All you need is paper and a pencil and a lot of hard work.

Start up business tips from ...  
http://www.businesszone.co.uk/blogs/tonyrobbo/tony-robinson-obe-author-039stripping-freedom039-blogs/learning-lord-sugar?ref=ukbf

6. All you need is paper and a pencil and a lot of hard work.

I hope I’ve saved the best and most provocative heading until last. Remember Lord Sugar is no technophobe – he understands ICT and probably likes gadgets too. When I first met him he’d just bought Viglen so he also knows the benefits to business of technology. .

The most important lesson I’ve learned from Lord Sugar, my Dad and my co-owner’s father , who all started and developed very successful businesses is that starting and running your own enterprise is not a complex process.  As well as really hard work, a fantastic knowledge of our product and/or service and the market, in order to succeed in our own businesses we must always go back to the basics. That’s good news and is why enterprise is for all and why privilege or higher education are not necessary for your earnings potential as they are for many other career options.

The essential skills will always be the same - just don’t make it complex. You do not need a 30 page business plan – you just need to work out where you’re aiming for and how you might get there and what that means in terms of how you spend your time and money. 90% of start-up plans are likely to be seen as works of fiction within six months. We never really know until we start trading and it’s best to not spend too long planning. Get working, get selling as soon as possible and start earning a living!

It’s more important to find out what will sell and for you to gain the know how to sell it at pre start. We know that with the right support at start up, and some test trading, 85% of new starts will still be trading in 3 years’ time and 6% will go on to be substantial businesses. We’ll never know in advance which the 6% are – otherwise everyone would be falling over themselves to buy a piece of their action – but the reason we formed SFEDI is to do our very best to ensure that there is the right help around to give everyone a good start.
Someone who has started and run their own business can provide invaluable help to you – if they haven’t then beware. There’s something really wrong if you need complex software or finance professionals to tell you how you’re doing. Every successful business owner I know manages cash flow constantly and can write down a very good estimate of all their costs and how much they need to sell in order to cover these costs.

Energize Your Customers Online

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

Energize Your Customers Online

Competing for your customers' attention online can be tough, especially when you're up against dancing banner ads and all of the daily emails customers get. Here are three tips to cut through the clutter and capture your customers' attention in this crowded space:

1. Create a sense of urgency. Send out a coupon that needs to be used by midnight or offer a free product to the first 50 respondents.

2. Energize your customers to tell their friends. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful and valuable, especially on the internet. Give your customers something exciting that they'll want to share with their friends.

3. Make it fun. Whatever the interaction is, keep it simple, fresh, and engaging.

3 Tips for Demonstrating Humility

3 Tips for Demonstrating Humility

Effective leaders need to be mindful not only of their accomplishments, but of their character as well. Humility is a key aspect of character. Here are three ways to step out of the limelight and let others shine:

1. Temper authority. Don't use authority just because you have it. Encourage your people to make decisions, set their own goals, and take responsibility as often as possible.
2. Promote others often. Grooming talent is good for your organization and for you as a leader. Promote people around you, giving them opportunities to match or even surpass your success.
3. Acknowledge the accomplishments of others. If things go well, give away the credit. If things go poorly, take the fall. This humble approach will ensure your team rallies behind you.

3 Steps to Managing Your Day

DECEMBER 3, 2009

3 Steps to Managing Your Day

The best laid plans for your day are easily thwarted by simply opening email or walking past a colleague's desk. Before you know it, you've lost countless hours to putting out fires. Here are three steps for keeping control over your day and your time:

1. Set a plan for the day. Spend five minutes before turning on your computer in the morning to write down what you want to accomplish that day. Be realistic. Schedule time in your calendar to get each thing done, putting the harder tasks at the beginning of the day.
2. Refocus. Every hour take a minute to stop what you're doing, look at your list, and reflect on your last hour. Was it productive? What can you do to make the next hour productive?
3. Review. At the end of the day after you shut off your computer, review your day and ask yourself what you were able to accomplish. What will you do differently tomorrow?

4 Ways to Get Your Cold-Call Email Read

4 Ways to Get Your Cold-Call Email Read

Email is the primary mode of first contact these days. But many cold-call emails go without a reply. Whether you are reaching out about a job, a sales inquiry, or just making a networking contact, here are four ways to get the response you want: Personalize it. Don't send a generic email all about yourself. Focus on what you and the recipient have in common. Mention the group you found her through on LinkedIn or something specific you know and admire about her company. Demonstrate value. What do you have to offer the recipient? Be upfront about what you can give her and why she should respond. Include a call to action. Tell her what it is you want her to do: email you back, reach out to set up a call, or forward your email to someone else. Keep it clear. As with all email, make it clear, articulate, typo-free, and to the point.