TWELVE (12) STEPS TO KNOW IF YOU ARE AN ENTREPRENEUR

5 of 12 YOU DON'T ASK FOR PERMISSION.

Stephane Bourque, founder and CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Incognito Software, says true entrepreneurial types are more likely to ask for forgiveness than permission, forging ahead to address the opportunities or issues they recognize.

"Entrepreneurs are never satisfied with the status quo," says Bourque, who discovered he was not destined for the corporate world when his new and better ways of doing things were interpreted as unwanted criticism by his bosses. Now, he says, "I wish my employees would get into more trouble," because it shows they are on the lookout for opportunities to improve themselves or company operations.

6 of 12 YOU ARE FEARLESS.

Where most avoid risk, entrepreneurs see potential, says Robert Irvine, chef and host of Food Network's Restaurant: Impossible. True 'traps are not afraid to leverage their houses and run up their credit card balances to amass the funds they need to create a new venture. In some ways, he says, they are the ultimate optimists, because they believe that their investments of time and money will eventually pay off.

7 of 12 YOU WELCOME CHANGE.

"If you have only one acceptable outcome in mind, your chances of making it are slim," cautions Rosemary Camposano, president and CEO of Silicon Valley chain Halo Blow Dry Bars. She says that if you are willing to listen, your clients will show you which of your products or services provide the most value.

Her original vision for Halo was part blow-dry bar, part gift shop, "to help busy women multitask," she explains. But she quickly learned that the gift shop was causing confusion about the nature of her business, so she took it out and replaced it with an extra blow-dry chair, and things took off. Smart entrepreneurs constantly evolve, tweaking their business concepts in response to market feedback.

8 of 12 YOU LOVE A CHALLENGE.

When confronted by problems, many employees try to pass the buck. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, rise to the occasion. "Challenges motivate them to work harder," says Jeff Platt, CEO of the Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park franchise. "An entrepreneur doesn't think anything is insurmountable… He looks adversity in the eye and keeps going."

Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, agrees. Despite naysayers who questioned her idea for a bakery in the midst of the carb-fearing early 2000s, she persevered and now has locations in eight states. In fact, she was one of the first entrepreneurs in a business that became an ongoing craze, sparking numerous copycats.

TWELVE (12) STEPS TO KNOW IF YOU ARE AN ENTREPRENEUR

1 of 12 YOU TAKE ACTION.

Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and co-star of TV's Shark Tank, says people who have a concept but not necessarily detailed strategies are more likely to have that entrepreneurial je ne sais quoi. "I hate entrepreneurs with beautiful business plans" she says.

Corcoran's recommendation?

"Invent as [you] go," rather than spending time writing a plan at your desk. In fact, she believes that those who study business may be prone to overanalyzing situations rather than taking action.

2 of 12 YOU ARE SCARED.

"Many entrepreneurs judged as ambitious are really insecure underneath," Corcoran says. When evaluating potential investments, she adds, "I want someone who is scared to death." Those who are nervous about failing can become hyper focused and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. If you feel insecure, use that emotion to drive you to achieve your business goals.

3 of 12 YOU ARE RESOURCEFUL.

"One of my favorite TV Reality Shows growing up was Gulder Ultimate Search", "because the contestants never had exactly the resources they needed but would somehow figure out how to make everything work out. Ultimately, I think that is what being an entrepreneur is all about." It's not about having enough resources, but being resourceful with what you do have.

4 of 12 YOU OBSESS OVER CASH FLOW.

Prior to founding Brainshark, a Waltham, Mass-based provider of sales productivity software, Joe Gustafson bootstrapped a venture called Relational Course ware. "All I ever thought about was cash flow and liquidity," he admits. "There were seven times in [the company's] eight-year history when I was days or hours away from payroll and didn't have enough cash to make it."

How did he respond?

"In the early days, you could step up and put expenses on your personal credit card, but that can only go so far," he says. "You need cash."

Knowing (knowledge) is one thing and application (wisdom) is another. Your knowledge without wisdom is understanding without experimentation. So read, lead and apply...

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BEST E HOUSE -Academic and Vocational Center 

THE MINDSET OF AN ENTREPRENEUR

My bet is that if you ask anyone on the street to describe the term "entrepreneur," they will tell you that it is someone who starts a business. If you ask them to describe some characteristics of an entrepreneur, they will throw out terms like "visionary," "leader," and, possibly, "hero;" they will describe an entrepreneur as a risk-taker, aggressive, influential, creative, opportunistic -someone with a big personality.

This depiction is only partially correct. All of us are entrepreneurs. We are all born with the innate ability to survive; and survival involves innovative thinking. Think about your life. Think about the times you needed to make a decision -a choice -that involved doing something innovative (something you were not accustomed to doing) so that you could "move on" or adapt to a challenging situation. In our normal course of daily living, we are faced with choices.

Granted, some of these choices are more significant than others. And these are the choices that I am addressing; the choices that are out of the norm; the situations that afford us a real opportunity to change our lifestyle -our life -and adapt or destroy our normal way of approaching whatever life throws at us.

When we choose to embark on a path not chartered, we are engaging in a "small act of entrepreneurship." Being entrepreneurial is essentially about thinking and doing something that we have not done before, in order to achieve a desirable goal or outcome. It is about assessing a situation, designing alternatives, and choosing a new way -or perhaps a combination of ways -that we hope will lead us to something better; however we happen to define "better" at that moment. Hopefully, we make our choices in the context of maximizing our happiness without harming others -the ethics that underlie all of our choices.

We are selling ourselves short if we do not define ourselves as entrepreneurs -if we choose to accept that "entrepreneurs" are the "other" people who take a chance, which think and act differently when challenges arise. I bet that throughout the course of the year, you will make "entrepreneurial choices." It may not be manifested as developing the latest app, the coolest new service, the next great business model.

My bet is that your small act of entrepreneurship is manifested as the choice you make to alter your life; to go through the pain of detaching yourself from what you usually do and attempt a new course of action; the pain of choosing to be resilient in the face of adversity; the gut wisdom of taking a risk because you know that you just can't do "more of the same." Maybe it is starting a company; maybe it is presenting a new idea to your boss; maybe it is choosing to pursue a degree; maybe it is physically moving to another location… the choices are endless and we face them throughout our lives.

When our thinking becomes more of innovation and our act goes on that innovation, we are entrepreneurs.

An entrepreneur doesn't need an MBA to be successful but there is a certain mindset an entrepreneur must cultivate to grow, understand and lead their business. Business leaders who attain this mindset are the ones who ultimately succeed. This mindset has four, intertwining aspects.

AND NOW...

If you are pressed to describe the stereotypical entrepreneur, which words will you use? 

Passionate?

Dedicated?

Optimistic?

Innovator?

Sure, those apply -but INSECURE and TROUBLEMAKER are more accurate, according to ‘Traps who know a success when they see one’.

Do the following traits, characteristics and quirks describe you?

Well then, you might be an entrepreneur (at heart, if not yet in practice).

You can be the best you wish to be if only you can do your best and leave the rest. This eventual happen when your best is good enough to be the best.

I bet you everyone is born an entrepreneur though only few becomes what they are born to be because they were able to conqueror fear...

Don't stress yourself, do your best and forget the rest.

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From: BEST E HOUSE -Academic and Vocational Center 

SELF DEVELOPMENT TIPS

24 TIPS FOR EACH HOUR OF THE DAY…

1. Decision works faster than prayer, it takes decision to prayer anyway. Always wake every morning with right decisions for the day and work with them.
2. After deciding, you plan on how, where and when to go… always plan ahead and be proactive. He that plans for the future work less in the future.
3. Show me your friend and I tell you who you are. Make friends with successful people because success breed success and occasionally shower them with gifts, it is said give and it should be given unto you.
4. Still on friendship… make new but positive friends as often as possible and ensure you keep the communication line open. Create a network of friends and not just connections but sincere contacts.
5. The next is after friendship is follower-ship… getting a mentor is a real deal. Follow his/her instructions and respect the relationship. Never unnecessarily depend on him/her and never disrespect his/her privacy.
6. Nobody is a monopoly of knowledge not ever that mentor of yours. Learn and listen to other great men and women –you can actually be their follower with them be your mentor.
7. Follower-ship is attained through fellowship… attend seminars, conferences and training on any area you need to improve yourself. Train the trainer, personal development, public speaking, sales etc.
8. Readership leads to leadership and this is accomplished through cross-examination. Have the habit of keeping a pen and a writing pad handy because ideas come in the form of flashes. The smallest pen is bigger and better than the biggest brain.
9. Make sure at every point in time you are reading a book. If you spend 20 minutes reading daily, for 52 weeks you would have consumed 1,000,000 words.
10. Stay away from television as much as possible. You can watch educational channels. Men with big TV sit in front of them to watch men with big library.
11. Put control over your mouth, never say evil of any man, what you are not certain of should not be said. Say good of all men.
12. Show kindness to everyone. Some small boys today will be big boys tomorrow. The biggest dog in the neighborhood was once a puppy. And keep the information/secret to yourself.
13. Be involved in community service. Control traffic, free lesson class for students etc.
14. Always show appreciation for any good deed you received.
15. Always help someone in need.
16. Live a debt free life. What you can’t pay cash for is not your size.
17. Givers never lack but givers should always give cautiously… give out loans that you can part with as gift, so that you don’t destroy your business and relationship.
18. Create legitimate multiple sources of income.
19. Save at least 10 percent of your income.
20. Invest a portion of your income and be patient to see it grow. If what you have in your hands is not good to be called a harvest then it’s a seed, -sow it.
21. Keep a good financial record of all income and expenses, so you won’t ask later “where did my money go”
22. Keep getting better on your daily goals and dream, develop yourself on them and make sure you get to the top 100% of your industry.
23. Make sure you engage in exercise. It keeps your brain alert and your body fit to enjoy your success.
24. Pray often, and know that for every success, God made it possible.

Wishing you the very best.

I tell you, this will keep you going in life if you practice what you just read.

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Happy New Month!

From: BEST E HOUSE -Academic and Vocational Center