Be Your Own Boss (Entrepreneur Movement)

     Leadership is a skill set every entrepreneur must possess.  Without it. businesses fail,  enterprises crumble and dreams die from wrong decisions.  We all have mentors we look up to and there are lessons we have learnt from their lives  ( business wise and otherwise) . Majority of entrepreneurs see Bill Gates as a role model  ( the ultimate role model)  as a matter of fact,  we have role models who have him as their role model in other words , he's your role model's role model ( pun intended) . If we are to learn about leadership,  we might as well learn from the very best. The man himself. Source: thetab.com

     The first step to starting any business or creating a brand is to have an idea of what you want to do. The idea is the very foundation on which every other thing pertaining to the brand or enterprise is built.  But what exactly makes an idea a good one?  I am of the opinion that it is the return on investment of that idea that determines how good the idea is.   Unfortunately,  it takes more than just a good idea to create a profitable venture. Good ideas on paper do not necessarily translate to success in reality.  What is the reason for this?   Good idea,  bad idea

     Marketing is an essential part of business.  It is the a way to get your brand,  product or service into the consciousness of the consumers.  Marketing takes up a large share of the yearly budget of any enterprise.  It requires immense effort and enough money.  For start-ups,  spending so much on marketing would probably do the business more harm than good because  start-ups work with very limited capital and human resource,  and they cannot correctly predict the effect of their marketing strategy .  There is however a cost effective ( by cost effective,  I mean free)  and more efficient way to do marketing.  They are called CUSTOMERS.  Customers 

      Marketing in the last decade has evolved from just TV adverts, posters and billboards to targeted and customer specific adverts on the internet.  The internet guarantees a wider reach and a bigger audience than TV,  posters and billboards combined. Facebook has been a key player and a veritable tool in the hands of internet markerters,  not just because of the numbers they can provide in terms of audience, but because they can ensure that your post ad gets to an audience interested in it. Let me tell you something creepy ( depending on your stand point) Facebook 

     Time and again,  we have been lectured on the importance of investors in our business. Time and again,  we have told ourselves that our businesses will do better with outside investment.  Time and again,  we have overemphasized the importance of outside investment. For instance,  we are in a period where most of marketing can actually be done on social media and it won't be cost intensive.   Don't get me wrong there comes a time when outside investment becomes a necessity. The question here is,  is your business at that stage yet? Photo credit: foxcitiesregionalnews.com

     Let's say your head has finally been swayed by the thought of the freedom that comes with entrepreneurship,  but you don't have any particular business in mind,  or you are just scared of starting from the scratch.  Buying an existing business may just be your best bet because even if it costs more than starting from the bottom,  it offers less risk.   Photo credit : adwewk.com

     When you hear Steve Jobs,  Mark Zuckerberg,  Bill Gates,  what comes to your mind ( apart from money)  ? Guys that made it as entrepreneurs right?  I guessed so. But for every successful entrepreneur ( with varying degrees of success),  there's a thousand more who didn't make it because the became disillusioned after coming in for the wrong reasons ( some reasons are hilarious by the way) . What's your reason? 

     I am not going to pretend it's all sunshine and rainbows when beginning a business.  It hardly ever is.  It's more of sunshine,  thunderstorm, thunderstorm, hurricane,  whirlwind and rainbows.  The failure of some start-ups could cause the owner more than just the financial pain.  It's an unpredictable world out there,  but the signs of  a failed start up remain the same.      Below are some signs you should look out for,  and nip in the bud before it destroys your business. Downward Sloping 

     Are you tired of your day job and intend to start your own,  but still need the security of your day job just in case starting up your start-up (pun intended) does not exactly go well?  There are many others like you,  and the transition can be quite harrowing especially when your day job is not one that gives you joy.  In truth, you may have the ambition,  but sometimes, ambition is not just enough. You need drive and motivation.      Here are some steps to ease you through the transition process and help you avoid them pitfall of discouragement. 9-5 Job

      Nobody ever starts out something with the the intention of failing, if not,  why even start.  However, we are humans, and we make human errors some of which are avoidable and others which we can't control.  In this post,  I'll be writing out tested and proven ways people fail in business to either help you with failing ( hopefully not) or to help you avoid them. All fall down

      So, you've probably read a lot of books, been to some seminars and bought a million CDs on how to get rich quick only to find out you would have been better off investing that money you spent on CDs and seminars elsewhere because there's no such thing as "get rich quick". Thankfully,  this post will help set you on the path to making millions (hopefully). P. S,  it's free (Thank me later) Millionaire mindset 

How does the idea of graduating from the university, starting a business and becoming an instant millionaire in less than six months Sound? Fantastic right?  Yes,  yes it is.  But it is as fantastic as it is unreal.  Things are not usually as easy and you may face a couple of challenges that could eventually kill the dream.  Here's a couple of challenges, Just to give you a heads up.  Expectation, Reality Curve