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The 13 Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur

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Sourced from Infinity Masculine

Launching a business can be an exhilarating prospect for many, yet the reality of becoming an entrepreneur is rarely a walk in the park. It’s essential to be aware of the harsh realities associated with owning and managing your own venture. This article will cover those difficult truths and provide advice on how to forge ahead toward success despite them.

Being a business owner can be arduous, intimidating, and demanding. It often involves taking huge risks and placing considerable amounts of energy and resources into something that may not yield the desired outcome. Additionally, it can be emotionally draining due to having to deal with public scrutiny, customer relationships, and financial instability. Moreover, you might find yourself wearing multiple hats at once as you oversee marketing campaigns, handle branding initiatives, create strategies for growth, and make essential decisions regarding operations.

On top of that, there are unexpected hardships that come with self-employment, such as having to wear many hats at once or dealing with unpredictable circumstances like changes in the industry or economic fluctuations. Finally, it’s important to remember that failure is always a possibility, no matter how hard you work or how well you plan; sometimes, it is impossible to defy unfavourable odds.

Although entrepreneurship contains its fair share of troubles and tribulations, it doesn’t mean potential business owners should shy away from pursuing their dreams. Those who are properly prepared for what lies ahead have a greater chance of prevailing in spite of these challenges. Here are some helpful tips on being ready: research your field extensively; identify your skillset; create a detailed strategy for success; develop sources for guidance; build supportive networks; ensure financial stability; maintain a proper work-life balance; remain open-minded throughout the journey; and don’t forget to embrace failure & learn from setbacks along the way.

If you want to take on the rewarding but complex role of the business owner, then do so armed with knowledge & an understanding that hard work pays off rather than running into it blind-sighted unprepared & over-ambitious. Take charge today by educating yourself on entrepreneurship & its delightful opportunities in addition to its daunting obstacles.

1. Financial Risk

Enterprising individuals who set out to start their own businesses must confront the spectre of financial risk. Nothing is certain when it comes to launching a business, and entrepreneurs have much to lose, including time, money, energy, and mental health. The potential for significant debt or even total loss cannot be ignored. Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate the financial hazards associated with ownership, such as prudent budgeting and seeking investors or venture capital funding. Nevertheless, despite taking precautions, the ambitious businessperson still faces an unavoidable danger that can never truly be eliminated.

2. Lack of Job Security

As an entrepreneur, there is an inherent lack of job security. Securing and retaining clients requires consistent work and effort, often even in times when demand for your services may be low. It’s up to you to ensure the survival of your company and drive the business forwards, which can take its toll both physically and mentally; it’s a seemingly never-ending cycle of searching for new opportunities, keeping customers satisfied, and addressing problems swiftly. This precarious lifestyle is taxing, unyielding, and unpredictable, making it difficult to plan ahead with any assurance.

3. Unpredictable Income

Being an entrepreneur entails a financially unsteady livelihood. At times, you might have lucrative months where you make a considerable amount of money, while other months may be quite challenging to make ends meet. Such a precarious situation can cause immense stress, and that’s why it is crucial to strategize your expenses and plan ahead so that any potential slow times won’t leave you in dire straits.

4. Isolation

Entrepreneurship can be lonely, leaving entrepreneurs feeling isolated and lacking meaningful connections with others. Working from home brings the risk of succumbing to days without interacting with people, and this can have a potentially damaging impact on mental health and motivation. This social detachment can significantly hamper an entrepreneur’s efforts leading to extreme exhaustion and tediousness.

Therefore, it is important for entrepreneurs to explore ways of creating meaningful networking opportunities and actively seek out dialogue with fellow business owners in order to realize their ambitions. Additionally, breaking away from the comfort zone of the home office is vital since loneliness restricts creativity and impairs productivity. Taking part in discussions with peers helps forge connections that are essential for a fruitful entrepreneurial journey.

By being proactive, nurturing relationships as well as utilizing digital communication networks such as LinkedIn, founders can remain engaged with their peers whilst avoiding the negative repercussions of isolation. Although becoming an entrepreneur may involve periods of solitude, by taking effective measures such as joining professional organizations or reaching out virtually to other professionals, one can remain connected to their industry in an invigorating, stimulating, and inspiring way.

5. Time Management

For entrepreneurs, time management can be a daunting undertaking. Responsible for all business aspects, they often have to juggle many tasks simultaneously and may end up working long hours and weekends. To survive this workload, it is vital to craft a schedule and adhere to it strictly. Following this plan will ensure that essential undertakings are completed quickly while also ensuring enough breaks to prevent burnout – a major problem in the entrepreneur landscape. Adequate time management can yield superior results and aid immensely in running the business efficiently and competently.

6. Lack of Guidance

Becoming an entrepreneur can be both a splendid chance and a pitfall. You have the autonomy to make decisions that are beneficial for your business, but it may also mean a lack of advice and direction. To succeed, finding mentors offering support and insights is imperative. Additionally, you must network with fellow entrepreneurs or attend courses to gain the necessary know-how. Thus, it is essential to locate reliable guides that can provide guidance and feedback in order to steer you in the proper direction. Moreover, meeting other entrepreneurs and taking classes is vital for attaining the required information needed for success in your venture. Therefore, don’t overlook the need to seek out wise counsellors who will offer judicious opinions and helpful suggestions.

7. Public Perception

As a business owner, the challenge of public perception looms large. After all, the successes and errors you make in your business are a direct reflection of you and how you work. It’s only natural to make mistakes from time to time, but it is vital that these mistakes be quickly acknowledged, accepted, and owned up to. Doing so demonstrates courage and integrity on your part, which can go far in restoring or even enhancing public opinion about your company. Building a positive reputation takes time and effort; one misstep can easily erase months or even years of progress. However, if handled properly by taking responsibility for a said mistake, it can often strengthen the bonds between you and your customers – allowing you to continue building a strong, reliable brand.‍

8. Time Investment

Taking the plunge into entrepreneurship can require a massive time commitment in order to reap the rewards. Business owners must be prepared to invest countless hours researching, networking, and strategizing for success. This may include overseeing not only their own activities but also managing any employees or contractors brought on board. As such, entrepreneurs may find themselves dealing with high levels of stress and extended working hours. Becoming an entrepreneur is no small feat: it takes dedication, resourcefulness, and fortitude to make it in the business world.

9. Legal Risk

When establishing a business, there is an array of legal issues that must be taken into account. This could involve selecting the proper corporate structure, abiding by tax regulations, procuring valid permits and licenses, and so forth. If any of these steps are found to have been completed incorrectly, companies may face serious financial penalties or even potential criminal proceedings. It is, therefore, essential for entrepreneurs to thoroughly review all legal documents and contact a lawyer if needed for further guidance.

To guarantee sufficient protection from legal risks, businesses must remain up-to-date on current legal regulations and actively work to avoid costly mistakes. Thoroughly studying paperwork, seeking knowledgeable advice from attorneys, and staying informed through reliable channels are all important proactive measures that can help reduce the probability of facing hefty fines or criminal liability.

10. Competition

Navigating the modern business world is often challenging and full of obstacles. It’s no secret that competition can be overwhelming, with established companies as well as startups vying for clients and investors alike. This means taking a proactive approach to staying ahead of the curve – monitoring current trends in pricing strategies and marketing techniques, understanding the risks that come with starting your own business and having the courage to succeed despite these hard truths being essential. Through careful planning and diligent effort, an intrepid entrepreneur can achieve great rewards.

The key takeaway here is that entrepreneurship requires dedication, perseverance and a comprehensive strategy if it’s to provide true success. From assessing potential difficulties to taking advantage of lucrative opportunities, it’s important to maintain a positive outlook while balancing realistic expectations. With enough diligence and ingenuity, it’s possible to establish a successful venture regardless of the fierce competition in today’s market – an endeavour accompanied by its own set of unique, exhilarating and fulfilling rewards.

11. Time Commitment

Being an entrepreneur is an endeavour that calls for massive amounts of time and effort. Long hours and late nights are the norms, making it essential to be committed if you want to succeed. What’s more, hard choices must be made in regard to how much time can be dedicated away from work in favour of other areas of life. Thus, substantial dedication and tedious organization are necessary for achieving a healthy balance between work and leisure. From preparatory research and planning through to the final stretches, it takes rigorous perseverance and mindful composure to conquer the arduous task of becoming a triumphant business owner.‍

12. Relationships

It is essential to be mindful of the relationships you have with your loved ones. Starting a business can be all-consuming, causing distance and disconnection if not managed carefully. This, in turn, may lead to feeling lonely, isolated, and even clinically depressed. It is crucial to keep in touch with important people in your life despite being busy. Being an entrepreneur has many positive aspects as well and should not dissuade anyone; with strong determination, proper planning, and the right mindset, success awaits.

13. Stress & Anxiety

Running a business can be an incredibly demanding endeavour, filled with stress and anxiety. It’s important for entrepreneurs to make sure they are taking care of their mental health by setting aside time for themselves, finding activities that reduce or help manage stress levels like yoga or meditation, and having support systems in place through family members or friends. Self-care is essential in order to ensure that the emerging pressures of being an entrepreneur don’t have a long-term detrimental effect on one’s emotional well-being. Adopting mindful, beneficial, restorative, constructive, preventative, all-encompassing, and purposeful approaches to self-care can all help entrepreneurs stay grounded and focused on their goals.

The Bottom Line

It takes a lot of grit and dedication to become an entrepreneur – mental and financial strength is essential. But when done correctly, the rewards can be abundant. You must be aware that there will always be highs and lows, yet success is possible through proper planning and hard work. With know-how and the right preparation in hand, embarking on the entrepreneurial path can prove to be an extraordinary, fruitful, successful, rewarding, ambitious, gratifying, and life-changing decision.

Feature Image Credit: Unsplash

Sourced from Infinity Masculine

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3 Things Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Failure In Business

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By Jesse James

When it comes to the entrepreneurial journey, learning is the pathway to success. That learning usually comes from failure. No entrepreneur likes to fail, but the fact is most do.

Some very successful entrepreneurs of yesterday and today experienced failure and learned from it on their way to success:

  • American inventor Thomas Edison tried thousands and thousands of times to invent the electric light bulb before eventually succeeding.
  • Walt Disney’s first animation company, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, went bankrupt, but Disney went on from there to create an entertainment empire.
  • Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple, was fired from the company in the mid-1980s but was hired back in 1997 and led the company to meteoric growth.
  • Author J.K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to 12 publishing houses, which all declined to publish it—now more than 120 million copies of this book have been sold.

These are just a few examples of famous entrepreneurs who experienced failure on their way to success.

Statistics bear out that failure and setbacks are common on the road to business success. Consider that data collected by the SBA from 1994 to 2019 shows that approximately 68% of new enterprises survived at least two years, and after five years the new business survival rate dropped to less than 50%.

While failures may be a given in the entrepreneurial journey, failure is not fatal. Successful entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes and apply these learnings to the pursuit of their dreams. Some of the most important things these and other entrepreneurs learned from failure in business include how to be resilient, fearless, and adaptable.

What we can learn from failing in business

Resiliency

Failure teaches entrepreneurs the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, which is the definition of resiliency. With every failure, entrepreneurs can learn tenacity and perseverance (think Thomas Edison), two key characteristics of resiliency that are critical for pushing through missteps and fighting the urge to quit.

Research shows how important resiliency is to business success. A study conducted by researchers at Smith School of Business at Queen’s University followed first-time entrepreneurs over a period of two years as they developed, launched, and operated new enterprises. The study found that resilient entrepreneurs viewed business setbacks as puzzles they were fully able to solve and tackle. The researchers noted that entrepreneurs who had this “challenge appraisal” mindset “were more motivated and able to be proactive in identifying ways to improve business processes and outcomes, and to adjust them on the fly.”

The study also found that resilience was a crucial skill that helped entrepreneurs respond to unexpected challenges and that businesses owned by resilient entrepreneurs were more likely to survive than other businesses.

Fearlessness

Embarking on a journey of entrepreneurship is a risky proposition and is full of uncertainties that often elevate fear of failure and rejection. These fears can stop aspiring entrepreneurs from facing risk and pursuing their dreams.

A Zapier-commissioned Harris Poll survey found that approximately three in five Americans (61%) have had an idea for starting a business, and about a third (34%) have had more than one. The survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of those people—92%—did not turn their ideas into a business. For 33% of survey respondents, fear of failure is what stopped them from pursuing their dream of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs who have failed learn first-hand what Winston Churchill meant when he said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” With this perspective, entrepreneurs no longer allow fear to stop them in their tracks. Instead, they view failure as an opportunity to learn from mistakes and use what they learned from failure in business to move forward despite their fears.

Learning from adversity is what helps take the fear out of failure. Devoting time to analysing what happened, why it happened, what worked, and what didn’t provides the clarity and insight required to determine what changes need to be made to achieve success. The knowledge and practical experience that comes from failure inspires a fearlessness and confidence in entrepreneurs that drives them to try again and again.

Additionally, the fear of rejection often prevents entrepreneurs from even trying. Jia Jang’s 100 Days of Rejection Therapy challenge truly puts this into perspective. Without even trying, many will simply write something off as impossible because they’re scared of being told “no.” However, Jang’s experiment showed that the worst thing that an entrepreneur can do isn’t asking for something they might not get—it’s not trying at all.

Adaptability

Failure is also a lesson in adaptability. When one idea or approach fails, entrepreneurs must be able to adjust to new conditions and be willing to experiment and test new ideas. Embracing change, staying nimble, and pivoting are part of the adaptability that helps entrepreneurs overcome obstacles, learn, and innovate. When industries, markets, and customer preferences change, this adaptability also helps entrepreneurs navigate these new situations and problem-solve to make an idea work or come up with a new one.

Netflix is a good example of a company that adapted its way to success. Founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in 1997, the company’s first business model centred on allowing consumers to rent and buy physical DVD movies. In 1999, the company added a subscription offering that allowed people to rent as many DVDs as they wanted, receiving rentals in the mail. The company adapted its business model again in 2007, moving away from physical media to take advantage of new technology that made it possible to stream content instantaneously via the internet.

Sometimes you need to fail in order to succeed

Of the more than 31 million entrepreneurs in the United States, many have experienced failure on their road to success. They have tried and failed, and likely failed a few more times during their journey. These failures are far from fatal. Entrepreneurs who learn the lessons of resiliency, fearlessness, and adaptability from failure in business are able to conquer obstacles and setbacks to achieve success.

Michael Jordan captured this idea well when he said: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Jesse James

Jesse James is Director of Strategic Partnerships and Solutions at VizyPay. He is 15-year veteran of sales, sales leadership, and entrepreneurship. He was previously Director, Recruitment Services at DHI Group, Inc and Chief Revenue Officer at FiQore Technologies, Inc. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Sourced from Forbes

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How To Succeed As A Digital Marketing Entrepreneur In 2022

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By Amine Rahal

There’s no doubt that we are seeing a surge in digital business and digital marketing needs from businesses that are not necessarily operating online. This is especially true when potential clients are millennials and Gen-Zers, as they are likely connected to social apps and digital environments in greater numbers than their older peers.

So, how can you successfully take advantage of the trend of digital marketing? Let’s have a look at what it takes to succeed as a digital marketing entrepreneur. To succeed, you should pay attention to the following aspects of digital marketing.

• SEO.

• Social media presence.

• Pay-per-click (PPC).

• Email marketing.

• Google-friendly website.

As a digital marketing business owner of over two decades, I have a lot of experience to lean on in these respects. Let me take you through each of these important channels to help bring you up to speed on the basics of digital marketing entrepreneurship.

SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the best free tools you can use in digital marketing. SEO can help you drive organic traffic to your websites, create more leads and generate new clients. What you need to know about SEO in 2022 is that it is becoming more and more competitive.

Thousands of websites are optimized for Google’s PageRank algorithm to appear as high up on the search results list as possible. Many companies are targeting the same words, creating a tougher environment for ranking your content at the top. So, use online keyword research tools to research keywords you can target that have a low difficulty. Basically, you should look for keywords that don’t have so much coverage.

You can also use online tools to help monitor the traffic your site receives and to find keywords and topics that you can target. There are many tools you can pay to use, or you can use Google Analytics, which offers a free version.

Social Media Presence

Social media is also a very valuable tool and will likely become more central to any digital marketing business as time goes by. Data from Statista shows that there are 3.78 billion social network users globally, and the largest social media ad market is in the United States.

Having a strong social media presence is, therefore, a must to help grow your digital marketing business while keeping in touch with customers and building customer loyalty. Social media can help you create brand awareness and give your customers a better overall experience.

This digital marketing tool has the following advantages for your clients and leads.

• Quick interactions for feedback and answers to questions.

• Easy access to your brand’s services and products.

• Social engagements with your business brand.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

PPC digital marketing allows you to get your brand, services and products at the top of Google’s search page with the use of paid ads. Every time a user clicks on your ad, they are redirected to your page, and you are charged a fee.

Using a PPC marketing tool allows you to grow brand awareness and attract new leads. PPC marketing tools allow you to track the performance of your ads. This allows you to calculate your return on investment, as you can see how many clicks turn into sales.

These tools also allow you to choose which geographic location you want your ads to appear in, what time of the day they’ll appear and the amount of cash you wish to spend for a given period.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is another important part of any digital marketing campaign. It may not bring the wide impact social media can create, but it is still an important tool. You can use email campaigns to create brand awareness, nurture leads and connect with active users from your website.

Various companies offer solutions for entrepreneurs to manage, construct and send their emails. You will need to investigate which service would work best for your digital marketing business. They often offer very different features with different target audiences. So, you will need to find the best match for your needs.

Google Friendly Website

Nowadays, just about every business, even a local brick-and-mortar store, has a website. This is good, as they are all potential clients of a digital marketer. But how do we get people searching on the internet to find them?

Google took around 85.5% of the desktop market share of internet search engines as of January 2022, according to Statista data. So, it is fundamental that your website is Google-friendly. When you run a digital marketing business, having a website that can rank as high as possible in a Google search is central to success.

Make sure the website loads quickly and is safe to use. If you are getting started, pick a website builder that has a secure and reliable hosting service. Improve the website’s performance with appropriate SEO tweaks to make it more attractive for Google’s algorithm.

If possible, add videos to the website. For example, you can add videos explaining what the company does and its services. The Google ranking algorithm also takes into account the amount of time users spend on your website. Therefore, adding a short video of a few minutes in length can improve the website’s ranking if people spend time watching the video.

Bottom Line

The digital marketing business is a great area to work in for various reasons. You have a potentially global reach. The power of the internet is that you are only as far away as the time it takes data to reach your clients. It is extremely cost-effective; with small amounts of money, you can get started and progress toward making your initial revenue.

Monitoring results could not be easier, as everything is digitalized. You know exactly what you put in and exactly what you get out of every action and investment. Digital marketing can have a great and verifiable impact on any business and can help it build a network of repeat customers.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Amine Rahal

Sourced from Forbes

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How to become an Internet Photography Entrepreneur

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By Eric Kim

Whenever I meet new people and try to tell people what I do, it is difficult. I’m not quite sure how to introduce myself. but upon thinking about it for a little bit longer, The best way I would describe myself as an Internet photography entrepreneur. That is, my passion is using the power of the Internet, and to promote photography and interesting ways.

What is your personal goal?

I think a lot of people want to pursue photography to make their passion their living. But is the end all goal?

if so, then the way to do this is simple. To make a living from your passion and photography, sell either your services or your products online or in person.

And what is the best product or service to sell? I think it has to do with education. Either sell workshops, in person experiences, or teach online zoom workshops.

Or another idea is to develop hard physical products, like haptic industries. Produce and sell camera straps, or other camera accessories.

Create your own website and platform

The easiest first thing you could do is create your own website blog platform. Honestly at this point it’s all the same thing. Go on bluehost.com and install wordpress.org and start with any starter theme and just start posting. and what is the goal blogging? To never stop posting.

To niche or not to niche?

I say just pursue your passion. for example, my passion was street photography, and for over a decade I have blogged on street photography and other things.

I see a simple recipe for success is this: focus 80% of your blog posts on your niche, and allow the other 20% to be other random things on your mind.

Blogging versus vlogging

Also when it comes to blogging, focus at least 80 to 90% of your focus on blog posts. Other 10 to 20% on YouTube vlogs. why? Because ultimately YouTube is not your platform. But YouTube is the second worlds biggest search engine, which is a good way to help you get discovered. And make sure in your YouTube videos to always mention your first and last name in your own personal website or blog.

You are the brand and product

Don’t get suckered into becoming a servant or a slave of another brand. Rather, promote yourself in your own personal brand above everything else. for example, better for Eric Kim to promote Eric Kim than Eric Kim to promote Leica or any other camera brand.

How to get discovered and how to get exposure

A simple way to get discovered is through Google SEO, that is, Google search engine optimization. That is when somebody searches for something on Google they find you. A simple way to do this it’s just think about what information you’re looking for, and write about it.

For example, in the early days I was very interested in how to conquer my own personal fears and street photography, and so I wrote blog post on that. Same thing goes with finding the best cameras for street photography, and then I also blog about that and my own personal experiences.

What is an expert?

An expert is literally somebody with experience. And if you have attempted or tried out something, do you have some sort of level of experience. And therefore anyone with even a tiny bit of experience as an expert.

Do not get intimidated by thinking that you don’t have enough experience. Because no matter how much of a newbie you are, there will always be someone else with less experience than you.

Your own personal raw experiences are king

My greatest advice is just talk about your experiences openly and honestly. Don’t sugar-coat anything. Be extremely raw and opinionated.

And don’t worry about getting hate or critique. If anything, the best measure of success the amount of hate, and negative feedback. Because at least you struck a chord with people. And the cardinal sin of the Internet is this: being boring.

By Eric Kim

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Entrepreneur Who Lost $10K Launching His Product On Amazon Lists The Biggest Mistakes To Avoid A Similar Outcome

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By Chris Illuminati,

Launching a successful Amazon product is both exciting and challenging too.

Getting a product on the biggest buying website in the world takes time, knowledge, and patience.

Sellers often fail to realize it takes more effort than just listing a product for sale and waiting for the money to pour in.

AJ Rantz is a former bartender turned entrepreneur who turned his idea for drink mix recipe cards into a business after going viral on TikTok.

“Over the past 10 months, I’ve been able to launch cocktail cards my very own business on Amazon, and it’s been absolutely incredible,” explains Rantz.

The entrepreneur was willing to share that while his recipe cards are currently selling well on Amazon, he made several costly mistakes when first launching his business.

He chronicles those mistakes in this video, “The Top 5 Mistakes Starting on Amazon,” and explains how he lost $10,000 in the process.

The first big mistake Rantz made was not outsourcing a bulk of the day-to-day work.

At first, Rantz launched the product and designed all of the cards on his own.

Unfortunately for the mixologist, he’s not a designer, and his original cards looked amateur. Eventually, Rantz hired a designer but admits that he should have outsourced other tasks as well, like social media management, video editing, and general email and DM correspondence.

The second mistake Rantz admits to making while launching his Amazon business was not trusting his gut.

“There were a lot of decisions that we had to go back to because I just didn’t trust my gut,” explains Rantz.

Rantz’s mistake involved including QR codes on each card, which he had initially, and then took off each card. Finally, he realized the QR code was a smart idea – after polling his fans – and put them back on each card.

This wishy-wash approach costs Rantz time and redesign dollars.

Not being firm with expectations from people was Rantz’s third mistake when launching his product on Amazon. He wanted to avoid confrontation, but in the end, the processes took longer because he wasn’t specific about what he wanted and expected from employees.

Rantz’s fourth mistake was believing he could please every single customer.

“A good example of this is when I got my first order. I did 700 units by plane and 800 units by ocean.

Well, the plane came to me in a week, and the ocean took around five weeks, and I really had no idea we were gonna sell so well. On Indiegogo, we actually did really good marketing, and by the time I got the plane shipment, I had sold all 700 units already.

At that point, I’ve already had this expectation that I’m shipping out to customers that I just convinced myself that if anyone purchases on Indiegogo, they would not be willing to wait a month for the product to be shipped to them, which is kind of silly, because Indiegogo is a crowdsourcing platform where people invest to be one of the first to get a project.

They typically know that it’s gonna take anywhere from 1-to-6 months to get their product.”

Rantz estimates this mistake cost him anywhere from $5-10K.

And the final mistake Rantz made while launching his product on Amazon was not continuing to push the product after he’d sold out.

Rantz said he waited three weeks to promote the cards again in hopes of supplies being replenished. Many of his mentors told him to keep pushing the product even when sold out.

Rantz estimates this costly mistake also lost him about $5-10K in sales.

By Chris Illuminati

Sourced from WEALTHGANG

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10 Essential Tips For Small Business and Startups From Expert Entrepreneurs

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By Carlla Keyl

These days, it seems like everyone is hoping to become an entrepreneur and come up with “the next big thing”. Who can blame them? When successful, the benefits to owning a start up are obvious: being your own boss, creating something from scratch, bringing value to the people around you and, of course, making a bit of coin along the way. But the key phrase in that equation is, “when successful.” Too often, start-ups fail — 75 percent of them, to be exact, says The Harvard Business Review. So what goes wrong?

Failure doesn’t preclude you from ultimately succeeding

Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. Or at least, not by nature. To run a good business you have to be able to assume the proper role. If that means doing things and acting in ways that don’t come naturally, then so be it. Otherwise, you will risk failing like that 75 percent. Here are eight crucial points the pros agree are prerequisites to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Take risks and be willing to fail

Failure doesn’t preclude you from ultimately succeeding — in fact, it’s often a necessary step. The best entrepreneurs don’t let the fear of failure prevent them from going for what they believe to be a great idea. Some of those risks won’t pan out, but the ones that do will be the ones that define you. READ MORE

By Carlla Keyl

Sourced from Medium

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What skills do you need to be an entrepreneur?

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Sourced from Android Authority

The idea of making money completely independent of any employer is a dream for many. But what skills do you really need to start living with that kind of freedom?

When you’re working for a company, you’re often a single part of a larger machine. You only have to focus on being the best gear or crankshaft that you can be to keep collecting that paycheck.

For many, this is a perfectly fine way of surviving. They occupy their desk, they collect their cash, and they “live” during the hours they can be home.

What does it take to live free?

There are some, though, who want more freedom. They aren’t satisfied being a piece of a machine. They want the flexibility and sense of pride that comes from steering their own life from the ground up.

When you’re running your own operation, you are the machine. That means all of your individual parts (skill sets) have to be up to snuff if you want to be profitable. So what skills do you need to be a business online?

Core skills for the entrepreneur:

  • Marketing
  • SEO
  • Copywriting
  • Business management
  • Data management and visualization

That list isn’t so daunting, is it?

Unfortunately, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Each of these bullet points represents a body of knowledge that entire degrees are dedicated to.

Do you really need 5 degrees to be a successful online business?

No! Thankfully not!

In the past, when information was less available, higher education or apprenticeship were the only ways to access this knowledge. Nowadays, you don’t have to waste your time with humanities classes you’re not interested in or fill out a tedious list of requirements all while accruing a debilitating amount of debt.

All the specific skills you need are readily available through online courses.

With online courses, you strategically invest in yourself. Individually they can be pretty pricey, but if you hunt around, you can find relevant bundles that fit all of your needs.

Which brings us to the Solopreneur Expert Bundle.

What’s in it?

Here’s the full list:

Bought individually, these courses would run you over $1,800. However, for the next few days you can snag lifetime access to all these resources for $39.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not! Course creators often bundle new courses with previously successful ones to boost enrollment in the new course. Their marketing ploy is your opportunity get the gold without breaking the bank.

If you’re interested in freeing yourself from the grind and striking out on your own, consider investing $39 in yourself. Get the full breakdown by clicking the button below!

Check it out!

Interested in more deals that help you escape the 9-5 or improve your existing skills? Check out the Savvy Shoppers Hub over here!

Sourced from Android Authority

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This 5 Step Personal Development Plan Made Me a Better Entrepreneur

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By John Boitnott

Expanding your skill set or cultivating better health can only boost your business.

Entrepreneurs tend to focus the bulk of their energy on developing and tracking a business plan. This is essential to success for any startup. But when you focus on long term goals for the business, it’s easy to forget about something just as important – developing an action plan for yourself personally.

Following a path of self-improvement can help a business owner build new skills and improve old ones. When you focus on goal setting and learning more about yourself, it can have positive effects on your business as well. By cultivating healthy personal habits like exercise and stress reduction, or work habits like time management or continuing education, your business grows as well in measurable ways.

It’s time to create a personal development plan that will help your company’s bottom line. Here are five steps to try:

1. Identify characteristics and values that reflect personal and professional goals.

When starting this personal growth process, don’t obsess over what successful people do or try to tackle every element of your personal or professional life. I start by brainstorming and writing down any goals or values I have for myself. Remember, set goals about you as an individual, not profit margins or conversion rates.

Once you have a wide range of big goals listed, select no more than two for this step. You can select one personal goal and one related to the business, or two personal goals or values. These development needs should provide plenty of work over the course of a quarter or a year, depending on the size of your goal or the level of focus you can commit.

Here are some examples of personal development goals that entrepreneurs and other professionals I know incorporated into their lives.

  • The designer who found an online course on programming and design to help him expand his skills. He convinced his CEO to pay for the course. He used the skills he learned to benefit the startup.
  • The CEO who reads five business books each quarter. She wants to gain knowledge and make better decisions that she can apply to her company and life. She wants better time management and improved employee relationships.
  • The executive coach who keeps a daily journal to review and reflect on actions and decisions.
  • My meditation practice and yoga routine helps me increase focus, productivity, and patience.

2. Assess what needs to improve with the help of a professional.

If you’re having trouble identifying what you should change, or just personal development planning in general, you may want to consider speaking with a mentor, coach, or advisor. Not only will they be able to see things from a more objective standpoint, but they also can leverage their experience and knowledge to guide you on your individual development plan.

Getting this advice before creating the personal development plan can facilitate writing and launching it. Without an external perspective, you may struggle to go in the right direction.

3. Draft a written personal development plan.

An entrepreneur is their business. Therefore, craft a personal development plan with the same approach and dedication that goes into a traditional business plan or career development. Include short term goals, timeframes, tactics, resources, end-goals, and metrics to test success.

This provides an ideal framework for filling in specific aspects about you that align with your personal development goals. Each personal development goal should have a purpose, tactics, SWOT analysis, desired outcome, and set of resources. It should have a realistic timeline for achievement based on the entrepreneur’s goals, schedule and responsibilities.

4. Execute each personal development goal.

Think of each goal like a marketing campaign or a work project. It may help motivate you more. While your actual plan provides a clear roadmap for the personal development journey, writing down the purpose of the goal, message, benefits, and results can be inspirational.

It’s the difference between following a recipe and tasting it along the way to invoke the senses. This approach can create an emotional connection to the goal, which can add an extra layer of motivation. Creating a campaign around each goal also is an opportunity to make it fun rather than seem like work.

5. Review your personal development plan on a quarterly basis.

Review your goals, values and achievements on a quarterly basis. It’s enough time to see changes, but not so long that you lose sight of these goals. Take stock of how you and your business have changed, as well as places where you’d still like to make improvements.

Record the findings for reflection. The process, strategic plan, and campaign can also inform the approach for the next personal development goal on the list.

Personal and professional development can both be a lifelong process. Trying to reach your full potential in both areas simultaneously could become a defining competitive advantage that’s well worth the investment.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By John Boitnott

Sourced from Inc.

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Entrepreneur ‘comes clean’ about struggles, triumphs of becoming one’s own boss

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By Carissa Villacorta,

It was 2012 when Rechelle Balanzat decided to give entrepreneurship another try with Juliette, an invitation-only mobile app offering premium dry cleaning and laundry services.

She had tried putting up business before with a social media marketing company that did not quite take off the way she wanted.

Even though she faced many hardships in launching and then shutting down her first company, Balanzat felt more confident and in control when it came to her second one.

Not only was she armed with a great idea and a desire to change the status quo, she had also gained a wealth of knowledge from her previous experience. So, while there were risks, she happily jumped back into the game.

Fast forward to 2018 and Juliette has expanded from providing service to just three buildings in New York City to its first brick-and-mortar store. And not only has its clientele grown over the years, it now also includes supermodels, A-list celebrities, and award-winning singers.

Balanzat recalled how she built her business and what lessons she drew from her journey.

‘Humility is the greatest obstacle, failure the best teacher’

Under normal circumstances, humility is seen as a good thing – a virtue, Balanzat said. But she said it is the opposite when one is an entrepreneur building a brand, and have something to say.

“You can’t be shy. You have to be able to put the business and yourself out there or you won’t get anywhere and achieve anything. That’s exactly what I did,” she said.

“When I first launched Juliette, I approached a former client who owned several buildings and I asked if it would be okay to introduce my service to the residents. I got the go signal and went to town with the promotions. I put up signs in the elevators, sent out email blasts, installed a stand in the lobby and even gifted everyone with laundry bags.”

Another thing Balanzat saw differently as a business owner is failure.

“For some people, it’s (failure) quite possibly the worst thing that can happen, but not to me. It lets you learn so much about yourself – your limits and your capabilities. Once you know what those things are, you can manage yourself better in the real world. And beyond failure? That’s where all the great ideas are; that’s where all the amazing things happen,” she said.

‘It can’t be all heart; but it can’t be all brain either.’

Balanzat advises: Chase what you want in life, but balance it with what you need to succeed.

Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Balanzat was with the Kohlberg Capital Corporation and then with Stellarhead. Here, she worked hard and realized that if she exerted the same effort for herself, she would get ahead so much faster.

But things were not as simple as she thought.

Before Juliette, Balanzat had a social media marketing agency. She had to close it down because she realized how difficult it was to scale.

“I studied the numbers, did my homework and opted to cut my losses, and just move forward,” she said.

Balanzat said the idea for Juliette was formed when she noticed that cleaners were not taking care of her clothes the way that she had wanted. Apart from this, she saw that not many were tech-savvy or had a sense of customer service or marketing. This is when she decided to launch a company that would deliver quality service with the convenience of technology.

“When I first started, it was all about breaking even, but as I grew into it, I started to find the work more fulfilling and meaningful. I remembered what my intentions were as an entrepreneur and what my goals were for Juliette. So now, every day is a balancing act between profit and purpose,” she said

‘Don’t go by the book just because everyone says so.’

Success is not a blueprint, but a personal journey.

Balanzat advises that people have to carve out their own path and educate themselves with books, podcasts, and through mentors. But they must also remember to pick and choose from the things they have learned, and apply these to their own experiences.

“You don’t just copy and paste how other people have achieved success. If it was that easy, everyone would’ve done it by now,” she said.

“Keep in mind that whatever resources you might have, they’re there to help you be the best version of yourself, but if you’re only reading one book, listening to one podcast, and conversing with one mentor, then that’s never going to happen.”

To know more about this project, visit www.phtimeisnow.com

By Carissa Villacorta, PHTimeIsNow

Carissa Villacorta is an author and a publicist. She is the creator of #PHTimeIsNow. She has been running her own PR firm in New York since 2007, with high-profile business executives and multinational companies as her clients.

Sourced from ABS CNN News

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Why Trump’s Tweets Indicate he Could be the Best Thing That Happened to Both Business and Politics

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Love him or hate him, he seems to have a personality perfectly suited to the White House.

By MediaStreet Staff Writers

Researchers have analysed the tweets of Donald J. Trump. They compared his personality traits with other influential business leaders.

The Twitter messages of Donald J. Trump, the entrepreneurial businessman turned US president, show that he is creative, competitive and a rule-breaker. But no one is perfect (especially not Trump!). He also has neurotic tendencies. (But who doesn’t?)

Since joining the social media platform Twitter in 2009 to May 2017, Trump has issued more than 35,000 messages. This amounts to about twelve tweets a day. With 30 million followers, he is the second-most followed politician on Twitter after his predecessor, Barack Obama, who on average tweeted about four times a day.

The researchers, Martin Obschonka from QUT in Australia, and Christian Fisch from Trier University in Germany analysed how aspects of Trump’s personality are revealed in the language he used in 3200 tweets issued by October 2016 (before he became president). They used established software for assessment of language and text for psychological purposes.

Trump’s language use and online personality were also compared with that of 105 other influential and famous business managers (including Google’s Eric Schmidt, HP’s Meg Whitman, and Apple’s Tim Cook) and entrepreneurs (including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Dell’s Michael Dell, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos) who are not on the political stage.

Their results indicate that Trump is indeed a distinct type of person who shows strong features of a so-called Schumpeterian personality that is said to be typical of successful entrepreneurs. This personality was described by Joseph Schumpeter in the 1930s as being very creative, change-orientated, competitive and rule-breaking. The analysis further indicates that Trump has neurotic tendencies, and experiences underlying low well-being.

“These traits are rather untypical for entrepreneurs,” explains Obschonka. But he adds that neuroticism isn’t necessarily all bad, for it can also stimulate competitiveness.

“Maybe this high neuroticism is a major motivator to succeed in Trump’s entrepreneurial projects in his business life, but also in his role as political leader,” speculates Fisch.

“If social distinction is a core principle of the entrepreneurial personality, then we clearly see this principle reflected in his unusual personality profile,” says Fisch. “Many experts agree that really successful entrepreneurs not only dare to be different – they are different.”

The researchers speculate that having entrepreneurial personality traits could be advantageous in leading and governing an entrepreneurial society as a top-down process. But they stress that leading a company is very different from leading a country and it is unclear whether political leaders with an extremely entrepreneurial personality can indeed act strictly entrepreneurially in their highly responsible role.

Time will tell if an entrepreneurial person can indeed make a country’s overall success more likely. And if so, everyone, everywhere in the world, needs to think about who we will vote for in the future.

 

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