The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Checklist

In the U.S, 10% of the population comprises entrepreneurs. These statistics are no different worldwide. In Brazil, for example, the number of businesspersons is one in eight adults. Entrepreneurship encompasses all attempts at starting a new venture creation or business and expanding your current business as an individual or a team. It is a major contributor to a country’s economic well-being in terms of job creation and economic growth.

In the past, the four attributes that defined entrepreneurship were decision-making, initiative, innovation and risk-taking. Though these are still important, the entrepreneurship world is constantly changing. As such, you need the rights traits to break even as an entrepreneur in today’s cutthroat competitive business spheres.

Read more at Influencive.com for more including a checklist of what you need, while also keeping you on your toes and a step ahead of the competition.

3 Ways to Make Your Startup Feel Like a Booming Business

Being an entrepreneur is a hugely popular day dream. Well over 50% of people want to be their own bosses, according to a survey from Forbes. However, only 4% of those surveyed are actually entrepreneurs! Why is entrepreneurship such a popular dream that many cannot achieve?

The problem is, many people approach running a startup without a solid plan. They hear about the benefits of being able to set your own schedule, develop your dreams, and ignore the realities of setting up a small business.

As Richard Branson says, “To be successful you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running.” Success will only come if you are well prepared for the daily challenges of entrepreneurship. You need to be organized, focused, and connected to achieve your goals. Read more at Addicted2Success.com.

A Message from Acceler8Success Founder, Paul Segreto

Change… Because Failure is not an Option

Like a ship at sea, a business should make directional changes in a long, sweeping manner. Conversely, although abrupt change in direction may create havoc, it may be deemed necessary by the captain and navigation team to avoid what may not be apparently visible on the surface to others on the ship, but is evident nonetheless through compilation of data and viewing radar. In any event, well thought-out plans, including contingency plans must be in place and acted upon to arrive safely at a specific destination within a certain time frame, and with available resources.

However, what happens when seas are rough, or when a storm is approaching, or when an engine shuts down? It’s then the captain’s responsibility to crew and passengers, and to the ship’s stakeholders to make any and all necessary changes to ensure all interests are protected. Thereafter, when the ship is safely docked, management must review the events that took place and explore options to ensure the same problems don’t reoccur. Management must identify ways to improve performance by developing strategy and executing on tactical plans to accomplish objectives at all required intervals – short, mid and long-term.

Change requires thought and planning. As does operating a successful business. As change occurs, many within the business are exposed to decisions that on the surface appear to be “drastic or severe” and are not understood and/or agreed upon. However, what is typically not realized are areas of weakness and vulnerability that must be addressed and with the utmost sense of urgency. In many cases there are common denominators across multiple areas of the business. Most will be directly attributable to reduction in sales. Some will adversely affect profitability.

Unfortunately, the economic woes of the past year continue to linger, compounding problems that may have actually started prior to the first lockdown in early 2020. Deficiencies, usually hidden by high sales levels are now standing out like sore thumbs. Accepting these facts while realizing limitations and shortcomings is vitally important, but knowing what and how to improve [and change] is required. Definitive action is paramount!

Change what needs to be changed. Prioritize changes that will make the most immediate impact. Grow into the changes that aren’t urgent. But, do it all within the time frame where challenges present themselves as survival may be dependent upon the same. Change, as unpopular as it might be, is necessary to recover AND to move forward. To this end, hard decisions must be made – with absolute conviction and without delay for the good of the business and ultimately, for all within the business. Yes, change is difficult. But so is failure, and failure is not an option!

How to work for yourself: A step-by-step guide

The first and most obvious step of working for yourself is knowing what you want to do. Although it’s not unheard of that people quit their job with no game plan and become a huge success, you’re going to perform a lot better if you know what you want to do ahead of time.

One of the best ways to figure out how you want to work for yourself is by looking at the things you already enjoy doing. Often, your big idea is going to start as a hobby or passion that you already have, whether that’s art, craft making, programming, etc.

These kinds of ideas make great startup ideas because even if things don’t work out, you’ll still have a lot of fun learning about and exploring a topic you’re passionate about. Read more at b12.io.

The Five Entrepreneurial Rules I live by

You don’t choose entrepreneurship; entrepreneurship chooses you. A great entrepreneur, by their very nature, is instinctive and instinct—when you listen to it—will always guide you in the right direction.

In my case, that gut instinct has always driven me to projects that I wanted to test and execute. Combined with this is an unquenchable sense of curiosity and a desire to prove myself. I love these ‘intellectual puzzles’, as I call them. This is exactly what entrepreneurship is about for me. It keeps life fresh and exciting. Moreover, it is actually a way of life in itself, and is something that defines who I am.

If I could highlight a few of the rules that I live by as an entrepreneur, I would first emphasize that while having a passion for what you do is necessary, it’s not enough on its own.

Neither is motivation enough by itself. It can expire quickly, and is also subject to mood, especially when the chips are down. As an entrepreneur, you have to be resilient because the harsh reality is that you will fail… many times over. Read more at TheLondonEconomic.com.

“Sometimes it (entrepreneurship) is a fine line between positive & negative thoughts, confidence & doubt, the road less traveled & the norm, being conservative & taking a risk, exhibiting caution & throwing caution to the wind… but I know I wouldn’t have it any other way!” – Paul Segreto, Founder, Acceler8Success

10 Personal Development Tips to Help You Love Your Small Business Life

Running a small business is hard work. But it can also be fun if you love what you do. Personal development is an important element of creating a successful, sustainable business. Use these tips from the online small business community to learn, grow, and love what you do.

Find joy in your business: Lots of entrepreneurs get into business because they love it. However, that feeling can sometimes fade through the years. If you want to build a sustainable company, it’s important to enjoy it at least somewhat. John Jantsch dives into this topic with Shani Godwin in this Duct Tape Marketing post and podcast.

Add fitness workouts into a busy life schedule: Taking care of your business requires a lot of time. But it’s important not to neglect your own personal health. Fitness is an important element of healthy work-life balance. Learn how to add fitness workouts in your busy schedule in this Aha!NOW post by Sarun Ravindrad. Then read what BizSugar members had to say about the concept… and read more at SmallBizTrends.com.

The Complete 35-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business

Starting a business entails understanding and dealing with many issues—legal, financing, sales and marketing, intellectual property protection, liability protection, human resources, and more. But interest in entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. And there have been spectacular success stories of early stage startups growing to be multi-billion-dollar companies, such as Uber, Facebook, WhatsApp, Airbnb, and many others.

Starting a business is a huge commitment. Entrepreneurs often fail to appreciate the significant amount of time, resources, and energy needed to start and grow a business.

Here are some of the biggest challenges to starting and growing a business:

• Coming up with a great and unique product or service
• Having a strong plan and vision for the business
• Having sufficient capital and cash flow
• Finding great employees
• Firing bad employees quickly in a way that doesn’t result in legal liability
• Working more than you expected
• Not getting discouraged by rejections from customers
• Managing your time efficiently
• Maintaining a reasonable work/life balance
• Knowing when to pivot your strategy
• Maintaining the stamina to keep going even when it’s tough

Please visit AllBusiness.com for an overview of 35 key steps for entrepreneurs who are starting a business, with links to additional articles addressing some of the topics in more depth.

5 Small Business Strategies to Recover, Rebuild and Be Ready

We are living through a very uncertain time — from day to day it seems almost impossible to predict what will come next.

It’s easy to see that the rather dramatic occurrences in 2020 have impacted businesses of all sizes, and especially small businesses. One study of 5800 small businesses in the US pointed to the fact that smaller companies tend to be “financially fragile,” which only exacerbates the problems that face them during times of national crisis, for instance.

It’s impossible to fully predict what will happen in 2021 and beyond, but there are strategies that can help small businesses stabilize and grow. Learn five of them at Entrepreneur.com.

The Common Path to Uncommon Success Begins with an Idea

There are two mistakes people make when trying to identify their big idea. First, they believe their big idea can be something they are just passionate about. I love muffins! I’ll open a bakery! Second, they believe their big idea is something they just have expertise in. I know how to code; I’ll build websites! 

Your big idea is not either/or. It’s not something you are passionate about or something you have expertise in. It’s both. Your big idea needs to be a combination of your passions and your expertise.

Let’s look at scenario one, just passion. Having passion for your big idea is important. You need to be excited to work on your big idea every single day. However, if you just have passion and you’re not providing a needed solution to the world, your idea will not gain traction.

Every human is tuned into the same radio station: WIIFM, or, what’s in it for me? Sure, people will be happy you’re pursuing a passion, but unless they are going to benefit directly from your passion, they’ll never become a customer, you’ll never generate revenue, and your big idea will become nothing more than a hobby. Read more at Success.com.

“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.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.