 |
  |
|
Key Termsmanufacturer's rep - salesperson hired to promote a company's products. Questions
Activities
Questions and Answers on Small BusinessThe secrets of success aren't secret. We know what they are. They are persistence, and determination, and hard work, and having objectives and goals, and making plans and keeping to the plans, all the while maintaining a positive mental attitude. The spirit of entrepreneurship is this spirit of success. You will move forward. Sometimes you will stumble. You will get up and try again. Entrepreneurship may be a new word, but the hows of success have been with us throughout humankind. There were successful businesses in Ancient Greece and Rome and in medieval England. There are successful businesses today in Russia and China and Chile. All of these businesses were and are successful for the same reasons: persistence, determination, planning, customer service, etc. What are the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur? A successful entrepreneur is someone who has a lot of energy, enjoys trying new activities, likes to work with people, is not easily discouraged, is well organized, likes to take charge, and has a positive mental attitude. As a successful entrepreneur, you will be interested in the lives of other successful entrepreneurs. Read your business biographies and you will see plenty of examples of the above success characteristics. When you're through reading about Rockefeller and Carnegie and Ford and Trump and Gates and Walton, you can start on the political biographies, and you'll see the same characteristics in Churchill and Lincoln and Kennedy and Napoleon. Is it better to buy an existing business or start from scratch? In doing your research, you will explore both possibilities. You may be able to find an existing business with an existing customer base at a fraction of what it would cost you to start from scratch. If you are a plumber and can buy the customer list and goodwill of a retiring plumber, go for it. If you want to open a pie shop and can buy all of the equipment at a depreciated price from a pie shop that is closing, go for it. Even if you do start from scratch, you should continue to look at the for-sale opportunities that may exist in your industry. You may find expansion possibilities. There are almost always good opportunities present for knowledgeable buyers willing to put in the study time to find them and the confidence to make offers and negotiate. It all boils down to doing your research and then being a person of action prepared to act based on that research. Booksby Azriela L. Jaffe (1999) (288 pages) Widely recognized for her advice on how to handle the emotional and interpersonal challenges of entrepreneurship, the author shares anecdotes from dozens of entrepreneurs and salespeople and discuses effective strategies to overcome the fear of rejection in business. Steps to Small Business Start-Up : Everything You Need to Know to Turn Your Ideas into a Successful Business by Linda Pinson (1996) (256 pages) This guide takes you through all the mechanics of business start-up. The book contains a comprehensive overview of information on recordkeeping, marketing, and business planning, and comes complete with forms, examples, and worksheets. Starting Up: Do You Have What It Takes To Make It In Your Own Business? by David E. Rye (1998) (336 pages) Readers experience first-hand the excitement, challenges, and risks of starting and building a company. Faced with realistic business situations and a cast of colorful characters, this interactive you-make-the-decisions business game plunges readers into the make-or-break situation of launching and building a new business. Chapter by chapter, readers test your entrepreneurial skills as you work through nearly 100 critical decision points. Real-life challenges include conducting a market analysis to determine business opportunities, acquiring start-up capital, entering into strategic alliances, developing employees, and creating wealth. The right choices result in success and financial freedom. A wrong decision can mean business failure. 
Online Business and Technology Publications
Go to Lesson Fourteen7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17Index
|
|
 |
© Copyright 1994-2008, American Success Institute. The Action Principles® is a registered trademark of the American Success Institute. We are a nonprofit research, publishing, and educational corporation headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts. |
 |