Interpersonal Skills for Introverts

I can’t think of too many professions where you can succeed without some sort of interpersonal skills.  But, as I’m sure you’re aware, interpersonal skills don’t come naturally to some people.  There are people out there—perfectly kind, warm-hearted people—who like to keep to themselves.  Unfortunately, though, people in the workplace can’t read minds.  So, the person who might be content eating alone and reading the paper might come off as anti-social and, worse yet, rude.  But, if you’re an introvert, or you’ve broken the through the shell of an introvert, you know they mean no such thing and that they’d probably be the nicest people in the workplace if they opened their mouths.  Well, believe it or not, an introverted personality doesn’t necessarily hurt your interpersonal skills.  In fact, you can greatly enhance your people skills through reading and meditation.

Reading

From the first time you cracked the spine of Dr. Suess, everyone has told you reading is good.  And, for the most part, you probably placed it in the same useful category as fruits and vegetables.  However, reading has proven to be useful for your mental health as well as your social skills.  Reading arms you with knowledge for just about any conversation.  By reading, you become an expert in a variety of fields, and you’ll be able to carry engaging conversations without faltering.  It’s similar to when you study hard for a test, and you breeze through it without a worry.  This can be quite the confidence boaster.  And anyone involved with interpersonal skill training knows that confidence is perhaps one of the most important traits to possess.

Meditation

Mediation is about as introverted as it comes.  Who would think that sitting alone in silence for 20 minutes could enhance your people skills?   Well, like reading, meditation is good for your physical health as well as your interpersonal skills.  Naturally, meditation helps you control your thoughts, but it also increases creativity and confidence.  Whether you’re a painter or a financial advisor, creativity is crucial to the work environment.  Those who can think outside the box and convey those thoughts to others are those who move up the corporate ladder.  Meditation helps harness your thoughts and arrange them in a productive fashion.  So, again, similar to reading, this practice typically associated with introverts is one of the best ways to improve your social and communication skills.

Small Biz Stats & Trends

Original Story

The small business marketplace changes rapidly. The information included on this page represents the most current information. When discussing a “small business,” this site uses the definitions provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Read their FAQ sheet.

Small Business Impact on the Economy

The estimated 29.6 million small businesses in the United States:

* Employ just over half of the country’s private sector workforce
* Hire 40 percent of high tech workers, such as scientists, engineers and computer workers
* Include 52 percent home-based businesses and two percent franchises
* Represent 97.3 percent of all the exporters of goods
* Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms
* Generate a majority of the innovations that come from United States companies

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, September 2009

Small Business Survival Rates

Small Business Openings & Closings in 2008:

* There were 627,200 new businesses, 595,600 business closures and 43,546 bankruptcies.
* Seven out of 10 new employer firms survive at least two years, and about half survive five years.
* Findings do not differ greatly across industry sectors.

Sources: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, September 2009

Survival and Longevity in the Business Employment Dynamics Database, Monthly Labor Review, May 2005. Redefining Business Success: Distinguishing Between Closure and Failure, Small Business Economics, August 2003.

Trends in the Small Biz Marketplace

General Trends

* The number of self-employed workers in June 2005 fell 3.1 percent or 303,000 from the month before, Labor Department data showed. Self employment tends to fall as the economy grows. That’s especially true among laid-off workers who start tiny companies after failing to find work in slow times. (Source: USA Today, July 17, 2005)

* During 1979-2003, self-employment increased: 33 percent for women; 37 percent for African Americans, 15 percent for Latinos, 10 for White Americans and 2.5 percent for men. (Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy)

* Where do small business owners go for advice? 52 percent from individual mentors; 51 percent from social networks; 44 percent from trade associations; 36 percent from business advisors; 31 percent from the Internet and 27 percent from Chambers of Commerce (Source: American Express)

Women in Business

* Women represent more than 1/3 of all people involved in entrepreneurial activity. (Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2005 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship)

* Between 1997 and 2002, women-owned firms grew by 19.8 percent while all U.S. firms grew by seven percent (Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy)

* Women-owned firms accounted for 6.5 percent of total employment in U.S. firms in 2002 and 4.2 percent of total receipts. (Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy)

* The number of women-owned firms continues to grow at twice the rate of all U.S. firms (23 percent vs. 9 percent). There are an estimated 10 million women-owned, privately-held U.S. businesses. The greatest challenge for women-owned firms is access to capital, credit and equity. Women start businesses on both lifestyle and financial reasons. Many run businesses from home to keep overhead low. (Source: SBA, Office of Advocacy and Business Times, April 2005)

* Women are more likely to seek business advice—69 percent women vs. 47 percent men. (Source: American Express)

Minority-Owned Businesses

* Black-owned businesses are the fastest growing segment, up 45 percent between 1997-2002. Revenues generated by the nation’s 1.2 million black-owned businesses rose 25 percent between 1997 and 2002 to $88.8 billion in 2002. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

* The number of U.S. businesses with Hispanic owners grew at three times the national average from 1997 to 2002 to 1.6 million businesses in 2002, a 31 percent increase from five years earlier. (Source: MSNBC)

Seniors in Business

* Entrepreneurship among seniors is growing. In 2002, the rate of self-employment for the workforce was 10.2 percent (13.8 million workers), but the rate for workers aged 50 was 16.4 percent (5.6 million workers). Although those age 50 made up 25 percent of the workforce, they comprised 40 of the self-employed. Solo business formation in the future will be driven by people who take early retirement or whose jobs just disappear. (Source: AARP/Rand Corp. “Self-employment and the 50 Population”)

Veterans in Business

* In 2004, about 22 percent of veterans in the US household population were either purchasing or starting a new business or considering purchasing or starting a business and nearly 72 percent of veteran entrepreneurs planned to employ at least one person at the start of their venture (Source: US Census Bureau)

Hot markets for small businesses:

* eBay drop-off sites
* Search engine optimization and Internet marketing
* Performance apparel
* Niche health and fitness
* Technology security consulting
* Services/products for Hispanic-market

(Source: Entrepreneur magazine, “Newest Trends & Hottest Markets,” January 2005)

Six ways for small-business owners to save money

By Marty Orgel

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — In these tough economic times, owners of businesses small and large are coming up with unexpected ways to save money.

The University of Wisconsin at Green Bay said it will save $10,000 annually by changing its font type. The university switched from Arial to Century Gothic because Century Gothic font doesn’t use as much ink when printed, according to an Associated Press report.

In these days of economizing, changing your font style is an innovative way to cut costs. Here are six other ways to save money without drastically changing your business practices.

1. Move paper forms online

Another educational institution said it, too, is saving $10,000 annually — by switching from paper forms to online e-forms.

“We use tens of thousands of forms in all sorts of applications,” said Al Foytek, director of business information systems for the Visalia Unified School District in California.

“The money we save using electronic forms like those from software maker PerfectForms can easily cover the cost to automate our whole processing procedure,” Foytek said. “For example, our print shop uses a paper form which costs us about 75 cents each and we have around 15,000 requests that require other, specific forms each year.”

2. Take it to City Hall

Negotiating with City Hall is another key way to save, said Amy Handlin, deputy minority leader of the New Jersey General Assembly and associate professor of marketing at Monmouth University in New Jersey. The state legislator also wrote the new book, “Be Your Own Lobbyist.”

Handlin said lobbying local and state government is the most cost-effective way to fix a small-business problem.

For example, she said, a city inspector told the owner of a bakery in Salt Lake City that the business would be shut down unless the owner spent $40,000 to install a grease trap in the street. With skillful lobbying, the bakery owner was permitted to place a grease trap in her own kitchen at minimal cost, with the understanding that it would be accessible for monitoring by the city.

Then there’s the group of small-business owners who went before the Massachusetts Public Health Department, Handlin said. New frozen-food regulations required businesses to buy refrigerated trucks that cost $50,000. At a public hearing, the business owners argued for cheaper alternatives. The state agreed, allowing the affected companies to transport goods any way they wanted as long as they maintained safe temperatures.

“Lobbying the right people with the right message is precisely the way to speed things up,” Handlin said.

3. Speed up the payment cycle

Another way to save money: decrease your payment terms. While 30-day-net and 60-day-net are the normal time periods small-business owners give clients to pay invoices, changing those terms can save money, said John Reddish, president of Philadelphia, Penn.-based Advent Management International Ltd.

“Shorter turnaround times can result in lower borrowing costs for money for operating capital,” Reddish said. “A faster turnaround on payments cuts the interest small-business owners have to pay.”

Reddish said one stamping company client changed the due date for billing to “net 15″ and cash flow improved by 31%. For many small businesses, he said, 30-days-net translates into payment up to 63 days later by the time the client actually cuts a check. Making payments due net 15 translates into payment in 48 days — a 31% improvement in cash flow.

There is a downside to this practice, Reddish said. If a customer challenges the change in terms, “you either back off or risk losing business.” But if the client is happy with the services or goods the business owner is providing, changes in terms often slide right through.

4. Sell global, ship local

Shipping costs often are a major expense for both online and brick-and-mortar small- business owners. The cost of fulfillment can make or break a small company. That’s a problem that Shipwire Inc of Palo Alto, Calif., is leveraging. The company offers worldwide shipping at local-country rates, saving customers thousands of dollars in international shipments.

Shipwire has six warehouses in three countries where it stores inventory for small businesses, and works with 15 carriers and freight systems. Pay-as-you-go pricing plans start at $30 a month. And small-business owners can scale-up as business grows.

“Many companies save $30,000 a year with our services,” said Nate Gilmore, Shipwire’s vice president of marketing.

The savings come when businesses can charge customers local shipping rates instead of international rates. For instance, Gilmore said, a San Francisco-based software company can use a Shipwire warehouse in London to deliver an order in Manchester and pay only local U.K. shipping rates.

5. Perfect the art of the deal

With the U.S. Air Force spending billions of dollars a year on outsourcing, researchers at the University of Tennessee felt there probably was room for significant savings.

“The Air Force spends $34 billion on outsourced services a year, and is always trying to find better ways to save taxpayers’ money,” said Kate Vitasek with the Center for Executive Education at the University of Tennessee.

Vitasek said that using “vested outsourcing,” an idea developed by the university, the Air Force saved $79 million on an engine maintenance program for the F/A 18 Hornet.

What is vested outsourcing? It’s the process of negotiating contracts with vendors so that they earn more when they meet all the terms of the contract, and they are penalized when they don’t. A vested outsourcing agreement will cut hidden contract costs and only pay the vendor if and when that vendor successfully lives up to the terms of the contract.

Vitasek said Microsoft Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!msft/quotes/nls/msft (MSFT 23.20, +0.04, +0.17%) used vested outsourcing principles with the technology consultancy firm Accenture PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!acn/quotes/nls/acn (ACN 38.21, -0.07, -0.20%) . The 7-year contract is valued at $185 million and “they have cut the costs 35%,” or almost $65 million, she said.

The University of Tennessee studied only very large companies, but Vitasek said all companies, from mom-and-pop markets to multi-billion dollar institutions, can benefit from vested outsourcing.

6. Pull in some free advertising

Bert Martinez of Bert Martinez Communications LLC in Houston, Texas, has a unique take on guerilla marketing. He said small-business owners can reap large rewards by scouring local yellow pages and business directories.

“Call the phone numbers in your competitors’ ads,” he said. “You will always find several ads that have disconnected numbers. Then surf competitors’ websites and find any that are out of business.”

Then, contact the telephone company and the website domain name registrar. When possible, buy your competitors’ website names and take over their telephone numbers. The phone company and domain registrars can assign those disconnected numbers to your main number, and the websites can be redirected to your site.

“Voila,” Martinez said. “You’re now receiving tons of new yellow-page advertising and web traffic!”

Marty Orgel is a freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Michael Jordan – Becoming Legendary

Michael Jordan provides the ultimate motivation with a journey through his legacy that challenges you to look beyond your limits and rise to your potential.

Remarks by the President on Small Business Jobs Proposals

11:23 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Everybody please have a seat.

The Optimist Creed: Promise Yourself

The Optimist Creed was authored in 1912 by Chistian D. Larson, appearing in his book Your Forces and How to Use Them. It was adopted as Optimist International’s creed in 1922. Many have found inspiration in The Optimist Creed. In hospitals, the creed has been used to help patients recover from illness. In locker rooms, coaches have used it to motivate their players.

Please print this page of The Optimist’s Creed to read daily. Use it as a powerful tool to become the most brilliant magnet for magnificence and joy in your life. Please share it with your friends.

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

30 Habits that Will Change your Life

Developing good habits is the basic of personal development and growth. Everything we do is the result of a habit that was previously taught to us. Unfortunately, not all the habits that we have are good, that’s why we are constantly trying to improve.

The following is a list of 30 practical habits that can make a huge difference in your life.

You should treat this list as a reference, and implement just one habit per month. This way you will have the time to fully absorb each of them, while still seeing significant improvements each month.
Health habits

1. Exercise 30 minutes every day. Especially if you don’t do much movement while working, it’s essential that you get some daily exercise. 30 minutes every day are the minimum recommended for optimal health.

2. Eat breakfast every day. Breakfast is the more important meal of the day, yet so many people skip it. Personally, I like to eat a couple of toasts in the morning along with a fruit beverage.

3. Sleep 8 hours. Sleep deprivation is never a good idea. You may think that you are gaining time by sleeping less, when in reality you are only gaining stress and tiredness. 8 hours are a good number of hours for most people, along with an optional 20 minutes nap after lunch.

4. Avoid snacking between meals. Snacking between meals is the best way to gain weight. If you are hungry, eat something concrete. Otherwise don’t. Update: for clarification, I mean don’t eat junk food between meals, but eating real food it’s ok.

5. Eat five portions of fruits and vegetables every day. Our body and brain loves getting vegetables and fruit, so I highly recommend eating as much of them as possible. Five portions is the dose that’s usually recommended by many health associations.

6. Eat fish. Fish is rich of omega 3 and other healthy elements. At least one meal per week of fish should be enough for getting all these nutrients.

7. Drink one glass of water when you wake up. When you wake up, your body is dehydrated and needs liquid. Make the habit of drinking one glass of water after you wake up in the morning. Also, drink more during the day.

8. Avoid soda. Soda is often one of the most unhealthy beverage you can find. Limit your consumption of soda as much as possible and you’re body will be grateful for that.

9. Keep your body clean. I don’t advise spending your day in front of the mirror, but a minimum of personal care does never hurt.

10. If you smoke, stop it. There’s no reason to smoke anymore, and quitting is easy.

11. If you drink, stop it. Same as above. Don’t think that alcohol will solve your problems. It never does. The only exception is one glass of wine per day during meals.

12. Take the stairs. This is just a hack that forces you to do a minimum of exercise. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs.

Productivity habits

1. Use an inbox system. Make the habit of keeping track of all the ideas and things that comes to mind. You can use a notebook to do this, and then sync everything on your computer.

2. Prioritize. If you have a list of things to do, where do you start? One way is to prioritize your list. If you are in doubt, ask yourself: “If I could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be?”

3. Plan, but not too much. Planning is important, and you should decide in advance what you are going to do today or this week. However, planning for more than a few weeks is usually inefficient, so I would not worry too much about that.

4. Wake up early. Waking up early in the morning is a great way to gain extra time. I personally like to wake up at 5 am, so that by 9 am I have already accomplished what otherwise would have taken me many days..

5. Check your email only twice per day. Email can easily become an addiction, but it’s usually unnecessary to check it every 10 minutes. Make an effort and check your email only once or twice per day, see if the world will still rotate as before after you try this.

6. Eliminate unimportant tasks. Being busy all day does not mean you are doing important stuff. Eliminate every activity that’s not important, and focus on what really matters.

7. Clean off your desk and room. Having a clear room and desk is important to maintain focus and creativity.

8. Automate. There are a lot of tasks that you need to perform every day or every week. Try to automate them as much as possible.

9. Set strict deadlines. When you do something, decide in advance when you’re going to stop. There’s a rule that states that you will fulfill all the time you have available for completing a task, so make an habit of setting strict deadlines for maximizing your productivity.

10. Take one day off per week. Instead of working every day, take one day off per week (for example sunday) where you are not going to turn on your computer. Use that time for doing recreational activities like going for a walk.

Personal Development habits

1. Read 1 book per week. Reading is a good way to keep your brain active. With just 30 minutes per day you should be able to read one book per week, or more than 50 books per year.

2. Solve puzzles. Quizzes, word games, etc. are all good ways to exercise your brain.

3. Think positively. You are what you think, all the time.

4. Make fast decisions. Instead of thinking for one hour wherever you are going to do something, make your decisions as fast as possible (usually less than 1 minute).

5. Wait before buying. Waiting 48 hours before buying anything is a tremendous money saver, try it.

6. Meditate 30 minutes per day. A great way to gain clearness and peace is through meditation. 30 minutes are not a lot, but enough to get you started with meditation.

Career habits

1. Start a blog. Blogging is one of the best way to put your word out. It doesn’t have to be around a specific topic, even a personal blog will do.

2. Build a portfolio. If your job is creating stuff, building a portfolio is a great way to show what you are capable of. You can also contribute stuff for free if that applies to your work.

What do you think? What are the habits that changed your life?

4 Ways to Improve People Skills

How advantageous is it to increase your people skills? People skills can be defined by a broad collection of attitudes, thought processes, and levels of awareness, which allow you to relate well to others. In business, having great people skills is tremendously important.

People skills closely relate to business topics such as business leadership, negotiation skills, and sales techniques. The world of business is full of relationships, and learning to form good relationships with the help of people skills will only serve to your benefit. Read the following four tips to help improve the way you relate to others.

Active Listening

It is highly important for others to be heard.  Active listening is the process of presenting occasional and one-line summaries of what the speaker is saying.  The process lets the speaker know you are listening and you understand their message.  Active listening is advantageous for both parties.  Imagine being a new employee taking directions from a boss.  Anxiety or nervousness may influence the new worker’s ability to listen to directions, yet participating in active listening would prompt the worker to concentrate on the boss’ message, reinforcing the worker’s memory and letting the boss know the worker clearly understands.

Smiling is Okay

How serious are you about business?  Could it be detrimental to be too serious?  It can be possible to be successful and jovial at the same time.  Many people who find themselves in a business leadership position struggle with implementing humor because humor has the reputation of being antithetical to business.  Proponents of enhancing people skills would suggest that smiling is okay.  Of course, it is expected to maintain professionalism at all times during the course of the business day, yet a professional can be successful and enjoy humor.  Sometimes, success is facilitated by humor due to a businessperson’s charismatic personality.

Empathize

When we have a remote sense of what others are experiencing, we are sympathizing, but we are empathizing when we can truly relate to the experience of others.  It is a great advancement in increasing your people skills when you can learn to put your self in another’s position or see things from their perspective.  Oftentimes, people may not relate or cannot remedy a situation because they do not attempt to place themselves in the other person’s position.  Empathizing increases awareness and can benefit business by helping people relate and inspiring workers to see various perspectives.

No Negativity

‘No negativity’ sounds cliche and obvious, yet maintaining a positive mindset is something to be conscious about each business day.  Some business people repeat mantras or slogans throughout the day to help them maintain their positivity.  Negativity has a bad influence on many business aspects such as negotiation skills, strategic selling, and people skills.  It is important to distinguish negativity from being critical.  The latter is needed in order to make business decisions, yet negativity is never ‘needed’ in business.  Keeping a positive mindset improves morale and inspires others to seek you for input and advice.

Tips for Effective Communication

Effective communication is essential to ones career growth. It includes both conveying messages clearly and receiving messages clearly from others. Communications skills help you when presenting a weekly report to your team, completing a sales call to a possible client, emailing your boss, or chatting with coworkers. Although each situation requires a unique approach, there are some general communication tips that apply to all types of audiences.

Tip #1: Know the topic you are discussing. If you are giving a speech to a large group of people, be sure you are familiar with the subject. Or if you are sending an email to your boss, be sure to understand what you are asking or discussing. Your audience can easily pick up on a lack of knowledge and will not value your communication if detected.

Tip #2: Know the audience. There is a big difference speaking to a work friend in the break room and discussing a deal with a customer. You want to adapt to the situation and match your communication to the level that is needed. Not to say you should change who you are but understand that what you know and do not know about the audience. Are they knowledgeable on the topic? Do they have cultural differences? What are their expectations from you? How much do they know about you? These are the types of questions you want to ask yourself before deciding on a communication technique.

Tip #3: Use the right communication channel. These include face to face, telephone, video conference, and written (email, letter, memo, etc). If you are discussing a confidential topic, you would want to be sure you use a method that reaches only a qualified audience. If you are reporting on a long, in depth subject, a phone call might not allow proper interaction. Maybe graphs or displays would work better in a face to face meeting.

Tip #4: Be to the point, positive, and polite. Do not ramble on about unnecessary information or personal references when they are not needed because the audience will become distracted. Reflect the news, even if bad news, in a positive light. If you begin speaking negatively, people tend to get their back up or become worried about the topic. They will then pay less attention to whatever else you have to discuss. And, always remember your manners, they go a long way. An audience will become more receptive if they are treated well and feel respected. Being rude will create an instant barrier that is tough to get through.

Tip #5: Listen. Communication is not just about you talking, it is receiving information and feedback from others. Whether you ask a question and the audience is answering, you send an email and the recipient I responding, or you are getting the opinion of others in a team meeting, be sure to listen fully. If you do not comprehend what they say, ask questions or for them to repeat it. Listening will help you clearly understand your audience so that they will clearly understand you.

Communication skills can be learned overtime through your experiences or you can take part in a communication skills training. Many businesses or organizations offer training to their employees or members so that they can present themselves effectively.

First-Time Owners Find Management Comes With Headaches

Wall Street Journal | Small Business By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN – FEBRUARY 24, 2010

When Cameron Madill launched Synotac Design LLC in 2003, wiping away tears and giving pep talks wasn’t on his to-do list. But once he began hiring employees for his Web-site development firm two years later, he learned that dealing with people matters comes with the job.

“I was interested in building a company,” says Mr. Madill, a first-time business owner in Portland, Ore. “I never thought through that it meant I would have to hire people, terminate people and do all of the things associated with being a boss.”

It’s common for first-time entrepreneurs to overlook responsibilities tied to managing people when starting out, says Edward P. Marram, a senior lecturer of entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. With all the focus on selling a new product or service, “most don’t think about being a boss,” he says.

But at some point, business owners typically need help to grow, Mr. Marram says, and that means hiring staff, delegating responsibilities, and learning to be effective managers. For the inexperienced, those management duties can be challenging, depressing and sometimes plain awkward.

For instance, entrepreneur Lisa Morris last year had to deal with an employee who accidentally copied her on a highly graphic email to a hotel sales manager. “He was saying he’d do certain things to the person’s body for good rates,” recalls Ms. Morris, owner of Road Concierge Inc., a travel- and concierge-services firm in New York. “We’re all about servicing our clients, but not actually servicing them.”

Ms. Morris, who started her business in 2006, says she felt “really uncomfortable” scolding the employee for his behavior because ruling with an iron fist isn’t her style. “I don’t like to be very corporate,” she says, adding that she runs a casual office where employees’ pets are welcome.

Still, while it was clear that the email exchange wasn’t serious, nor was the recipient offended, Ms. Morris says she needed to stress that a repeat performance would be unacceptable. “I hate having to act like a mom,” she says. “But there are times when you can’t be nice. You’re the boss and you have to enforce policy.”

Many first-time business owners struggle with laying down the law because they are in fact former corporate employees who became entrepreneurs in part to escape rigid work environments. The worst situation, however, is having to tell an employee you can no longer keep them on board.

Sandy Sabean, co-owner of Womenkind, pictured center, meets with employees Lara Ngai, left, and Betsy Handwerker, right.

“You feel terrible,” says Sandy Sabean, co-owner of Womenkind LLC, a New York marketing-communications firm with five employees. Last year, she says, she laid off two workers for the first time after the company lost a bid. “When you have to let someone out on the street under those circumstances it’s hard,” she says. “It’s sad.”

Gary Hewing, co-owner of Bert Martinez Communications LLC, a sales- and business-training firm in Houston and Scottsdale, Ariz, says it’s just as rough to fire someone for poor performance. “You know they’ll have a tough time finding a job and that you’re giving this person the last check they may have for months,” he says. “It’s extremely difficult. I do not appreciate that aspect of the job.”

Some inexperienced entrepreneurs are caught off guard by just how significant a role a boss plays within a small company.

Mr. Madill, whose Web-design firm has eight employees, learned that lesson about three years ago when a worker who was hired to do miscellaneous tasks refused to take on a new assignment and subsequently offered her resignation.

A self-described pushover, Mr. Madill agree to let her stay on the company payroll for the next six weeks while she searched for a new employer. “She helped build the company,” he says. “You feel some loyalty to your first few hires.”

But the decision drew resentment from the rest of the company’s staff, says Mr. Madill, particularly because the uncompromising employee did little work from that point on. “It led to an unbelievably toxic atmosphere,” he says. And when the problem worker was finally gone, things changed dramatically. “Productivity suddenly increased,” he says. “You would’ve thought we hired a person the day she left.”

Mr. Madill says he since changed his outlook on business leadership thanks to the advice of counselors at Accelerator, a nationwide support organization for early-stage entrepreneurs. Other support groups small businesses can turn to for advice include Young Entrepreneur, Energizing Young Entrepreneurs and SCORE.

Now Mr. Madill believes that as a business owner, “you only have an obligation to make (your employees) successful to the extent that they give more back to the company,” he says. “And if someone doesn’t understand that, it’s not your responsibility to educate them.”

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

Overcoming Fears in Business

“Your greatest obstacle to success is yourself, it’s fear of failure”.
~Bert Martinez

Every new or struggling business owner wants to know how to manage their fears, particularly nowadays. Check out this list of easy ways to overcome your fears:
_______________________________________

You have to keep in mind that a large number of successful business were started during economic downturns, it drives out your competition and forces business owners to concentrate on keeping cost down and creating a leaner, meaner, more efficient business.
Thank you,
Justin Pesta
Vanguard Financial LLC
_______________________________________

As a recovering alcoholic, I have found that most fear is unfounded and grounded in my brain from childhood. Let me prove a point. Picture yourself hanging from a branch and I ask you to look down. Now I ask you, “How far off the ground are you?” Most people would say anywhere from 20 feet to miles. The point is that you are probably only 2-3 feet off the ground as an adult but your brain still recalls your childhood experiences. Getting over fear requires a strong belief in faith and that no one wants us to fail. Even the odds are against succeeding, who cares? Someone has to win. It might as well as be you.

Jeffrey Taylor
4844 E Andora Dr
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
http://booksbyjeffreytaylor.com
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I have started several high tech businesses in both Atlanta and Silicon Valley. Each time, there was fear and doubt. No amount of education, training, preparation or research will remove the lingering doubt…real entrepreneurs know and come to respect fear of failure. However, fear has to be used wisely and not left to run amok.

Here is the process I have used that seemed to help me overcome fear – I am also counseled other entrepreneurs on this over the years. First, when I am conceiving an idea for a business, I try to see if I can become emotionally involved in the idea – does it excite me, do I think it is something that will benefit people – do some good. This is very important and is the fuel for many entrepreneurs. Second, as I move into the data gathering mode, I attempt to remain completely neutral on the concept – really trying to listen as I do my research (both primary and secondary). I attempt to hear all points of view, get as much hard data as I can and apply as much rigor to the process as possible. Finally, in the final phase, before any commitment is taken on my part, I try to KILL THE IDEA. I spend quite a bit of time in this phase – asking people hard questions, going back over all of my data, seeking counsel from wise friends and business associates – asking them to please help me STOP NOW before I waste money and time. If at the end of this process (and there is no time limit – but as quickly as possible), I am still excited about the idea (or some variety thereof), I will proceed to the strategy development/development/implementation modes. I will also proceed without fear. My experience has taught me that fear has its place in the entrepreneurial process but not once the entrepreneur has made the commitment to move forward – fear at this point is a drag on the effort and hinders the chances of success. Fear is always “in the room”, so to speak but it is not “invited to the table”, once the decision to move forward has been made. Mental discipline and really understanding the entrepreneurial process is required.

Thank You and God Bless.

James D. Grady (Jim)
President/CEO
The Monticello Corporation
makers of The Paper Tiger software
Atlanta, GA
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“Once we drop from fear’s influence, a world of new possibilities emerges.”
Gayle A. Gregory – Author,
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Worry does not affect the outcome. And… nothing happens until you move. So, get a grip on your concerns, conduct the due diligence to determine whether your action is warranted, then take the initiative and move forward. The depression spawned many new movements in this country. Each entrepreneur needs to plan out his/her steps, then work the plan. This may be that person’s distinct contribution, so it is essential that they move.

www.Thrival.com

Paul O. Radde. Ph.D.
Thrival Systems(R)
DrPaul@Thrival.com
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I’m a small business owner, speaker, and author based in Conyers, Georgia. I started my business in 2004 after resigning from a full-time job as a web database developer. I didn’t know the first thing about starting a business or marketing it for that matter. I was very fearful but I didnt let the fear stop me. Instead, I let the fear drive me toward my goal by embracing it. Whenever I wanted to give up, I would read inspirational stories about other successful entrepreneurs who started with nothing and went on to be something such as Fred DeLuca, Truett Cathy, Michael Dell, and others. I also prayed to God a lot and built up my spiritual inner man so that I could not only have confidence in God but also in myself and my abilities. Lastly, I began associating with successful people which made me begin to visualize myself as successful. I began to develop the failure is not an option mantra.

Fear is a good thing but can become bad when we let it paralyze us and stop us from moving in the right direction. I hope that this can help other entrepreneurs as they battle with fear.
–
Lisa Sims
Author, Stretching A Dollar To Save And Make Thousands: An Entrepreneurs Guide To Doing More With Less
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“Do the thing you fear and the fear will disappear.”
David J. Schwartz, American Trainer Author of The Magic of Thinking Big
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During that time I have found ways to turn fear into my finest friend. My current best understanding, since this too is constantly evolving, comes in three parts.

1. Stop and pay attention to your thoughts and fearful thinking. This is called thought awareness. Slow down long enough to see what is really going on inside.

2. Let curiosity guide you. Get excited about learning everything you can about your fears. They stop you. They determine your success. They can be your friend and will teach you everything you need to know in order to engage life in a healthy and successful way.

3. Once seen, acknowledge your fears and limiting thoughts as aspects of who you are. Yes, the fears are present. Yes, they feel uncomfortable. Welcome them without agenda. Don’t play nice in order to get them to leave. Allow yourself to accept that they might stick around forever. Ugh! Yes, even that. Anything less than full acceptance of the fearful thoughts and beliefs empowers the fear and keeps it firmly in control.

We can distract ourselves with visions of a better life. We can envision letting go of the fear in innumerable ways. We can attempt to think only positive thoughts (great idea but impossible to put into practice). All of these tactics appear to work – and then the fear reappears in the same form or another. Or we can meet our fear once and for all, get to know it, and understand its real message. Fear is a gift that will help us heal all the ways we hold each other and ourselves as small. It has a lot to offer.

Gayle A. Gregory
Workplace Evolution, Common Sense for Uncommon Times
www.workplaceevolution.com

10.5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Starting A Business

The following list is derived from my experience. Based on my actions and results I retired from corporate America at the age of 28. Filed bankruptcy at 30. I’ve been involved in several successful businesses and many unsuccessful ones too.

#1 – Never let your expenses exceed your sales. Yeah, I know that’s easy to say, because you say “Jeez, that makes perfect sense, if my expenses never exceed my sales then quite honestly I’m always going to have positive revenue. I’m always going to be in the profit. Wow. That’s fundamentally smart. But c’mon Bert, it doesn’t work that way in the world. Why? When we start out we don’t have any sales yet, and so our expenses have to exceed our sales on day one.” And you’re correct. That’s true, so I want you to have a concept, a goal or even a burning desire. That you will make those days the fewest number of days absolutely possible that your expenses are exceeding your sales.

#2 – Failing to collect the money or the receivables. Question – Should you really be extending credit to people? I don’t care what business your in retail, wholesale, hospitality, legal, or whatever. Selling is what you about not carrying receivables. Don’t extend credit, get paid now! Look fewer customers that have paid you 100% are way better than having more customers when some of them didn’t pay you at all. More cash, less stress – you don’t have to be real smart to do the math.

# 3 – Failing to take care of your employees. People have say that the customer is number 1 – right? Maybe not. Well who is taking care of your customers? Your employees handle quality and service and delivery? Well if you haven’t taken care of your employees, they’re probably not going to take care of your customers very well. It’s just that simple. It’s goes without saying that if you do take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.

#4- Failing to take care of your customers. Real simple the easiest customer to get are existing customers. There is usually more profit in repeat customers than in new customers. A happy customer is a good customer a good customer refers more customers. Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.

#5 – Underestimating your competition. We can, no matter what business we’re in, we think of our competitor as dim-witted, we think of our competitor as incompetent. Remember this -our battle isn’t against them. It’s for the customer, not against our competitor. We don’t win by doing damage to the competitor. We’re not in a battle with him really. We’re in a battle for someone else. So quit thinking about the competitor and start thinking about your competitor’s customers.

#6 Inadequate capital – Now I’ve started business with no money because I had to but then you quickly come to realize that you do need money to operate. You do need capital to grow the company and get to the next level. And here are 2 rules you should remember about capital. And, just in case your not clear, capital is the money we need to fund the organization, to buy the inventory, to hire employees, to do all those things that we’re going to need to do. Well here’s are 2 rules you need to appreciate. Is that your expenses are going to be hirer than you anticipated and your revenue is going to be slower than you anticipated. Those two statements are true in 99.99% of every single business that has ever started. Well that’s what happens. It happens almost all the time. Because we are optimistic, if we weren’t optimist we wouldn’t have started a business. We over-projected what our revenues are. What I’m telling you as a practical, experienced businessman lower that number. Now if you beat, if you excel… wonderful! Find a place to spend it. But if you have shrunk it down, conservative in your projection then you might be safe.

#7 Underestimate the length of time to break even. The break even is a magic moment in the making of a business and if you don’t understand let me try to explain the concept to you. Break even is that magic point when you quit putting money into a company and the company is finally sufficient enough that it starts to pay for itself or is finally starts to pay you for having been there first.

# 8 Focusing on profits instead of on cash flow. Business people, when they first start out, they focus on profits instead of on cash flow. And I know this is going to sound like sacrilege to some people saying well,” aren’t we supposed to be all about profits? absolutely, and yes! And we want to get there as fast as we possibly can! But before we get there we have to make sure something else happens first, and that is that we always have positive cash flow. We always have enough money to pay the rent. We always have enough money to pay out employees. We always have enough money to buy more supplies, to do more marketing, that’s really crucial. That’s called cash flow. Profits will follow the cash flow I guarantee it. Now there’s a different in being profitable and having positive cash flow, you can be unprofitable where you’re actually losing a little bit of money but still have positive cash flow. I’m telling you when your first starting a business, if you have to pick between the two, now if you could have both of them, great go get both of them and that would be wonderful, but I also will tell you from experience getting both of them when your first starting out is really going to be complicated. You’re going to have to make a decision between the two. Pick cash flow when you’re first starting your business.

#9 Over estimating size of your market. Entrepreneurs are optimists and we tend to have this attitude that everyone is going to want to buy what we have – that just doesn’t sell. Get over it. Just come to understand that it’s not going to happen. So what you need to be able to do is think about Bottom Up Marketing. It isn’t how many potential, how many people are out there, it’s about what you can you really do. Bottom Up Marketing looks at your capacity. So if you’ve got 1 employee, 3 employees, 7 employees, that’s all you can handle. It doesn’t matter how many people might want your widget. You can’t handle it! So think coolly about the real size of your market and don’t ever estimate it because you can’t handle it right now. You only need enough market to handle the capacity you presently have, and if you can do that efficiently you will be profitable, and if your profitable you’ll be successful and if your successful you can grow the company again, and again, and again. Do a little research on “Bottom Up Marketing” and you have a better understanding of the concept

#10 No Advertising/Marketing plan. So how are you going to drive your sales through advertising or through sales people. You need to develop your marketing plan, you need to have enough capital to drive sales. I’ve seen to many times were entrepreneurs will invest all this money in equipment or to get the doors open only to discover they have no way to adequately drive sales.

#10.5 – Exit strategy. At one point, P.T. Barnum noticed that people were lingering too long at his exhibits. He posted signs indicating ” “This Way to the Egress”. Not knowing that “Egress” was another word for “Exit”, people followed the signs to what they assumed was a fascinating exhibit…and ended up outside. So what am I talking about? We should start a business that we can create and build something that we can sell, transfer, dispose of, or hand off to someone else. That should be a goal maybe the first goal as you begin to vision your successful business.

Remember . . . You Were Created to Succeed!