(Add to Favorites | View All Articles | Resource Directory)
|
|
|
Business Owner--Educate Thyself!
Remember the training programs, seminars, and workshops you had to attend when you were on the corporate side of the table? You were expected to complete course after course for professional development and skill enhancement. Well, where do you get your training now that you are on your own? Do you learn from your clients? Are they the best teachers? What about your competitors? Here are six ways to educate yourself and keep your professional edge:
Educating yourself is very important. Set aside money each year for professional development. Don't rest on past laurels or stop growing. If you do, you will lose competitive ground and be left behind. Roy DeBrule, entrepreneur and seasoned executive in the financial services industry, has helped small business owners for over 25 years to successfully tackle overwhelming business challenges through his clear strategic perspective and a proven ability to evaluate the feasibility of goals. His guiding principle is that everyone, especially executive management needs to embrace one vision. Roy is the President and co-founder of RADSGroup Organizational Consultants, a Stamford, CT based human resources and organizational consulting firm to small and medium-sized businesses. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and is available to speak at management conferences and leadership retreats. To discover how Roy and the RADSGroup can transform your business, visit: http://www.radsgroup.com/
MORE RESOURCES: News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News Poll: 25% of small-biz owners worry about survival - Bizjournals.com Smallbiz Brain Presents America’s Best Companies - PressReleasePoint (press release) 26% of Small Biz Raises Ad Spend, Precipitating Online Growth - Marketing Vox News $1M goes to Mass. small biz supporters - Bizjournals.com Online, Direct to Grow as 26% of Small Biz Ups Ad Spending - Media Buyer Planner Wage Increase Will Hit Some Small Biz Hard - NBC4i.com Six small biz tips from a CEO who flies right - BloggingStocks Small Biz: New shop strives for global connection - Online Athens Apple Reworks iWork for Small Biz - bMighty.com |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Computer Related Habits From Small Business Owner - Be Prepared, Avoid Despair Aside from the fear of losing a spreadsheet or research project prepared for a client, what prompted me to write this article was the realization that it takes nothing short of persistent follow up to stay ahead of computer threats which could ruin my business. I also accepted the fact that keeping my computer free of viruses and spam is paramount to ensuring my computer is not going to harm others. Why are Reverse Mergers Often the Victims of Short Sellers? There is a great deal of abuse going on in the OTC Bulletin Board Market and a lot of money is being made as result of it. Regulators are trying to deal with the problem but are unable to put a halt to it, unless they take drastic steps which will be detrimental to the small and micro-cap market. Promote Yourself More Successfully One of the great challenges for independent professionals and small businesses, especially when starting out, is generating visibility to ultimately lead to generating sales.One of the specific challenges, I have found, is knowing what to say about yourself and your operations and services when asked "so what do you do?"? Have you ever stumbled over your words when asked what you do?? Have you ever received the response, "Oh, I see", followed by silence?? Do you ever feel as though you do not know what to say about yourself?I am reminded of the 'elevator speech theory' (I do not know to whom to attribute its invention), which simply poses "if you were in a lift that opens on the tenth floor and in walks Bill Gates who asks what you do - what would you say, and you have only until the elevator gets to the bottom?"I have personally struggled with this at times, and equally have found that when I get it right, results flow - which initially could be as simple yet important of getting more time to converse with the person asking the question of you. If you are discontented, there is no real success Did you know that satisfaction is the number one emotion people want to experience about their life and business? Yes, fame and fortune are up there, but satisfaction is the key. Satisfaction is about contentment, gratitude and pure joy. Who Makes the BEST Business Partner How do you find the best business partners?Finding a good business partner (outside partner, such as an alliance) requires an amount of due diligence. This simply means you will need to look at all aspects of the other person's business and sometimes a bit of their personal life. The Key To Success - Choose The Right Partners Do you promote yourself as offering prompt, reliable and quality service?Of course - none of us promote ourselves as anything less, and equally we strive to provide this level of service all the time.So what happens when you take your networking to the next level, and start to offer referrals, or even establish partnerships or alliances for certain activities?Whatever you do at this point creates significant impact on your business and personal reputation - potentially positive and also potentially negative. You Dont Yet Know What You Dont Know Someone new to business ownership recently told me, "Before I opened my business, I thought I was pretty well prepared. I knew how to produce and deliver our product. Mattress Cleaning Business: How To Manual A Mattress Cleaning Business might be just for you if you have tried everything to contain your allergies, but feel like it is not enough. Instead of just purchasing the equipment to rid your fabric furniture and mattresses of allergens, you can also help others in your community to feel the relief and make a good income at the same time. Passion Is Key To A Successful Business Passion. Passion alone can make your business successful. How Disabled Veterans Can Win Government Contracts The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) is a program that allows small businesses to self-certify as service-disabled veteran-owned businesses providing them increased opportunities to win government contracts. Significantly and permanently impaired veterans may be assisted in the daily business operations by a spouse or permanent caregiver. Are You a Small Business Casualty? When a person knows and knows not that he knows. Teach him. A year from now, what will you wish you had started today? What will your business look like a year from today?If you're like most small business owners, you have many things to do and not enough time to do them. Can't you just ignore them and procrastinate your way to success?Not likely. Environmental Boat Washing and Detailing Some marine biologists feel that the concentration of dead marine growth on boats and in boat harbors can create hypoxic zones or a lack of oxygen. This causes a decline in the water quality and may at times cause adverse effects on living marine life such as salmon in the case of the State of Washington. New Habits, Rebounding Economy Help To Sell Giftware and Collectibles Just a few years ago, when one thought of a home-based sales business, Tupperware, Avon and a host of multi-level marketing schemes might have come to mind. Today, however, changing market conditions and evolving consumer habits have converged to make home-based selling businesses a realistic opportunity with real profit potential. Incorporating a Small Business: S corporations versus C corporations If you've been considering incorporating your small business, you've probably been confused about the difference between S and C corporations.The similarities between S and C corporations are as follows:1. Frodos Journey: What It Can Teach You About Marketing Your Small Business Just recently, I took a break and caught "The Return of the King" at the movie theater. At the same time, I was pondering a topic for this article. Starting a Business in New Hampshire Hew Hampshire car wash market. Well we have visited every city in New Hampshire over the population of 10,000 at least twice, the larger ones four and five times talking to many people in various industries. Low Cost or Highly Funded Start Up Many new ventures are preoccupied with all the money they are going to make, rather than how they are going to the about making it. Set realistic goals by setting realistic steps-discreet 'doable' actions, each of which connects to the next one in some logical progression. Too Many Lawyers in Franchising Today Attorneys and Lawyers are ruining the franchise industry. It is too bad too, because franchising represents over 400,000 businesses in our country and accounts for just over one-third of every consumer dollar spent in this country. A Day in the Life of a Self Employed Professional It's Monday morning and Connie the Consultant sits in her executive office chair overseeing her business empire. Her desk is strewn with half finished projects, several weeks worth of to do lists (none of them completed), scribbled post it notes, and a permission slip for her daughter's field trip to the Planetarium that should have been turned in last week.
|
| home | site map | articles |
| © 2006 |