Category: Entrepreneurship

Acceler8Success Cafe Friday 5.21.21

May 21, 2021 ·

Entrepreneurial Confidence and Mental Health

The pandemic affects everyone. Today, we are all dealing with a different model for living; many people are working or attending school virtually, there is less social interaction, greater isolation, more juggling of home and work duties, and of course the anxiety and pain if loved ones become sick or die from COVID-19. A study by the CDC in June reported 40% of US adults are struggling with mental health or substance abuse, substantially higher figures than in 2019.

Where does that leave our entrepreneurs? Beginning in March, the Trust Center closed its doors until further notice. We are continuing to support MIT’s entrepreneurship community virtually, including via online resources like Orbit. This past summer, our delta v accelerator moved to a completely virtual experience, including online Demo Day presentations.

One question we continue to ask ourselves is: How has the pandemic affected the mental health of entrepreneurs?

Read more at Entrepreneur.com

7 Ways Successful Entrepreneurs Manage Stress

When it comes to the world of business ownership, success involves developing a plan for stress management. It takes a great deal of effort and energy to run a profitable company. People who are responsible for the health of an organization are frequently under a great deal of pressure.

With this in mind, stress management is critical. However, it can be difficult for business owners to learn how to develop a strategy that works for them. To help we’ve compiled a list of the stress management tactics from seven successful entrepreneurs around the world.

Read more at Entrepreneur.com

20 All-Time Best Entrepreneur Books to Make Your Business Successful

Being an entrepreneur is all fun until you realize that you’re actually not as experienced as others. Your knowledge might not be at the same level as those who’ve been in the business for twenty years and that scares you.

No need to worry though, if you have a high teachability index, you will be fine!

The following books will help you grow both in life and in business in order to become a successful entrepreneur. These best entrepreneur books will give you basic knowledge about being an entrepreneur and share advice on what happens while on the journey to entrepreneurial success.

Learn more at Lifehack.org

11 real-life entrepreneurs with lives so crazy they deserve their own movie

From The Social Network to Steve Jobs to Girlboss on Netflix , Hollywood has always invested money in actors who dramatically tell how the origins of companies that have changed the world came about.

Mark Zuckerberg , Steve Jobs, and Ray Kroc are just a few of the entrepreneurs whose stories can put you on the edge of your seat. Here are 11 business men and women who deserve their own feature film.

Read more at Entrepreneur.com

11 Ways for Busy Entrepreneurs to Rest and Recharge

Entrepreneurs are often on the go and rarely take a moment to slow down. However, time off is crucial if you want to prevent burnout and keep your passion for the business alive.

You might wonder how you can balance all your responsibilities and still take time for yourself. To help you combat the stress of building a business, members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some ways for leaders to unplug and recharge, even with a jam-packed schedule.

Learn more at Influencive.com

Why Entrepreneurs Ignore A Formal Plan, The Root Cause Of Business Failure

It might be surprising to learn that many new entrepreneurs ignore advice even when it is given by experts. With as many valuable resources and expert business advice on startups, strategy and financial planning available online today, you would think that more entrepreneurs would succeed at building sustainable business models, but in fact, the opposite is true. Businesses still fail at a staggering rate in both healthy and down-turned economies, and there is not any shortage of research as to why. Take any of the dozens of articles from your favorite platforms and distill their top reasons down to a single root cause, and I have observed that your number one culprit is typically a lack of planning.

From “poor product offering” to “no market demand” or “lack of resources” to “too much competition,” these are all signs of not having a formal business plan in place. Having one is a fundamental step in business development, and every notable business leader, advisor and strategist will tell you that the process of building one increases your survival rate and positions you for long-term success. It is one of the most important documents that an entrepreneur can create for their business because its job is to address the topics above, including all the other reasons for failure commonly reported. Beyond that, it is also used to obtain funding and in-kind support on demand.

Read more at Entrepreneur.com

Learn how to fund and run your startup with this expert-led training package

Outside an MBA or a professional mentorship, getting access to advanced business insight is extremely difficult. If you’re an entrepreneur with the vision and drive to make a small organization successful, skills like raising capital may still be out of reach because there are few affordable places where you can learn them. The Complete CEO Startups Venture Capital Bundle fills the accessibility gap by providing courses designed to guide you to becoming an effective CEP of your own company, and right now lifetime access is on sale for $40.

This bundle offers seven comprehensive courses spanning 261 lessons comprised of 17 hours of content. You can expect to learn effective strategies for startups and CEOs, capital raising practices; advice on pitching and more. With lifetime access, you’ll be able to parse this information at a pace that works well for you and your company. Learn and return when you need a refresher from this bundle, which will be relevant for any business ventures you decide to pursue in the future.

Learn more at engadget.com

Acceler8Success Cafe Thursday 5.20.21

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 ·

The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity in Supporting Female Entrepreneurs

There is much discussion and debate about how to support female entrepreneurs — and rightly so. Currently, women-led businesses are less likely to survive, despite evidence that their startups are often highly successful. New analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that if women and men around the world participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could ultimately rise by approximately 3% to 6%, boosting the global economy by $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion.

So how do we support female entrepreneurs? The focus is often on improving access to credit (financial capital) or providing training to help women build new skills (human capital) — two areas critical for improving the success of women-led businesses. However, another key factor in the success of these businesses tends to be overlooked: access to networks.

Working with public, private, and social sector clients around the world, we have seen first-hand how potent such networks can be. And we have also come to understand that these supportive mechanisms are in short supply.

The good news is that action in all sectors can address this gap.

Read more at entrepreneur.com

Develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset

At its core, a business is really just a repeatable process of solving problems for other people. The problem just has to be big enough that customers and clients will pay for your product or service. If you’re an entrepreneur, really all that means is that you’re a problem solver.

And it takes some drive and a whole lot of other qualities to push your business idea toward success. Did you know that about half of all small businesses fail in the first five years? Did you know that about 70 percent of those businesses fail because of cash problems?

So in addition to being a creative person who sees opportunities and has the drive to persevere and navigate those rough spots when things get tough, you have to keep the business side of things in mind, too. Keeping things like financials, cash flow, bookkeeping, etc., in focus, in addition to your business goals, is key for success.

Read more at entrepreneur.com

7 Key Questions to Lay the Foundation for Success as a Solo Business Owner

Could you turn your passion, hobby or side hustle into a six-figure solopreneur career? Based on my experience working with thousands of solo businesses, you totally can! But if you’re going to move from earning side income to being your own boss full-time, you need to be honest with yourself about the answers to these seven questions.

What do you naturally love to do? When I talk about loving what you do, I’m not talking about results. For example, if you’re a hairstylist, it’s not about whether you love to see people with pretty hair. We all do. It’s about whether you love the washing, conditioning, cutting and teasing — the process of styling thick and rough or thin and flat hair into something full and beautiful.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether you love the process, and there’s no way to know that other than doing it over and over again. You have to own that, because fundamentally running your own business is doing the same thing over and over again and loving it like it’s the first time.

Read more at entrepreneur.com

What Makes Being an Entrepreneur Challenging?

While being an entrepreneur does have its benefits, it also has its challenges. When entrepreneurs first start out, they’re often considered a one-man show, meaning they’re responsible for doing everything on their own. This usually equates to working really long hours, juggling numerous projects and having to constantly come up with new ideas. However, once you learn to overcome the challenges, you’ll be able to reap the rewards.

One of the biggest headaches for entrepreneurs involves dealing with finances. For new entrepreneurs, it’s often difficult to raise enough capital to start up their companies. Even after the business is established, entrepreneurs have a hard time obtaining loans and lines of credit, as banks set high eligibility requirements for small-business owners. Another issue that entrepreneurs face is they may struggle financially for quite some time before their business becomes profitable. In the mean time, entrepreneurs work long hours and for little to no pay.

Learn more at smallbusiness.chron.com

Advantages and Disadvantages of Starting a Startup

Before you launch your own startup company, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of owning a business to ensure that it is the right choice for you. While entrepreneurship can be an extremely rewarding career path both financially and personally for many, there are inherent risks and potential drawbacks that may make it less suitable for some aspiring entrepreneurs. Ultimately, the decision to start a startup comes down to you and your personal preferences.

If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, this guide to the advantages and disadvantages of starting a startup will help you establish whether this is the right path for you before you get started.

Learn more at startupsavant.com

The Best Part of Entrepreneurship? Giving Up and Getting a Job

Entrepreneurship isn’t usually worth the risk, some research says, at least strictly in financial terms. Thankfully, plenty of people take the plunge anyway, because they’re drawn to it for other reasons, such as wanting to be their own boss, or wanting to pursue a personal passion.

But that conventional view is misleading, argues a recent paper by Gustavo Manso at the University of California, Berkeley. Instead, he finds that self-employment does pay off financially, but not in the way entrepreneurs might expect. The financial benefit doesn’t usually come from the entrepreneurship itself, but in the form of higher wages when the entrepreneur returns to the workforce.

Research in this area typically compares salaried workers to those working for themselves; the latter group tends to make less, on average, after controlling for factors like level of education, hence the finding that entrepreneurship isn’t worth it financially.

Acceler8Success Cafe Wednesday 5.19.21

May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 ·

Why It’s Never Too Late To Become An Entrepreneur

Many people think that entrepreneurship is a young person’s game. This assumption is probably because when people think of successful entrepreneurs, the ones that immediately come to mind are college dropouts like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg and Michael Dell. However, college dropout entrepreneurs are the exception, and there is data to back it up. A study by the Kauffman Foundation led by Syracuse University professor Carl Schramm revealed that the average entrepreneur was 39 when he or she started a company.

Not only that, Schramm said that “Americans who are 35 or older are 50% more likely to start a business than are their younger counterparts”. Also, recent research led by Javier Miranda of the U.S. Census Bureau and Pierre Azoulay of MIT indicated that for the top 0.1% of fastest growing new businesses in the U.S., the average age of the founder in the business’ first year was 45. So, in a nutshell, it’s never too late to become an entrepreneur. In fact, it could be an advantage to start a business mid-career.

Starting a business mid-career could be an advantage for many reasons. The Kauffman Foundation study found that entrepreneurs starting businesses mid-career were five times more likely to enjoy success five years later than entrepreneurs starting businesses right out of college. This is because management experience is great training to become an entrepreneur. Once you’re in your 30s or beyond, you’ve acquired strong skills, contacts and industry-specific knowledge that you can apply to a new business. You are more likely to be financially stable so that you can potentially self-fund your new company, allowing you to incur minimal debt and have greater stability.

Read more at entrepreneur.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.” – Mark Twain

How to Increase Productivity as a Home Business Entrepreneur

Running a business from home brings with it a whole host of benefits, but it also has its cons. When your business takes place at home, it’s very easy for household demands to overshadow business needs. This is a common challenge for every home business entrepreneur.

So what’s the best way to run a company from the comfort of your home while ensuring productivity and a healthy work ethic? Eleven members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their insights by answering the following question:

What’s one productivity tip you’d offer someone trying to start a business at home, and why?

Acceler8Success Cafe Tuesday 5.18.21

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 ·

Why Mentally Strong Women Don’t Fear Breaking the Rules

Maybe you were raised to be a “good girl.” Or maybe you just aren’t the type of person who likes to create waves. Being a rule-follower can serve you well in many ways. But there are times when breaking the rules might be the key to living a better life.

Bending—or breaking—a few rules might actually be good for your career. Take Lori Greiner, for example. Not only is she one of the cast members on Shark Tank, but she’s also known as “the Queen of QVC.” She’s an inventor and entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $50 million.

But she certainly doesn’t follow all the rules. Take sleep, for example. You don’t have to look very hard to find books or articles that will tell you the secret to success is waking up early and getting a head start on the day. And you’ll likely hear Tim Cook wakes up at 3:45 a.m. and Richard Branson gets up at 5:00 a.m. because they both want to start the day before sunrise.

Not Lori, however. She told Parade magazine she usually goes to sleep at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. And what does she do right before she goes to bed? She exercises. I doubt you’ll find too many health gurus or productivity specialists who will recommend a robust workout right before you hit the hay. But Lori says she’s a night owl and that schedule works for her.

Acceler8Success Cafe Monday 5.17.21

May 17, 2021May 18, 2021 ·

Why Women Entrepreneurs Do More With Less

Research suggests that women between the ages of 35-44 are most likely to launch a business, whereas men have fairly consistent level of entrepreneurship throughout all their working years.

Presumably, this trend is largely due to many women choosing to stay home and raise families in their 20’s and early 30’s. They may have trained for a particular career prior to their family commitments, but after raising a family, are now ready to get back out into the workforce, or to find/create a job that allows a better work/life balance.

But why does this necessarily mean female entrepreneurs “do more with less”? One reason may be that women in this age group likely still have children at home. They have oftentimes been the primary caregiver, and are unwilling to sacrifice this role simply because they’ve started a business.

These are women who have less time overall, but who still have a fierce determination to start and grow a business.

They may have less time to commit to their business, but they make it work by being ruthless in how they manage their time. Read more at kimgarst.com.

Women Entrepreneurs: Taking the Business World by Storm

Every day in the US, women entrepreneurs start about 850 new businesses on average. And over the past two decades or so, the number of women-owned business firms has increased by a whopping 114 percent.

These developments are a sure sign that the world of American entrepreneurship is now eagerly opening its arms to women as they become all the more comfortable in taking on the mantle of business owners and entrepreneurs.

As a matter of fact, the overall entrepreneurship rate amongst women is now considered to be higher than ever before. And these rates are also steadily increasing at an even higher rate as more and more women decide to leave the patriarchal norms of society behind. Read more at percentotech.com.

“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”- Estee Lauder

10 Expert Tips for Women Entrepreneurs, Local Businesses and Others

Follow these female entrepreneurs: There are tons of inspiring women in the business world. If you’re looking for some inspiration or pointers from some successful entrepreneurs, this post from Vevue has some suggestions. Small Business Trends’ Anita Campbell is honored to be included.

Find the best cities for professional women: If you’re thinking about starting a company or moving your business to a new location, it might help to look at the trends in various cities. In this GetResponse post, Kamil Guzdek lists some of the best cities for professional women in terms of income and workforce issues. Read more at smallbiztrends.com.

It Takes a Community to Build a Business

In the past year, the value of community and the movement to “support local” have become more prominent than ever before. As post-pandemic recovery efforts continue, consumers want to see their communities thrive, and they know that buying locally is key to that growth. In a recent study, most consumers reported that they buy local in order to provide support to their local community and local economy.

However, multiculturally-owned businesses face disproportionate challenges. Between February and April 2020, Black-owned businesses declined by 41 percent, while white-owned businesses declined by only 17 percent. Even under normal circumstances, eight out of 10 Black-owned businesses fail within the first 18 months. Read more at blackenterprise.com.

How To Be Creative As An Entrepreneur

You might think that creativity requires the antithesis of rules and regulation. Even the thought of being creative conjures up images of disorder. Messy rooms, paint everywhere, scraps of paper with ideas scrawled across them. The frantic creative genius works away, oblivious to the world around them. Chaos. Method in madness. Flashes of brilliance among a cluttered existence.

The best entrepreneurs are creative. They need to find ways of solving old and new problems. They picture a world that doesn’t yet exist, they bring products to life using only their imagination. They think of ways to move forward, grow bigger and stand out. Doing more with the same tools doesn’t happen by accident, it’s intentional and it requires ideas. Read more at forbes.com.

Am I a Good Franchise Candidate?

The following is an excerpt from Franchise Bible: How to Buy a Franchise or Franchise Your Own Business, Ninth Edition, out now through Entrepreneur Press. Order now via Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop.

Not everyone is franchise material. This is no less true in franchising than it is in medicine, teaching or gardening. Thus, to help you make this determination, you must ask yourself some questions:

What do I really enjoy doing? This does not have to be the work that you are doing at the moment. Instead it could be a hobby that you are passionate about. Indeed, one of the most important factors that may determine your success or failure is the level of enjoyment and satisfaction you can hope to experience in operating the franchise from day to day. You must be involved with the daily operation of your business at some level regardless of the model you choose. So it is critical for you to “inventory yourself” to make sure you are indeed a good franchise candidate. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

Financing the Dream

What are your financing options? Here are a few opportunities.

Franchisor Funding. Many franchises offer financing solutions, either through lender partners or direct capital from the corporation. Many allow for financing not only of franchise fees but also equipment purchases and other start-up costs.
Commercial Bank Loans. A traditional term loan is often a challenging option for minorities, who sometimes lack the credit history or collateral to secure a loan. Banks will want to see your business plan and review your credit history to determine creditworthiness, terms, and interest rates.
SBA Loans. The U.S. Small Business Association offers loan options through intermediary partners. These loans are often attractive to lenders because the SBA guarantees a percentage of the loan amount. Consequently, lenders in SBA programs are more apt to offer better interest rates and longer repayment terms.
Friends and Family. Many franchise owners turn to those closest to them to ask for gifts or loans. Some bring on friends and family as business partners. While these situations often come at a good price for the entrepreneur, the risks of family disputes and lost relationships loom large.
Rollover as Business Start-up. The ROBs strategy lets entrepreneurs leverage existing 401(k) funds to finance a new business or franchise launch. With ROBs, the entrepreneur rolls over existing funds into the new company’s investment plan, issues shares, and has the plan to purchase those shares. The proceeds provide fast, flexible cash to use for franchise fees, leasing, and equipment costs or hiring.

Benetrends pioneered the use of ROBs 401(k) business funding more than three decades ago. It has helped thousands of business owners find solutions that let dreams be realized. Download the Definitive Guide To 401(k)/ROBS Business Funding to learn more about how Benetrends can help ease the challenge of finding financing. Read more at benetrends.com.

Starting a Franchise with Your 401(k): Is It Right for You?

2020 was a problematic year for many businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic created a volatile business environment across the United States. Many people lost jobs while others struggled to make ends meet. The uncertainty following 2020 has influenced some individuals to bet on themselves by purchasing a franchise.

Starting a business requires a solid financial plan. Part of the plan may include leveraging some of your 401(k). But is it a good idea? Here to talk about this issue is Bill McPherson, vice president of franchise development for AlphaGraphics, a leading franchisor of printing and marketing solutions. Read more at franchisechatter.com.

21 Ways to Quickly Fund Your Business Growth

In a 2020 Small Business Credit Survey released by a collective of Federal Reserve Banks, it was reported that 66 percent of businesses faced financial challenges in 2019. Yet 57 percent did not apply for financing or third-party funding.

The top reasons given by those that either did not apply or approved funding but declined it included:

Cost/interest rate too high
Unfavorable repayment terms
Amount offered was too small
Collateral requirements
Debt-averse
Found enough funding from other sources

When business owners used other funding methods, they often relied on existing business reserves, personal funding resources or personal credit cards.

Business owners looked to use the funding for expansion, operating expenses, debt reduction or repairing/replacing capital assets. Getting funding is more difficult for smaller businesses, younger businesses and minority-owned businesses. Service-based businesses, which lack collateral, also have a tougher time in the funding process.

Despite all these statistics, the need to raise funds to cover expenses and fuel growth is ever-present. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

“Build your business success around something that you love — something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you.” — Martha Stewart

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.

Another thing to consider when deciding what you want to do is to figure out if you want to become an entrepreneur or a freelancer. Though both are paths to self-employment, they’re very different.

Entrepreneurship is the traditional route of becoming your own boss. Becoming an entrepreneur just means trying to launch your own business. This can be any kind of business at any scale, whether you’re going to shoot to become the next big tech startup or simply an Etsy crafts store.

Freelancing, on the other hand, involves taking a talent or skill that you already have (like writing or programming) and finding clients to work with on your own rather than working for a company or agency. It offers a lot of the same benefits as entrepreneurship, like working for yourself and setting your own schedule and even follows many of the same steps. However, there isn’t as much growth potential as there is when starting a business. Read more at b12.io.

“We need to get women to the point where they aren’t apologizing. It is time to take ownership in our success.”- Tory Burch

5 Reasons You Should Not Aspire to Building a Massive, Multi-billion Dollar Empire

Everybody loves a good success story. However, the media dedicates much of its attention to businesses that take the world by storm. Whenever you check the news or scroll through your social media timeline, you’ll likely see an article about an entrepreneur who turned their small business idea into a multi-billion dollar empire.

If you’ve ever met with other aspiring entrepreneurs or attended conventions for business owners, you’ve probably encountered dozens of people who want to become the next Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg in their respective niches. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with aiming high and having a global vision for your business — it doesn’t mean that it’s the right path for everyone.

In fact, there are plenty of reasons to reign in unnecessary scaling, focus on localized markets, or simply maintain a small business with no intentions of expanding to the international stage. The key is to avoid giving in to the hype and the media narrative that worldwide business stardom should be the endgame for every entrepreneur. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

Welcome to The Social Geek Radio Network.

Get in touch with your inner geek. Jack Monson and many special guests discuss social media and digital marketing trends for brands, small businesses, and franchises.

Social Geek Radio was listed as one of 20 Best Business Podcasts according to Emerge and was named to the Best Small Business Podcasts by FitSmallBusiness.com. Recently, Social Geek Radio finally made the Top 25 podcasts in the Marketing category of Apple Podcasts / iTunes.

Listen, download, subscribe to Social Geek Radio!

There are no limits to starting over?

No matter what you’re struggling with—addiction, relationships, impulsivity, layoffs, divorce, other mental health issues—take my advice.

You Can Start Over.

Starting over means that you’re determined to get better. It means you’re able to recognize you screwed up, and you’re going to do something about it. It means you’re taking responsibility, and you’re going to put your best foot forward. Starting over means that you got up off the ground, dusted off your hands, and put yourself back on the path to where you want to go.

It doesn’t matter how many times you have to start over, as long as you start over. So get up off the ground and walk that road, no matter how long you spent walking it the first, second, or tenth time. Just remember you are not starting from scratch; you are starting from experience. Learn more at leadershipfirst.com.

7 Ways to Increase Your Odds of Success

There is no fool-proof way to make sure you reach success in everything you do. If you are a poker player, you will know that no matter how good the cards are; or how well you play them; there is always a chance that you will be “drawing dead”. For those of you who don’t play poker, the term “drawing dead” basically means you are holding a losing hand, but you don’t know it. Although I’ve reached success on many occasions in my life, I’ve equally often been “drawing dead” on many occasions too. The whole point is that we can intend many outcomes, but more often than not, we simply don’t know how things are going to pan out. We need some strategies to increase our odds of success.

The problem is our conscious minds are, at this stage in our evolution, pretty limited. Scientist Dr Bruce Lipton asserts that 95% of our mind is unconscious and it is this part of the mind which is largely in control. This explains why for example, we might intend to lose those extra pounds or save for that vacation, but no matter what our intention, we carry on with old habits and no change is made.

It can feel pretty scary to think we actually aren’t aware of what controls us. Although if you are prepared to learn and become self-aware it can be powerful. All you have to do in theory is to become aware of those unconscious beliefs and recordings which are driving you. Once identified, you can make those changes. Learning and becoming aware of our unconscious mind, definitely increases our odds of success.

Sounds easy? Of course sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. What you have to do to tap into the unconscious mind is to ask the right questions and then be prepared to listen for the answer. In the meantime, though we have to make decisions, take action and deal with life. Read more at peopledevelopmentmagazine.com.

“I wake up every morning and think to myself, ‘How far can I push the company forward in the next 24 hours?” — Leah Busque

Philosophy Behind Success

Scientists like to put bullets to make things easier to analyze and they agree that there are 4 simple things that finally define our development in the workplace and our personal growth in general.

Functionality is the criterion of all choices. The question we have to ask each time we are asked to make a decision is whether this is functional or not and if yes up to what extent this particular choice can help us. Does it help our personal development or does it help the group and the company?

It is possible that a choice which helps the group will help us indirectly, besides we are a part of the group after all. Putting others first sometimes works in our favor more than it would if we chose to be selfish. Finding the equilibrium between those two is crucial and can make the difference between success and failure. We are often so absorbed by what is ethical that we tend to miss the point. Just think about how many times during the day we use the words ”good” and ”bad” or words with similar meanings.

All this just to justify actions that should always answer the question ”does this help me or not?” Albert Einstein suggested that half of the solution to a problem lays on the correct definition of what the problem is. Having functionality as a leading parameter in our decisions is vital to put the reality into words and explain it to ourselves in a way that can only prove helpful. Read more at ceoworld.biz.

Acceler8Success Cafe Friday 5.14.21

May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 ·

The Daily Habits of 40 Highly Successful Business Leaders

Success doesn’t just happen. Instead, it’s something you plan for. And that requires finding the right balance between those big long-term goals and the short-term objectives that will keep you on the right path.

Supergenius Elon Musk wakes up with one goal in mind: putting humans on Mars. But what does he do every day to turn that dream into a reality? OnDeck decided to investigate. The small business loan provider examined the daily work routines of 40 highly successful business owners.

Like Musk, most of today’s most successful business leaders exploit the body’s natural rhythms to optimize their daily output. In other words, the early bird really does catch that worm. Musk, Richard Branson, and Slack co-founder Cal Henderson are all in the office before 7.00 am. They direct their early morning energy and brain power toward catching up on emails, meetings, and strategic planning sessions. Read more at addicted2success.com.

The Role Model Mindset: Being a Great Entrepreneur Is About Showing Others What’s Possible

When we talk about entrepreneurs, we often think of people who have followed a dream to create a business. They are a group set apart because of their bias towards action — getting their hands dirty and building a company, and because of that, many are role models to the millions of other aspiring founders across the world.

We are not talking about the basic desire to imitate a businessperson because of their wealth and success, but rather about being a role model, which entails a degree of awe and respect for a person’s methods and strategies for building successful and impactful businesses. They do things that others feel are impossible. The world’s best entrepreneurs are not looked up to because of their salaries, but because they do three key things: they solve big global problems, they survive risky situations, and they create with limited resources.

Entrepreneurs dream big, and the role models of the business world rarely start by trying to solve a small problem. They create a product that solves an unserved, acute pain point in the formal economy, and where there are existing informal, unlicensed, or unofficial alternatives, they bring legitimacy and formality to the industry. Role models offer solutions for the mass market, not just the elite, and they focus on game-changing innovations that fundamentally rethink a market and a sector. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” ― Sean Covey

15 Success Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs

Being a first-time entrepreneur can be challenging and nerve-wracking but also very exciting and rewarding. There is no end to the many financial, legal, staffing, marketing, and customer issues that will come up as you launch your business. A‎nd, unfortunately, there is a lot of conflicting advice out there for the aspiring entrepreneur.

First-time entrepreneurs should start a business they are passionate and knowledgeable about

Startups can be quite a grind, so pick something that excites and motivates you. Avoid businesses or industries that you don’t already know a good deal about, as the steep learning curve may hamper your success.

Raise as much startup funding as you can

It’s almost always harder and takes longer to raise startup financing than you think. You must ensure you have a cushion for all the product development and marketing expenses you will incur. In an ideal world, you will have sufficient capital for your operations to break even. Don’t worry about diluting your percentage ownership in the company. Developing a great product takes time and money. Learn about 13 more success tips at allbusiness.com.

Why Texas – Texas Economic Development

Texas is where liberty lives.

That’s why the Lone Star State leads the nation in job creation over the last 10 years and in population growth over the last 14.

As the 9th largest economy among the nations of the world and home to 50 Fortune 500 headquarters, Texas offers a business-friendly climate—with no corporate income tax and no personal income tax—along with a highly skilled workforce, easy access to global markets, robust infrastructure and predictable regulations.

That’s why Texas continually ranks as the best state for business. CEOs who relocate to Texas cite the differences as “night & day” when it comes to the improved quality of life and good schools, along with the job-ready workforce.

Lower energy costs, together with lower land costs and fewer land-use restrictions, also mean lower operating costs for businesses and a lower cost-of-living for their employees. Learn more at gov.texas.gov.

4 Ways to Expand Your Business Outside of Your Core Industry

What can you learn from a humble chicken nugget about expanding your business? Maybe more than a nibble’s worth of information, so hop in the sales and marketing time machine.

Today, bite-sized chicken bits embraced by a crispy breading seem normal. Forty years ago, they were a tasty novelty offered up by McDonald’s. Thanks to their portability and unique flavor profile, they took off with hungry consumers. In fact, they became a new star on the fast food giant’s menu.

But why did McDonald’s, known primarily for burger-like sandwiches and irresistible shoestring fries take this plunge? The answer: Nuggets were a natural extension of their core industry. After all, they catered to people craving quick, salty, hot meals. The nugget seemed an attractive way to draw in more consumers, especially the younger set and beef-eschewers. Read more at smallbiztrends.com.

How to Use Thought Leadership Content to Grow Your Business

If you own your own business, you know you’re a smart cookie. No matter how long you’ve been running your business, you’ve surely gleaned knowledge about your industry that others can benefit from. This knowledge is gold in terms of helping you attract new business. It’s all a matter of knowing how to transform your knowledge into thought leadership content that you can leverage to attract new customers and clients.

It doesn’t matter if your audience is college students, CEOs, or somewhere in between. These folks consume content online. The key is discovering where they go to learn.

Start by looking at magazines, websites, blogs, and podcasts that cater to this crowd. What sources do you turn to in order to connect with others in your field? You likely can rattle off the top authors or podcast owners in your industry. Rather than looking at them as competitors, consider them potential collaborators. Read more at allbusiness.com.

“Social entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they’re serving..” – David Bornstein, Author, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas

Social Entrepreneurship Has A Key Role To Play Enabling Our Business Ecosystem’s Recovery After COVID-19

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been slowly making its way up the strategic priorities in corporates over the past decades. But many companies still approach CSR as a “nice to have,” rather than “a must-have.” But as awareness grows over the impact of CSR on the bottom line of successful businesses, the evolution is becoming a necessity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for all of us. It has been humbling to witness how this microscopic virus has disrupted our daily routines and businesses, but it has also shed a light on the harm modern life has put on our planet through pollution and loss of natural habitats. Now, the well-being of people, society, and our planet is at the forefront of everyday practices. The way we do business has changed, and it has accelerated the need of sustainability becoming the core of company strategy, with direct impact on employees, customers, and suppliers.

As a result, corporate sustainability teams are leading the effort to improve internal procedures and operations, as well as think about how organizations can have a positive impact on their surroundings. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

11 Tips to Transform Your Morning Routine and Make Your Entire Day More Productive

Researchers at the University of Nottingham recently published findings from their exploration of 83 separate studies on energy and self-control. What they found will change the way you start your day.

The researchers found that self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, daily resources that tire much like a muscle. Even though we don’t always realize it, as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self-control and focusing on our work. As self-control wears out, we feel tired and find tasks to be more difficult and our mood sours.

This exhaustion of self-control kills your productivity, and it makes the morning hours, when self-control is highest, the most important hours of the day.

But the trick isn’t just to spend your morning hours working; it’s to do the right things in the morning that will make your energy and self-control last as long as possible. Read more at success.com.

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’” And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” –Steve Jobs

Exercise Is One Thing Most Successful People Do Everyday

What do Cher, Warren Buffet, and OKCupid founder, Christian Rudder, all have in common? While you might have guessed that they’re professionals at the top of their game, it’s not the only similarity. The truth is that they all have an even bigger commonality among them: they all work out, and they all consider it integral to their success. They aren’t the only ones, either.

Entrepreneurs like Richard Branson (who’s started over 400 companies) have long known that regular physical activity, be it running, lifting, or yoga, can provide you with up to four extra hours of productivity every day. Even President Barack Obama — a slacker until he began running three miles a day as a young man — to this day makes time for 45 minute workouts before assuming his duties. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

Acceler8Success Cafe Thursday 5.13.21

May 13, 2021May 13, 2021 ·

What Does It Mean To Be An Entrepreneur?

The road to entrepreneurship is often a treacherous one filled with unexpected detours, roadblocks and dead ends. There are lots of sleepless nights, plans that don’t work out, funding that doesn’t come through and customers that never materialize. It can be so challenging to launch a business that it may make you wonder why anyone willingly sets out on such a path.

Despite all of these hardships, every year, thousands of entrepreneurs embark on this journey determined to bring their vision to fruition and fill a need they see in society. They open brick-and-mortar businesses, launch tech startups or bring a new product or service into the marketplace.

An entrepreneur identifies a need that no existing businesses addresses and determines a solution for that need. Entrepreneurial activity includes developing and launching new businesses and marketing them, often with the end goal of selling the business to turn a profit.

An entrepreneur who regularly launches new businesses, sells them and then starts new businesses is a serial entrepreneur. Additionally, although the term “entrepreneur” is often associated with startups and small businesses, any founder of a successful household-name business began as an entrepreneur. Read more at getentrepreneurial.com.

60 Reasons Why Entrepreneurship Is Amazing

Every entrepreneur has a different story about why he or she decided to start a business. Some have known from day one that they wanted to work for themselves and others come up with ideas while working for someone else and decide to take the entrepreneurial leap.

Most business owners will agree on one thing — being an entrepreneur is great. There are endless reasons for this, and every entrepreneur will have his or her own personal reasons as well. Here are 60 reasons, in no particular order, why I think entrepreneurship is amazing.

You have full control over your destiny. You call the shots and make the decisions that ultimately determine the success or failure of your business. Nobody will get in the way of your vision.

Entrepreneurs are innovators. Think of all the new technology and ideas that have come to life over the past few years. Those were all once just an idea — but amazing entrepreneurs brought those ideas to life. Read 58 more reasons why entrepreneurship is amazing at entrepreneur.com.

How To Be A Successful Entrepreneur — No Matter Your Personality Type

Entrepreneurship is more about the journey than the destination. It takes a certain kind of spirit to succeed in the startup world, and while many different types of people make good founders, the best ones tend to share a few key qualities.

There’s no such thing as the “right” personality type to start and run a business, but the entrepreneurial spirit is real. Those who don’t come by those beneficial traits naturally can still cultivate them — they just have to work a little harder than the rest. Fortunately, entrepreneurs aren’t strangers to hard work.

That doesn’t mean introverts have to transform into extroverts to schmooze their way to the top. According to a recent survey by Creditloan.com on personality and working at a side hustle, extroverts are more likely to work more hours, but they don’t earn more. Read more at forbes.com.

If I Started Over as an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship has taught me more about life than I could have ever imagined. How to build relationships, frugality, dealing with stress, being able to sell, finding time to relax, and many more lessons.

Being an entrepreneur is incredibly exciting since every day is different and I constantly have to tackle problems and find solutions — while being underfunded and understaffed. On the contrary, it can be lonely but every moment and adventure entrepreneurship has taken me, has absolutely been worth it.

After college, I dove right into entrepreneurship despite $100k in student loans. Incredibly risky but the threat of time and scarcity are causing me to work much harder.

There is no job in the world I would rather have. Read more at medium.com.

Black Women Are More Likely to Start a Business than White Men

In the United States, an astounding 17% of Black women are in the process of starting or running new businesses. That’s compared to just 10% of white women, and 15% of white men.

Yet despite this early lead, only 3% of Black women are running mature businesses. To understand why this steep drop off occurs, and how to combat it, we analyzed data from interviews with more than 12,000 people, nearly 1,700 of whom identified as entrepreneurs and nearly 1,200 of whom own established businesses.

The research was part of our work with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an annual comprehensive survey of entrepreneurship rates and attributes, conducted in more than 120 economies since 1999. The large-scale survey is administered by academic research teams in each economy; we represent the U.S. team. Read more at hbr.org.

The Big Role Older Entrepreneurs Play in Business Innovations

Entrepreneurs over 55 are among the most active new business owners in America, starting companies at rates that exceed their younger peers. In fact, 80% of small business owners are over 45, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

Even coming out of the pandemic, older entrepreneurs are better positioned than their younger counterparts to succeed.

What’s not as obvious is the role that older entrepreneurs play in producing innovations.

For a whole host of reasons, the narrative of innovation — especially in the tech economy — centers on younger entrepreneurs. Paul Graham, an investor in entrepreneurs and a co-founder of the famous Silicon Valley business accelerator, Y Combinator, once quipped that “the cutoff in investors’ heads is 32… After 32, they start to be a little skeptical.”

This certainly maps to how the media typically portrays startup founders. But a closer look tells a different story. Read more at nextavenue.org.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

Jon Tilley of ZonGuru: How To Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur

Being a founder, entrepreneur, or business owner can have many exciting and thrilling moments. But it is also punctuated with periods of doubt, slump, and anxiety. So how does one successfully and healthily ride the highs and lows of Entrepreneurship? In this series, called “How To Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur” we are talking to successful entrepreneurs who can share stories from their experience. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Tilley.

Jon Tilley is a successful entrepreneur & Amazon thought leader. After 15 years working as an account director & strategist for some of the top global digital agencies, Jon started his Amazon journey in 2014, launching multiple successful private label brands. Soon after, he launched ZonGuru, an all-in-one software toolset for Amazon Private Label Sellers. The company continues to develop tools ahead of the market and uses data-driven techniques to help its customers create and run successful Private Label businesses on Amazon. Read the interview at medium.com.

A Message from Acceler8Success Founder, Paul Segreto

We must…

The past 14-15 months have seen many scrambling to fight off challenge after challenge. Accordingly, actions have been mostly reactive. To many, it’s been a shear, exhausting act of survival.

Well, it’s time to make a complete shift back to being proactive.

If it’s a pivot to move forward in what may be a new normal, we must accept it. If it’s a drastic change that is required, we must act on it. If it’s a new direction that is inevitable, we must move toward it.

We must get back to playing to win as opposed to playing not to lose.

Even in the face of failure, we must dust off dreams that have been cast aside. We must pursue them once again. We must do so with purpose and conviction.

We must overcome negativity with a positive mindset. We must explore possibilities. We must capitalize on opportunities.

Life as we once knew it has changed. We must realize it for what it is. We must deal with it. We must adapt. We must take action.

We must act swiftly. We must act decisively. We must do so with aggressive plans to not only survive, but to thrive. We must accelerate success.

Growth and Success of an Entrepreneur

Many entrepreneurs become successful because of consistent growth. Growth is a key part to entrepreneurship and is stated by every successful entrepreneur. Bill Gates had to grow. Steve Jobs had to grow. Elon Musk had to grow. There is no entrepreneur without growth. Have you ever wanted to become an entrepreneur? Well, that’s not easy or hard. You just have to find your interest and do your best to become successful. It sounds easy, but finding your interest is the real hard part.

But, you can also become an entrepreneur. The first step is to trust and believe in yourself. This will give you more confidence in the decisions you make. The next important trait you should have is taking risks and reducing fear because, when you make important decisions, you will have to take small or big risks and that will come with some fear, but you have to be strong, confident, and brave. If you want to partner up with some people, that is fine, but make sure you have good, trustworthy, and hardworking partners as well. The last and most important trait is that you have to be passionate about what you are doing, so make sure you find your interests. Read more at enterprist.com.

Why Every Entrepreneur Should Take an 8-Hour Shower Each Week: The Benefits of Creative Time

When do you get your most creative ideas for your business? I suspect it’s not during your normal busy workday or in the middle of a client meeting. Most likely, it’s when you are alone, relaxed, and allow your mind to wander.

How many amazing ideas or aha moments have you had while taking a shower? Without distractions and to-do lists, creative ideas flow when mindlessly showering. Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, author of Wired to Create, found that 72 percent of us get our best ideas in the shower.

As an entrepreneur, I want to keep generating ideas, improvements and creative innovations. I found that my days were filled with meetings, problem-solving, and doing day-to-day tasks. In spite of my best intentions to fit in creative time, it never seemed to materialize. My best creative ideas came to me in the morning while taking a shower, but were quickly forgotten as I sat down at my desk for the first meeting. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

Acceler8Success Cafe Wednesday 5.12.21

May 12, 2021May 12, 2021 ·

Entrepreneurial Insomnia: Why Most Entrepreneurs Can’t Sleep at Night

Running a business is stressful. As an entrepreneur, worrisome thoughts may lurk around in your mind, even when your business is doing well. Things can change. The success you have now may not be as promising when the new competition starts showing up. These are all thoughts that entrepreneurs have to deal with.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs suffer in the process. You may find yourself awake after midnight – either still busy with work, or trying to shut down your brain as you try to go to sleep. Studies show that about 33% of adults are affected by chronic insomnia. Stress and depression are often rated as some of the most concerning factors contributing to insomnia – factors that a lot of entrepreneurs end up dealing with.

It is important for entrepreneurs to realize what may be the reason behind their insomnia. The idea of finally quitting that nine-to-five day job always seems like a dream for most people. You get to stop working for a boss. Instead, you become your own boss. You start writing your own paychecks, and there are no superiors that you constantly have to report to.

The problem is that running a business is a complicated process. It takes a lot of time, effort, and even skill to ensure your business can turn out successful. Read more at businessbusinessbusiness.com.

5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health as an Entrepreneur

Running a business can be an emotional rollercoaster. Between long hours, built-up stress, and a never-ending workload, being an entrepreneur can take its toll on your mental health.

According to a study, 72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to 48% of non-entrepreneurs.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Cultivate CEO, and Co-founder Casey Clark sat down with Emily Washcovick, Senior Field Marketing Manager & Small Business Expert at Yelp, to discuss the impact of mental health on the small business community and share five strategies to manage mental health in the workplace.

Mental health issues can present themselves in many ways, from stress and anxiety to burnout, fatigue, or insomnia. As a business owner, financial stress, feelings of isolation, and long days can create or exacerbate these symptoms, and the implications of deteriorating mental health are far-reaching. It affects not only the person suffering, but it can impact the lives of family, friends, and even those in your community. It’s important to learn to recognize these symptoms and take action to alleviate stress, and prioritize your mental well-being. Read more at cultivateadvisors.com.

12 Quotes on Entrepreneur Burnout And Depression, From Those Who’ve Walked The Path

In the early 2010s, a clinical professor and entrepreneur by the name of Dr. Michael Freeman surveyed 242 entrepreneurs about their mental health.

Of the 242 entrepreneurs he surveyed, 49% reported having a mental-health condition.

Depression was the highest-reported reported condition, being present in 30% of all entrepreneurs. ADHD (29%) and anxiety problems (27%) followed close by.

That’s a dramatically higher percentage than the US population at large, where only about 7% identify as depressed.

What do actual entrepreneurs have to say about their experiences with burnout and depression? Read more at medium.com.

How Great Entrepreneurs Think

What distinguishes great entrepreneurs?

Discussions of entrepreneurial psychology typically focus on creativity, tolerance for risk, and the desire for achievement—enviable traits that, unfortunately, are not very teachable. So Saras Sarasvathy, a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, set out to determine how expert entrepreneurs think, with the goal of transferring that knowledge to aspiring founders.

While still a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon, Sarasvathy—with the guidance of her thesis supervisor, the Nobel laureate Herbert Simon—embarked on an audacious project: to eavesdrop on the thinking of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs as they grappled with business problems. She required that her subjects have at least 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, have started multiple companies—both successes and failures—and have taken at least one company public. Read more at inc.com.

Simple Strategies to Overcome Self-Doubt When Impostor Syndrome Strikes

The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are powerful. When impostor syndrome strikes, our inner monologue may sound like: “I’ve only gotten to this point because of luck,” or, “Wait until someone finds out I have no idea what I’m doing!” This self-talk affects our self-esteem, but it also impacts how we present ourselves to others and the risks we take in our lives. Simply put, if we don’t actively work on silencing our inner critic and reframing these thoughts and beliefs, our impostor syndrome can hold us back from unlocking our full potential.

In this article, the Thrive community was asked to share their tips on dealing with negative self-talk and overcoming impostor syndrome. Which strategy will you try? Read more at thriveglobal.com.

Mental Health Awareness Month

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Each year we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families.

For 2021’s Mental Health Awareness Month NAMI will continue to amplify the message of “You Are Not Alone.” We will use this time to focus on the healing value of connecting in safe ways, prioritizing mental health and acknowledging that it’s okay to not be okay through NAMI’s blog, personal stories, videos, digital toolkits, social media engagements and national events.

Together, we can realize our shared vision of a nation where anyone affected by mental illness can get the appropriate support and quality of care to live healthy, fulfilling lives — a nation where no one feels alone in their struggle. Read more at nami.org.

Why Entrepreneurs Need To Talk About Their Mental Health

72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to just 48% of non entrepreneurs. That’s according to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health. 49% of entrepreneurs deal with mental health issues directly while only 32% of others experienced them. Similarly, 23% of entrepreneurs have family members who face these issues compared to just 16% of others with family members who face these same types of issues. Read more at forbes.com.

5 Strategies for Stopping Unhelpful Behaviors

Does any of this sound familiar? You hit “play next episode” on Netflix (for the third time in a row) even though you know you are staying up too late and have to work the next day. You check your social media and surf the web for “just a few more minutes” even though there are other things you know you should attend to. You have “just a few more sweets” even though you are quite full. You check your phone continually even though doing so takes you away from fully engaging in important things that you could be attending to.

Why is it so difficult to stop something that feels pleasurable, even when you know it isn’t what is best for you in the long run?

For the human organism, reward-based learning (seeking what is pleasurable and avoiding what is painful) was a helpful evolutionary strategy for the human species. Pursuing things that felt good (such as sex or good-tasting food) and avoiding pain (e.g., getting bitten by a snake, or getting sick from a poisonous plant) helped our ancestors survive. This is hard-wired into our biology. Read more at psychologytoday.com.

4 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Boost Their Mental Health

Starting and building a business is outrageously difficult. It demands long hours, deep research and analysis, and more blood, sweat and tears than a body should ever be capable of. One moment, you’re riding high on your latest successful breakthrough. The next, you’re plunged into the psychic underworld of failure.

The ambiguous nature of business goes hand-in-hand with uncertainty, stress, anxiety and even crushing depression. Why? There’s a myriad of reasons.

Recent research shows that entrepreneurs are 30 percent more likely to suffer from depression than those who serve in the lower levels of an organization’s hierarchy.

Entrepreneurs are in a position of leadership; in many cases, the livelihood of others depends on their success. There is an immense amount of pressure that comes with that dynamic. As a leader, they often feel compelled to act as a support system for others, even when needing support themselves.

Additionally, business owners typically have the bulk of their savings invested in the business; failure could spell financial catastrophe. Many entrepreneurs sacrifice their physical and mental well-being by skipping meals, not getting enough sleep, and burning the candle at both ends by working 100 or more hours a week. Read more at startupnation.com.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics to Cultivate

Entrepreneurs help bolster economic development, create jobs, and invent products or services that can make the world a better place. Being a successful entrepreneur requires outside-the-box thinking and larger-than-life ideas. Anyone can come up with a new idea, but building a successful business around it is the entrepreneurial challenge. The entrepreneurial mindset is unique in that one must be creative, communicative, and highly motivated to succeed, yet open to risk and failure.

It’s not a big idea alone that paves the path to ultimate entrepreneurial success. Oftentimes the success or failure of a business comes down to the characteristics of the entrepreneur themselves. It takes a unique aggregate of characteristics to meld one big idea into a fully-functional thriving business. Is there a certain amalgam of skills and traits which allows some entrepreneurs to become wildly successful?

Suffice it to say that there is no magical formula to succeed in business (if so, Harvard Business School would have patented it). However, there are certain characteristics which all aspiring entrepreneurs should cultivate to dramatically boost their own odds for success. An entrepreneurial mindset, if you will, may mark the difference between a lucrative business and one which shutters the doors before the first year is over. Read more at aofund.org.

What is an entrepreneurial mindset?
A way of thinking that enables you to overcome challenges, be decisive, and accept responsibility for your outcomes. It is a constant need to improve your skills, learn from your mistakes, and take continuous action on your ideas.

Are You An Entrepreneur?

en·tre·pre·neur

ˌäntrəprəˈnər/

noun: entrepreneur; plural noun: entrepreneurs

A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

Ditch These Five Habits If You Want Entrepreneurial Success

If this is the year you go all-in on achieving your entrepreneurial dream, it’s time for a little tough love. Wanting to become a successful business owner or startup founder is an admirable goal, but wishing and dreaming will only get you so far. You’re going to need to make substantial changes to your daily life if you hope to attain even a modicum of success.

One of the first things you need to do if you want to become a successful entrepreneur is to rid yourself of the bad habits holding you back. Commit to changing your life and letting go of bad habits, and you’ll be amazed at how much quicker you can reach your goals. Read about the top five habits you need to ditch at entrepreneur.com.

Rohn: How to Stop Listening to the Negative Voice in Your Head

Why are we so frequently inclined to do the things that are least important but so reluctant to do the essential things that success and happiness demand? What is the voice that whispers to us: Just let it all slide. Why worry about all that discipline nonsense? It is the voice of negativity, a voice that has grown increasingly stronger over the years as a result of being around the wrong influences, thinking the wrong thoughts, developing the wrong philosophy and making the wrong decisions.

Part of the solution to quieting the voice of negativity is learning to listen to the still, small voice of success, which resides inside each of us. The voice of success is constantly struggling to be heard about the loud promptings of the voice of failure. Our own free agency allows us to follow whichever voice we choose. Every time we allow ourselves to succumb to the voce of the dark side of life, and are persuaded to repeat errors instead of mastering new disciplines, the voice of negativity grows stronger. Conversely, each time we listen to the urgings of the voice of success, and are persuaded to turn off the TV to pick up a book, to open our journals and record our thoughts, or to spend a quiet moment pondering where our current actions might be leading us, the voice success responds to these new disciplines and grows in strength and volume as each day passes. For each new discipline, another step forward. Read more at success.com.

6 Steps to Discover Your True Self

To truly know yourself is the most important skill you can ever possess. When you know who you are, you know what you need to do, instead of looking for permission from others to do what you already know you ought to do. It allows you to bypass tons of frustration caused by putting time into the wrong things. Yes, life is supposed to be full of trial and error, but this lets you find the best areas for you to experiment with in the first place. Once you know yourself, you will become more confident, you will understand your purpose, and you will begin making a bigger impact on the world. Read more at success.com.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle

Acceler8Success Cafe Special Franchise Edition Monday 5.10.21

May 10, 2021May 10, 2021 ·

Franchising In 2021: Optimism Abounds

As we look back over the past year and think about the impact Covid-19 had on the economy, there is a general perception that it dealt a blow that would take businesses years to recover from. While some establishments were unfortunately forced to close permanently and customer spending has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, the outlook for business in 2021 is strong. To use an analogy from a famous Mark Twain saying, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to attend a franchise conference and spend 20 hours meeting with a series of franchisors on Zoom calls over the course of the week. It was a valuable, productive experience, and the tone was very optimistic. Admittedly, franchisors can be overly optimistic, but the sense of optimism is consistent when I speak with franchisees and others in the business community.

While certain industries were negatively impacted by the pandemic, it is important to remember that many franchises operate in sectors that did not suffer from shutdowns or customer contractions. Those businesses are more on the service side and often work out of homes, offices and office warehouse locations. Read more at forbes.com.

The Future of Franchising

What does the future of franchising look like? Bright, according to many market reports. This industry is growing fast and furiously with more franchisees owning several units, better technology getting incorporated into stores, and a new business model taking shape.

More Multi-unit Owners: What happens once you have mastered the tried and true formula franchises have designed for their franchisees? If you’re like many franchise owners, you start opening another location. And then another. By recreating your success in multiple locations, you can quickly grow your revenues and increase your business’s sustainability.

Enhanced Technology: It’s not a secret that technology is changing quickly but the franchise industry is struggling to keep up in many ways. For some franchisees who have owned and operated a business for several years, switching away from analog technology and over to the digital technology available feels like a step backward. For example, some franchisees feel more comfortable using a cash register rather than an updated point-of-sale model. Some restaurant owners prefer the standard menu boards in lieu of digital menu boards.

Still, the franchise industry is quickly realizing the importance of making this switch and now, franchisors are working methodically to update all of their franchise locations with updated technology. Most franchisors won’t force this technology on their franchisees but it will be strongly encouraged through a deployment stage on an incremental basis depending on cash flow and franchisee needs. Read more at franchisedirect.com.

10 franchising trends to watch out for in 2021

While the world continues to respond to the current unpredictable economy, the resulting trends are opening doors of opportunity for the franchise industry over the next year.

Successful businesses tend to have the talent for spotting trends over fads. While a fad is a passing fancy, a trend points towards the future and opportunities. Exploring franchising trends that emerged in what will prove to be one of the most challenging economies we have ever seen, everyone in franchising can find opportunities like never before.

Franchising only works when franchisors get wealthy by helping their franchisees get wealthy. While this might sound obvious, the trick is creating a cohesive business that continues to succeed based on past success. When done right, franchises create a cycle, with franchisors actively promoting their franchisee’s success and franchisees wanting their franchisors to succeed. This keeps everyone focused on the same goal and avoids a dangerous “us versus them” mentality. Read more at globalfranchisemagazine.com.

“Business isn’t a science. It’s not like mixing this chemical with that chemical to get a predictable outcome. You can make a plan and set a goal and even be reasonably sure that you’ll reach that goal, but until you do, you won’t know if you will.” – Fred DeLuca, Founder and CEO, Subway

Why Franchising? Why Now?

A once in a lifetime global pandemic touched every aspect of our lives. How we live, how we eat, how we greet each other and how we work. Except for a few dozen billionaires, who watched their wealth grow despite the economic ravages of COVID-19, nearly everyone was glad to see the year 2020 fade into the rear-view mirror. Unprecedented economic fallout descended upon the intersection of business and commerce, leading to unemployment levels not seen in the past century.

Seems like the ideal time to run out and buy a franchise to kick off 2021, doesn’t it? While at first glance, the risk-averse among us would put up the sign of the cross, slam on the brakes, or even ask the questioner if they’re feeling a bit feverish. But there’s another side of the coin to consider. As the great ESPN college football commentator Lee Corso would interject—“NOT so fast, my friend!”

So, it begs the question, is there a silver lining to consider for buying into a franchise operation during the middle of an economic crisis and a pandemic that’s still a threat—despite vaccines? Why franchising? Why now? Read more at score.org.

Pros and Cons of Buying a Franchise

Franchise businesses have a history of creating jobs faster than other startup businesses. The positive economic outlook for franchises has lured many would-be small business owners toward buying a franchise.

Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of franchising can help you decide whether it is a good choice for you. The number one advantage is that you basically receive a kit with plans, a guide, and support for starting the business.

The big disadvantage for many people wanting to start up a business is the initial costs, or outlay, necessary to start a franchise.

Buying a franchise can be a worthwhile endeavor, but choosing the right franchise is important. If you’ve done your research, and picked a franchise that works the way you want it to, you’ll more than likely be successful. Read more at thebalancesmb.com.

“If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.” – Ray Kroc, Founder, McDonald’s

How to Open a Franchise Business

A franchise organization builds a solid brand and then licenses the brand to independent storeowners. Franchise organizations provide franchisees with ready-made plans for operations, marketing, finance and human resources procedures, as well as best practices and training programs for all job roles. Franchise outlets gain a huge competitive advantage by piggybacking onto the national marketing efforts of the franchisor. Read more at smallbusiness.chron.com.

How Much Will You Need to Fund a Franchise Purchase?

Franchise ownership is a powerful way to become a business owner.

Franchises come with established brand recognition, best practices, support and processes that can accelerate profitability and growth.

Starting a franchise is unlike starting any other type of business. As seen in the recent post, Women in Business: Is Franchising in Your Future?, more women are starting small businesses of all types, including franchises. They have access to networks, turnkey marketing and operational plans and many franchise-friendly locations across the country.

Starting a franchise business also comes with a number of fees before and during your ownership that are unique to the business type. How much will you need to fund a franchise purchase? Let us take a closer look at benetrends.com.

The Top 20 Franchises of 2020 From the Entrepreneur Franchise 500

Entrepreneur has been ranking the top 500 franchises in America for 41 years. We use a five-pillar system to evaluate the hundreds of entries we receive every year. Those five pillars (in no particular order) are:

Costs and fees. This includes the franchise fee, total investment and royalty fees.
Size and growth. This counts open and operating units, growth rate and closures.
Support. This pillar takes into consideration training times, marketing support, operational support, franchisor infrastructure, financing availability and litigation.
Brand strength. This aspect is all about social media, system size, years in business and years franchising.
Financial strength and stability. This considers the franchisor’s audited financial statements.

Every year, the competition grows thicker and thicker as new businesses create compelling cases and the old-school, established ones keep innovating. Even making the Franchise 500 is a huge accomplishment, but which ones managed to crack the top echelon and make our top 20? Read more at entrepreneur.com.

Is a Franchise Right for Me?

When thinking about whether a franchise is right for you, it’s essential to dig deep into your own psyche. Make sure you are investing in a business for all the right reasons. You have to desire it! More than that, a franchise has to be a good fit.

Consider the pros and cons of franchising carefully. But most of all, understand your needs and motivations. Knowing whether a franchise is right for you depends on knowing yourself and what you want out of life. The right franchise opportunity can be rewarding, even life-changing. Read more at smallbiztrends.com.

“Life will test you, that’s a promise. It’s what you do with the challenges that determines your failure or your success. “ – William Rosenberg, Founder, Dunkin’ Donuts

Franchise vs. Start-up: Which One Works for You?

You are tired of working for someone else and you want to start your own business, but don’t know if you should do it from scratch. Below you can find the pros and cons of franchises and startups, and decide which one works for you.

Higher Success Rate: A franchise is a proven system. All franchisees operate under a common system and they are only responsible from their day to day operations. Also, they get trained about the product line, marketing, how to deal with staff and other aspects of their daily activities. Basically, they get an ongoing support for their businesses which brings them success.

Brand Recognition: Franchises bring brand awareness with their names from day one. Therefore, customers will know about your products which will increase your sales. By buying a franchise, you are actually buying a turnkey business that is ready and waiting for you to start. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of a franchise at entrepreneur.com.

Acceler8Success Cafe Friday 5.7.21

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 ·

Entrepreneurship is Evolution not Architecture

Plan, plan, plan. It is drilled into the head of every business student. Write business plans, addressable market analyses, go-to-market strategies.

The idea is that a business is a structure and you are the architect. You can write a business into reality. You can tame the chaos. Every line will be translated into a living part of a vibrant business like the meticulous drafting notes on a building elevation. Every spreadsheet cell will blossom into a revenue stream or product line. Uncertainty can be tackled with contingency plans. If only things were so simple. Read more at medium.com.

The Evolution of the Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs have shaped the face of business and enterprise since the dawn of man. From the first wheel to the advent of the internet, these clever businesspeople evolved for centuries into their most recent incarnation, the social media entrepreneur.

In this infographic, we explore the evolution of the entrepreneur. We’re no longer cave-people, but we still have some things in common with our ancestors.

Instead of using the internet as a forum for their business, today’s social media entrepreneurs are reshaping it to fit their businesses. These social media entrepreneurs thrive on connectivity. View infographic at grasshopper.com.

“What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” — Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s

5 Leadership Lessons For Entrepreneurs To Be Successful In 2021

Whether you’re a business veteran or new to the entrepreneur scene, running a business is no easy feat. Despite a challenging past year, entrepreneurial spirits are alive and well, with many Americans expanding their quarantine hobbies beyond activities like baking and exercising and starting their own ventures. Consequently, 30.7 million small businesses now currently operate nationwide, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, applications for small business owners increased 32% in the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a record-breaking 77% jump in Q2 – that’s 500,000 more Americans and counting navigating the complex world of entrepreneurship.

Building on a long, successful career as an entrepreneur, Kirk Simpson, CEO of FinTech software Wave, developed software specifically for small business owners to help them get off the ground and focus on doing what they love. As a three-time tech startup owner himself, Simpson’s unique connection to entrepreneurship encouraged him to develop his software with features that relieve entrepreneurs of maintaining administrative tasks like bookkeeping and banking, so they can focus on building their business. Read more at forbes.com.

4 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From John Paul DeJoria’s Rags-to-Riches Story

Although I’m certainly no John Paul DeJoria, I do know what it’s like to have been poor. As a kid, I lived in a run-down neighborhood, where a 1-meter-wide, open sewage gutter ran right outside our door. Today, I am a serial entrepreneur whose companies have helped tens of thousands take their first steps into the world of business.

The co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products and the Patrón Spirits Company, DeJoria was homeless twice before he became a billionaire.

When DeJoria was homeless, he was too proud to ask his mom for a place to stay; he wanted to make it on his own. Instead, he asked her for a few hundred bucks to hold him over until he got back on his feet.

At one point, DeJoria’s friend, a motorcyclist, offered him a spare room, where he and his 2-year-old son could stay. Some of the “biker mamas” — DeJoria’s words — even helped take care of his son, allowing him to go out and hustle. DeJoria admits it was a life-changing show of support.

If DeJoria’s friend hadn’t given him a leg up, it’s hard to say for certain if he would have become the massively successful businessman he is today.

As an entrepreneur, sometimes you’re going to need help. No self-respecting entrepreneur wants a handout. But pride to the point of blindness can prevent you from ever reaching your goals. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

6 Business Books That Will Revolutionize Your Business and Change Your Life

Books have the power to change lives. We live in a time when books are more affordable and accessible. Yet, fewer entrepreneurs read books, using the excuse of a lack of time. If you can’t find time to read, you as an entrepreneur will not grow, which will have an effect on your business.

If you study any successful entrepreneur, you’ll see one of the keys to their success is that they educate themselves through books. You can get books these days for as little as .99 cents. Many are even free through Amazon’s KDP Select program. There’s no reason not to have a Kindle full of books that can educate you and teach you strategies to grow your business.

Here are six books that can help you create a business and life you love. This list is a good start. It’s up to you to research books that will help you and your business where you are in your journey. These books are changing lives and helping entrepreneurs grow their business. Read more at entrepreneurship.com.

How To Turn Your Idea Into A Successful Business Like Joy Mangano

We all saw her portrayed in the 2015 hit movie, Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence. Joy Mangano, a divorced working mother of three, created a self-wringing mop, which eventually became a successful business. Now she has more than 100 patents and trademarks to her name and has developed more than $3 billion worth of unique products.

Do you secretly dream of becoming an inventor like Joy? Maybe you’ve had a plethora of creative ideas over the years, but you come up with the same excuses:

Where do I start?
Who would buy this anyway?
Hasn’t someone already thought of this?
What do I know about starting a business?
How can I afford to get this idea off the ground?

Don’t let your doubts and fears get in the way of launching a product or service that could eventually become a successful business. Learn about some sage advice from some of the world’s most well-known inventors and entrepreneurs at forbes.com.

The Current Rise Of Women Entrepreneurial Leaders

As the positive movement for gender equality in the workplace gains significant momentum, the data not only shows forward motion, but many opportunities to be taken advantage of. Cultural progress is of little value unless there is a framework to channel mindset and behavioral transformation into actions and results.

My wife, Nicole Gleeson, and I are business partners in our latest venture, and we would be nowhere without her vision, leadership, tenacity and drive. This is also why we partnered in writing this article, which is intentionally published today – International Women’s Day. Several years ago she was an executive working in “corporate America” and was constantly plagued by harassment, salary inequality and by feelings of insignificance. She was young and working in a male-dominated industry always asking herself, “How did I even get this job?”

This female confidence challenge was also described as the “imposter syndrome” by Pauline Claunce and Suzanne Imes. Women frequently express that they don’t feel they deserve their job and are “imposters” who could be found out at any moment. Claunce and Imez found that women worry more about being disliked, appearing unattractive, outshining others, or grabbing too much attention. Often times, dreams and aspirations landing on the side-burner of life once getting married and having children. Read more at forbes.com.

A Message from Acceler8Success Founder, Paul Segreto

It’s been a tough few hours tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, questioning the past fourteen months. Reading so much about people with once (recently) successful businesses closing their doors for good and others with extraordinary careers now left unemployed, it all has me questioning, Why?

Sure, we’ve been in midst of a pandemic but I’m been feeling like many just gave up, allowing themselves to have their hands tied, just waiting for the music to stop to determine who will be left without a chair. So much hasn’t made sense. Essential businesses… I don’t get how this had been determined, or even, Why?

Some had joked that the next stop would be the real version of the Hunger Games and crazy as it seems, at times I had started to envision how that could be true. At times, these thoughts remain. It’s like a big leveling of the playing field – break the legs of some while leaving others to survive only to have the would-be survivors face, yet another challenge. Why?

Does any of this make sense? Does anything make sense? Is there truly a light at the end of the tunnel that’s more than just an opening to a perilous drop akin to what Dr. Richard Kimble faced in The Fugitive when he had to make a split-second decision to jump off the dam and face almost certain death or just give up despite his convictions? Why?

I’m not looking to debate. I’m not trying to understand conspiracy theories. I just want to continue to move forward, fulfill my obligations as a businessman and work through a comeback (and reinvention) from a couple of less than satisfying years that right before the pandemic had started to show signs of promise. I want to fulfill my obligations as a friend and colleague and of course, as a husband, father and grandfather. I want to continue to work to help others achieve their dreams. But more than anything, I want to hug my loved ones, knowing they have a bright, safe future ahead without them having to experience white roses falling from the sky, and wondering, Why?

Why We Need to Include Time for Self-care on Our To-do Lists

Modern businesses have many advantages with the scope and reach technology provides. For instance, CEOs and HR directors can tap a much more diverse and global employee pool. This unencumbered reach has several other advantages, including massive growth and profitable sales. Yet, a global market also brings challenges such as language barriers and religious and cultural differences, to name a few. These challenges, however, can be overcome by employing a diverse team.

Leaders sometimes make the mistake of hiring employees who are just like them — in age, race and gender. This practice probably happens unconsciously. Think of friendships. Your obvious friends — the ones who come naturally — share your personality, likes and dislikes. But in the business world, leaders don’t need more of the same. There already is one of you. Wouldn’t you much rather employ people who have new ways of thinking and approaching a problem? Sure, it might be easier to hire the obvious friend, but the best leaders never choose ease over effectiveness. In fact, the best leaders will not tolerate the “yes person” who merely agrees, never contributes original ideas and never challenges others. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

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Get in touch with your inner geek. Jack Monson and many special guests discuss social media and digital marketing trends for brands, small businesses, and franchises.

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Why Joining a Startup Could Be Better Than Launching Your Own

Too often, I see people go, “I want to start my own company,” and then months later, nothing happens. For those who take the leap, the majority either never scales into anything significant or eventually fails.

After all, 90% of new startups fail for various reasons, from product-market fit, team or cash flow problems.

The truth is, being an entrepreneur is tough work and isn’t as lavish as the media paints it out to be.

Now I am not saying it’s not rewarding or something you shouldn’t pursue. The least you get is experience within the industry, especially building something of your own. However, for many who want to work in the startup industry, I want to paint a different picture.

Instead of needing to take the reins and co-found one yourself, there is an equal amount to learn by joining the team of one that has already launched and possibly even raised a round or two.

So why is joining a startup better than launching your own? Learn some points to consider at medium.com.