Diligence and Innovation: A Brief History of Entrepreneurship in the US

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geoffrey-byruch-rushBartering and sales comprise the cultural fabric of the USA. Early in our lives, we look for one another’s strengths and unique qualities that indicate talent and interest. This is what one will bring to the negotiation table and exchange it for dollar bills. Then, the currency is spent on improving skills whereby one can eventually charge a premium price. The entrepreneur takes this exchange to the next level still.

Recognizing others’ positive regard for their talent, skill, or invention, the entrepreneur develops a plan to expand reception for greater profits. Several well-known developments identify this spirit of innovation and determination; the Gold Rush of 1849, the Wright Brothers’ airplane and Henry Ford’s automobile assembly line.

~ Gold Rush of 1849 ~ New Jersey carpenter James Wilson Marshall, while working at the Sutter Mill in what would become Sacramento, California, discovered gold nuggets. Throughout 1849, hopefuls traveled from all over the world to try their luck at finding some for themselves and became known as the ’49ers. By 1850, the surface land was practically depleted of the gold rendering it unreachable by commoners’ means. By then, the population of the area had soared.

Many industrious individuals and families who may not have dug up a golden nugget, managed to successfully plant roots for their own businesses that catered to the daily needs of the lucky ones and the determined. The Gold Rush of 1849 lends testament to the entrepreneurial snowball effect when people pursue a promising venture.

~ WRIGHT BROTHERS ~ The Wright Flyer successfully sailed the winds for 59 seconds on December 17, 1903. It was the product of years of toil and experimentation by Wilbur and Oliver Wright and many others around the globe who had tried during similar periods, answering the call to contests and challenges no doubt engendered by venture capitalists of their day. Production, research and development and sales were nothing new to the Wright brothers. Though neither of the two finished high school, they had jointly owned a news publication and a bicycle repair shop that they had established themselves. They also sold their own bike model. They later relocated to Paris, France where they fulfilled orders for their plane for a price.

~ MODEL-T FORD ~ Henry Ford, T.A. Edison’s next door neighbor in Florida, produced his first assembly line vehicle on December 01, 1913. Fittingly enough, his innovative idea developed from observing the processing of slaughtered animals for human consumption and wheat grain processing; namely, the assembly line format and the conveyor belt, respectively. Because it was the first Ford vehicle built on the assembly line, the Model-T Ford became the most abundant and the most popular. Its initial price was $850 and it was only available in black. Henry’s goal was to make it available to a wider market share by producing more of them without compromising quality.

The Importance of Transparency in Entrepreneurship

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There are many factors that go into having successful entrepreneurship. Aside from time and dedication, there must be a large degree of transparency. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to be completely open about your business’s performance, history, motivations, operations, and other information. Offering more transparency in these areas encourages consumers and even investors to be more loyal:

 

Social Media Transparency

One of the easiest and most convenient platforms to be transparent with consumers is social media. This is the best place to share personal thoughts and ideas to connect with consumers. Social media is also a great platform to learn of the likes and dislikes of those interested in your products or services. Nowadays, many people use social media platforms for questions, comments, and reviews. By having an active role in your social media platforms, you are better able to access the wants, needs, and constructive criticism.

 

Transparency From Within

Although remaining open and honest with consumers is very important, it’s equally imperative to be transparent from within your business. If your employees don’t feel the company is transparent with them, then they’ll have a hard time portraying transparency to the marketplace. Be open about the progress, risks, and opportunities of the company. This will encourage employees to be transparent and passionate about business operations to consumers. 

 

Distrusting Corporate Business

Over the years, the public has grown a bit distrusting of corporations. Many don’t feel corporations are often completely honest with their customers. To aid this, it’s important for businesses to gain back their trust. In order to do this, it’s imperative to be as transparent as possible. As an entrepreneur, you need to show that your main goal isn’t just about making a profit and make it a point as to why customers should trust your business. 

 

Make Information Available

In today’s day and age, everyone expects information to be available in seconds. If information about your company isn’t available with just a few clicks on their laptop or phone, customers will be less interested in your business and feel you have something to hide. In order to avoid customer distrust, be as open as possible and have your businesses information at the ready. 

As transparency becomes a larger demand in entrepreneurship, many more companies must make it a priority. The future of business will see companies becoming more open about their operations and motivations, building greater trust with their partners, investors, and customers.

Handle Entrepreneurial Stress like a Professional

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geoffrey-byruch-stressIn being an entrepreneur, you have to learn to juggle many different ideas, projects, and tasks all at the same time. This must all be done while you are also trying to build up your own company and create success within your business. One of the significant issues that come into play when entrepreneurs are dealing with multiple things at one time is stress.

Stress is something that hits us all in different ways when we have too much on our plate. The way we handle stress is essential to whether we are successful or not. Not managing your stress can lend itself to a great deal of failure in the entrepreneurial world, and your business will suffer because of it.

Understanding the effects of stress and what causes stress are the first steps to success and also healthily dealing with stress. When you are stressed, your mind automatically begins to think negatively and therefore, shuts down the possibilities of innovation and utilizing your brain to its full capacity. The best thing you can do is realize you are indeed stressed and make a choice to think positively with a small amount of stress. This way, you will continue making plans and ideas that will push yourself and your company forward.

Another way to handle your stress is by removing unnecessary worry. A lot of times, entrepreneurs and business leaders take on a lot at once, and many times, they worry about things that are out of their control. Take the time to make a list of everything that is currently on your mind and stressing you out. Then go through and either delegate things to others or shift your focus from the things that aren’t yours to handle to the issues you can personally deal with.

Instead of continuing to take on project after project or even more clients than your company can handle, just to grow your business, only take on what you can complete right now. If your business is not ready for the influx of clients, then do not take the extra work onto your plate. The same goes for projects. Learn to delegate and take work off of your plate and give it to others who have the extra time to do it. This removes the continued downward spiral of work piling up on top of the work that is already there. It will also help to remove that stress for you.

Managing Customer Relationships in Your Small Business

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geoffrey-byruch-handsThere are a few key items that your small business should value, but the most important are the customers. They form the backbone that helps the business achieve its goals, fulfill its mission, and realize financial growth. Experts advocate for small businesses to invest heavily in the realization of their goals by taking a series of measures that focus on managing customer relationships. Here is an idea of how your small business can approach the entire concept of customer relationship management.

Understand your customers first
The first thing to do is to build an overall and individual understanding of your customers by coming up with an appropriate profile of every customer in the business. The profile should be comprised of valuable information such as the customers’ details among other personal but insensitive details. The profile created helps your business to gain an overview of what to do in the bid to nurture a good relationship.

Express passion and sympathy in customer service
The next step is to develop a well-integrated system within your customer service department where customers are handled passionately and with emphasis on empathy. When serving your customers, expressing genuineness gives them the impression that your business is caring and thus outstanding.

Invest in CRM solutions
The entire concept of managing thousands of your businesses’ customers can be so complicated and challenging. To make your work easier, you may need to invest in the various CRM solutions designed for small businesses. Such solutions come in handy in helping your small business to manage its customers efficiently without having to worry about the multitude of data that you will have to deal with.

Build a long-term relationship
Customer relationship management should be approached as a long-term project and idea. The relationships you target and build upon can exhibit benefits if they are nurtured to maturity in the long term. It, therefore, requires patience and emphasis on resilience to ensure that such relationships endure the test of time.

Incorporate CRM in your marketing
When marketing yourself to your existing and potential customers, it is important to consider nurturing good customer relations. You may, for instance, focus on giving your existing customers incentives and offers to help build a strong and continuous relationship. Incentives such as offers, discounts, and other forms of customer engagements by your business help create a good impression.

Young Entrepreneurs on the Rise

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There is no time like the present to follow your entrepreneurial spirit in your younger years. Starting at a young age gives you time to focus and figure out your exact path in starting your own business. It can be a very scary process either diving right in out of college or leaving a stable job to pursue your passions of running your own business. Thankfully, there have been many people that went before you and followed their ideas. They were either met with failure or success, and either way, want to share what they’ve learned with the aspiring young entrepreneurs of today.

Research and Problem Solving
It is essential to do your research before you decide on your particular company and product. The research aspect assists in making sure your idea is original. If there is another type of product similar to the one you are creating, research who your competitors will be and how you can set yourself apart. Discovering who the target audience is by defining your market is an essential part of the original business plan, and a task young entrepreneurs forget to complete.  

Problem solving is an essential step in the beginning process of creating a business plan. The product or idea you have should solve some sort of a problem in order to be successful. This helps to increase the need for these particular goods and services.

Be Optimistic and Passionate
When you’re a young entrepreneur, just starting can be nerve racking but also very exciting because your future can go in so many directions. One thing to remember is that not every idea will be a successful one. Failure is inevitable, but that failure creates a drive to succeed if you have the passion behind it. Entrepreneurs who are genuinely passionate about what they do and the goods and services they produce will have a much higher chance of succeeding because they will not want to give up on their dreams.

Optimism is another crucial factor in staying on the path of success. Challenges in the entrepreneurial world are inevitable. You will hear the word ‘no’ at points in your career but staying focused, positive, and optimistic is going to keep moving you forward towards reaching your goals.

Young entrepreneurs can learn a lot from entrepreneurs who have been in the business for quite some time. It’s important to read about your mentors and the leaders you look up to and hear their success stories. Every one of them will have a list of failures and what helped them prevail and become the successful business leader they are today.

Benefits from Pursuing Entrepreneurship

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Whether you are college student figuring out your path or a professional looking for a career change, entrepreneurship could be the choice for you. There are many different benefits that come along with being an entrepreneur along with being able to make your goals and passions come to life. It can, at times, be a strenuous and challenging job, but the rewards are unlike any other profession. Here we will discuss some of the benefits from seeking out life in entrepreneurship and why it might be the right choice for you.

You choose your schedule
With being your boss, comes the benefit of being able to decide how you spend your time. You get to work as long as you want and when you want to stop, then you stop. It is an excellent opportunity to be able to be so flexible with the time you spend on work without having to miss out on life and other opportunities.  

Choices depend on you
You are your boss. Decisions will come right from you when it comes to your company and your product. This is true for the other departments within your business. You are going to figure out the type of brand and marketing and how you want your product to look to your audience and consumers.

You live your passions
Being an entrepreneur means you can live out your passions. Your visions will be brought to life because of what is most important to you and what you feel the world needs. Not many other professions have this type of freedom in doing precisely what they want to do and exactly how they want to do it.

Continue to learn and grow
With being your boss in the entrepreneurial world, comes the opportunity to continue to learn, grow, and try on different hats. If you’ve never started your own business before, you will start to learn many various aspects of the business including marketing, sales, and planning. Until you have the capital to hire these jobs in your company, you may have to do some of it yourself. This just gives you the extra edge to hone your business skills to be a better leader and entrepreneur.

The opportunities in the entrepreneurial world are endless and up to you because you are your boss and help to control your future. It is a great process to be a part of in your life if you want to turn your passions into a reality.

Handling Discrimination in the Workplace

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In spite of many progressive movements and laws, discrimination remains pervasive in and outside of the workplace. Showing others that discrimination is not acceptable in your workplace will help maintain a place of equal opportunity and ensure that everyone feels safe. Whether you are an employee witnessing or experiencing discrimination or you are an employer who receives a report of discriminatory activity, there are ways you can appropriately and professionally handle the situation without compromising your integrity or position.

For Employees
If you experience or witness discrimination in the workplace, the first thing you should do is report the activity to a superior or your employer. Make sure they know you take this seriously and request that written reports be documented for each incident.

Keep a record for yourself, as well. Document dates, times, and the details of any incidents. Hold onto any objects accompanying the discrimination such as threatening or insensitive photographs; your claims will be considered more valid with the physical evidence to back them up.

If your employer does not take appropriate action, you may want to consider filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In addition to this, make sure you are familiar with your company’s policies, as well as your rights; familiarize yourself with the law before taking any legal action, but do what is necessary if your superiors do not come to your aid.

For Employers
If you receive a report of discrimination, you should try to take immediate action and do whatever seems appropriate. By seriously addressing any complaints of discrimination, you will show your employees that the policy is sincere and no discrimination will be tolerated.

In order to prevent discrimination from occurring, you can focus on educating your employees through classes or workshops and evaluate your existing policies against discrimination; if it is inadequate, vague, or hasn’t been circulated, be sure to revise as necessary and make sure your employees are aware of the policy

You can also spend time teaching superiors how to respond to discrimination. This will not only ensure that your employees are prepared to handle any situation, but will also show your employees that you are concerned about their well-being. It will be more beneficial to show your employees that you support them and do not tolerate discrimination by creating and upholding your own policy and making sure you have the means of enforcing it.

How To Deal With Workplace Pressure

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People of all professions experience stress in the workplace. There are often times in a work environment during which employees feel pressure to perform at the top of their game, sometimes in a short amount of time. It’s easy to feel stress when you have a lot on your plate and you’re under pressure. Here are some techniques to make sure you don’t crumble under pressure.

1) Make a brief to-do list
The list doesn’t have to be long. In fact, it is suggested to keep this list to three items long so that you can truly focus on your priorities. This allows you to be realistic about what you can achieve in the very near future. You can also stop thinking about other tasks until you’ve finished these three so that you don’t get too bombarded with what to do.

2) Use some sort of organizing system
Don’t simply rely on your own brain. If you just think of what you need to accomplish, it can all get jumbled. Use an external organizing system, such as a handwritten to-do list, digital calendar reminders, or whatever works best for you. When you have a physical reminder of all of your tasks, you will be much less stressed.

3) Ask for help
There’s no shame in asking for assistance. Even the most hard-working professionals will sometimes struggle to handle everything on their own. Those who are truly successful understand that they will sometimes need to reach out for help. When your situation is getting out of control, reach out to some coworkers or other people in your network who you trust in order to get help.

4) Tackle your negative thoughts
Reframing your negative thoughts will allow you to be calmer. When you find yourself getting panicked over a tense situation, put the situation in perspective. Put an end to your frantic thoughts by reminding yourself that the situation can be handled and that it is not the end of the world. Then figure out what you will do first, second, and so on. This goes back to making a short to-do list.

5) Plan ahead
While a short to-do list is a great way to get things done, it’s also important to plan for the future. If there are challenges that are likely to come up, think about the steps that you will take to overcome the challenges. This way, you will be much better prepared for any issue that comes your way.

6) Take care of your body
In order to feel more calm and balanced, make sure you are taking care of your physical health. One of the most important things you can do to have the best cognitive function and the brightest mood is to get a proper amount of sleep. If you get enough sleep, eat healthy, and exercise, you will be more productive and have better peace of mind.

7) Be grateful
Being grateful for what you have in life will have a positive effect on not only your productivity but on your overall happiness. It has been shown that being grateful is the most influential factor in having a happy and positive outlook on life. Each day, think about what you are thankful for, and your success is likely to increase!

Working in any environment can lead to extreme stress. We have all felt moments during which we were extremely under pressure. But if you take a deep breath and follow these rules, that pressure has no chance of getting in the way of your success.

The Importance of Communication at the Workplace

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No matter what industry you are in, efficient, effective, and consistent verbal and nonverbal communication skill are incredibly valuable in the workplace. Some companies even go as far to invest a large portion of their time and money to help train and aid their employees on effective communication. Why? The simple reason is that good communication can take you beyond the conversation to something more impactful for your business and your customers.

By understanding these benefits of effective, effective, and consistent communication, you will be able to help your company focus on building a strong and conducive work culture that will be vital for your business’s future success.

So what do we need to know about strong communication?

First and foremost, you need to understand how it can help on a diverse and holistic aspect. With effective workplace communication, the most important way for this to work is how it facilitates across a variety of departments. Oftentimes, bad communication can result in various misunderstandings that can be harmful for your company’s overarching goals and visions. To reduce this negative, try and see how you can train your employees to communicate across different departments. Think of this in a various situations such as mangers to employees or departments to department. Fine-tuning messages across these groups will allow you to avoid cultural confusion and miscommunication. See what your managers and leaders in your business can do to simplify the information in strong, informative, laymen terms. In addition, see what errors there were beforehand and how you can improve operations to run even smoother.

As for team building, try and see how you can create a strong and more effective line of communication in the workplace that helps employees and managers perform at their fullest. One of the biggest problems you can find in the office is that employees have a timid distrust for upper level management. To alleviate this pressure, try and create a role of integrity and responsibility between the two individuals. Show that the communication itself is meant to support rather than to criticize. Last but not least, try and produce a positive line of communication with recognition and positive reinforcement. Many employees can underperform because they feel that their work is not valued at the office. To avoid that hostile work environment, create positive incentives such as rewards or shout outs that can boost the overall morale of your company.

Last but not least, make sure the line of communication is easily streamlined to the customer itself. Regardless of your company’s field or product, make sure the customer knows the shift and changes your product will see in the future. Apple was able to streamline their new products through various showcases and presentations that tapped new markets and new audiences. While, we cannot all be Apple, it does not mean you cannot rationalize your company’s changes in simple explanations through your employees or through various marketing strategies.

How to be a Successful Leader

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There are myriad interpretations of leadership. For instance, a leader might motivate others through official power and authority. However, just as often exceptional leaders guide through personal connections, persuasion, and inspiration. So what is leadership? It actuality, is the ability to lead and consciously produce a result that otherwise would not have occurred. It’s not only the creation of events that constitutes good leadership. Good leaders deliberately design challenging outcomes by engaging the help of others.

Successful Entrepreneurial Leadership Approaches

Successful entrepreneurship can transform a declining business into a Fortune 500 corporation by changing corporate cultures. Good leadership is an integrated solution for organizational success. The most successful entrepreneurial leadership approaches include:

  • Transformational. Transformational leaders motivate teams and influence coworkers to grow and develop. This is one of the most powerful leadership styles because it shapes work efficiencies, social culture, and mindsets.
  • Charismatic. Charismatic leaders are the driving strength that motivates teams to exceed expectations. These leaders frequently employ personal charm to inspire and lead and tend to be globally admired and respected. Charismatic managers are well known for their talent to assemble a large amount of followers.
  • Participative. Using participative leadership, entrepreneurs request advice and input from all team members involved in the business plan. This leadership approach values each team members’ opinion as significant. Employees become part of the decision-making process quickly, making everyone involved feel highly motivated and appreciated.
  • Situational. Similar to transformational, the situational leadership style is one of the most successful entrepreneurial leadership approaches. This type of leader focuses easily on situational adaptation and adjustment to personal capabilities, circumstances, and abilities of teams.

A successful entrepreneur will focus their career on combining these successful leadership styles. Whatever leadership styles you choose to emulate, it is essential to remember that not all of them work for the every organization or individual. Do what’s best and concentrate on what improves your chances of success.