Blogs on Entrepreneurship, Business Plan & Strategy

  In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur is more prevalent than ever. However, the path to entrepreneurship is paved with challenges and uncertainties. To navigate this complex journey, "Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know" serves as a comprehensive and practical guide for aspiring entrepreneurs. Written in a concise and accessible manner, this book is part of the Self-Learning Management series, aimed at providing essential knowledge and skills to individuals eager to delve into the realm of entrepreneurship. Dr. AnnaMaria Bliven, an experienced entrepreneur herself, brings a wealth of practical insights and real-world examples to enrich the content. One of the strengths of this book is its structure. It covers a wide range of topics, from the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship to more advanced strategies for sustainable growth. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect, providing a well-rounded understanding of the entrepreneurial journey. Moreover, the content is organized in a logical progression, allowing readers to easily follow and apply the concepts discussed. The book begins by exploring the mindset and qualities of successful entrepreneurs. It highlights the importance of self-awareness, resilience, and adaptability, emphasizing that entrepreneurship is not merely about starting a business but also about personal growth and continuous learning. This introspective approach sets the foundation for the subsequent chapters, which delve into market research, opportunity identification, and business planning. What sets this book apart from others is its emphasis on practicality. Throughout the pages, readers are presented with practical exercises, checklists, and case studies to reinforce the concepts discussed. These interactive elements encourage active learning and enable readers to apply the knowledge gained directly to their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Another commendable aspect is the inclusion of ethical considerations and social responsibility in entrepreneurship. The book emphasizes the importance of conducting business with integrity, considering environmental impact, and fostering inclusivity. This aspect adds a refreshing dimension to the entrepreneurial discourse and reminds readers that business success should not come at the expense of ethical principles. Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know serves as an excellent starting point for beginners, who can further explore specific areas of interest in subsequent readings. In summary, "Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know" is a valuable resource for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking practical guidance on their journey. The author's experience shines through, making the content relatable and engaging. By blending theory with interactive exercises, the book encourages active learning and fosters a mindset geared towards entrepreneurial success. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned business professional looking to expand your knowledge, this book is a worthwhile investment in your entrepreneurial journey. This is a review by Kenyatta Johnson on Vibrant’s Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know Related Blogs -  5 Reasons to Adopt Intrapreneurship in Your Company Financial Management for Small Business Owners Follow These Tips to Get Started (And Succeed) As An Online Entrepreneur  

There are some fanciful assumptions about entrepreneurs: they are rich, famous, and influential in their respective communities. However, the best way to describe an entrepreneur is seen in this Naveen Jain’s quote: “A person who sees a problem is a human being; a person who finds a solution is visionary; and the person who goes out and does something about it is an entrepreneur.” This summarizes what entrepreneurs stand for, in the sense that they are goal-getters; they bring ideas into reality. Highlighted below are five unique characteristics you can find in every entrepreneur:  They take calculated risk: It takes risks to establish and successfully manage a company. You will be required to invest your time and resources in the new company. As they say, no risk no gain. While starting out, most entrepreneurs have no idea whether the companies they arestarting would succeed or fail. But instead of letting fear hold them back, they choose to continue pursuing their entrepreneurial goals. They are passionate about what they do: Becoming an entrepreneur is a very tasking thing. On most occasions, your attention will be on your business. You probably won’t have time for your family, friends, and other acquaintances. Managing a business is time-consuming; there are many things to attend to and there are several problems that will be begging for your attention. Sometimes entrepreneurs don’t have time to socialize with business associates, because they are always ready to deal with any emergency that may occur while running their businesses. They work very hard: It is obvious that entrepreneurship is not for the weak-hearted. This is because it requires a lot of hard work. There are many things to do within the twenty-four hours in a day. It is true that entrepreneurs must avoid being burnt out by delegating responsibilities to others on their team, but there are certain duties that must be carried out by the entrepreneurs themselves, such as signing big contracts, meeting suppliers, and looking for avenues to expand their business networks. To some business owners, it is a 24-hour-a-day job. You must be ready and willing to show up when your attention is needed by your employees, business partners, and others.    They are resilient: It is not every time that what entrepreneurs plan materializes the way they want it to. As an entrepreneur, it is important that you are flexible and resilient. You should be able to function in all conditions, whether things are working according to your plans or not. You can never let emotions take the best part of your mind and get confused when things turn out chaotic and disturbing. You should be able to endure all circumstances and put yourself together no matter what. Great entrepreneurs don’t allow one or two mistakes to throw them into a bad mood; they refuse to let a misstep bring them down and cause them to throw tantrums against their employees or family members. They exude strong self confidence: A business owner must exude strong self-confidence. You should be seen as someone who is able to withstand any situation and handle all problems professionally. As an entrepreneur who has employees under you, you must act bravely in every condition and reject any temptation to buck under pressure. You should demonstrate to everyone around you that you are strong and capable to deal with circumstances. Through this action, people will be able to trust you in all situations because they believe that you will always find solutions to any problems that may crop up while working for you. More importantly, your customers will show more interest in you and your products.  Now that you have read about what sterling attributes entrepreneurs have, are you now ready to become one of them?  Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know is your valuable guide for discovering everything about entrepreneurship. If you know little or nothing about the process of registering a company, making your first products/services, and creating a business model that will power your business’s day-to-day operations, you will find this book to be very useful. If you don’t have a degree or education in business management or a mentor that you can learn all these business management skills from, your best bet is to sit down, and get a good book that exhaustively treats the topic. Entrepreneurship Essentials contains all the necessary information you will ever need to know about the science of successfully managing a flourishing business. Also read -  What is Entrepreneurship and how do you set up a successful business? Follow These Tips to Get Started (And Succeed) As An Online Entrepreneur 5 Reasons to Adopt Intrapreneurship in Your Company    

Entrepreneurship is a different kind of art. Just like any other art form where you need to practice, build up your skills, and be diligent and consistent, entrepreneurship requires all that and much more.   Entrepreneurship is about taking calculated financial risks at the prospect of making money. But it is not only about financial gain. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They identify a problem and come up with solutions for that problem.   If you identify with the definition of an entrepreneur and want to know the process of setting up a fulfilling business, keep reading!   Setting up your company: There are different types of companies that you can establish, from Sole Proprietorships to Corporations. Each business type comes with its own unique benefits or advantages. For instance, if you intend to own a company alone, you can set up a Sole Proprietorship, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or one-person Corporation. If you are planning to do business with your friends, partners, or other people, Partnerships, Corporations, and Cooperatives will be better options. You also need to be aware of the different taxes and accountability required for each business type.   Deciding on which product/service to offer: The majority of entrepreneurs already know what kind of product/service they will be offering to their prospective customers before registering a company. However, in certain circumstances, it may take many years before their first product is made, especially in the case of companies that undertake long-term product research and development (like pharmaceutical companies). Whatever product you have decided to sell to consumers, it is advisable that it should be affordable, of the highest quality, and durable.   Promoting your product/services to consumers: In addition to producing high-quality products, you need to market them to those who will buy them. One area in which some entrepreneurs make mistakes is during their product proposition—which is the process of explaining the usefulness of your product to prospective buyers/users. They sometimes fail to provide the detailed information that consumers need in making buying decisions. Aspiring entrepreneurs should learn about the best approach for promoting their products/services to prospective customers without sounding too salesy.   Great customer service: It is important that entrepreneurs put themselves in the shoes of their customers. Customers like to be pampered and catered to. Companies with great customer service become leaders in their respective industries. Anyone who aspires to set up a business must, first, understand how to carry customers along. Happy customers will remain loyal and become active promoters of your products. One of the most effective methods of advertising is “word-of-mouth”; when your customers are happy with your products/services, they will be willing to tell their friends and relatives about them. This cheap but effective marketing tactic can make a company quadruple its sales within a short period of time.   Team building: It is true that entrepreneurs are visionaries, but that doesn’t mean that they can run a big company alone and by themselves. They need people who are equally motivated to assist them in their entrepreneurial journey. So, entrepreneurs need to understand how to build great teams that will perform well. Though, it is not always easy to find great employees and train them to work productively. However, by learning how to spot hardworking and team-spirited employees, business owners can shorten their learning curve and save time and resources that could have been wasted on hiring bad, uncooperative workers. Recruiting a bad employee can cause an employer to experience disruption in his/her business operations.   Running a sustainable business: An entrepreneur, along with managing his/her own company, is also expected to focus on the sustainability of the business. This means that they should pay serious attention to the techniques they have adopted so that they won’t affect the environment, people, and communities in which they operate. Any company with a great sustainability plan is considered people-centric and environmentally friendly in its operations.   The Best Approach for Busy Entrepreneurs to Learn New Things   You won’t always have time to attend business schools or pursue MBA courses. However, you can learn a lot by reading books written specially to address the subject matter or topic you interested in learning about.   Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know provides all the detailed information about the entrepreneurial processes highlighted above. The book is designed in a way that simplifies the procedures for successfully managing a business by taking into consideration all the necessary steps that an entrepreneur must be aware of. Reading this book will equip aspiring or experienced entrepreneurs with the management and operational skills that they need to turn their business ventures into outstanding success.   Divided into different sections that deal precisely with the issues that would-be entrepreneurs would like to have some practical knowledge about, Entrepreneurship Essentials You Always Wanted To Know remains a formidable reservoir of business management knowledge. Reading it is like going to a business school to learn the nitty-gritty of starting a business, directing its affairs, and driving to both operational and monetary success.   The Advance Review Copy of this book is now available for review on NetGalley.  

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re living your life on someone else’s terms, not your own? This feeling is pretty common, and it’s why many people decide to ditch their day job and start a business instead. But starting a traditional small business can be scary, especially if you have limited funds or experience with entrepreneurship. If you feel stuck in this situation, the answer may be to find a comfortable middle ground – running an online business from home. Here are some tips to help you on the journey.   Choose the Right Business Model Running a business from home has become the new normal for thousands of people who are done with the 9 to 5, but that doesn’t mean all online businesses are created equal. One business model that’s in high demand today is e-commerce, especially since the coronavirus pandemic has led people to do even more of their shopping online. Not only is online shopping at an all-time high, but it’s also easier than ever to build and launch an online business. As with anything else, researching your options here is the key to success. For example, you’ll want to choose an ecommerce platform that fits the niche you’re in, as well as how you want to operate. With the different platforms you can choose from, you may want one that’s tailored to highlighting a single product, or if you don’t want to keep stock, you may want one that works with dropshipping. Once you’ve decided to start your business, it’s time to decide exactly which type of business entity you want to establish. Our recommendation is to form a limited liability company because it will protect your personal assets should any legal problems arise in the future. Having an LLC also makes you eligible for opening a business bank account, which makes keeping track of your business finances much easier. If you want to learn more about business models, pick up a copy of Business Strategy Essentials You Always Wanted To Know. This book explores business concepts and strategies and discusses the practical approach for application by businesses and working professionals.   Hire the Right Support Staff Even when you use the best online tools, most entrepreneurs reach a point where relying on their own skills holds them back. Our suggestion is to hire freelancers for those roles that are outside your skillset (or that you simply don’t have time for). Qualified freelancers are easy to find by searching an online job board, and you can find the right person for any task you need, from web design to hiring your own virtual assistant. Besides the flexibility they offer, Small Biz Resources explains how hiring freelancers is also an affordable way to get the help you need without committing to full-time staff. If you hire freelancers or other staff that work remotely, one thing to keep in mind is the importance of communication when managing a remote team. Maintaining effective team communication is easy with an app like Slack, but good communication also comes from how you use these platforms. For example, apps like Slack allow you to create different channels, so you can have one channel that’s team-wide and a different one for project-specific communication. Then you can use the newsfeed as a way to keep everyone up to date on crucial information that the whole team needs access to. If you are worried about managing the staff performance and conflicts, refer to a book like Human Resource Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know which provides detailed insights into managing employees. The book discusses many strategies and tactics needed to effectively manage human resources thereby leading companies to profitability and success.   Set Yourself Apart The world is full of online entrepreneurs, and even though there’s room for competition, you’ll be most successful if you set your business apart from the others. Start by choosing a niche product or service, and make sure it’s one that fulfills a need. Then focus your marketing efforts on reaching customers who are in your niche. Knowing your target market, as well as reaching it, is part of what it takes to differentiate yourself, but the other part of the equation is to go above and beyond with customer service. To do this as an online business owner, The Balance Small Business recommends exceeding expectations and focusing on customer service over selling. For additional reading on this subject, delve into Digital Marketing Essentials You Always Wanted to Know. The book explores an array of different topics in a way that’s both deeply informative and easy to understand. The book could be the resource you need to help you achieve your marketing goals Don’t overlook this tip just because you don’t see your customers in person! If anything, providing excellent service and connection with your clients is even more essential when you aren’t face to face. Running a successful online business IS hard work, but the tradeoff that comes from ditching your day job is 100 percent worth it. Photo credit: Unsplash  

Intrapreneurship is a business system in which employees in an organization are encouraged to take risks and develop ideas and techniques to benefit the companies they work for. In other words, employees in an intrapreneurship are encouraged to act like entrepreneurs. They are given a lot of freedom and allowed to experiment to solve a given problem. Intrapreneurs are instrumental to a company’s growth; they circumvent the bureaucracy as they are given the freedom to experiment with many ideas. Unlike entrepreneurship, in which the business risk is borne by the entrepreneur, in intrapreneurship, the business risk is borne by the company. Intrapreneurship adopts a ‘startup’ style of business management. There is lot of flexibility and risk taking, and lots of ideas are being developed. In this article, the major advantages of intrapreneurship will be fully examined. The following are the main advantages of intrapreneurship.   1) Innovation: In an intrapreneurship, more room is given for innovation. Since employees are encouraged to act like entrepreneurs, they are given the chance to develop their ideas in their own way instead of following the normal business process. Employees can use the company’s resources to experiment and develop new ideas that will benefit the organization. Through this business system, companies are able to set the right context for development. The right people are given a chance in the right environment, an environment which supports out of the box ideas.Entrepreneurs may be limited in the business world by a lot of factors, like capital; this results in a lot of brilliant ideas going to waste. However, in intrapreneurship, employees are placed in the perfect environment suitable for developing new projects. Though intrapreneurship is more common with startups, large companies like Google and Intel have been known to adopt this business model. Though adopting full intrapreneurship isn’t feasible for large companies, many adopt a system where they allow employees to spend a certain percentage of their time on personal ideas and projects. Google AdSense, Google Maps, and Post-it-notes are all examples of ideas developed through intrapreneurship. Full intrapreneurship is however more feasible for small organizations.   2) Growth: Intrapreneurship is one of the fastest business systems which supports growth. It helps to create and maintain a set structure that supports revenue growth and is particularly useful for small business owners who are looking for ways to grow the company or widen their profit margins. It makes it easier for companies to recognize and capitalize on new opportunities before their competitors take advantage of them. It is usually the business structure behind new services and products many companies develop. Many big companies adopt this system in order to maintain momentum. It also helps safeguard the future of an established organization. Intrapreneurship gives mutual benefits to both the organization and the employee. The organization enjoys steady growth brought about by improved employee performance and fresh ideas, while employees develop leadership skills and also gain the experience needed in the corporate world.   3) Engagement and retention: Disengaged employees cost companies a lot as disengagement translates to low productivity. In some organizations, employees complain about being underutilized; some eventually leave to look for companies where their skills are appreciated. Intrapreneurship provides an environment where employees are encouraged to apply their own ideas. Employees will then become more eager to experiment and successfully develop new ideas. They are highly engaged and thus more productive under this business system. Employees do not have to face the bureaucracy and rigid internal processes of the normal business model thus leading to employee satisfaction. Intrapreneurship brings about a higher employee retention rate due to the high level of employee engagement. Also, potential employees are drawn to an organization which supports intrapreneurship.   4) Builds Leadership Skills: Intrapreneurship is a business model which greatly builds leadership skills. In large organizations, the CEO or founder may not necessarily be the one behind many of their successful innovations, rather, some successful team projects are developed and completed by employees with leadership skills. Employees with an intrapreneural mind-set are often the best candidates to lead new projects. Intrapreneurship also allows employees to channel their entrepreneurship skills within an organizational setting. It properly develops employees with leadership traits. Such employees eventually grow to become key executives of the company.     5) Efficiency and Speed of Action: Another main advantage of intrapreneurship is speed. Projects involving new products and services are easily completed under this business system. Since the ideas are supplied and developed by the employees and the bureaucratic barrier has been removed, projects are completed sooner. Employees have the freedom to express their ideas freely without shouldering the risk. They are highly motivated to work since the idea was developed by them, thus increasing productivity. Also, companies do not have to waste time searching for new ideas.In conclusion, intrapreneurship is a business model which offers ample benefits in the corporate world. It is a system that helps companies properly harness the creative power of their employees thereby fuelling growth. Companies can encourage intrapreneurship by creating a system that supports it in their organization. Employees should be encouraged to take risks and experiment new ideas without fear of backlash.To identify your company’s current business strategy and to learn to execute possible appropriate strategies, read Business Strategy Essentials You Always Wanted To Know.