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Tag: Entrepreneurs

  • Social Entrepreneurship – Now is the Time

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    Social entrepreneurship is a major area of interest in many social and civic organizations and has a significant impact on many areas of society. During the past decade economic resources have become more difficult to acquire and society has continued to exhibit economic and cultural decline. Concurrently, communities are in need of initiatives that will enhance their financial viability and programs that will enhance the overall viability of the population.

    Social entrepreneurship initiatives are ventures that can serve as a method of increasing the social value of a community, organization or cause while enhancing the financial viability of a not-for-profit organization. With this being stated, social entrepreneurship has been defined in different ways by many different theorists. Gary McPherson, Executive Administrator of the Canada Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, states that social entrepreneurship involves various individuals working toward meeting social and economic goals simultaneously; while Bill Drayton, CEO of Ashoka, defines social entrepreneurship as a term coined to describe “individuals who combine the pragmatic and results oriented methods of a business entrepreneur with the goals of social reform.”

    A more basic definition of social entrepreneurship states that it is “the process of using entrepreneurial and business skills to create innovative approaches to social problems.” Therefore, it is a methodology that is presently being used to resolve community and societal concerns globally. Social entrepreneurship as an area of specialized entrepreneurship is not defined by the same titling in every culture. For example, in Latin America countries social entrepreneurship initiatives are referred to as “Micro Enterprise.” In India the same program would be identified as a “Social Mission.” Though termed differently in various regions, social entrepreneurship initiatives are being implemented to solve specific societal and community concerns by focusing on the needs and resource availability within specific geographic regions.

    Social Entrepreneurship in Education Throughout the United States, many top tertiary level academic institutions are enhancing their business programs by including a curriculum that caters to the study of social entrepreneurship. In 2003, the Center for Responsible Business was launched on the University of California Berkley Campus. This subsidiary of the Haas School of Business was implemented with the intent of training students to be more principled and socially responsible members of society through attending “the preeminent educational institution in area of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Stanford University also has established a Center for Social Innovation as a part of its graduate school of business. This center was founded with the mission to “build and strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations to develop innovative solutions to social problems for a more just, sustainable and healthy world.”

    In 1993, Harvard Business School started its social enterprise program with its mission of “generating and sharing knowledge to help individuals and organizations to create social value in the not-for-profit, private and public sectors,” and the University of Miami has refocused its business school curriculum to include coursework in the areas of ethical-decision making, social entrepreneurship and community engagement with the primary focus being to expose students to various areas of civic engagement while concurrently teaching them leadership and team building skills.

    Tertiary level institutions, including Duke, which has established a Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship as part of its Fuqua School of Business, and Columbia University where the research initiative on social entrepreneurship is embedded in its school of business, have also made strides to enhance the study and education of those seeking to venture into areas of social entrepreneurship and social venture implementation. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International (AACSB – International) has identified over twenty-four tertiary level institutions that have included social entrepreneurship as a part of their business college and or business curriculums.

    With social entrepreneurship being perceived by many as a new way of stimulating social change, Idee Winfield believes that the implementation of community-focused service learning projects is the first step in exposing youth to the various attributes associated with social entrepreneurship. Through community involvement, youth will begin to visualize and experience the various social issues within their community and envision ways to solve these problems. Winfield states that social entrepreneurship should be promoted in primary and secondary education, and coursework should be adjusted to allow students to “see how abstract socially focused concepts can have real world applicability.” Jeffrey Soderborg, a member of the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Clearinghouse on Entrepreneurship Education, is also an ardent proponent of social venture education who believes that social entrepreneurship would be more readily accepted if youth were exposed to information expounding the laurels of these initiatives during their primary and secondary academic years.

    As youth expand their horizons through the establishment of entrepreneurial efforts, knowledge and exposure to information about the process involved in the establishment of entrepreneurial business effectively plays a major role in the rate at which business entities are established. A study focusing on entrepreneurial interests among black youth ages 14 to 19 identified that 75% of the youth surveyed had interest in becoming entrepreneur. The study also found that these minority youth believed that more information about entrepreneurship should be presented through their schools. They also believed that entrepreneurs have a responsibility to reinvest in their community.

    Corporate Social Responsibility

    Personal values often serve as the justification for entrepreneurs to focus organizational efforts on socially focused ventures. The organizational decision to forgo pursuing financial gain with the intent of using the corporations’ profit resources to enhance a community is often referred to corporate social entrepreneurship. Corporate Social Entrepreneur (CSE) is a term used to describe corporate initiatives whose primary focus is to enhance a social concern and whose secondary focus is financial gain. The corporate social entrepreneur differs from the financial profit seeking entrepreneur in the area of decisions made that affect the community and environment in which their organization functions. Research identified that in corporate social entrepreneurship business acumen serves as a factor in the success or failure of social venture initiative implementation. Research identifies that success factors associated with the implementation of social responsibility initiatives were linked to whether the entrepreneur exhibits behavior that is moral, amoral or immoral.

    The amoral entrepreneur would pursue initiatives only if they were deemed acceptable by the organization as a whole. The immoral entrepreneur implements initiatives based on what can be potentially gained for self as well as for the stakeholders, while the moral entrepreneur would pursue social responsibility initiatives based on what was in the best interest of the organization. Individuals identified as corporate social entrepreneurs are individuals who are more active in community activities and are actively involved in social responsibility efforts. Corporate social entrepreneurs also are more likely to implement social responsibility initiatives based on an organization’s long term objectives.

    While many corporations are looking for ways to increase their social responsibility efforts, in some regions corporate responsibility efforts are not progressing. A policy paper, “Corporate Social Responsibility in Latin America and the Caribbean,” documented that corporate social responsibility activity in this region has “stalled.” The reason for stagnation in this region is “minimal government involvement” and the lack of “private sector involvement.” It was also identified that initiatives to implement programs focusing on social responsibility are often initiated outside of the market, and then subsequently not embraced by stakeholders who reside within this geographic region.

    Corporations are continually looking for ways to increase corporate advantage through their social responsibility efforts. While proponents of corporate social responsibility believe that corporations are obligated morally to engage in efforts to enhance social, community and environmental concerns, many stakeholders believe that social involvement should only be initiated if the efforts are going to strengthen the organization’s image, brand, moral or stock value. With this in mind, corporations have separated social issues into specific categories.

    These categories are social concerns that are general, social concerns that are value chain based and concerns that focus on social dimensions of competitive contrast. Generic social issues are identified as social concerns that do not directly affect the company’s operation and do not have an effect on a company’s competitive advantage. Corporations are least likely to get involved or invest in projects that focus in these areas because they will not receive a high value of return on their involvement. Value Chain Social Impact issues can significantly affect a company’s operation and can have an impact on the way a company conducts business. Corporations are more likely to be involved in value chain concerns, but only after conducting due diligence studies to ensure that a return on investment will be achieved over time.

    Social issues that affect a company’s financial profitability or serve to enhance or increase a company’s competitive edge are likely to be areas that a company will invest in because of the direct impact that these initiatives will have on the company’s overall viability and stability. An example of a social dimension projects is General Electric’s investment in under-performing high schools throughout the country. General Electric believes that through investing financial and professional resources in under-performing high schools in areas where they have substantial financial investment, they are investing in enhancing a community, as well as directly increasing their future employment prospects.

    Whole Foods Market is an organization that has taken control of its social value position through purchasing products from local farmers. Also, Whole Foods maintains strict controls over all of the products produced and sold in all of its locations. They even have extended their social and ecological efforts through offsetting the use of in-store electricity with the installation of wind conversion generators, converting their trucks to operate on bio-fuel and trucking spoiled produce to regionally located compost sites. Though the investments in these technologies may be costly at the onset, the long term financial, civic and market exposure benefits far exceed any initial costs incurred.

    In the area of corporate philanthropy many corporations are at a loss. They continue to be involved in the conflict between philanthropic giving and investor requests for increased profits. For this reason many corporations engage in context-giving programs. Context-giving programs are programs that are defined as allotting resources to specific projects that will enhance the community while simultaneously enhancing the corporation.

    Examples of context-giving initiatives include the Cisco System Networking Academy, which trains computer network administrators and provides job opportunities to those who complete the program; the DreamWorks SKG film production program that trains low-income individuals in occupations that are needed in the film and entertainment industry; and American Express Travel and Tourism Academy which trains high school youth for careers in the hospitality and tourism industry. Corporations that invest in corporate-giving social venture programs are concurrently gaining positive return on their social investment, improving the economic climate of the communities where they are located and gaining positive exposure for their organizations.

    At times social ventures do not have the intended impact on the community. A study focusing on the impact of community focused business ventures found that businesses started with the intent of enhancing a community often lose focus by becoming focused on profitability and competition. Competition and self-focused motivators were identified to be factors that played an additional role in the impact and economic role that entrepreneurial ventures have in community settings.

    While many foundations, trusts and philanthropic organizations, accumulate and distribute resources with the intent of providing services to enhance specific community or social causes, many of these organizations are looking for ways to gain public exposure for their efforts. Organizations also attempt to leverage their gifting efforts through seeking not-for-profit organizations that are willing match the funding received. The success of funded programs is evaluated through performance outcomes and indicators, and through promoting the organization’s work through success stories provided by program clients. These methods are viable ways for funding agencies to acquire value and exposure through their philanthropic efforts and simultaneously continue their efforts to enhance the communities in which they invest.

    With the social philanthropic efforts of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates gaining a high degree of attention, and many leaders engaging in activities to promote social advocacy, corporations are seeking ways to also gain exposure with social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship from the corporate perspective can be defined as corporate social initiatives used by a corporate entity as vehicle to show support for social causes. In recent years, many Fortune 500 companies have implemented social ventures with the intent of enhancing their corporate image through providing funding for various social causes.

    McDonald’s is one such company that has funded social causes for many years. McDonald’s primary social venture is the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Ronald McDonald House provides lodging for the families of adolescents, ranging in age from birth to 18, who are receiving critical care for illness in communities that are away from their community of residence. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to reside in these temporary living facilities throughout the child’s period of treatment at no charge.

    The Federal Express Corporation also funds programs focused on the implementation of socially responsible programs. FedEx is a supporter of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and has been acknowledged by Reader’s Digest as one of “Americas Best Charity Minded Corporation.” Federal Express has also been recognized for providing funding for numerous community and civic organizations, including March of Dimes, Heart to Heart organization, an organization that focuses on delivering food and health resources globally, the United Way and the National Civil Rights Museum. These are just a few of the charitable initiatives that allow Federal Express to present itself as a socially conscious organization.

    Virgin Mobile has partnered with Youth Noise, a not-for-profit organization that brings youth together for networking and brainstorming opportunities, and Stand Up for Kids, the largest all volunteer not-for-profit organizations in the United States, to implement an initiative to expand its corporate social responsibility activities. The project involves recording artists donating ring tones to Virgin Mobile and through partnership agreements, 5% of the proceeds received through ring tone sales are donated to various “Virgin Mobile Charity Partners.” This initiative, established in June 2006, is being positioned to raise over $250,000 annually.

    For social ventures to gain global acceptance, corporations need to become involved in ventures that allow employees and consumers to see the social, community and external benefit of these ventures. This process is identified in countries south of the United States, where the concept of social responsibility is one that has been embraced by many but implemented by few. Many government organizations expect non-government, or private organizations to take responsibility for ensuring the stability and longevity of the resources throughout this region while the private sector is looking toward government agencies for intervention.

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    Source by Paul Van Putten

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  • Market Entrepreneurs and Political Entrepreneurs

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    What is an entrepreneur? Well, in the United States of America there are two types of very successful entrepreneurs. There is the market entrepreneur and there is the political entrepreneur. The market entrepreneur makes money in the free market by delivering the lowest prices and the best quality and service to its customers and the consumer. The market entrepreneur wins markets and beats out the competition because they are better and more efficient.

    The political entrepreneur uses the influence with government through various methods such as lobbying, political campaign contributions and networking with government bureaucrats to either win government contracts and make money or use this influence to get the government to make new rules and regulations and he is industry.

    The political entrepreneur will also use his influence to get government bureaucratic regulatory bodies at all levels of government to attack his competition. There is a big difference in market entrepreneurs and political entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, genuine Capitalism getting clobbered by political entrepreneurs coaxing government agencies to constantly attack market entrepreneurs.

    The economy and the free market and capitalism for that matter works better with the most efficient companies compete on a level playing field where the consumer and the buyer votes with their dollar for the best products and services at the best possible prices. There is nothing wrong with capitalism there is only something wrong with the way it is applied in United States of America. It could be done a lot better.

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    Source by Lance Winslow

    Views: 0

  • The Best eCommerce Practices for a Seamless Customer Experience

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    In this generation of online shopping, none of the businesses can thrive without an outright eCommerce site. Further, websites became an integral part of digital marketing strategy and hence improving a dynamic, appealing and user-friendly website is essential. From visual elements to UI / UX elements, everything matters! They should be able to lure customers and offer them a top-notch experience of shopping.

    So, here's a quick guide for the budding eCommerce entrepreneurs to start off their stores like a pro and let every single visitor has an exceptional experience. The points discussed below also explain how every minute element of an eCommerce site has a direct impact on the perceptions and interests of the visitors.

    Homepage must be engaging enough for the customers

    You hardly have 4-5 seconds to capture the attention of the visitors and the first thing they see is the home page. Within those fraction of the time, you need to show them what you have and how amazing your brand is. Make it approachable with a clean layout, uncluttered elements, and bold colors. Put all the promo offers, deals and discounts on the homepage only with tempting banners / sliders to captivate the attention visitors.

    Smooth navigation to persuade customers to explore

    The navigation and its related elements have to be pretty intuitive and easy to use because that enable the customers to explore more of the other pages on the site. The basic behind such effortless navigation is clarity of elements. That means menu, search box, categories, sub-categories, call-to-action, all should be organized well and redirect customers to the page they were seeking for.

    Businesslike content presentation is essential

    Users don't just view your website for the products but also read what's written to know the brand and for other snippets of information on products you offer. However, flowery language, long sentences and tough words are never that catchy to visitors! So, put all your information, headlines, offers and sales announcements in simplest words and in separate blocks to avoid cluttering.

    Responsive search tools are a must

    Make your search effective and responsive with filters, keywords corrections and suggestions. Customers are impatient beings! If they do not get the exact things they were looking for, they will just leave. These options will help them find the exact items they have in their mind by typing the keywords. Filters enable them to search for products according to features, colors, size and other specialties.

    Clear Call-to-Action and simplified checkout

    To redirect customers to the checkout page without any hassles you need to place clear call-to-action on the product pages. Further, to assure that none of your customers leaves because you have a lengthier checkout process, then make it short with fewer fields.

    At the end of the day, your website is for selling not just for capturing the attention of visitors. So, if there's enough traffic driving from the search engines to your website, leaves no chance to turn to their paying customers with these proven practices.

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    Source by Rob Stephen

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  • Entrepreneurship – Benefits Of Taking An Entrepreneurship Course

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    Are you tired of your regular job? Are you thinking of starting a business of your own? Do you want to enhance your ability to create wealth? Do you want to be your own boss? Do you want to have control over your decisions? Are you a risk taker? Do you have a high expectation of yourself? If the answer to the above questions is yes, then all you need to do is to channel your energy in the right direction.

    While passion is important for any business venture, the know-how is equally important for success. Many entrepreneurs who started out very passionate end up losing steam due to the fact that they do not have the proper entrepreneurial skills to make their business succeed. Entrepreneurship education is therefore key to a business growth and success.

    According to research, entrepreneurship education contributed to the growth of firms especially smaller emerging firms. On average, emerging companies that employed entrepreneurship graduates had greater than five times, the sale and employment growth than those that employed non-entrepreneurship graduates. This means that taking an entrepreneurship course would definitely lead to an increased sale of your product or service.

    In addition, it was observed that larger firms paid entrepreneurship graduates significantly more than they paid non-entrepreneurship graduates. In the United States, entrepreneurship graduates working for large firms earned approximately $23,500 more per year than did other business school graduates. This all goes to show the relative importance of an entrepreneurship education.

    So as an individual seeking to start a business venture, taking an entrepreneurship course would benefit you and your business in the following ways:

    • It will enhance your ability to create wealth from your own business
    • It makes you become a champion of innovation.
    • It gives you the ability to create greater opportunities for yourself with advancing technologies
    • It makes you self-sufficient and enterprising
    • It gives you community understanding skills which is good for your business
    • It enhances your business management skills
    • It gives you an orientation to change that can help your business keep up with the ever changing times
    • It gives you a better understanding of the market economy that your business must thrive in
    • The education obtained leads to your ultimate personal growth
    • Your decision making skills are improved
    • It expands your creative thinking

    As a result of these outlined benefits, many experienced leaders, economists and educators believe that fostering a robust entrepreneurial culture will maximize individual and collective economic and social success on a local and global scale.

    TAKE AN ONLINE ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSE TODAY

    It is interesting to know that you can take this amazing course online. As an entrepreneur, leaving your business to attend a traditional institution of learning might not fit well with your plans. If that is your situation, then be rest assured that you are covered. With the steady growth of online education, a lot of online institution of repute that offer this course are available to choose from. In fact one unique institution stands out – The Swiss E-learning Institute. Apart fro other amazing benefits you are bound to enjoy, this institute also offers entrepreneurship students the opportunity of earning passive incomes just by enrolling and activating this course. Find out more by visiting the link on the resource box below.

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    Source by Kelechi Nwachukwu

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  • The Age of The Information Entrepreneur

    The Age of The Information Entrepreneur

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    This has been changing rapidly, and now, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are starting to use e-books as a method of catapulting themselves into the limelight, using the option to become influencers, and gain a following through sharing of information. The ones who are quite savvy about how they do this, loop the system back and use their e-books as part of a sales funnel, whether it’s apparent or not.

    It used to be the case that the task of writing a book was tantamount to embarking on a long and arduous journey, that required long periods of time, great planning and dedication, an agent, the approval and acceptance of a publishing house, and more. This is no longer the case… Anyone who has wanted to write, can… and you can get your book published and ready to sell in less than 48 hours after it’s written. And no, it doesn’t take a great level of skill or any secret or specialised knowledge… I’ve done it, and have helped others do the same just by following a few simple steps, and using more simple steps have gotten books to #1 ranking spots – for some of them, without even a review to reassure buyers, (though I wouldn’t recommend this). So, if it’s that easy, why isn’t everyone doing it, and why aren’t all entrepreneurs who have published online have booming businesses?

    Well, in the answer lies what’s key… it’s not enough to simply write, what’s important is that you write content that others will find useful, and want to read, and more than that, essential for success is using that content in the right way. Let me expand…

    1) Whatever your entrepreneurial niche, learn what it is that people want to know more about.

    2) Write about this, keep it clear and simple… often short guides will get you further than long, complicated books.

    3) Publishing is easy, get your books on Amazon.

    4) Consider discounts and freebies… remember, it’s about exposure, publicity, and looping people back to you!

    5) Build up a database of everywhere you can promote your books. Take the time to research the social media groups, blogs etc. Ensure that they’re appropriate to your niche.

    6) Take the time to promote your discounts and freebies, and be honest and genuine about what your book delivers, and why people should get it.

    7) In your books, direct people to your website, subscriptions, other books etc.

    8) Always OFFER QUALITY & VALUE, and when you are looping people back to you, it should be to offer more value. Don’t use your books as a hook, only to steer people to an offer that isn’t worth the money or time they part with in exchange for it.

    9) The more quality and value you offer, the more repeat customers you’ll gather.

    10) Include snippets and tasters of your content on social media, blogs, forums etc.

    11) Repeat… remember, if you are choosing to be an influencer through information, you have to keep at it.

    And that’s it, in a nutshell! It is an era when anyone can be an author, so use your knowledge to your advantage!

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    Source by Noleen Mariappen

    Views: 0

  • Proven And Profitable Money Making Ideas

    Proven And Profitable Money Making Ideas

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    With an entrepreneurial spirit, perhaps you might be thinking about money making ideas that have been proven and are profitable on the internet that you can use to make a living with. Online business is still an evolving tool to earn money. Everyone has predicted a major tech crash as a matter of fact it’s already happening.

    According to Hostingfacts.com in 2017, “there will be more internet traffic than all prior internet years combined. Wi-Fi and mobile-connected devices will generate 68% of all internet traffic in 2017.”

    More statistics show that “worldwide retail e-commerce sales will reach $1.915 Trillion in this alone according to Emarketer.com. There are a number of ways by which people can make money online.

    Internet businesses provides relaxation and comfortability to people who run their own business while sitting in their homes or traveling the world. E- Commerce refers to the online functioning of businesses in which all of the transactions are accepted by means of the World Wide Web.

    Online sales in the United States are anticipated to reach $523 billion in the next five years. This is up 56% from $335 billion in 2015, and mobile devices are expected to be a key leader in that growth, Forrester Research Inc. says.

    The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced “that the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the third quarter of 2016, was $101.3 billion, an increase of 4.0 percent from the second quarter of 2016. Total retail sales globally for the third quarter, was estimated at $1,212.5 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent from the second quarter of 2016.”

    With the collapse of the tech bust in full swing, should you even attempt entrepreneurship online, let alone a new business launch in 2017? My answer? Absolutely yes.

    On the internet, there are unlimited things that can be done to earn money. It is all up to the individual how much they can profit from these online opportunities. The trend is constantly evolving with innovative business ideas.

    The start of a new year means great interest in new and exciting things, as we look forward to the year in the making. The year 2017 is also likely to see some changes with a few money making ideas not being in demand and new ones harvesting up.

    Learning how to make money on the internet with an e-business is one of the most proven and profitable money making ideas dominating the economy. Facebook now has 1.55 billion active users and 2.9 billion Google searches are made every day. With this data, there is endless opportunity for the ordinary person looking to create money online.

    In this article, I’ve researched a few of the businesses that are going to be profitable for the next 5 years. While tech may be on the decline, the world continually has room for proven, profitable and innovative products as well as services.

    Proven & Profitable Money Making Ideas

    Blogging

    If you have a particular subject that interests you and you are passionate about it, then you can start a blog around such topic. Blogging is one of the fastest growing business trends on the web and the sweetest thing is that it is an information based business.

    Many people in the current world are getting money by having their own blogs and websites. Generally, on these blogs and websites, they are putting thought-provoking and valuable information that interests other people. The science is simple; the additional number of visitors the more money you can make via advertisement and other revenues.

    This works much like television where the more viewership means more advertisements and at a higher rate. This is one of the most well-known and informal techniques of producing income online and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Don’t worry about technicalities, programming, etc. You also won’t need to invest a dime to get started as there are free platforms you can utilize like Blogger and WordPress being the most trusted blogging platform since 2004.

    E-commerce Store

    Another proven and profitable idea to start an internet business is to maintain an online store. You can provide products to your customers online. Yes, you can set up an e-commerce or retail store online and you can start this online business from home without even owning a single product. You can sell virtually anything ranging from books, clothes and electronics to household item through wholesale drop shipping or by setting up an affiliate store with Amazon or eBay.

    You may even sell anything from customized cakes to used items to even new products you created on your own. With this kind of business idea, people primarily receive payment via credit card or PayPal accounts. It totally depends upon you as some people prefer to collect payment at the time of delivery of the products.

    In the online store, you can provide a wide range of products in one place and keep the customers engaged with new products or services. On the other hand if you are creating products from scratch, you have to keep up good relationships with your suppliers so your business can be successful.

    Affiliate Marketing

    To become an affiliate marketer means that you will be promoting other people’s products and services through a blog or store online. How it works is whenever there is a sale, you will get a commission. The most stimulating fact here is that you don’t even need a dime of your own money to start it and you get to partner with some of the biggest enterprises in the world. The first venture I would recommend you to start online is your own affiliate marketing business.

    Internet Marketing Services

    Servicing people to help drive visitors to their websites can be an outstanding online business with a strong profit potential. Examples of services you can provide include pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising services, blog marketing services, article marketing services, guest blogging, link building service, etc.

    Doing business on the web can be challenging because things often change quickly online. This idea allows you to help other online entrepreneurs such as yourself, keep up with the latest trends in internet marketing.

    VLogging

    This is comparable to a blog, but in video form. Basically turn your video camera on, feel free to use your tablet, and just talk! The best vloggers talk about a specific focus or niche. Vlogging about a topic that interest tweens or teens is most likely to get a big following fast.

    Some popular topics include makeup, fashion, music, gaming and how to videos. The strategy to making money with these vlogs is gaining a large following and then receiving sponsorship on the platform that you publish the videos on, such as YouTube or Vimeo. You can also make money via advertisement.

    E-Book Publishing

    The information business allows you to identify people’s problems and provide a solution in the form of an e-book. Any style writing on any topic can be used with this method. If you love writing and you possess some marketing skills, then you can venture into writing self-published eBooks.

    Educational Products

    People will always be willing to pay for education. A good example is university education. A public four-year college costs around $20,000, and a private college can make an income of $50,000 per year. In spite of the outrageously high prices, people are eager to give out the money. Why? Because a college education is worth it. Right? Well, most of the time it is.

    However, some disagree, and with recent improvements in the education platform, the traditional college model is being dismantled or unequivocally disrupted. The cause of these interruptions are startups like Udemy and Teachable, these platforms allow people to share their knowledge and profit from it.

    You don’t need a platform to sell your knowledge. You can self-publish a book, create a video coaching session, or teach others how to make money. People will gladly pay to learn a new skill, shape their lifestyle, make new money, impress friends with their knowledge, and change their life in significant ways. If you have something to offer to others, then start teaching.

    Graphic Design

    There are lots of graphic designers on the web offer free and paid services. However, if you plan to thrive in this capacity online, aiding a specific niche target audience will be the most profitable for you. Suppose you’re focused niche is in music and you have a good graphic design skill, you can launch an online graphic design business that focuses on graphic design for musicians or singing artist. You can also choose to focus on infographic designing, e-book cover design, album cover designs, etc.

    Implementing your ideas as an online business is a great way to start your business if you are low of capital. It is necessary that you have a proven and profitable online business idea to start your business. Starting and operating an online business is the new normal these days and continues to rise in popularity.

    If you have any ideas that can be transformed to fit the online business model then by all means do your research and get started the opportunities are endless!

    If I’ve failed to mention any other profitable ideas be sure to leave them in the comments below.

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    Source by Jamie Clay

    Views: 0

  • 5 Rules for Entrepreneurship

    5 Rules for Entrepreneurship

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    1 – Find a need and fill it. It seems obvious, but so many companies and individual entrepreneurs just to not follow this most obvious rule. Sometimes, however, they do manage to create a need or desire with the product itself. But most often, the customer has a need and requires your product or service to fulfill that need. There are always needs that have to be filled, and, if your company can supply that needed service or product, it will do even better!

    2 – Find a problem and solve it. Like your customer’s needs and wants, they also have problems. If your company can solve that problem, they you will probably succeed. It’s linked very closely to their needs. For example, a customer needs more money. The problem is a lack of money. Your financial education system will fill that need and solve that problem! If a customer needs more time, the problem is a lack of time. Your time management system will fill that need.

    3 – Focus on the customer. How many companies have fallen away from this one? And how many are starting to fall away? Very recent surveys have shown that customer service is the most important part of a business. Without a customer-focused program, the company will likely get a bad image, and lose customers, and it will likely have some financial setbacks… You get the idea. Without customers, the company can not even stay open, let alone do anything.

    4 – Put your time, talent, energy, and your whole heart into producing a product or service they will buy. If you do not already have an established company, of even if you do, you must always remember to invest into the business. Not always financially either. Invest your time and energy into making what the people want, need, and will use to solve their problems. Put your heart into the company, and the company will put the dollars into your pocket. You would be surprised at how many business people just do not put enough time into their companies.

    5 – Start small. It’s great to keep your dreams big, and your successes bigger, but you just can’t start your company or a new product with a large output. Start off small. Small test runs. Small production amount. Small output of money. You will save a great deal of time, energy, and money than had you started out big and failed dramatically.

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    Source by Arthur Langton

    Views: 0

  • Review: ‘Living A Laptop Lifestyle’ Book

    Review: ‘Living A Laptop Lifestyle’ Book

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    I recently came across the book, ‘Living A Laptop Lifestyle’ and had the pleasure of meeting the authors, Greg and Fiona Scott. They gave a presentation, at an event put on by the Six Figure Mentors for its members, about how to write your own book. So who better to show what works in internet marketing, than someone who has already been there.

    ‘Living a Laptop Lifestyle’ is their story into how they found their feet in marketing on the internet. Like many people in today’s economic climate, their circumstances forced them to make changes to the way they earned an income. After Fiona was made redundant, from a high paying job, they had to re-think how to reclaim their lives. Determined to never trade their time for money again, Fiona and Greg decided to start their own business… but they had no idea where to start and what business to go into.

    They attended what they call a ‘pitch fest’. This is a conference where other internet marketers talk about their products and have a platform to sell their ‘time limited offers’ or ‘money off for first 50 to sign up today’. If you have never been to one of these, count your self lucky, it is not a pleasant sight. Go to one to learn, but beware that you could end up buying products you may never need especially if you are new to internet marketing because you will not know what works and what doesn’t.

    If you are thinking of starting out online, books written by entrepreneurs, like Greg and Fiona, can give you many tips and resources to get you started in the right direction to set up and run an online business.

    Some of the points that are raised in the book, ‘Living a Laptop Lifestyle’,

    1. Initial Investment

    If you are starting out online, then don’t expect to invest zero. Many people think that they can start out online with nothing and earn millions. They may well have their bubble burst. Greg and Fiona talk about the reality of starting out online. Just as you can’t start an offline business with no money, so it follows that you will need to have some money to invest into your internet business.

    2. The Pitfalls of Working for Yourself

    If you are just starting out to build an online business, then you will need to be disciplined. The importance of time management and keeping to schedules is crucial when you are working for yourself. This book gives some useful tips and offers some tools that the couple use to help them schedule their time.

    3. Mindset

    The book does have a large section on mindset and you might wonder why. When starting out online you will realize that you will be working in isolation, so keeping a positive mindset is essential to your success.

    4. Fear of Technology

    Greg and Fiona break down this topic and show how the internet is accessible to everyone, no matter what your level of computer knowledge. There is no need to be afraid of the internet and to let this stop you from taking action to start out online. They give lots of advice about outsourcing and how to gain the skills you need to be successful online.

    5. Keeping Focused

    One of the reasons that stop many newcomers from succeeding in an online business, is that they keep chasing ‘shiny objects’. This means that they start one system, then a new one comes their way, so they drop everything to start something new and never complete any! They give up believing that building a business online doesn’t work. Greg and Fiona talk about how they avoided these ‘shiny objects’ and stayed focused on their goals and how you can too.

    You will find links to Greg and Fiona’s businesses and this part of the reason for any one with a business to write a book. Whilst giving lots of advice and information about your own story, a book will also provide the opportunity for lead generation. So if you are starting out online then you will want to read this book. Similarly if you have been online for a while, then this book will help you to outline what you need to consider when writing your own story to build your own online business.

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    Source by Bernie Podmore

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  • New Book Offers Daily Lessons for Developing Entrepreneurial Mindset

    New Book Offers Daily Lessons for Developing Entrepreneurial Mindset

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    In The Entrepreneurial Way, Jacob Busani takes readers on a one-month journey through the world of entrepreneurship. Each chapter is to be read on a different day over the course of thirty days, and each day is devoted to a different topic relevant to being an entrepreneur. The book is intended for the busy person who may only have five or ten minutes a day to read, so each chapter is only a few pages long, but it brings a topic to the forefront of the reader’s mind, offers inspirational quotes to support the topic, and then a series of exercise questions so the reader can take action on that day’s topic.

    The book opens with what may be the most important topic of all: Mindset. Busani begins by quoting Henry Ford’s famous saying, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Busani says Ford was absolutely right in this statement. If we wish to be entrepreneurs, we must take control of our minds. We have to believe we can be entrepreneurs and we have to learn to be our own bosses.

    Numerous other topics follow. For example, Day 2 is about Vision. In it, Busani describes the importance of communicating to customers why you do what you do so you can bring the best experience to your customers. Day 8: No Guarantees discusses the importance of working because you are passionate about what you do and you believe in your business. Busani reminds entrepreneurs that, especially in the beginning, 80 percent of what they do they will not be paid for, but those who will only do what they get paid for never get rich. If you put in the time to build your business, eventually you will reap the rewards. One of the most important topics is Day 10: Focus. Here, Busani dismisses the myth of multitasking because it destroys focus and also results in tasks taking more time. He instead tells us to focus on one task at a time if we want to make progress on our goals and manage our time properly. Other daily topics include Day 13: Commitment, Day 15: Procrastination, and Day 25: Leadership, where Busani recommends, “Always say, ‘I want my people to win more than I want them to win for me.’ That’s valuable. There’s a lot of ROI (return on investment) in seeing your people succeed. Sometimes, it means having them leave the company to seek their own passions.”

    Some statements like that last one may be surprising, but as a former manager of a call center and as an entrepreneur myself for a dozen years, I completely agree with Busani. The more you support your employees, the happier and more prosperous everyone will be. Therefore, I appreciate that throughout these pages, Busani offers practical and honest advice, based on experience, that will definitely benefit anyone who embraces it.

    Embracing and applying the material is made easy for readers because each day is followed by a short exercise. The exercises help readers think through what they have learned from that day’s lesson and move forward into taking action to succeed as an entrepreneur. For example Day 20: Finding the Right Mentor asks you to think about in what ways a mentor might help you. Then it asks you to list five mentors in your field and do some research on each of them to see how they might assist you. Day 26: Residual Income asks you to brainstorm ways you could come up with residual income and then outline a plan for doing so. None of the exercises are overly taxing on the brain, but rather, they set the brain to thinking in an entrepreneurial way, and ultimately, the result will be that such thinking will become habitual.

    Finally, each chapter ends with several wonderful inspirational quotes. Yes, Busani quotes famous people like Thomas Jefferson, who said, “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have” and Mark Twain: “Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great.” But my two favorite quotes in the book are actually both by Anonymous: “You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum wage work ethic,” and “No matter how busy you are, or how busy you think you are, the work will always be there tomorrow, but your friends might not be.” Yes, work/life balance is also a topic in The Entrepreneurial Way-and one of the most important for entrepreneurs who tend to be workaholics.

    I encourage you to take the journey of The Entrepreneurial Way. Because reading this book and applying its concepts will only take you five or ten minutes per day, your investment will be minimal, but the return on that investment will likely be beyond measure.

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    Source by Tyler Tichelaar

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  • Entrepreneurship Ideas

    Entrepreneurship Ideas

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    The world is full of need. Need is the foundation of business. Ergo, the world is full business opportunities. This analogy is true being that products and services are generally created to respond to a given social requirement. Food, shelter, security, comfort, entertainment – these are needs commonly recognized and catered by experienced entrepreneurs. This is probably the reason why there is an abundance of restaurants, convenience stores, rental apartments and townhouses, security agencies, spas and clubs in communities around the world. If you are a first time entrepreneur who wants to penetrate the business world, you have got to tap innovative entrepreneurship ideas. Otherwise, you’ll just be drowned out by senior competitors.

    Many of those the established entrepreneurs we have today made their mark in the industry with unique businesses thoughts. They even sought to address needs which were not that recognized by people. Socialization and information are human desires that have given some ingenious individuals access to the big bucks. Facebook and YouTube are ground-breaking entrepreneurship ideas, made real, that dared to redefine the concept of modern entrepreneurship.

    Honestly, it’s hard to top what these young industrialists have achieved. But aspiring businessmen need not feel discouraged about losing out. Here are some creative business proposals that might just get you that free slot with the big shots.

    1. Search Engine Optimization and Web Design
    Given the popularity of the use of the internet and the emergence of online businesses that wish to hit it big in search engines, these services are bound to be profitable. It can be done on a project basis so you don’t have to be committed to something long term. You can even keep another job while running such a business. Moreover, resources for SEO and web design are 50% free and the tools you use for it can be paid by monthly basis. Downside is you have to learn. Search engine optimization and web design aren’t complicated. But they will require some time investment in the beginning. What some start up entrepreneurs do is act as middle men for SEO and web design requests and outsource the tasks to cheap but capable Filipino or Indian specialists.

    2. Deliver Anything Service
    People are very busy nowadays and have hardly enough time to run errands. Running a deliver anything service is gainful considering that you would be able to cater to a large market with basically the same need – fast, efficient delivery of goods. You can be contracted by a studio owner who wants to deliver an important footage to a television station in another side of town; or a mother who wants to get her son’s lunchbox to him while he’s in school in one hour or less; or a businessman who wants to get a gift sent to a client living in another city within the day. The downsides are: it will require a hefty sum of capital and that you have established competitors known as the internet and couriers. Information sharing is fast and cheaper via emails and collaborative folders. And couriers basically give the same service. You’re only advantage is you are not fickle with what deliveries you make.

    3. Events Organization
    This is a fun business and it will challenge all aspects of your being an entrepreneur, from marketing to planning to budgeting and execution. You can cater to weddings, corporate parties, birthdays, baptisms etc. You will be able to widen your network as you pursue this service. And unlike the previous entrepreneurship ideas, YOU WILL NOT BE INVESTING ANY CAPITAL. You just got to establish a reputation and exert effort. You can start small. Start with friend. Get his/her money, spend it wisely and secure a high level of satisfaction. Marketing is basic word-of-mouth. If you do well, you will have a hoard of fans in no time.

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    Source by Greg Peter Candelario

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