Source: BestEducationDegrees.com
Source: BestEducationDegrees.com
The Internet is chalk-full of lists of characteristics that entrepreneurs must either possess or gain in order to be successful. However, not many of those lists will outline some characteristics that won’t get entrepreneurs far in their businesses. Here are four characteristics that successful entrepreneurs cannot let get the better of them.
1. Being Obsessive
You may have heard this term on one of those many other lists, which is: successful entrepreneurs know how to delegate. With that, obsessive entrepreneurs have a hard time letting go. This characteristic can seriously hurt your productivity if you become overburdened. In addition to that, obsessing over every little detail is tiring! Learning to not stress about everything opens to door to the elusive “work-life” balance that every entrepreneur chases.
2. Being Self-Righteous
Yes, you’ve started your own business and yes, things are going well, but like with laws, there are precedents in entrepreneurship that you should pay attention to. Even if you’re starting a business that’s never been seen before, there are baselines for building a business that should be followed. Find a mentor with similar business ideas to you and don’t be afraid to learn from them! As the old adage goes, two heads are better than one.
3. Being Fearless
Being fearless, while enticing, will probably get you in more trouble. By staying cautious about your business objectives, you also keep yourself realistic. It’s okay to be afraid about expansion and taking a different direction – embrace that fear! It will help you keep your wits about it and sharpen your instincts for taking calculated risks.
4. Being Predictable
You’re an entrepreneur! Which inevitably means you are not a sheep that follows the herd. This is just a casual reminder to continue doing what you do best: being unpredictable. You’ve always found a way to creatively put yourself ahead of the rest but when you’re tired or a little frustrated, don’t let yourself slip into following what the other people in your field are doing.
Luckily, if you’re already aware of the characteristics it takes to make a great entrepreneur, chances are you won’t have too many of these in your system. If you find yourself leaning towards them, it might be a good idea to take a step back and reassess how you’re handling your business. Until them, just keep doing what you’re doing!
© Zoe Begopoulos, DemGen Inc. 2014
When Steven Covey created the Four Quadrants of Time Management model, little did he know how much this strategy would affect those who used it, both in business and in their personal lives. According to him most people spend 90% of their lives in Quadrant 1 and the rest of their time in Quadrant 4.
Using the four quadrants to help you not only learn to focus on what is really important to you but also learn what really is important to you can provide the basis of time management for your business.
Quadrant 1 – Important and urgent
Quadrant 1 would be urgent events, a crisis, such as a health emergency or in the case of your business, an emergency deadline, which wouldn’t be an emergency if you had prepared for it. Spending more time on relevant items and being organized keeps you out of this quadrant.
Quadrant 2 – Important but not urgent
This is where you should usually be. Planning, improving, educating, realizing new opportunities when they are available. This helps you to stay disciplined and in control of your business, leading a balanced life with less stress.
Quadrant 3 – Not important but urgent
Spending a lot of time here means you have confused urgent things as important things. Focusing on short terms goals without the insight to spend your time looking ahead at the long range means you will be disorganized, confused and not really accomplishing anything. Constantly reading email, answering texts and calls on your cellphone are things that usually aren’t important but we treat them as urgent and waste a lot of time on them.
Quadrant 4 – Not urgent and not important
These are the things that waste your time. Time spent on the internet or your smartphone, not really doing anything but pretending you are working or involved in some important task when you are just posting unimportant comments on Facebook or Twitter; watching tv when you could be doing something you actually enjoy.
The four quadrants of time management are only useful to you if you have set goals, know what’s important in your life, know where you want your business to be and will work with it, otherwise it is just another tool that you will not really make use of but intend to get around to at some future date.
Defining what is important to you, what has value and what represents the best way to spend your time is the best way to use the four quadrants. Becoming selective in your activities, who you spend time with and who you don’t spend time with, responding to your own needs instead of always committing to the needs of others, and more than all of that, taking a break, should all be items in your quadrants. It’s up to you which quadrant you feel best represents each of them.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2014
image courtesy of czarto
1. Outline your mandatory must-haves.
Every business has goals they’d like to achieve – corporations have mandatory goals, or “must-haves” that must be met throughout the year in order for them to be deemed successful. If it works for a corporation, why shouldn’t it work for you?
Sit down and take time to assess what your business needs to succeed, and build those ideas into your mandatory must-haves. The DemGen Future Vision Map can help you realize clarity in what goals you should be working towards. Once you’ve decided upon them, your future goals, projects, growths, to do lists and activities should all match up accordingly.
What do you want your business to achieve this year? Do you want to increase visibility? Do you want to receive more feedback on current projects? Outline your mandatory must-haves and begin focusing on meeting those “must-haves” every month, or quarter.
2. Reposition your time and resources
As leaders, our time is valuable! At this point in the game, your time and resources should be allocated and strategically delegated to projects that are revenue generating. Delegation, as always, is key here.
If you find yourself spending two hours scanning through reports looking for important information, have someone from your team scan through them first and highlight the most important parts so you can get through them quickly.
3. Constant evaluation and monitoring is necessary
When trying to grow your business, you know you can’t just leave things to the happenstance. As tedious as it sounds, measuring and monitoring areas like revenue, sales, marketing, visibility, and productivity is extremely important.
By constantly refreshing your knowledge about where you stand in all of these areas, you can spot weaknesses and threats before they become a larger problem. Working with a virtual team with experience in monitoring and evaluating will help you notice patterns of what’s working, and what’s not, and help pinpoint exactly where you need to make changes.
4. Build a team of top talent players
Big business CEO’s know that a jack-of-all-trades generally means a master of none. Hiring one person to manage, and complete, all your miscellaneous tasks isn’t going to help your business grow. They are likely to become overwhelmed and that just pushes tasks back onto your plate.
With business platforms changing constantly, a virtual team will offer a group of top talent with specialties in a variety of areas. Virtual teams also mean you don’t have to worry about the office space, and can trust your team to be motivated and focused.
Of course, these changes can’t be implemented immediately. Over time though, and with the help of your team, you’ll see your business changing in ways you had only imagined!
© Pam Christie, DemGen Inc. 2014
We realize there is a big difference between telemarketing and lead management. Here at DemGen we’re focused on the latter and created this infographic to help explain the differences.
Please tell us more about Atlantic License Brokers
Atlantic License Brokers was established to accommodate the expanding needs of our retail clients. We are the only firm in Massachusetts dedicated to maintaining an inventory of available On Premise and Off Premise Liquor Licenses and we provide liquor license acquisition solutions across the United States. That results in faster, seamless transactions for all necessary components of a successful business whether it be a restaurant, bar, nightclub, convenience store, liquor store, supermarket or big box retailer.
What inspired you to join or create this company?
“We originally saw a need across Massachusetts in both restaurant sales and leasing,” explains Dan. “In turn, we uncovered the need many of our clients had to buy or sell liquor licenses. That process is complex, and we’ve become experts at helping our clients avoid many common but very costly mistakes to make the liquor license transaction efficient and effective. The result is the best price and fastest sale.” – Learn more here…
After servicing our restaurant,, retail and leasing clients in the industry for over 10 years, we uncovered the need many of our clients had to buy or sell liquor licenses.
What common trends do you see with your clients (needs, position, inspiration, etc.)?
The liquor license process is complex, and we’ve become experts at helping our clients avoid many common but very costly mistakes to make the liquor license transaction efficient and effective.
What’s the most rewarding thing about what you do?
Over time, we’ve improved the liquor license acquisition and transfer process by working closely with buyers, sellers, attorneys and local legislation to yield the best price and fastest sale for our clients.
What are your greatest recent accomplishments (both with DemGen and otherwise)?
We have been able to locate, secure and execute contracts on the most liquor licenses spanning several geographic regions within the shortest period of time in our company’s history.
How has working with DemGen benefited your business?
DemGen has allowed us to investigate many avenues that our current business model could not support at the time both financially and structurally.
How has ‘going virtual’ benefited your business?
With DemGen’s help and virtual assistance options, we have been able to increase our target audience as well as better connect with them in a more timely fashion. Lead generation alone has improved the speed at which potential leads have been uncovered.
Did you have any initial reservations about ‘going virtual’? If so, what made you change your mind?
We have always remained closely tied and in control of our processes and communication with our clients. Finding qualified and professional individuals who embodied our values helped us discover that spending a little time educating others about our specific industry and model could help us grow our target audience and, therefore, our business.
Has DemGen exceeded your expectations?
Yes-Using DemGen has been a great solution for me to grow my business without the challenges associated with adding staff.
© Dan Newcomb, DemGen Inc. 2014
What is business development? Ask several business owners the same question and you’ll get a variety of answers.
While most will tell you it’s sales or some form of marketing technique, business development is actually a combination of many things but most importantly, it is how you offer your products and/or services and the relationship you have with your customers because of this.
Customer acquisition – the techniques or strategies you use and the processes you put in place that draw customers to you, should make it easier for your customers to ask questions, receive relevant answers and purchase exactly what they need. This in turn leads to more customers, more loyal customers and from there a solid customer base that grows over time.
The resourcefulness you show in developing your strategies and your ability to negotiate with your clients will show up in your results. Acquiring customers – developing your business – requires discipline and knowledge of what your company offers and what your customers not only want to purchase but need to purchase.
Business owners who excel at business development tend to be persistent, patient and always willing to learn more about who buys their products. From there, they expand their product line because they are willing to go the extra mile and identify what works or doesn’t work for their customers and therefore, for their business.
Creative thinking, organizational skills and knowledge of current industry trends are all important aspects of business development. Knowing how and when to generate new ideas which will lead to new sales is also part of the combination of necessary abilities which provide the whole that is business development.
As you can see there is no one fits all description for the definition of business development. The term is used to describe the multitude of skills that business owners need and the necessary steps they need to take to grow their business. When done to perfection, both the customer and the business owner receive value, which is a win-win situation.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2014
Here at DemGen, we all work from home offices and can’t imagine commuting! We’ve usually been working for hours while traditional employees are still stuck in traffic.
Staff.com – Connecting Great Companies with Global Talent
Before you start questioning this, hear me out. I know that when you think of the leaders of the multi-million dollar companies, you’re definitely not picturing the average introvert. The leaders we are accustomed to seeing are charismatic, easy to approach, friendly and talkative. But luckily, and thankfully, the work world is changing to open entrepreneurial doors for those of us that prefer solitude, work independently, and keep to ourselves.
Here are a few reasons why introverts are starting to be the leaders the work world is looking for:
1. Introverts know when to stop talking
Sometimes, getting a word in with a rambunctious, energetic team leader is difficult and can make you shy about your ideas or suggestions. Introverts are naturally quiet, and are known to think before they speak, so having a leader who knows when to stop talking can be pivotal in creating a successful open discussion in team meetings.
2. Introverts can play both sides
An introvert doesn’t walk around with a T Shirt announcing their personality type to the world. Often, introverts are able to conjure some similar characteristics of extroverts, allowing them to be both outgoing and reserved. This ability helps them to appear warm and welcoming; instead of having the average shy and reserved persona to generally turns people away.
3. They aren’t looking for the popular people
This doesn’t mean that they’ll shun people in the business with mighty reputations, but instead, means they’re more willing to give everyone a chance. Introverts are methodical and know that the best talent may not always be the most popular, so they’ll pay attention to all the details when it comes to hiring people for their team.
4. They appreciate relationships
Introverts prefer keeping a close-knit group of friends and family to surround themselves with. These strong but few relationships transfer well in the business world, allowing introvert entrepreneurs to build longstanding, effective relationships with employees and clients they connect with. Having these relationships creates a close-knit work environment bound for success.
Don’t be afraid or turned off by a seemingly “uninterested” personality. Be open to the idea that not every great leader is loud and bursting with wise, exuberant pep talks. If you find yourself in a situation where your future employer identifies as an introvert, give it a chance – it might end up being one of the best partnerships you create!
© Zoe Begopoulos, DemGen Inc. 2014
Start From Day One!
The beginning phases of starting up a business are always hectic. You never feel that you have enough time to do all that you need. This is the most important time to create an operating system. You need to think about everything you need right from day one. Tracking and recording everything from the start will pay off in the end. What seems small and unimportant may in fact be a vital component of running your operation successfully. Details, details, details!
Documentation is Crucial!
Diarize everything from how/where you save files right up to how your full company operates. Ensure that all staff/employees/workers do the same in each aspect of their job. Knowing all procedures within your company will keep it running smoothly. If you don’t feel you have the bandwidth for these procedures, hire professionals to do it! The money you invest will ensure your success!
Foreseeing Problems
Avoiding future issues within your company can be tackled by making notes of steps and procedures. All team members will find value in knowing they can rely on systems put in place to make their job easier. Problems always arise and the availability of how to handle any situation is invaluable.
Develop a Manual
A specific company Operations Manual is a wonderful tool that will benefit the present and future success of your business. Being proactive with this is essential. Document specifically, all procedures within your company. This can be as simple as outlining how to answer a phone call to tracking strategies to grow your business. Each time you hire a new person to your team, you should be able to have them step right in to that position with systems already in place. An Operations Manual will make your small business run like a fine tuned machine!
Implementing and Revising Your Systems
Once you’ve created your systems you will need to revisit them often. Decide what is working and what isn’t. Ask yourself, ‘Have we missed anything?’ Do we need a system for: Opening the office? Booking appointments? Marketing meetings? Etc, etc, etc. Any system that you create, as long as implemented properly, will ultimately free up your time to ensure your business is growing as it should!
© Kim Miller, DemGen Inc. 2014