A study by F1000Research in 2021 found that transformational entrepreneurship has an incredible effect on a leader’s personal readiness for change, psychological resilience, and employee performance. Meanwhile, another case study from the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research gives valuable insights into how entrepreneurial firms are creating and seizing opportunities using innovative practices, digital technologies, and key organizational values. While it is impossible for every business endeavor to be successful, the key to transforming your entrepreneurship goals into effective plans of action is to discover your genuine brand authenticity, recognize the best ways to connect with your customers, and have a strong supporting team to help you along the way. The following books on this list will help any business leader and entrepreneur that is looking to elevate their business ideas and build a highly successful business. 1. Jeremy Delk – Without a Plan Jeremy Delk’s Without a Plan: A Memoir of Unbound Action and Failing My Way to Success is for the entrepreneur that is looking to find personal and professional career growth by following a forward-moving approach when it comes to overcoming moments of failure, building authenticity, and finding true happiness. It is a story of how a smart and confident man with a passion for disrupting industries has been able to navigate life’s inevitable challenges and dive headfirst into the business world. Like so many entrepreneurs, Jeremy Delk started his journey without a plan but now lights the path for Fortune 500 companies across the globe. ‘There was a pattern emerging in my life that dictated that the second I got bored, I’d make a move. Luckily, I was never short of ideas.’ Delk shows us that success can be achieved through a variety of innovations and as many ideas as possible, rather than only relying on one truly amazing concept. Despite some missteps, his businesses have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, hundreds of well-paying American jobs, and recognition as one of Inc. 500's fastest-growing companies. 2. Ben Sachs – All Rise Ben Sachs began practicing law as a lawyer at Sidley Austin and a strategic management consultant at Storyblocks and the Boston Consulting Group. Since then, he has held the position of president of The Landing Group and taught law students at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is regarded as an authority in management, strategy, negotiation, and communications. In his book, All Rise: Practical Tools for Building High-Performing Legal Teams, Ben explains how lawyers can advance in their careers by setting themselves apart not just through their legal work but also through their capacity to assemble outstanding legal teams. Along with informing readers how to turn common challenges into constructive action, Ben empowers leaders to utilize ‘tools that create an environment where ownership can thrive’ to prevent the potential of ‘unraveling’ and ‘strike the right balance.’ He believes that the greatest legal professionals see the world in a different light and that the right practices and tools can make all the difference in any industry. But this book isn’t just for legal professionals, leaders from any industry can use these practical tools for building high-performing teams. This can include trusted tools for conflict resolution, team communications, monitoring organizational health, and other implementations that allow managers to align teams beyond traditional management training. Ultimately, Ben Sachs’s book demonstrates that having the right tools in your business toolbox helps leaders align and put teams first. 3. David Allison – The Death of Demographics When it comes to how global B2B and B2C brands can create engaging values-driven strategies, the truth is out there. In his new book, The Death of Demographics: Valuegraphic Marketing for a Values-Driven World, David Allison provides a do-it-yourself approach to understanding what your target audience values and how you can improve marketing effectiveness with valuegraphics. Instead of focusing on only the demographics and psychographics that influence consumer behavior, valuegraphics focuses on what drives and unites consumers on a deeper level. As the founder of the Valuegraphics Project, David argues that the traditional ways we research and define our target audiences is becoming ineffective. That instead, aligning our shared human values can be far more powerful. As a result, global companies can transform themselves into more customer-centric and values-driven organizations. Building Highly Productive Team Takes Work If you are looking to take the next step in your business venture or are just getting started, these books will offer any business leader or entrepreneur practical advice on how to thrive. Move forward without a plan but with positive thinking, build a highly productive team with the right internal tools, and focus on the core human values of your customers to build trust. These are the key elements that will help your company experience forward-moving growth in the new year. Source: https://www.forbes.com Image Credit: Getty Images
0 Comments
Follow these secrets to success to make 2023 a standout year for your business. Remember, success is achieved in your personal life as well as your professional life. Be sure to enjoy the entrepreneurial journey along the way. Yearly small business growth takes a vision and a plan. You need to envision where you're going and develop a step-by-step guide to get there. Most of the time, growing your business requires doing things a bit differently. Many entrepreneurs get so bogged down in day-to-day operations that their growth goals become a distant memory. You may look back in Q3 and realize that what would have been possible if you started in Q1 may not be feasible this year at all. Avoid this scenario by understanding your goals and setting a path toward growth. Here's what you should do differently to catalyze small business growth. 1. Set 3-5 goals for the year Always start with goals. Set three to five overarching goals for the year with detailed steps on how you will achieve each one. Break down the plan by quarter. Assign due dates and add them to your calendar. Make room in your schedule to prioritize each step. Building a digestible structure helps you achieve your goals systematically instead of having them all on your plate at once, which might end up overwhelming and demotivating. Allow your team to assist with bringing your goals to completion. Share due dates on when each step will be finalized each quarter. 2. Be transparent with your team Bring your team into the process. Be transparent about what you aim to achieve this year and how you plan to get there. By sharing your vision, your team gains visibility into their roles in accomplishing each goal. This enables collaboration and helps your team feel involved in what the business achieves. Further involve them by asking for input and ideas. You might be surprised by how helpful their perspectives can be. Stay open to recommendations as long as they point to more efficient strategies or better solutions. 3. Get to know your customers or clients Be creative in getting to know your customers or clients. Send surveys and check in personally. Share in their wins as often as you can. Go beyond merely following them on social media and reposting content. Surprise and delight them by sharing their goals, growth and other exciting news they may share. Offering special attention to your clients enables them to envision a strong, long-term partnership with you. That mindset leads to raving fans who sing your praises and help grow your brand. 4. Challenge yourself Challenge yourself each week to be 1% better. Reaching for that small 1%, even broken down over the year, will enormously impact your success. Think about continuous, mindful and meaningful improvements. Address your weaknesses and fortify your strengths. Make your impact through small wins over time. 5. Do what you love Determine what you love and do more of it — in business and life. This keeps you motivated and combats burnout. For example, traveling will be at the top of my list this year. With careful planning, a workcation — or an extended stay vacation with a mix of fun and work — is one of my main priorities and a practice worth following. Find what you enjoy (i.e., a big city, ocean, etc.) and take a workcation as part of your upcoming plans for the year. You will return re-energized and ready to tackle the road ahead. Plus, you more than likely have new business ideas that you discovered while away from your business's day-to-day activities and stresses. 6. Practice listening You gain so much more from conversations if you simply learn how to listen. So often, leaders listen to respond as opposed to genuinely listening to what is being said. In doing so, they miss out on subtext and depth in the conversation, especially since much communication is nonverbal. When you focus on listening, you gain a more accurate sense of what is being said and why it matters. And truly, doesn't it feel great when you know you are being heard? 7. Find a mentor or coach Find a mentor or coach. More specifically, find someone in your industry that you admire because they perform better than you in your space. They will help you develop better strategies and overcome challenges. A mentor or coach will provide a learning experience, offer a bird's eye view of your company and help you reach the next level. Working with someone who understands your challenges and has risen above them can be priceless. 8. Set your goals high Knowing what is truly possible, set your goals high. As an accidental entrepreneur, if you had told me 11 years ago that my business would grow to a more than two million dollar business, it would have been hard to imagine — it would have felt crazy. With hard work, delegation, a dedicated co-founder and a team that supports us, it is now our reality. We continue to put goals and systems into place to sustain and multiply this growth. Follow these secrets to success to make 2023 a standout year for your business. Remember, success is achieved in your personal life as well as your professional life. Be sure to enjoy the entrepreneurial journey along the way. Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
Facing the big monsters in your life will give you unshakable confidence in your ability to perform in the future. Understanding yourself and your demons is what separates average entrepreneurs from great ones. The ability of a business owner to look inward and not only understand their abilities but also focus on ways they can improve those abilities and curtail their weaknesses is a key factor to success, no matter what industry they're in. As an entrepreneur, you can approach personal development in several ways. Here are two that I focus on to make myself a better husband and leader in business: Accept your shortcomings The first step in accepting your shortcomings is to acknowledge that you have them. It can be one of the most difficult parts of the process, but it's the foundation for all forms of personal growth. Accepting your shortcomings and weaknesses takes a high level of self-awareness, which is critical for entrepreneurs. You need to ask yourself: Am I living up to all of the potential that I have within me? If the answer is no, it's your responsibility to reflect on the causes of your shortcomings and why you're not maximizing the potential that you know you have. Are your shortcomings due to a lack of discipline? Are they the result of a negative habit? A lack of self-esteem? Fear of failure? Once you identify the root causes, develop a plan to address your shortcomings. Don't be afraid to push yourself. This could involve setting goals, seeking training or education, and committing yourself to consistent habits that you know will lead you to success. It's big, it's scary, and it's challenging, but it's going to force you to grow, and in turn, your business will as well. Overcoming shortcomings will serve as milestones on the road to reaching a better version of yourself. You won't know what you're capable of unless you've gone up against a giant obstacle and won. When you face your demons and win, you send a clear message to yourself: I am a badass, and I can overcome obstacles that are in the way of reaching my goal. When you're feeling down, you have reference points to anchor your self-worth to. You've overcome struggles in the past, so you know you can overcome the current one. You find validation within yourself. You stop seeking external validation because you've already proven to yourself that you've got what it takes. When you become good enough for yourself, you stop caring what other people think. I've been up against these giants for nearly my entire life, from being addicted to heroin at age 18 to running 37 miles on my 37th birthday. Each time I've faced one of these big, hairy audacious goals and won, I've been more confident and capable as a businessman, leader, friend, husband and father. As much as you might feel that your shortcomings hold you back, once you overcome them, they differentiate you as an entrepreneur. Accepting your shortcomings, adjusting and moving forward is the exact same process you will face as an entrepreneur in growing your business to the best possible version it can be. The more you practice this in your business, the more it provides you with more tools in your belt for the next challenge you face as an entrepreneur. If you have a pulse, it means that you're going to face struggles in this life. The same goes for a business. There will always be new obstacles to face and new challenges to overcome, but accepting the shortcomings of yourself and your business and moving forward is what will lead you to be a formidable competitor in any industry. Refine yourself constantly and consistently Your job in personal development is never over. Frequently, people become content with where they're at when they're comfortable, and they stop pushing themselves to grow. When they end up in this position, it means they're no longer showing up for themselves and who they care for. There are endless ways you can continue to work on yourself, but here are a few key suggestions: Manage your time effectively. Learning effective time management in your personal life is going to be one of the greatest skills you will learn as an entrepreneur. Time management forces you to analyze critical tasks and establish clear priorities. Identify your most important tasks, and focus on those first. Get to the root of why you're procrastinating. Identify what that habit is all about. Create a schedule, avoid distractions, and know when to delegate tasks when other people can take on the workload, letting you focus on the most critical tasks in your life. All other elements of personal development depend on managing your time and developing habits of success. Take care of yourself mentally and physically. The road to being a successful business owner is going to be full of struggle. It's tough, and it's taxing. It's also what weeds out those who can endure from the people who can't. If you are going to perform your best as an entrepreneur — as a leader within your business — you need to make sure you're paying your necessary dues by taking care of yourself mentally and physically. Set aside time in your schedule to make sure you're showing up for yourself, moving your body and recharging in the ways you find rewarding. Commit to learning 24/7. Constantly seek to expand your knowledge. Read a book. Listen to a podcast. Look for mentors and educational resources. There are endless online resources and courses that can teach you valuable skills and knowledge, but it's up to you to make sure you're carving time out of your day to commit to learning. If you're starting entrepreneurship and you don't have the capital to spend on courses, there are tons of free resources on YouTube and podcasts with valuable information. This will help you learn from others who've both succeeded and failed, not only in entrepreneurship but in every other aspect of life that is relevant to you. Committing to expanding your knowledge also helps you stay informed on the latest developments in your field, which helps you stay ahead of the competition. If you want to come equipped with the right tools and skills as an entrepreneur, you have to make learning a priority. Personal development is about staying uncomfortable, becoming comfortable with what's unfamiliar, and honoring yourself. Ask yourself every day: What am I doing to create a new ceiling for myself and raise the floor of what I once was? Make intentional decisions to continually raise the ceiling of what's possible for you. You'll learn to adapt to change, and your business will grow with you. If you focus on facing the demons that currently control your habits and overcome them, it's inevitable that you'll witness endless growth within yourself and your business. Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
Aspiring entrepreneurs may need help to develop great business ideas, especially when it seems everyone has already taken all the good ones. Still, it’s possible to succeed by making old ideas or products better or giving them a new twist. Taking the chance to open a business can be both exciting and hard to understand. About 90% of new businesses fail, and many reasons exist. It might seem like a scary number, but if your business followed a set of rules for growth, it could avoid being one of these companies. The benefits of working for yourself can do the work of starting a business worth it. In addition to the freedom of being your boss, earning money and starting a business can make you happier at work and give you a better chance in life. What Do You Need To Setup a Business? Choosing a name for the business and making a logo are obvious steps, but what about the other measures that don’t get as much attention but are just as important? Whether you’re figuring out how to set up your business or making a detailed marketing plan, the work can quickly pile up. Follow this 10-step list instead of spinning your wheels and guessing where to start. It will help you turn your business idea from a light bulb above your head into a real thing.
Tips On How To Grow Your Startup Think about doing the following to improve your business idea and set yourself up for success: 1- Do market research An essential part of making a business plan is thorough market research on your field and the types of people who might be interested in it. It means doing surveys, focus groups, SEO research, and public data research. Market research helps you learn about your ideal customer’s wants, needs, and habits and about your industry and competitors. Many people who work with small businesses suggest getting demographic data and doing a competitive analysis to learn more about the opportunities and limits in your market. The best small businesses have products or services that differ from their competitors. It changes your competitive landscape in a big way and lets you show potential customers what makes you different. 2- Create a Powerful Team With a strong workforce, a company could hope to attain sustained success. That’s why it’s essential to surround yourself with capable people who can help drive your company forward. Managing your team isn’t just about making lists of things to do and dividing time. It depends on the size of your team and the type of work you do. You can combine different softwares like workforce software Monday, Scoro, Slack, etc., to improve teamwork and store important information about your projects, customers, tasks, and other tasks and resources. Team members with the right mix of experience, dedication, and initiative are invaluable. Keep everyone on the same page so the plan can be implemented successfully. 3- Examine your financial institution Every business has costs, so you need to figure out how to pay for them. Do you have the money to start your own business, or will you have to borrow it? If you want to leave your job to focus on your business, do you have enough money saved to live on until you start making money? Please find out how much it will cost to start your business. Many new businesses fail because they need more money before making money. It’s always a good idea to overestimate how much money you need to start a business since it can take a while to start making enough money to keep going. Carrying out a break-even study might help you estimate how much capital you’ll need. When a firm, product, or service starts making money is one of the most important financial planning questions owners may ask. 4- Consider financing There are many ways to get the money you need to start your business. The best way to earn money for your business depends on things like how good your credit is, how much you need, and what other options you have.
5- Follow all applicable laws Pick a legal structure and register your business. There are other steps you must take to ensure your company operates legally. For example, you may need to get licenses and permits for your business. Different industries have different licensing requirements. For example, if you want to start a construction company, you’ll need the proper construction permits. 6- Settle on a supplier It can be challenging to run a company, and you and your team won’t be able to do everything independently. Third-party vendors help with this. From human resources to business phone systems, some companies want to work with you and help you run your business better. When looking for B2B partners, you’ll need to be careful about who you choose. These companies will have access to essential and possibly sensitive business information, so finding someone you can trust is vital. In our guide to choosing business partners, our expert sources said to ask potential vendors about their experience in your industry, their track record with current clients, and what kind of growth they’ve helped other clients achieve. 7- Strong Brand Marketing Before you start selling your product or service, you need to build up your brand and get a group of people ready to jump when you open your real or figurative doors for business.
8- Offer good customer service Building a good name for your new business will help you stay in business longer. One of the best ways to do this is to show your customers the utmost respect and go out of your way to help them. Customer service of high quality could make the difference between a customer never buying from your company again and a customer who buys from you again and again. Please take note of companies that have done well because they consistently show their customers how much they appreciate them. Conclusion As an entrepreneur, your launch and first sales are just the beginning of your work. To make money and stay in business, you must constantly work to grow your business. It will take time and work, but you’ll get back what you put into your business. There is no perfect plan, but these tips will help you start your business and get it ready to grow. When you start a business, you’ll want to make sure you’ve thought of everything, but things will almost certainly go wrong. If you want to be a successful business, you have to be able to adjust to new situations. Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com Image Credit: Envato Elements
|
Membership is open to businesses and organizations interested in increasing visibility and brand awareness in Westchester County and surrounding areas.
Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|