Michele Pariza Wacek asked:


I admit it.

I’m a recovering workaholic/perfectionist, not to mention having delusions of superhero syndrome.

I know I’ll never be cured. But I can at least work on controlling it.

I also know I’m not alone. Plenty of entrepreneurs and small business owners suffer from this same condition. (In fact, it’s so prevalent I’m thinking about starting a recovery group for this.)

Do you suffer from workaholic/perfectionism/superhero syndrome? Take this short quiz to find out.

1. You think working all the time, including nights and weekends, is a sign of:

A. Success

B. Insanity

C. Just one of the sacrifices you have to make when you own your own business

2. Your to-do list resembles:

A. War and Peace (actually, War and Peace might be shorter)

B. No more then 5 tasks per day

C. It’s pretty long, but that’s okay. You know if you buckle down and REALLY focus, you can get everything done. (Of course, you never have, but that’s besides the point.)

3. The last time you took a vacation was:

A. Vacation? Who needs a vacation? Vacations are for wussies.

B. A couple of months ago and it was fabulous.

C. You’re too afraid to be gone for more then a couple of days, especially if you don’t have your laptop and can check in every day. What if something happens? A new client calls? You could lose the business. Or some crisis might come up and there wouldn’t be anyone to take care of it. It’s just too risky to leave, better to stick around.

4. You believe:

A. People who don’t work very hard yet still are making money are pretty lucky (and also pretty lazy).

B. Being successful also means having a life (and having time to enjoy it).

C. The only way to be successful is to work longer and harder then anyone else. (After all, when you’re not working you’re not making money. So how can you be successful if you’re not working?)

5. Taking time for yourself is:

A. A luxury for only rich (or lazy) people.

B. Something you make a priority each and every day.

C. Nice in theory but unrealistic in practice. After all, your clients have to come first. They’re the ones paying the bills.

Scoring: Well, let’s just say you know who you are.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, I think one of our biggest challenges is balance. How much time to spend on our business? With our families? Ourselves? And how do we fit it all into the only 24 hours we have?

For me, this has been one of the most challenging lessons. I grew up in Wisconsin, the heart of workaholic-ism. That Midwest work ethic can put people into the ground faster than anything else out there, I think.

I grew up equating hard work with success—if you wanted to be successful, you better be prepared to work your tail off. So when I started my business, I immediately put that ethic into play. If I could get all my work done during the week, there must be something wrong. I must not have enough clients. And I must not be successful enough.

But when you combined my workaholic nature with my perfectionism, that’s when things started to get out of control. There was ALWAYS something I should be doing for my business. Therefore, it was difficult to justify taking ANY time off for myself. Worse yet, I had a little voice in the back of my mind that would say things like if I wasn’t working, then I’m being lazy or procrastinating or something.

And, since my husband grew up in the same state with the same work ethic, he supported my need to be working all the time. Plus, he worked equally as hard himself.

So what was the outcome of all this? I burned out.

My burnout took place in 2003. After I recovered, I realized I had to start doing things differently or I would end up right back where I was again (burned out and unable to help anyone, much less myself). And since I still wanted to help people and I was still passionate about marketing and copywriting, I realized I would have to learn how to run my business differently if I was going to stay in business.

That was really the catalyst for me to change both myself and my business. I had to change a lot of things, including my mindset. It also has made me realize I have to value taking time off for me. If I don’t value it, it won’t happen.

Basically it comes down to this—as entrepreneurs and small business owners, we are our business. Even if we have a team to support us (which I sincerely hope all of you do) how far we can grow and take our business ultimately rests on our shoulders. And if those shoulders are slumped over, exhausted from overwork and poor health and lack of sleep and loss of passion for what we do, then that’s going to ultimately affect how far our businesses will grow.

It’s that simple.



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Mario Churchill asked:


First things first, there is a reason why there are a lot of business credit card offers around. Basically, the benefit of having a business credit card is that the company – be it a large company or a small one – is able to keep track of all the expenses its employees make.

A business credit card is used by business owners, entrepreneurs and big shot executives in the corporate field.

The following are some of the business credit card offers available in the market.

The platinum advanta with rewards

This business credit card offers zero percent APR on any balance transfers made for sixteen months. the APR thereafter is fixed at 7.99%.

Cash back is also available for this business credit card as well as rewards for travel. An additional plus is that the platinum Advanta requires that you do not pay an annual fee.

To be eligible to apply, a good credit standing is needed. Balance transfers also apply.

The Citibank business credit card

This card also has a zero percent APR on all purchases as well as balance transfers for a maximum of twelve months.

For the Citibank business credit card, annual fees are not required. Plus, the credit line is business-sized. Citibank also has additional free cards for a particular company’s employees, with the credit limit set conveniently by you.

The Citibank business card also provides everyday savings on all your business-related purchases. Summaries of all charges are also provided annually as well as quarterly.

To be eligible to apply, a good credit standing is needed. Balance transfers also apply. Regular APR is set at 11.24%.

American express business credit card gold rewards

This particular credit card entitles the bearer with an automatic enrollment in the Amex membership program rewards.

Users of this Amex gold business credit card entitles its bearer with earning 100,000 rewards points during the first year.

Sky’s the limit applies very much to this Amex gold business credit card as there is no spending limit that is pre-set.

There is no such thing as finance charges for this business credit card. A plus is the continuous savings users are eligible at the following business: FedEx, AT&T, Hertz, Staples, among others.

First year users of the Amex gold business credit card have their annual fee free, after which a regular $125 applies every year.

To be eligible to apply, a good credit standing is needed.

Discover business credit card

For this business credit card, the introductory APR is at zero percent especially for purchases made for twelve months.

A five percent bonus cashback is provided for office supplies, while a bonus cashback of two percent is provided for gas. Another bonus is a one percent bonus cashback for any other purchases.

There is no such thing as an annual fee for this particular business credit card.

To be eligible to apply, a good credit standing is needed. An APR of 12.99% applies. Balance transfers are also provided.

Advanta balanced life platinum card

This business credit card allows its users a fixed 2.99% APR for one’s whole life as well as on other balances that have been transferred in three months. There is also no annual fee and there is unlimited earning potential.

All in all, it depends on your specific wants, needs and lifestyle as to the specific card that appeals much to your preference. Choose at your own risk and benefit.



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greene122 asked:


State Democracy thrives on busy political times

Non-profit Web site links constituents with leaders



By Martin Desmarais



StateDemocracy.org, which was started in 2001, has brought on seasoned entrepreneur Frank Islam, above, as chairman and to lead expansion efforts. Photo courtesy of StateDemocracy

MCLEAN, Va. – For most Indian Americans interested in politics the rallying cry is that not enough members of the community are politically involved and the main effort is to make this happen. However, Shukoor Ahmed and Frank Islam go one step further. They feel that not enough Americans are involved in the political process, specifically voting, and they are using StateDemocracy.org to try and change that.

The Web site connects citizens with their lawmakers and lawmakers-to-be, both at the state and federal levels – in all 50 states. The site’s LobbyDelegates service provides a way for people to find out who their lawmakers are and quickly contact them by e-mail, fax or letter. On the voting site, the site packages all that is necessary to vote in any state: voter registration, absentee ballot applications, polling place locator, links to every state and local election board and election-day requirements, such as voting hours, identification requirements and write-in rules.

Following the increasing social networking phenomenon of the Web, StateDemocracy is on Facebook, myspace and LinkedIn and has created widgets that allow people to access its voter tools on many other Web sites. Facebook offers StateDemocracy’s voter registration, absentee ballot and poll locator tools.

“What we are trying to do is get our voter engagement tools out to all the different Web sites where people are going,” said Ken Laureys, executive director of the StateDemocracy Foundation, which is set up to run and finance StateDemocracy.org.

According to Laureys, the excitement and interest in the Presidential election, combined with the increasing role of the Internet, makes it a perfect time for StateDemocracy and what it offers.

“This year it is really unprecedented in the numbers of new voters that are coming into the system,” he said. Still, he believes, there is a major problem of most citizens not knowing who their lawmakers are and how to continue a dialogue with them after elections, particularly on the state level. With the mass media firmly entrenched in covering national politics, Laureys said StateDemocracy can make headway on the local level.

“Here is where the Internet can do that segmentation and niche and have a role to play in informing people,” he said. “Once people start [looking into politics on a local level] they find out there is a lot of important things. … There are more things that are decided on the local level that affect you than on the national level.

“With technology you don’t have to do Annapolis or, if you are in Western Mass., you don’t have to go to Boston. You can virtually connect with your politicians,” he added.

Originally started by Ahmed in 1999 as part of his campaign to run for Maryland House of Delegates, StateDemocracy evolved and in 2001 Ahmed started the StateDemocracy Foundation to oversee the Web site. Since 2001, approximately 500,000 people have visited the site, with 150,000 registered users. In the last month, the site’s traffic has increased 400 percent, has seen 76 percent first-time users and had 120 widget packages downloaded to other sites. An average of 20 users are adding StateDemocracy’s voter tools to their Facebook profiles on a daily basis.



Ahmed

The success is a dream envisioned for Ahmed and he has put his money behind the venture, pumping $300,000 into StateDemocracy since 2001 through his V-Empower Inc. He started the Bowie, Md.-based Web-strategy firm in 1999. V-Empower provides services such as software development, application security consulting, Web development, e-commerce implementation and search engine optimization. The company also developed the Web-based tools that StateDemocracy uses.  Customers include: Microsoft Corp., CA (formerly Computer Associates Inc.), Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, Franklin McKinley Education Foundation and Prince George’s County.

A native of Hyderabad, India, Ahmed came to the United States after completing a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, physics and chemistry from Osmania University. He then attended American University’s School of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C.

He took a job as a reservation agent with Olympic Airways in 1983 and worked his way up to director of business development by 1999, when he left the airline industry to start V-Empower.

StateDemocracy’s Laureys is also vice president of client relations at V-Empower. Laureys and Ahmed met on the campaign trail in 1999 working for Presidential candidate Bill Bradley. Laureys said they both share a passion in politics fueled by schooling. Laurey has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from George Washington University and a master’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland. He views StateDemocracy as the practical embodiment of this academic and theoretical political interest.

This year, Islam succeeded Ahmed as chairman of the StateDemocracy Foundation. According to Laurey, the goal was to put Islam’s business acumen to work expanding the scope of StateDemocracy.

“He has been very successful in his business career,” said Laureys. “He has a vision about where he wants StateDemocracy to go to using his experiences and talents and his connections from the business field.”

Islam is the chief executive officer and chairman of FI Investment Group, a holding company that owns health-care and IT companies. Previously, he was the CEO of QSS Group, an IT company that generated revenue of $300 million and earned recognition from the Inc 500 for six consecutive years, the Washington Technology Fast 50 for seven consecutive years and the Deloitte & Touche National Tech Fast 500 for eight consecutive years. He sold QSS to Perot Systems Corp.

Islam has been involved in the IT, aerospace engineering services and systems integration business for more than 25 years. In 1999, he was recognized by the Ernst and Young as Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year. The U.S. Small Business Administration selected him as the Minority Small Business Person of the Year of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area in 2001.

He has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in computer science from the University of Colorado.

According to Islam, his work with StateDemocracy is his way of giving back. “After I made my money I said it was time to give back to my community, my country, that I love so much and that is America,” he said. “I was very passionate about business and growing my company. Now I am passionate about StateDemocracy.”

Islam has very specific plans for StateDemoracy. These include: strengthening the reputation of the Web site as a brand, expanding the foundation’s board membership, soliciting more grant funding and benefactors, expanding strategic partnerships with other citizen engagement groups, voter registration Web sites and grassroots advocacy groups and connecting with state election boards to provide them with StateDemocracy’s voter tools and establishing a plan to more efficiently update data on poll locations, absentee ballot and voter registration forms.

Melding political passion into a clear plan for StateDemocracy’s success is Islam’s strategy now that he is at the helm. He believes that the same focus he used to generate his business success will spark similar growth with StateDemocracy.

“If you do not focus you lose power, you lose energy,” he said. “If you focus you can even drill a whole in a diamond.”



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John Mailer asked:


Starting your own business is a dream for many people. Whether you are thinking about starting your own consulting business, or you want to own a business franchise, there are many options to make you a small business owner. One of the most common misconceptions among people who want to know how to start your own business is that you need a lot of capital to start up. This is far from true. You need money to start your own business, but you don’t need to have that money yourself. There are plenty of small business loans available if you can fill out all the requisite paperwork and make the right connections. When I first decided to start my own business, I barely had a dime. I had a few good ideas, a nice suit, and a government loan. That was all I needed.

You don’t have to have money to start out starting small business, but you better make some money if you don’t! Otherwise, you can go massively into debt from starting your own business. Although there are bankruptcy options available, they have gotten much less appealing as the laws have changed. Nowadays, going into debt starting your own business can spell financial ruin for many people. You had best not let this happen. It is always good to have a little bit of money to fall back on just in case.

Nonetheless, I don’t want to make you think that starting your own business is all that difficult. It really depends on what kind of business you go into. If you want to start your own restaurant, you had better be used to disappointment. Unless you are starting your own business running a restaurant franchise, you have a huge chance of failure within the first year or two. Most restaurants go under. The only reason that restaurant businesses get financed at all, in fact, is that rich patrons wants to have a place to take their guests to entertain them.

Deciding to start your own retail business can be a little bit less risky, but it is still tough. The key to starting your own business is having a niche. A friend of mine, for example, decided to start a retail business selling locally made handicrafts. Although there weren’t that many people who wanted to buy his wares, there were some, and they were fanatical. They would come in there every week and buy something. Starting a business can work as long as you have a few regular clients.



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Barry Eisen asked:


 

 

Are you treating your business like A BUSINESS (worth working)?

Are you living your life like A LIFE (worth living)?







The track records of the successful have been written and recorded, documented in every way imaginable.  Seminars and sales meetings teach the principles of how fortunes are made by average people who have a plan and stay with it.  What possible secret has not been revealed for creating passion, achieving wealth, health, status, balance, joy and exhilaration in life?  How can we make the lessons run on automatic for us?

The easiest way to have success is to copy the beliefs, behaviors (of course provided these are legal and don’t violate your morals, ethics, values) and physiology of the successful.  

In business, it’s always been a curiosity that a huge percentage of professionals, with basically all the answers available to them, simply choose not to do what’s proven, even if it’s easy.  They prove “What’s easy to do is easy not to do.”  Teachers say set your vision, create your goals, develop a plan. We have learned to plan, to prospect, to manage time, to follow up, to breathe positivity.  Yet until we internalize that teaching, we wish instead of plan, we procrastinate rather than act, we complain about others and the hand we’re dealt instead of optimizing the moment.  The successful say there are cycles, seasons.  There will be winter and, yes, it will be followed by spring. Those who hear the words without internalizing the lessons never turn wishes to visions, put goals to paper nor map out their plan.   Their easy summer is followed by a challenging winter and they forget there will be another spring.  They wonder why they arrive today exactly where they were yesterday.  

In personal life, we see the perfect parallel.  The life lessons are everywhere. A new book with a new title and the old lessons becomes the new best seller.  Yet without internalizing all the simple, elegant “easy” lessons, the readers continue to make poor diet and exercise choices, to buy hope from infomercials only to let the products collect dust, and to allow personal pressure to mount from stinking thinking and negative perspective.  And these ARE choices. Rather than copying the easy map for long range success: setting the goals and mapping them out for family, social and personal time, many yet again review their lives feeling guilt and emptiness. They lack quality time spent with family, friends or their own personal pursuits.  They long for yet don’t allocate time to exercise, read, pursue hobbies or just relax and refresh. 



Pharmaceutical companies are having a heyday providing fixes for those who feel overwhelmed by business and life.  Feel stressed? Pop a quick-fix, feel-swell pill.  But the pill wears off and the cause of the emotional pain is still there.  We are given a huge list of extraordinarily dangerous side effects (swelling! fatigue! dizziness! impotence! death! argh, etc) with each pharmaceutical ad before a perky, confident voice offers, “Ask your doctor if you are a candidate.”  And enough run for that fix that the ad is profitable and the pharmaceutical stock is up. The lure of the quick fix, in spite of its danger, still causes droves to take the quick and chance the side effect, rather than do the long term “easy” and plan the success and learn to deal with stress.  Where did we get the idea that stress was bad?  There is no music from a violin until the string is pulled or pushed.  It is the stress on the string that makes the music. Stress is the activity of life. It’s “Stuff.”  It’s opportunity.  Not every stress is Over-stress.  Not every pain needs medication. 

The survival of the fittest has always been nature’s way.  Stir the pot every once in a while and watch what happens.  The universe is impersonal.  Challenges are created and those who are willing to step up usually rise to the top.  Those who spend no time in whining and complaining, but focus on what needs to be done, follow intuition and instinct, create a vision and plan of action, stay committed and take creative risks focused on service are the ones who not only survive, but flourish.  They come through every cycle (there always is a finish to every cycle) with accomplishments, maturity, the best stories over dinner, and are in position to take advantage of the next bull market. 

To invent the wheel again is not a wise use of time.  Strategies and technologies on the face of business may make some cosmetic changes, but humanity hasn’t changed.  The same basic approaches and personality traits still work and win.

Our businesses and lives grow only when we do.  For things to change and get better, we must change and get better first.  To make your business worth working and your life worth living is all in your mind’s choice. 

This is the time to:



come from gratitude for who you are, the skills and knowledge you possess, for whom and what you have around you, for where you are and for all the overt and, so far uncovered opportunities.

celebrate how far you’ve come.  In the toughest of times we must diligently recognize our own accomplishments in the arena where the challenges exist.  Have you been more open, disciplined, patient, assertive, calm, appreciative?  How are you better now than before? 

ask yourself how you may serve.  Providing enough to others of what they want will get you what you want.

develop a plan of action that forces you out of your ego-centric predicament of “woe is me” thinking.  Stop thinking about your problems by putting the emphasis on something you can DO, not just think about.  The name of the book by Napoleon Hill is “Think and GROW Rich” not “Think yourself rich..”

take baby steps. small changes create huge victories.  Do something positive which contributes to your vision of the future, every day.  For many who only recognize what is negative or neutral, start acknowledging what you have done with no judgment as to the “size” of its significance. Build on that.  Horses win races only by a “nose” and we remember them as 1st Place.

leave your business day on a high.  Don’t quit the day out of frustration or ambivalence.  Make the extra call. Prepare the report for tomorrow.  Confirm tomorrow’s appointment. Get one more tidbit of information that will help, etc.  Just one more effort.  Go home to your family and friends with a feeling of accomplishment.   They will feel it and reciprocate.

spend quality time with your friends who are positive, supportive, up beat and moving forward. Choose your company carefully. And when with those who spread cynicism and gloom, who swear they are “just being realistic, not negative;” be vigilant to allow their negativity to be a “gift” for you - a reminder of how you could be. Allow their choices to remind you that you have other options and be inspired to choose possibility and solution thinking.  A cynic is one who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. We are all, by our own choice, either part of the problem or part of the solution.  We may not change the naysayers, but we can control ourselves.  Choose the interesting and stimulating in yourself and in others.  You don’t need to agree with others to share their passions and thoughtfulness and be enriched by them.

read for your mind and soul.  Sure, it’s important to keep up with world events to be able to make informed choices in voting. Make time for non fiction and fiction. Biographies, histories and motivational books inform and stretch your perspectives.  Fiction stimulates imagination, improves vocabulary and is a great stress reliever.  Work on your Self.

take time off.  To create the “good old days” as you will view them in just a few short years, plan to take time off every week to switch gears and refresh.  Vacations don’t need to be expensive to be terrific.  Even the planning of time off can be experienced as time off. Make it time to enjoy the participants as decision makers (family/friends) as you collectively communicate in quality time.

make daily time to relax/meditate/do self hypnosis/yoga/be still.  You know it’s important.  Just begin.  If it’s worth doing, it’s worth starting. No big or little. No good or bad. Just DO.



This is obviously a short list of what can be done proactively to be less the victim and clearly in control of your life in these interesting times.  What are the important issues for you?  Write them down and bring them into your everyday life.  Once the resistance of creating a new habit is behind you, the new behavior is yours to enjoy forever.  It’s worth it.  You’re worth it.

For those wanting to set up a “test drive” of a coaching session with me, send me an email or pick up the phone to set a 30 minute phone session.  If you are looking for an “AhHa!” or two, you will find the time more than interesting.  The intuition, focus and creativity of you and me working to improve your income, deal with fears, improve communications, make positive changes is what the session is all about.

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Vitaly Grinblat asked:


A billionaire that I’ve studied for a long time and got a chance to meet with not too long ago, has a saying that “Life will turn out the way you see it turning out”. 

I believe that’s very true.  And it’s also true in business.  Your business will turn out the way you see it turning out.  As obvious as it may seem for a lot of people, I think that there’s a deeper meaning to it.  I think that it has to do with your self-image as a businessperson or if you’re in sales a salesperson.

You see, if a person grows up in a household where the parents never made more than say fifty thousand dollars a year, that’s what their self-image is programmed for. That is until they decide to change it.

This person doesn’t see him or herself earning five hundred thousand dollars a year, because that’s not the conditioning they received.  So they may have a goal of making this much money, or more, but if the mental picture that they carry of themselves, is one of a person making fifty thousand a year, then that’s what they’re attracting.

I’ve seen it many times, even with myself.  Things start to go well, sales are happening, money is coming in, then all of a sudden it stops, the momentum is lost.  I believe that it’s your subconscious mind screwing up the opportunities to earn more, because THAT IS WHAT IT’S PROGRAMMED TO DO. 

It’s programmed with a number, and it will do whatever it takes to attract that to you, and once you go over that amount, it will sabotage any opportunities that come your way, until you get back where you belong.

In scientific terms, it’s called cognitive dissonance.  The difference between the picture in your subconscious mind and the “reality” of what you’re experiencing.  Another words, conflict or disharmony.

One of the functions of your subconscious mind is conflict resolution.  So if you change the picture inside, your subconscious mind goes to work and activates creativity and energy to resolve the conflict.

If you change the mental image you have of yourself as someone who is a half a million dollar a year person, you will start seeing the opportunities to bring that picture into reality.  You will become more creative and more motivated to do the things that will help you accomplish that goal.

In my experience, it doesn’t mean to work harder, but instead work on changing the picture and the results will follow. 

The picture I’m referring to is your self image, as it relates to business and income.  We have many different pictures of ourselves, our self-image, for different roles in our lives.  We have a picture of our self as a parent, a man or a woman, a child, a communicator, a manager, an employee, a sales person, a business owner, a golfer, a handyman and so forth.  So this process relates to all areas of our lives.

But more specifically, the picture that we carry our self as a business person and the money we make, CAN be changed.  The way to change this picture is to start thinking of the business we want to have.  The money we want to make.  And more importantly HOW IT WOULD FEEL to have that kind of a business and make that kind of money. 

Working on the feeling is critical, because it’s the fuel for manifestation. So if you find yourself on a rollercoaster as far as your income and sales are concerned, then check to see what the picture you’ve been carrying is.  The best way to do this, is to take a look at what you’ve been making, because that is the mental image that you have.  That is what you’ve programmed your subconscious mind to attract into your life.

That is not a negative, but instead it should be a relief to know that you’re 100% in control of what you attract and the kind of business you can have, once you understand how your self-image creates your experiences.

I’ve had some people tell me, that they’re not as creative as I am, when it comes to getting more business.  Or that they’re not as motivated.

Non-sense.  It’s all in the picture that they carry of themselves. 

Change the picture and you will change the results.



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Lisa Ormenyessy - Integrabiz asked:


Part 2 - The Business Card

The business plan is written, the name registered, and the doors are about to be flung wide open.

But - first what every business person needs - a business card.

Easy; I have some design skills, I’m savvy with the PC I’ll just knock one up - surely it can’t be that hard. Wise business words of established business owners come back to haunt me… but …

And the but was learning to deal with creative suppliers (and I use the word creative lightly). Creative in their listening, less than creative in their doing - and as yet fingers crossed (as I haven’t seen the bill) lets just hope their creativity does not lend to their accounting. The question I have - if I am not happy with the service provided - and I can prove it other than a creative ‘not wanting to pay’ - am I obliged to pay?? Mmmh business ethics enter stage left.

Some would cite don’t pay; ‘it’s not personal - it’s just business’. BUT - It is personal - as a sole trader I’m paying. It’s food off my table. The decision I make is a direct reflection on who I am and what I stand for.

When I asked the supplier to do the work I made a vow (not in blood mind you) that I would pay for the services. Common practice not to I know, but anything less is fraud. It’s about being true to my word, either my yes is a yes, or perhaps an ask me later maybe.

As with most things that are worthwhile, it’s easier said than done. The invoice hasn’t arrived yet so either the supplier is aware of the poor performance - or the overall running of the business is creatively messy with a lack of integrity as well. The decision I make will be the right one - not because it feels good (believe me the cheque will be written with gritted teeth) but because it’s right.

From day one, in laying the foundation of start-up-dom, I decided I did not want to build a business without integrity. I decided that my word would be my word. Even if I am going to have to burn the midnight oil (and chances are I will), if I say I’ll deliver I will. In my experience that competitive advantage in itself these days.

Imagine - a doctor who is always on time for appointments, a trade person that doesn’t leave a mess, a bank that doesn’t rip you off in fees, a mobile phone service that doesn’t drop out when you are making the deal of a lifetime, or a lawyer that returns your calls. Now that’s a business you can rely on to deliver.

It’s not just about the face of the business; the customer service and perception, but the bones, the substance, the blood that gives life and enables a business to last. It’s the integrity of a business that creates legacies. I’m counting on the fact that customers see the reflection of who I am in the business, and their faith in the integrity of the business will make the difference.

Copyright Integrabiz 2005, Contact Lisa at www.integrabiz.com.au



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Gerri D Smith asked:


“Whatever you persistently allow to occupy your thoughts will magnify in your life.”

-Dennis Kimbro, PhD., Author, Small Business Consultant, and Lecturer for the Napoleon Hill Foundation

Your reason for becoming an entrepreneur or having a business of your own is the first spark that motivates you to do so. A successful business is determined by how often you are motivated and in balancing the various stages of your life. Planning every step that is well thought out is the key to having continuous success in your business.

In order to start a business, it only takes one thought. In order to grow any enterprise, business, or entrepreneurship it requires a series of steps that must be actively and consistently developed. To keep your business successful, it must be given constant thought and attention. Your thoughts can empower you, give you energy, or make you act on your desire. Only you can decide which thoughts you must focus on to guide you toward your success.

When your thoughts are expressed to others, they become a reflection of who you are. They can project themselves onto others. So, take charge of your thoughts. Think about how you feel, and how those emotions affect you and carry you through life. These emotions when joined with your motivations determine your end result.

The manner in which your thoughts are displayed, not only in your business but, in your daily life serve a useful purpose. Therefore, it is important to understand where you direct your thoughts. Focus on good thoughts and keep negative thoughts and feelings under control. Unpleasant thoughts can turn your customers - and friends, away.

What is that special purpose that you find fulfilling? When you know this, you know what motivates you. Your purpose becomes a special commitment, a determination that you’re born with, a deep desire that gives you energy, a spark of fire, or a charge that is necessary to produce your ultimate goal. Putting your energy, concentration, and action behind those thoughts will motivate you to accomplish your goals in life.

Once you find what motivates you, then take the next step. Focusing your thoughts and your attention on one step at a time makes it easier to reach your goals. Stay open to all possibilities and ideas. Divine intervention will guide you, making opportunities available where none may have existed before. You may even see new ideas that you never thought were possible. Do not doubt. New ideas will come your way. Be thankful for them. Look at them as a beginner with alertness and enthusiasm. Then move on to the next step.

Thoughts are the first forms of communication. When you voice your thoughts, you are sending and receiving messages. Your thoughts must be a continuous flow of positive energy. Find some way to communicate this positive energy (enthusiasm) to your customers. This is the lifeline of all businesses. Then figure out a creative way to let consumers know about your business products or services. Effective communication makes a big difference in your success.

First, make sure you are offering the right product or service. When you can say, “I use it myself, and it’s great,” means you’ve found the right product or service to offer to consumers. Whenever your business has a new product or service to offer, it must have the power to stick around. Positive, ongoing communication with your customers provides this satisfaction.

Listening and paying attention to your customers is another step to growing your business. Be a forward thinker. It is a business tool that is often overlooked. Be open and willing to accept changes and new ideas. Focusing on quality and not on profits is another way to encourage business growth. Find a way to communicate the benefits of your product or service. Does your merchandise or work reflect the high standard that is expected by the public? If not, be willing to make it the best.

Motivation is the driving force behind your business. Find what motivates you and keep the emotion going. Let it lead you to being unique. After all, there is no business like your own business.



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Daegan Smith asked:


Thomas Alva Edison failed in his experiment for thousands of times before he was able to invent the electric light bulb. Laurence Peter failed when more than 20 publishers rejected his book, “The Peter Principle,” before it became a best-seller. Abraham Lincoln failed the bar exam, failed in several business ventures, and failed in six major elections before he was finally elected president.

The truth is, all the aforementioned great people failed… but they were not failures. Their actions may have failed but not their very selves, definitely not their spirits. In fact, they used those “failed moments” as a challenge, as a key to their success.

The same can be said about any endeavor that we get into, your home business for instance. Are you failing in your home business? Have you ever failed? What did you do? Did you wallow in self-pity and blame everyone for your fall? Or did you choose to be positive about it?

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF FAILURE

Many people fail to realize that “failure” in itself is not really a bad thing. In fact, most of those people who have found success -whether in their business or personal lives - went through a series of failures. However, they did not see those experiences as a bane but as a boon. They learned from their mistakes, from their failures, and they used these lessons to try and try again until they attained success. Here are some positive aspects of failure:

Failure can actually mean that you are broadening your goals and undertaking fresh challenges.

In business, as in life, you encounter various changes and challenges. Do you welcome such changes and challenges and see how you can improve your life through these? Or do you merely sulk and reject these because you are already comfortable with the status quo and you do not want to take any risk?

That’s exactly the point. People who take the challenge face the risk of failure, but they also accept the opportunity to succeed. Indeed, not failing may mean that you refuse to aim high and broaden your goals. You content yourself with setting “low goals” because you are afraid of failure. In the end, the irony of it all is that you may be failing even more because you have already lost the chance of success when you chose to do nothing about it.

Failure can be a good test of persistence and perseverance.

How far are you willing to go? How much are you willing to take?

Truly, it is much, much easier to quit when you fail. However, a person who has the makings of a true successful person will persevere. He will use whatever lessons he has learned from past mistakes and actually turn his failure into success. Is your business failing? Don’t quit. If you do, you actually admit defeat and you are already accepting that you are a failure.

Do not look at failure as something to shun or be afraid of. Instead, look at it as an opportunity - to learn, to grow, to aspire for more. Consider failure as a significant part of your life, because life demands that we act, participate, move. And in so doing, we take the risk of failing. But this only proves that we are actually doing our share.

FAILING SUCCESSFULLY

Now that you are aware of the positive aspects of failing, you are ready to apply these in your business or your personal life. Here are some ways to transform that failure into success:

1) Fail honestly. Sincerely acknowledge that you failed - in that particular endeavor, for that time. However, make sure that you are not accepting defeat and you are not looking at yourself as a failure.

2) Fail intelligently. Take advantage of a failed endeavor. Evaluate the experience. Analyze what went wrong. Learn from such experience.

3) Fail courageously. Do not use such failure as an alibi for quitting. Instead, extract more courage from such failed endeavor and be ready to try again, to make things better the next time.

THE KEY TO UNLOCK YOUR SUCCESS

There are numerous reasons why endeavors, such as home businesses, fail. As discussed earlier, we have the power to turn failure into success. Take note, however, that we can allow failure to do two things - to lock the door towards our success or to serve as a key to open the door and lead us to our success. Will you allow failure to lock that precious door? Or will you use it to unlock and open the very same door that it had locked? Here are some of those factors:

LOCKED: Unclear business plan

UNLOCK IT: Write out in detail a business plan that is clear, complete, and goal-oriented. A business plan is the very foundation of your business. Remember that failing to plan is tantamount to planning to fail.

LOCKED: Unclear goals

UNLOCK IT: Formulate your goals and focus on them. How will you achieve something if you are not sure of what you really want to achieve?

LOCKED: No specified target market

UNLOCK IT: Clearly define your target market. By desiring to sell to everyone, you may end up selling to no one at all.

Truly, only a handful of people succeed easily. Oftentimes, success is the sweet fruit that you reap after toiling with failure. It can be the key to your success. Yes, we all experience failure in our lives. But the question is: Do we use failure to make us better? Or do we just choose to be bitter?



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Alex Coulson asked:


Attract More Women By Acting Like a Busy Guy

Be more confident. Try the cocky-funny technique. I could go on and on. There are so many tips available to help you attract women. As much as these tips indeed can help you attract more women, you can attract more women with just one simple technique. Be busy. That’s it. You can get a woman’s attention and increase her desire by having a busy life, or at least appearing to have a busy life.

You’re more likely to receive more attention and desire from her by giving the impression that you’re busy.

Here’s why…

For many men, the challenge is not getting a woman’s phone number. Maybe they have fine-tuned their skills and have moved beyond that hurdle and can easily get the number. But, many guys still struggle with the “post-number” phase when they need to follow up and actually get a date. The problem is usually that the chemistry and intrigue created during the first conversation have diminished somewhat. As a woman turns her attention to other matters in her daily life, your call gradually becomes less of her focal point.

This is fairly natural occurrence. No, the solution is not to call her immediately after the first conversation. You simply need to rebuild her interest, desire and attraction. Stimulate her desire again, and you can do this best by remembering a common tip yet applying it with a twist. Women tend to be generally more attracted those with more active, exciting lives. Peak her curiosity by showing her that you are a “busy guy.”

A woman will be more intrigued if it appears that there is a lot going on and requiring your attention. Suddenly, your value increases as it is obvious you are not anxiously waiting to see her again or sitting by the telephone waiting for the call. Also, she may even think you are dating or at least talking to other women, which increases her desire for your attention. Again, a little competition, whether present or not in reality, increases the challenge on her end and your value in her eyes.

Wouldn’t it be better to have her waiting by the phone for you call? How can you keep that attraction there after you get her number? Here’s how.

During that first call, be sure to express that there are just quite a few things requiring your attention during the upcoming week and, as much as you wish you did, you presently have no free time. Emphasize that you would like to see her but that it has “been very busy lately.” You want to avoid giving the impression that you do not want to see her but do not apologize for your busy life. Just imply with subtlety that you wish you had the time to see her that week, but just do not.

Now, you can go ahead and plan for a date during that conversation for a time when things “slow down.” Once the date is set and the plans are made, end the call and get off the phone since you have “things to do” or “need to be somewhere.” Do not be too specific, though, but make it sound somewhat important or interesting to again, spike her curiosity.

Once you are on the date, talk a little about some of the activities that have been requiring your time lately. The point is to make it clear that you are a busy guy but that you do want to include her in your “schedule.”

This approach is effective. The last thing you want to do after getting her phone number is to give the impression that you have nothing else going on in your life!

Want to learn the best way to approach, attract and seduce women without fear?

If so, take a look at Alex Coulson’s Free Audio Ebook that provides top tips when it comes to attracting women in your life.

http://www.DatingWorkshops.com.au



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