Everyone has a talent.  So maybe yours is blowing milk out your nose… it’s still a talent.  And most talents can be monetized.  The key is to find your talent and then turn it into a scalable business.  Too bad many folks get stuck on the “finding the talent” part.  Here is a list of 55 ideas, all contributed by the TPE community, on how to find your hidden talent.  You have it!  Now find it:

Sorry, no excuses allowed: First, figure out what benefits you are getting by not finding your own talents. For example, are you really afraid to try something new because it might not work, so not letting your talents surface gives you an excuse for not succeeding – or do you just feel safer being able to blame your problems (boredom, lack of money) on someone or something else? Once you know what you are gaining by not seeking out your own talents, it is easier to let go of those old outdated beliefs about yourself and move on to new ideas.

Personal development and leadership coaching (3)know

For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him, he must regard himself as greater than he is (Johann Goethe).

Personal development is a broad term that largely refers to the various ways and processes by which people are able to assess their personal attributes, talents, dispositions, skills and other qualities in relation to their life goals and potentials. It describes the personal drive of a person for continuous improvement in one or more area(s) of his or her life. It also proves the desire of such a person to achieve certain heights and/or levels of personal excellence and distinction through diligence, constant learning, capacity building and goal setting.

Personal development is not only the greatest investment that a person can ever make; it is also the greatest motivator of personal transformation. It is thus the best indicator of the power of a person’s inner self to access his or her internal (mind) resources to compel desirable change. That is why the people who actively seek, and constantly invest in personal development are dream clients for any coach.

For a team leader or any leader for that matter that operates as an internal coach, getting people to buy into a corporate vision is usually made much easier if and when personal goals dovetail into corporate goals. The leader, who is for all practical purposes a coach-leader thus emphasises the needs, desires, processes and strategies for achievement of goals, because it is a win-win situation for all. Such a situation therefore demands constant assessment of goals and desired outcomes.

It is this constant and continuous assessment that inspires and motivates the quest for more knowledge and drive for achievement, especially by the individual in positioning for excellence. Although personal development is a personal and individually-driven process, it almost always requires the inputs of other people, such as the coach who can through their engagements create and add value to the process. As a matter of fact, within the corporate business sector, that is what is required of a truly inspirational, visionary and transformational leader.

The fact cannot be overstated that the major responsibility of any team leader is to continue to facilitate the unlocking and unleashing of individual and corporate potentials, so that personal and corporate goals are achieved as desired. That is the why it is so important that leaders at various levels of responsibility, especially in the business arena also seek continuous personal development. The best way is to also be a coach and mentor, as well as a leader to others. The resultant effect is that the dreams of the leader becomes realised as he or she helps others to achieve their dreams.

The truth is that people naturally have the craving for a sense of belonging, acknowledgement and recognition. Therefore, the leader who is perceptive, supportive and eager to listen is able to build great rapport with people. Such a leader is therefore better placed to create confidence, self-belief, responsibility and accountability in people by acting as a team coach. The usual response is that people are personally inspired to act rather than being pushed to do their leaders’ bidding.

There is hardly a better and more sustainable way than this to encourage personal development in people. It is definitely the best way to facilitate the unlocking and utilisation of individual gifts of people for the benefit of the entire team. That is why coach-leadership is so powerful, because the major aspiration of every coach-leader is to impact peoples’ lives through positive influence. The goal is always to inspire such people to commit to making the same difference in the lives of others. Therein exist the critical element of continued personal development and the reality of the kind of influence that other people can make at some stages in a person’s life. 

Having lots of money and occupying high positions have never been the true measure of success. So, true success in life cannot just be about being exceedingly affluent. Rather, it is more about making positive influence through whatever affluence may exist. The extent and sustainability of your positive influence determines not just your success, but also your significance. Success is good and must be desired, but bringing significance to the lives of other people is more enduring, hence more fulfilling. The question should therefore always be about whether there is significant influence through much affluence.

This is what ties personal development, leadership and coaching together, because what we try to do in every leadership coaching is to support the leader to set and achieve goals of true influence (significance). The most successful leaders in this regard are those that help to move their people to the highest possible levels of personal development and empowerment. But, this comes with a high price of selflessness, humility and extreme servant-leadership. That is the price that transformational leaders have to pay, but the rewards are always great at the end. Are you ready for personal development? You can read more about the transformational power of coaching at www.ceedcoaching.com.

Advancing ICT based Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria: The MTN Link forum example

In today’s world, technology and innovation are driving many economies in no small measure. Exciting trends are sweeping across the world. In the advanced economies such as the US, UK, Japan, and China, technological knowledge is fast becoming a strategic asset for economic development. Technological advances and ICT based businesses are gathering pace. Advances in information and communications technology are occurring on a tremendous scale. For countries tapping into the new ideas, innovations and technologies that proliferate in a knowledge-driven economy, there is abundance of wealth and opportunities for them.

Entrepreneurship and technological entrepreneurship in particular are now considered as the engine for economic development. Most developed and emerging economies have adopted Technology Business Incubation to fast-track the creation of new technology-based enterprises because of its more than 80 percent success rate of new venture creation. Its multiplier effects include technology/knowledge transfer, employment generation and wealth creation. Technology-driven and knowledge-based developments not only exhibit tremendous business potential, it also offers a range of innovative applications beneficial to various sectors of the economy and society at large.

In business, knowledge is more than important. It takes you beyond where you can ever imagine; it reduces your error rate, it keeps you safe and helps you maximize your greatest potential. Knowledge is the take-off point of any kind of value, business and national development.

Technology industry is pivotal to the success of building a tech entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nigeria. It is the most dependable way of creating both job and wealth in the 21st century. So, for Nigeria to solve her high rate of youth unemployment, over-dependent on crude oil and  to build great economic backbone for the future, there is need to invest in entrepreneurship education, particularly, technological entrepreneurship.

Over 80 percent of Nigeria GDP comes directly from crude oil. This mono-cultural economy has created more problems than it has solved. It has resulted into irony of a rich country, poor people. However, the time is now ripe to change the configuration and embrace technological-driven economy. To bring economic freedom and prosperity to its people and help tackle the menace of poverty in the country, Nigeria needs a change of direction.  The forces of change outside Nigeria are driving the need for change within it. Therefore, to maintain itself on a par with the rest of the world, and to be able to compete successfully in the fast moving world, Nigeria has to radically reform itself and embrace knowledge-driven economy.

It is in recognition of this that the leading telecommunication network in Nigeria, MTN, has over the last four months provided a platform-MTN Link Forum for young business professionals and budding entrepreneurs to learn new skills and follow the latest trend in technological world in order to take their businesses to the next levels. The MTN Link forum is an idea sharing platform where those who have built successful businesses using the new technology, share and encourage young Nigerian business owners to follow same route in creating wealth for themselves and the nation at large.

Jonathan Doerr, managing director of Nigeria’s leading online trading firm while relaying his experience at the Port Harcourt edition of MTN Link Forum, recently reinstates the need for Nigerian entrepreneurs to source for new ideas that can transform their lives and create jobs from developed countries and domesticate it here in Nigeria. In his words, “Nigerian entrepreneurs can take business ideas that have proved successful in America and Europe and domesticate them in line with realities in the country”.

According to him, “online retail business had been thriving in America and Germany before it was introduced into Nigeria with little adjustment in the area of delivery and payment. You don’t necessarily need to pass through the stress of product development; there are products that have been developed elsewhere. You only need to modify them, and replicate it here in Nigeria and it will be an instant success just like Jumia”, he says.

Kazeem Mustapha, a Medical Doctor and Health Insurance expert while speaking on the importance of technology in today’s world, says, “in any business that you are doing, you have to befriend technology. You have to befriend technology for information, for operational efficiency and most importantly, as your businesses are growing, you are confronted with challenges that your brain alone cannot cope with, you have to depend on latest technology that can help you maximise your potential”.

The main source of value and competitive advantage in the new economy is human and intellectual capital. With a population of about 160 million people, Nigeria, in theory has the capacity to make a successful transition into a truly knowledge driven economy.

Just like the US, China and Japan, it is also possible for Nigeria to become a knowledge-driven economy. However, this can only be achieved if the Nigerian government and other multinational companies can follow the path laid down by MTN in promoting the transfer of new ideas and technological-based businesses in the country. 

Two businesses worth undertaking

There are two businesses worth taking a shot at owing to their high return on investment (RoI) and short payback period. The businesses have bright prospects as long as the prospective entrepreneur can look beyond profitability now and focus more on market penetration and potentials, process description and raw materials sourcing, among others, experts say.

Experts at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) have compiled a list of 50 tehno-investment opportunities for the micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs). Start-Up Digest has picked out two of such businesses with highest RoI and not-too-long payback period.

One of such businesses is soy-ogi production. Soy-Ogi is a fermented maize breakfast cereal, which is low in protein. It is the traditional Ogi, fortified with soybeans to improve the protein content.  Experts identify the raw materials requirements as soybeans, maize and vitamin premix. These are all locally available.

“The demand for Soy-Ogi is high in Nigeria,” says FIIRO, headed by Gloria Elemo.

“Target buyers are adults of all age categories living in Nigeria, ECOWAS sub-region and Nigeria in Diaspora with focus on all levels of income,” says FIIRO.

According to the experts, the process of preparation involves corn Ogi wet cake and soybeans cake. The processes involved in corn Ogi wet cake preparation are weighing and cleaning. steeping and milling, sieving, fermenting, sedimenting, dewatering and granulating.

Similarly, soybeans cake preparation involves weighing and cleaning, roasting and de-hulling, cooking and milling as well as dewatering and granulating. Machinery and equipment that should be acquired for the production of this are flash dryer, steeping tank, grains destoner, sedimentation tank and milk pump. Others are disc mill, roaster, hydraulic press, cake granulator, pressure cooker, centrifugal sieve, mixer, powder filling and sealing machine.

RoI on this investment is 74.6 percent, while return on equity is 189.9 percent. Payback period for this business is 1.9 years, while the break-even point is 34.3 percent.

Estimated cost of machinery and equipment depends on the capacity, which could vary from 500kg to 2.5 million tons per day.

Secondly, entrepreneurs can also move into solid minerals processing, which has 93.5 percent RoI, 165.6 percent RoE, 1.1 years payback period and 33.3 percent break-even point.

Experts say solid minerals business is now a gold mine as the country is aggressively looking away from crude oil to diversify into other productive areas. The sector presents bigger opportunities as it is still largely unexploited , according to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC).

One of such solid minerals which should be of interest to entrepreneurs is the precipitated calcium carbonate, which applies to the commercial types of calcium carbonate produced by precipitation process.  The raw materials used here are limestone and carbon dioxide.

“There is high demand for precipitated calcium carbonate In Nigeria. The demand is largely found in the paper, food, paint, pharmaceutical and plastics industries,” says FIIRO.

Processes involved include crushing, calcinations, hydration, Co2 collection and purification, carbonation, screening, drying, milling and packaging.

Machinery and equipment involved are vertical shaft kiln, hydrator (stainless steel), carbonator, electromagnetic separator, rotary dryer, pulverizer, heat exchanger, scrubber and weighing scale.

The estimated cost of the machinery and equipment depends on the capacity, which could vary from two to five tons per day, says FIIRO.     

Gloria  Elemo, director-general/CEO, FIIRO said,  “In an effort to make research results relevant to human needs, FIIRO has engaged in the promotion of its research results and transfer of same to the investing public,” she said, the FIIRO Investment Day and Technology Week held on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to Elemo, Nigeria can no longer continue to depend on the external sector but must place emphasis on the MSMEs to harness the country’s sizeable domestic market  and abundant resources to ensure steady supply of vital products to the economy.

G.U Ugochukwu

Real estate: Some tips for new investors

An investment in real estate is likely to be one of the most significant financial decisions you will ever make. A tremendous sense of pride, fulfilment, stability and security comes with owning your own property, particularly your own home.

Increasing property prices and the demand for quality rental accommodation mean that, with a carefully selected and well-managed rental property, landlords can enjoy a return on investment not just from capital appreciation but also from the steady stream of passive income. Even where there are downturns in property values, properties generally continue to rent and often without a corresponding decrease in the rental income.

Most people borrow to buy property. Before you buy a property, be sure that you can actually afford it and are able to service and repay the debt. Having a pre-approval in place will save you time and energy as the lender would already have reviewed your financial status to determine how much you can afford and how much they are prepared to lend you.

Apart from the actual purchase price of a property, which reflects its location, features, age and condition, there are other significant transaction costs that come to bear including lenders fees, valuation and survey fees, estate agents fees, legal fees, transfer taxes, stamp duty and insurance cover.

Whilst the documentation requirements can be cumbersome and can make investing in real estate somewhat tedious, it is important for the security of your investment that all documentation reflecting the true title of the property is in place.

Seek professional advice to determine the most appropriate structure. There are implications for you and your heirs for holding title in your name, in the name of your beneficiaries as well as in the name of a trust or a limited company.

Real estate is relatively illiquid and it is risky to invest with a short-term view. Like stock market investing, the property markets go through cycles. Maintain a long-term outlook as it usually takes time, patience and energy to reap the benefits from this investment class.

“Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike,” according to Benjamin Graham. Do your homework. Every investment comes with a degree of risk and real estate is no different. Of course you can never cover all the unknowns and you cannot accurately predict what the property will be worth in five years, but you can certainly get some sense of its prospects.

We have all heard the old adage: “location, location, location.” The value of property and the success or failure of this investment is largely dependent upon its location. Neighbourhoods change; market conditions, community issues, the local economic and political environment, poor enforcement of regulatory policies – these can all affect an area adversely and diminish property values considerably.

Unfortunately, the property market, as other financial markets, can be fraught with some unsavoury characters so be very careful with whom you are dealing. Choose your agent carefully; a tested, dependable, and responsive professional who comes recommended, has sound market knowledge. Be cautious of high-pressure sales pitches; they can be very persuasive yet a “once in a lifetime opportunity you cannot afford to miss” can turn out to be the worst investment you ever made.

The right tenant can be a joy, but the wrong tenant can make a landlord’s life a misery. Request for references and always follow up on them.

As performance in one asset class will help offset any downturn in another as economic and market conditions change over time, it is advisable to spread your risk amongst a range of assets including stocks, bonds and cash rather than concentrating on the property market.

Real estate has long been regarded as a sound and tested investmentclass that has proven its worth over centuries to be a stable and profitable investment, a trend that long-term investors are likely to continue to enjoy.

Nimi Akinkugbe

Handling the unexpected

There’s nothing harder to plan for than unexpected events that impact your life and finances. Yet loss of a job, the death of a loved one, illness or other unexpected occurrences happen at one point or another in most of our lives.

The key to successfully surviving these life-changing events from a financial perspective is to anticipate hard times. Shore up your financial situation before you are hit with an unexpected expense, so you will be covered in the event something happens.

The Importance of an emergency fund

Because we cannot predict when life will throw us an unexpected challenge, it is important for everyone to build and maintain an emergency fund with three to six months’ worth of living expenses. The key to building an emergency fund is to set money aside every month, no matter how small the amount. This Emergency Fund calculator can help you get started.

Financial experts recommend that, unlike retirement funds, emergency savings should be kept fairly liquid, in a savings account or a money market fund. Hopefully you will never need it. But if you do, you’ll be glad it’s there.

A new financial picture

Once the immediate financial matters are taken care of after an unexpected life event, it will be time to take stock of your new financial situation and create a plan for yourself moving forward. Whether you have faced job loss, divorce, illness or another event, you should create a new budget reflecting your situation. This is the first step toward financial security and rebuilding your emergency fund, which you may have tapped into to manage a financial crisis.

To develop a budget, write down your current expenses, indicating whether each expense is a necessity or a luxury. Pulling out recent credit card bills and bank statements can help with this process.

Next, estimate your monthly income, including only income that you are certain you will receive. Then compare your income to expenses. If your expenses are higher, you will need to trim your expenses until your income is higher than your expenditures.

You can learn much more about budgeting and utilise our free budgeting worksheet here.

Between savings and investment, which is better for you?

Financial experts have advised that it is important for one to build investment culture rather than leaving money in the bank. This is because investment, with its high returns, has the potential of enhancing ones earning capacity than savings does.

According to them, though it is good for one to save, but it is also good for the person to learn to invest good portion of the savings in a long-term plan, capable of yielding returns.

Studies have shown that saving a good portion of one’s income each month is only an opportunity to have access to the money whenever the person is in needs it, such that at the end of the day, the income is used in taking care of the person’s immediate or unexpected needs.

Olumide Emmanuel, an investment adviser, opined that depositing one’s entire money in bank is a costly choice because in the bid to avoid liquidity risk involved in investment, one ends up getting lower returns, but investment brings higher returns that can secure ones future.

Also, studies has it that the current Nigerian economy with unstable Naira value including high inflation rate, makes it difficult for people to leave say N500,000 in a bank and it get the same value in a year’s time. As a result, it has been seen to be far better to invest such money rather than keeping it in the bank for inflation to eat it up.

Experts’ view that investments provide higher returns, but come with lower liquidity risk and fluctuating values, which one can manage by aligning the appropriate investment perspective for the products considered in line with one’s goals. Thus, funds for immediate needs and emergencies should be kept in banks, while the ones for meeting long-term goals should be held in investments that give better returns.

What are these investment options?

1.      Think of buying land if you want to be a house owner in the future because investment in landed property is hard to depreciate.

2.      Invest in shares and stocks, though there is liquidity risk involved but if you are a smart investor, you will be smart to sell-off your shares or stocks at maturity stage.

3.      Explore the option of building your own house or buying finished residential or commercial property, and you will not regret it because the risk volume is low.

4.      Have you thought of investing in bond or debenture, it can also pay you in the future than banking your entire earnings.

 However, always remember to review and modify your investment choices periodically to ensure that they are suitable for your current investment goals.

Cars sold for 9m in 2013 will be 20m naira next year

By MOSES AKAIGWEPrice tags on cars and buses are likely to go up by about 250 per cent next year, following the introduction of new fiscal measure by the Federal Government, as part of the new development plan for the country’s ailing auto industry.

A memo by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy/Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Thursday last week, to the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs, directed that imported fully built unit (FBU) cars shall now attract 35 per cent duty and 35 per cent levy, totaling 70 per cent charges.

According to the document, the duty on buses has also been raised from 10 per cent to 35 per cent without levy. Hitherto, imported cars attracted about 20 per cent duty.

The minister’s directive dated November 14, and also sent to Federal Inland Revenue Service,

Great MIND; ‘I want my business to become an empire’

At a time when tens of thousands of Nigerian youths are roaming the streets in a hopeless search for employment, Martins Enoh, a hair stylist in New Karu, a fast growing suburb of Nasarawa State bordering Abuja on its south-east end, is counting his gains. He reveals his big dreams to ABAH ADAH and flays those who blame crime for unemployment.

Twenty-nine-year-old Martins Enoh is an Idoma and hails from Utonkon in Adore local government area of Benue State. He is the proprietor of Martin Luther Barbing Salon which is located in the heart of New Karu. A bustling place, the barbing saloon caters for the fashion needs of women, men, teenagers and even toddlers, who can be seen trooping in and out of the saloon daily, to get a variety of haircuts, maintain their styles and do some hair-wash.

Enoh carries himself with the pride of one who owns a business which employs a few hands, the sharp outlook of one who has aspirations and the good sense of one who does not look down on his customers.

When he was encountered by this reporter, he confessed the obvious: It pays to run one’s business, no matter how small. More so, he has one of the virtues which many who hope to be successful or already are possess – he enjoys what he is doing and sets his heart to it with a burning passion.

According to Enoh, due to the sub-urban nature of the area and the current economic state of the country, he does not make what he always hopes to, unlike top saloons in the city-centre.

Enoh revealed that at the end of every week he makes an average of N20, 000. However, out of this, he has to figure in expenses like fuelling and maintaining the generator (since the area of New Karu where he lives and works is in constant black-out), commission for labour and other running costs, and at the end, he said, N7000 or N8000 may be what is left of it.

“I have being doing this work for close to 10 years now and, by God’s grace; I used to earn just enough to care for my basic needs. In fact, the freedom I enjoy being in-charge and on my own has made me feel as if I cannot work as an employee elsewhere. It is not as if I have all I need but I cannot see myself becoming a busy-body and a societal liability,” he said.

Martins disagreed totally with those who blame the current spate of kidnapping and terrorism in the country on unemployment. According to him, youths who perpetuate such criminal acts under the guise of unemployment are only out to destroy the country and make staggering wealth overnight.

“How can you say that is unemployment? Many of them will not work if you give them. Besides, can’t they try their hands on what they can do to survive even while working towards securing gainful employment?” he asked. The Benue-born stylist, however, lamented the economic situation in the country which has given rise to the daily, unemployment figures.

According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), between 2006 and 2011, Nigeria’s unemployment rate averaged 14.6 per cent, and hit an-all time high of 23.09 per cent at the end of 2011.

While blaming the Nigerian government, which he said is not helping matters at all, Martins advised Nigerian youths to always discover their God-given talent and use it to sustain them, especially when the white-collar job they crave so much is not forth-coming.

“It is true that the government can only provide an infinitesimal portion of the jobs needed, but it is incumbent on it to create the opportunities. Small-scale businesses should be encouraged and empowered across the country. Look at this business; for now, it is all I have, but I intend to open two or more branches across Abuja, in order to improve my income. My dream for my business is for it to become an empire soon. I have all my plans and blueprint; I just need funds to get it on the road. Meanwhile, I have to postpone everything which I hope to do, until I raise the required fund,” he explained.

Its either you don't have idea or you choose to be where you are. It is yet a choice. Seek information and take the lead.

Building your business with the help of haters

When starting a company, most people handicap themselves on day one. They show their idea to people they know will be amenable and will rally behind them, people that will instantly become evangelists and spread the good word. While for some it becomes about ego, for others it becomes about making that golden idea even better for its instant fans. The cycle of goodness just keeps spinning and sometimes that entrepreneur gets lucky and makes it big time.

Doesn’t this all sound like the right way to go? Rally the troops, surround yourself with positivity, right? Wrong.

On day one, your idea should go straight to someone that you know will hate it. Not necessarily an enemy or someone who hates everything, but someone or someones who you know is a critical thinker. Looking for someone who won’t cheerlead, but someone who you are sure will have everything negative, even mean to say, will make your idea a thousand times better.

Doing so before even entering the beta phase will give your cheerleader evangelists even more happy. Going to market with an idea vetted by the haters first will also help you avoid surprises, or the painful sting of someone crapping on your idea when it’s too late to make certain changes.

Elon Musk and Dharmesh Shah agree

Globally famous inventor Elon Musk said in a recent interview, “Always seek negative feedback, even though it can be mentally painful,” adding that even if you want to ignore negative or constructive feedback, you should pay attention. “They won’t always be right, but I find the single biggest error people make is to ignore constructive, negative feedback.”

Dharmesh Shah, Founder and CTO of HubSpot, agrees. “Seek out the most critical opinions of your plan that you can find,” Shah notes. “The natural tendency for a first-time entrepreneur is to fall in love with an idea and then look for friends and colleagues to support it. After all, who wants to have a fledgling idea crushed by naysayers? But these are exactly the types of folks you should be looking for.”

Shah adds, “Have them shred your plan and designs from top to bottom. If you find yourself agreeing with them and having doubts, then your plan (and possibly you) may not have the mettle to make it. But if you are able to defend it with conviction, repeatedly, then you probably have both the moxie to last through the long, tough grind you’re facing, as well as a plan that just might work.”

Five essential ingredients to doing what you love for a living;

When I decided to leave my own corporate job years ago to pursue the culinary arts, I couldn’t think much further than doing what I love on a daily basis: cooking. But it soon became clear to me that leaving the safety of one career to take up another is not quite that simple.

Doing something you love will make you work harder at it, but that alone doesn’t mean you have a good business. Hard work, ultimately, has to meet with the right opportunities, and that’s where entrepreneurial spirit can come in, allowing passion to meet real business sense.

My own journey in the kitchen has taught me innumerable lessons that extend far beyond time and temperature. If you are looking to change yours, here are some tried and tested lessons I can share:

1. Treat goals like recipes. Remember to take it one step at a time.
It’s easy to get mired in the day-to-day, and though you may be doing something you love broadly speaking, that doesn’t mean you will love it all the time. Segmenting my goals and having a clear vision has allowed me to stay calm and focused on the process. Keep your ultimate objectives in mind, but try to appreciate and not look past where you are today. I often remind myself that I’m always learning and getting a little closer to my dream.

. Get to know the people who came before you.
When I changed careers, I studied star chefs like Jean-Georges and Thomas Keller as well as people with successful food and lifestyle brands like Martha Stewart and Giada de Laurentiis. I wanted to better understand the landscape as well as the successes and mistakes these guys had made. I never expected to take their exact path, but I did gain an understanding of what went into their level of achievement.

3. Always have something to offer.
I do a fair bit of traveling, learning from chefs and home cooks around the world. When I visit a new location, I like to shadow cooks in professional or home kitchens to learn their techniques and dishes. This has been a huge challenge as both a foreigner and a female. I usually start small, asking if I can watch service for the day. In exchange, I offer to prep and make something, whether that be the staff’s family meal or a recipe the chef may not know. Taking a little more time to build trust and having something to offer helps open people up more.

4. Seek help from those who do it better than you can.
Use your network and resources thoughtfully. If you don’t have a skill, you likely know someone who does. For example, I wanted to photograph the recipes from my book myself but I wasn’t a pro food photographer. I bought a great camera, reached out to a talented photographer and friend who was willing to teach me and prepared myself for trial and error.

5. Prepare to be uncomfortable, both physically and mentally.
Some of the greatest lessons and most gratifying experiences have come from times when I wasn’t entirely comfortable with what I was doing. I’m not just talking about having to lift 80 pound vats of stock in some of the kitchens where I worked. When I signed on to write my first cookbook, I was pregnant and already working full-time. I had to write, cook, test and photograph the entire book. This idea terrified me. There were days when I was so exhausted it was hard to get off the couch. But the book is done and will be out this year.

It just goes to show: When you’re pushed, you push back. Rise to the occasion because success might be waiting around the corner for you.

SEE YOU THERE.

5 Things Super Successful People Do before 8am

Rise and shine! Morning time just became your new best friend. Love it or hate it, utilizing the morning hours before work may be the key to a successful and healthy lifestyle. That’s right, early rising is a common trait found in many CEOs, government officials, and other influential people. Margaret Thatcher was up every day at 5 a.m.; Frank Lloyd Wright at 4 am and Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney wakes at 4:30am just to name a few. I know what you’re thinking – you do your best work at night. Not so fast. According toInc. Magazine, morning people have been found to be more proactive and more productive. In addition, the health benefits for those with a life before work go on and on. Let’s explore 5 of the things successful people do before 8 am

Seven ways business networking is like online dating

Networking guru Rob Brown discusses how the lead generation process when networking bears a close resemblance to that of online dating.

Some people have said that business networking and career connecting is just like dating. With the advent of work intranets and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the world of business networking is as much about online interacting as the more traditional, face to face offline gatherings.

How to turn time wasters into gold dust

How do you feel about people, who either ask you questions about your service or look around your products, then leave without buying? 

Some business owners get angry at what they perceive to be time wasters. In doing so, they miss out on a massively valuable opportunity. They leave a huge business asset on the table… untapped.

I’m referring to the feedback these so-called time wasters can provide you with.

Time wasters are attracted to us for a reason

If you’re attracting lots of the wrong kind of inquiries, there’s a reason. It’s usually a sign that:

• Your marketing message needs to be improved.
• You are marketing to the wrong people.
• Or both.

It’s extremely easy to learn which applies to your marketing, so long as you ask these people for feedback.

Before they end the call or leave your premises, ask something like: What was it that prompted you to (visit or call) us today? This will give you some feedback to work with.

For example

If they often say they were looking for a low priced (whatever), yet your prices or fees are average or above average, you need to review your marketing message. Take a look and see if you are overstating how low your prices or fees are. If you are not overstating how low your prices are, then you could well be targeting your marketing message at people with too small a budget. You get the idea…

The key is to try and get as much feedback as you can from those who fail to hire you or buy from you. It will help you improve your marketing message, improve your targeting and generate more business!

In short: Speak with people who don’t buy from you. Listen. Learn from their feedback. Then, make the necessary improvements to your marketing. Don’t just assume that someone is a time waster and therefore of no value to your business.

Their feedback could be commercial gold dust. In fact, it often is!

A bird’s eye view of how to succeed as an entrepreneur:

Yep. They are going to think you’re crazy.

So you’re thinking about jumping ship, leaving that so-called steady job and go off on your own… you’re thinking of starts a business and living the life. It all sounds perfect in your head, even on that spreadsheet of how you will make the transition. Then, you tell your friends and family. They’re going to think you’re crazy.

Just about every business owner I’ve talked to over the years has had a similar experience that they laugh about it now, and hold it up as their inspiration to make it. As for me, I was too young and naïve to know a single mom couldn’t make it without a job – supposedly. The fact of the matter is that I didmake it, my family and friends did think I was crazy, only I did not understand why. The older you get the harder it becomes to throw caution to the wind and do the ‘impossible.’I’m so glad I did.

Scared? That’s a good sign.

Fear means you are already on the path, and all that is left is to open your eyes and start evaluating how to navigate the road ahead of you. Fear is telling you to grab on with both hands and look your future straight in the eye and declare only victory. Fear is not telling you failure is defeat – THAT is your conditioning – failure is a lesson that gets you one step closer to success. No one makes it to the top without a wheelbarrow full of failures teaching them to become stronger, better, and more agile.

You are thinking outside of the box when you dream about a life that has purpose. Now it’s time to get to work; purpose doesn’t just happen, it is created.

The key to success is simple, really – you have to want to, I mean REALLY want to. Simple doesn’t mean easy, the truth of the matter is that if you want it enough ALL of the road blocks will be overcome, the strength to be more than you’ve ever been will show up, and the skills that are currently missing become obtainable. When you want something bad enough, mountains will move because you will find a way to move them, climb them, or go around each one. There is no room for mediocrity when success is the goal!

Top 5 sacrifices startups have to make in order to grow:

Startups, be they tech, retail, or service, dream of making it big time. Popped collars and fast cars motivate some, while financial independence motivate others, but in order to reach that point, all young brands have some major obstacles to overcome in getting to market, much less becoming a household name.

Devanshi (Nikki) Garg is the Chief Operating Officer of Icreon Tech, a global IT consultancy deliveringbusiness solutions and custom applications since 2000. Garg has years of experience in the startupworld and tells AGBeat that there are five major sacrifices any startup will have to make if it wants to grow. In Garg’s words, below are the top sacrifices:

1. You have to give up complete control

Diving into a startup requires you to embrace chaos. Whether you’re the founder or one of the first hires, expectations about what aspects of your job you control should immediately go out the window. Invariably, most startups have too many things to do with too few people to complete them. This means you’ll need to exit your comfort zone, lest you quickly fall to the wayside. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is often quoted, “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” Members of startups need to be able to sacrifice their desire to have complete control over their day-to-day responsibilities and embrace the collective needs of the company.

2. Sacrificing your ego, and sometimes, your idea

All startups start out as ideas. However, for a startup to truly grow, members must be willing to sacrifice them and do so mercilessly. In a growingly entrepreneurial marketplace, the only certainty is competition, and ultimately, a bevy of competitors and pressures may require you to sacrifice the foundational idea your startup is built upon. Whether your ideas have been rejected by consumers or have been better executed by competitors, successful startups need to be able to pivot rapidly to avoid being rendered obsoletely. Just ask Bill Nguyen how important being able to pivot an idea is.

3. You’ll sacrifice your down time

For startups, it’s often a zero-sum game where the next day’s existence is not guaranteed. This means that your downtime is crucial to your startup’s success. Elon Musk recently stated during a Google Hangout with Richard Branson that, “you should be ready to work 100 hours a week”. If that sounds like too much of a sacrifice, you may not be cut out to achieve global success and notoriety. Establish the internal mindset that each and every hour is crucial, to not only your startups’ prosperity, but more importantly its survival.

4. Sacrificing financial security and stability

There are countless tales of entrepreneurs placing their entire life savings into their dream. While for some it pays off, for many it is the most stressful decision they can make. Pouring your heart and soul into a startup may not always be enough. Which is why many of today’s successful founders and CEOs have had to personally fund their projects. To help revive his near-failed dotcom era startup, Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal personally signed the lease for his company’s office building due to credit issues. This decision could have personally bankrupted Mr. Aggarwal, but instead he helped grow the company to 1,000 plus employees as of 2013. Although the light at the end of the tunnel may sparkle with monetary success, the journey to get there will have much less glitz and glam.

5. You’ll have to give up full ownership of your dream

Sweat, blood, and tears go into every startup. Taking your company to the next level often requires the involvement of outside venture funding and support. Identifying parties that believe in your startup is a crucial step forward. While the tradeoff involves having more stakeholders in your project and less personal ownership for yourself, this sacrifice is often one of the best ways to leverage a set of resources, (capital, technologies, or humans), that are extremely difficult to come by organically. Ultimately, it’s one of the biggest sacrifices to make for the sake of going from niche to mainstream and publicly recognizable.

Are you ready to sacrifice?

Tech blogs and news outlets glamorize the life of a startup, reporting on awesome offices and work perks, but the grunt work of being a founder of any company is often swept under the rug. Garg points out some of the top sacrifices any startup will have to make if it wants to scale, if it wants to grow. As an entrepreneur, are you ready to make the sacrifices necessary?

lets work together, we have been there. contact greghugohills@gmail.com or drop a note here.