5 Tips to Increase your level of concentration

Published on 5 Mayo, 2010 in Advice, Entrepreneur and Self Understanding. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur you must increase and keep a high level of concentration.

1 .- Get enough rest

It seems obvious, but the factor that most affects the concentration is the lack of rest. If you have not rested well your mind will be scattered and slow. Avoid this by making sure they get enough sleep and at the right time. Set a time to go to bed and stick.
It is also important not to sleep too. Sleep more to change your natural rhythm and makes you feel sleepy. Avoid this by setting the time for awakening. Better a little less sleep a little longer.

2 .- Make a plan

When you sit down to work without a plan, it is easy to get caught up in unproductive activities like checking email or surfing the web. Without a purpose, your mind will be addressed in many different directions. Instead of focusing all your attention to an important task, you’ll find yourself distracted by thoughts vague.
To avoid this, create a plan before. If you need to check the mail, do it as fast as possible, close your inbox and get on with your next most important task.

3 .- Eat healthy and light

Nothing slows down the mind rather than a meal with a high amount of fat. Overeating causes the body uses more energy in digestion, reduced energy to the brain. Maximize your ability to concentrate by eating healthy and light. We rarely regret eating too little. If suddenly you feel the energy decreases, have healthy snacks on hand to get a quick energy recharge.

4 .- Exercise

The body has energy to be used. If you exercise regularly, this energy can manifest in a distracted mind. The best way to improve concentration throughout the day is to exercise in the morning. This will clear your mind and help your body to remove impurities. In addition you will feel rejuvenated, lightweight and ready to face difficult problems.

5 .- Take breaks

Fatigue is a factor that can negatively affect concentration. When you’ve been working for a long time in the same place, you start losing focus. The best remedy for this is to take short breaks and make changes in your work environment. When you begin to feel that you lose concentration, get up and walk around. This will increase your heart rate, make you more alert and give your mind an opportunity to address the problem from another point of view.
It may also be useful to work in different places. Instead of being chained to your chair all day, move around. It can be a cafeteria, library, whatever. Each time you change of scenery will refresh your mind and increase your motivation to work.

what is an angel investor and what do they want?

Published on 3 Mayo, 2010 in Advice, Entrepreneur, Investing and Starting a business. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

Angel Investor Definition: Individuals who invest in businesses expecting a higher than expected return on traditional investments. In return for their investment they espect to be very involved in the business. The funds usually range from $ 150,000 to $ 1.5 million.

Most angel investors are successful entrepreneurs who want to help other entrepreneurs to start their business.

The term “angel” comes from the practice of wealthy businessmen who invested in the early 1900s in productions of Broadway. Today the “angels” offer experience, knowledge and contacts in addition to the money. It is estimated that in the U.S. there are about 250,000 active investors, who founded about 30,000 small companies each year. The amount of investment of the angels is estimated between 20 to 50 billion compared with the 3-5 billion per year as the official community of venture capital investing. In fact, there are about 2 million people in the U.S. with the ability to make angel investments.

The typical profile of an angel investor is:

  • The average age is 47 years with annual incomes of $ 90,000 with a net worth of $ 750,000. It has college education, is autonomous and spends about $ 37,000 per company.
  • Most angels invest close to home and rarely deliver more than a few hundred thousand dollars.
  • Your investments are the major source of capital for small businesses. Nine out of ten investors in small companies do, most start-ups and less than 20 employees.
  • Nine out of ten provide personal loans or loan guarantees to firms in which they invest. On average this increases the available capital by 57%.
  • Informal investors are older, have higher incomes and are better educated than the average citizen, but usually are not millionaires. They are a diverse group, displaying a wide range of personal characteristics and behaviors.
  • Seven out of 10 investments are made within a radius of 50 miles of the investor’s home or office.
  • They expect about 26% annual return on investing the time and believe that one third of their investments will result in substantial capital losses.
  • Accept an average of three bids for every 10 they consider. The most common reasons for rejecting a tender are insufficient potential growth, lack of management talent or lack of information about the entrepreneur or key personnel.
  • There seems to be lack of informal capital. Have invested 35% more opportunities to have found acceptable.

What does an angel investor espect?

There are almost as many answers as investors. Each one has its own criteria because they are individuals like everyone else. Almost everyone wants a position on the board or a consultant role. Everyone expects good communication, some want quarterly reports while others want weekly. The objectives vary from one internal rate of return of 30% in five years the return of five times the investment in five years. Most look at between 5% to 25% of shares in the company.

Some want to securities or common stock or preferred stock with certain rights and liquidation preferences of common values. Some are even calling convertible bonds or exchangeable preferred stock, which offer a clear exit strategy for investors, but also puts the company in the investment risk of paying more interest.

Steps for creating a website for your company

Published on 2 Mayo, 2010 in Entrepreneur and Marketing. 0 Comments Tags: , .

As an entrepreneur having a website allows you to be present on the Internet, inform customers about your company and, perhaps, create a new revenue stream with a shop in línea.La creating a simple site does not present major difficulties: Internet are released every day thousands of new sites. Not all are successful. Learn the steps to have a good site.

1 .- Final plan and appearance of the site

Start planning the site with the evaluation of other sites of companies working on the same line of business. Determine which are effective. It is important to note what they say about the company, if said information easy for the customer.

2 .- Design the site

After an idea has been made of the appearance and purpose of your site, do a layout of your site and page layouts. This provides a visual summary that shows all the pages you have plans to create, as well as the linkages between them. Try to create a structure with a logical flow that can recognize its customers and visitors.

3 .- Register a domain name

The domain name is the Internet address that users type into the browser to find sites. For example, www.yourbusiness.com. You must register all domain names that point to use as owner (and avoid other people or organizations use them). Most of these services can help you determine if the name you want is available. If you plan to create a website but do not expect to put in place immediately, it is better to register the name anyway.

4 .- Find hosting for your site

Your web site must reside on a Web server computer named. The Web server provides Web pages to users who request it from your browser. For most small businesses is reasonable payment to a company that specializes in hosting services or Internet service provider (ISP) to keep your site in one of their web servers. Professional service providers know how to monitor, maintain and protect the servers for the uptime get too close to 100%. Pay special attention to reliability statements in service level agreements you sign with hosting services.

5 .- Build and test your site

You can hire professional web designers to build the site, probably will have to if you want to create an e-commerce site, including order processing and credit card payments online. However, you can create a site using FrontPage program after receiving the necessary training.

6 .- Publish the site and perform the necessary maintenance

After testing, you can (or your Web designer) upload files in the Web site hosting service that hired for this purpose. Then connect to the Internet, type your domain name and wait for your site to appear online. But the work is not over. To ensure that customers have the impression that your company is dynamic and it works, you may need to add or change the contents of the site regularly.

How to choose the suppliers of your company?

Published on 30 Abril, 2010 in Advice, Entrepreneur, Make money, Management and Research. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Much of the success of your business as an entrepreneur depends on having good suppliers. As the term implies, a supplier is a trader who delivers or provides raw materials, supplies, materials or services. A good provider, among other things, is able to interact properly with their customers and meet agreed deadlines.

In the case of small and medium enterprises, many suppliers are selected randomly, either by their proximity to the business or by the recommendation of others. However, one bad choice can end with the end of your business.
This is why experts recommend considering some key aspects for choose your provider:

1 .- Find out about the company. Go, first for thinking that provider are closer to their needs. Then consider some essential aspects of their candidates who are they? How structured? What are the rates for its products and payment terms? Do you have the resources necessary to provide effective? Are also part of a distribution chain in May?

2 .- Get references. A serious and responsible supplier will have no problem in delivering customer information. It is essential to analyze who they are and what their level of satisfaction with services and products delivered by the company, as well as timeliness of delivery, and advances in technology used, among other things. Does your provider has a good reputation among its customers?

3 .- Put to the test. The best reference of its potential supplier will be to test it. During the process, you can see if they have effective communication channels (both during the stages of order as in the sale, delivery and after sales of the product) if they meet agreed deadlines, if the products arrive in good condition, etc. A good provider will necessarily have a tracking system products.

4 .- Putemphasis in the value they deliver for your money. It is no use having a good price if supplies are of poor quality. The same her meet agreed deadlines, but the products do not arrive in good condition. Is it acceptable or not the delivery time and prices offered?

5 .- Have more than one supplier. It is recommended not putting all your eggs in one basket. If the raw material offered by the supplier is critical to your business, not dependent on one supplier. This, as in case of increased demand, your provider may not meet the expected amount or the terms agreed.

How to get your first customers?

Published on 28 Abril, 2010 in Advice, Customer, Entrepreneur, Make money and Starting a business. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

If you are an entrepreneur and you have your business ready, but do not know who will buy your products, attracting customers is the first step in a successful business.

One of the first challenges of any business is to make themselves known and get to the first customers. Once located, may jump-start your business with ease.

There are several techniques to capture the first customers:

1. Start at home. Surely, the first customers of its business will be their relatives, friends, colleagues, former teammates, among others. The ideal is to take a database and inform as many people as possible about your business, what it offers and its benefits to the consumer. Your friends can let others know so your business contacts and raising awareness will go. However, for your business to stay in time, must select their major customers of the wide range of contacts and they focus on their political loyalty.
2. Make a list of potential customers. Many potential customers will probably people you do not know, but who may be interested in your business. So make a list of potential buyers or users who might buy your product or service. They may be other companies or individuals that are in need of that product conmunmente. If your company, for example, sells gourmet products, you can think of customers as varied as restaurants, Banquet companies, offices, gourmet shops, etc.
3. Catch the attention of your customers. One of the questions that must respond to in winning customers is “why someone would buy my product or service? Must analyze your business offers in relation to others. If this is a very desired product on the market, you should think of benefits for customers, such as discounts for early purchases, gifts, invitation to events, etc.
4. Select the message you want to deliver. Proper customer service is essential to recruit the first clients. Worry about how attend, what they offer, what will be his first words at the time of receipt, how they present their product, among others. The personal presentation of local vendors as well as the same also influence consumers.
5. The Internet presence is essential. Today, be on the network and the major search engines is one of the most optimal ways to get to the first customers. More and more users are looking for products or services over the Internet and are increasing that prefer to buy by electronic mail. Make sure you have a website or blog where you can exhibit your products and take feedback from their customers.
6. Appeal to some sentiment or social concern. Corporate Social Responsibility is a very common issue not only in business but the customers themselves. Many businesses have been created to protect areas such as environment, human health, etc. Which is highly valued by consumers.

6 Key factors for success and leadership

Published on 27 Abril, 2010 in Advice and Entrepreneur. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

As an entrepreneur it is important to have the following skills:

Basic Skills. Employers, including those for whom work now appreciate employees who can read well, write well and think well. To improve your vocabulary you can learn a new word each day.

Personal skills. Can you speak well? Can you interact with your peers and your customers in a positive, non-confrontational? Or do the same to you, what they’re above you or below? Can you negotiate and talk assertively when necessary? Emotional intelligence is a key skill to get and stay ahead.

Enthusiasm and knowledge. Your attitude will be crucial. Are you showing interest in the trends, goals and objectives of your department or company? Do you make something more than it asks for your work? The more you learn and show interest in others and other topics but will be reflected positively on your image to the company.

Persistence and consistency. Are you treating each person you meet as someone who want to serve and deliver excellent services? It works consistently arrive early, struggle to improve each day in a 1% in the key areas of your performance and you will be put into the category of valuable in the eyes of your superiors.

Professional development. Are you interested in continuous improvement? Are you going to seminars, take classes, you train and learn new skills that will make you competitive? If you do not think that: Someone else with your same skills if they are doing. In the races were won by a split second. Every step you advance in your professional development may mean that split second in the race against your competitors. Successful people learn throughout their lives.

Career development. The difference between professional development and career is time. Develop career terms of planning and setting goals, a process that can last between three to five years.

What do you have to look for in a supplier?

Published on 23 Abril, 2010 in Advice, Entrepreneur, Management and Research. 0 Comments Tags: , .

As an entrepreneur you must:

1. To be committed to your company. A good provider is one that is related in a continuous process with your customer. Find a provider collaborative, which not only show you a product catalog, it tells you what is best for your business and be able to respond and make suggestions at any time and to resolve problems in desperate situations.

2. That to be effective. A good supplier is able to deliver the product at the agreed time and in good condition. It also has the ability to anticipate their needs, that is, know what you think and what you need before you ask.

3. To give a cordial greeting. Companies are made up of people: the important thing for a good relationship with your supplier, responsible, helpful, knowledgeable and experienced in the field. Capable of providing information and options that best meet the needs of your business.

What is innovation?

Published on 18 Abril, 2010 in Advice and Entrepreneur. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The entrepreneur innovates not only through the development of new products, but also through any action to improve and give effect to the value proposition of his production.

An invention does not always translate into an innovation and there are many important innovations are the result of an invention. When we talk about inventions we refer to creative acts that normally arise from the field of applied science and can spend a long period until they become an element of the economic system.

In fact, many inventions never translate into something practical or economic value generator.

On the contrary, innovation is a social and economic act, through which it seeks to improve the value proposition of an organization is praising the consumer as the recipient and judge who determines what is a successful innovation and what is not.

For decades, economists and engineers have discussed the role of innovation and began treatment in the efforts of companies and countries. At the beginning of last century, the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, put innovation at the center of economic interest, noting the role of this primary source of wealth. It was he who proposed a distinction in the process of technological change phases of invention, innovation and diffusion, including conceptual contributions.

An innovation process requires skills and capacities, among which a special way, the ability to listen with a sense of anticipation the needs of an organization’s target markets. While inside a company emphasizes the ability to form teams, the willingness to take risks and the tenacity to face the difficulties of going through uncharted territory.

In this sense there is innovation in action to use knowledge resources to equip a new and greater value. Also applies to changes in products and services themselves such as the processes that gave rise to them.

Many of the companies known for making its main engine for innovation, support the assertion that innovation is not synonymous with new product development. Internationally, Wal-Mart, Dell and Starbucks represent clear examples of innovation in business models.

Radical and incremental innovations

Innovation is a complex phenomenon and is useful to distinguish different types of it, from the degree of disruption which represents an innovation for a product or process.

It is convenient to make two distinctions:

  1. Incremental innovations: refers to successive improvements and gradual rather than subjected to a product or a process. From the economic point of view, these kinds of changes aimed at improving productivity, operational efficiency and cost step. All of which can in turn expect to gradual adjustments in the acceptance of a value proposition in the market.The expected result of the innovations are gradual increases in technical efficiency, productivity improvements of processes, and in general, more minor changes that improve their quality products or will lower their costs. Almost all car models are maintained for about 304 years, but its effect on the market with innovations tones of this type, year after year. The emergence of new technologies, as well as changing tastes and fashions combine to limit the duration of the ability of incremental innovations. Over time, the perception of these changes tends to decline in the appreciation of the customer, which translates into diminishing marginal returns. Like the cycle of any product innovation reaches maturity and its ability to invigorate the value of a product is waterproof, which ends marking the final sunset of the product on the market.
  2. Radical innovations: they represent revolutionary changes in the design of a product or process. They represent fundamental breaks with the order had been established in the market the goods, services and processes that are designed to replace. Some classic cases of radical innovation is the introduction of the steam locomotive (1804), telegraph (1838) Dynamite (1866), telephone (1876), the electric light bulb (1879), the car with combustion engine Internal (1886), among others.

How to optimize the financial resources of the company?

Published on 10 Abril, 2010 in Advice, Entrepreneur and Make money. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

For many entrepreneurs, make good use of resources is a rather complicated task, especially when they have many projects in mind and want to get good results immediately.

For any entrepreneur who wants to install his own business, the concept of savings can not be indifferent. This, as all business means risks and responsibilities, for which we must be prepared and not act blindly.
In the case of small and medium businesses, the savings is much more complicated because of its size do not have large resources and often qualify for external financing is very complicated. In simple terms, saving is the income of a company that is obtained by subtracting the total expenditure on consumption to income of the business. One of its benefits is that it allows the autonomy of the company and its owner, and therefore become less dependent on external factors or others.
It also lets you invest in other aspirations and thus make the business grow.
How?
  1. Have clear business objectives: To know where we are going and what we do is essential to allocate the necessary resources and do not overspend. It is important to set realistic goals that are aligned to revenue and business opportunities.
  2. Settling time: If the targets are not achieved within x, think of some alternatives or what would be the best solution for your company solvent. Perhaps the business is not having the desired effect, but is realizing.
  3. Develop a budget: If income is less than the cost, it means not winning and that, therefore, you should see the appropriate way to solve your business. If the situation is opposite, ie if you receive more of what you spend, you should analyze how much to save and how much to invest.
  4. Prioritizing goals: Have a new branch or launch a new product? These are aspects that must eventually be able to resolve given the resources with which your company account. Remember that your company must always reaventándose, so gets nothing of opening a new office if you are selling the same products of yesteryear. Then remember that much of their savings should invest successfully in new products or projects.
  5. Take advantage of discounts and offers: Just as you would in the day to day, often involves thinking about buying optimizar.recursos machinery and technology for your business when you really should. The same if you want to travel or expand your business infrastructure. At that point, the ability to negotiate with suppliers is key to achieving lower costs, but do not neglect the quality of products.
  6. Find a reliable partner: A person who bet on its business also can mean calm, since along with helping to lead the company, will serve to optimize your finances. It will be a person who will work side by side and in whom shall trust to take over areas of the business, so you should make sure that has a good record.
  7. Take your time to choose the best sellers: They are much of the success or failure of your company as they are directly related to the sale of their products. It does not mean having a large number of sellers, but with the appropriate, ie the truly motivated and able to close a sale successfully. Who know about the client and create ongoing relationships with them.

The importance of the company´s name

Published on 27 Marzo, 2010 in Advice, Branding, Entrepreneur and Marketing. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Especially if we are new to the entrepreneurship world, not known and do not have large amounts of money to make a strong advertising campaign, the name, when well chosen, can be a great ally of ours, acting as a key figure in the dissemination and promotion activities we do .

  • The name should clearly communicate what he does our company. Just mentioning that easily known the type of products or services offered.
  • Should be short and easy to remember. This allows for faster positioning and people we can identify without much effort.
  • Original, to distinguish us from the competition, but be careful not to fall into very sophisticated names tangled, hard to associate our business.
  • A survey of family, friends and people who belong to the niche that we want to come and see what the most votes.

A good name projects the personality of our company and sets us apart and generate reminder. Make the right choice is to start with the right foot because the way our so called business – determined in many cases – the first impression we pass on to our customers.

Too sophisticated names fall into tangled and are hard to associate to our business.

  • To project the right image. A company that wishes to convey how seriously his name, for example, choose one completely different from one that wants to project an image funny or modern.
  • Do not fall into the temptation of using foreign words. Ideally the same language is spoken by the people of the market that you want to reach, as this ensures that everyone will understand what we communicate.
  • What is written as it sounds and does not lend itself to confusion spelling. This is critical, especially when you want your name to serve as bait for potential customers deduct the direction of our website easily.
  • Listing all the new names that happen to us or that we suggest others may help you choose.