photo credit: Tracy O

What do they say about being too good to be true?  It always seems to apply.  If someone can find a way to scam you out of your money with little effort, they will do it.  That philosophy also applies to work from home jobs. Don’t fall victim to these scams.

All job industries are prone to scams.  A scam is any activity that claims to be above board but is designed to defraud you of your money.  Most are based on the premise that people are willing to give you a little money or a little information in return for a big payday.  And, so far the scammers have been right.  Indeed, in todays’s tough economic climate,  many potential entrepreneurs are more vunerable to the claims of scammers.

Work at home jobs have fallen prey to the scammer as well.  Working from home is a dream job for many who want the freedom that such a position brings.  Working from home is not for those who can’t motivate themselves to do the work, however.  Procrastination can spell the death of a good opportunity.

In amongst the legitimate garden of companies looking for extra help from those looking to make some extra cash, are the weeds of crooks who want to cash in on the popular phenomenon.  You would think that with the time and effort put into setting up these scams, the scammers could be making a lot of money legitimately.

Some scams have a few things in common that you can find out in a few minutes.  Be on the lookout for them as you search for legitimate work.

1.  Scammers ask for money upfront.  This is not the case with established opportunities like Avon, Mary Kay, or The Pampered Chef.  Here, you purchase materials to begin the business process, and there are hundreds of people out there who have made money with these companies.  Instead, we are referring to the small ads on websites or in newspapers that ask you to send $50 for a book that teaches you how to make $10,000 a month.  There are many books in the bookstore that can teach you to make money and they cost less than that.  More than likely they are trying to get your financial information.

2.  Scammers offer limited contact information.  If you can’t get in touch with them, don’t buy into it.  Even fake websites can be set up.  Try to contact customer service or someone in charge before giving out any information or signing up for anything.  Some online scamming emails and ads are trying to plant bugs and other nasty things on your computer by opening messages and clicking on links.  If you never heard of it and there is no way to contact them, forget it.

3.  Scammers mention making lots of money but nothing else.  Sketchy ads are a warning sign.  Think about it:  Who would pay you $30 an hour to lick envelopes?

4. Scammers will not give you verifiable information. They make claims but they don’t give you any way of verifying the claims. If you can’t verify the claims don’t give them your money or your information.

Scammers will try to prey on people looking for legitimate work from home jobs.  Check with reputable companies first and then ask for referrals from friends and family.

photo credit: chegs

In my last post I shared 3 modes of thought that help you succeed as an entrepreneur. In this short post I share 1 more important mode of thought for entrepreneurs.

Think Like a Customer- So many entrepreneurs have great product and service ideas for their customers but they don’t really know their customers. They don’t spend time really interacting with their customers so they don’t know how their customers think. This is tragic. This is why many of the product and service ideas they have for their customers fail to deliver real value to the client and real profit for the entrepreneur. 

Successful entrepreneurs know how their customers think and so they know how their customers will react to new products and services. Indeed they can think like their customers. How did they develop this skill? They developed this skill by spending lots of time interacting with their customers. Asking not only what their customers want and need but finding out why their customers have this need. Then they spend time thinking deeply about the implications of what they have heard from their clients. 

Which clients should you focus on? This is a good place to think about the 80/20 rule. Since 20% of your customers create 80% of your profits, thinking like these customers will give you your greatest return on investment.

Take time today to spend time with your customers. Learn from them and learn to think like them.

As always, I solicit your feedback and your thoughts. This site is for you and I want to know what you think. Thank you.

photo credit: milena mihaylova

How we think affects every aspect of our lives. This is no truer than it is in our businesses.  As entrepreneurs our habitual modes of thought shape what we accomplish in our business. If we learn how to think right we can accomplish great things.

In this post and the subsequent post, I will share with you 7 modes of thought that will lead you to entrepreneurial success. Here are the first 3:

Think Big – I am sure you have heard this before but it bears repeating. It is important to think big in terms of your entrepreneurial vision and the number of people you can serve. For example, you may be thinking about creating one location for your business. How about thinking about 10 locations or 100 locations? Remember you don’t have to do it by yourself nor do you have to do it all at once. People often overestimate what they can do in one year but grossly underestimate what they can do in 10 years. Thinking big serves you well because it will propel you past pettiness and small obstacles. I encourage you to look at your current business reach and multiply it by at least 100.

Think Small -This is not a contradiction to our other mode of thought. Thinking small is thinking about distinctions. What makes your business different from your competitors. What distinctions can you make in your business that would be hard to copy? Remember several small distinctions can make a huge difference.  Look at your business and your competition, what are 5 small distinctions that you can make to better serve your client base.

Think without Fear – Ask yourself this question- what would I do as an entrepreneur if I knew it was impossible for me to fail? This powerful question helps you think in terms of possibilities. Many entrepreneurs limit themselves with fear-based thinking. They focus on what they can’t do instead of what they can do. In your current business or in the one you are planning to start, answering the question presented above will take your business to a new dimension.

Please stay tuned for Part 2 of this series.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

photo credit: faster panda kill kill

It seems like every working person’s dream is to leave the office and set up shop at home.  Before you get too used to the idea, however, think it through and know what to expect so the experience is as great as you imagine.

1.  What kind of work will you do at home?  It is never a good idea to leave a job without a plan.  Setting up a freelance business means a time lag between contracting with a client and getting that first paycheck.  Line up work ahead of time so your business is already on line before you leave your day job.

2.  Can your finances survive the move to a home office?   If you are quitting a day job in favor of starting your own business, sit down with the family and gauge your financial situation.  Consider establishing an emergency fund to cover any unexpected expenses or normal household bills until the home business starts bringing in money. 

3.  Where in your home will you work? Set office space apart from the rest of the house.  You might have visions of sitting in your pajamas at the kitchen table while working on the computer, but that gets old really fast.  Your productivity will likely give way to cleaning the kitchen, fixing breakfast, and watching television.  A room dedicated to your home business is the best way to maintain your focus on work even though you are at home.

4.  What equipment is needed to run a home office?  Before you pull up stakes, be sure to purchase all the items you’ll use in the home office.  The basic essentials include a separate telephone line, a printer, a fax, a computer devoted to business, and of course a desk and chair.  Hit the ground running with your home business.

5.  How will you manage the children?  Moms who start their own home business get to spend more time with their kids.  But, as good as that sounds, the kids can also distract you from doing the work you need to get done.  Decide how you will handle work time and family time before you come home.

6.  Who will handle the housework? The battle between housework and office work is never ending.  Just because you are at home doesn’t mean you have time to do all of the chores.  Your primary concern is getting the home business off the ground.  Between you and your family, discuss what is expected of each person.  You might be home but it is in a working capacity.  Everyone can pitch in with the work.

 7. What hours will you work? Clearly delineating what hours you will work will save you a lot of hassle. If other people live with you it will be important to manage their expectations. If they are not used to having you home they may interrupt you often. It is important for you to let everyone know when you are working and when you are available. Be sure to set-up and post specific hours as work hours. This is important even if you live alone because if will help keep you honest.  It will help you in two ways. You will know when to start working and equally important when to stop working.

8. Who will you be accountable to? Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Actually, it is very important to establish an accountability relationship. Find someone else who is in a non-competing business and exchange your weekly goal lists. Connect with you accountability partner once a week to review what goals you have met and what goals you’ve missed. Just knowing someone is checking in on you will help you meet your more of your goals.

9. Who are you networking with? Working from home can be lonely.  It is important to get out and network. Meet with you clients face-to-face sometimes if possible. Find and join networking groups. Get out and walk around your neighborhood. Not only will this refresh you but you may get some great ideas for your business.

 

Working from home has its benefits but they come from being prepared.  Before deciding to leave the work force and come home, know what to expect.

photo credit: Crystl

The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for lists.
H. Allen Smith

I love lists. I think lists have great power. We have heard a lot about to-do lists and places to-go lists. I would like to suggest another great list. This is a to-give list.  This list would outline all the great things you would like to give to others and to yourself.

Why a List

Most of us know the power of giving but so many times we get busy doing other things during the day that we forget to give.  Would you agree that most of us want to be consummate givers but many times our days go by so quickly it just seems like there are no opportunities to give? I believe a to-give list can help us alleviate that problem. If you have a master to-give list to work from you can use this to add  giving opportunities to your daily to-do list.

How to Create

Creating a to-give list is very simple.  You can start by sitting down and thinking of the people closest to you. What are some of the things you would like to give to them or do for them? What things would bring joy to their lives? Go ahead and write those things down. Please don’t limit the list to things that you are able to do right now either. Include big and small things. Things you can do right now and things that may have to wait until the future. Write both.

Next expand the list to the community in which you live. What are some of the things you would like to give to the community? It doesn’t have to be just money. It could be time helping someone learn something.

Next let’s make this bigger; what kinds of things would you like to give to your country?

How about the world? Is there something you can do to make the world better?

Don’t forget about yourself. What are some of the things you want to give to yourself?

Example of a Master To-Give list

1. Write an encouraging note to my friend.
2. Teach a group of young people about success.
3. Do a walk for the Breast Cancer Society.
4. Sponsor a needy child.
5. Teach someone to read.
6. Speak a kind word to someone in my family.
7. Forgive someone who has done me wrong.

These are just a few examples. Be creative. Simply creating this list will empower you. Make up your mind to do the things you have put on your list and you will not only feel great but you will begin to see great things come back to you. Your business will do better because you are not just focused on yourself, but you are concerned about others.

Additional Resource

Check out this blog for more information: www.everydaygivingblog.com.

I want to hear from you. Let me know what you think about this post. Thank you.

photo credit: alexdecarvalho
In my second post on the 7 deadly mistakes new entrepreneurs make and how to avoid them, we discussed two more potentially deadly mistakes many new entrepreneurs make. In this post we will address another deadly mistake that both new and experienced entrepreneurs make. This mistake can be quite deadly and can affect all aspects of your business and personal life. What is it?

Deadly Mistake 5: Not recognizing and consistently applying the 80/20 principle

The 80/20 principle has been called by many names including the Pareto Principle, the Pareto Law, the 80/20 Rule, the Principle of Least Effort, and the Principle of Imbalance. As some of the names suggests this principle was discovered by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) in 1897.

What did Pareto discover?

To put it in its simplest form Pareto discovered a counterintuitive imbalance between causes and results. In other words, we naturally expect that 50% of the inputs to a process will produce 50% of the result, but this is not usually accurate. It is more likely that a smaller percentage of inputs will produce a disproportionately large amount of result. Indeed many times 20% of the inputs produce 80% of the result (see important note at the end of the post).

What does this mean to the entrepreneur?

This principle has far reaching implications for the entrepreneur. For example, we tend to think that all the activities we do are equally valuable in moving us forward. This is simply not true. There is an imbalance. Indeed 20% of the activities provide 80% of the results we desire. Further, the other 80% of the activities only add an additional 20% of the results we seek. This is instructive because it says that as entrepreneurs we should focus on the 20% activities that give us 80% of our results and delegate the other activities.

Another example of the 80/20 principle at work

We as entrepreneurs tend to think that all of our customers are equally valuable and should be treated equally. Using the 80/20 principle we would discover that 20% of our customers provide 80% of our profits. Here are a few ways you could use this information:

1. Do research and determine who these customers are
2. Interview these customers and find out why and how they use your product or service
3. Profile these customers so you can go after other customers with similar characteristics
4. Align your resources to serve these customers more effectively
5. Figure out ways to convert more of your customers into this category of customers

There are many other such imbalances. For example 20% of your products provide 80% of your profits and 20% of your employees produce 80% of your desired results. The point of this post is to get you to diligently look for these imbalances and find ways to use them. If you don’t, it can be deadly to your business.

Why not using this principle can be deadly

Hopefully it is obvious how this principal can be useful to you. It can be deadly if you don’t recognize and use this principle because you will not move forward effectively and you will miss huge opportunities. For example, simply not focusing on the 20% of customers that bring 80% of your profits can cause you to go out of business. This is deadly.

Important note

I know that this is an over-simplification of the Pareto principle. I wanted to keep it simple for the purpose of making it useful. There is a lot of variety in this principle that I plan to present in future posts. For example, it is an over-simplification to say that the split is always 80/20. It is not. It can be 60/40,70/30 or 99/1. The key is that there is an imbalance and we can exploit this imbalance.

Additional resource

For more information check out Richard Koch’s site.

Please let me hear your comments and please don’t keep this blog a secret. Tell your friends. Thank you.

What does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur? Listen to some top success tips from these top entrepreneurs.

Gain insights about being a top entrepreneur from Sir Richard Branson. See how passion drives him to create his businesses. This is one you want to watch all the way through.

Fast Tube 2.2 by Casper

Check out this success tip from Jeff Chavez. He encourages entrepreneurs to be action-oriented. It is not just about good intentions it is about action.   

 

Fast Tube 2.2 by Casper

Michael Dell has great advice for entrepreneurs. The best success tips come at the 2 minute mark.

Fast Tube 2.2 by Casper

This is a compliation of a few entrepreneurs who cover some very important success tips for entrepreneurs.

  

Fast Tube 2.2 by Casper

 

 

Are you a successful entrepreneur? Please share your success secrets with us. 

photo credit: contemplativechristian

I don’t know about you but I am tired of people being scammed and bilked out of their money. Doesn’t it just sicken you when you hear about crimes like those committed by Bernie Madoff? What do you think about all those Internet scams and work at home scams. Where has integrity gone? Do we still know the definition of integrity?

 

What is integrity?

 

There are many ways to describe integrity. Here’s a simple description:

 

• Consistently doing the right thing even when no one is looking
• Doing no harm
• Delivering more than is expected

 

 If we as entrepreneurs and small business owners (and human beings) would simple do these to things, we could change the face of business.

 

Doing the right thing

 

I believe we all have an inner voice that helps us discern right from wrong.  Do what you know is right.  Be honest with your clients, your spouse, your family, your coworkers and yourself.

 

Be consistent in doing the right thing. Do it when people are looking and when people are not looking. It is liberating.

 

Doing no harm

 

Whether you are thinking about creating new products, advising your client or launching a new marketing initiative decide to do no harm. Always think about the effects your words and actions will have on others.

 

Deliver more than expected

 

I believe this is a part of living in integrity because so customers are so often disappointed with the quality of products and the level of service they receive from businesses. In order to exercise integrity, manage expectations and then over deliver. Say what you are going to deliver and deliver more. Go the extra mile.

 

The Power of integrity

 

Integrity is a powerful currency. When you live a life of integrity here are some of the powerful things happen for you:

 

• You develop a good name which opens doors for you
• You become more confident
• You simplify your life
• You live life in a state of positive flow
• You attract like-minded people who will help you meet your goals
• You gain credibility and favor
• You move towards your goals faster and you achieve more of your goals.

 

Action steps

 

Make a commitment to day to live you life with more integrity.  Make up your mind to do the right thing, look out for the best interest of others, and deliver more than what is expected of you. You will be rewarded in ways that you can’t imagine.

 

I would love to hear from you. How do you define integrity?

 

 

photo credit: Ernst Moeksis

There are many reasons you shouldn’t quit. In this post I share 5 reasons I believe you shouldn’t quit in your endeavor to create or improve your business or your life.

 

 

You are probably close to your breakthrough

 

It is strange the way life works. Many times when the temptation to quit is at its strongest is when you are closest to your breakthrough. It is as though your commitment to succeed is being tested right before reach your goal.

 

I know you have been working hard to get that next contract, that next business idea, the funding for your enterprise or any other worthy endeavor. I know it has been hard. I encourage you to step back a moment and gain perspective, approach it from a different angle, rest if you must, but don’t quit. Try again because you are almost there. Don’t quit.

 

Read a great poem about quitting.

 

You started this for a reason

 

This quest that you are on, you started for a reason. Take time to remember the “whys” of this endeavor. You did it for your family.  You did it because you believed it would make a difference. You did it to make a better life for yourself. You did it because you wanted to live as a better version of yourself.  Go back and rediscover the reason for your goal and here you will find the reason you shouldn’t quit. Don’t quit.

 

People are depending on what you are working on

 

You were put in this world to make a difference. Someone is depending on you. There is some person that deeply needs the very project that you are working on. You are not here just for yourself; you are here to solve a problem. Don’t quit because your project is very important to someone else. Don’t quit.

 

Even if you fail on this attempt you will have learned something important

 

You may be thinking of quitting because you are afraid to fail. I invite you to change your thinking about a failed attempt. If you have a failed attempt it doesn’t mean you are a failure. In fact, failure can be very good if you learn from it. Failure is meant to teach you something. Failure is only failure if you don’t try again. Don’t quit.

 

You don’t want to develop a habit of quitting

 

Don’t quit because quitting can become a negative habit. When you quit, many times it leads to a feeling of low self-esteem. This can drive you to quit other endeavors when it things get hard. You soon develop a habit of quitting which leads to a string of failures. This creates a vicious cycle and quitting and failure. Don’t quit.

 

What are some reasons you can think of not to quit? I look forward to your comments.

What characteristics make top entrepreneurs successful? There are many but here are 21 that I think really make a difference.

How many of these do you possess?

 

 

 

 

 

  photo credit: batmoo 

Top Entrepreneurs:

 

• Believe that they can make a difference
• Have a bent towards action
• Think Strategically
• Feel the fear and do it anyway
• Work from a written mission and vision
• Are opportunity focused
• Are problem solvers
• Think long term
• Have a sense of urgency
• Think win-win
• Know how to manage risk
• Believe in themselves
• Have boundless optimism
• Surround themselves with smart people
• Have a deep understanding of human nature
• Have a tolerance for uncertainty
• Create opportunities
• Recovery quickly from disappointments
• Are results-oriented
• Are genuinely concerned about others
• Believe that they will win

 Please keep in mind that entrepreneurs possess these qualities in varying degrees. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t possess all of these qualities in abundance. Begin working on developing some of these and improve your success as an entrepreneur.

Check out these resources:

Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Corner

 

 

EvanCarmichael

What characteristics do you think top entrepreneurs possess?