Category: Business Tips

4 Common Mistakes Successful Leaders Know to Avoid

Posted on by Alex

Becoming a successful leader is the aspiration of many ambitious and entrepreneurial individuals; The number of books tackling the issue of leadership is many, with lots of successful leaders looking to monetize their own success by writing guidebooks, the wealth of information is substantial. However, the tips and guidance on offer cannot be fully realized if the following common mistakes are being made…

1. Lack of communication

Whilst some leaders may have all the needed and desirable traits to progressively manage a business and guide their team, being unable to listen and appreciate the importance of communication can be a major factor in restricted development, not only in yourself but the company as a whole too. It can also be discouraging for your employees if they do not feel that their suggestions and opinions are being listened to or understood.

You could be missing out on a plethora of insightful information and interesting notes that could help to improve and develop the company, from the gardener mowing the lawn of your premises to the bookkeeper in your accounts department, you never know what gem of information you could be missing out on.

2. Micromanaging

A rather common complaint from employees in reference to their team leaders, supervisors or managers is their lack of trust to let employees perform their own tasks without interference or micromanaging. The term is defined as controlling every part of a business or process. Instead of delegating, a manager will ‘look over the shoulder’ at each stage of an employee’s responsibility or job process and provide advice and guidance that could be largely necessary.

Employees are hired for their ability and competence to perform certain tasks within a business, if the manager begins doing these tasks for them, instead of providing instructions only, they are not only wasting their time (that could be better spent on higher-level tasks) they are potentially aggravating an employee who may end up feeling restricted and under-appreciated.

3. Not setting a good example

Holding onto unnecessary anger, wanting to gain revenge on competitors or other employees, cheating and gossiping are all traits that have no place in a leadership role. One particularly bad trait is not being able to admit when you are wrong; Perfectionism is unobtainable, no one is perfect, so do not shy away from your mistakes. Employees will learn a valuable lesson from your ability to own your mistakes, it promotes honesty and learning in the workplace.

4. Lack of forward-thinking

Being a successful leader is not just about enduring through the day or week, successful leaders are proactive and they plan ahead. They look to the future and prepare for it with small and decisive changes that will better the company, whether that be in increasing revenue or a thriving and happy workplace environment

To conclude, leadership is not just about bettering yourself, but your employees, strategies, future planning, and the business as a whole. Your actions and reactions have a direct, if subtle, effect on every aspect of the business. To be successful you must present yourself in a way that reflects what you believe to be the core values of your business.

4 Social Media Success Secrets To Grow Your Business

Posted on by Gary

Social media marketing has exploded into the online marketing industry within the last few years and has completely redefined it. With well over 3 billion active users, the figures are set only to rise, and many companies have already begun to capitalize on its valuable assets, influence, and connectivity.

We have outlined 4 secrets below to growing your business with social media and ultimately improving your revenue and audience.

1. Promote your e-commerce store

This point may sound obvious at first, but it is critical that this is executed correctly. Ensure users can easily find your store by linking to it in your profile descriptions, posts, stories, and tweets; However, you must keep in mind that consumers do not want to be ‘sold’ to. Some businesses swear by certain ‘content to hard sell’ ratios, for example, 5 posts of purely unique content and inspiration that your followers will value, then 1 post with a hard sell and direct link to your online shop or service.

2. Content is King

Little and often, an age-old saying, but one that reigns true in the world of social media. Your customers and followers do not want to be bombarded every hour, they can quickly grow tired of your content, no matter how unique or engaging it is. You have to leave them wanting more.

In terms of what your social media posts should contain. Content really is king. The videos, photos or text that you post cannot be repetitive or flat. Some of the most popular types of posts that have gone viral include humor and creativity. Ensure though that you keep your target audience in mind when creating content and keep it relevant.

3. Influencers and Bloggers

Once a very misunderstood industry. Businesses are now understanding the vast potential influencer marketing has for their business. Influencers are everyday people from all walks of life, who particularly inspire a group of individuals who idolize or respect their values and opinions. By expertly selecting influencers who match your product or service values you have the ability to reach a very niche but widespread target audience.

4. Communication

Social media is a means of communication after all. It is important to engage in conversation with not only your followers but other businesses and brands too. Being polite, witty, and friendly when interacting with others on social media is key.

However, you must ensure that any awkward or abusive comments and interactions from users are dealt with professionally and calmly. If you have an employee who controls your business account, it is of paramount importance that they understand this too. The world is watching, and social media has the power to spread rude or abusive reactions from a business very quickly. In the past it has even helped to completely destroy the reputation of brands, so count to 10 and reply with consideration and respect.

In conclusion, social media incorporates a huge number of target markets, although different platforms appeal to different types of users (for example Snapchat appeals to ages 18-25, and Facebook pre-dominantly ages 18-45), social media as a whole is used by almost every culture, age, and nationality on Earth. As long as you are providing enriching content and utilizing appropriate marketing techniques like influencers or adverts, you will begin to see positive growth in followers and engagement on your social accounts, which should transcend to sales and profit for your business.

4 Essential Characteristics Of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Gary

Millionaires, billionaires, successful entrepreneurs, and CEOs. What do they all have in common? Are there any particular characteristics that they possess that helps to define a successful entrepreneur? Below are 4 of the most common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

1. Excellent Communication and People Skills

A successful entrepreneur is highly confident in their ability to communicate with different groups of people, from all walks of life, from the factory workers who may create their product to their potential investors and peers. They are usually excellent at sparking motivation and enthusiasm in their workers and their excitement is contagious.

Their confidence in talking to people is of paramount importance to their success, as businesses develop more efficiently when the entrepreneur or owner engages in networking and communication with others who will help to advance the business. Successful conversations with manufacturers and a good rapport with their staff help them to stand apart from their competitors.

2. Self-Motivated and Determined

A successful entrepreneur does not need their motivation to come from an external source, they are determined to succeed and will always be moving forward to realize their goals. Whenever they hit a bump in the road or become discouraged their determination is the force that drives them to keep moving and seek an alternative path to solve the problems they may be facing.

3. Passion and Belief

We are not talking about passion in the romantic sense. Successful entrepreneurs are highly excited and motivated by their goals. The care and attention they provide to their business almost never switches off, they pour their heart and soul, blood, sweat, and tears into their business and they love their work; The joy they receive from their daily work goes beyond the salary they seek to earn.

4. Forward-thinking and willing to take risks

Looking to the future (and sometimes the past) is an important approach for a successful entrepreneur. Planning ahead and making decisions today that affect tomorrow can be a hard weight to bear. These types of individuals will usually possess some form of schedule or timeline that maps out the success they wish to achieve, this can be in the form of a 5 year or 10-year plan. Do they plan to branch out into a new market, outsource their manufacturing or they may even wish to sell the company at some stage, these decisions must be considered well in advance of their execution.

Every successful entrepreneur has to possess the ability to make hard decisions and potentially take risks. It is hard to conduct business without the possibility of any risk, small or large, a decision must be reached, and a successful entrepreneur will not look to others for action, they must provide the action themselves.

Confidence, motivation, passion, and forward-thinking, these characteristics amalgamated together create one potent mix for an incredibly successful entrepreneur. When you possess an idea or concept that you know you must realize, these traits will come to you naturally as you strive to make your idea a reality.

How To Be Successful In Life: 5 Life-Changing Success Tips for Young and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Alex

Establishing a company might be one of the hardest things that a young entrepreneur could ever do. And starting your business might also be a door to financial freedom however if it doesn’t work out based on your plans it might as well ruin personal finances.

As you build a business, it would be of great importance to have a smart plan to make sure that your personal wealth is being protected. Here are some tips that can help you when it comes to protecting personal finances due to business risks:

Put your eggs in many different baskets

There is a need for you to be prepared for every different situation therefore you should never invest all your money in your business. Allocate your money in different places like in assets, investment, cash, and emergency cash cushion. This emergency cash cushion would be needed for you to fall back on once you need it. Once bad things happen, you would already have money set aside to keep you afloat in tough times.

Hope only for the best and plan for the worst

Once you are in the world of business, there is a need to hope for the best and plan for the worst. There is a need for you to be optimistic however when shits occur you just have to be prepared. Avoid taking all your money out of cheque accounts to fund all the operational business costs. So that even though one of your businesses fail, you will have other sources of income to continue the business.

You must consider separating your business and personal expenses

This is indeed a must once you are starting a business. With regard to tax reporting, the business expenses are simply deductible from the business income. And also the more deductions that you would have the lesser tax that you are to pay. Just simply open a separate bank account for the business and personal finances.

Learn to manage your cash flow

Running out of cash is one of the reasons why a company fails. Cash flow is considered as a king and so the queen is the documentation. The first financial planning lesson that you must consider once running a company is to have a manageable cash flow. You will be at risk if you don’t know where your money will go and comes from. Just simply create your budget and then stick to it.

Ask for help

Being new as an entrepreneur, you must not forget tracking the business expenses and keeping the documentation as well. It would be very important to consider a simple accounting system in order to record as well as track the spending every month for you not to scramble for the information once you need it. Or you might as well use free financial tools once you don’t have the budget in investing in an accounting software. Freelance bookkeeper might be of great help as well.

Those are just some of the best tips about finances that you might consider once you are starting up with your business.

4 Essential Ways Mentally Strong People Deal With Rejection

Posted on by Krissy

As an entrepreneur you are going to run into rejection, it’s inevitable. You might turn in a proposal that gets denied or try to sell your services and get denied. Either way, it’s important to remember your goals and keep pushing towards them. Don’t let a simple no stop you from achieving your goals. Some of the most successful people have been denied multiple times before reaching their spotlight. Just keep that in mind on this journey of entrepreneurship.

Never take it personally. Most rejections are based on the wellbeing of the other company. If you get rejected it’s simply because they don’t think it’s a good fit. It’s not because you suck and your company sucks. It’s literally just business. Let business be business, and don’t take it to your heart. Don’t let it affect your motivation, or ability to market yourself.

You should use rejection as a tool to figure out what your next step is or even how you could present yourself better next time. Take it as a learning opportunity and figure out what needs to change in order to land that next deal. Your goal is to be successful and grow your company, so use rejection as a tool to guide you in a better direction. Just because one person denied you doesn’t mean there’s not someone else out there that has been looking for someone just like you.

Never be afraid of rejection. Rejection is part of the growth process, and without it, you wouldn’t know where to begin, or even where you should go next. You should never fear being denied because a denial is all it is. It doesn’t affect you negatively to be rejected. If anything, you and the person that denied you are the only ones that are even aware of the rejection. You don’t have to showcase how many rejections it took until you succeeded. Just remember that each rejection leads to another possible deal. Don’t hesitate to put yourself out there in fear of being rejected. Just live for the moment and if you get denied then that’s all that has happened is you got denied. You are still an entrepreneur and you are still striving.

Another thing is don’t give your hopes up to soon. Just keep in mind that rejection is inevitable, and it’s bound to happen to you at some point while venturing as an entrepreneur. Stop hesitating to put yourself out there, because, in the end, it will be nothing but beneficial. You can’t land deals, without putting yourself out there. Regardless of rejection, you are still an entrepreneur and you still need to get your services out there. You can’t wait around and expect something to come to you because that is not realistic. Like I said, rejection is bound to happen on your journey, just don’t let it stop you from marketing your services or company. Use it as a tool to succeed.

5 Ways To Take Action And Get Organized This New Year

Posted on by Alex


How do you welcome the year ahead?

New Year, like the sun, is almost shining its rays on us. Tonight, we will be celebrating the coming of new hope, new inspiration and a continuing triumph against the challenges in life. It is a display of loud and colourful fireworks thrown into the vast sky, a grateful celebration of the year we bid goodbye to and a hopeful invitation to a new slate in our life. But what does it really mean to you?

Every year, we are faced with heightened anticipation as we lay out our goals and plans for the year ahead. We think of it religiously in the promise of daily opportunities and 365 days of chances. The more it draws itself to us, the brighter we see ourselves in its glorifying blessings and exciting beginnings. We look forward and bombard the first midnight with endless wants and wishes that we sometimes tend to forget the sturdy platform where these plans of ours stand –our inner self. So how do we work on ourselves to be able to successfully map out an organized 2020?

Stay Focused

The way to an organized year entails hard work and conviction. There will be days when following all your set life draft may seem impossible and this is where staying focused on your vision comes in. Your self-productivity and time management play a lead role in keeping you present and motivated.

Prioritize Big Things and Lift Your Littlest Ambitions

Maneuver every now and then to reckon if you’re doing the right thing at the right time. Are you caught up between the rocks of your short term goals and long term aspirations? Visualize yourself and maximize time by weeding off your life-destroyers and pick up the points that strongly contribute to your self-effectiveness and spectacular rewards.

Start a Healthy Financial Management Strategy

Know all your finances by heart and arm yourself with strong self-discipline and a realistic budget. File your bills accordingly and limit your credit card expenses.

Leave Unnecessary Things

Needless to say, de-cluttering may be one of the most neglected words we have but this year, be the difference that you desire and start by offloading stuff that you don’t actually need. This goes beyond tangible things since often, your negative emotions like anger and grudges take over your life. Release the bad vibes in your life and carve a path for a peaceful surrounding and stress-free day to day living.

Make Friends With Your Calendar

Mark important dates such as school and business appointments and devote a time that is solely assigned for you to face your to-do lists and accomplish those set-off goals.

The countdown for New Year begins with you. It’s a blank space waiting for you to take as you shape your destiny so take it, draw your vision of life, write your big dreams in it and get up to steal them. 2020 is here, embrace it!

How to Get More Facebook Likes And Followers: 5 Tactics That Actually Work

Posted on by Alex

Since its inception, Facebook has become one of the most successful social media sites to advertise on. With just under 17% of the population of the planet signed up to Facebook, you can get a much larger audience than any other site to view your posts and engage with your brand. But to make any waves on Facebook, you need Likes and followers. A popular way in recent years to gain Likes is to buy them, but not only is this not authentic, it also doesn’t get your brand noticed by actual potential customers. So how can you get the Facebook Likes that you need, without paying for them?

Here are some killer tips for creating a successful Facebook page for your brand without spending a penny.

Fill out your page

Filling out your page may seem obvious, but a mistake that a lot of people make is not to fill out their pages entirely. You can add plenty of information to your Facebook page including links to other sites that you have, and all the information that a customer needs, and this is what they are looking for. A sparse Facebook page makes it look like you aren’t taking this seriously and may even make them question if you are a legitimate business in the first place.

Use Insights

Facebook insights is free to use and an invaluable tool to use when advertising on the site. You can access this through your business page on Facebook, and what it does is it lets you see what is working for your page. Which posts are seen the most, liked the most, what other pages your followers are interacting with and when. This is useful as you can schedule your posts for when the most people will see it, and also get an idea of the other kinds of things you could do in the future to gain popularity.

Use a great picture and heading

Appearance is everything these days, and even more so on social media. If you don’t already have a recognizable logo, you need to get one. Make your Facebook page look good, and people won’t mind liking and sharing. You can look at similar businesses to yours to see how they did theirs and how you can do better.

Invite likes

Make sure to invite those who like your posts, to like your page. This can be done by using other sites to drive traffic, or in your Facebook settings.

Share relevant content

Users like pages that share other things they want to see. If you can find videos or posts that are related to your area of expertise or your industry, users will find your page more engaging and entertaining, and thus, will interact more with it. Unless you are already an extremely popular brand, users will quickly get bored if you only ever share your own content. This can also help to build relationships with other users and businesses.

3 Most Underrated Things Successful People Do, Unsuccessful People Don’t Do

Posted on by Alex

You’ve probably come to a point in your life wherein you’re wondering why other people have gone ridiculously successfully why some remained otherwise. With all the things that constitute a person such as financial means, education, childhood, talent, as well as skill – it seems that most of us are anything but equal.

So what makes others successful? Could it be the people that they know? Their high profile connections? While this can be true, it actually boils down to the fact that successful people do what an average person would not be willing to do. If you fail to get the gist of what I’m saying, then let me elaborate further.

Some of the most successful people and leaders regarded in our generation right now include Mark Zuckerberg, Brian Tracy, Anthony Robbins, and Zig Ziglar. We also have celebrity entrepreneurs in the likes of Sir Richard Branson as well as Oprah Winfrey. There are also countless nameless and faceless people in the society that we take for granted but are also very successful in their own rights. And the common denominator among all these people, regardless if they are famous or not, is the fact that they do the things that other people would never want to do. These are the same people who do the things that other people consider as time-consuming, unnecessary, too hard, or dull.

So do you also want to be successful? So here are some of the things that successful people do in order to maintain the level of success that they have but other people fail to do. You, too, can be successful just like them as long as you follow these steps.

Successful people create a routine

People who are successful have a daily routine that they follow. Most of the time, they wake up on a specified time (usually earlier compared with others) and follow a “to do” list. Their routines are considered to be non-negotiable, thus, barely disrupted by any distractions. For most people, this is just a routine. But for them, it is a way of life.

Successful people condition their mind continuously

This is often seen in most successful people. They all nurture their mindset with positivity all the time. They do not allow negative thinking to get the best of them. They make sure that they only nurture positive thoughts and do away with the negative ones. They do this not only by changing their mindset and perspective but through learning like reading books and listening to inspiring audiobooks.

Successful people have high standards and they follow it

As Anthony Robbins once said, “for one to be able to be successful, one must continuously raise the standards”. These people already have high standards but yet they even set the bar higher for themselves. While unproductive people are typically too scared to take a leap of faith, successful people, on the other hand, are willing to take calculated risks and reach higher into the stars.

How To Succeed In Business: A True Story Of Success

Posted on by Alex

A lot of write-ups and books are available on topics about entrepreneurship, tips to become a successful entrepreneur and testimonials of successful entrepreneurs, among others. For some, there’s an impression that entrepreneurship is such a big word and an insurmountable ordeal. That it entails huge capital and a lot of machinery for one to become a successful entrepreneur. As explained well in books and write-ups, it is not a big word and only need simple elements to become a successful one. As being said, entrepreneurship is not a difficult ordeal to achieve. My take on this is every person can be an entrepreneur and a successful one in his own right. Having one’s own business even with a very small capital is already entrepreneurship. This last part is what I want to share as a successful entrepreneurship story of my close female friend.

My friend whose parents refused to support her college education made her way through college by putting a very low budgeted small eatery with some school supplies for sale with the help of some loan assistance and with the guidance of a business-minded friend. Her small eatery’s income was her main, and most of the time her only sole source of funds, that she used to pay for her tuition and other school fees. It also supported some of her family’s daily needs. There were also some desperate times where she needed to avail herself of small loans from loan sharks just so she can adequately finance her business and pay her tuition fees when her business income was not sufficient. Her limited finances and her being a self-supporting student did not discourage her a bit to pursue her college degree.

After she graduated from college with a Hotel and Restaurant Management degree, she decided to concentrate on her small business rather than become a mere employee to companies, big or small. With sheer hard work, love, and passion, she has now opened a new branch and so she is now operating two eateries that just started as a low budgeted business! Now, she is enjoying running her eateries and is now able to buy things with her business income which she could not afford during her college days. She is now so able to support her family’s needs and contribute to paying the bills.

My friend’s story tells that one need not have a huge capital to be an entrepreneur and be successful at it. I am truly proud of what my friend has achieved after all the obstacles and hardships that she had to undergo which others may not be able to surmount. Based on her story, it just needs guts, determination, passion, a sense of purpose and refusal to succumb to mediocrity to flourish into becoming your own boss and not just having a boss. Of course, hard work takes a big portion of the success pie. She is an example of a successful entrepreneur in its simplest and truest sense.