There is an unwritten rule in business that once a company goes public, the original founders must be ousted. The myth: entrepreneurs are great for getting a company started, but not so great when Wall Street is looking over their shoulder. Part of this thinking is that founders of companies are mavericks, passionate doers with a vision, nontraditional in their approach to management and outspoken – the kind of rabble rousing that makes investors uneasy. (What is rabble rousing anyway?) (more…)
Tag: entrepreneurship ideas
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The 10 Great Strategies On How To Improve Your Personal Finance Immediately
Below are 10 strategies on how to improve your personal finance. (more…)
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Do I Have What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur?
Looking into a viable business opportunity, many young potential entrepreneurs have the same question in mind. Do I have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? Is this a good time to quit my job and invest all my time into this exciting proposition that I have chanced upon? Before you get into the in-depth details about how good the business is, maybe you need to do some soul-searching and explore your personality. Read ahead to find out about the important traits of successful startup owners. (more…)
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The Cautious Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur, someone who begins a business and assumes the risk for profit. Is it no wonder some of us are reluctant to become an entrepreneur with “Risk” involved. It stops most of us dead in our tracks. (more…)
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Entrepreneur Advantages and Disadvantages
Entrepreneurs enjoy the freedom of making their own business decisions and becoming their own bosses. In addition, they also gain the stability and control that could never be achieved as a regular employee. If you have been dreaming of becoming one of these entrepreneurs, you should find out the disadvantages and advantages of taking on this role. (more…)
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Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Part of the romanticism of entrepreneurship is the thought that entrepreneurs are creative, innovative, go-getters, risk takers, driven. All of that implies a high self-esteem and determination. In reality, having a clear understanding of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship allows managers of institutions and corporations, as well as individual, manage each area differently to get the best results. (more…)
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The Real Career Risks of Entrepreneurship
The majority of people are perfectly comfortable working for somebody else. They have no desire to launch their own business, mostly because they perceive entrepreneurship as a highly risky option. Most of these concerns come down to four types of risk – financial, career, lifestyle, and ego. They imagine that the potential for success is very small and the likelihood of ruin high. They assume that the type of person who is willing to put all that at risk must be fearless and crazy and have completely different priorities than everyone else. (more…)
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Entrepreneurship: What does it REALLY mean?
In a world where ideas drive economies, it is no wonder that innovation and entrepreneurship are often seen as inseparable bedfellows. The governments around the world are starting to realize that in order to sustain progress and improve a country’s economy, the people have to be encouraged and trained to think out-of-the-box and be constantly developing innovative products and services. The once feasible ways of doing business are no longer guarantees for future economic success! (more…)
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This 103-Year Old Woman is Still Running a Pie Business She Opened 68 Years Ago
Woodruff’s Café & Pie Shop first opened in Monroe, Virginia by Mary Woodruff and her husband James in 1952 when there were very few Black-owned businesses in the country. Now Mary is 103-years old and is still hands-on in running the family business!
The married couple started the café downstairs in the apartment that they were living in. The business kept going strong until they had to briefly close it after 30 years in 1982.Their daughter, Angela Scott, thought it was a good idea to reopen the business to keep their family legacy alive. With her husband, she opened the café again in 1998, mostly selling sandwiches. However, it was a very hard time for the business as customers weren’t showing very much interest in their products.
“It was off the beaten path. It had been closed for so many years. There were days that we didn’t have a customer, maybe one or two,” Scott told WRCBTV. “But Mama just kept going, ‘Angie, you gotta have faith, it’s gonna be fine.’ I think if it hadn’t been for her, I probably would’ve closed.”
That’s when Scott decided to bring back the family’s staple recipe of pies. Ever since the sign for “Pie Shop” was put up outside the storefront, people started coming back for their variety of pies and other recipes. She is also grateful that her mother can still help run the business despite her old age.
For more information about Woodruff’s Café & Pie Shop, visit their location at 3297 Elon Road, Monroe, Virginia 24574 or order online at www.woodruffspieshop.com
Blackbusinesses.com
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This Young inventor has Created a Smokeless Stove That Cooks Food and Charges Phones
Max Chinnah, a 26-year old inventor and entrepreneur from Nigeria, is hoping to change the lives of many people around the world with his newest invention – a smokeless stove that not only cooks food, but also converts heat energy into electricity to charge your phone!
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Hammer, Noel Kojo-Ganson, Akofa Djankui and other listed in Inaugural 50 Most Influential CMOs in Ghana
A comprehensive list chronicling the names of the 50 best minds in the sales and marketing field in Ghana have been announced in the inaugural list of the 50 Most Influential CMOs in Ghana.
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9 Reasons Why Entrepreneurship is Important
Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of creating incremental wealth and innovating things of value that have a bearing on the welfare of an entrepreneur.
It provides civilization with an enormous amount of goods and services and enhances the growth of social welfare.
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Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made? What Does Research Says?
Entrepreneurs, social psychologists and economic theorists have all speculated whether entrepreneurs are born or made — in other words, whether you’re predisposed to become an entrepreneur due to your genetic makeup, or whether that disposition comes from your environment, conditioning or other external influences.
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6 Genuine Reasons Why People Become Entrepreneurs
There are a host of reasons why individuals choose to become entrepreneurs over the more traditional route of becoming employees. Only you can decide the life that’s right for you, but with the uncertainty of entrepreneurship also comes tremendous freedom and accountability.
Here are six genuine reasons why people become entrepreneurs:
1. Their creativity doesn’t fit the corporate environment.
You may find that you simply don’t fit in. Sometimes that can feel frustrating, however, if you learn to embrace not fitting into a corporate culture the way many of your friends and family do, you can discover something beautiful.
Steve Jobs perhaps summed this idea up best when he said: “When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is … Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it … Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
Your creativity simply may not be cut out for the limitations of corporate life.
2. They want a lifestyle that isn’t bound to nine to five.
There’s a lot of hype about having a flexible lifestyle but the truth in entrepreneurship is that you’re going to work really hard and really long, so don’t choose this way of life if you’re thinking it’s a shortcut. That being said, you will work hard, but there’s much more flexibility to the entrepreneurial lifestyle than the traditional nine to five and two weeks of vacation time that corporate life permits.
As the old adage goes, entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t. It is hard work but with that effort comes the ability to shape your life how you see fit.
3. They’re passionate about learning.
Learning should never stop. Many people equate age, status or certain achievements with the end of their education, but to learn is to be alive. Entrepreneurs are never satiated with the knowledge they have — they are always seeking more. If you find that learning interests you, from formal education to on-the-job discoveries, and that you can never know enough about the things that excite you, then you have identified one of the genuine reasons individuals are driven to be entrepreneurs.
As mega-successful entrepreneur Michael Gerber says: “The entrepreneur in us sees opportunities everywhere we look, but many people see only problems everywhere they look. The entrepreneur in us is more concerned with discriminating between opportunities than he or she is with failing to see the opportunities.”
4. Their ideas are unconventional.
Entrepreneurship takes imagination and perhaps even a dash of insanity. Entrepreneurs are the ones who change the world. They see the world as they want it to be, not how it is. From the genius idea that drove the Wright Brothers to create a flying machine to the madness that drove Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to develop personal computers, entrepreneurs pursue the ideas that others deem crazy.
Albert Einstein said, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Entrepreneurs intrinsically understand that logic is limiting but unconventional ideas can change things.
5. They want to do things.
Entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki said, “The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning — to create a product or service to make the world a better place.”
The exploration of meaning and doing work that changes the world is something that drives every entrepreneur. If you find yourself unsatisfied with a life that relegates you to the sidelines or the background, entrepreneurship may well be the right path for you. Entrepreneurs learn by doing and explore with a voracious appetite.
If the status quo is too simple for you, you understand one of the genuine reasons people choose entrepreneurship.
6. They want to change the world.
Entrepreneurs don’t just want to change their lives — they want to change the world.
Mark Twain explained the lure of entrepreneurship best when he wrote, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Source: Entrepreneur.com
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7 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Do Before 7 a.m.
Entrepreneurs are a unique breed of people. We like to do things our way and are known for our almost obsessive attraction to habits. But, there’s a good reason for that. Habits help us achieve our goals, keep us motivated, eliminates wasted time, and improve our lives altogether.
Arguably, the most important habit for an entrepreneur is their morning routine. After all, if you start your day off on the wrong foot, how productive, motivated, and focused are you going to be for the rest of the day?
To make sure that you start your day off on the right foot, here are seven things that every entrepreneur should do before 7 a.m.
1. They’re wide awake.
Successful entrepreneurs like Richard Branson are known for waking up bright and early.
“I have always been an early riser. Like keeping a positive outlook, or keeping fit, waking up early is a habit, which you must work on to maintain. Over my 50 years in business I have learned that if I rise early I can achieve so much more in a day, and therefore in life,” explains the Virgin Group founder.
When you’re awake before 7 a.m. you have the time to check the news, gather your thoughts, or exercise. This prevents you from rushing out the door every morning feeling frazzled and unfocused.
Waking up early means that you have to stop hitting the snooze button by getting enough sleep each night – preferably between 7 and 9 hours. Besides ensuring that you’re an early riser, getting the appropriate amount of sleep improves your health, memory, learning, productivity, and mood. It may even help you make fewer risky financial decisions, reduce stress, and decrease fat and increase muscle mass with exercise.
2. Avoid your phone.
This may sound crazy, but there a couple of perfectly valid reasons for not reaching for your phone first thing in the morning. For starters, placing it next to yourself throughout the night can interrupt your sleep because of the light the screen emits or the notifications that go off throughout the night.
Additionally, diving into your inbox or social media channels can be stressful and distract you from setting your personal priorities. Instead of setting your goals for the day, you’re frantically responding to an angry email from a client. That’s not the best way to start your day.
3. Exercise or meditate.
Yes. Whether if it’s going for run, lifting weights, plunging into a 57-degree Fahrenheit pool, yoga or reciting oms, regular exercise or meditation reduces stress, makes you happier, increases your energy, helps you sleep better, gives your immune system a boost, and prevents you from developing future health concerns like heart disease.
However, just as important for an entrepreneur, exercising and meditating each morning can help you focus on what you need to achieve throughout the day and develop new ideas.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast.
Stop kidding yourself. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day since it’s going fuel your brain and body for the day. But, not all breakfasts are equal. Skip the donuts or leftover pizza and consume:
- Healthy carbohydrates like oatmeal or rye toast.
- Low-fat protein like eggs, nuts, greens, and beans.
- Fruits and veggies.
- Dairy alternatives like soy, almond, or rice milk.
While having a morning a cup of tea or coffee to wash down your breakfast isn’t bad, try sipping on some lemon water before you eat.
“Drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally. Lemon water gives you steady, natural energy that lasts the length of the day by improving nutrient absorption in your stomach. You need to drink it first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach) to ensure full absorption,” explains Travis Bradberry.
“You should also wait 15-30 minutes after drinking it before eating (perfect time to squeeze in some exercise). Lemons are packed with nutrients; they’re chock full of potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants. If you’re under 150 pounds, drink the juice of half a lemon (a full lemon if you’re over 150 pounds). Don’t drink the juice without water because it’s hard on your teeth.
Breakfast is also a great time to spend time with your family.
5. Lift your spirits.
Some mornings you just don’t want to roll out of bed. The weather’s crummy and you had a major setback. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s enough to kill your motivation for the next couple of days.
That’s why successful entrepreneurs practice lifting their spirits each morning. Whether it’s reading an inspiring book, memorizing motivational quotes, working on a passion project, or writing down your thoughts or experiences in a journal or blog, take a couple of minutes every morning to get in the right mindset before tackling the day.
If those tactics aren’t effective, write down the things that you’re grateful for.
“The five-minute journal is a therapeutic intervention, for me at least, because I am that person,” says Tim Ferriss, entrepreneur and author of The 4-Hour Workweek. “That allows me to not only get more done during the day but to also feel better throughout the entire day, to be a happier person, to be a more content person — which is not something that comes naturally to me.”
6. Set your goals and priorities.
Every Monday morning set your goals for the week. Each day for the rest of the week write down the goals and priorities that need to happen that day. Think about how you’re going to accomplish those goals while in the shower, jogging or whenever you have quiet time to yourself.
The most effective way to cross items off your to-do list is by starting with the hardest task – or the task that you’re dreading the most. Procrastinating on those tasks just leaves them for tomorrow. Get them done and over with now so that you can keep moving forward.
7. Get down to business.
Finally, it’s time to get down to business. You can now grab your phone and read and send emails, pop-in on social media, check the news involving your industry, and review metrics, such as the previous day’s sales. That data may alter your to-do-list, but because you got a headstart, you’ll be prepared and ready when it’s time to enter the office.
By creating, and sticking, to a morning routine you develop habits that will keep you healthy, productive, and prepared so that you can handle any situation that’s thrown your way. It may take some trial and error to find your ideal morning routine but it will make you more successful both professionally and personally.