Showing category "Business Resources" (Show all posts)
This week we will take a short journey
through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past
year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2012.
The final part to this planning exercise is
to make a list from your outstanding issues that needs and can be addressed in
the remaining time this year. So many of us just write off December as down
time and spend far too much time playing Angry Birds and not getting the small
items off the list.
Take your list from Part 2 of ... Continue reading ...
Want to do something different these
holidays and get to learn to earn some extra moola? The Entrepreneur Incubator
is offering a series of workshops that will teach you a skill that you can utilize
to make a number of items to sell or use as gifts.
Designed especially for Teens and Adults
these workshops are part craft, part business skill.
Seed
Bead Critters, these are the small beads that are
woven together to make a number of unique designer animals, people and sea creatures.
These can ... Continue reading ...
This week we will take a short journey
through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past
year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2012.
Today we will begin to look ahead to 2012
and put pen to paper on what your BHAGs and WIGs are. Let’s start with goal
setting, this is preached at every business and personal development and time
management seminar you will ever go to and for good reason. Setting Goals do
actually work. Simply by writing out your goals and sh... Continue reading ...
This week we will take a short journey
through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past
year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2012.
The next exercise is to rid yourself of any
guilt that you may carry into the festive season and holidays. Make a list of
all outstanding issues, programmes and not yet done tasks that you have been
well meaning to get to this year. This could include simple things, such as
replacing the kettle to your new website or office ren... Continue reading ...
This week we will take a short journey
through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past
year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2012.
The first exercise is a simple one but so
many people neglect to do this each year let alone each day. Take time to pause
and reflect on your achievements. Make a list of all the highlights that both you
and your team have achieved throughout the year. Go through each month, pull
out old notes or your diary and make a celebrati... Continue reading ...
Having your own business coach is great,
you get to lean on someone else’s experience and wisdom, but as all things
good, we come at a price. Now I am not saying us coaches are not worth paying
for, but often people just do not have the funds or the time to spend on
coaching. We often get people dropping by this website looking for tools and
tips that they can use right off the bat to help them get through a specific
issue or hump in the road.
We have heard your cry and done something abo... Continue reading ...
Here is something you can do today to improve
your business network. And it will only cost you a few minutes.
A new community website has launched this
week and it is all about people empowering people with Pros meeting up with
Peers and delivering Programmes for Progress.
If you are doing business in or around Cape
Town and offer some sort of service or product that could be of assistance to
others who are trying to make their lives a little better then click here and join Motivate Cape To... Continue reading ...
A few years ago the business community was abuzz
with the new Promotion to Access Information Act (PAIA). All businesses small
and large had to comply with this act and submit a manual to some government
department in Pretoria to remain legal and compliant.
Carrie-Anne from Cents and Accountability has
reminded us again of this and if you own or run a small business in South
Africa and have not yet written up and submitted your PAIA manual, please get
it done. It is a once off process and sh... Continue reading ...
Entrepreneur Incubator and Academy has
formed an association with eC@ps. Electronic Compass Aligned Performance System
offers their clients a simple to use strategy application that once used offers
a one page strategy document with a huge amount of accountability and
communication tools.
 Brian Howe and Bruce Wade met this week to
discuss how the association would work and we have decided to offer eC@ps as a
part of the Incubator membership for clients on the Growth and Leadership
programmes...
Continue reading ...
Here is a list of startup wisdom copied from onstartups.com. Some great ideas and pick me ups.
The right time to hire the first person is when you think you are
going to die.
Do what you are naturally good at. Starting up is hard enough as
it is.
Be prepared for serendipity. Viagra was originally a failed heart
medication.
Don't reward people with bonuses. They don't remember them. Give
them experiences.
Long term thinking: I've always wanted to build something that
will survive bey... Continue reading ...
So many small business owners get to a
point early in their journey when the hours in the day are just not enough and
an extra pair of hands will be most welcome. But the cost and hassle of
employing your first worker is just overwhelming, so you plod on and often drop
those dream ideas to get done what you can. Sound familiar?
There is another opportunity: get an intern
and make use of many of the world wide exchange programmes out there. Interns
from various countries, education levels an... Continue reading ...
 Each year around this time a strange cloud
begins to cover the land. The cloud of hectic, we suddenly realize that there
are only 100 days left until the end of the year and we begin to feel a mild
panic in the pit of our belly. Will I be able to pay all my accounts? Will I be
able to invoice clients over December when they are leave? How will Dec and Jan
affect my cash flow? How will I run my business when all my staff go on leave?
Questions like these give rise to panic and
depression. But... Continue reading ...
Here are 45 rules to consider when creating your logo I found on Logo Faves - Do not use more than three colours.
- Get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary.
- Type must be easy enough for your grandma to read.
- The logo must be recognizable.
- Create a unique shape or layout for the logo.
- Completely ignore what your parents and/or spouse think about the design.
- Confirm that the logo looks appealing to more than just three (3) individuals.
- Do not combine elements from popular logos and claim it ...
Continue reading ...
What do you do when you require some form of legal
document and the thought of spending thousands of Rands for a lawyer to just
copy and paste something together is just not feasible? There are options to
buy a readymade document from your local stationery shop, but the chances of
finding the right one and getting it specific enough is doubtful. The answer
lies with a website we found last week: Agreements Online.
 Kerry Jack
has been able to assemble a vast array of well written, relevant an...
Continue reading ...
The Entrepreneur
Incubator and Academy is looking to expand to meet the demands of the
booming Entrepreneurial industry in Cape Town. We are looking to build
partnerships with Coaches and Entrepreneurs who have a passion for small business
development and working with people. Training, support and material will be
supplied.
If you are interested in changing lives for
the positive through entrepreneurship and have the ability to learn, coach and
develop both yourself and others, then this opp...
In the sales cycle of Inform – Educate –
Sell, videos have always been the best way to assist in the marketing of any
service or product. Just by having potential customers see you and your place
of work already adds to your credibility and trust relationship.
With YouTube being the number 2 search
engine, it has become critical for every small business to have a Channel with
ongoing activity on YouTube with your own videos, recommendations and comments.
This all adds to your online web... Continue reading ...
We have recently build up a relationship with Von Seidels, intellectual property attorneys. We were invited to their offices in Century City last week for coffee and a chat and found them to be very different to some other law firms we have been to. Chatting to Lisa, their Marketing Coordinator, we found that they too a very entrepreneurial and innovative in their approach to building their business. We have already referred one of our clients to them for advice on securing her IP in her busi... Continue reading ...
Here are two great tools, opportunities and
ideas not to be missed:
Effort
Share – An online collaboration platform that
allows communities to share ideas, expertise and effort. The concept is simple,
People join the community, share ideas for business development, social change
of just general ideas. You ask for specific help in the areas you lack. Others
see this and offer their ideas and comments and if they can fill the gap,
contribute either online or in person. The sharing of effort... Continue reading ...
A new series of social media mags is about
to hit the web cloud and you can get it all for free. Really. Four new e-mags
are ready to launch out from the US. They cover Twitter, Facebook, Google and
LinkedIn. The initial distribution list is estimated at just over 5 million
people and you as a business owner need to be on this list. Sort of one of
those things that if you miss out on, you may just not live long enough to
regret it.
Ok, you say how do I get on the list? Easy
as click here and... Continue reading ...
The Angel Hub launched in Cape Town a few weeks ago and has already begun to create a huge amount of chatter on the Entrepreneurial channels. Here is an extract from their latest press release: Angel Hub - A Business
Angel Investment Group that pools funding sources for investment in early-stage
South African ventures to accelerate growth and create value. Despite the
availability of highly lucrative deals in South Africa, there remains a significant
financing gap for early-stage entrepreneuri... Continue reading ...
2010 Businesswoman
of the Year, Santie Botha, talking on tips for South African businessperson:
1. Surround
yourself with the best possible people, and if you have the chance to appoint
someone who is better than you at a certain thing, that’s the jackpot.
2. Always give
credit to others on your team. This is how people grow. Keep them motivated and
they will give you even more.
3. Keep your
sense of humour, or you will not keep your sanity in the business world.
4. Gather as
large a po... Continue reading ...
We are now well into the second quarter of Exploit
Yourself. Our ten contestants have dropped to eight, but this has not slowed
the progress of the show. This week we turn our attention to things on the web
and social media marketing.
We have been able to twist some arms at Quirk to get Scott Gray to talk to us this
week. Scott was awarded the Best Social Media Marketer of the year last year so
he is no doubt the best man for the job of taking us through this topic. He
will be introducing t... Continue reading ...
IBA is bringing Entrepreneurs and Investors in one space, to
allow the Entrepreneur to pitch his/her idea to the investor and the Investor
to be exposed to the entrepreneurs. This unique conference is bound to change
lives and realise dreams for a full day of explosive business discovery at the
Entrepreneur and Investor Conference 2011.
Powerful keynote presentations will educate and inspire all
attendees. Intimate breakout sessions, one-on-one coaching and power networking
will provide you... Continue reading ...
Wellness is more than just a state of mind or attitude; it is a relationship with all 4 parts of yourself, Mind, Body, Heart and Soul. Only when you are investing into all 4 in a positive way and they become functional at an optimal rate can you claim the wellness badge for yourself. Wellness is also how well and healthy your relationships are with others that you interact with on a daily basis.  This week we will take our contestants through a cycle of evaluations, assessments and introspecti...
Continue reading ...
This week on Exploit Yourself the workshop was
designed to shake a few cages and rattle some foundations. To my surprise it
was found that very few of our contestants had any foundations to rattle. I am
constantly amazed at how many small businesses operate without any solid plans
for the future and without and founding statement or written vision. This
“Accidental Entrepreneurship” state of being is fine while you are still small,
but if your business is destined to grow into something s... Continue reading ...
 We are always on the lookout for innovative
ideas that make the life of small business more convenient and promote growth.
We get to see many different concepts and dreams but very few of them seem to
actually work in the real world and add value to the customers.
Last week I heard an advert for Sure Swipe
on the radio and gave them a call. Today Robin Petersen dropped by the office
to explain what Sure Swipe offers and how they operate.
It is great to find a company that has
their focus so... Continue reading ...
 In this series, we are looking at the key
words that define a successful sustainable business. The second word is Collaboration.
This is defined as: To work with one with another in a
cooperative manner. We have been created to work with each other, never alone.
We each have unique strengths and abilities that when united with others create
compounded exponential results.
Too many small business owners think that
they need to do all the work themselves. This results in long hours of
frustra... Continue reading ...
In this series, we are looking at the key
words that define a successful sustainable business. The first word is
Innovation. This is defined as: Something new or different product
or method introduced. Innovation does not always require you to be a techno-boff
and discover a new formula or algorithm. It could be you doing an everyday
thing in a new way.
But how do we identify where to be
innovative? Simple: Look at the pain and anger in the world, then create a
solution for the people who l... Continue reading ...
On Friday we waited for the implementation
of the ground breaking New Companies Act. This was first signed into law by
President Mbeki in 2008 and we have seen little movement since then on the
subject. We were notified that implementation date was 01 April and that all
systems in the DTI were set and ready. Many people have spent a huge amount of
money getting ready, running and attending workshops and training. There has
been a frantic sell off of all shelf companies on the market in order ... Continue reading ...
This week we see two landmark acts coming
into law that affect how we run our businesses. Firstly we have the New
Companies Act that changes the way our businesses are regulated and registered.
This we will have to wait and see how effective CIPRO becomes and are able to
handle the new legislation. The two big issues here are that Close Corporations
will now be called CHC Limited or Closely Held Companies. And there will be a
financial rescue management plan that your business can file for or... Continue reading ...
A new initiative aimed at inspiring and challenging South
Africa’s entrepreneurs begins on Tuesday next week. Called ‘Opening Doors‘,
the initiative run through ABSA Bank is a platform for the dreamers, the
visionaries, the builders and the creators in our great country. Opening Doors
will provide support, mentorship, guidance and solutions to business owners
across South Africa.
The launch event is happening on Tuesday 29 April in
Ster-Kinekor cinemas around the country. If you would ... Continue reading ...
This week
we were privileged to be able to once again support Living Way in
Cape Town.
Living Way is a ministry within Living Hope that
is working to economically empower people to earn their way out of poverty.
Through their various programmes, Living Way works to empower people to
provide for their daily necessities so that they do not have to depend on
anyone, focusing on under-resourced communities in Cape Town, South
Africa.
We have
donated one of our Work Flow
101 games to Living W... Continue reading ...
BulkSMS.com has recently launched an entrepreneurial
support programme aimed at assisting entrepreneurs who see SMS messaging as an
important part of their business communications or integral to their business
model. The programme offers
entrepreneurs a means of accessing BulkSMS.com resources in support of their
own ventures
Applications can be made under one of the
following business categories:
- Business Communicator
- Business Innovator
- Business Transformation Advocate
- Business Empowerment ...
Continue reading ...
Today our very own home build, game has hit
the news through Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog.
“One of the biggest problems small business owners face is
a lack of understanding of how all things fit together in business and in order
to manage and sustain a business.
A new game on the market this month called Works Flow 101 hopes to
remedy that problem.
Work Flow 101 looks to be a fun and essential tool
for any training organization, high school or entrepreneur.”
See the f... Continue reading ...
After a week of great interaction with
various Entrepreneurs and stake holders in the business development fields we
at the EI campus are filled with enthusiasm and ready to start expanding our
tent poles.
Some of our plans include the improved definition
of our business roadmap to include milestones that will become achievement
points for those building their businesses. To add to this journey we have
included a whole new set of legislation, regulation and functional tips that
will make eac... Continue reading ...
The makeup of any entrepreneurial business
needs to be well designed and offer a firm yet flexible framework that can with
stand the stress of the small business market but also be portable.
The main pillar is yourself. The Entrepreneur.
You need to know yourself well. Understand your strengths, your skills, your
abilities to do the job. Also, almost as important is to know what you are
unable to do and what you are poor at doing. This gives rise to the second
pillar. Your team. This is a g... Continue reading ...
Just got a message from Mark Schafer,
attorney and advisor. He has informed me that the implementation of the Consumer
Protection Act has been delayed until March 2011.
The New Companies Act also due for 01
October has also been delayed.
So we wait yet again. Continue reading ...
In this, the second part of our series
looking at the Consumer Protection Act, that comes into effect in October this
year, we will address the issue of marketing. There are a number of changes
that may be required to your existing marketing campaigns, so please read this
as well as other reference material on this matter, and if required please
consult a legal professional and download the act for yourself.- The act addresses the risks associated with
managing lay buys. All payments made by ...
Continue reading ...
 The new look Fin24 Entrepreneurship page
here is offering a Q&A section where readers can submit small business
questions to a panel of experts. Marc Ashton has asked me to be a part of the
team. Check us out here and bookmark this page for future reference. Marc’s
articles have been a huge source of well researched information. Marc is also a
bit of a bulldog and not afraid to tackle the big issues like the CIPRO issue.
We look forward to a fruitful time of correspondence
with the reader... Continue reading ...
Reading books has always been an expensive necessity
as a business owner. The amount of information required just to get to know what
you do not know can keep your book budget working flat out all year.
When electronic readers came out like the
Kindle, I was super keen to get one, but logistics and once again expense of
having one in SA was too much. The iPad and other platforms now offer similar
functionality but all cost a huge initial investment before any download can
happen.
But wait, ... Continue reading ...
 There has been a flood of very clever
advertising on the radio of late from the Mantelli’s biscuit factory based in Westlake,
Cape Town. This has gotten my attention and so today we popped in to see what
all the fuss is about.
They have a huge range of individually
wrapped products ranging from Shortbread fingers to Almond and white chocolate
crunchies. We stocked up for our coming workshops at EI and will now be able to
invite participants to the tea break with confidence. I have not yet ... Continue reading ...
A lot of my time is spend setting up
meetings and chats with people I have never met before. This always carries a
certain amount of risk and anxiety for both parties. Here are a few things that
I do to mitigate the issues. - I set up the appointment by phone whenever
possible so I can get a confirmed time with both diaries open at the same time.
- If the meeting has been set up more than a
week in advance I confirm the meeting the day before via email or sms
- I try to meet at a venue that has tabl...
Here is some more business wisdom from the guys at 37 SignalsWhen you want something bad enough, you
make the time.
The perfect time to start something never
arrives.
Start a business, not a start-up.
You need a commitment strategy, not an exit
strategy.
Huge organizations talk instead of act, and
meet instead of do.
Build half a product, not a half-assed
product.
Getting to greatness starts by cutting out
stuff that’s merely good.
The real world isn’t a place, it's an
e... Continue reading ...
It is not only a good flyhalf who need spot the gap to
become successful, entrepreneurs have to do the same. It is actually easy to
come up with creative ideas, most of us do this naturally and most often in our
sleep. Finding the gap in the market to position this idea is the quality that
separates the dreamers from the successful.
Gap identification and analysis is an art. The best way to spot
a need or gap is to look for pain. Where people are experiencing pain or
frustration there is nor... Continue reading ...
Ok, so you have a great idea. In the early
hours of the morning this idea has the potential of Google as it floats around
in your semi-sleep state. You wake up and write it all down with flow diagrams
and income streams all neatly defined. Now what?
Taking an idea from concept to reality is
what makes us Entrepreneurs. People who are able to think in solutions and not
problems. Living out of the box takes energy, courage and risk, but this is
what makes change happen. We are the ones who mov... Continue reading ...
Every business development cycle goes through five
stages that need to be addressed, assigned and completed before moving on.
Failure to do so may result in a business that is built on an unstable
foundation. And we all know what happened to the house build on the sand and
not the rock.
The first question to ask about a business is: Is
this business idea Feasible? Feasibility needs to address both the business
concept and the business owner. For a business idea to become feasible it
should ... Continue reading ...
One of the hardest part of starting any
business is selecting and registering the name. Not only is this a very
personal issue tied up with lots of emotion but you need to jump through a
series of hoops and holes to get it all done. Here are some basic guidelines
and processes.
Your business name should not:
- Be named after you or any family member if
you ever want to sell it
- Be limited to an area if you ever want to
expand to other areas
- Be focused on one product or service if you
will expan...
Continue reading ...
When faced with change or the beginning or change it is always advisable to start with an initial movement of huge proportion. This does a few things that go a long way to secure the success of the change project. A huge initial movement will give the team a boost of confidence and encouragement that improves the buy-in from all players. It also shows others that you are confident in the change and that you mean business. It also boils down to simple physics, it takes a huge boost of energy t... Continue reading ...
Here is the first in a series of wise sayings from the guys at 37 Signals
Great businesses have a point of view, not
just a product or service.
Writing a plan makes you feel in control of
things you don’t actually control.
You have the most information when you’re
doing something, not before you've done it.
Stuff that was impossible just a few years
ago is simple today.
Failure is not a prerequisite for success.
Don’t make assumptions about how big you
should be ahead of time... Continue reading ...
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