Posts Tagged ‘business owner’

Want to learn how to determine your business owner type? Then you definitely should listen in to the BlogTalkRadio interview with Michele DeKinder-Smith, Founder & CEO of Jane Out of the Box. She will be the special guest on Your Passionate Business BlogTalkRadio show on September 2 at 7pm CT/8pm ET.

Michele brought her passion for entrepreneurship and extensive research experience together to create Jane Out of the Box (www.janeoutofthebox.com). The company conducts research for and about women business owners in order to help more women become successful on their own terms. Michele’s first company, Linkage Research & Consulting, was the inspiration for her starting Jane Out the Box. Having grown it into over a million dollars in revenue, she wanted to help other women create the wealth and the lifestyles they deserve.

Michele is a 20 year + seasoned researcher that has specialized in marketing, consumer and business research. Jane Out of the Box’s understanding of female entrepreneurs is used to educate and influence large corporations and government agencies who create products and services for women business owners as well as those who hire women through diversity programs. By participating in a Jane Out of the Box research project, female entrepreneurs can make sure their voice is heard by these organizations. Find out how Jane Out the Box’s events, consultations and more can help your woman owned business thrive by tuning in for Michele’s interview with Your Passionate BlogTalk radio show host Kim Beasley on September 2 at 8 PM Eastern.

Your Passionate Business BlogTalk radio show is your source for information to reinvent and compete in 2010. Special guests share their ideas on how to thrive in a changing economy along with how you can collaborate with them to grow your client base in 2010. You will learn from entrepreneurs in the field of business development, PR and marketing, coaching, sales, HR, tech and more. Visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kimbeasley to listen to Michele DeKinder-Smith interview as well as future interviews with other guests.

In the process of creating your business, one of the key things that you should put in place as soon as possible is a mentor. The responsibilities of a mentor include providing you with guidance and being a sounding board for your ideas.

According to Webster.com, a mentor is “a trusted counselor or guide”. As a business owner, adding a mentor to your team will be a very wise thing to do. Being open to mentoring is a very important step for business owners, just as a football player has to be open to his coach. Mentors are in your business life to steer you away from mistakes that can happen in a new business and to guide you towards a successful business future.

To help you learn more about mentoring, I have compiled tips from business owners to help you determine what to look for when looking for an ideal mentor.

	Cristin Franks: Be sure to find a mentor who you can trust like a friend but who doesn’t intimidate you. The whole point of your start-up is to insert yourself, your true creative self. Therefore a mentor must cultivate your raw style.
	Lois Zachary: Mentoring requires careful preparation. To get your relationship off to a good start, you will want to: Reflect on your purpose. Be clear about your own goals and objectives. Consider what it is you are willing to contribute to the relationship. Be willing to candidly share your needs, expectations and limits. Identify the characteristics you are looking for in a mentor. The latter is the toughest. Picking the right mentor is necessary for successful outcomes. And it goes beyond chemistry with your mentor. Let me explain. The natural tendency is to zero in on chemistry when meeting with prospective mentors. If the chemistry doesn’t feel right, the inclination is to go no further. Rather than relying on chemistry alone, I recommend using a criteria-based decision-making model. It can help you make good choices and avoid those that don’t support your talent and capability or are not otherwise in your best interests. Even if there are better choices, it is easy to bias our selection toward those that set us up for easy success. Without some sound criteria, our decisions can be flawed, and neither you nor your mentor is truly well served.
	Maria Ross: Find a mentor who is successful in the field he or she is in. You learn from success, so seek out a mentor who has done things right and has the scars to prove it. It doesn’t even matter if it’s necessarily in the business you are in, but as long as someone has built a successful career and business, he or she will be in a much better position to help and guide you than someone who is very nice with good intentions but who can’t lead you in the right direction.
	Crystal Kendrick: A mentor is a role model, confidant, friend and supporter who helps a high potential person to become a more effective leader and a more well rounded individual.  The mentor is usually attached to the person and not always the company and is typically available for extended periods of time.  The focus of the mentor is usually more personal/professional and will often offer guidance based on personal experiences and learned strategies.  Mentor/mentoree relationships are developed. Tips to make a sound choice: Determine what you want to achieve from the relationship and identify a mentor who can help to achieve the goals. Look to someone who is experienced and excited about the relationship Don’t just look to the most successful person as a mentor.  Some of the persons who have not achieved what you believe to be “success” are actually quite knowledgeable about what it takes to be successful.
	Krista Dunk: We all need mentors in some form, in all areas of our lives, if we desire to be successful. Mentors are unique in that he or she should be a person who you can have a personal relationship with. Mentors are people that you can have back and forth dialogue with, not just one-sided conversations. Find someone who makes you uncomfortable, because his or her personal capacity and experience are at a much higher level than yours. You must trust him or her, both personally and professionally He or she should have a bigger perspective than you do He or she has “been there, done that” in the area where you desire to learn He or she cares about what you do and wants to see you succeed He or she will speak hard truths to you in love.
	Sid Kemp: What makes a great business mentor? He or she: Is capable and knowledgeable Is open-minded – not directive and telling you what to do Good at explaining choices and consequences Helps you think for yourself Has a successful track record, but does not appear to be perfect Knows his or her limitations Helps you plan and decide Helps you make connections
	DeAnna Troupe: It’s absolutely essential to have a mentor when you’re building your own business. It may even be helpful to have more than one. Here are some things to look for in a mentor. You want to find a mentor that has expertise in a certain area of business. Run away quickly from the person that claims to be an expert at all areas of business. If you need help in marketing, find someone who is an expert in marketing. If you need help with financing your business, find someone with experience in that. You will get much better results when you deal with a specialist instead of a generalist. It’s also important to find a mentor that doesn’t clash with your personality style. In other words, if you’re the type of person that does better when guided to the answer, you don’t want a mentor that basically tells you what to do and doesn’t give you choices. You may have to go through a few mentors before you find one that fits. You also want someone that actually has more business experience than you do. I know this seems kind of obvious, but nowadays a lot of people are calling themselves mentors even though they don’t have a lot of business experience. Be sure to check the person’s credentials.

As many have begun realizing, starting a business during the recession is a good idea. No, I’m not crazy and no, I don’t have my head stuck in the sand. Don’t give up your hope of being a business owner because of the recession. Be bold and believe in yourself  … that you can become a business owner.

Below is a video that deals with this subject that I thought would be good for you to watch. As you view this video, I want you to keep a few things on your mind and then provide your insights when you leave a comment. Please share your thoughts and questions as a comment after you view this video.

• How do you view your business with the recession happening all around you?
• How are you managing your cash flow during this recession?
• What are some things that you can do to improve your cash flow?
• What types of joint ventures can you create that will help your cash flow?

Did you know that February 1 – 5, 2010, is International Networking Week? As a business owner, I want to encourage you to spend time this week to network with others via social media websites. In doing this, you just might find new clients, new business associates or even potential joint venture business owners.

When you watch the video below, keep in mind all the different things that you can do to network. Such as:

• Online: social media websites
• Offline: radio
• Online: press releases
• Online: blog directories
• Offline: TV
• Offline: newspaper or magazines

In starting your business, there are a few things that can be very helpful to you as you develop your business management process so that it can flow smoothly. The 7 basic tips below will help you build a solid foundation for your start-up business.

• Create a strategy plan that will help you develop your business and create objectives or goals that you want to reach within your business.
• Make sure that you choose a business legal structure that will incorporate what you need for your business and for you personally (for more details visit “Choose a Business Structure“).
• Create a marketing plan that incorporates online and offline activities so that you can gradually build your business brand.
• Figure out if you want to have your business office located in your home where you have a special place allocated for this purpose or outside of your home.
• Map out who you need for your support team, which will be made of people that you can outsource tasks to so that you can continue to grow your business.
• Finally, identify the people who will be part of your support group when you need to turn to someone for advice.

In the video below, additional tips are shared to help you continue creating a solid foundation for your start-up business.

Image: Flickr & lumaxart