Skills on Lose/Lose Clients

Entrepreneurial skillsI don’t know about you, but I’ve had my share of clients I regret taking on. Not many, but it doesn’t take many to make you realize you just can’t make a habit of it. Entrepreneurial skills do include dealing with difficult clients, but I’m not talking about guys that are high maintenance; I’m talking about those who make it impossible for you to give them what they want. A real lose/lose situation – no chance of achieving success.

How can you recognize a prospective client who will be the bane of your existence? The clues are nicely covered in Four telltale signs of a nightmare client. I hope they don’t mind my quoting them:

1.    The client is not clear about what he or she wants but somehow expects you to produce it without their detailed input. If they are too busy to either describe the project or to put you in contact with the people who can, watch out.

2.    The client reports having had a lot of problems with previous consultants — a pattern of “problem” consultants might be a sign of a problem client. (Don’t think your entrepreneurial skills will change that – it’s a crap shoot).

3.    The client is ignorant about technology and has no competent staff. This client may expect you to wave your magic wand to give them some magical business advantage, while having no understanding of the complexity or expense of serious computer systems. (My note: you can substitute ‘technology’ and ‘computer systems’ in the first and last sentences with whatever relates to your field. The point is: the client has no real understanding of what you do).

4.    The client makes it clear that they are looking for a bargain and focuses entirely on cost in your early contacts. (Don’t waste your entrepreneurial skills on trying to figure out how you’re going to live on what little he’ll pay you).

If a client looks like he’s going to be trouble, don’t even waste your time – no matter how much you think you need him. Put your entrepreneurial skills to work to get more prospects, and take on the guys who really want to achieve success.

Bookmark and Share
Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Can a Company Achieve Success with Marketing Focus Groups?

Achieve successOne entrepreneurial skill which absolutely must be mastered to achieve success is the ability to listen to your current and potential customers. But exactly how do you do that?

In the past, public opinion about a product has been determined via focus groups of six to ten people. Before the session, the group members are sent the five or six questions to be asked. The session lasts for 60 to 90 minutes. The goal is to determine how buyers feel about a product.

However, focus groups do not often achieve success. Why?

1.    Six to ten people is not a large enough sampling to determine how the majority of your potential customer base feels, and

2.    Because the questions are discussed, each member’s responses can be influenced by the others. For example, the group might be asked if they prefer blue or green packaging. Member A’s initial response is ‘green.’ After two other members – who are aggressive, outspoken, and argue with conviction – offer their views on why blue would be best, member A changes her mind. The remaining members, who were also influenced by the outspoken members, also eventually agree to blue. The end result is an apparent consensus that blue packaging is preferred, but, in fact, only two of the ten members actually said that. Will the other eight respond to green or blue in a ‘buy’ situation? Chances are they’ll go with green – their initial choice. But the packaging will be blue – and the product will not sell.

To achieve success in market research, you have to survey potential customers privately, and their answers should be accepted without discussion. As long as enough people are surveyed, you’ll get a real majority opinion.

The lesson? Take the time to interview potential customers one-on-one. One-on-one surveys are a vital part of the entrepreneurial skill set, and the only way to really find out what your customers want, give it to them, and achieve success with your product.

Shane Krider – Polaris Media Group

Bookmark and Share
Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Entrepreneurial Skills and the Power of Interruption

Achieve SuccessI read a study a while ago about how long people take to get back to work after they’ve been interrupted. The results were quite amazing, and it really brought home the power of interruptions and the vital necessity to avoid them if you want to achieve success. In fact, organizing in a way that prevents interruptions is a pivotal entrepreneurial skill.

The study was conducted on people working in a corporate environment. On average, per the study, people are interrupted 15 times during their 8-hour workday and, each time, it takes them an average of 20 minutes to get back into the swing of things. An interruption may only take 5 minutes, but if you are on a roll, in the middle of a train of thought, it takes time to get that roll going again.

Based on those numbers, people work an average of 5 hours in their 8-hour day. So if you find yourself wondering “where did the time go” at the end of your day, there’s your answer. And there’s no way you’re going to achieve success under those conditions.

Cutting down on interruptions is pretty easy if you’re working at home or in a work environment you can control:

-Set appointments for in-person or phone meetings rather than having people drop in or call whenever, or ‘tomorrow.’

-Schedule appointments in such a way that you have long stretches in which you can get other work done.

-Exercise personal discipline so distractions don’t pull you away.

-Work in a space where you can close the door.

    If you’re in a large office, or you’re not the boss, get with the powers that be and see what kind of policy changes can be made. Which takes a different set of entrepreneurial skills – but that’s another story.

    Bookmark and Share