A skill worth developing as it helps us to communicate using well-structured language with clarity of expression. A word loosely spoken can lose a friend or even cause a war. There are some people who do not care much about what they say or write. They react when an impulse moves and utter words that comes to their mind without thinking of the effect that such loosely spoken words would have on others.

Little they realize that words are like birds and once they fly away you cannot catch them back. It is [Find out more ...]

1. Develop a Strong Voice for Yourself

   This past month I have met a lot of entrepreneurs at events, in meetings, and over the phone. Some of them made a great impression, some did not. When I stopped to think about the last one and why I didn’t have a great impression from them, I realized for many of them it was [Find out more ...]

2. Fly, with a Little Help from Your Friends

   As an entrepreneur, you’re driven by the belief that you can do things better yourself. That’s why you decided to open your own business. You want to work for yourself, be the only boss you have, be responsible for the outcomes. You want to be more profitable. This focus on making things happen by yourself [Find out more ...]

3. Getting a Business Loan Made Simple

   A business loan is a loan taking out to help finance business needs. For a person who is trying to secure a business loan for a start-up business, the process can seem daunting. Lenders know starting a business is a risk. It can be tough to start a business and keep it going within those [Find out more ...]

]]> http://tipsguides.net/getting-a-business-loan-made-simple-65/ http://tipsguides.net/getting-a-business-loan-made-simple-65/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:26:38 +0000 --- http://tipsguides.net/getting-a-business-loan-made-simple-65/ A business loan is a loan taking out to help finance business needs. For a person who is trying to secure a business loan for a start-up business, the process can seem daunting. Lenders know starting a business is a risk. It can be tough to start a business and keep it going within those first few years. Should the business fail, the lender is at risk for not getting their money. It is up to the business owner to prove that their business is worth investing in.

When starting a business, a business owner has many hurdles to overcome. They have to prepare themselves for the process of securing financing. By being prepared, they will ultimately help the lender have more confidence in offering them a loan and they will [Find out more ...]

Related Tips and Guides:
1. Ignore the Financial at Your Peril

   I’m always surprised by the number of business owners I encounter who do not have any financial statements generated for their business. Or if they do have such records, they never look at them. That is rather like getting on a flight and having no idea what destination you are flying to. A kitchen design [Find out more ...]

2. Fly, with a Little Help from Your Friends

   As an entrepreneur, you’re driven by the belief that you can do things better yourself. That’s why you decided to open your own business. You want to work for yourself, be the only boss you have, be responsible for the outcomes. You want to be more profitable. This focus on making things happen by yourself [Find out more ...]

3. Develop a Strong Voice for Yourself

   This past month I have met a lot of entrepreneurs at events, in meetings, and over the phone. Some of them made a great impression, some did not. When I stopped to think about the last one and why I didn’t have a great impression from them, I realized for many of them it was [Find out more ...]

]]> http://tipsguides.net/develop-a-strong-voice-for-yourself-64/ http://tipsguides.net/develop-a-strong-voice-for-yourself-64/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:52:52 +0000 --- http://tipsguides.net/develop-a-strong-voice-for-yourself-64/ This past month I have met a lot of entrepreneurs at events, in meetings, and over the phone. Some of them made a great impression, some did not. When I stopped to think about the last one and why I didn’t have a great impression from them, I realized for many of them it was their voice. The way they used it did not impart confidence and strength. When talking about your company, your products and services, you have to exude confidence and passion. Only part of that comes from the words you use; most of that impression comes from the way you work your voice. So here are a few tips for building a good impression with your voice.

1. Don’t be a shallow breather. Most of us are shallow [Find out more ...]

Related Tips and Guides:
1. Reach Out and Touch Someone – Your Customer

   Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail. A movie gift card as a thank you, from a business associate who I had sent a customer to. A small gesture – but a very powerful one! It made a huge impression on me. Chances are very high that I’ll do more business with him. It [Find out more ...]

2. The Role of Words in Our Communicating Effectiveness

   Words fitly spoken are like apples of Gold in a picture of Silver – this saying by a man of wisdom, spells out the importance of using proper words. It is a skill. It is the skill of communicating. A skill worth developing as it helps us to communicate using well-structured language with clarity of [Find out more ...]

3. It’s Your Money

   I recently met with an owner of a 10 year old business; this person is a sales genius, having grown sales to nearly $2 million. He’s built strong customer relationships, has an excellent reputation in the community and has no problem finding new business. All of this is great, except for one thing. In spite [Find out more ...]

]]> http://tipsguides.net/ignore-the-financial-at-your-peril-63/ http://tipsguides.net/ignore-the-financial-at-your-peril-63/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:32:45 +0000 --- http://tipsguides.net/ignore-the-financial-at-your-peril-63/ I’m always surprised by the number of business owners I encounter who do not have any financial statements generated for their business. Or if they do have such records, they never look at them. That is rather like getting on a flight and having no idea what destination you are flying to.

A kitchen design company hired me a few years back because they weren’t profitable, in spite of sales having grown from $80,000 in the first year of operation to $300,000 in year 2. Sales were increasing rapidly. The marketing program was running. So it made no sense that there wasn’t profits. Yet there weren’t any.

When I examined the business what I found was that expenses were way too high and the hourly rate they were charging wasn’t high [Find out more ...]

Related Tips and Guides:
1. It’s Your Money

   I recently met with an owner of a 10 year old business; this person is a sales genius, having grown sales to nearly $2 million. He’s built strong customer relationships, has an excellent reputation in the community and has no problem finding new business. All of this is great, except for one thing. In spite [Find out more ...]

2. Getting a Business Loan Made Simple

   A business loan is a loan taking out to help finance business needs. For a person who is trying to secure a business loan for a start-up business, the process can seem daunting. Lenders know starting a business is a risk. It can be tough to start a business and keep it going within those [Find out more ...]

3. Reach Out and Touch Someone – Your Customer

   Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail. A movie gift card as a thank you, from a business associate who I had sent a customer to. A small gesture – but a very powerful one! It made a huge impression on me. Chances are very high that I’ll do more business with him. It [Find out more ...]

]]> http://tipsguides.net/fly-with-a-little-help-from-your-friends-62/ http://tipsguides.net/fly-with-a-little-help-from-your-friends-62/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:16:08 +0000 --- http://tipsguides.net/fly-with-a-little-help-from-your-friends-62/ As an entrepreneur, you’re driven by the belief that you can do things better yourself. That’s why you decided to open your own business. You want to work for yourself, be the only boss you have, be responsible for the outcomes. You want to be more profitable. This focus on making things happen by yourself is a great strength. It gets you to accomplish things you would never have dreamed of.

But it can also be a great weakness. The death of any entrepreneur is solitude. I see too many business owners out there working their business solo, trying to do it all. You simply cannot build a sustainable business on your own.

This fact jumped out at me when I did a quick survey to find out why entrepreneurs had decided [Find out more ...]

Related Tips and Guides:
1. Getting a Business Loan Made Simple

   A business loan is a loan taking out to help finance business needs. For a person who is trying to secure a business loan for a start-up business, the process can seem daunting. Lenders know starting a business is a risk. It can be tough to start a business and keep it going within those [Find out more ...]

2. Ignore the Financial at Your Peril

   I’m always surprised by the number of business owners I encounter who do not have any financial statements generated for their business. Or if they do have such records, they never look at them. That is rather like getting on a flight and having no idea what destination you are flying to. A kitchen design [Find out more ...]

3. It’s Your Money

   I recently met with an owner of a 10 year old business; this person is a sales genius, having grown sales to nearly $2 million. He’s built strong customer relationships, has an excellent reputation in the community and has no problem finding new business. All of this is great, except for one thing. In spite [Find out more ...]

]]> http://tipsguides.net/reach-out-and-touch-someone-your-customer-61/ http://tipsguides.net/reach-out-and-touch-someone-your-customer-61/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:57:16 +0000 --- http://tipsguides.net/reach-out-and-touch-someone-your-customer-61/ Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail. A movie gift card as a thank you, from a business associate who I had sent a customer to. A small gesture – but a very powerful one! It made a huge impression on me. Chances are very high that I’ll do more business with him. It wasn’t the fact that I got something for free that made the impact. It was the randomness of the gift and that he took the time to make the gesture. It made me feel my efforts were appreciated.

Rarely in this society do we say thank you to people who do business with us. As a small business owner, your biggest asset is your existing customer base. Research has shown that it costs seven times more [Find out more ...]

Related Tips and Guides:
1. Develop a Strong Voice for Yourself

   This past month I have met a lot of entrepreneurs at events, in meetings, and over the phone. Some of them made a great impression, some did not. When I stopped to think about the last one and why I didn’t have a great impression from them, I realized for many of them it was [Find out more ...]

2. It’s Your Money

   I recently met with an owner of a 10 year old business; this person is a sales genius, having grown sales to nearly $2 million. He’s built strong customer relationships, has an excellent reputation in the community and has no problem finding new business. All of this is great, except for one thing. In spite [Find out more ...]

3. Ignore the Financial at Your Peril

   I’m always surprised by the number of business owners I encounter who do not have any financial statements generated for their business. Or if they do have such records, they never look at them. That is rather like getting on a flight and having no idea what destination you are flying to. A kitchen design [Find out more ...]

]]> http://tipsguides.net/its-your-money-60/ http://tipsguides.net/its-your-money-60/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:03:48 +0000 --- http://tipsguides.net/its-your-money-60/ I recently met with an owner of a 10 year old business; this person is a sales genius, having grown sales to nearly $2 million. He’s built strong customer relationships, has an excellent reputation in the community and has no problem finding new business. All of this is great, except for one thing. In spite of the fact that sales have grown at a very healthy rate, profits haven’t.

His challenge is the same as so many other entrepreneurs. He’s got a great product; he gives great customer service and he knows many of his customers on a personal basis. He has a system for invoicing, so the bills go out on time. But a percentage of customers are not paying on time – some of them, not for a long [Find out more ...]

Related Tips and Guides:
1. Ignore the Financial at Your Peril

   I’m always surprised by the number of business owners I encounter who do not have any financial statements generated for their business. Or if they do have such records, they never look at them. That is rather like getting on a flight and having no idea what destination you are flying to. A kitchen design [Find out more ...]

2. Reach Out and Touch Someone – Your Customer

   Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail. A movie gift card as a thank you, from a business associate who I had sent a customer to. A small gesture – but a very powerful one! It made a huge impression on me. Chances are very high that I’ll do more business with him. It [Find out more ...]

3. Fly, with a Little Help from Your Friends

   As an entrepreneur, you’re driven by the belief that you can do things better yourself. That’s why you decided to open your own business. You want to work for yourself, be the only boss you have, be responsible for the outcomes. You want to be more profitable. This focus on making things happen by yourself [Find out more ...]

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