How to cut down on stress when running a startup

If Kelly McGonigal is to be believed, stress is a natural and vital part of our day-to-day lives. She says the best way to combat it is through a more positive outlook, and the way to do this is to view stress as your body’s way of helping you rise to the challenge you’re facing.

While this is great news for entrepreneurs whose lives are often filled with stressful decisions and challenges to face, it doesn’t mean we should actively seek things that cause us to be anxious. Neither does it mean we should leave stressful things in our lives if we can avoid them. Identify what you can cut down, cut out, or just plain organise more effectively.

Consolidate your debts

Starting a business can play havoc with your financial situation. When you’re busy trying to keep your company afloat and your employees happy, it’s all too easy to let the situation at home get out of control. You might even forego paying yourself at times. Sorting out your personal finances is paramount to staying sane.

Cut down on procrastination

“Hey, I don’t have the luxury of being able to procrastinate,” I hear you protest. But how much time do you really need to spend carefully updating your online profiles and portfolios? Just how many of your collisionable hours are actually spent in a comfortable bar with other startup people that you already know?

Weigh up whether this time spent is really necessary for your mental health, or indirectly helping to cause stress.

Ignore the urge to start building

There are a lot of seductions when running a business. Everyone wants the perfect logo. Everyone wants to build a product right away. Everyone wants the perfect name for their company and whatever it sells.

According to Lean principles, you should put all that aside until you’ve talked to a load of people and satisfied yourself that there’s actually a market for what you want to do. Save yourself on future stress by focusing on the important tasks now. You’ll have plenty of time for the fun ones later.

Stop trying to multitask

Psychology Today says that multitasking should be called task switching: people are actually unable to do multiple complex tasks at the same time. We fool ourselves into thinking we are good at switching back and forth quickly, but in truth we’re only able to do it if one task is a well-practiced physical task.

When you’re trying to run a business it’s easy to get sucked into the idea that you’re multitasking. Emails come in constantly and priorities shift regularly, so you jump between responsibilities all the time.

Instead, make sure you set yourself a few time windows during the day to check emails and deal with them at those points exclusively, so you don’t end up stressing yourself out and wasting time.

Live a life outside your startup

Even though the pressure is on to maintain a high level of collisions outside your working hours, you need to spend some of your time enjoying life without work. You’ve got plenty of unavoidable stress when you’re building a business. Be smart and excise the stressors that you don’t have to deal with. Then take some time out to really enjoy yourself.

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thinkbusiness

8 Considerations Before Taking A Company Public

The allure of taking a company public is one that many business owners cannot overlook. The access to instant cash flow through an IPO could change your business forever, but going public can be one of the most difficult decisions in business to make. You must first understand the price your company will pay to go public before you dream of the potential benefits your company will gain.

#1: The Costs Of An IPO

People, in general, dream of the capital that would come from an IPO. They dream of the millions or even billions of dollars they would raise to fund their company. The company benefits from this cash, but the cash from an IPO costs money in its own right. The fees involved in becoming a public company could easily reach over a million dollars. A business that does not have a million dollars to spend on an IPO may have to wait until it is more stable financially to do so.

#2: The Paperwork

The paperwork involved in an IPO is time-consuming. You have everyone at your business working hard during the day to run the business you have created, but the paperwork for an IPO is a full-time job until the IPO hits the market. You must have the proper people dedicated to the process, and there is no guarantee that it will be successful. Less than a thousand companies a year are able to get their IPO to the market.

#3: The Benefits Of Succeeding

A successful IPO will bring in mountains of cash, and you will likely have more money than you are able to  manage. You will need to re-evaluate how your business is run, while having a specific plan for all the money that is raised. A traditional IPO could potentially finance several projects that have been put off, resulting in the business going a completely different direction it had been taking. It will also result in greater exposure, building credibility beyond a simple BBB listing and potentially giving you respect as an investment option.

#4: Respect

People who have not heard of your business will instantly give you the respect you deserve when the IPO is successful. Investors start taking your company seriously, making it easier to raise more funds privately. Your business will have gained from the IPO, but the respect that is gained from investors by going public will continue long after going public.

#5: Better Talent

Companies that are awash with cash have an easier time hiring the finest employees. You can offer better salaries to attract highly qualified employees, which in turn increases the internal value of the company. Employees will be less enticed to leave because you have more to offer them. The cash that came in because of the IPO will have solidified your workforce and your bank account at the same time.

#6: Major Concerns

A company that succeeds with their IPO loses some control of the business on the management level. Your investors will expect to be updated on how your business is managed, and certain investors may expect to be a part of the daily operations. Their money will have paid for many improvements to the business, and you’ll be required by law to keep your investors informed of the business decisions and results. You lose some control of the business the moment shareholders are involved in the business decisions.

#7: Your Board Of Directors Will Change

The board of directors is often comprised of people who have helped you grow your business over the years. You worked with these people to create the business you can take public, but after the IPO, you may not be able to keep all your people on the board. Investors will expect to have places on the board of directors, and the direction of your business could change. When it comes to going public, you must immediately accept that you are not the only person whose money is on the line.

#8: The Overall Result

The overall result of an IPO is an infusion of cash that comes with investor input. You must balance the decisions of the expenses of company money you receive from the IPO with the people that supplied that money. Many shareholders are regular people who own a very small piece of your company, but other shareholders are powerful executives who wish to have a say in what you do in the daily business operations. You will give up a lot of control of your business, but you will gain the money that will stabilize your business in the present and in the future.

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A Competition Designed For You

Here are some good reasons why you might want to consider adding ‘must enter business competition’ to your ‘to do’ list!

Seeing the wood from the trees

The application process is an opportunity to reflect on what your business is all about and clearly articulate your USP.

It’s an opportunity to work on your business rather than in it by stepping back to look at achievements, challenges, market trends and areas for improvement.

Work on your business rather than in

As such it gives you an opportunity to dust off and update the business plan.

Punch above your weight

Competitions are also about PR, marketing, selling…spin. They’re an opportunity for you to raise the profile of the business for free. Entering the competition will get you into the local press.

Competitions are also about PR, marketing, selling…spin

It’ll probably get you into the regionals and it could get your business national and even international profile.

Work the room

By working the competition – filling in the forms correctly, engaging with local reps for the competition, turning up at the networking events, volunteering to give quotes and elbowing yourself into photos, you will get marketing material that’s ‘independent’ for your website and other marcomms. If you progress through the competition there are programs such as Ulster Bank’s Business Achievers Awards that produce corporate videos for all of the short listed companies. These are done by professional companies with editors and designers. You probably cannot afford to produce these yourselves! They are given to you after the competition for your website and other marketing material, and they will impress!

Access to a big network of influential people

Working the competition will also give you access to a big network of people that can help your business grow. For obvious reasons the politicans always turn up. You’ll have access to state agencies. You’ll meet all the local and national enterprise support agencies. Bankers, funders, journalists, other successful businesspeople…the big national Awards are a veritable who’s who of the great and the good in business. And you’ll be one of the stars of the show…just by entering. And if you win…!

It’s not just about you, you know!

When you sit down and take the time to apply to a competition, you’ll realize that you have a team supporting you. It illustrates the importance of the support of family and its role in moving your business forward. You’ll see the staff that have and are stepping up to the mark.

You have a team supporting you

You’ll probably get your management involved. Sometimes just by reflecting and internally acknowledging what you’ve achieved together is a major win in its own right.

If it’s worth doing, do it well

There are many different competitions out there from local and regional awards to national events. Aside from all the benefits listed above, the winners often benefit from superb packages which may include cash prizes, mentoring, free PR and much more.

Look here, we wont deny that it takes time to enter. Last year most people we surveyed said that the form filling was too much hassle. We’ve worked with Ulster Bank in particular to get the form down to a fairly slick 20 minutes. But even if it takes more time, you owe it to yourself, your staff and your familily to give it your best shot.

You owe it to your business to to give it your best shot

Even if you’re not short-listed you will benefit from working ‘on’ your business. You can use the knowledge to plan future strategies and identify weak areas. It’ll help you make your business stronger and better. And that’s what it all, eventually, boils down to!

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This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/competition-designed/ on thinkbusiness

Entering Business Competitions: If It’s Worth Doing, Do It Right

We’re a website. We have to do a Top Tips! Here’s our take on how you should approach entering business competitions and filling in the forms. Sorry if this appears a bit didatic. But last year some of the smallbusinesscan team were on judging panels; this blog is based on some of the very simple mistakes that were made – and could so easily be avoided – by applicants.

Check the deadline for entry

Of course its obvious but almost 90% of applications are filled in on the last day…and they look rushed. Mad dashes to meet deadlines result in poorly written applications, errors and spelling mistakes. In many cases essential information is missing, probably because the author didn’t leave enough time to get it organised. It takes time to complete an application properly. You may have to undertake additional research – which you probably should be doing anyway as part of the routine of running the business (another reason to enter awards!). You may need to find research to back up your claims. And you’ll need to have your financials at hand.

Check you meet the criteria

Criteria might include how long you’ve been trading, level of turnover, your business sector.  If there are a range of categories for entry, think carefully about which one best suits your business. Ulster Bank allows you to enter at least 2 categories, so make sure you check this out. It doubles your chances and helps you think about how you want to present your business and the kind of profile you want for it.

Read any entry guidelines available

Again obvious enough isn’t it. But ask yourself this…when you were doing the A Levels or Leaving Certificate, how many of you read exam papers from start to finish, before putting pen to paper? Yet it is and was probably taught to you as a fundamental exam technique. You’re older and hopefully wiser now, so read the guidelines for business competitions you’re entering!

Keep your answers simple, clear and as short as possible

First of all remember that judges are going to be reading hundreds of applications. They’re not going to read long rambling essays. They’ll also know if you just cut and paste answers from your website! Consider talking about your business, achievements, and plans for the future…

• In short sentences
• And in bullet points

Go over your application again

On the same theme: Read your application thoroughly for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, punctuation. Get a colleague to read over the final application. Ask for feedback on the content as well as correcting typos.

Back up what you are saying

Whatever you say about your business and achievements, eventually you’ll have to back these claims up with evidence – financials, research, marketing materials, testimonials and references.

Check out previous winners

It’s always worth looking at the ‘previous winners’ page to give you an insight into the types of business that win and how they project themselves. All these winners are good well managed companies and this is a good chance to peer review and benchmark.

Hit that deadline

Make sure you leave plenty of time to get the application in on time. And look for a receipt to prove that it is in.

Any more tips? Please add them to the comments section below.

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Mind techniques for SMEs

The power of the mind

In Bookbuzz, when we work with CEOs, we often cover decision making, leadership, dealing with millennials, mindfulness and increasingly the power of the mind. People who follow us have seen our post on Navy SEALs, super athletes and flow, being antifragile, the business of belief, coherence, decision making, the power of creating habits, stoicism as an operating system, etc. They all cover in some way the power of the mind, resilience and how mind techniques can help you.

VUCA

As an entrepreneur or owner manager, in a world of VUCA, in a world that is becoming increasingly confusing, where change is going so fast, the power of the mind becomes more and more import. Being mindful and applying mind techniques is not an option, it is a necessary skill.

Jack Black this Thursday

We were going to design a programme around it. Until we came across Mindstoreand Jack Black. And he is coming to Dublin this Thursday. To do a masterclass in the best mind techniques for running your business. He is explaining what he is planning here:

 

You can book your ticket here.  And because you are part of Smallbusinesscan, feel free to use SBC as the discount code and get €100 off the price.

 

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This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/mind-techniques-for-smes/ on
thinkbusiness

Business Achievers Awards 2015 are open

The Business Achievers Awards, the biggest and oldest business awards programme on the island of Ireland is open for entry again. 

Celebrate achievement

The awards aim to celebrate the achievements of local companies across a wide range of sectors including women led business start up, social enterprise and agri-business.

Big prize

The event is being run in association with the Irish Independent, Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and SmallBusinessCan.com. The overall winner will receive a comprehensive prize package, including a €50,000 publishing bursary with the Irish Independent, business mentoring from Enterprise Ireland, a full-service communications workshop, as well as national and regional media exposure.

Winners have become household names

Eddie Cullen, managing director of commercial banking at Ulster Bank, said that the lender is “committed to providing support to Irish businesses” and added that the awards are “at the heart of that commitment”. Previous winners of the awards includes a huge number of successful companies that have gone on to become household names, including Realex Payments, Glenisk Foods and Tayto Park.

Smart Paint

Speaking at the launch, one of the former winners, Ronan Clarke of Smarter Surfaces said that winning the Business Startip Award at the last year’s Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards “has given us huge credibility and really helped us to position ourselves on the global stage. “In the six months since winning the award, we have expanded our distribution network to South America and Australia, and that expansion is continuing all the time,” he said. He added that his firm will launch e-commerce sites in French, German, Italian and Spanish for the first time in June. “In addition, we have re-branded the company from ‘Smart Wall Paint’ to ‘Smarter Surfaces’, in recognition of the fact that we now offer a wide range of products, outside of our flagship whiteboard paint, so winning the award really has been a catalyst for huge change for us,” he said.

Submit

Companies can submit their entries via www.BusinessAchieversAward.com and are permitted to enter up to two of the eight categories. The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 25. In the meantime you can express your interest, which will give you access to regular updates and support with your submission from smallbusinesscan. You can register here.

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This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/business-achievers-awards-2015-are-open/ on
thinkbusiness

What we can learn from young entrepreneurs

Last week I had the pleasure of judging the Foroige National finals. OMG! to use the language of the people we were judging. The quality, attitude, talent, ambition and chutzpah was amazing. The quality of their pitches was better then I have seen from some professional entrepreneurs. Their business plans were superb. And most important, their attitude to sales is something a lot of the start ups I work with can learn from. A lot. No fear, can do, picking up the phone, making sales, negotiation with retailers and securing distribution. Local, national and international. Alex, Craig, Aisling, Erica, Mary, Aimee, Rebecca, Linda, Clare, Tom and Dane were all amazing. These young entrepreneurs will go places. They will go far. And it shows the value of running entrepreneurship programmes in secondary schools.

If you want to support any of these amazing entrepreneurs, drop me a line (ron@smallbusinesscan.com) and I will facilitate the introduction

Alex and Craig

Alex Conroy and Craig Lynch, both students at Chanel College in Coolock, set up their festive log candle holder business in October 2014 as part of the NFTE programme. From their market research the students found that competitors were charging a premium price for similiar products.  They decided that they would produce designed wooden holders that are affordable. Their mission is: “bring the festive feeling home at special times of the year”. The students have decided to give 20% of the profits to charity.

Aisling

Aisling Farrell , from Coláiste Pobal Setanta in Clonee, offers personalised grips for hurls as her business product. The inspiration for her product came while shopping for a hurling grip. She noticed that none of the grips available were unique or colourful. Unique Hold offers customised hurling grips to match club or county colours. She also sells grips that are designed to the customer’s needs. Aisling aspires to eventually sell Unique Hold grips to local GAA clubs and hopes to donate 20% of her profits to the Irish Lung Foundation.

Erica

Erica Masterson completed her her NFTE programme with Foróige in Phibblestown, Blanchardstown. Her product is an organising shelf for school lockers. Suitable for most locker types, the shelf allows you to seperate bigger books from smaller copy books. Each shelf is designed with a range of well known emojis that adds an element of fun to the school day. The idea from this product came from her own personal experience when trying to organise her school locker. Through market research, She found that there was a gap in the market for a product like this.

Mary, Aimee, Rebecca

Mary Kate Carr, Aimée Byrne, Rebecca McShane and Ronan O’Hare students from Coláiste na Carraige’s NFTE programme which is supported by Foróige. Their business “Milseog na Mara” offers healthy and tasty alternatives to jellies, cold remedies and chocolate mousse using carrageen moss as the main ingredient. They got their inspiration for these products when Mary Kate fell ill and was given a cold remedy using carrageen moss. Through market research, the students found that there was a huge gap in the market for a product like this which is afforadable at €3 per jar.  “Milseog na Mara”  currently trades at local country markets.

Linda and Clare

Linda Dolan and Clare Dolan, are Transition Year students at St Clare’s Comprehensive School. Their business “MURE” was born when the students were working on their local farm. While discussing the large amounts of cow manure their family farm produced, the students decided to turn the cow manure into euros by making fuel from the free natural resource. “MURE” produces a fire log consisting of seven briquettes made from cow manure. They currently sell their product at €4 each or €10 for 3 briquettes. The students hope to roll out their product nationwide.

Tom and Dane

Tom Williams and Dane Fogarty are Leaving Cert Applied students from St Joseph’s School in Clonmel. The inspiration for their business Tom and Dane’s Kitchen came from their enjoyment of catering and woodwork classes. Their business produces a range of homemade savoury jams and chutneys including red onion jam, apple and orange chutney. The jams and chutneys are available in a range of sizes. Tom and Dane launched their business at the RDS Arts and Crafts Christmas Fair 2014. Tom and Dane plan to expand their product range further to increase their customer base.

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Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

Sadly, not all businesses that start end up remaining operational in the long haul. Part of the reason of the failure of most startups has to do with failing to understand the things that need to be done to guarantee success. If you ask the most successful entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic, Bill Gates of Microsoft or Larry Page of Google, what is the secret behind their success, these business leaders will tell you that you must be willing to do some things whether you like or not. Let’s look at some more traits of a successful entrepreneur.

The definition of success might differ from one business guru to another. However, one thing remains the same amongst the most successful entrepreneurs – they have common characteristics. The prudent thing is to place a check next to every characteristic you feel you possess. This helps you to evaluate how much you stack up. Although you do not have all of the characteristics, you should not fret. You can learn most of them through exercising patience and practice. You can also be among those in the top league by developing a winning attitude. This is especially true if you set and apply your goals through strategic planning.

Always do what you enjoy most

If you want to venture into business and are clueless about the type of business to start, just find out the exact thing that you love doing. Whatever you derive out of your business in form of enjoyment, stability, financial gain and personal satisfaction shall be the sum total of whatever you put into the business.

Therefore, if you do not enjoy whatever you are doing, then the likelihood is that you will find it necessary to assume that it will reflect in success of business or subsequent lack of it. Actually, if you do not enjoy what you do, chances are high that you will never succeed.

Always give whatever you are doing the seriousness it deserves

Sadly, most people start businesses without being serious. You cannot expect to enjoy success in business if you don’t believe in your business. For you to be successful and effective, you must be willing to give it the seriousness it deserves. Most home businesses for instance fail to take off because of lacking seriousness and passion. Home business owners are easily distracted. This leaves such a negative impact on the business. The failure to be motivated all through is also a recipe for disaster. You must be willing to keep your nose to the grindstone.

Don’t fall prey to the naysayers that obviously don’t take you seriously, because you work from home. These skeptics do not know that a good number of home based businesses that make quite some good income exist. Therefore, ignore them and do your thing.

Always plan everything

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Most entrepreneurs take this popular aphorism lightly. You should plan every aspect of your business including the minor details. Develop habits that you are willing to maintain no matter what. Business planning requires you to analyze every business situation. It also entails researching and compiling data and making conclusions based mainly on the facts revealed through research.

Your business plan also serves as a second function. It helps you have your goals on paper and on how to achieve them. With a business plan, you have a clear road map that will take you from one place to another. You use it as a yardstick to measure the success of all the individual segments of your business.

Always manage your money wisely

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business enterprise. You must purchase inventory, replace or repair equipment/tools, market or promote your business and pay for services among other countless things. For this reason, as a business owner, you must become a wise money manager. This ensures that you keep the cash of your business flowing. A wise money manager also pays all his bills in time. Two aspects of wise money management exist. These are:

  • The money you get from your clients in exchange for services and goods you provide
  • The money you use on your wages, supplies, inventory and other items required to keep the business in operation

The customer is your reason for existence – it is all about the customer

Most entrepreneurs forget that they exist because of the clients. They even go ahead to produce classy and stylish products. Even if your products are the flashiest in the market, and they don’t meet the needs and wants of your customers, then be sure that you are heading nowhere. Remember that you are in business not to beat your competition, but to satisfy the needs of your customers. Your business should revolve only around your clients or customers, period!

After all, aren’t the customers who inform your need to go into business or not? Everything you do and every decision you make should be customer focused. This includes your website, promotional campaigns, advertising campaigns, presentations, operating hours, payment options, warranties, and policies. Moreover, you must be in the know of exactly who your customers are, upside down and inside out.

Project nothing short of a positive business image

You only have a passing moment to make a memorable and positive impression on all the people you intend to do business with. You must always go out of your way to make a conscious effort to project a professional business image. You must be willing to do anything it takes to create an impressive image of your company. By maintaining a professional image of your business, there is no doubt that people will take your seriously and you will in turn enjoy considerable profits.

The above top tips will help your business perform exceptionally both in the long and short run.

Bio

Charlie is one of the most successful writer when it comes to matters entrepreneurship. He is the author of one of New York’s best sellers on start ups. Talk to him today about national debt reviews.

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Earning Money Online Tips

Earning Money Online Tips: These days it has become more and more common for people to make money online. This means you could get many more avenues that you could utilize to build the wealth that you want depending on how hard and smart you are willing to work.

Once you make money, you should treat your hard-earned money with some respect in order to have more than you spend in order to build wealth.

saving

Below are 6 ways to earn money online;

  1. Online surveys

Online surveys don’t usually earn you a lot of money per survey, but the advantage is that they are usually short and relatively easy to complete. If you set a target to do several every day, they can add up to become a healthy revenue stream.

  1. Transcribe audio

Just like online surveys, transcribing audio is not a high paying job, but it has several advantages, transcribing jobs are plenty, relatively easy and fast and don’t require much commitment.

  1. Edit audio

If you happen to have or if you can purchase or freely download sound editing software, you can use your computer to clean up webcasts and interviews before their posting for online viewing or listening.

  1. Create online content for blogs and websites

Many websites and blogs require content that will make them relevant and drive online traffic towards them. You can look for the several online websites and blogs that need such content written for them and negotiate for some pay for creating content.

  1. Create stock photos

There is always need for photos in any online content. Making use of your digital camera and uploading pictures to certain forums can be an easy way to benefit from a hobby of taking photos and earn some money.

  1. Become a freelance web designer

You could also become a freelance web designer. Depending on your skills and the technologies you are able to implement in websites you design and/or develop, you can earn a good living from this kind of work.

Once you have earned money through your online endeavors, you should try and keep as much of it as possible and focus more on re-investing it.

There are several easy strategies that you could use to keep track of your money and save more than you spend as described below:

  1. Create a list of essentials

You should list down all the budgetary items that you usually spend money on.

  1. Approximate your income

Find out how much money you currently earn.

  1. Evaluate your current expenditures

Find out from your listed expenses what you spend most of your money on.

  1. Get rid of unnecessary expenditure

Once you know what you spend most on, get rid of expenses that you could do without.

  1. Set targets for savings

Keep focused on keeping your money by setting targets to keep most of your hard-earned money

  1. Create an emergency fund

It is a good idea to set money aside for eventualities, so that you are prepared if they happen.

Author Bio

Charlie Brown has been a certified credit counsellor for the last 5 years. He loves to share his financial expertise with anyone who can listen especially those in debt. He has written several articles for the national debt relief program. Visit his blog for more information

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This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/earning-money-online-tips/ on thinkbusiness