Overlooked Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are not born successful. They work long and hard to achieve their goals. If you have a plan and are willing to put forth the time and effort needed to see your plan through, you too can be the kind of entrepreneur you desire to be.

There are some important, often overlooked secrets to remember as you work your way down the path to success.

The first thing you must know is that you need to do what you enjoy. When you start out doing what you love, you’ll be happier right from the beginning. Know your talents and tap into them. Don’t waste your valuable time having a career that you can’t stand. If you focus your business on what you know and love, potential employees and clients will notice and be immediately attracted to it. You’ve heard the adage, “You are what you eat.” You are also what you do. If you want to manage your own interior design business, be the best designer possible, as your success as a designer will define the way you feel about yourself and the way others see you.

Don’t forget to project a positive image in both your business and personal lives. Being successful in business starts when you take care of yourself physically and mentally. Get enough exercise. Allow enough time in the day to rest and sleep. If you want to be at your peak when you are promoting your new ideas and business, take time to rejuvenate your personal self. Then, you will project excitement and enthusiasm to everyone you come in contact with.

A big part of success in any aspect of life is learning how to find and maintain balance, particularly between work and play. As important as it is to devote the necessary time to getting your business up and going, you must not let work overtake your life. Make time for breaks. If necessary, schedule break time just like you would an appointment and be vigilant about it.

Vacations are also a must. Maybe you can’t take the time off or spend the money to go on a seven-day cruise, so try a stay-cation. Don’t go into the office, stay home and work on a hobby or take a nap. Sometimes just a day or two are all that it takes to get the spring back into your step and clear your mind. Also, give your employees time off as well. Every person works better on a fully-charged battery.

Another secret is to continue to invest in your education. Look for ongoing classes offered by other successful entrepreneurs and business people. Remember that there is always room for improvement in your business, and if you want to attract success, surround yourself with it. Read books and then read more. There is no such thing as too much knowledge, and every time you learn something new you will become a better business person and a better employer. Above all, be willing to accept advice. You might think this is a tricky concept, but just because you allow someone to give you advice doesn’t mean you have to use it. Be open to new concepts and ideas, but rely on your intellect and instinct. After all, you’re ultimately the only person responsible for your own success.

Finally, look everywhere for opportunity. Don’t be afraid to start out small. Know that sometimes seemingly insignificant opportunities can lead to key developments in your business. As stated before, most successful people become successes because of time and effort. Thinking big but starting out realistically will get you where you want to be faster than trying to become a millionaire overnight.

By Kyle Mortensen

5 Quick Ways to Become a Better Networker Today

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The value of networking is obvious. Surround yourself with successful people and it's easier for you to be successful as well.

Unfortunately, the benefits of networking are often squandered as people pursue relationships with selfish motives. To help you avoid that fate, here are five things you can do to grow your network the right way, right now.

1. Shift your mindset.

The real goal of networking is to help other people.

It's much easier to build quality relationships when you help others achieve their goals instead of telling them about yours. Sure, it would be great if they put in a good word for you every now and then, but asking for favors should only become a possibility once you have provided value to them.

How to use this tip today: Instead of thinking about who you need to know, think about who you can help. How can you provide value to someone today?

2. Be more selective with your time.

From time to time, most of us will go on a networking spree. We get motivated and start emailing hundreds of people, set up social networking accounts, and head out to local networking events.

It's fine to get motivated from time to time, but trying to be everywhere at once is just going to wear you out. Furthermore, it's tough to give people the attention they deserve when you're spread so thinly. (If you're checking Twitter at a networking event, then you're not really focusing on the people at either end.)

Instead of trying to be all things to all people, focus on being more things to a few of them. After all, you don't need to know the most people ... just the right people.

How to use this tip today: Take a deep breath and step back from the networking chaos. Think about where your "right people" hang out. Are you looking for mentors, prospects, or peers? Once you have decided, write down a few simple steps you can take to focus on that area in the coming days and weeks.

3. Actually engage with your current network.

We often think about networking as a way to build new relationships, but engaging with your current contacts can be just as powerful – if not more so.

Think about all of the people you already have a warm relationship with. You know what they like and dislike. You know what skills they have and what problems they face. You might even know the names of their children.

Think about how valuable all of those relationships would be if you simply strengthened them a little bit.

How to use this tip today: Engaging with your current network is all about providing value. You already know their problems. You're aware of their interests. Now you just need to take action. Are there two people in your network that might like to know each other? Introduce them. Do you have a friend that just finished an exciting project? Promote it on Twitter or Facebook. Have your employees been struggling with a simple problem? Help them find a solution.

4. Develop a list of people to contact.

Most of the time, we leave networking to chance.

We talk to the people around us instead of going out of our way to find someone new. We give a few close friends a call instead of reaching out to someone we haven't talked to in months. Essentially, we do the easy stuff and then we talk to new people when it's convenient, like at a conference.

If you're serious about building your network, however, then you need to act like it. Take some initiative and develop a list of people you want to contact.

How to use this tip today: Get on LinkedIn and browse some of the connections in your network. Sign into Facebook, search for people and see if you have any mutual friends. Think about the people in your current network. Who do your current contacts know that you would like to talk with? While you're searching, compile a list of potential contacts as well as a list of people who could introduce you to them. From there, all you need is a simple email to a friend asking for an introduction.

5. Think about whether you should promote or prevent.

In her book Succeed, author Heidi Grant Halvorson discusses how some people respond to promotional messages while others respond to preventative ones.

Sometimes we are in promotion mode. We want to hear about new opportunities. We want more options.

Other times, we are in prevention mode. We want to cut our losses. We want to solve the nagging problems. We want someone to prevent our headaches from occurring again.

How to use this tip today: If you have been struggling to get a response from someone, you may find that switching your style will get a response. For example, simply changing your message from, "Look at what we can do together..." (promotion) to "We don't want to miss out on this..." (prevention) could make all the difference. Some people prefer to pursue opportunities while others want to avoid mistakes.

There is no reason you can't start building a bigger, stronger network today. For even more strategies you can put to use right now, check out this full list of networking tips.

Written by James Clear

Uncle Sam Boosts Standard Mileage Deduction

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If you drive your car for business, as many business owners do, there are two ways to write-off the cost of driving: deduct your actual costs or rely on an IRS-set mileage rate. Either way, you’re in for savings now.

Standard Mileage Rate

Whether you own or lease your vehicle, you can use a per-mile rate that’s fixed annually by the IRS to figure your deduction for business driving. Using the standard mileage rate relieves you of the need to keep track of car costs throughout the year.

Because of the increase in gasoline prices, the IRS raised the rate mid-year. For driving from January through June, the rate is 51¢ per mile; for driving in July through December, the rate is 55.5¢ per mile.

If you use the standard mileage rate, you can also deduct what you spend for parking, tolls, and interest on car financing. However, no deduction is allowed for parking tickets and fines for traffic violations.

Caution: Using the standard mileage rate doesn’t relieve you of the need to keep records of business driving. Records must include mileage, the date, the destination, and the purpose of each trip. Consider using an app for a smartphone, such as Tap2Track, to simplify this record-keeping chore.

Actual Expense Method

Instead of a mileage rate, you can deduct the expenses you actually pay to drive your car for business, including gas and oil, maintenance and repairs, lease payments if you lease the car or depreciation (up to a dollar limit) if you own it, insurance, and vehicle registration fees.

With the agreement announced June 23, 2011, by the U.S. and 27 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, expect to see the price at the pump decline somewhat. This should ease your expense budget. As of June 23, 2011, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. was $3.60 per gallon. Experts predict that the release of oil reserves will drive down the price even more, but by how much no one knows.

Again, when deducting your car expenses under the actual expense method, be sure to keep records of your business driving. No deduction usually can be claimed without them. For details, see IRS Publication 463.

Which Write-Off Option to Use?

The answer depends on the number of miles you drive, what you pay for your car, and other factors. For example, a costly lease and minimal driving favors the use of the actual expense method. Buying an inexpensive vehicle and driving it extensively for business favors the use of the standard mileage rate. Unfortunately, the only way to know which method will save more taxes is to keep great records throughout the year (including receipts for gasoline and other car-related expenses). Then you can figure the deduction both ways and use the better alternative. However, your choice in a prior year can affect this year’s write-off method.

• If you own the car, you must use the standard mileage rate in the first year. You can later switch to the actual expense method.
• If you lease the car, you must use the standard mileage rate or the actual expense method for the entire term of the lease; there’s no switching allowed.

As always, when in doubt, talk with a trusted tax advisor!

Mikko Hypponen: Fighting viruses, defending the net

Take the Pain Out of Writing a Business Plan

Break a business plan into bite-sized pieces, to focus on what matters most right now. The first of a three-part series.

On one hand, you need a plan to make sure your business idea is viable and fully-baked, and secure talent and capital to build your company. On the other hand, completing a plan is a lot of work, and you may not need to do it all now. Instead, save time by concentrating on just the first part of your plan, which covers “what” you intend to do. Later, address “how” you’ll do it, and what you’ll “need” to make it happen.

1. Goals. You’re starting a business for certain specific reasons. For example, you might want to reach annual revenue of $1 million within three years, or pay yourself $10,000 per month so you can quit your day job. But startups change constantly, and it’s easy to lose sight of your initial motivations. Also, it’s critical to make sure that everyone involved is shooting for the same things. If you focus on market share, but your partner or investor cares more about cash flow, you’ve got trouble brewing.

2. Environment. An idea that’s great in one place, or at one point in time, could be a dud in other conditions. In the 1990s, early social networks struggled to gain popularity. At the time, consumers were reluctant to post personal information online, and dial-up Internet access made it difficult to share photos or video. Today, social networks like Facebook are nearly ubiquitous. The lesson is that you need to make sure your market is big enough to support your goals, and that the trends are working in your favor. Bagel stores may be a big hit in New York, but that doesn’t mean yours will be successful in Shanghai.

3. Customers. Startups have limited resources, so you’ll need to focus on one customer segment, and stick to it like a shark with a laser beam helmet. By limiting your initial target market, you’ll have a better chance of finding your customers, and being the best in the world at what you do just for them. If you try to start the next Nike overnight, you’ll probably fail. But get pro athletes to love your sneakers, and you’ll soon win over weekend warriors, and eventually even couch potatoes.

4. Unmet needs. To make your business succeed, you have to match your products with needs your customers have that aren’t being satisfied today. To pull it off, you’ve got to start with a clear, objective understanding of what your customers really need or want, and are not getting. Just because your mom loves your iPad app idea, doesn’t mean customers will buy it. Instead, find cheap, fast ways to get in front of potential customers, to find out how they react. Get a few clients to pre-pay before you launch your service. Test a blog before you invest in a custom website. Or sell your products at an in-store boutique before you sign a lease.

5. Strategy. Creating a simple, clear strategy statement forces you to crystallize your thoughts. That helps your team understand exactly what you’re setting out to do, and makes it easy for outsiders like investors to grasp. As Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” A fictitious company called DigitHeads might explain their strategy like this: DigitHeads provides tech support for people over 50 years old. Subscribers can call DigitHeads at any time, with any tech-related issue, and get help from well-informed, well-spokenexperts.

6. Business model. If you want to build a business, you must have a way to make money. And that way of making money needs to fit with what you’re doing. If your primary source of revenue is selling ads on your website, your customers need to care about your content enough to visit often, and brands must want to pay to reach your audience. There’s more to a business model, like unit economics, but you can cover that later.

 

by David Ronick

ZIP and RAR support now available in the Google Docs Viewer

Downloading files that you only need to preview can create unnecessary clutter on your computer. While you can already use the Google Docs Viewer to view over 15 different file types without downloading them, today we’ve added support for archive file types ZIP and RAR. Now, if someone sends you a ZIP or RAR file in Gmail, you’ll be able to view its contents from within your browser by clicking on View.

This will bring up a view that includes all of the files in the archive, the file types, and the size of those files.

When you hover over the list you can activate a menu by clicking Actions. You’ll be able to View items supported by Google Docs Viewer and Print (PDF) those that we offer PDF support. Save to Google Docs and Download appear for all files.

ZIP and RAR archives that are embedded inside other archives also work. For example, if you have a RAR file inside a ZIP file (like in our example above) you can just click on that file to access the embedded archive.

Go ahead and try the feature by viewing a ZIP file.

This feature extends to Google Docs for mobile, too. For each viewable file (including embedded ZIP or RAR archives) there is a link to view.

We hope this removes the need to download full archives when you only need to work on select items. We’re always adding more file types to the Google Docs Viewer -- let us know what file types you’d like to see support for next in the forums.

Posted by: Avner Aviad, Google Docs Viewer team

Google in Preliminary Talks To Buy Hulu [REPORT]

Google already owns the most-viewed online video site, YouTube. Now it might be picking up the video site with the most ad views as well.

The company is in preliminary talks to buy television streaming site Hulu, the L.A. Times reports.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Hulu has been meeting with potential buyers that include Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Hulu holds the rights to stream popular current TV shows like Glee and Modern Family that make it appealing to advertisers and thus potential buyers. It also launched a subscription service last year that offers extended archives.

Earlier this year, CEO Jason Kilar said that the site is on track to hit $500 million in revenue in 2011 and had 50% more advertisers in the first quarter of 2011 than during same period in 2010.

Hulu was reportedly preparing for a $2 billion IPO last year, but it pulled back due to concerns about its deals with the networks.

Since then, the company has renegotiated deals with some of its licensing partners and expanded its original programming. But some analysts still see the uncertain long-term future of the network relationships — that make the site valuable — as something that could deter a buyer.

“If you had those deals for 10 years, OK, you have time to build a business,” Arash Amel, research director for digital media for IHS Screen Digest, told the L.A. Times. “But look at what they are trying to do to Netflix. They help you until you are successful then they want most of what you make or they try to kill you.”

by Sarah Kessler