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03 March 2009, 07:44
Why You Should Start Your Own Business Today
Why You Should Start Your Own Business Today by Erin Casey , John David Mann
John was 53 when the bad news hit: His department was being moved offshore. Since joining the company eight years earlier, he had worked his way up to a solid position in middle management with a decent salary and great benefits. Now, he was out of a job.
Having spent his entire adult life in corporate positions, he knew he could go job hunting. But this was the fifth time he’d had a “secure” position shot out from under him, whether through downsizing, restructuring or other reorganization. With a wife and two teenagers to clothe and feed, he was no longerwilling to trust his future to this game of corporate roulette. It was time to go into business for himself.
The Great Migration
Across the country and around the world, legions of people are abandoning their dependence on big business and seeking independence through their own enterprises. Every month, about 1 million Americans go through some type of job change or loss, and increasingly they are deciding to start their own businesses.
In a recent report titled Work, Entrepreneurship and Opportunity in 21st Century America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, “Millions of Americans are embracing entrepreneurship by running their own small businesses, through independent contracting or direct selling.” The report also cited a recent Gallup poll finding that 61 percent of Americans now say they prefer to be their own bosses.
Security, which may come as a surprise, is a big reason behind the move. Only a generation or two ago, going into business for yourself was considered risky, and the safest route was to get a good job in a large firm. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, companies like IBM made “employment for life” the gold standard of job security.
Now, working for a traditional corporation has become the risky option. Working for yourself has become the new job security. “If I’m working for someone else, I’m trading time for money, but I’m not building any equity,” says Duncan MacPherson, co-founder and co-CEO of Pareto Systems, a consulting firm. “As an entrepreneur, I’m the master of my own destiny.
A Better Lifestyle
One of the biggest reasons for the self-owned business boom is that people love the benefits of working for themselves and enjoy the freedom they gain from designing their own prosperity. No more commute and no more boss. You get to choose when you work, how you work and with whom you work. Best of all, you don’t have to make the agonizing choice between time for family and time for business.
E-mail, cheap teleconferencing and a new generation of Web tools make it possible to run a fully competitive business from a home desktop. As a home-based businessperson, you can expand your business to Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong and London—and still make the soccer game.
Greater Financial Opportunity
The masses making this migration also have a clear eye on the bottom line: There is far greater opportunity to make money by building your own business than by working for someone else’s. There was an implicit trade-off in the old 40-year plan: Working for a firm typically meant there was a fixed ceiling to the wages one might earn, but the benefits and job security were worth it. Now that the benefits and job security (half of the equation) are evaporating, millions are asking, why settle for that arbitrary income ceiling?
“Everyone has heard the phrase, ‘The American Dream.’ I look at it as ‘The American Reality,’ ” says Jeffrey Gitomer, best-selling author of the Little Red Book of Selling and the Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. “When you’re in business for yourself, you write your own history, you write your own success story, you write your own legacy and most important, you write your own paycheck. Being in business for yourself gives you the opportunity to work your heart out for something you love.”
A Life of Greater Impact
In the Decipher study, 84 percent of respondents said they would be more passionate about their work if they owned their own business. The No. 1 reason they gave for wanting to work for themselves: “to be more passionate about my work life.”
The nation’s 78 million baby boomers are just starting to reach retirement age, yet they’re realizing that they can’t afford to retire. What’s more, they don’t want to.
Dr. Mary Furlong, author of Turning Silver into Gold, says, “Boomers are looking for ways to give back. They are taking the reins of their own futures and redefining their lives. They want work that reflects their values and identity; they want to make a difference.” A landmark study by MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures found that 50 percent of Americans in their 50s and 60s want to do work “that matters.”
Taking the Plunge
“Leaving the rat race is not as daunting as it may seem,” says author Dan Clements in his guide to worklife balance, Escape 101. “You’ll look back in later years and marvel at how easy it was and how much you gained for so little cost.”
So what does it take? First, let’s look at what it doesn’t take. You don’t need an MBA or high-powered business background, and you don’t need to be rich or to take a second mortgage on your home. Some self-owned business opportunities require expertise, such as consulting, or can take significant capital investment and possibly training, such as real estate investing and franchises; some can be started on a shoestring and prove quite lucrative, including direct selling and online opportunities. Many of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time began with no advanced degrees and hardly any startup capital.
But make no mistake about it: What you save in cash capital you will make up for in sweat equity and passion. The major investment in most self-owned businesses is investment of one’s self in the form of time, focus and persistence. You don’t need to be a genius at negotiation or a whiz at numbers. You need a burning desire and determination fueled by a strong dose of passion!
Enjoy!
To you from http://www.successmagazine.com/
Margarita Nomeikiene
Content
25 February 2009, 22:47
Career Success Begins with Leadership by Stedman Graham
Leadership begins with self-discovery
Stedman Graham
We cannot touch and feel “leadership,” though we can see and often hear the results of it when it is effective or ineffective, of good character or poor ethics. There are literally hundreds of leadership programs available for executives, mid-level managers and new leaders. Many of these address developing the abilities of leaders in the areas of strategic and critical thinking, enhancing relationships, negotiating, managing risks, people, change, conflicts and financials, making the right decisions, managing work-life balance -- all of which are no less difficult to transact than the technical skills required in any strategic leadership function.
But beyond fundamental academic or technical skills, people need to learn how to identify their strengths and combine those with their passions in ways that empower them to establish and achieve a vision for their lives. They need to learn how to manage their time and to set, pursue and systematically reassess their progress toward achieving goals that empower them to realize their potential. Equipping people with the tools they need to seize control of their futures is a powerful step toward securing a strong future for these individuals, and also our nations as a whole. The best solution to our countries’ problems lies in helping people, especially our future leaders, to learn to live reflective, purposeful lives.
Helping our leaders to learn and understand who they are is important. Through their triumphs and trials, they will have the processes and tools to know how to draw from inner strength and act with discipline. This understanding will help them cope with the pressures of addressing the issues and opportunities of globalization and consolidation, the changing go-to-market strategies, the explosion of available information or more sophisticated, knowledgeable clients and customers. And, for those just trying to survive each day, they must have this strength and understanding to develop the means to access fundamental necessities of living, and to persevere beyond their circumstances.
The earlier we initiate this process of self-discovery, the better. Our new hires often become the leaders of corporations, organizations, communities and government. In serving as executives and managers, these leaders are expected to serve as community influencers and corporate representatives who heed the needs of those experiencing poverty, health crises or lack of education, all the while assessing any political and governmental discrimination, criminality or other implications. Giving them self-knowledge and a vision at the outset of their careers gives them the freedom to choose the direction they desire and the environments in which they want to work and live. It helps them from stumbling into the quicksand of life’s disappointments.
To be successful, people must have a vision of what success looks like for them. With a well-understood, deep motivation for their personal and professional pursuits, their priorities will come into focus. They will not be thinking about procrastinating, taking a detour from their calling, or sabotaging their success. When people are truly focused and engaged, they become the masters of their destinies. They are truly free.
Gaining self-awareness—and then doing something about it—is not a task everyone is willing to take on. Many people are content with things the way they are. People may desire greater success, but they don’t want to exert the effort to improve themselves. One possible reason for this is they don’t even realize they have the power to do something about it if they wanted to. If you’re not aware there’s a problem, or you don’t think you have the ability to change your circumstances, you will stay where you are. The good news is that by the act of looking inward to seek our true selves, we are taking responsibility and moving toward self-actualization. You can only start to maximize your potential once you know exactly who you are, and what is important to you.
Leadership abilities and characteristics must be well-developed in order to lead effectively. Yet, there is a fundamental dimension missing from this equation. It encompasses leaders discovering the core of who they are -- and who they can become. There is a constant in leadership. It is the freedom of the individual to know precisely who he is and what drives him, and on this platform become clear on how he must lead, exercise his abilities, display his character, make his choices and serve his constituents. Exceptional leaders are able to adapt to new tasks, to new roles, to new environments, and still be productive. They realize that with the management and growth of their “internal strength,” they can and must positively respond to the external environment, which is often outside of individual control.
A leader’s depth of internal knowledge and strength stands the test of time, congruently, consistently, and no matter the nature of the circumstances. This leadership foundation can be one of the most elusive to discover, unless the process and tools for doing so are made accessible. Once accessed, the ensuing discoveries are keys to opening doors for developing new abilities and characteristics, as well as creating or recognizing new opportunities.
Leadership is everything, whether you are leading a life, a community, an organization or a business, or you are in school. If you want ownership of your life, business and its privileges then progress and transformation should begin with you.
Enjoy!
Margarita Nomeikiene
Content
21 February 2009, 18:20
The Miracle of Teamwork by John Maxwell
More than 27 years ago, a team of American college hockey players overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to beat the heavily favored Soviet team—and soon thereafter—win the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
“It may just be the single most indelible moment in all of U.S. sports history,” Sports Illustrated wrote of the team’s gold medal run. “One that sent an entire nation into a frenzy.”
Another team that sent the country—or at least the part of the country that enjoys professional basketball—into a frenzy was the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Led by the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, this team posted the best regular season NBA record of all time (72-10) and went on to defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals.
The 1980 U.S. hockey team and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls were quite dissimilar. One was made up of little-known amateurs; the other of superstar professionals. One was a significant underdog; the other was a dominant force all year. Despite these and other differences, however, both could easily show up on a list of the greatest sports teams in American history.
The way these two groups of players melded together to reach their goals is inspiring, especially for people who value teamwork as much as I do. Individually, none of them—even the immensely talented Michael Jordan—could have accomplished what they did together. They needed each other to succeed.
As obvious as it seems to me now, I didn’t fully grasp the importance of teamwork until I was 40 years old. When I began to evaluate the first half of my life, I got discouraged because I realized I had not achieved what I wanted to accomplish thus far. I was disciplined, I worked hard, and I thought I was helping people. But something was missing.
Eventually, I realized what that something was. Although I had concentrated on developing myself, I had not focused enough on building a great team. That, I concluded, was a major mistake— one that had kept me from reaching my full potential.
At 40, I realized that my success wasn’t going to be determined by my gifts, my abilities or my opportunities. It was going to be determined by whether I could develop a great team. This realization was so life-changing that it birthed one of my 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership—the "Law of the Inner Circle"—which says those closest to you determine the level of your success. Ever since, developing my team has been my No. 1 priority. Even today—more than 16 years later—I devote more energy, more time and more resources to growing my inner circle than to anything else.
The results are well worth the effort because of what my team does for me.
1. My team makes me better than I am. If the members of my team were here, they’d tell you the same thing.
2. My team multiplies my value to others. These people don’t add to my worth when it comes to contributing to others; they multiply it greatly.
3. My team enables me to do what I do best. Because the members of my inner circle complement me and do things I don’t do well, I am able to focus on the things that I can do well.
4. My team allows me to help others do their best. Having a team allows me to move people around until they’re in what I call their “sweet spot” or “strength zone”—the place where talent meets passion, resulting in fulfillment and excellence.
5. My team gives me more time. Without this group of trusted colleagues, I’d have to do everything by myself—or at least keep a close eye on it all. With a great team, others can shoulder key responsibilities, freeing me to concentrate on my top priorities.
6. My team provides me with companionship. I’m happy to say that some of my best friends are my team players.
7. My team helps me fulfill the desires of my heart. Not only that, but they help me fulfill them in a way that often far exceeds my expectations.
8. My team compounds my vision and my effort. When you’re surrounded by a great group of people, the well-known saying for T-E-A-M really proves true: Together Everyone Achieves More.
The best part is that these benefits don’t just apply to me. A great team can do all this for any leader who, as I did at age 40, stops trying to be a one-person show. As Andrew Carnegie said, “It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you can do alone.”
Used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell’s free monthly e-newsletter Leader,brship Wired.
Enjoy!.
Margarita Nomeikiene
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