Well Begun Is Half Finished - but you have to begin!
Our doubts are traitors
and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt
Shakespeare
Define and achieve your own business success.
"Liberty consists in doing what one desires." - John Stuart Mill
I once heard a story about an independent businessman named Arturo.Arturo came into the dock early one morning with his small boat full of lovely fish; one for his family, others to sell. Bill, an Ivy League MBA on vacation, saw Arturo return while all the other fishermen were still out with almost empty boats.
Bill asked about Arturo, everyone agreed that Arturo was the best fisherman on the coast.
Bill walked down to Arturo and asked how he spent his days. Arturo said he fished a bit in the morning, went home to spend some time with his wife and play with his kids, then in the evening Arturo met his friends at a local restaurant for songs and games.
Bill got excited and proposed a partnership. Together they would build a fleet of ships that would benefit from Arturo's knowledge. They would Move to a big city, and later run offices and fleets around the world.
Arturo asked about the future beyond the world wide ventures. Bill expounded on the glories of the great cities and high society, finishing with the statement that when Arturo decided he was ready to retire he could go anywhere and do anything he wanted. Bill asked what Arturo would do with such a fine retirement.
Arturo replied, " I would fish a bit in the morning, go home to spend some time with my wife and play with the kids, then in the evening I would meet my friends at a local restaurant for songs and games."
And Arturo walked away.
the #1 idea for your business success
"If you wish to prosper,
let your customer prosper."
Bastiat
Which are the best business books for budding entrepreneurs?
Start your business with your own business idea today - keep learning how to improve it the rest of your life.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7 - the Bible
Gaining wisdom within one of your passions can become a 24/7/365 adventure. There will be challenges, but your dreams are a promise that your efforts can help create. That is why passion is so important, it can provide the determination to keep going during difficult times.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurma
Rate the following books by clicking arrows. Add a personal favorite start-up business book you want to share. Make this business book list a resource to assist emerging entrepreneurs searching for answers.
Be sure to click on the books you have not yet read to read their reviews.
Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised by Napoleon Hill
A classic, credited by many as powerful in their success. "The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those, which fail." - Napoleon Hill7 points
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
Get the edge to make your business stand out against the merely excellent.5 points
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
"Work ON your business not IN it." Read this before you begin and avoid myopic mistakes. Read it again after 12 months and fix your business. This book has insights that will keep you and your business alive. If so, read it again after five years during vacation.5 points
The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey
Read it -- do it.2 points
Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out by Farrah Gray, Fran Harris
A remarkable teenager who went from public assistance to a million dollar net worth shares his story.2 points
The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
A great story teller relates ideas important to each of us.2 points
How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets by Felix Dennis
#1 British bestseller, brutally honest look at capitalism and the drive for great wealth. Yes, we have many great magazines due to the Dennis dedication to wealth - many charities are now funded - a new Forest of Dennis has been planted - but Felix Dennis lays out the personal cost and procedures of his trip from quite poor to very rich in a way that should be investigated by those looking at getting rich as a singular goal.2 points
The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris
Tim Ferriss is an extraordinary young man on a mission. The twenty-eight-year-old serial vagabond and successful entrepreneur has been teaching a wildly popular course at Princeton University for the past four years--a how-to and why-to guide to throwing out the old tools and methods for success (balancing life and work, retiring well, having a great nest egg) and replacing them with a whole new way of living.2 points
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson
The future of business, and the best opportunities for starting your business reside in the longtail.1 point
See You at the Top: 25th Anniversary Edition by Zig Ziglar
Zig was the source for "You can have anything you want if you help enough people get what they want." He will help you get out of your own way.1 point
Weekend Entrepreneur: 101 Great Ways to Earn Extra Cash by Michelle Anton
Do you want to start slow and careful?1 point
Best Business Ideas For The Internet
"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals." - Larry Bird
* Your competition is getting on the net.
* Google maps now points out local businesses.
* All the search engines are starting to reference local business in a more logical manner.
* Your customers use the net to get information.
* Did I mention your competition is on the net or thinking about it?
There is a learning curve to getting effective net coverage. This is not like the business yellow pages - although for some of you it may be bigger. Web sites are not cures for a bad business model, a going out of business business will not have time or clout to profit from the internet. Mediocre doesn't build or inspire action: highlight what makes your business exceptional, or create a truly exceptional aspect; that is your story that will spread from mouse to mouth.
There is a value to having bought and used your online name in terms of how the search engines will treat you. Pick your name and get something up today, you can re-do it next year if you wish. Web names are like wine - a little age is a good thing.
No one will come to the door to sell you a quarter page internet business format. However, there are kids and professors at the local college that can get you started for little money - or you can build yourself a quality online presence for very little cash, just some time.
Perhaps you are already busy landscaping, drilling teeth, selling real estate, or doing lawyer stuff. There is a good do it for you option that will not cost too much and profit too little -- SiteSell Services may be for you. SiteSell services can also help if you already have a web site, but it is not bringing you clients.
If you use other Internet professionals - expect to pay what you would for any professional services. A great web master is part advertiser, copywriter, public relations agent, and web navigation specialist. If your site is done right - your customer will enjoy the site just as much as the search engines.
As in all ventures the key to natural enterprise success is to start doing it, keep doing it, and keep improving how you do it. If you want to do it yourself; click on one of these free internet business creation and training courses in pdf format:
* Professional Service Sellers Internet Course
* WAHM, Work At Home Moms, with case studies (ok for dads too, it is about starting an at home internet based business)
* Write For The Internet - tools, tricks, and techniques
As the Cluetrain Manifesto declared; your customers are human, to succeed you must deal with them as humans.
Think of it this way - when your client is on your site he has chosen you. You have his undivided attention to communicate with him.
Make that time valuable for your customer.
Start Your Own Business -- Part Time
Not everyone wants to start an entrepreneurial enterprise. You may just want to earn extra money while learning new skills.
Mark Twain
You don't have to quit what you are doing now, you can also start a business for some extra cash flow. At some point your business may grow enough to consider it a full time occupation. For now, some extra dollars may provide just what you need.
An excellent resource is Jennifer's e-course in online marketing. She shows step by step, how to build a self-sustaining micro business in a week. Do one every week and the accumulating cash flows can become significant. This will take work, but what will you be doing in a year if you don't develop your own business? Too many people will still be throwing away their time and money on "get rich quick the easy way" schemes.
You are smarter than that.
As Jennifer the Potpie Girl reminds us, the owner of the grocery store is not passionate about every product he stocks, he sells what his customers want. If your need is great, that business based on your passions may need to wait while you start your own business to satisfy customers. Pick your own balance, but find a guide, book, or mentor that knows how to succeed, not just sell advice.
Your education, training, passions, hobbies, interests, or creative ideas can be great starting points - but what keeps you going is your sense of purpose. Get started today and grow as you learn.
Once you have started your business - persist.
Entrepreneurial success can come with your first business venture, or your third - you will need to cultivate the drive to persist until success.
The key to success once your own business is started is to keep learning. Cultivate your natural abilities and grow with them.The act of starting or growing a business is a valuable education. Using your own business idea to start your own business will be a less expensive education than attending a brick and mortar college - and you can learn more useful and actionable information.
You can also create an income using your entrepreneurial business idea, instead of deferring income while in school. "The hardest thing about getting started is getting started." - unknown
A person that graduates with a business degree and is hired by a corporation has not failed, they have completed a step toward their definition of success.
An entrepreneur that shuts down a failed business and then starts a new business has likewise completed a step toward becoming free to live life by their own rules.
"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those, which fail." - Napoleon Hill
Take your prototype on the road and sell it, if there is demand build a company to support it. You can learn or hire MBA methodologies later. The only types of business knowledge you can't delegate or outsource are (1) knowing your customers intimately, and (2) understanding how cash flows into and out of your business.
Your start-up business will have a steep learning curve. Start your first business small and manageable; making your mistakes as inexpensive as possible. Wait to "ramp up" your business until you are sure of the demand. Then persist.
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." -Thomas Edison
It will not be easy. This is not a get rich quick scheme, this is business!
Your business.
"We can not ensure success, but we can deserve it." - Joseph Addison
Your chances of success as an entrepreneur increase if the business idea you develop is based on passions that drive you. Create what is for you a natural enterprise and you can make a very good income - while enjoying the journey.
Guessing at the Direction Of Business
watch this entertaining video with a nice "Twilight Zone" twist
"If you wish to prosper, let your customer prosper." - C. F. Bastiat
Think about the future of YOUR business idea.
Day of the Longtail
curated content from YouTube
Here's my favorite link:
Tell us about your dream business.
Where do your passions intersect with other's needs?
Your education, training, passions, hobbies, interests, or creative ideas are a great starting point. Since you will be spending time, money, and effort as you struggle toward business success - choose to do something you can do with enthusiasm. Focus on your top two or three passions; the joys of pursuit can help you through rough periods.
"It is no use saying 'We are doing our best.' You have to succeed in doing what is necessary." - Winston Churchill
Seldom will your business' future growth be determined by what you learned in the past - be prepared to adapt constantly as the rules of engagement change. Your personal liberty will arrive when you solve problems for folks that are willing and able to pay for your product.
Listen to what people say they want; try it, and adapt it.
Repeat.
The rewards of owning your own life are worth the investments you are about to make.
Tell us about your dream business;
the one you own, or the one you want to start.
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Reply
- thesuccess thesuccess Nov 19, 2009 @ 7:14 am
- It was never so easy (possibilities) and never so tough (recession) or as exciting to start a business as it is today
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- Katrina_Ariel Katrina_Ariel Nov 17, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
- Fantastic! Great story at the beginning - it illustrates how important it is to enjoy life and business both. Also, focusing on helping people is the key to success, and the best way to contribute to the world. This lens is a great contribution.
My latest lens on
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- LoKackl LoKackl Nov 17, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
- Allan, I always enjoy reading about your concepts of business ideas and especially owning your own life. Linking to my a-better-pencil because I think home-based businesses like mine are always glancing from the corner of our eyes at the impact of computer-enhanced entrepreneurship. 5*/fav/link
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- Corporate_RefuG Corporate_RefuG Nov 12, 2009 @ 11:27 pm
- Great Tips, I love the this line "you will need to cultivate the drive to persist until success."
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- Michey Michey Nov 7, 2009 @ 1:23 pm
- You have very good ideas and resources.
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- freelifenow freelifenow Oct 27, 2009 @ 10:22 am
- Very well thought out and planned. I loved all the lil tid bits of info that really puts the information to good use. I have my own business and the information i have amassed is right in line with all the stuff here. Great Job!
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- paulwheater paulwheater Oct 10, 2009 @ 11:08 am
- Very cool lens, I am hoping to start my own company within a few years.
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- CPAjunkie CPAjunkie Oct 8, 2009 @ 12:39 am
- very informative lens here. helps greatly to entrepreneurs out there. The books are very good. Nice lens, keep up the goodwork and thanks for sharing
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- KrisRoxas KrisRoxas Oct 4, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
- Man, all those books are awesome choices. This is a great lens - keep it up!
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- drossart drossart Sep 30, 2009 @ 11:19 pm
- Great Lens. Positive, informative, and written well!
Thank you,
artswami
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"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity." - Louis Pasteur
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100% of direct income from my lenses goes to micro-finance solutions for world poverty provided by the Grameen Foundation. The Grameen Foundation is creating a rising tide of positive influence upon our world.
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